Head-spinning Earmark Contradictions from South Carolina's Lindsey Graham

A lot of the GOP protests about excessive federal spending ring hollow these days.

Take the case of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. He voted against the omnibus budget package and promptly went on to criticize the earmarks in the bill.

But yesterday on Meet the Press, host David Gregory challenged Graham about his own $950,000 earmark for a convention center in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

As Think Progress noted, "Graham then pivoted from attacking earmarks to defending them." Graham continued, with this mind-bending logic:

“I voted to take all earmarks out, but I will come back in the new process and put that back in,” Graham insisted, saying that the convention center is important to stimulate the local economy. “I think I should have the ability as a United States senator to direct money back to my state as long as it’s transparent and it makes sense.”