Posted on 09/08/2008 3:57:27 PM PDT by Fred
Despite significant evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign continues to assert that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the federal government "thanks but no thanks" to the now-famous bridge to an island in her home state.
The McCain campaign released a television advertisement1 Monday morning titled "Original Mavericks." The narrator of the 30-second spot boasts about the pair: "He fights pork-barrel spending. She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere."
Gov. Palin, who John McCain named as his running mate less than two weeks ago, quickly adopted a stump line bragging about her opposition to the pork-barrel project Sen. McCain routinely decries. Republican presidential candidate John McCain (right) and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, at a campaign rally in Lee's Summit, Mo.
But Gov. Palin's claim comes with a serious caveat. She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere.
"We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge," Gov. Palin said in August 2006, according to the local newspaper, "and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative." The bridge would have linked Ketchikan to the airport on Gravina Island. Travelers from Ketchikan (pop. 7,500) now rely on ferries.
A year ago, the governor issued a press release2 that the money for the project was being "redirected."
"Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer," she said. "Despite the work of our
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The WSJ might want to fact-check the last line of the story where it say Palin “has requested $750 million in her two years as governor.”
If that is true, I would like to see the documentation.
And I notice that they don’t mention how much Obama requested in earmarks for 2005 and 2006. They mention 2007 and 2008 only. “In fact, the Illinois senator requested $311 million last year, according to the Associated Press, and none this year.”
What about 2005 and 2006, you ask? According to the NY Times from March 14, 2008: “Senator Barack Obama on Thursday released a list of $740 million in earmarked spending requests that he had made over the last three years, and his campaign challenged Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to do the same.”
I thought the WSJ was better than this. What a slanted, misleading story.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/08/obama-ad-no-maverick/
WSJ MIGHT...want to dig a tad deeper...
MUST READ!!!
Check out this link for a fact-based list of all earmarks requested by Obama. This is priceless, literally !! This comes from the Chicago Sun Times.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/03/sweet_scoop_obama_after_initia.html
I’m just a bit confused here, someone please help me here, is Sarah Palin running for President? I could almost swear that I thought McCain got the nomination.
I agree. McPalin is running the narrative right now and Obama is on D. There is no reason right now to go into a defensive crouch. Press the attack!
I’ve been there, taken the ferry. the bridge wasn’t built ;-)
Joe Biden and Barry O voted for the Bridge to Nowhere twice.
No need to worry here. The McCain Palin camp is now in charge and they are driving the media coverage. This is not news and not something they did not know was going to come up. Palin will deal with this head-on in the Gibson interview coming up Thursday, though I suspect there will be small, yet specific responses to it before then. For sure she will be asked about it and for sure she will be more than prepared to respond in her own words.
And yet as your link points out Obama admitted himself that he had made $740 million in earmark requests in order to challenge Clinton to admit her requests. The writer only mentions $311 million in Obama earmarks in the last two years and conveniently ignores $429 million in earmarks in Obama's first two years in the Senate.
As to Palin's "earmarks" it would be nice if the writer enumerated the supposed $750 million that went to Alaska.
The bridge is Ted Stevens baby.. not Saras..
Let’s talk about how B. Hussein Obama personally benefitted from the earmark to his wife’s employer leading to her $200K raise. Goes a long way when you’re paying for a mansion that you got on the Rezko discount plan.
Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding.
"We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island," the Republican governor said. "The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge."
Palin directed state transportation officials to find the most "fiscally responsible" alternative for access to the airport. She said the best option would be to upgrade the ferry system.
snip
The town -- seven blocks wide and eight miles long -- has little room to grow. Local officials have said access to Gravina Island, population 50, is needed for the town and its economy to grow.
They called the state's decision premature, saying it came without warning.
"For somebody who touts process and transparency in getting projects done, I'm disappointed and taken aback," said state Rep. Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan. "We worked 30 years to get funding for this priority project."
Under mounting political pressure over pork projects, Congress stripped the earmark -- or stipulation -- that the money be used for the airport, but still sent the money to the state for any use it deemed appropriate.
That’s all the Obama bunch has done for the past week or so since she was named. Lie.
Wait until the debates (it will be brought up by someone), which will provide the largest exposure, then shove it back down their throats.
look waht the media is doing, they’re circling the wagon for obama everytime the republicans accuse the democrats of something. MSN cries, lies! Everytime Democrats accuse Republicans of something, it always taken as fact and no further fact check are done
This issue is going to boomerang right back at obama just as attacking Sarah on the experience issue. Err hello? Obama voted for it. What they accuse Sarah of doing as a negative is done by Obama, but difference is Sarah actually killed it in the end
can we talk about the fact Obama and Biden voted for the bridge to nowhere? TWICE!
can we talk about the fact Obama AND Biden BOTH voted for the bridges (PLURAL) to nowhere? TWICE!
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