The cruise-ship provision, however, is about more than pork-barrel politics.

But a bigger reason is that pork-barrel politics is deeply ingrained.

The project was widely criticized as a stark example of pork-barrel politics, and early in 1991 Congress voted to withdraw it.

What might be called pork-barrel politics also played a role.

There is virtually no justification for the subsidies apart from pork-barrel politics.

The 9/11 commission has also called for changing the formula so that it is based on threat and risk, not pork-barrel politics.

"This is pork-barrel politics at its worst," the letter said.

Italy is in the throes of an unlikely transformation from a land run by pork-barrel politics to a more accountable political system.

But the proposals are not just pork-barrel politics.

And with the spread of competitive elections has come the perceived need for pork-barrel politics.