I bet 95% of voters don't even know what "pork" is and the 10% that do don't even care about it enough to read up on who the culprits are (READ: both parties).
The election was lost for one simple reason: constant media harping on one of the most successful military operations in history, the invasion and occupation of 30 million by a force of 150,000 with less loss of life that in a battle for one island in four weeks in WWII.
How many times do you hear the media go on about pork? The elderly in this country (who comprise most of the vote) read the paper and watch tv and therefore heard one thing every day for two years: WE'RE DYING IN IRAQ!!!!
Don't forget the incessant drumbeat over Mark Foley's indiscretions.
In my congressional district, the Democrat candidate ran ads accusing the Republican incumbent of not doing enough to prosecute the War on Terror or fight corruption in Washington. Of course, the ads said nothing about what the Democrat would do; they were intended merely smear the Republican.
The frustrating thing is that the Republicans generally will not fight back. Had they gone on the offensive, they might have retained control of Congress. A few vigorous public investigations—Sandy Berger, William Jefferson, and Harry Reid come immediately to mind—and the Democrats would have dropped the corruption issue like a hot rock.
Everybody hates pork, except for the pork that goes to THEIR district.