Word from Capitol Hill this afternoon is that House Republican Leader John Boehner has informed candidates for the open Appropriations Committee seat that the Steering Committee will not fill the open seat until the entire GOP Conference can discuss the larger issue of earmarks at its upcoming retreat, which is scheduled for Jan. 24-26.

As you'll recall, Boehner yesterday told his GOP colleagues in a closed-door meeting that the party isn't "going to earn the majority back until we do something serious about earmarks.  If we don't get serious about it, and get serious soon, we're going nowhere.” 

Boehner and a growing number of House Republicans seem to understand that they're not going to regain the trust of their fiscally conservative base until they stop funneling millions of taxpayer dollars to their campaign contributors or to neighborhood beautification projects four blocks from where they own million-dollar homes.

Two ideas for how House Republicans can proceed after their retreat:

1. Put a true anti-pork reformer like Congressman Jeff Flake on the Appropriations Committee;

2. Announce that all House Republicans are going to quit all earmarks cold turkey, effective immediately.  It's ultimately the only way they'll ever take the issue off the table politically -- as long as some Republicans get earmarks, they're all going to suffer from their colleagues' negative headlines.