February 15, 2008 04:54 PM UTC

Musgrave Not Ready for Prime Time

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports:

House Republican leaders chose Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama to fill a highly coveted spot on the Appropriations Committee, a post Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave wanted.

Musgrave congratulated Bonner on his appointment. Both Musgrave and Bonner are serving their third terms…

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio said the Republican Steering Committee chose Bonner because he supports his party’s efforts to get a moratorium on earmarks, or funding for special projects that lawmakers tack on to spending bills that benefit their districts.

Musgrave, who was on a short list of about seven lawmakers for the post, also has been a big supporter of earmark reform and cutting federal spending. Last summer, she took to the House floor to lobby her colleagues to trim a half-percent from some of the 2008 spending bills.

One big difference between Bonner and Musgrave: The Colorado representative has donated only $7,000 to Republican campaign coffers during the past three years while Bonner has donated $274,000. Two years ago, the party pumped $1.8 million into Musgrave’s re-election campaign. [Pols emphasis]

The “New Musgrave” may have substantially improved her re-election outlook with her revamped bipartisan engagement strategy, but if this passed-over bid for influence is any indicator, she’s still considered a liability by national GOP leaders. As we pointed out when Musgrave’s bid first came public, the Appropriations position is crucial to GOP fundraising efforts, where Musgrave consistently costs more than she offers.