Setting The Record: Palin's Earmarks

CBS Evening News: Reality Checking The Alaska Governor's "Bridge To Nowhere" Claims

(CBS)  Its one of those claims that gets so much applause.

"I told Congress 'thanks but no thanks,' to that bridge to nowhere," Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has said over and over on the campaign trail, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports.

Palin just won't let it go. But the truth is the governor never rebuffed Congress. Here are the facts.

After a year of supporting the proposed bridge, near Ketchikan, Palin pulled state funds from the project, which killed the bridge for good, but she never said "no thanks" to the Federal funds promised by Congress - $233 million.

In fact, here's the list of how Palin is spending those federal tax dollars - on other highway projects around Alaska. As a candidate for governor, she defended every dollar for roads and bridges the state could wrangle from Washington, according to the Congressional Record and the Alaska Department of Transportation.

"I'm not going to stand in the way of progress that our Congressional delegation in the position of strength that they have right now, they are making those efforts for the state of Alaska," Palin said.

Now however, Palin is on a Republican ticket that's promising to reform all earmark spending - all of those federal grants aimed at specific local projects.

And McCain's credibility here is excellent.

"My friends, I have never asked for nor received a single earmark pork-barrel project for my state of Arizona," McCain said.

Palin's record on earmarks is mixed. Compared to the previous governor, Palin's earmarks are down 44 percent, but stills totals more than $450 million over two years.

By repeating the claim she said no thanks to the bridge, the implication is that she confronted a spendthrift Congress recklessly wasting money.

The record shows she wanted that bridge until the end and kept the money.

[nearl4511]

The article seems accurate, but is hardly news. We''ve been blogging back and forth on this for days.

[kesac4650]

The article seems to want to confuse "earmarks" with legitimate appropriations.

[jonesforch]

Citizens Against Government Waste have just issued their annual "Pig" book which reports on who spent what on pork barrel projects in a given fiscal year. Here''s how things stand up for the most recent fiscal period:

11,610 pork barrel projects were inserted into current fiscal year appropriation bills by individual members of Congress (who, BTW, are the only people who can request an earmark). The #1 and #2 positions are held by Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, respectively.

#1 requester of earmarks: Hillary Clinton (D) NY - inserted 281 individual spending projects into bills for the benefit of NY interests at the cost of taxpayers everywhere = $296.2 million dollars of tax payer funds.

#2 reqeuster of earmarks: Barrack Obama (D) IL - inserted 53 individual spending projects into bills for the benefit of IL interests at the cost of taxpayers everywhere = $97.4 million dollars of taxpayer funds.

Ron Paul (R) TX - was also mentioned with 8 earmarks at a cost of $22 million dollars to the tax payers of the US.

John McCain (R) AZ - was noted for having 0 earmarks at a cost of $0.00 to the American public.

[prohb]

Sarah Palin is George Bush with lipstick!

[paulstewart9]

It is about time the media came out with the facts for a change rather than parroting "he said" and "she said".

Facts are facts folks. You can''t put lipstick on a pig.

[noboundary]

To be fair, the total dollars earmarked should be normalized over the state''s population - i.e., present as dollars spent per person. To be even more fair, we need to know what the money was really spent for. Then let each one willing to read make their own judgment.

[brucedawson2]

Clinton and Obama as #1 and #2? Uh, no. Cochran and Stevens are #1 and #2, among senators, with $892.2 million and $469.4 million respectively. Given the tiny population of Alaska, and its massive oil revenue, Senator Stevens'' record is particularly abysmal.

See for yourself here:

http://www.cagw.org/site/DocServer/Senate_-_dollar.pdf?docID=3024

[paxpi]

Nearl4511,

It''s news because Palin/McCain keep repeating it over and over again and it''s a lie. If they were honest... well... that might be news too.

[stevekelson-2009]

CBS is doing the best job of any network on taking these people to task. Keep it up!

[samthetvcat]

What seems to be getting lost in the coverage of who''s more ''pure'' when it comes to earmarks, which to me seems like a total farce of a debate to begin with, is the angle of power/abuse-of-power/responsibility.

Because like who''s in charge of the Federal Budget? Governors are in charge of looking out for their States. If they can secure Federal money for in-State projects given that their constituents pay Federal taxes, is there a moral obligation to NOT ask for money? Are there any Governors who don''t? What do their constituents think of that Governor if there are? I would guess that Governor''s constituents think that person is a putz.

As for Senators, I''m not exactly sure where their loyalties like - are they supposed to be representing their State in Federal matters, or are they Federal representatives, or is it both and what trumps what when those loyalties are in conflict?

