Cusack mentions that Senators Johnson (D-SD) and Thune (R-SD) faced off in a bitter election in '02, but recently held a joint press conference to sing praises of how much dough they secured for their state.
A local example from Cusack's piece:
Local pressure to bring home the bacon can be intense. The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote that the enacted highway bill is the “mother of all jobs bills” for states. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) agreed, claiming that the legislation would create “more than 20,000 much-needed jobs in Ohio.” DeWine is facing a difficult reelection race in November.This is why DeWine is touting all those grants on his website. It isn't his accomplishments as a legislator that he is highlighting, but rather how much pork he's managed to take from the trough.
This the sort of bipartisanship that America really doesn't need. The American taxpayer is being fleeced by bipartisanship of this flavor. If earmark reform destroys it, I won't shed a tear.