ACU Hails Defeat of Taxpayer Funding for Hippie Museum

Washington, DC—American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene says the successful effort by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to eliminate one million dollars of taxpayer funds for an arts center dedicated to the Woodstock Festival of 1969 is a victory over liberal hypocrisy.

“The fact that this was part of a bill to fund children’s health and education programs puts the lie to liberals in Congress who have fought every attempt to restrain the massive increases in government spending we’ve seen in recent years,” Keene said. “Senator Coburn has set an example for others in the Congress to follow in not being intimidated by liberal attacks on the integrity of fiscal conservatives.”

The earmark in the Senate appropriation bill funding labor, health and education programs was sponsored by the two senators from New York, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer.

Keene went on to say that Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, was so embarrassed by the debate that she did not take the Senate floor to defend it.  Keene said it was also disturbing that the benefactor of the earmark, the Gerry Foundation, is run by a multimillionaire, Alan Gerry, whose foundation has assets of $150 million and who has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party over the last decade, including $9200 to Clinton’s presidential campaign.

“It is an outrage that taxpayer money should be diverted to a wealthy private foundation,” Keene said.  “The next time you hear a liberal cry crocodile tears over cuts to government programs for kids, remember they’re really talking about people like Alan Gerry and his liberal friends.”