Rae Oliver Davis: “I think it's somewhat ironic. Listening to the words of the gentlewoman from Florida reminds me of a comment that…”

“I think it's somewhat ironic. Listening to the words of the gentlewoman from Florida reminds me of a comment that Machiavelli made centuries ago. He said: ``For this is the tragedy of man-- circumstances change, but he does not.'' It's fascinating that the Democrats ran on a platform of wanting to bring about the most ethical Congress ever, but, frankly, I have to say it's a sham based upon this approach to earmark reform. This is not earmark reform. In fact, the reason we were here last night, contrary to the comments from the other speakers, was to protect the American people and to protect their right to accountability for every dollar that is spent in this Chamber. Let's look for a moment on the structure of accountability before talking about the validity of earmarks. Last night, when we asked about the ability to debate specific spending bills, we were told, oh, this is in the guise of transparency, but, of course, you won't be able to vote on the individual earmarks.”