And who exactly is it who ultimately decides which earmarks are granted and which are rejected? Which politicians have influence to that decision, and is there a conflict of interest there?

I don''t know - just seems like this whole discussion is more political than idealistic . . .

[paxpi]

Nearl4511,

It''s news because Palin/McCain keep repeating it over and over again and it''s a lie. If they were honest... well... that might be news too.

[nearl4511]

McCain at $0 in pork. Well....maybe last year.

His three famous pork projects were in 1993, 2003 and 2006.

Most infamous was a favor that he did to grant money for a "buffer zone" around an AZ base to promote Suncor. This one even got Ted Steven''s attention, who ribbed McCain with "pork, the other white meat."

[dburfears]

She''s a liar.

She''s a liar.

She''s a liar.

What else do people need to know? Or is she just so "American Idol" that the flaccid moronic American trailer trash culture will just HAVE TO vote for her?

If McPalin gets in, American middle class will get what it deserves, a hot poker up the a__. "Better smile and say you like it".

[element51]

When George Bush started his run for the White House back in the late 90''s the first time I saw him a red flag went up. The last eight years have confirmed that my feeling was justified. That feeling is even stronger about Sarah Palin. There is something about this woman that just isn''t quite right. At this point, I don''t know enough about her to see it but I can feel it. I do know that she has lied from the moment she first appeared but the media have given her a complete pass and no one has asked hard questions except for Campbell Brown and she got no answers at all. It remains to be seen how she will wash out after closer examination. Biden will have to be very careful because if he is percieved as being to tough the republicans will claim that he was being unfair to a woman and if he is not tough enough they will say that he is weak. Tough spot to be in. I believe that given the opportunity this woman will trample all over the constitution and set civil rights back 100 years. I also believe that all you ladies out there would see your rights evaporate into thin air. Her policies would be set by the Bible, her Bible, and that does not bode will for our form of government. And you gay folks out there would all be ordered into treatment to rid you of your disease. If that''s what you all want, this is America, go for it. But I truly believe you will come to rue the day you made this decision.

[dburfears]

Under Palin Alaska received 12 TIMES THE EARMARKS of the rest of the U.S.

Yes- 12 TIMES THE EARMARKS.

Palin is just a LIAR.

Palin is LYING TO YOU.

A LIAR. PERIOD.

[element51]

dburfears.....Yes, she is a liar. She lied about the bridge to nowhere money, she lied about selling the jet on Ebay, she is lying about using her office to fire a public employee for personal reasons...and what else, we don''t know yet. And the republicans will keep her away from the media unless the questions will be softball stuff like I expect to see later this week when she is set to be on national television alone. And your comment about the middle class is right on. There is a movement to destroy the middle class and she will be right up front to do her part. I have always had my doubts about the collective IQ of the American people but those doubts are starting to disolve. What about the issues? The things that really affect all of us? Does anyone really care? I''m beginning to think not.

[obbcbs]

Rather than let McCain and Palin get away with their lie, anchor John Roberts played a videotape of Sarah Palin in a 2006 gubernatorial debate in which she endorsed the bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island
saying, "I''m not going to stand in the way of progress that our congressional delegation and the position of strength that they have right now." In September, 2006, Palin showed up in Ketchikan on her gubernatorial campaign and said the bridge was essential for the town''s prosperity."

the media is at fault for letting Palin and McCain get away with "flat out lies."

[rights4all]

Is it another media bashing of Palin?
You cannot blame Gov Palin to divert the funds for other deserving projects. It is her job and her commitment to her state.
The reporter should know that every municipality, educational institution, etc., can apply for earmarks. Only people working in the private sector do not know about earmarks. Those working in the public sector know about earmarks. Your congressperson would not be doing his/her job if he/she does not help to bring fundings to the constituency, and earmarks is the easiest way. You should blame the govt and congress for this so-called unethical method because small towns and institutions from insignificant states would find it difficult to get funding through regular grants. This is because these pencil pushers in govt prefer to fund high profile projects and leave the crumbs to small town projects. Savvy municipal administrators and university presidents now hire lobbyists to get earmarks. At work, we are even told to come up with projects to present to the lobbyists for consideration for earmarks. Of course, some are just wasted but there are also projects that deserve these earmarks. It is a fact of life. In this dog eats dog world, it is obvious that powerful senators can bring home a lot of bacon. Without earmarks, I wonder how McCain is helping his state to get govt fundings.

[sparks224]

"I told Congress ''thanks but no thanks,'' to that bridge to nowhere,"
"I''ll just take the $233 Million insead."

