The one where $60 billion in waste and fraud is ok by Republicans

by: Adam L

Fri Sep 02, 2011 at 01:29:40 PM EDT

Last week, I wrote a post about how House Republicans like Scott Garrett and Eric Cantor were using this past week's disasters (earthquake, Hurricane Irene) and used them as a sick opportunity to take cheap shots at those who were the most in need and vulnerable.

Of course, I'm referring to the self righteous calls for more cuts to desperately needed programs to help those who aren't super rich in order to pay for cleanup of the massive and widespread damage.

Adam L :: The one where $60 billion in waste and fraud is ok by Republicans

Even more ironically, Garrett is (correctly but hypocritically) releasing press releases noting how he is seeking the very aid that he is looking to make his constituents foot the bill for with less services at higher cost.

In all of their phony tough talk about deficits and debt and waste and fraud, Garrett and his fellow Republicans have been eerily silent about the hot off the presses report that at least $60 billion of waste and fraud was lost in Iraq and Afghanistan due to lax oversight on contractors (mainly friends of the Bush and DeLay Republican Party of the 2000's) - and with more to come as the US withdraws more and more troops.

Recall - Scott Garrett was the one who voted against emergency funding and funding for pets stranded due to Hurricane Katrina because he said there "wasn't enough oversight". And yet, with all of this waste and fraud, millions going to the Taliban and other insurgents, there isn't a peep out of Garrett, Cantor or Republicans to investigate, to stop making payments, to prosecute those who defrauded We the People.

Garrett, Cantor and the Republican Party are in favor of funding terrorist groups with millions of US taxpayer dollars. Garrett, Cantor and the Republican Party are against helping struggling families in their districts and this country without exploiting a crisis to score cheap political points - all while calling to extract more from them at the worst possible time.