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Before Team Obama continues its attacks on Sarah Palin for at one point voicing some general support for the Bridge to Nowhere, the presidential hopeful has some explaining to do. Let the record show that Barack Obama himself voted for the bridge at least twice, as did his running mate Joe Biden. If Team Obama is to continue to point out that Palin was for the bridge before she was against it, they either must explain why Obama and Biden never denounced the project or, on the other hand, describe why they were in error for supporting it. At the...

Senator Jim DeMint has provided a clear voice against the corruption of pork-barrel spending, often castigating his own party while doing so. Along with John McCain, Tom Coburn, and Russ Feingold (D-WI), he has demanded that Congress act to stop the waste and influence peddling that earmarks subsidize. As such, he has a clear understanding of those who represent change, and those who offer business as usual, and he makes the distinction clear in his essay in the Wall Street Journal, emphases mine: --------------------- Mrs. Palin used her veto pen to slash more local projects than any other governor in...

"But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up." -- Barack Obama, Sept. 6, 2008In politics, words are cheap. What really counts are actions. Democrats and Republicans have talked about fiscal responsibility for years. In reality, both parties have a shameful record of wasting hundreds of billions of tax dollars on pork-barrel projects. My Senate colleague Barack Obama is now attacking Gov. Sarah Palin over earmarks. Having worked with both John McCain...

A web site paid for by the Alaska Democratic Party says unequivocally that the state of Alaska officially abandoned the Bridge to Nowhere project, and credits Governor Sarah Palin. the page mysteriously vanished, but it has since been revived at another URL ".....Gov. Sarah Palin said the $398 million bridge was $329 million short of full funding, and only $36 million in federal funds were set aside for it. She said it was clear Congress had little interest in spending any more money for it and that the state had higher priorities." We can quibble about specifics. But the fact...

Now that the Democrats are rabidly attacking Sarah Palin over the Alaskan Ketchikan bridge, claiming she lied about shutting down the project, it might be a good moment to point out that both Barack Obama and Joe Biden voted for the Bridge to Nowhere. Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Bridge, she eventually killed the project choosing to spend the Federal money on other infrastructure programs. However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted for funding the Bridge, even when given a SECOND chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief.

Focus in the media seems to be trying to find something to pin on Sarah Palin in hopes that it sticks there. I thought that some of this needs to be pushed back against their efforts to bring down Governor Palin, particularly the charge that Sarah Palin was for the Bridge To Nowhere. Back in 2005, Congress voted on and passed H.R. 3058 [109th Congress]: "Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia,…". This purpose of this bill was for "Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District...

Gov. Sarah Palin ordered state transportation officials to abandon the ''bridge to nowhere'' project that became a nationwide symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island. ''Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport,'' Ms. Palin, a Republican, said in a news release, ''but the $398 million bridge is not the answer.'' She directed the State Transportation Department to find the most ''fiscally responsible'' alternative for access to the airport. Ketchikan is Alaska's entry port for northbound cruise ships that bring...

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...

Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Ketchikan bridge (“to nowhere), SHE eventually KILLED THE PROJECT, choosing to spend Federal money on other infrasturcture programs. However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted FOR funding the Bridge, EVEN when given a second chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief. Sen. McCain did not vote on the Coburn Amendment, though he is ON RECORD AS OPPSOING the Ketchikan bridge earmark.

I guess Barack Obama doesn’t read Hot Air, nor listens to wisdom from our own Allahpundit. Team O got so flustered by today’s “Original Mavericks” ad that they rushed this new spot out today, apparently before doing some rudimentary fact-checking. Obama argues that the Bridge to Nowhere shows him to be the real Maverick: It’s true that Palin didn’t start off opposing the bridge, but as Governor she made the decision to kill it. At least she moved in the right direction. Who voted for it in the first place? Not John McCain; he derided it on the Senate floor,...

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....

Ted Earmarked Funds for Bridge that Goes Nowhere Stevens championed proposed bridge near Ketchikan that became national symbol of wasteful spending Sen. Murkowski’s family would benefit personally from the bridge State of Alaska killed bridge The proposed Gravina Island Bridge, also known as the “Bridge to Nowhere,” became a national symbol of wasteful congressional spending and driver of earmark reform. On Sept. 21, 2007, the State of Alaska officially abandoned the controversial project. The Gravina Island Bridge initially received $223 million in 2005 via earmarks by Alaska Senators Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski. The bridge would have connected Ketchikan, Alaska...

Fighting a Different Alaska Republican, Alaska Dems Credit Palin with Killing Bridge to Nowhere September 08, 2008 4:38 PM Conservative bloggers point out that in their campaign against Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Alaska Democrats gave credit to Gov. Palin for helping to kill the Bridge to Nowhere. “Gov. Sarah Palin said the $398 million bridge was $329 million short of full funding, and only $36 million in federal funds were set aside for it," the Democrats say. "She said it was clear Congress had little interest in spending any more money for it and that the state had higher priorities."...

The Alaska Democratic Party pulled this page from their site, but luckily Google has it cached - it states "the State of Alaska officially abandoned" the "Bridge to Nowhere, basically crediting Sarah Palin with killing it! Funny how the page just happened to disappear! http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:szpJxaSZwiMJ:www.retireted.com/real-estate/gravina-bridge/ted-earmarked-funds-for-bridge-that-goes-nowhere/+http://www.retireted.com/real-estate/gravina-bridge/ted-earmarked-funds-for-bridge-that-goes-nowhere/&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us the actual news was originally reported here, http://senateconservatives.com/2008/09/04/alaska-democrats-credit-palin-with-killing-bridge-to-nowhere/

Now that Alaska is front and center in the news again, it is a good time to catch up on a favorite story, The Bridge to Nowhere, using the Washington Post US Congress Votes Database. Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Ketchikan bridge (“to nowhere), she eventually killed the project, chosing to spend Federal money on other infrasturcture programs. However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted for funding the Bridge, even when given a second chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief. Sen. McCain did not vote on the Coburn...

With another hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the so-called “bridge to nowhere,” championed by Alaska’s Congressional delegation on behalf of the people of Ketchikan, just won’t go away. Three years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the plan to spend hundreds of millions to connect Ketchikan with its airport on Gravina Island became a national symbol of Congressional excess, much to the dismay of Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young. Sen. John McCain has made it a habit to ridicule the bridge project during his presidential campaign. McCain has promised to veto any bill sent to...

<p>Foxnews alert.. on 7 counts related to holding a public office...</p>

On Friday Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin ordered the state to prepare a "fiscally responsible" alternative to the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," which made the state a national laughingstock and shone an unwelcome spotlight on the pork-barrel greed of its all-Republican congressional delegation. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan (population 7,400) to its airport on a nearby island inhabited by 50 people. The same day, the Associated Press reported that the FBI has recorded two phone calls between Sen. Ted Stevens, who sponsored the bridge, and Bill Allen, a Stevens patron who dominated state politics as the head of...

Some called it a bridge to the future. Others called it the bridge to nowhere. The bridge is going nowhere. On Friday, the state abandoned the controversial project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. It closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, but it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help. "We went through political hot water -- tons of it -- and not just nationally but internationally," said Ketchikan-Gateway Borough Mayor Joe Williams. "We have nothing to show for it." The $398...

The state of Alaska on Friday officially abandoned the controversial "bridge to nowhere" project in Ketchikan that became symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan to its airport on a nearby island. "Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer," Gov. Sarah Palin said in a prepared statement. She directed the state transportation department to find the most "fiscally responsible" alternative for access to the airport. Republicans U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and U.S. Rep. Don Young championed the project through Congress two years ago,...