When you create a false impression, isn''t that the same as lying?

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

[gkilcup]

I suppose CBS is to be commended for catching
up with this story only a few days after the blogs.
BUT ... notice how they credulously relate that
"McCain ... is not on record ever landing an earmark."
The proof?! McCain said so.
Give CBS some more time and they may eventually
catch up with the blogs on this falsehood too.
To me, it is simply breathtaking how uninformed these guys are. There are so few reporters left.

[q188r]

I heard from a reliable source that Palin had 3 abortions in the 80''s.

[lovesamerica]

She is the devil

[samthetvcat]

So the earmark issue is relevant not because of the earmark but because of what it says about Palin''s capacity for truthfulness? Well technically she did say no, but her claims are misleading. Sort of how Barack said he was thinking about privacy rights when he voted for the FISA bill.

The righteousness from Barack''s supporters I find outrageous - comparing him to Jesus because they were both community organizers. Would Jesus ever have awarded insider contracts to a criminal to get a sweet deal on a mansion?

They''re all politicians - such a waste of time for any of them to argue moral superiority . . .

[baysidebum]

MCain asked for and received an earmark in 2006. $10 Million for the Rehnquist Academic Center. While this may be small change for Sarah Baracuda, it is more than sufficient to show the Straight Talk Express has derailed and CBS needs new fact checkers.

"When George Bush started his run for the White House back in the late 90''''''''s the first time I saw him a red flag went up. The last eight years have confirmed that my feeling was justified. That feeling is even stronger about Sarah Palin. There is something about this woman that just isn''''''''t quite right. At this point, I don''''''''t know enough about her to see it but I can feel it. I do know that she has lied from the moment she first appeared but the media have given her a complete pass and no one has asked hard questions except for Campbell Brown. . ."
Posted by Element51 at 10:33 PM : Sep 09, 2008

My thoughts exactly Element51! I also saw that "red flag" that you speak of the very first time I saw mention of George Bush. My "gut feelings" on Palin are that she could be an even greater danger to our beloved country! Something isn''''t right, I agree. It would be nice if I am wrong....but I don''''t believe I am. Only time will tell....unfortunately.

Posted by sun247
----------------
For me, the flags went up about the idiot-son when he started banging his "honorable military service record" drum. And again when he was trumpeting his environmental record as Governor of Texas. Nothing added up.
Same with Sarah - unless she has some fairly stunning things to say when (and if) she ever has to talk to the press, then things just ain''t adding up.
For myself, hypocrisy is an old story with republicans. I''ve come to expect it from them.

[vincan-2009]

Gag me.

[stn_sage]

This woman LIES about accepting earmarks---among her many questionable deficiencies, and people are EVEN considering her and McSame as VP and prez?! Remarkable!

Has the I.Q. of Americans dropped that low?! What have we been going through from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year after year under Bush/Cheney?

Scandal! Corruption! Incompetence! Perversion! Mismanagement! Haven''t people learned a thing, yet?!

If you give the GOP another four years, they''ll have no incentive to change and do what''s morally, ethically, and legally right! We need recovery time!

Give it to Obama/Biden, they CAN''T do worse than Bush/Cheney! IF they don''t do the job, we vote them out next time! But,to keep the people in charge who have screwed America up so badly is pure stupidity!

[ds2oo8]

Please check this out ... the most comprehensive page of information on Sarah Palin on the Internet ... including videos of her saying her proposed $30 billion pipeline is the %u201Cwill of God,%u201D her saying a month ago she doesn%u2019t know what the vice-president does, and her recently praising the biggest pork barrel spender in Congress Ted Stevens -

http://dailysource.org/palin

It has in-depth research, audio clips, videos, excerpts, and links to hundreds of articles, including many from newspapers and TV stations in Alaska. It has rare footage, including her telling the %u201808 convention of the Alaska Independence Party, whose aim is to give Alaska a vote on seceding from the U.S., to %u201Ckeep up the good work.%u201D The level of research is unparalled. The site%u2019s editors and volunteers include an Emmy-award winning CNN reporter, the former operating editor of the Monitor%u2019s web site, the former head of NPRs News Blog and the Executive Director of the Online News Association -

http://dailysource.org/about/team

Please repost email it to anyone who might want to know more.

[samthetvcat]

---"Has the I.Q. of Americans dropped that low?! What have we been going through from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year after year under Bush/Cheney?"---
Posted by stn_sage

That''s why I think camp Barack is doomed - they seem to have this odd style of insulting the very people they''re trying to persuade to vote for him. Acting like we are ignorant and need to be ''educated'' about Palin.

