Romney, now a critic of earmarks, once sought them

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-pn-now-a-critic-romney-once-sought-earmarks-20120217,0,1691287.story

By Colby Itkowitz
The Morning Call

9:36 a.m. CST, February 17, 2012

Mitt Romney’s biggest criticism of Rick Santorum is that the former Pennsylvania senator was a prolific earmarker who funneled federal dollars home to his state for pet projects.

There's one problem with Romney's critque. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney's administration lobbied Congress for federal funds.

In a 2003 article in Boston-based CommonWealth magazine, Romney’s chief of legislative and intergovernmental affairs, Cindy Gillespie, discussed the state’s Washington lobbying office and is quoted saying it "exists for one reason: to increase the amount of federal funding coming back to the state."

In the same piece, Gillespie says Romney’s team in Washington would seek aid from the federal highway bill and new homeland security funds.