This is going to run on The Wall Street Journal's paper tomorrow. Perhaps another sexist attack by the liberal media? I didn't see this posted anywhere else, if so let me know. Even if the subject has been mentioned somewhere else this is still a good article. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122090791901411709.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims By ELIZABETH HOLMES and LAURA MECKLER September 9, 2008 The Bridge to Nowhere argument isn't going much of anywhere. 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 advertisement 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. Getty Images 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 release 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 congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened." On Monday in Missouri, Gov. Palin put it this way: "I told Congress thanks but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere. If the state wanted to build a bridge we would built it ourselves." Senior adviser Mark Salter pointed to her role in killing the project while in office and allocating the money elsewhere. When pressed further that it was actually Congress that stopped the earmark, Mr. Salter said: "She stopped it, too. She did her part." Mr. Salter added that he welcomed a fight over earmarks with the Obama campaign. Democratic candidate Barack Obama used a town-hall style event in Flint, Mich., to attack Gov. Palin over the "Bridge to Nowhere" debate. He accused the vice presidential nominee of lobbying for the bridge and then hiding her initial position when she ran for governor and the project became unpopular. "You can't just make stuff up. You can't just recreate yourself. The American people aren't that stupid," he said. It's like "being for it before you were against it," Sen. Obama said, a reference to a damaging statement John Kerry made in 2004. Why is this one issue such a big deal? Sen. McCain's anti-earmarks stance has been paramount to his campaign. The Arizona senator has blamed everything from the Minneapolis bridge collapse to Hurricane Katrina on Congress's willingness to stuff bills full of pork barrel spending. As such, Gov. Palin's image as a "reformer" is part of the storyline the McCain campaign needs to compliment the top of its ticket. Her quip about passing on the bridge and "building it ourselves" has been a staple of her stump. But she's drawn considerable fire as result. Sen. Obama's campaign released an advertisement pointing out her original support of the bridge. And on Monday, an Obama staffer emailed a photo of Gov. Palin holding up a T-shirt that was made shortly after the bridge caught national attention. It reads "NOWHERE ALASKA" and "99901," the zip code of Ketchikan. The McCain campaign jumped back with spokesman Brian Rogers calling the attacks "hysterical." "The only people 'lying' about spending are the Obama campaign. The only explanation for their hysterical attacks is that they're afraid that when John McCain and Sarah Palin are in the White House, Barack Obama's nearly $1 billion in earmark spending will stop dead in its tracks," Mr. Rogers said. At a rally today, Sen. McCain again asserted that Sen. Obama has requested nearly a billion in earmarks. In fact, the Illinois senator requested $311 million last year, according to the Associated Press, and none this year. In comparison, Gov. Palin has requested $750 million in her two years as governor -- which the AP says is the largest per-capita request in the nation. --Amy Chozick contributed to this story. Write to Elizabeth Holmes at elizabeth.holmes@wsj.com and Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com
why are they bringing up earmarks with obama? he has never stated once he was against it. the mccain-palin campaign is the one making big deals out of this.
Dam that liberal rag the Wall Street Journal! Seriously though IMO this is a far more important issue than if Obama is a Muslim or if Palin had an affair with her husband's business partner. There definately appears to be something here that I would be interested in hearing Palin respond to. Once again I miss Tim Russert as this would be exactly the sort of thing he would pull out in an interview with Palin or McCain.
I suspect they're adding up everything ever sent to Illinois while he's been Senator regardless of whether he actively pursued it or not. I would like to seem a breakdown of the McCain claims. Even if he requested a billion, it would still be much, much less per capita than Alaska and Illinois probably has 1,000 times the infrastructure, educational facilities, farming etc.
Everyone but the true believers know that Palin was for it before it was she realized it was not going to happen and then she switched to being against it. Still good to see it in the WSJ. Sadly, I think that Obama is probably incorrect. You can just make stuff up and get away with it. Look at the Bush-McCain narrative on the Iraq War and WMD. Good to see Obama starting to call Palin on this canard.
It will be interesting to see how the McCain-Palin campaign spin this one. I will admit, while I detest their dishonorable tactics, I can appreciate the fact that they are very good at lying and spinning!
