By Paige Winfield Cunningham

GOP hatred of the infamous earmark is intensifying, but not all Virginia Republicans share the same views.

Early this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave in to intensifying pressure from his House counterparts to vote for a ban on earmarks—money within appropriations bills aimed for specific programs, states or localities. Pushed by South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, the ban is heralded by Tea Party activists as a way to reduce waste in government.

Virginia’s own Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Richmond, has led the charge against earmarks for the past few years, swearing off them since 2006.

But retired 11^th Congressional District Rep. Tom Davis takes a different view of earmarks. The Republican says they allow legislators, who presumably know their districts well, to direct money in useful ways that would otherwise be controlled by the president and his cabinet.

“It’s a huge transfer of power from the legislative branch to the executive branch,” Davis said.

Davis points to earmark-funded projects like expanding I-66 and rebuilding the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that couldn’t have been done without the federal aid. The I-66 expansion was funded by a $30 million earmark obtained by Davis and Republican Rep. Frank Wolf.

Davis also cites the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as proof the money can be misspent without the use of earmarks. The stimulus bill didn’t technically include any earmarks—although it did send money to some specific areas and narrowly defined programs.

“If you like the stimulus package and the way that money was spent, than get rid of earmarks,” David said. “The answer in my mind is to make them transparent so whoever puts them in is answerable to them.”

In general, Democrats tend to earmark more than Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website that tracks money in politics. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Alexandria, is by far Virginia’s heaviest earmarker, sending $107 million to special projects last year and ranking fourth in the Congress for the most earmarked dollars.

But that party generalization doesn’t play out perfectly among the rest of Virginia’s congressional delegation. Republicans Randy Forbes—known as one of the state’s most fiscally conservative congressmen—and Rob Wittman earmarked more money last year than Democrats Glenn Nye, Rick Boucher and Tom Perriello.

Nye was defeated in his re-election bid by Scott Rigell, who denounced earmarks during his campaign. Rigell wants to halt all earmarks except those specifically requested by the Departments of Defense or Homeland Security, according to his campaign platform.

The generalization doesn’t play out perfectly in the U.S. Senate either. Republican Thad Cochran of Mississippi won $100 million more in earmarks than any other senator, bringing back nearly $500 million to his district. Virginia Democrats Mark Warner and Jim Webb sit near the middle of the spectrum, landing $88 million and $86 million respectively for their districts.

Support for Jim DeMint’s earmarking ban continues to build, as his fellow South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham announced Tuesday he’d vote for the bill with reservations. But similarly reluctant Republicans have announced their support along with a reminder that earmarks don’t increase overall spending—they just designate spending in specific ways.

Tom Davis agrees with that reasoning.

“You gotta get stuff done, they don’t add a penny, I think the executive branch has too much power,” he said.

But to Jamie Radtke, president of the Richmond Tea Party, cutting out earmarks would have a powerful effect even though it wouldn’t help reduce the budget.

“Of course the tea party is going to want to see some fundamental savings,” Radtke said. “[But] I think it sends a message that D.C. is willing to do some self-examination about doing business in D.C.”

Total cost of earmarks obtained by Virginia congressmen in FY2010:

Jim Moran, D $107 million

Gerry Connolly, D $26.5 million

Bobby Scott, D $23.4 million

Rob Wittman, R $14.9 million

Randy Forbes, R $13.7 million

Glenn Nye, D $13.3 million

Rick Boucher, D $12.9 million

Tom Perriello, D $9.7 million

Frank Wolf, R $4.5 million

Bob Goodlatte, R $2.2 million

Eric Cantor, R $0