While members of Congress and their respective parties are notorious for one-upmanship, often in the worst forms, they are, for once, engaged in a contest to be productive.

As news of the Democrat's plan to elimate earmarks from for-profit organizations went forth, Republicans pushed for even greater restrictions: the elimination of all earmarks.

This is a wild change for both parties as they both are guilty of egregious abuses of a system originally designed to give Congress the ability to fund programs that the executive branch did not elect to.  It is equally surprising that Republicans chose this level of severity given the astronomical rise of earmarks while they were in control; perhaps a nod to the influence of the Tea Party especially with November elections around the corner.

Regardless of the intent, CapitolWatch endorses to race to eliminate wasteful earmarks and hopes that the House of Representatives can continue to focus their energies on actually acheiving goals rather than political grandstanding.