Will McConnell withdraw his earmarks?

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, would like Kentucky voters to believe that he hates earmarks. Last month, McConnell endorsed an earmark moratorium despite the fact that he’s been a prolific proponent of earmarks for years. Now, CNN is reporting that McConnell helped to put $86 million in earmarks in the 2011 Omnibus bill.

If McConnell is truly against earmarks as he would have Kentucky voters believe, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is challenging McConnell to withdraw all his earmarks from the budget bill. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah has already done just this, and asked Senate appropriators to strip his earmarks from the bill.

“Senator McConnell is trying to pull a fast one on Kentucky voters. If Senator McConnell is truly against earmarks as he would have Kentucky voters believe, he should follow the lead of his Republican colleague Senator Hatch and ask for his earmarks to be stripped from the budget bill,” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy.