Voters see porkers as part of the problem

Washington Times:

Is America losing its taste for bacon?

When it comes to the congressional variety, members of the powerful appropriations committees are finding that holding the nation's purse strings — and the power the positions afford in doling out pork-barrel projects back home — are no guarantee these days for re-election.

Six of the 13 members of the Senate Appropriations Committee up for re-election this year have announced they'll retire or have lost a primary challenge. A seventh, Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, is trailing challenger Rep. Joe Sestak in the polls heading to Tuesday's primary. The committee has 30 total members.

In the House, powerful Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey, Wisconsin Democrat, announced this month that he won't seek a 22nd term in office.

Even Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, an appropriations committee veteran who hails from one of the most pork-barrel-friendly states — West Virginia — couldn't keep his job, losing last week in his state's Democratic primary.

A public backlash against pet projects, often called earmarks, wasn't the sole reason that forced these lawmakers from office. But unlike past election seasons, sitting on an appropriations committee isn't enough to save a lawmaker's political skin.

"Being on the appropriations committees isn't the advantage it was in past election cycles, in part because there's an anti-incumbent attitude," said David Wasserman, who covers House races for the Cook Political Report. "But it's probably never the single reason an incumbent falls short."

The anti-earmark wave seems to have has caught many lawmakers off guard on Capitol Hill, where membership to the House and Senate "approps" committees is still considered a desirable and powerful privilege.

...

This attitude is probably a surprise for most of the porkers, who think people will be thanking them for increasing the debt by doing another project. Pork Busters are now approaching a majority and members of both parties should be advised.