Here is what David McKinley, our local congressional representative, pledged back in 2010 when he first ran for Congress:

No More Earmarks

David refused to insert earmarks into legislation as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and he will carry this precedent into Washington by proposing legislation to ban any federal earmarks not related to national security.

(Note – this was pledge #2 right after he promised to co-sponsor term limit legislation. Despite a number of searches over the years, I have never seen any McKinley sponsored legislation to ban earmarks, or for that matter, impose term limits on representatives.)

From today’s Wheeling Intelligencer:

(If my math is accurate, that's almost 4 million dollars in local earmarks -- not too shabby for someone who is against earmarks and claims to be a fiscal conservative.)

What about the Intelligencer? The paper has consistently editorialized against earmarks. Here is one from April 2016:

Remember when Congress said it was eliminating earmark spending? Absurd wastes of taxpayer money through pork barrel projects were going to be a thing of the past. Not so fast. These were politicians making those promises.

Congress has made it easier to waste our money, not harder. Surprised?

I very much doubt that we will see an editorial about how McKinley is wasting taxpayer money. On the contrary, look for these earmarks (although they won’t be called such) to be part of an editorial praising McKinley for how well he serves this congressional district. Previous editorial positions be damned -- when you are an Ogden favorite, you can do no wrong.

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