Whatever happened to the public finding out the truth? I mean it seems nowadays if you just say something enough it becomes fact. Clearly Palin is lying her tushy off here. DD
Let's add up the lie about Mrs. Palin: Claim/Lie #1: She is a fiscal conservative Fact: She left her little town of 9000 (around 5000 when she was mayor) in debt for the first time in it's history to the tune of over 20 million. Claim/Lie #2 She is against Earmarks Fact: She hired lobbyists to get earmarks for Wasila to the tune of over 27 million and continued to seek earmarks as governor, only vetoeing programs she didn't like. Claim/Lie #3 She was against the bridge to nowhere and told Congress "thanks but no thanks". Fact: She campaigned for it and was only against it after it was clear that Congress was not give all the funding, but she then keep the money given for it and redirected it to other projects. Claim/Lie #4 As John McCain said directly and she indicated, she sold the governors jet on Ebay for a profit. Fact: She put the plane on Ebay to sell, but ended up selling it with a broker off of Ebay for $600,000 less than it was purchased for, plus broker fees and thus a loss of money for the state. Claim/Lie #5 She is against corrupt government officials abusing power. Fact: Sure she is as long as it is not herself or her supportors. She is currently under investigation for the same type of corrupt political corruption of firing people for personal or political reasons as the Bush administration. While not yet convicted, there is already enough evidence to clearly conclude that she had the intent to interfere using and abusing her power as governor. I know there are more, anyone care to add? :
The McCain campaign can’t get the story straight either. -- McCain Campaign Piles Up New Falsehoods On Bridge To Nowhere McCain and his advisers are now conceding that, yes, Sarah Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it -- but they're casting this as more proof of her reform credentials. In so doing, the McCain camp is piling new falsehoods atop the old ones. McCain himself rolled out the new push-back on the campaign trail today, saying the following: Meanwhile, McCain adviser Tucker Bounds appeared today on MSNBC, where he acknowledged that Palin used to favor the bridge, but said she turned against it for good reasons. "But as it became more wasteful, the budget ballooned, it became a staple for wasteful spending, she said No," Bounds said. "And she was the one that drove the nail in the coffin that killed the bridge to nowhere." By Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/mccain_campaign_piling_up_the.php
don't worry guys, all of this will be uncovered in the next month. all this palin momentum has to stop b/c you can't go on this "reformer" mantra with all these lies.
I read it, it's not news. We all know "she was for it before she was against it" by now. However, some of you spin it worse than Mccain campaign. The ebay stuff was directly taken from MSNBC, it's laughable. Look, she said she "put it on ebay". Guess what, she did. It was just that no one bid on it above the reserve value and she had to sell it by other means. Big deal. I think the left is running a risk trying to mount this assault before Palin has a chance to destruct herself. Most people in the middle are looking past that kind of rancor stuff. I personally believe if Obama was in a similar position of a former mayor and then governor himself, he would have accumulated a lot of debatable positions also. It just so happens that he doesn't have such record with regional executive power.
mccain on the first day after the convention said she SOLD it on EBAY, and then emphasized, "FOR A PROFIT." so although palin only said she put it on ebay, mccain said differently. we're not looking for that kind of stuff. she's claiming ALL of these things in her speeches as a way to say she's a "reformer." you can't do that when you either blatantly lie or exaggerate. that's not the way to introduce yourself. right now her momentum is on her great family story and the fact she's using the sex card. she's winning now. but fortunately, the election is not held NOW or else obama would lsoe.
The GOP is seeking to create a myth surrounding Palin. They are trying to create her into being something that she is obviously not. Their falsehoods and exaggerations should be exposed so that people can get the full story. If the facts come out, but people still want to believe that she's such a reformer because she "sold the jet for a profit, and got rid of the governor's chef to save the taxpayers money" they can believe it. The truth, however is that stuff didn't happen, and it's all manufactured bs.
Two small things here: 1st....MCCAIN said that she SOLD it on Ebay for a PROFIT! I heard him say that live with my own ears, saw it on CNN the day after the convention. 2nd....On executive power, the town she was mayor of has a CITY ADMINISTRATOR that actually runs the city. The mayor's role is not the same as say the mayor of a city like Houston for example. Her only executive experience is therefore her 19 months as governor...which has been noteable because of earmarks and troopergate....earmarks only because she is running with a candidate that claims that they are both against them...it's their claim to fame..but a lie for her.
It may well be Mccain said it this way. I didn't hear it, but I don't think it's a big deal either way. While you will want to point to the "losing money" part, I'd like to point out an objectionable mind will agree recouping money from under-usage assets is saving. Whoever sells jet for his/her use get applaud from my book. I hear Palin stood up against the big oils, in Alaska nonetheless. That kind of leaves a good impression on me also. Refute that story, you will get bigger audience and attention.
that's not the point. she emphasized ALL the things we're talking about, and the conservatives on fox news and radio shows are using these talking points, along with the mccain camp, as a way to say she's perfect, not the normal politician, a reformer... but the fact of the matter is she's not. the mccain camp is doing a great job of putting the perfect disguise on her right now. will it last? i don't know. if it does, mccain will win. if not, obama will win.
First, how does a republican stand up to big oil? Second this stance is kind of strange coming from a woman who tells her church that god wants a pipeline built through the state.
See, that's not a real argument, and that kind of argument makes me want to shy away from any political discussion. She make it successful to tie the state tax to oil PROFIT, not the usual revenue. That policy has a downside also, it may strain state revenue when oil business isn't as hot as it is now. PS: I happen to not believe anyone is perfect, not to mention politicians.