I have no patience for this whole line of argument - I thought less of Barack for not picking Hillary not just because he could and didn''t and that was a blow to women, but because it was blowing off what the polls said would have been an 8 point advantage and it left him vulerable to McCain with his later GOP convention doing exactly what he did with his VP pick. Who DOES that? What on earth was he thinking?!?

And now he''s on the defense and has turned the national dialogue into this huge head-butting ''lipstick on a pig'' level of discourse. WAY too much needless drama . . .

[lordmi]

conclusion?
Do NOT trust her any word.
This uman was born just to lie.

[samthetvcat]

---"Do NOT trust her any word."---
Posted by lordmi

Spoken like the type of person who probably teared up when he assured you that ''it was never about me, it''s always been about you''

What''s lacking from camp Obama is credibility - I think that they''re assessing the situation accurately in that the nomination of Palin for VP has shifted the dynamic of the race from McCain pre-conventions needing for Barack to fail for him to win to now Barack needing for Palin to fail for him to win.

His fatal mistake is assuming that she can be made to fail - because everything in competition is relative such that she only needs to be as good as him, which isn''t that high a standard to meet given their inexperience and his penchant for double-talk. She DID after all become the first female Governor in Alaska''s history, the youngest Governor ever, and she had to do debates and press conferences to get there.

So if his plan is to prove his superiority by taking on an equal, well . . .

[bdwaiki]

I am no longer in even partial support of McCain or his poor decisions. I especially am not supportive of Palin or her apparent inability to separate religion from government or emotion from her job or even truth from reality. Pitbulls are known to make poor decisions when their emotions take control of their thoughts...lipstick or no lipstick. McCain''s campaign attempts to say everything against Palin is sexist, is sexist in itself and an insult to working women everywhere. I don''t think we need someone who is going to represent the nation in any way to talk about how she applies her lipstick; perhaps Hollywood or Vogue would be more interested.
I am a woman serving in the military. I love my country too much to let it be run by poor decisions. I respect McCain and his service to our country, but he is not who our country needs as president.

[samthetvcat]

---"So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia."---
Posted by Carolab1

Hi Carol, I don''t think that''s true that women are afraid - I think women are looking at the larger picture and have noticed that politicians have promised change every Presidential election since WWII and every President has essentially towed the party line in terms of policy.

The world has changed, and neither of the candidates appear to me to have changed along with it - by acknowledging Russia, Venezuela and Iran''s emerging geopolitical dominance acquired via their nation''s bountiful energy resources.

If either candidate actually showed true change as opposed to a mere change in party in power, I''m pretty sure fear wouldn''t be a factor . . .

[bdwaiki]

I am no longer in even partial support of McCain or his poor decisions. I especially am not supportive of Palin or her apparent inability to separate religion from government or emotion from her job or even truth from reality. Pitbulls are known to make poor decisions when their emotions take control of their thoughts...lipstick or no lipstick. McCain''s campaign attempts to say everything against Palin is sexist, is sexist in itself and an insult to working women everywhere. I don''t think we need someone who is going to represent the nation in any way to talk about how she applies her lipstick; perhaps Hollywood or Vogue would be more interested.
I am a woman serving in the military. I love my country too much to let it be run by poor decisions. I respect McCain and his service to our country, but he is not who our country needs as president.

[samthetvcat]

---"She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress."---
Posted by Carolab1

And WOW is that ever sure a tough argument to make that the guy who had the ability to nominate a woman for VP didn''t because he didn''t ''feel'' like it, but that therefore he''s better as a representative for women than an actual woman who''s raised herself up by her own bootstraps.

ds2008: CNN reporter, and the former head of NPRs News Blog need I say more?....lol

[samthetvcat]

Carol, also I''d be interested to hear what you mean by ''blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress'' - she''s anti-abortion, but the Democratic-controlled Congress has to approve of any nominations to the US Supreme Court. What specifically are you saying Palin will DO as VP to ''reverse forty years of feminist progress''?

[bdwaiki]

I am no longer in even partial support of McCain or his poor decisions. I especially am not supportive of Palin or her apparent inability to separate religion from government or emotion from her job or even truth from reality. Pitbulls are known to make poor decisions when their emotions take control of their thoughts...lipstick or no lipstick. McCain''s campaign attempts to say everything against Palin is sexist, is sexist in itself and an insult to working women everywhere. I don''t think we need someone who is going to represent the nation in any way to talk about how she applies her lipstick; perhaps Hollywood or Vogue would be more interested.
I am a woman serving in the military. I love my country too much to let it be run by poor decisions. I respect McCain and his service to our country, but he is not who our country needs as president.

