Lies, Palin and Simple

I just received an email from Tea Party Patriots of which the following is a screenshot:
"Earmarking is one of the key causes of the massive federal deficit."

The rank manipulation in feeding plainly dishonest talking points to a following that has shown itself to be as credulous as any is what I want to highlight here.

The above claim lie is so blatant and brash that it's actually refreshing.  No nuance is required to show its fallacy.  It's just a lie, plain and simple.  Earmarks account for less than one percent of the deficit and, more importantly, though the term itself is nebulous, 'earmarks' are actually spending that has already been approved, and will therefore be spent whether directed by an earmark or not.

The earmark process is flawed, as the individual projects funded by earmarks are not appropriated according to merit-based review, but the TPP claim is just a lie, lie, lie.

For a quick explanation of the earmark process, go here.