Without Port of Savannah cash, bipartisanship turns to bi-paranoia | Political Insider blog

If the lack of federal funding for the Port of Savannah poses a political danger, the three Republican members of Congress in the race for U.S. Senate — Kingston, Paul Broun of Athens, and Phil Gingrey of Marietta – may be the most exposed.

The Great Georgia Peace initiative, which has kept Deal and Reed arm-in-arm, has been made necessary by the tea partyers who have gained so much influence within the Republican party.

In the old days, a Congress that didn’t agree with White House priorities simply loaded its own projects into the budget, in a bit of horse-trading.

But Republicans, particularly in the House, have placed such bargaining out of bounds – a self-imposed restriction on their own influence.

“Because, under the House rules, this is an earmark. And so for us to place something in the budget which is not in the budget already – it’s not allowed,” Kingston said in that radio interview.

Kingston and his colleagues will have to explain that, while the expansion of the Port of Savannah may be the most important economic development project in the state, it’s not crucial enough to break faith with the tea party.

via Without Port of Savannah cash, bipartisanship turns to bi-paranoia | Political Insider blog.