There was nothing newsworthy this week on the El Paso corruption case, so on to other things…

ON THE BORDER, THE DIRT NEVER ENDS: Coupon Craziness in El Paso. And there’s this charge of boyfriend bank fraud.

CONGRESSMAN REYES, AND POLLS:
Reyes, of the 16th District, has put 6 earmarks in the Defense bill. To his credit, they seem to be defense-related, not that anyone can easily find them. Earmarks are sleazy, nonetheless. There was this whole “reform” thing that Democrats like Reyes were touting last December. But there are more earmarks than ever, in terms of dollars set aside.

An earmark is a way for a Congressman or Senator to bring bacon back to his or her home District — or in an shell-game exchange with some other Congressman — by attaching it to something that sounds very important to most Americans: This time, the Defense budget. It’s disingenuous, though most politicians would take that as a compliment. Reyes’ blog, probably written by staffers in a twist on the concept of “blogging,” doesn’t name his earmarks. That’s another difficult problem — a challenge, in pol-speak — for which Reyes no doubt needs a way ahead. Here’s a way ahead: act like Murtha, a real sleaze, and say it up front. Go all NDIC on the 16th District, and commonfolk will bow and scrape and mumble heartfelt mumblings of thanks and praise.

Let there be no doubt that Reyes has ambitions for higher (Hill folk all dream of the Executive Branch), perhaps a Department post in 2008, or ambassador to Lower Buttswana. But he remains an amateur on the Hill, strategically out of place and from an out-of-place place. The Intelligence Committee posting was a bon-bon from Pelosi to show how she values people of all ethnicities. That assignment was a clever way to keep Reyes from dreaming of the real Hill work, like Appropriations. People from OPPs rarely sink to the lowest levels of either chamber — talent like Pelosi (dumb at heart), Kerry (snobbish and foolish) or Murtha (our favorite Little Red Book-toting ex-Marine) really does only come along once a decade. And the Young Turks like Ellison will make sure that they get theirs before some former agent gets his.

Nonetheless, the easily-satisifed folk of OPP — aka El Paso and environs — will remain easily-satisfied with the expansion of Bliss, some new roads, seeing their boy “Silver” get national press time, and will attach themselves to his success. They will not look too closely at Reyes’ relationship with vendors and contractors who are pushing their pork down the Congressman’s wide-open gullet.

A note about one outcome of earmarks: this latest polling. Honestly, 3 percent? What happens when it flatlines at zero? Do they all resign?