Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, has a recipe for kosher political pork, one that passes the public sniff test.

Chaffetz entered office with a hard and fast rule: No budget earmarks, aka pork, period. And he was elected on a platform that included that promise. But his campaign pledge turned out to be as counterproductive as it was premature.

The freshman congressman came under fire from mayors in his district when he refused to indulge their reasonable funding requests. Local officials felt they were being shortchanged, that their fair share of federal tax dollars was allowed to slip away because of Chaffetz's obstinateness. And they were right.

To appease local officials, Chaffetz changed course last week, establishing his own rules for pork barrel projects. He will now entertain requests from public, not private, entities if the project has a federal nexus, if matching-fund requirements are met, if the request is timely, if ... (For more details, go to media center and click on press releases at chaffetz.house.gov). It's an acknowledgment that not all pork is bad.

Lawmakers who are into pork argue that the money has already been appropriated, and that they, not government bureaucrats, best know how it should be spent. There's a measure of truth in that argument, but ...

There's no doubt that pork hardens the nation's fiscal arteries. Tens of billions of dollars of earmarks are attached to congressional spending bills each

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year. Too many lawmakers treat federal appropriation bills like pinatas -- break it, and grab as much as you can for the campaign contributors and the folks back home.

Some of the outlays are frivolous. A few amount to quid pro quo for contributors. Many would not be funded if subjected to public scrutiny or rigorous government review.

That's why Chaffetz's new stance is refreshing. If every member of Congress would abide by that pledge, there would be no need for budget earmark reforms.

Congress needs to subject earmark requests to extensive committee and agency reviews, award contracts to the private sector through a competitive bidding process, improve transparency by detailing all requests on a single searchable database, and perform other alterations.

But, until his rules apply to all, Chaffetz should get off his high horse, throw out his self-imposed rule book and play the game. A principled stand is commendable, as long as it doesn't stand in the way of your constituents receiving a fair return on their tax dollars.