That slid to 52 earmarks valued at $256 million in Palin's first year.
This year, the governor's office asked the delegation to help it land 31 earmarks valued at $197 million.
In December 2007, Palin's budget director put out a memo urging state officials who were assembling their department spending plans to reserve earmarks for compelling needs only, in an effort to "enhance the state's credibility."
"When she took office, we talked about the state's reliance on federal earmarks and she made it clear for several reasons she wanted to significantly cut back on that reliance," Katz said.
Good. That needs to be pressed. We have nearly two months to get our message across. That should be more than enough time if we use that time wisely.
The safety of the country is at stake and we have two good people who understand what it takes to preserve that.