More proof today that lawmakers are loath to tamper with the longstanding earmarking process that many of them utilize in Congress to bring home the bacon. By a vote of 43-53, the Senate defeated a measure that would have stripped federal funding from a barely-used airport named after Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.

The provision was introduced by Senate anti-earmark crusader Jim DeMint, R-S.C., whose office provided “fun facts” about the alleged uselessness of the airport.