The mirror of earmarks: or, Republicans tell Kevin Diaz they hate themselves

Reading Brace yourself for another budget pinch: Proposed five-year federal spending freeze might cost Minnesota $5.5 billion, by Star Tribune Washington correspondent Kevin Diaz, I paused over this passage:

. . .Bachmann was forced to withdraw her plan to cap veterans' health spending after coming under fire from groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars. One of Bachmann's leading antagonists: U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a National Guard veteran who has accused her of trying to "balance the budget on the backs of veterans who have risked life and limb in service of our country."

Republicans hit back by noting that over his career Walz has racked up $132 million in earmarks -- projects that would benefit his southern Minnesota district. . .

The last sentence is particularly fascinating, for regardless of where I look online, I cannot find Republicans hitting "back by noting that over his career Walz has racked up $132 million in earmarks -- projects that would benefit his southern Minnesota district."

Lord knows I've tried. I've looked at the NRCC's website. I've looked at the Republican Party of Minnesota's website. I've searched Twitter. I've remembered that Google Is My Friend and used the search engine to comb through various categories: Everything, Web, News, Blogs, Video. I've accessed Nexis and searched All News, using any number of combinations of search terms ,and could not find any media reporting that Republicans responded with this charge to Walz's defense of veterans programs.

I have no idea who those Republicans are, and where they talked about those $132 millions in earmarks in the more than two weeks since the dust-up began about Bachmann's proposed cuts to veterans' health care funding. The Strib article seems to be the first place this retort appeared.

Perhaps Kevin Diaz can source his material a bit more--I hear the standards demanded of the typical unpaid blogger at Huffington post are pretty good.

One thing I did find in my search, however, was a list of $132 million of earmarks requested by Congressman Walz. It's not spouting from the mouths of Republicans irate over the retired Guardsman's defense of spending for the growing health care needs of America's expanding population of veterans. Nor was the figure whispered exclusively into the tender ears of Kevin Diaz.

Nope: it's the list of earmarks Walz requested from 2008-2010, nicely archived by Legistorm. Curious details there, beginning with this chart:

Fiscal Year(s) 2008-2010	Number	Cost
Solo Earmarks	11	$4,532,500
With Other Members	46	$74,093,525
All Congressional	57	$78,626,025
All Sponsored Earmarks	60*	$132,907,025*

Acting alone, Walz requested $4.5 million for 11 earmarks--and most of the solo asks do go for projects in Southern Minnesota: road construction, cancer research, flood mitigation, National Guard facilities.

The bulk of Walz's earmarks were requested with other members of Congress--and those projects typically include co-sponsors with an "R" beside their names. Legistorm makes it easy to look at just the earmarks Walz requested for others.

And who are his earmarking companions from the other side of the aisle for those $128 million in requests?

One major player is the man Bachmann once said should be a presidential contender in 2012: Iowa Representative Steve King. In 2010, King joined Walz in requesting $10 million for the Lewis & Clark Rural Water System; in 2009, the amount was $27 million, and in 2008, $25.6 million.Together, those earmarks account for $62.6 million of the $132 million of Walz earmarks.

Other Republicans in the Senate--Thune, Grassley, and Coleman--also requested the money, as did regional Democrats in both the House and Senate. It's a large public works project designed to bring potable drinking water to areas of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota where the naturally available water is poor quality.

The project is so important for the area that a newly-elected Republican state representative has sponsored a bill petitioning Congress and the President to fund it (but apparently not so important that Walz's biggest earmark can't be used against him when GOP operatives talk to Kevin Diaz).

Another water-related region project that touched on the other side of the district also enjoyed bipartisan sponsorship. Walz was joined by the likes of Coleman and Grassley, along with six Republican representatives, in requesting a total of $26.3 million for a Upper Mississippi River Restoration project for Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin for 2008 and 2009. That takes the total up to $88.9 million.

The rest of the projects are smaller but more local to the district and state; there are even one from 2008 that Bachmann requested along with Walz. As noted earlier, only $4.5 million was requested by Walz alone.

Some earmarks in the Legistorm database that are national in scope aren't included in individual members by the transparency organization. Take the $25 million to "Center for Civic Education for two programs - We the People and Cooperative Education Exchange - that are authorized in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as part of the Civic Education program." Norm Coleman and other Republicans signed on to that.

Yet another education item from 2009, also authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: $24.8 million for the Reading is Fundamental program. Joining Walz in that one? The winner of this past weekend's Presidential straw at CPAC: Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

In short, after looking over Walz's list--and his conservative counterparts who sponsored earmarks with him--I can only conclude that Diaz's Republican sources aren't telling him everything; I can only hope Diaz doesn't share the self-loathing of those who stuff themselves into the closet of such half-truths.

Earlier this year, the Columbia Journalism Review chastized another reporter at the paper for its coverage, first noted locally by City Pages in "Star Tribune Bachmann coverage slammed by watchdog." Like the other reporter, Diaz seems to have repeated a factual claim by his Republican sources--whomever they are--without bothering to check how closely those claims adhere to the truth.

When the claim is examined, the bulk of the earmark requests Diaz mentions are neither Walz's alone, nor do they benefit only Minnesota's First. Indeed, over half of the dollar amount was requested by members of the very party pointing its finger. Perhaps it's time for the news editors at the Strib to rethink objective journalism.

In the era of don't tell, don't ask for earmarks, Schomacker bill tells delegation to fund Lewis & Clark Rural Water project.