Slowing the 'pork' express

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision Thursday to temporarily shelve the bloated $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill may be a momentum changer in the great budget game now underway in Washington. The spenders are now on the defensive.

Only last Tuesday the Senate rejected Sen. John McCain's proposal to save $32 billion and wipe out $7.7 billion in earmarks by continuing regular appropriations at last year's level. The vote was 63-32, and a number of Republicans opposed Sen. McCain.

On Thursday Sen. Reid, D-Nev., put aside the bill when he found he did not have the necessary 60 votes to halt debate. At least nine more senators now demand more debate on the measure.

It seems the Senate is at last beginning to understand public dismay with undisciplined federal spending. It also appears that President Obama misjudged the situation when he indicated he would sign the earmark-ridden measure despite having campaigned in favor of a moratorium on earmarks. "Last year's business," the White House said.

That was too much for Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, who announced he would vote against the omnibus bill and its 8 percent increase in spending over last year on top of the recent $787 billion stimulus bill.

"The omnibus debate is not merely a battle over last year's unfinished business, but the first indication of how we will shape our fiscal future," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal article. "Families and businesses are tightening their belts to make ends meet — and Washington should too."

Sen. Bayh is among 14 Democratic senators who reportedly have become increasingly unhappy with the omnibus bill, and for good reason. It not only pours money into anti-recession spending this year and next, but in the longer run significantly raises taxes, borrowing and the nation's debt. In the House, a bloc of "Blue Dog" and moderate Democrats, also are concerned about runaway spending.

Sen. Reid expects to have enough votes to pass the bill after a few more days of debate. He is counting on the five Republican senators, led by Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who are among the top 10 sponsors of earmarks in the $410 billion measure.

But Sen. Reid has, at best, a shaky coalition. A few more days of public anger may well be enough to convince the Senate it would be wise to adopt Sen. McCain's approach.

That would be one good omen, at least, for the future of fiscal accountability in Washington.