Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge
115
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 4:32pm

Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge

From http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB122100927525717663.html
Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge
By JIM DEMINT
September 10, 2008; Page A15

“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, 2008

In 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 and Mr. Obama on earmarks, and as a recovering earmarker myself, I can tell you that Mrs. Palin’s leadership and record of reform stands well above that of Mr. Obama.

Let’s compare.

Mrs. Palin used her veto pen to slash more local projects than any other governor in the state’s history. She cut nearly 10% of Alaska’s budget this year, saving state residents $268 million. This included vetoing a $30,000 van for Campfire USA and $200,000 for a tennis court irrigation system. She succinctly justified these cuts by saying they were “not a state responsibility.”

Meanwhile in Washington, Mr. Obama voted for numerous wasteful earmarks last year, including: $12 million for bicycle paths, $450,000 for the International Peace Museum, $500,000 for a baseball stadium and $392,000 for a visitor’s center in Louisiana.

Mrs. Palin cut Alaska’s federal earmark requests in half last year, one of the strongest moves against earmarks by any governor. It took real leadership to buck Alaska’s decades-long earmark addiction.

Mr. Obama delivered over $100 million in earmarks to Illinois last year and has requested nearly a billion dollars in pet projects since 2005. His running mate, Joe Biden, is still indulging in earmarks, securing over $90 million worth this year.

Mrs. Palin also killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state. Yes, she once supported the project: But after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation’s budget, she did what others like me have done: She changed her position and saved taxpayers millions. Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.

When the Senate had its chance to stop the Bridge to Nowhere and transfer the money to Katrina rebuilding, Messrs. Obama and Biden voted for the $223 million earmark, siding with the old boys’ club in the Senate. And to date, they still have not publicly renounced their support for the infamous earmark.

Mrs. Palin has proven courageous by taking on big spenders in her own party. In March of this year, the Anchorage Daily News reported that, “Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is aggravated about what he sees as Gov. Sarah Palin’s antagonism toward the earmarks he uses to steer federal money to the state.”

Mr. Obama had a chance to take on his party when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a sham ethics bill, which was widely criticized by watchdog groups such as Citizens Against Government Waste for shielding earmarks from public scrutiny. But instead of standing with taxpayers, Mr. Obama voted for the bill. Today, he claims he helped write the bill that failed to clean up Washington.

Mr. Obama has shown little restraint on earmarks until this year, when he decided to co-sponsor an earmark moratorium authored by Mr. McCain and myself. Mr. Obama is vulnerable on this issue, and he knows it. That is why he is lashing out at Mrs. Palin and trying to hide his own record.

Mrs. Palin is one of the strongest antiearmark governors in America. If more governors around the country would do what she has done, we would be much closer to fixing our nation’s fiscal problems than we are.

Mrs. Palin’s record here is solid and inspiring. She will help Mr. McCain shut down the congressional favor factory, and she has a record to prove it. Actions mean something. You can’t just make stuff up.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:21pm

More reasonably priced projects which still spent the same amount of money that was allocated for Alaska in the first place, saving precisely zero overall.

Avatar for undefeated
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:28pm

I told you where I got the "story."

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:30pm
I think she has high principles. If you need a new washing machine and find the one you want for $700 but before you buy it you find it on sale for $400.00 so you also buy a new lawnmower for $300.00 you have still spent $700.00, but have gotten more for your money.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:33pm
The link you posted was a completely different story. I know you told me you were posting from a left-wing blog, but then after posting the "educational" link, you posted another completely different story that came from another left wing blog? What's with that? Usually when someone posts a link, they also copy the same story that the link will lead to.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:35pm

High principles huh?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:37pm
I guess it depends upon which "evidence" you choose to believe.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:38pm
When you get more for your money you save money.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2008
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:40pm
There's no hypocrisy.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:41pm

Okay, let me get this straight now... you think an individual who has helped commit actions which

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-03-2003
Thu, 09-11-2008 - 8:44pm

Yep, I see it makes a difference when it's someone elses money being spent.

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