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Earmarks are why we elect officials for the projects, improvements, contracts, etc. they can bring to us. Why else have them? The idea that they are in Washington to play footsie with lobbiests or vote for mostly irrelevant legislation that may not even affect the Average Joe is silly.
Agree, generally, that "earmark" has become a dirty word juiced up by our pathetic political class. What are now known disparagingly as earmarks were, once upon a time, referred to as legislation to fund any number of projects. What bothers me most (when I referenced the line item veto issue) is that we continue to veer evermore toward an Executive that desires to hold the reins of power in their entirety, up to an including specific legislation and funding, while continuing to marginalize the legislative branch.
