Sen. Jim Bunning might be an imperfect messenger, but his brief, high-profile and controversial stand against unchecked federal spending this week made a good point. When will Congress get serious about curtailing spending?

The Republican from Kentucky made headlines and was blasted by liberal commentators, cable television's talking heads and editorial cartoonists for his temporary hold on a $10 billion spending bill. The former Major League pitcher, now in baseball's Hall of Fame, has been characterized as cruel and unreasonable for holding up congressional approval of $10 billion in new spending to fund another extension of jobless benefits as well as some highway projects. The hold caused about 2,000 federal workers to temporarily go on unpaid furlough.

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times noted that the $10 billion was not controversial and would extend funding for some federal programs for 30 days and also "delay a deep cut in reimbursement rates for doctors treating Medicare patients."

It's worth noting that the reimbursement issue ties Bunning's actions to current health care reform efforts, because the Medicare action included in the $10 billion bill amounts to the current Congress taking action to renege on a plan by a previous Congress to reduce health care spending through cuts in Medicare — something the current health care reform plan also promises. But that's a topic for another day.

Bunning's one-man hold, made possible by Senate rules, was not only characterized as uncaring, but as hypocritical because he has supported other spending in the past that contributed significantly to the national debt, such as the Bush tax cuts.

But Bunning, who is not running for re-election, is being viewed more sympathetically by those who wonder when Congress will ever bring its spending under control. With a college degree in economics, Bunning often has taken a position on government spending. His latest protest against spending more borrowed money was greeted with disapproval from both sides of the aisle.

This week's action attracted more attention than past protests over deficit spending, because Bunning was the only member of the Senate willing to question how Congress would pay for the $10 billion in additional spending. Bunning's idea was to pay for the measure by using unspent money from last year's $780 billion stimulus bill that was pushed quickly through Congress by Demo-crats. But Democrats in the Senate don't want to use unspent stimulus money to pay for this week's $10 billion bill — and no other Republicans stood up to support the plan.

Despite intense political pressure from both sides of the aisle to just go along and vote for the spending, Bunning was right to ask what Congress will ever pay for, rather than just adding debt, if not a relatively small, $10 billion spending plan that is supported by every member of the Senate. It's a question many taxpayers would like to have answered.

Bunning was called "cruel," "heartless" and "a bad joke" for his position. He was labeled a "cruel obstructionist" by Jon Stewart of Comedy Central.

But a fellow Republican Kentuckian says his actions were "the equivalent of hitting the mule between the eyes with a two-by-four to get its attention."

Bunning has few public defenders, but many Americans are growing increasingly worried about the mountains of debt added to the federal deficit by the current Congress and the Obama administration.

Bunning also noted that extending unemployment benefits is not the best way to boost employment, a stated goal of Congress to combat the current economic downturn. But continuing to extend those benefits, Bunning suggested in a politically incorrect way, is a disincentive for people to search for work.

Eventually, Bunning gave in to pressure from fellow Republicans and allowed the spending plan to pass. His brief controversy was replaced by the ethics charges that caused Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to give up his post as head of the House Ways and Means Committee. But Bunning's brief time in the spotlight struck a chord with many Americans who want Congress to slow spending and stop adding to the national debt.