Despite a likely conservative challenge in next year's Republican primary, moderate Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) won't be running from his record of bringing home the bacon.I do not have an issue with local representatives fight for funds for their constituents, but I do believe there should be more oversight on how those monies are distributed.
A day after President Obama signed into law the $410 billion catchall spending bill for most federal agencies, Specter and Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) issued five news releases noting every earmarked expenditure they had secured in the legislation.
The 16-page list tallies up $161 million in projects secured by the senators, most of it coming through Specter's seniority on the Appropriations Committee. "This funding will have a tremendous impact on local communities," Specter said in one release.
Specter, 79, has essentially doubled down on a political bet that all politics is local -- and the corollary theory that all earmarks are pork except when delivered to your own towns, in which case they are a nice T-bone steak.
Bachmann and Kline are doing a great disservice to their districts by not fighting vigorously for the much needed projects and programs their people need. How a good opposition candidate can successfully point that out is the key to defeating them in an election.
Flash
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