WSJ: Record Contradicts Palin's Bridge Claim
Sep 09, 10:13 AM CST
It seems like you can’t turn on the TV without hearing Gov. Palin claim that she said, “Thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere while she was Governor of Alaska.
Fortunately, the Wall Street Journal is pointing out that her account of how things went down isn’t even close to accurate:
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…
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…
Republicans lying on the campaign trail isn’t exactly new, but this falsehood is intended to further the ridiculous narrative that John McCain and Sarah Palin are “mavericks.”
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 complement the top of its ticket. Her quip about passing on the bridge and “building it ourselves” has been a staple of her stump.
Unfortunately, it’s not just Gov. Palin that is intent on spreading false information to voters:
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.
The McCain campaign is rolling out the tried-and-true Bush campaign tactics. This one is called “say the same lie over and over until people believe it’s true.” Unfortunately for them, the American people will come to realize that Bush-style campaigning will lead to Bush-style governing.
Of course, that’s not change. It’s more of the same.
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On what planet is it suddenly okay for a Vice Presidential nominee to simply HIDE from the Fourth Estate? When did that become okay?
— Elvis Dingeldein Sep 09, 06:04 PM CST #