And he says he can’t understand why limited government conservatives would voluntarily give up their power to secure extraconstitutional pork. Why? Um, because they’re limited government conservatives. They should be giving up government power on extraconstitutional spending, by definition.

And no, securing pork for pet projects via earmarks is not a constitutional duty. Appropriating funds to constitutional projects through an open, up-or-down-vote process fulfills constitutional duties when it comes to spending. There’s no requirement to place on paper a Post-It note saying you want $100 million to build a hippie museum.