John McCain is so proud of the fact that he never asks for earmarks in Congressional bills. Well, isn't that nice. There's just one problem with that -- it says to me that he's not doing his job for the state of Arizona.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like pork. But not all earmarks are pork. Pork is a subset of earmarks. Without federal money there are a lot of things that states could not afford. What about roads, Senator McCain? What about education? Health care for people who don't have it? Airports? Flood control? Public transit?
I get why McCain doesn't like pork. We shouldn't spend taxpayer money on porky projects designed only to satisfy special interests in exchange for campaign contributions. But legitimate earmarks are another animal entirely, and most states would not be able to afford many of these projects without federal help.
Oh, and by the way, in the latest budget six out of the top ten earmark grabbers were Republicans. Unfortunately, leaving all that money in was the only way to get them to vote for the bill!
