Shut Up, Republicans (and Sen. Shelby)

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Why the GOP Should Shut UpSix out of the top 10 Senate earmark hogs are Republicans.By Timothy NoahPosted Thursday, March 12, 2009, at 5:49 PM ET

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants you to know that he voted against the $410 billion spending bill President Obama signed into law on March 11. His fellow Republicans "tried to cut the bill's cost. Our ideas would have saved billions of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, every one was turned aside." Well, not every one. According to this spreadsheet prepared by Taxpayers for Common Sense, the spending bill incorporates 53 ideas put forth by McConnell himself in the form of legislative earmarks. Far from lowering the spending bill's cost, they increased it by $76 million.

Compared with his fellow Republicans, McConnell is a relative piker. Here is a list of the Senate's 10 biggest earmark hogs, based on dollar amounts in the spending bill:
1. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.: $474 million2. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.: $391 million3. Mary Landrieu, D-La.: $332 million4. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa: $292 million5. David Vitter, R-La.: $249 million6. Christopher Bond, R-Mo.: $248 million7. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.: $235 million8. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii: $225 million9. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.: $219 million10. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa: $199 million