Bridge to Nowhere response

Vanity, research | Ilya Mourometz

[Ilya Mourometz]

There've been lots of thing written the past couple days about Palin's alleged flip-flop on the Gravina Island and Knik Arm Bridges (aka, Bridges to Nowhere). The Wikipedia articles, like most, need to be read with a grain of salt, but there are a number of sources listed and a good place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knik_Arm_Bridge

Let's summarize the salient points about the Bs2N and how it affects Palin's candidacy:

1) Palin did support the bridge projects when running for governor. No controversy there; it's well known and was a point, albeit a minor one, in the gubernatorial campaign. The key point--and it is a major one--is that Palin supported STATE funding for the bridge project. THIS IS CRITICAL:

http://www.adn.com/sarahpalin/story/510378.html

She did hope for congressional support, but it was already clear at the time (2006) that the bridge was not going to get sufficient federal funding. So she did support building a bridge or some link between Gravina Island and Ketchikan--two major points along the cruise ship routes.

2) Palin DID Cancel the Gravina Project; it was not merely that she refused the funding--obviously, that was not up to her, but up to congress. She cancelled the entire bridge project: http://web.archive.org/web/20071214143302/http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=623&type=1

see also, http://subscript.bna.com/SAMPLES/trw.nsf/85256269004a991e8525611300214487/c32f2691e9d3eea18525735e00047099?OpenDocument

That last article is very important, by the way, as it also talks about other projects she cancelled.

3) The feds only allocated to $36M to the project at that time (September of 2007), most or all of which was general transportation funds through FHWA, etc.--NOT EARMARKS--that would normally be used on transportation projects throughout the state, at the state's discretion (which up to that point, they were going to use primarily for the bridge). So this is a NON ISSUE; the answer may be a bit wonkish, but that's the reality of how federal funds are allocated to the states.

She has the answers and believe me, she will deliver them at the time of her choosing, not Zero's.

[voxitar]

I agree - she probably did want to see improved access to the airport located on the island, but with respect to the bridge plan offered up by Ted Stevens, she evaluated the project, considered the costs and potential funding sources, realized it was WAY too expensive, and made a reasonable, fiscally-conservative decision to kill the project. Ted Stevens’ comments in the WAPO article I cited support this conclusion as well.

I would like to see Sarah deal with this issue directly, though, and hopefully soon...it has legs on the blogosphere and I’d love to see her lay the smack down on the frenzied smear merchants about this.

[paudio]

I think during her spending time with Gibson, Palin will talk about the issue in details.

[PowerPro]

Where can we find documentation on this issue?

[Ilya Mourometz]

If McCain Palin can handle five days of the worst mudslinging in modern political history, letting the Ds hang themselves with this one for a couple days isn’t going to make a difference. Zero has walked right into the trap of campaigning against her, rather than Mac, and there’s no reason to pull him out of that too soon.

Every day Zero attacks Palin on this, is another day he diminishes his own standing. There will be a day, soon, when the balance will favor knocking the story out, but I suspect a couple more days taking Zero down a few pegs is worth it. Besides, no one is listening to the media anymore.

[Ilya Mourometz]

I have the links above in the main posting, but for some reason they don’t show up as hyperlinks. I suggest going to the wikipedia article on the Gravina Island Bridge and looking through all the linked footnotes, and then go from there. Took about ten minutes to get sufficient research to refute the gist of the claims that Palin is a flip-flopper on this. That’s ten minutes more than the MSM can be bothered with, however.

[Aliska]

Thanks for the ping, I'll try to read those new links. Later in the thread it's going circular again, but a couple new points came out, the funds could have been diverted to Katrina but weren't (should check that) and the one I like the best which is what I thought is that the bridge would be a good thing for those people but simply wasn't affordable with all the other priorities facing not just her but Alaska. I would prefer, however, not to get dragged too much further into this issue, cut it off at the pass, and hear more of her ideas and accomplishments apart from this bridge to nowhere that wasn't built in a part of our country that I don't consider unimportant (everybody counts), but such an isolated outpost, and we have much more massive issues to discuss and attempt to resolve. I'm not saying it doesn't demonstrate her ability to make decisions or her wisdom in the one she made (no doubt along with support and objections).

[igoramus08]

“Where can we find documentation on this issue?”

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/08/obama-ad-no-maverick/

[DJ MacWoW]

The left thinks it’s ammo so the story has to be told correctly.

[voxitar]

I have to say, it is frustrating to me that McCain/Palin is not AGGRESSIVELY refuting the MSM’s “bridge to nowhere” mischaracterizations that keep popping up everywhere, almost hourly, claiming she lied about the bridge...the latest one in the WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122090791901411709.html?mod=fpa_editors_picks

They keep saying “she kept the money” without mentioning that the monies kept were general revenue funds, not earmarks, and certainly not the original amount of federal money set aside for the bridge.

The MSM is desperately trying to create a “I was for the 87 billion dollars before I was against it” Kerry-type of gaffe and apply it to Palin, despite the ample evidence she was talking about state funding and the fact that Ted Stevens himself has said she opposed federal funding for the bridge....Obama and the lefty blogs are already running with it like their hair’s on fire.

We’ve come too far to backslide even an inch because of moonbat smears....Palin needs to address this NOW, firmly and substantively, and not wait for the ABC interview tomorrow night.

My 2 cents.

[voxitar]

Wyatt Andrews, news commentator for CBS news radio, said this morning in his news broadcast that Palin DID in fact, keep the entire 236 million dollars, essentially calling her a liar to her face...we need a sourced fact-check on this.

The MSM is obsessed now with the idea she must have lied about the bridge, and they’ve lined up in lockstep to try to re-create the “I was for the 87 billion dollars before I was against it” Kerry gaffe that dogged him all through the 2004 election.

I see from the McCain website that they have formed a Palin truth squad.... where are you....hellooooooo......

[Ilya Mourometz]

The claim is absurd on its face; there was no $236M to keep, given that the project was cancelled and the money was never sent. The only money that the Feds had already allocated was $36M. Very easy claim to defeat; check the links at the top of this thread for the facts.

[crusher999]

I think I see a new swiftboaresqe slogan coming...

OBAMA and BIDEN voted FOR the bridge before PALIN voted AGAINST it.