Lying to your constituents will bite you in the ass....

[Lochloosa]

Earmark dispute splits GOP senators
Debate over pet projects divides Old Bulls, newer Tea Party-backed lawmakers

WASHINGTON — Even as they prepare to welcome 13 newly elected Republicans into their ranks, GOP senators have already fired the opening salvos in an intraparty ideological battle over federal spending — one that threatens to divide the upper chamber’s Old Bulls and newer Tea Party-aligned members.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a champion of conservative candidates like Florida’s Marco Rubio and Utah’s Mike Lee, announced Tuesday that he will push Senate Republicans to vote to make “earmarking” — the process by which lawmakers can set aside federal funds for pet projects in their home states — expressly against internal GOP rules.

Several of the GOP candidates who won Senate seats on Nov. 2 made earmark reform a central plank of their campaign pitches. Former presidential nominee Sen. John McCain was a high-profile champion of the idea during the 2008 presidential race, commonly accusing Congress of wasting money with the gusto of "a drunken sailor."

“This debate doesn't save any money, which is why it's kind of exasperating to some of us who really want to cut spending and get the federal government's discretionary accounts under control,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40128623/ns/politics-capitol_hill

[niceypoo]

1. This is their big deficit reduction plan..

...reduce earmarks by $19 billion over ten or twenty years..

[LiberalFighter]

2. Aren't earmarks ususally at the request of state and local communities?