I must say I've been surprised and pleased to see the tremendous response we've received thus far to the Porkbusters effort.

Some, however, are less optimistic. Andrew Sullivan, in skeptic mode, puts it this way:

"I'm as eager as the next guy to prevent pork-barrel spending, and I'd definitely support this effort. But the blogosphere campaign to battle pork in the face of Katrina, however admirable, still strikes me as too easy. The truth is: even if we got rid of all the pork, we'd still be in deep fiscal doo-doo...."

Pontifex Ex Machina is also a bit dubious, and describes our effort's results to date as follows:

"So far, they’ve identified $28 billion in pork-barrel spending. Start out with a $315 million dollar bridge in Alaska that nobody needs, add a $60 million dollar artificial rainforest in Iowa, and pretty soon you come up with… chump change, relatively speaking.

I exaggerate, but seriously, this is like trying to balance the monthly budget of a family of five by starting off with scrupulously itemizating every guilty purchase of a candy bar when you’re getting gas."

Both of these critiques --- and many others I haven't cited --- miss the point.

Yes, the amounts of pork we're identifying are chump change in comparison to the overall fiscal fiasco that we call the federal budget. But the exact dollar amounts saved by trimming specific pork projects aren't the point.

To me, the point is to take a step --- a small one, granted --- towards a culture of greater fiscal responsiblity in Washington. If we can hold our representatives on Capitol Hill accountable for the small bits of pork, then perhaps that example will also make them think twice about the larger boondoggles that plague our government.

Think of it as a "broken windows" policy for the national budget. Just as urban police departments crack down on decay and neglect as a way to discourage the larger problem of serious crimes, we're stamping down on pork in the hopes that by so doing, we shake some sense into Congress and get them to take their responsibilties to the budget more seriously.

It might not work. But then again, maybe it will. Let's give it a try with our best efforts, and find out...

I've teamed up with Glenn to help motivate the blogosphere to seek out pork spending & urge their Senators & Representatives to cut it to help fund the Katrina Recovery effort. Check out the new Porkbusters page, and Glenn's announcement post.