When lawmakers weren’t using a $388 billion spending package to gain access to tax returns, they were loading the bill with pet projects and pork-barrel spending for their districts. One project in particular stands out:
* $2 million for the government to buy back the presidential yacht USS Sequoia, sold in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter to demonstrate frugality.
In a time of massive deficits, spiraling debt, two expensive wars, and budget cuts for priorities like health care and education, Congress think it’s wise to spend $2 million for another presidential perk. Great.
I realize there’s a little more backstory here. The Sequoia was used by presidents from 1925 to 1977 and has some historical significance. Carter, however, saw little value in spending tax dollars on a presidential yacht, so he sold it. The privately-owned Sequoia is still in DC, available for charter to anyone who can afford the $10,000-per-cruise fee.
A private foundation, appropriately named the Sequoia Presidential Yacht Foundation, has been raising money privately to buy the boat back and make it available again to government leaders. Congress, true to form, decided to expedite the process a bit, spending $2 million — of our money — to purchase the boat instead of allowing the foundation to continue its fundraising efforts. I guess lawmakers saw some urgency in the matter?
Atrios sees a valuable opportunity.
“Families are taking donations to send body armor to their kids and Bush gets himself a presidential yacht? If [Dems] can’t figure out how to play this one…”
He couldn’t be more right about the politics.
I’ll never forget the stunning amounts of attention given to Bill Clinton when he got some expensive hair cut early in his first term. Republicans used this as a cudgel, making him out to be some kind of elitist who couldn’t possible relate to the concerns of the common American family.
Now, however, when the government is clearly facing a fiscal crisis, Republicans want to buy a presidential yacht? It’s the kind of thing voters inherently dislike, similar to congressional pay raises, only considerably worse.
That yacht could become a convenient symbol for everything wrong with the Republicans’ priorities. No to children’s health care, yes to a presidential yacht. No to Pell Grants, yes to a presidential yacht. No to increased port security, yes to a presidential yacht.
The Dems couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. It’s gift-wrapped, on a silver platter, with a pretty little bow on top. Time to get to work.