· Despite the Obama campaign's claims, Governor Palin consistently opposed the "Bridge to Nowhere" once she was in office and officially stopped it. In December 2006, Governor Palin proposed her first budget for Alaska which included no state funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere." As she said at the time, "We have a limited pot of money, of course, and we need to make wise, sensible choices." In a report prepared by her transition team, the "Bridge to Nowhere" was criticized "as a severe drain on resources." Furthermore, the report concluded that the State's transportation plan relied too heavily on federal earmarks. The final 2007 budget contained no state funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere." In 2007, Governor Palin killed the bridge project.
· The Democrats' claim that the project was only canceled after federal funding dried up is also wrong. The money was left with the state to decide whether to spend money on the "Bridge to Nowhere" or other projects. Governor Palin could have decided to spend money on the "Bridge to Nowhere" but instead canceled the project.
· Congressional Quarterly: "It Is Not Inaccurate For Palin To Say She 'Stopped The Bridge To Nowhere.'" "She ended up firmly against it. And while there may have been other contributing factors, it is not inaccurate for Palin to say she 'stopped the Bridge to Nowhere.'" (Jonathan Allen, "Four Things You Need To Know About The 'Bridge To Nowhere,'" CQ, 9/9/08)
· Non-Partisan PolitiFact.com: "It's True That On Sept. 21, 2007, Palin Officially Killed The Project." (St. Petersburg Times/CQ's PolitiFact.com, "On Support For The Bridge To Nowhere," Politifact.com)
· Even According To The Alaska Democrat Party, Governor Palin Killed The "Bridge to Nowhere." Before they switched their website, the Alaska Democrat Party said, "Gov. Palin recently cancelled the Gravina Island Bridge near Ketchikan that would have connected the Alaska mainland with Gravina Island (population: 50)."
· Of all the presidential candidates, Barack Obama has the longest track record of supporting the "Bridge to Nowhere" -- he supported it before Sarah Palin even ran for governor. In 2005, Barack Obama voted for the final Highway Reauthorization Bill that included $223 million for the "Bridge to Nowhere." Unlike John McCain who instantly highlighted the "Bridge to Nowhere" in a press release the day the bill was passed, Barack Obama did not have the political courage to stand up to wasteful earmarks and only did when he started to run for president. Barack Obama's most egregious support for the "Bridge to Nowhere" came in October 2005 when he voted against stripping $125 million in funding from the bridge to fund rebuilding a bridge in New Orleans. When Governor Palin was presented with a similar choice, she chose to kill the bridge. When Barack Obama had to choose, he voted to build the bridge.
· Governor Palin ordered her administration to cut down on the number of federal earmark requests. In December 2007, Governor Palin order her administration to seek fewer congressional earmarks. Governor Palin did this recognizing that the state needed to improve its credibility after several scandalous earmarks such as the "Bridge to Nowhere." As Governor Palin's budget director said, "We really want to skinny it down." Governor Palin directed that earmark requests be made only out of compelling need and if they have a strong national purpose. As the Anchorage Daily News wrote at the time, Governor Palin's order is "appropriate and realistic" and "prudent."
· Earmark reform has been a leading source of tension between Governor Palin and Alaska's Congressional Delegation. In March 2008, U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) -- known for his ability to bring back the pork -- said that Governor Palin's earmark efforts had led to questions about why the Alaska delegation was seeking "things that state doesn't want." As Senator Stevens said, "It is a difficult thing to get over right now, the feeling that we don't represent Alaska because Alaska doesn't want earmarks."
· Under Governor Palin, the number of earmarks requested by the Governor's Office has fallen by $150 million. From $350 million in earmarks requested by her predecessor, the total amount of earmarks requested by Governor Palin's office has fallen to $197 million. It is IMPORTANT to note that several news reports have confused earmark requests from Senator Ted Stevens and earmark requests that originated from the governor's office. Some news reports have attributed all of the earmark requests from Alaska and its congressional delegation to Governor Palin. This is wrong and purposely deceiving.
· As Alaska's chief executive, Governor Palin has vetoed nearly $500 million in wasteful spending. In 2007, Governor Palin vetoed $231 million in government projects in what the Anchorage Daily News said "may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history." As she said at the time, "We need to live within our means. ... Even though we have a surplus, that doesn't warrant a spending spree on an unlimited credit card." In 2008, Governor Palin vetoed $268 million in government projects.·
While Governor Palin was cutting wasteful projects, Barack Obama was requesting nearly $1 billion. In just three years in office, Barack Obama requested nearly $1 billion in earmarks - over a million dollars per working day. Barack Obama's pork record has earned him the ire of Citizens Against Government Waste and the Club for Growth
Who would you rather have leading you in hard times, Palin: a person not scared to veto pork laden bills and HAS DONE IT so she can keep her state living within their means, or Obama: one that requested over a million dollars a day in ear marks during his short stay in Congress, and as President has a record of signing anything Pelosi and Reid tosses his way no matter what it cost even after promising US voters he would veto anything containing earmarks? AND HAS RUN THE US INTO DEBT FOR GENERATIONS!!!!!!
One more thing is this not one of the funniest statement you ever read?
I guess he ran out of courage about the time he was sworn in. :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol:Barack Obama did not have the political courage to stand up to wasteful earmarks and only did when he started to run for president