What better way to protect your newfound majority, than showering people will millions of dollars worth of earmarks?

Democratic freshmen in the House were among the biggest recipients of earmarked funds, often surpassing much more senior colleagues by millions of dollars.

I’m not going to claim Republicans have the crown in fiscal responsibility, but Democrats did take the “overwhelming majority” of the pork in 2007. The GOP has now made the issue a major topic in the election, which means it may actually help McCain is the nominee. While he’s not a perfect 10.0 conservative, McCain is known for fighting earmarks and pork.

Take Rep. Phil Hare (D), a freshman from western Illinois. He received $92.2 million worth of earmarks, almost the same amount as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), according to the TCS analysis. The group compiled a database of every earmark passed in 2007…

Freshman Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) helped secure $69.9 million worth of earmarks, surpassing senior members of the Appropriations Committee such as Reps. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and even House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.).

Ellison steered millions back to his district by working closely with colleagues. He shared all of his earmarks with other lawmakers, while senior appropriators such as Mollohan, DeLauro and Wolf secured millions under their name alone.

Here’s a quote to keep around, at a time when even Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has declared a moratorium on the practice:

“I’m not an opponent of earmarks,” said Ellison, at a time when a growing number of lawmakers in both parties have declared a moratorium on them.

While Ellison’s district is pretty safe in November, Dems want to make sure they hold on to their shaky districts. Even if they have to spend millions of American tax dollars to do so.

Democratic leaders, however, made sure that the most vulnerable freshmen also received tens of millions of dollars’ worth of projects.

Freshman Reps. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) and Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), two of the Republicans’ top political targets this year, were among the biggest beneficiaries. Lampson collected $15.2 million in earmarks by himself. Including projects he shared with colleagues, Lampson grabbed $42 million.
Boyda secured for herself an astonishing $20.7 million worth of projects. She shared another $17 million worth of projects with colleagues…

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor sought no earmarks in 2007, placing a voluntay moratorium on the practice.

Opponents of earmarking argue that the power to precisely target funds can lead to corruption as more and more lobbyists receive contracts to influence federal spending. These opponents also claim that such targeted funds are a haphazard way of spending money and reflect political power rather than the merit of the cause.

These arguments are beginning to gain more traction with Democrats. Democratic Sens. Russ Feingold (Wis.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) eschewed earmarked funds last year.

Yet, earmark totals remain atrociously high.