One of the more contentious moments of the CNN Republican debate in Arizona Thursday night has been over Congressional procedures over earmarks, the unpopular spending measures that identify individual priorities (others might call them “pet projects”). Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been attacking former Rick Santorum (R-PA) on his support of earmarks as a Senator, and defined his own position as essentially having a line item veto as President.
But that brought a reaction from Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with Santorum saying, “You don’t know what you’re taking about. What happened in the earmark process — what happens in the earmark process was that members of Congress would ask formally, publicly request these things, put them on paper, and have them allocated and have them voted on a committee, have them voted on on the floor of the Senate.”
Romney said his critcism was that earmarks get attached to other bills and not voted on their own.
“Hold on, I agree with you,” Santorum said. “I support the line-item veto. I voted for it so we could do just that. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court struck it down.”
