Bennett defends ‘Mormon cricket’ earmark (Video)

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) defended his earmark for the elimination of the Mormon cricket, taking aim at Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) criticism of that earmark, as well as others.

“It is not saving a dime if you eliminate these earmarks,” Bennett said Tuesday morning during an appearance on Fox News. “Do not deceive your listeners and your viewers by assuming that eliminating a million dollars for this program is going to save a million dollars; it is not.”

The earmark had drawn scrutiny after a Republican colleague, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) mocked the earmark in his daily countdown on his Twitter page of the most pork-laden earmarks in the omnibus spending bill.

“$1 million for Mormon cricket control in Utah – is that the species of cricket or a game played by the Brits?” McCain tweeted.

“That may be because the Mormon cricket’s only infesting Idaho, Utah, and Nevada,” Bennett responded. “Maybe we should shoo a few of them across the border into Arizona.”

Watch a video of the exchange here: