TIM CHAPMAN reports on the House Majority Leader race:

Mike Pence (R-IN), the chairman of the RSC, said that two out of the three candidates had taken the time to fill out an extensive questionnaire issued by the RSC. The questionnaire, which was filled out by John Shadegg (R-AZ) and John Boehner (R-OH) but not by Roy Blunt (R-MO), asked a series of questions on issues of central importance to conservatives in the House of Representatives. . . .

The buzzword in Baltimore was reform. Pence says that the current political climate requires not just lobbying reforms but congressional reforms that are tied to a reform agenda. Topping the list of congressional reforms is the issue of earmarking -– the process by which lawmakers designate taxpayer dollars for specific projects (sometimes referred to as pork) in their districts. . . .

The rally cry for earmark reform has not gone unnoticed outside the ranks of the RSC. Both Boehner and Blunt (Shadegg is an RSC member) addressed earmark reform in their speeches to the group. Now, other members of the Republican caucus are beginning to talk about it as well.

The article portrays this as “conservatives” vs. “moderates,” with the “moderates” opposing earmark reform. But I’m not sure that’s the right formulation.