Three unexpected stories have appeared in the news recently concerning the earmark ban approved by Congress in 2010 following a long campaign led by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. In the first, under a headline proclaiming that “pork is back on the table in Mississippi,” National Journal’s Alex Roarty reported that “a pair of Republican candidates — Sen. Thad Cochran and former Democratic congressman-turned-GOP challenger Gene Taylor — are embracing the now-banned practice sometimes labeled pork-barrel spending, using it not only to bolster their own campaigns but to cudgel their foes.”

In the second, with a headline reporting that “Dick Durbin wants to bring back earmarks and he’s pushing Obama to support him,” Huffington Post’s Sam Stein attributed this observation about the good old days to the Illinois Democrat during a meeting with some of his union supporters: “It was a Tea Party reform. They came in and eliminated it and what they did is take the glue out of a federal transportation bill. That was the glue that held everybody together: Democrats and Republicans working for a common goal.”