Reply #20: Obama Challenges Clinton on Earmarks

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Obama Challenges Clinton on Earmarks

By Sarah Wheaton March 13, 2008

Senator Barack Obama announced today that, contrary to a position he has taken in the past, he is releasing all of his earmark requests, and he is challenging Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to do the same.

Both Democrats have said they support a one-year moratorium on the spending allocations, a temporary ban that has been championed by Senator John McCain, a long-time foe of earmarks and the presumptive Republican nominee. The amendment is up for debate in the Senate, though it is seen as unlikely to pass.

“Bringing real change requires changing the way we do business in Washington,” said Robert Gibbs, the Obama campaign’s communications director, in a release. “If Senator Clinton will not agree to join Senator Obama in releasing her earmark requests, voters should ask why she doesn’t believe they have the right to know she wants to spend their tax dollars.”

...The Clinton campaign did not respond to requests for comment and did not release its earmarks requests.

... more at the link