Finally, honesty in government from Rep. Gerry Connolly (D., Va.) in discussing the stimulus: “I want to be there with all four paws and snout in the trough.”

UPDATE: A reader objects, contending that because the previous sentence is, “when it comes to my district I want a big chunk of that money,” it changes the context. I’m not quite sure why hoglike behavior such as sticking a snout in a trough, is a good thing when it’s done in the name of constituents, but the objection is noted.

A second reader notes that pigs have hooves and wonders if there are some sort of mutant hogs in Connolly’s district.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Connolly’s office insists they were talking about Cantor’s snout.

I shudder at the fact that a blog based on the legacy of William F. Buckley Jr. resorted to the type of intellectual dishonesty and editorializing by omission evidenced by your National Review Online blog post of July 31, 2009 — “Yes, This Metaphor Will Dispel the Accusations of Wasteful Pork Spending.”
You used a portion of Rep. Connolly’s quote to blur the identity of whose snout was firmly shoved in the trough. In fact, the full quote and context of the statement show quite clearly that he was referring to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor’s snout.
Cantor pushed his Republican flock in the House to vote lockstep against the Stimulus bill and now the minority whip is writing letters and issuing press releases seeking tens of millions of dollars in stimulus funding for a project back in his congressional district. Cantor’s actions are even more hypocritical than your blog post.
My late father, a staunch Republican and admirer of the late Mr. Buckley, is surely rolling in his grave…
George Burke, Communications Director
Office of Congressman Gerald E. Connolly

I’ll let readers decide whether the pig metaphor for Eric Cantor is… well, you know… Kosher.