earmarks

Politico’s John Bresnahan has a great piece of reporting today about the hypocrisy of Republican leaders calling for the end of earmarks, not to mention the naked conflicts of interest created by the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street.
The highlights: It appears that (1) a particularly vocal Republican critic of earmarks (Texas Rep. [...]

The rise of left-leaning news sites has inspired conservative-backed online investigative reporting.

Sen. David Vitter, (R-LA), is doing everything he can to keep his earmark-loving reputation alive by seeking roughly $1.1 billion earmarks in the federal 2010 budget. This, despite the fact that Vitter’s Website says his “top budget priority is to establish greater fiscal discipline.”

Fresh off last week’s news that companies run by the nephew of Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), the prominent House defense appropriator, have received millions of dollars in no-bid defense contracts, The Washington Post follow with the revelation that, contrary to prior claims, nephew Robert Murtha milked the position of his powerful uncle for every [...]

Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) tweets about earmarks have won the hearts of Americans from Maureen Dowd to … well, to Maureen Dowd. But this latest tweet about “wasteful spending” is a head-scratcher.
$1 million for Shipment and storage of oil shale core samples
Oil shale research is wasteful? I don’t know many Republicans who agree with this. [...]

You can’t be a conservative today unless you’re taking the hammer and tongs to Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.). The Fox News All-Stars (I always expect them to turn around and start hawking sneakers) pummelled Jindal over his sing-song, carping response speech as can be seen here:

Congressional Democrats are learning the tough way that transparency in the legislative process has its pitfalls.
CQ is reporting today that 104 House members — nearly a quarter of the lower chamber — secured earmarks in a 2008 defense spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm with strong ties to powerhouse appropriator Rep. John [...]

Forget partisan camaraderie.
In the wake of Sen. Ted Stevens’ conviction yesterday on charges of failing to report corporate gifts, Sen. John McCain, the GOP presidential hopeful, has a terse message for his colleague of 22 years: See ya!

According to McClatchy, six years after the Keating Five scandal, Sen. John McCain pressured U.S. Forest Service employees to approve a potentially lucrative land swap that would have benefited some big donors — including a former associate of Charles Keating Jr.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was convicted Monday of all seven counts related to lying on his federal disclosure forms. The verdict threatens to topple the storied and controversial career of the longest serving Republican in Senate history.
Stevens issued a statement after the verdict vowing to continue his reelection bid. “I am innocent,” Stevens said. “This [...]