PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: Senate Republicans show some progress on pork:

Staffers for the Senate Republican Conference today launched the Pork Report, which is being billed as a website that will “highlight questionable uses of taxpayer dollars included in this year’s appropriations bills.”

The fact that Sen. Jon Kyl☼ (R-Ariz.), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team, has dispatched his staff to work on such an endeavor is pretty remarkable. Last year attacks on pork-barrel spending originated from conservative members such Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint — and certainly not leadership. But as Republicans have sought to return to their roots on fiscal restraint, earmarks have become an easy target. . . . ow that the GOP leadership is picking on pork, it would be nice to see all Republicans take a tough stand against wasteful spending like the water projects bill President Bush vetoed last week. They’ll have their first test when a vote to override Bush’s veto comes before them later this week.

Yeah, keep an eye on that. And note that the Club for Growth has released its latest 2007 RePork Card. Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper got a 98% rating, which is excellent. Not everyone did that well:

Rep. David Obey (D-WI) did not vote for his own amendment to strike all earmarks in the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Rep. Obey scored an embarrassing 0% overall.

Ouch.