If you're curious why the Chamber of Commerce, usually a solid backer of Republicans, has been praising Democrats, perhaps this snippet from a post at MonroeRising will provide a clue:
...there’s plenty of pork, like the millions for the grape center in Geneva, NY, thanks to Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Reps. Maurice Hinchey and Michael Arcuri.
MonroeRising runs that quote with a pig cartoon, because, to them, the grape center is obviously "pork".
I have a Republican, conservative friend who's also a successful entrepreneur. The other day, he was describing a new food product that he's developing. He used a government center (I believe it's the grape center -- it was in the Geneva area) to help him with the product. He provided the center with an idea and a sample of the product. In a few days, a food scientist at the center had analyzed his sample, provided ideas on where to source the raw materials, and gave him references to factories in the area that could mix and package it.
My friend had nothing but good to say about the center. He was impressed by the professionalism of the employees and the quality of the advice he got there.
I'm sure there are many legitimate questions to ask about whether the grape center needs a $2.2 million earmark. But I'm also sure that the Chamber of Commerce is A-OK with that earmark, because it's there to benefit the kinds of people who pay Chamber of Commerce dues and who, until recently, believed that Republicans has their best interests at heart. How things have changed.