The Senate passed the $410 billion omnibus stimulus package tonight after a week of widespread grandstanding and feigned horror over $7.7 billion in earmarks — which is simply a means of allocating streams of existing funds — split between 95 Senators. And yet here’s John McCain, g...

Recently, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has tweeted a series of top 10 lists of “porkiest projects” in the omnibus spending bill, criticizing “beaver management” and even funding for school construction. Last month, one of his tweets was an earmark in the omnibus spending bill for ...

I got this off Senator John McCain’s Twitter (yes, he now tweets). Over the last few days, the Arizona lawmaker has been tweeting his version of “The Top Porkiest Projects� in the Omnibus spending bill. Here are science/genetics projects that Sen. McCain consider earmarks or pork-barrel: “$8...

Everyone has been harping incessantly about bipartisanship. But finally that glorious day, when the pols could pull in their claws, has arrived—if they're even half-way serious. It is also a wonderful opportunity for the president to keep one of his campaign promises that does not involve spending...

Maureen Dowd: If only Shakespeare had known how to Twitter. There was a bit of King Lear in the scene on the Senate floor, a stormy, solitary John McCain on “this great stage of fools,� as the Bard wrote, railing against both parties and the president in fiery speeches and rapid-fire tweets. “...

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As you know, it’s in response to the PMA meltdown/outrage (see here for some background posts): Rep. Flake targets earmarks amidst PMA controversy Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), the House’s most vocal critic of pork barrel spending, is trying to shake the ethics committee into action on the link...

Congressional Quarterly: More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations. “It shows you how good they were,� said Ke...

While Capitol Hill is working on a "compromise" I thought it fitting to take a look at how the usual suspects in the media are dealing with Republican leaders that dare speak out and identify elements of the stimulus package that have nothing to do with stimulating the economy. For this ta...

Senators have reached a tentative deal on a version of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, including about $805 billion in spending and tax cuts, that will win enough Republican votes to move forward. source. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has highlighted many provisions he considers to be ea...