There has been much said about the anti-incumbent wave sweeping the country, but there may be something more interesting — and unusual — going on: an anti-appropriator wave.
From the dawn of recorded time, or at least since the late Sen. Robert Byrd steered money to his first West Virginia highway project, getting a seat on the House or Senate Appropriations Committees was a virtually assured ticket to reelection. You get on the committee, you steer millions, or, more likely, billions, of taxpayer dollars to projects back home and you get reelected.
But take a look at some of the most high-profile members of Congress who have already been kicked out by voters in primaries this year: Sen. Robert Bennett R-Utah, ; Sen. Arlen Specter D-Pa.; Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.V.; and Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich.
Full story: Government Spending Blues: Appropriations Committee Members Fall in 2010 Primary Reelection Bids – ABC News