Make It Flake!

MakeItFlake.com is making it big.  We’ve had a great amount of success getting the word out that Jeff Flake is the man for the open seat on the Appropriations Committee, and just recently, the White House released this:

Boehner Says House GOP Must Draw Line On Earmarks Or Prepare For Permanent Minority.

House Minority Leader John Boehner used the first House GOP Conference meeting of 2008 to draw a very hard line on congressional earmarks. Boehner, who is one of the few Members of Congress who does not earmark, told his colleagues that if they cannot break out of that habit, they will not regain the majority. According to a knowledgeable source, Boehner told the Conference this morning, “Washington is broken. We need to show the American people we’re ready to fix it,” adding, “We aren’t going to earn the majority back until we do something serious about earmarks. If we don’t get serious about it, and get serious soon, we’re going nowhere.” The source said Boehner concluded by saying, “I have no interest in being minority leader just to be minority leader. I took this job to lead an effort to earn back our majority — this year. Not next year or the year after that. This year.”

This is encouraging news, and shows that the grassroots efforts pushing for fiscal responsibility are being noticed.  Meanwhile,  FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe has an op-ed in Townhall.com today arguing for Flake to be appointed to the committee:

The Appropriations Committee controls the spending levers for most of the federal government. And too often, both parties abuse that power to insert “earmarks” that divert your tax dollars to special interest projects. In recent years, these earmarks have included millions to build a rainforest in Iowa and the famous “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska.

In 2006, the American people showed that, when given a choice between Democrats and Republicans who act like Democrats, they will pick the Democrats. The Republican Party needs to return to its fiscally responsible roots in order to regain public trust on this key issue. Sometimes, you need to shake up business-as-usual in order to make real change.

That’s where Congressman Jeff Flake comes into the picture. Rep. Flake, a Republican from Arizona, is a close ally of fiscal conservatives who has made a name for himself on Capitol Hill for his stalwart stand against the practice of earmarking. He consistently puts the spotlight on pork spending in his weekly “Egregious Earmark” press releases and in frequent speeches on the House floor. Last year, he offered dozens of floor amendments to strike funding for some of the most abusive earmarks.

Jeff Flake is serious about reining in spending and has done a heroic job fighting waste. But he can do even more by attacking the issue at its choke-point from inside the Appropriations Committee.

Read the whole thing here.