A proposal was offered to bring back earmarks — the pork-barrel spending added to bills that allows individual members a little goody here and there for their districts. Earmarks have been banned since Republicans retook the House majority in 2010. (Republicans had taken a major hit earlier in the decade because of the earmarking scandal of Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (Calif.).) The simple fact is that opposing earmarks makes for smart politics and dumb governance. “I have been a fan of earmarks since I got here the first day,” he told Politico in 2014.

Source: Washington Post November 20, 2016 17:11 UTC