2012 Porker of the Year - Sen. Debbie Stabenow

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Porker of The Year 2012

Thomas A. Schatz, Citizen's Against Government Waste: The results are in! Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is the “winner” of CAGW’s online poll for 2012 Porker of the Year. In a very tight race, Sen. Stabenow finished first in a field of six nominees, garnering 22.2 percent of the vote, just enough to edge out runner-up, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D), who received 21.6 percent.

Sen. Stabenow claimed intial recognition as the March 2012 Porker of the Month, earned this dubious award for submitting an amendment that would have extended federal green energy subsidies, many of which were expanded or begun as “temporary” programs under the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or economic “stimulus” bill. Her ultimately unsuccessful amendment flew in the face of ample evidence that the federal government’s green energy investments have wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars as heavily subsidized firms, including Solyndra, Ener1, Beacon, Tesla, Amonix, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, and SunPower, among others, have laid off workers, filed for bankruptcy, and defaulted on their taxpayer-backed loans.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn avoided victory by less than a full percentage point, and it’s easy to see why. Gov. Quinn received his nomination for suggesting the possibility of a federal bailout for his state’s public-sector pension programs, which are among the most underfunded in America. Intentionally or not, Governor Quinn sent an encouraging message to officials from other states burdened with pension liabilities to start sprinting for the federal trough.

Also narrowly escaping the dishonor of Porker of the Year was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), who attracted 20.6 percent of the vote for proposing a ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces at restaurants, food carts, and movie theaters. Validating his nomination and delivering a blow to Mayor Bloomberg’s nanny-state fervor, the New York State Supreme Court struck down the ban just yesterday, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”
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Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Year is a dubious honor given to a lawmaker, government official, or political candidate who has shown the most blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers throughout the year.

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