2009 Porker of the Year
December 15, 2009
by: Leslie Paige

Government WasteWatch, Winter 2009

Once again, CAGW will be asking taxpayers to help elect the 2009 Porker of the Year.  Listed below are the six most meritorious nominees from the last year.  Our website will be hosting a special page just to tally the votes of visitors to the site.  The address is www.cagw.org/PorkeroftheYear Please log on and vote.  We will announce the winner of this dubious achievement award at the end of February, 2010, so check back to see if your favorite Porker won the coveted top spot for frivolous, wasteful spending in 2009.

Rep. Russ Carnahan, July Porker of the Month
Named 2009’s Porker of the Month, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) was caught on videotape by a vigilant citizen blogger at a town hall meeting held in St. Louis, who then posted the remarks on YouTube, grossly misrepresenting the costs associated with the controversial healthcare reforms bills currently under consideration in Congress.  For his memorable walk-on cameo appearance in this political Comedy of Errors and his significant contribution to the unbridled bloviation emanating from Washington, most of which has been long on spin and short on facts, please consider Rep. Russ Carnahan for Porker of the Year! 

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, August Porker of the Month
Named 2009’s August Porker of the Month, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) is a multiple threat to taxpayers.  He ranked first in earmarks in the House in fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 44 projects worth $256.8 million and fifth in the House in FY 2008 with 29 projects worth $153.6 million.  For abusing an already-stretched Pentagon budget to reward favored contractors and continue funding a wasteful and unnecessary alternate engine, please consider Rep. Neil Abercrombie for Porker of the Year!

Rep. Barney Frank, March Porker of the Month
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) finally delivered enough of Barney’s blarney to be recognized.  He had expressed outrage over reports that insurance giant and TARP recipient AIG had distributed millions in bonuses to its executives, yet he spent years defending the activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  He once told The New York Times that Fannie and Freddie were not facing “any kind of financial crisis.”  For his ample and under-appreciated contributions to the nation’s current economic meltdown and his near-genius ability to engage in the two-faced blame game, please consider House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank for Porker of the Year!

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, October Porker of the Month
Named 2009’s October Porker of the Month, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), a four-term senator from Texas, claims to be a fiscal conservative, but requested 149 projects worth $1.6 billion for authorization and appropriations bills for fiscal year 2010.  For personifying the tiresome hypocrisy of some members of Congress who want to claim the badge of fiscal conservatism while continuing to abscond with billions of dollars in wasteful pork projects, please consider Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison as Porker of the Year. 

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, January Porker of the Month
Named 2009’s January Porker of the Month, the then newly-minted Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was presiding over the distribution of tens of billions of tax dollars for transportation projects in the stimulus package pass in February 2009.  As a congressman from Illinois between 1995 and 2009, Rep. LaHood was a notorious porker.  For his long-standing disregard for the taxpayers’ money and an abundance of concern over how he will administer the Department of Transportation, please consider Sec. Ray LaHood as Porker of the Year! 

Rep. Maxine Waters, June Porker of the Month
Named CAGW’s June Porker of the Month, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) had provoked a tussle with House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) over her intention to obtain an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center, a facility within the Los Angeles school system, reminding taxpayers that members of Congress still have not banned the practice naming projects after themselves.  To placate her need for recognition and the desire of some members of Congress to leave behind a living legacy, even one that is built with pork-barrel earmarks, please consider Rep. Maxine Waters as Porker of the Year!