Bamboozled by the changes happening in Iraq, Democrats, during their vacation, are reduced to proudly claiming credit for reforming the corrupt earmark process in Congress. In the fall of 2006, as Republicans attempted to institute their own set of earmark reforms prior to the elections, the Democrats blocked most of them. Now, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has managed to do a 180º on the earmark subject, now proudly stating Don't Get Rid of Earmarks in a New York Times Op-Ed. In it, he states that the Democrats pledged in 2006 to clean up the earmark process, and they have done so.

Not quite. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) reminds us that last fall it was Nancy Pelosi herself who promised that the Democrats would do everything in their power to reign in earmarks, and if it were up to her, she'd end them. At the very least, they'd be few and far between. Boehner admits that Republicans should have done more to reform earmarks while they were in power, but points out that some of the so-called "reforms" that Emanuel is so proud of has actually turned back some of the reforms that did get enacted by Republicans last year:

More troubling, however, is Rep. Emanuel's assertion that the earmark reforms implemented by the Democratic-controlled Congress have resulted in a system that is more open and transparent than the earmark-reform system implemented under GOP control. This is simply false. The rules and procedures adopted by the current majority leadership in the House prohibit members of Congress from forcing a debate and vote on individual earmarks contained in authorizing or tax bills that are brought to the House floor. This prohibition is a direct reversal of earmark reforms implemented by Republicans last year, which required that all earmarks in all types of bills be publicly disclosed and subject to floor challenge and debate. In fact, the Democratic prohibition originally applied to appropriations bills as well, but House Republicans in June successfully forced Democrats to restore the 2006 GOP reforms for such bills after Democrats were caught trying to use the appropriations process to create slush funds for secret earmarks.

Boehner then goes on to point out what happens to Republicans when they challenge Democrat earmarks, a process that should be allowed under the theory of Emanuel's "new earmark transparency".

When a Republican congressman attempted to challenge this earmark, he was not only denied the opportunity to force a vote on the House floor concerning the controversial expenditure, but threatened with the loss of his own earmark - a violation of the new rules Rep. Emanuel celebrates in his column.

The member whose earmark was challenged? Jack Murtha. The penalty for Murtha violating the Democrats' own rules? Nothing.

The Republicans deserved what they got when the voters revolted over, among other things, earmark abuse. The Democrats campaigned, and won, because they vowed to change the process and to limit earmarks. They have intentionally failed to do so. We will see if Republicans can get back to their roots and take advantage of this opening in time for 2008.