Senator McConnell Endorses Earmark Ban

This is something that Dr. Coburn has been pushing for sometime and looks like it could finally happen. Democrats will vote against it at their own peril for their seats up in 2012. With Senators Lincoln (D-AR) and Feingold (D-WI) losing this time, we would expect some Senators like Ben Nelson of NE or Bill Nelson of FL to think long and hard before voting against the ban on earmarks. Ben Nelson already got paid off for voting for Obamacare which made people in Nebraska furious. Doubt if he wants to do that again.

So much for all the consternation on websites and on the air over the weekend what McConnell was going to say today -- some people don't have a clue about Mitch McConnell or how he handles everything. He is a deliberative person who looks at all sides. They would rather jump the gun and attack him instead of waiting to see what he says.

McConnell Endorses Earmark Ban
2:18 PM, Nov 15, 2010 • By JOHN MCCORMACK

On the floor of the Senate moments ago, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell endorsed the proposed earmark moratorium that the GOP Senate caucus will vote on tomorrow:

Nearly every day that the Senate’s been in session for the past two years, I have come down to this spot and said that Democrats are ignoring the wishes of the American people. When it comes to earmarks, I won’t be guilty of the same thing.

Make no mistake. I know the good that has come from the projects I have helped support throughout my state. I don’t apologize for them. But there is simply no doubt that the abuse of this practice has caused Americans to view it as a symbol of the waste and the out-of-control spending that every Republican in Washington is determined to fight. And unless people like me show the American people that we’re willing to follow through on small or even symbolic things, we risk losing them on our broader efforts to cut spending and rein in government.

That’s why today I am announcing that I will join the Republican Leadership in the House in support of a moratorium on earmarks in the 112th Congress.

Earlier today, Senator Jim DeMint said he thinks earmark opponents had enough votes to pass a GOP conference-wide moratorium. Senator Tom Coburn (R, Okla.) also pledged to force an up or down vote on earmarks for the entire Senate when the food safety bill comes to the floor.

McConnell's full remarks are here: