I often criticize MSM for being shortsighted, liberal and partisan, and so it gives me great pleasure to tell you that the opinion page of the Sioux City Journal has published a courageous column.

Last September Congressman Steve King cast one of only 11 votes in both houses against the billions earmarked for Katrina relief and rebuilding. King justified his vote by saying the legislation lacked “fiscal responsibility” and that he couldn’t support “… blank check spending without accountability …”

The SC Journal responded with scathing criticism, saying “America needs to get money – both public and private – into the pipeline immediately, then trust that those charged with distributing the funds do so prudently.” The SC Journal actually trusted government to spend billions quickly, yet wisely.

It appears that the Sioux City Journal has not only learned its lesson, but is willing to eat crow:

Well, after reading an Associated Press story about a report that details how perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars in Katrina disaster aid have been misspent, it appears we were wrong and King was right about his vote on the $52 billion.

The report issued Monday by the Government Accountability Office and the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general paint an appalling picture of how huge amounts of federal aid was squandered through overcharges, poor accounting and abuses. Among the GAO findings: 900,000 of the 2.5 million applicants who received aid under an emergency cash assistance program based their requests on duplicate or invalid Social Security numbers or false addresses and names.

Hat Tip to the Club for Growth newsletter, which notes:

Kudos to King, who was elected with Club member support in 2002, for standing up for the taxpayers and to the Journal for recognizing his efforts.

It’s good to see a politician stick to his fiscal promises, especially when it’s a Club-endorsed politician. Which is why every time I get a request for funds from the Republican Party I write, “I give directly to Club for Growth endorsed candidates” across it and mail it back to them.

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