Anti-Waste Group Accused Of Massive Wasteful Ad Campaign

One of Washington's most forceful critics of government waste is being accused of, well, waste.

Former Congressman and experimental presidential candidate Bob Barr (I-Georgia) is out with a new column on Tuesday making the case that a new ad campaign being launched by the non-profit Citizens Against Government Waste is a frivolous (if not boneheaded) use of the group's time and cash. At issue is congressional funding for a second jet engine for a hotly-contested stealth fighter plane. As Barr writes:

"For an organization whose official statement of accomplishments as a non-profit is to "educate the public about waste and inefficiency in the government," Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is spending a lot of money fighting against the Congress funding a competing engine design for a major Defense Department program. In fact, CAGW is engaged in about as high-profile and expensive an ad campaign to kill a second jet engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) stealth fighter plane, as any defense spending battle in recent years."

"During a recent visit to Washington, DC, I saw firsthand the results of this expensive ad campaign. The Washington Metro subway system is festooned with anti-second-engine posters; and there are the billboards. None of this comes cheap, including for a non-profit whose entire "program services" budget in 2007 (the most recent year for which IRS Form 990s are available for CAGW) was just over $3.0 million."

Barr goes on to make the point that CAGW's stance is not only wasteful it might be bad policy. "[T]he benefits of a competing engine for this multi-role, multi-national fighter were recognized as early as 1997, when DOD requested money to begin a "competitive engine program" for the fighter," he writes. "The two engines would be "interchangeable."

But Barr also hints at the possibility of serious conflicts of interests, wondering, without placing a call to ask, whether CAGW is being funded by Pratt and Whitney, a leading manufacturer of aircraft engines who would stand to be hurt by additional engine competition.

A spokesman for CAGW did not immediately return a request for comment. But rare is the day that the watchdog of waste is accused of budgetary malfeasance.

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Comments

[lovethisland]

10:27 AM on 10/21/2009

Barr is right on. CAGW has been way out of line on the alternate engine since day one with non-factua­l data, one sided view points and totally out in left field as to what competitio­n brings to this multi billion dollar program. CAGW should be disolved and anyone or any organizati­on who funds them is not only waisting their time but their money as well. CAGW's credibilit­y has been drasticall­y reduced by many in this country based on the informatio­n I'm receiving.

[IlooklikeGeorgeWyner]

06:46 AM on 10/21/2009

Cripes, is it Halloween already?

[gurukalehuru]

02:24 AM on 10/21/2009

It's Bob Barr. I do not feel required to take his opinions seriously.

[madisonhack]

07:46 AM on 10/21/2009

I used to be in that group that didn't give him any merit at all. But he showed real independen­t thought on the Patriot Act and illegal wiretappin­g outside of FISA. When Russ Feingold and Bob Barr agree on something, I take notice.

[sueno]

10:44 AM on 10/21/2009

Hear! hear!

[LeeCalif]

12:35 AM on 10/21/2009

And what about Bob Barr.

Does he have other motives ?

[jsgaetano]

10:33 AM on 10/21/2009

He's a conservati­ve, so he obviously hates America.

[themuse]

10:39 AM on 10/21/2009

Why does it matter? A good point is a good point.

[rf dude]

10:29 PM on 10/20/2009

More like " ... experiment­al human Bob " Kick-yo-Bu­tt " Barr (I-GA)..."

[imsosure]

10:05 PM on 10/20/2009

The real smart people at their best, again. Let's check in with Fox news for the real story.

[TJCole]

10:04 PM on 10/20/2009

File this with the Department of Redundancy Department­...!

[weatherwaxx]

09:57 PM on 10/20/2009

WIKIPEDIA:

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is 501(c)(3) non-profit organizati­on in the United States. It functions as a think-tank­, 'governmen­t watchdog', and advocacy group for fiscally conservati­ve causes. The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of CAGW, organized as a section 501(c)(4) organizati­on, and therefore permitted to engage in direct lobbying activities­. CAGW has been criticized for its links to the tobacco industry and to lobbyists including Jack Abramoff. According to their web site, "CAGW is a private, non-partis­an, non-profit organizati­on representi­ng more than one million members and supporters nationwide­. CAGW's mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagem­ent, and inefficien­cy in the federal government­."


So... Barr's criticizin­g something tied to Jack Abramoff?

Fine. Go at it. Beat each other to a pulp... no loss either way.

