Zombie Earmarks -- You Can't Kill Them

Oh, fer cryin’ out loud:

The defense bill that just passed the House of Representatives includes a back-door fund that lets individual members of Congress funnel millions of dollars into projects of their choosing.

This is happening despite a congressional ban on earmarks — special, discretionary spending that has funded Congress’ pet projects back home in years past, but now has fallen out of favor among budget-conscious deficit hawks.

Every time I think that maybe John Boehner gets it, I see a story like this one and lose all hope. He either needs to shape up (if this slush fund is his doing) or crack the whip on the culpable squishes (if it isn’t his doing).