Sen. Stevens' secret hold

Ted Stevens is the senator with the secret hold on the bill that would force the government to publish, online, how it spends its money. (A fantastic idea just about universally embrace by all sides of the political spectrum.)

Stevens hilariously claims he's worried about the cost of the project when he is, in fact, the King of Pork.

Saunders added that Stevens' hold was not "secret," and that he would back the bill if the analysis shows that "it achieves its goal and it achieves its goal well."

But Sen. Coburn's spokesman John Hart questioned Stevens' motive. "The only reason to oppose this bill is if he has something to hide," Hart said.

Hart said that Stevens, who's on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, failed to attend any hearings on the bill, an assertion backed up by vote tallies. "If he had concerns, he should have addressed them in regular order rather than blocking something that will benefit millions of taxpayers," Hart said. He added that after Stevens' office raised the concerns, Coburn's office requested a meeting, but never got one.

The Congressional Budget Office has calculated that Coburn's proposal would cost "$4 million in 2007 and about $15 million [total] over the 2007-2011 period." By comparison, Stevens -- who's been called the "King of Pork" by one government watchdog -- was recently publicly lambasted for his appropriation of more than $200 million for the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," which would link Ketchikan, Alaska (population 8,900) with its airport on Gravina Island (population 50).

Stevens keeps threatening to retire. I wish he'd just go ahead and do so. I'm tired of "fiscal conservatives" like Stevens costing taxpayers billions while fighting efforts at greater accountability.

Now it's up to Bill Frist (who is no longer a doctor, by the way) to bring the bill up for a vote.