Is America losing its taste for bacon?

When it comes to the congressional variety, members of the powerful appropriations committees are finding that holding the nation’s purse strings — and the power the positions afford in doling out pork-barrel projects back home — are no guarantee these days for re-election.

Six of the 13 members of the Senate Appropriations Committee up for re-election this year have announced they’ll retire or have lost a primary challenge. A seventh, Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, is trailing challenger Rep. Joe Sestak in the polls heading to Tuesday’s primary. The committee has 30 total members.