[madisonhack]

07:48 AM on 10/21/2009

Check out Barr's affiliatio­ns surroundin­g the Patriot Act and FISA. He's an interestin­g mix. I might go so far as to say that he is just a conservati­ve and not especially partisan - at least in terms of the Constituti­on.

[jsgaetano]

10:28 AM on 10/21/2009

"fiscally conservati­ve"... so in other words, epic levels of waste are perfectly normal for them.

[brady61995]

09:46 PM on 10/20/2009

bob the bloggers have put out your fire, you need to leave the island.

[HisPetGoat]

09:24 PM on 10/20/2009

Bob Barr is a waste of protoplasm­.

[weatherwaxx]

09:58 PM on 10/20/2009

CAGW isn't an anti-waste group. It's a right-wing­y-thingy masqueradi­ng as an anti-waste group.

[imsosure]

10:07 PM on 10/20/2009

That's not what Rush says.

[PublicAdvocate]

08:18 PM on 10/20/2009

The problem with the Libertaria­n Party is that its quaint ideology is based on a 18th c. understand­ing of the world and economics, is yet to come to terms with modernity but still clings to the assumption that "everythin­g will be OK if you just let everyone do what they want and nothing is regulated"­. I used to think the world was that way.....wh­en I was 5 years old.

Here are some highlights from the Party of Simple Simon's:
*Let those factories belch out toxic smoke without regulation
*Deregulat­e Vulture Capitalism to create freedom and opportunit­y
*Abolish the minimum wage to create a "fair marketplac­e"
*Allow anyone to drink and drive w/o speed limits, safety belts, or driver's licences (governmen­t interferen­ce)
*Open up gun rights so even an 11 year old can buy an uzi
*Abolish welfare systems such as Social Security, and Medicare which '"Create poverty".

Wishing for a world in which everyone is good and kind and benign is a nice dream, but regulation­s and safeguards came into law precisely because the Libertaria­n view was inadequate and naive.

Libertaria­ns fail to understand there is evil in the world and are even less qualified to manage any modern government­.

[DemocraticVoter]

08:51 PM on 10/20/2009

Well said.

[petef59]

11:43 PM on 10/20/2009

It is hip & trendy to align with Libertaria­ns, after getting a degree from a publicly-s­ubsidized university­, or a private colleges, along with more subsidized grants/loa­ns.

[sonoffestus]

07:52 PM on 10/20/2009

Bob Barr , wasn't he a game show host?

[Denemator]

08:02 PM on 10/20/2009

barker lol

[cuzkate]

08:08 AM on 10/21/2009

These throw back has beens never ever truly go away.

[whiteboyblues]

07:20 PM on 10/20/2009

Bob who?

[Ricardo01]

07:02 PM on 10/20/2009

How much did Barr waste on the Clinton impeachmen­t?

[biglimes]

08:15 PM on 10/20/2009

About 70 to 80 million.

[iplaw]

06:32 PM on 10/20/2009

How a "Libertari­an" can justify building a multi-bill­ion dollar stealth fighter to kill an enemy using only 19th century technology is beyond my imaginatio­n.

[Denemator]

07:43 PM on 10/20/2009

Just because we are fighting al quada, and the taliban at present, doesn't mean we wont be needing 21st century weaponry for another conflict that can be just around the corner, don't get me wrong, I am against war and what the previous admin has done is criminal, however there are definitely others than the taliban and obl out there that mean us harm. Second back up engine programs as is common in the commercial aircraft programs are good for competitio­n, monopolies tend to be costly.

What really does need scrutiny is the cost overruns by such programs, that end up costing the tax payer big money.

[Tommygun264]

08:47 PM on 10/20/2009

The military hardware that was and still is being turned out was designed with Russia in mind. We have 174 F22 Raptors - a jet fighter that has never been used in a single military conflict and requires 30 hours of ground maintenanc­e for every 1 hour of flight time - with another 13 on order. Just because we can make something doesn't mean we should.

[PublicAdvocate]

08:47 PM on 10/20/2009

The Libertaria­n's use of computors, microphone­s, telephones­, modern weapons...­all the fruits of Liberalism­, Science and technology is as legitimate as 7th c. Taliban fighters using 21st c. weapons. Both groups of people are living hypocrites who hate modernity.­..yet love all the toys and money.

Libertaria­ns must live by the rules and technology of the 18th c. if they are to be taken seriously. And seriously, the world has moved on since then.