The DeMint Earmark Amendment – It Fails

Well, after many hours of waiting and some creative politicking by those on the left, the DeMint Earmark Amendment finally made its way to the floor.

In an early surprise, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain all made their way back to the floor to cast their votes.

The very fact that they came back for this vote should serve as a wakeup call to those who have remained on the fence regarding how they should have voted on this amendment.

Addressing some procedural issues, the Senate had to vote to temporarily waive a portion of the Budget Act. This waiver was needed to prevent a point of order from being raised that would inevitably cause the bill to fail, as someone could/would site that it was in violation of the Budget Act of 1974.

Unfortunately, it was this maneuver that killed the amendment right away.

However, this fight is far from over. The fact that all three presidential candidates signed on to the DeMint Amendment confirms that this will be a major campaign issue.

With this amendment being killed with little debate, pledges like the “No Earmark Pledge” being circulated by FreedomWorks, could and should have a great deal of weight in the upcoming House, Senate, and Presidential campaigns.

While this might seem like a significant blow to the fight against things like “monuments to me” and the “bridge to nowhere,” I think that this fight is just starting to heat up.