It’s the Spending, Stupid (But No One Seems to Care)

For those who think curbing wasteful spending is a priority, the rumor mill is sending some bad signals right now.  First, on the campaign to put earmark-opponent extraordinaire Jeff Flake on the appropriations committee – Make It Flake! – the word is coming back that he’s a longshot at best. Here’s Ben Pershing in the Washington Post:

Flake’s bid has stirred up significant support on conservative blogs like Captain’s Quarters, Townhall.com and PoliPundit. There’s a Facebook page devoted to his candidacy, and this site hatched by the conservative group FreedomWorks specifically to promote his effort.

There’s just one problem: Flake’s chances are very, very slim, no matter how many bloggers he has in his corner.

There’s still the possibility that he might make it, of course, and we are certainly hopeful.

Meanwhile, it unfortunately looks fairly clear that the White House will not go ahead with that rumored executive order to do away with earmarks. From the New York Times:

President Bush is unlikely to defy Congress on spending billions of dollars earmarked for pet projects, but he will probably insist that lawmakers provide more justification for such earmarks in the future, administration officials said Monday.

If Bush does fail to issue the order, it would be just another in a long line of Republican failures on spending. As the Politico reported this morning, Republicans have actually tagged more earmarks than Democrats this year – a sad state of affairs. Right now, Bush’s spending legacy looks dismal. If he refuses to go ahead with the executive order, it’s almost certain to remain that way.