You would think that a party that makes such a big deal over them would at least have the good sense not to load up spending bills with them.

Frankly I think this is a case of them shooting themselves in the foot, earmarks are such a tiny part of the budget that its like arguing over a couple of spoonfuls of water while the boat is sinking. What we really need to do is turn off the giant fire hose (military spending, health care, medicaid).