Among us political tech nerds (and I admit, we're a small group), a stir-up has been taking place around a new website launched by John Boehner, the Minority Leader in the House. The site, "earmarkreform.house.gov," violates a long-standing House rule prohibiting sloganeering in website addresses.

The <a href="http://www.theopenhouseproject.com/">Open House Project</a> e-mail list - occupied by a certain flavor of nerd but open to all - hosted a recent discussion on this topic.

A well-known Republican strategist said the site was no different than "globalwarming.house.gov". He's wrong there - Global Warming is an official committee, not a cause or a slogan. The changing climate is a Democratic priority, sure, but the site represents an official entity, not just a cause.

But the Global Warming example does bring up an interesting point - many slogans eventually become institutionalized. One good example is the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Back during the Gingrich revolution, Republicans turned the former Government Operations Committee into the Government Reform Committee - "Government Reform" being a loaded term for its time and one that still bristles many Democrats today.

Taking a broader look, the rule Boehner is complaining about is there for good reason. While earmark reform might seem innocuous, allowing URLs outside of official entities politicizes an official government resource that's meant for all citizens to use. While some politics is unavoidable on house.gov, House Rules are there to prevent it from becoming just another platform for politicians to campaign.

What we often forget is that, despite the overwhelming partisan rancor, our Congress is there to work for us. That's right, work, as in create laws that represent the will of the people. We should always resist attempts by Members of Congress to politicize official government resources that we paid for as taxpayers and exist for our benefit.

An individual Congressperson's website exists to keep us informed on his or her work, a Committee's website exists so that we know what goes on outside the House Floor, but "earmarkreforms.house.gov" doesn't keep anyone informed. It's political campaigning, pure and simple. Boehner's site doesn't even represent the majority of Republicans, only a handful of whom resisted adding earmarks to this year's pork-filled legislation.

John Boehner made a clumsy attempt to create a campaign site with taxpayer money. Not only should he lose the URL, but he should take down the site as well. Maybe that's the RNC's job, but I sure don't want to be paying for it.