According to Bob Novak, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is preparing a series of amendments that would take the massive earmarks currently attached to the appropriations bill and redirect those funds towards infrastructure repair to our federal highway and bridge systems.

Tom Coburn, who in three years as a U.S. senator often has tried to force colleagues into politically difficult decisions, plans to offer this choice when the Senate reconvenes following the August break: Do you want Pork or Infrastructure? Sen. Coburn is drafting amendments to kill earmarks to the Transportation appropriations bill, with the funds transferred to repairing rotting structures. That asks senators whether, in the wake of the I-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota, they insist on keeping pork for their districts.

Everyone involved in the corrupt earmark process is going to freak out about this proposal, primarily because it makes sense. Earmarks were once few and far between, usually used for projects that a member of congress was unable to get into that year's appropriations bill. Now they are used to secretly attach spending items to benefit the sponsoring congressional member's home district - items often unrelated to the superior bill (i.e. earmarks unrelated to defense attached to the defense bill). It's now a way for politicians to use taxpayers' money to fund their re-election campaigns.

Redirecting all earmarks to infrastructure repair, even if only for a year, makes sense especially in light of the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota. But that will deprive politicians of funds that they consider to be "their own" to spend. For that reason, Coburn's amendments will probably be killed by the Republicans, long before they could used to put the spotlight on the Democrats and their failure to reform the earmark process. I fear it will be yet another lost opportunity for the GOP.

Barack Obama may be trailing behind Hillary Clinton in the polls significantly these days, but he can still grab headlines when he makes a few choice words. Case in point, in an attempt to show bipartisanship Obama has "reached out" to a few Republicans. From the AP:

"Among the Republicans he would seek help from are Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana, John Warner of Virginia and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Obama said.

"On foreign policy I've worked very closely with Dick Lugar," Obama said. "I consider him one of my best friends in the Senate. He's someone I would actively seek counsel and advice from when it came to foreign policy."

This is about as hollow as it can get. Basically, Obama is holding hands with Republicans who have become nervous about what the Iraq War may do for their re-election campaigns. If they keep getting notoriety from friends like Obama, a serious primary challenger will probably emerge on the GOP ticket in these states.

Jack Abramoff reportedly now has a desk to work from in the FBI -- a result of his willingness to spend up to four hours a day explaining the ins-and-outs of his dealings on Capitol Hill. The big question is, who should be most terrified by Abramoff's new found catbird seat with law enforcement?

• Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) -- The Montana lawmaker in the race of his life has now shelled out nearly $100,000 to high-priced defense attorney Ralph Caccia. That spending includes nearly $30,000 in September, reported on Burns' latest campaign report. Burns "went to bat" for Abramoff clients like the Marianas and the Saginaw Chippewas. Abramoff told "Vanity Fair" that Burns' staff hooked the lobbyist up with "every appropriation we wanted." Nice.
• Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) -- Doolittle did a lot for his lobbyist friends. He took $140,000 from Abramoff and his associates. His wife actually did work for Abramoff. Staffers used the revolving door to leave Doolittle's office and work for Abramoff. He signed letters helping Abramoff clients. To top it all off, Doolittle's wife has a consulting firm that takes a 15% cut of all donations to his campaigns -- not a bad way to augment a Congressman's salaries.

Before going any further, it's worth remembering that Republican Senator Tom Coburn predicted one senator and six representatives would follow Casino Jack to the slammer. That's not to say that Coburn was right, but with Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) on his way and Casino Jack talking to law enforcement, it's a sure bet a few people are sweating bullets.