This DNC tool – which lists specific projected proposed for Federal funds in Virginia that McCain voted against – is being promoted as an attack vector on McCain, but I think it’s kind of lame for that use. Because really, most of these projects were almost certainly presented as parts of larger bills that had nothing to do with the listed project, and I’m not interested in perpetuating a fundamentally dishonest approach to attacking politicians for their votes.
But it is interesting to see what those oft-maligned earmarks are really for. In my view, they’re not the best way of doing business. But if you show people in a given district what their representatives are using them for? I bet you’d find overwhelming support for Federal funding of each specific project, even while a good portion of the same people are decrying earmarks. If you’re in Virginia, click around the map and check out the examples. North Carolina residents can click here (there doesn’t seem to be any indexed list of these efforts – but if you live in a swing state, there’s probably a map available. Just drop in your own state’s name in the URL to check.)