Forget the Pork, Where's the Beef?

September 4 - In an op-ed in today's New York Daily News, Paul Weinstein and Marc Dukelman of the Democratic Leadership Council argue that Senator McCain has failed "to reclaim the mantle of fiscal responsibility." Although the Senator has spoken out strongly against earmarks and other pork barrel spending, they argue that Senator McCain's tax plan would considerably increase the deficit, and that he has failed to propose the specific spending cuts necessary to finance them. As they explain:

"No matter what new promises each candidate makes on the campaign trail, his greatest challenge will be digging out from under the mountain of debt Bush will leave behind... Yes, McCain still champions slicing and dicing pork barrel spending projects. That is one of his trademarks. But those cuts are not a metaphor for his broader fiscal plans; they're a distraction from them... If the Republican candidate is serious about not growing the largest deficits ever, cutting a few slices of pork won't be enough. Voters who supported him on account of his commitment to fiscal responsibility should be asking themselves a question many thought the Republican standard-bearer would have already answered: Where's the beef?"