The case against earmarks

Unofficial seal of the United States CongressImage via Wikipedia
Opinion Journal:

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Now the GOP is returning to power in the House after Democrats have taken deficits to new heights and Republicans campaigned on spending restraint. It's true that earmarks make up only 2% to 3% of all federal spending, but that spending is what greases the political skids for passing trillion-dollar-plus budget bills. Members get what they want in return for voting "aye" on what the Administration and Congressional leaders want. That 2% or so is far more than the Members spend on spending oversight, which ought to be a major undertaking by the Republican House. Voters should be told when their money is misspent.

The political symbolism is also crucial to GOP credibility as it seeks to cut spending elsewhere. Republicans can't possibly succeed in freezing pay for government workers or cutting programs, if at the same time the media are exposing new Bridges to Nowhere. After tolerating Democratic earmarks for two years, President Obama is also now pushing an earmark ban, and Republicans will give him a major talking point if they maintain earmarks as usual. If this means Senators have to give up some of their own spending priorities, then they have only themselves to blame for making earmarks so notorious.

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We will find out how serious Republicans are pretty quickly as this issue comes to a vote. The Corn Husker kickback has become a symbol of what is wrong with the process and how they are used to buy votes for expensive programs like Obamacare.
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