[samthetvcat]

---"I am a woman serving in the military. I love my country too much to let it be run by poor decisions. I respect McCain and his service to our country, but he is not who our country needs as president."---
Posted by bdwaiki

Thank you for your service! And thanks for not passing judgment on McCain supporters the way so many seem tempted to do . . . I respect your right to disagree :)

[bdwaiki]

I am no longer in even partial support of McCain or his poor decisions. I especially am not supportive of Palin or her apparent inability to separate religion from government or emotion from her job or even truth from reality. Pitbulls are known to make poor decisions when their emotions take control of their thoughts...lipstick or no lipstick. McCain''s campaign attempts to say everything against Palin is sexist, is sexist in itself and an insult to working women everywhere. I don''t think we need someone who is going to represent the nation in any way to talk about how she applies her lipstick; perhaps Hollywood or Vogue would be more interested.
I am a woman serving in the military. I love my country too much to let it be run by poor decisions. I respect McCain and his service to our country, but he is not who our country needs as president.

[bdwaiki]

I am trying to delete the multiple comments my computer just submitted. I apologize for the overpost.

[samthetvcat]

---"perhaps Hollywood or Vogue would be more interested."---
Posted by bdwaiki

Oh no, is Barack now going to have competition in that arena too? Double bummer LOL :D

[samthetvcat]

---"I am trying to delete the multiple comments my computer just submitted. I apologize for the overpost."---
Posted by bdwaiki

I did that this afternoon - happens to everybody . . . your comment was interesting! :)

[lesaw-2009]

Sarah Palin did kill the "bridge to nowhere", she did allocate the money towards other projects for her state of Alaska. She actually requested less money than in the previous year. What is so wrong with her becoming more against wasteful spending as she moved up in her career? Obama has changed his mind on almost every major issue since the primaries.(FISA, taxes, Iraq, etc.) And everyone seems to be perfectly fine with him changing his mind, after 20 years, about his spiritual advisor, Rev. Wright. It makes this "Bridge to Nowhere", so-called flip-flop, seem pretty stupid and petty. In his time in the senate Obama has requested about a billion dollars in earmarks, the guy he''s running against(McCain, not Palin) has requested zero. And the biggest news, and the info CBS leaves out, is the fact that Obama and Biden both voted against a bill that would have diverted the bridge to nowhere money to Hurricane Katrina victims. Now that is poor judgement and Washington politics business as usuall, definetly not change I can believe in. With so many important stories that have not been covered about Obama, CBS seems weak to be reporting on this story. Why don''t they do an investigation on a lie Obama tells at every rally, "he is a change agent", looking at his stance on the issues, they look like the same old liberal, socialist crud.

[samthetvcat]

Posted by lesaw

That''s a fantastic post - I think it provides a more well-rounded picture of where Obama stands in terms of earmarks, that specific earmark, and his capacity to act any differently.

Usually I try to stick with the facts, but this whole line of argument that Barack is so pure is such a net-nullity that I just couldn''t be bothered. It''s not going to gain any traction, and his supporters aren''t interested in facts anyway . . .

Just annoying when the mud starts to get flung and there''s really nothing to be gained by it . . .

[ubrew12]

Palin, after becoming mayor, asked her town librarian what the procedure was for ''banning books'' from the library.

The librarian complained, saying that that was not in Palins pervue.

Palin fired her.

That''s your VP pick, Republicans. Sounds like Leona Helmsley to me.

Think she''ll leave the nations wealth to the dogs?

[bstratton7]

Thank goodness CBS is willing to tell the American people the truth. It is shocking how protected this woman is.

If Palin is not ready for a press conference how can she be ready to lead the free world? She should face tough questions about the glib fibs she told to the nation.

[samthetvcat]

Classic example of Barack being incapable of making a net gain and winning over voters:

His justification for using the ''lipstick on a pig'' comment - John McCain the guy who calls his wife a ''c*nt'' used it against one of his female competitors (Hillary during the primaries).

So like, not only does he point out how he''s on that level of respect for women, at least the guy who calls his wife a ''c*nt'' was smart enough to know that having a woman on the ticket would be the game-changer, and not above doing it.

Duh!

[ubrew12]

That takes alot of ''strength''
To say NO THANKS
but to take the money anyway...
Serious backbone there... lOL

[samthetvcat]

I think it''s hillarious his supporters keep flinging the mud - no points made on substance, and women keep thinking less of him and his supporters . . . AND they can''t stop.