Wanting your pork and eating it, too

Thank you for your recent article about the earmarks and the political hypocrisy associated with it.

First and foremost, I would love to see the concept of earmarks totally eliminated from the governmental process. If an item cannot survive an up-or-down vote as part of a bill it shouldn't be in the bill.

Additionally, until we voters start holding politicians on both sides of the aisle accountable for these pork barrel projects, they are going to continue.

The absolute hypocrisy demonstrated by Reps. Bean, Roskam and Manzullo is beyond belief. Talk about a case of wanting your cake and eating it too! You're against the spending bill, but you sure as heck are going to put your pet project into the bill. Let me guess your motivation? Bring home the bacon, but at the same time you can go back to the voters and tell them how you opposed the bill.

How about a new law in Congress? If you as an elected official insert $1 as an earmark into a bill, that means that you are automatically put down as voting for the bill. No more asking for your earmarks and then acting as if you're opposed to these types of things.

Walter E. O'Brien

Dundee Twp.