Anti-Earmark Bachmann Open To Earmark 'Redefinition' For Her District

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Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) hates earmarks. Despises them. On her website, she calls the earmark system "little more than a political favor factory at taxpayer expense." But when it comes to her own district, she's in favor of a little earmark "redefinition." Because what is an earmark, after all?

"Advocating for transportation projects for one's district in my mind does not equate to an earmark," Bachmann told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune yesterday.

"I don't believe that building roads and bridges and interchanges should be considered an earmark," Bachmann continued. "There's a big difference between funding a tea pot museum and a bridge over a vital waterway."

Bachmann, the leader of the House Tea Party Caucus, has made earmark reform a big part of her crusade against wasteful government spending.

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The definition of an earmark is very simple - an earmark is something that doesn't benefit the

country as a whole.

Do roads and bridges and interchanges in one state benefit people in other states? Arguably yes,

if they use these roads for general travel.

Does a municipal building in Piedmont, Oklahoma benefit people in other states? Definitely not.

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"I don't believe that ... bridges ... should be considered an earmark," Bachmann continued.

So, the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" really wasn't an earmark item? Interesting.