Mac is back (on the Hill)

From NBC's Carrie Dann In his first Capitol Hill press conference since his defeat in the November election, John McCain was back to fighting his favorite fight -- the one against pork barrel spending. Now flanked by two Democrats -- including one of his particularly tough critics during the election -- McCain took on the "evil" of earmarks. "It's obvious at least some Members of Congress don't know how serious the economic situation is," McCain said of colleagues who use earmarking loopholes to fund frivolous pet projects in their home states. Along with Russ Feingold (D-WI), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Tom Coburn (R-OK ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), McCain hopes to severely limit the practice of adding to legislation "unauthorized" earmarks -- meaning appropriations that bypass the normal vetting and authorization process through Senate subcommittees. ...( read more ) (link)