Earmarks represent a looming political disaster for the GOP. Last year Congress authorized a record 13,999 earmarks. The scandals surrounding just a few of them involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham have sent reporters scurrying to find what other nuggets of news might be buried in the remainder. If just 1% of the earmarks turn out to be embarrassing, that's 140 stories. If a mere 0.1% turn out to be legally questionable, that's 14 front-page exposés between now and the November election. Because they are in charge of Congress, Republicans will take the brunt of any political fallout, even though Democrats routinely secure an estimated 45% of earmark spending.The most infamous slab of Alaska pork is the $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere," which will link Ketchikan with its airport on nearby Gravina Island (population 50). The bridge has been widely derided, and one wag noted that it "connected two polar bears with two elk."
Meanwhile, the Alaska delegation isn't getting any part of the message.
Sen. Ted Stevens, whom Fund notes "has spent 37 years in Congress raiding the federal Treasury on behalf of his state," is resisting all calls for cutting back on pork. As it is, Alaska is No.1, and last year its congressfolk sucked up an extraordinary $984.85 worth of pork for every resident.
The earkmark was removed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, although Alaska was allowed to keep its overall pot of pork. The state, of course, is going to build the bridge anyway.