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Did Palin Really Fight The “Bridge To Nowhere”?
Republicans have been heavily touting Sarah Palin's reformist credentials, with her supposed opposition to Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" as Exhibit A . But how hard did she really fight the project? Not very, it seems. Here's what she told the Anchorage Daily News on October 22, 2006, ...
1 Comment
  • humano humano
    +1
    Oh man i love her already -- the comedy is going to be priceless in a few weeks.
    Posted 8/30/2008 respond (flag)
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Palin as VP Pick: McCain’s Flip-Flop on Earmarks?
Angry Bear — ... speech: And I championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress -- I told Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," on that bridge to nowhere. (APPLAUSE) If our state wanted a bridge, I said we'd build it ourselves. Diana Marrero featured Palin’s picture with this caption: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's state may lead the country in per-capita pork barrel spending Brad Plumer goes further: She was very much for the bridge and insisted that ...

Palin and the bridge to nowhere
Political Animal — ... that stood out for me: "...I championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress -- I told Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said we'd build it ourselves." The McCain campaign has been flagging this pretty aggressively this afternoon. It's a shame, then, that Palin wasn't exactly telling the truth. As TNR's Brad Plumer explained , Palin actually supported the funding for the much-derided bridge project. That's not a good start for her very first public appearance as the ...

"NO THANKS"? REALLY?
Political Animal — ... and Brad have already said re: the Bridge to Nowhere line in Palin's speech, it's worth noting that while she said "no thanks" to the bridge, she didn't have a problem ...

Roger Ailes — Palin Was For The Bridge To Nowhere Before She Was Against It, But Only In The Sense That She Was Never Against It Bradford Plumer has the details.

Remainders: Palin-drome!
Ben Smith's Blog — The Daily Show takes on Obama. A day in the life of Lanny Davis. Tim Noah re-introduces America to the college sophomore responsible for Sarah Palin. Biden looks prescient on 9/11.  He gives a shout-out to Ed Rendell. The Republicans plan to go on air in North Carolina and Virginia. Palin's record on the Bridge to Nowhere doesn't exactly reflect today's comments. She did go to Landstuhl. An Alaska blogger isn't a fan. Comes now the oppo, in the form of ...

Defining Sarah Palin
The Caucus — ... Bridge to Nowhere. Her willingness to take on pork-barrel spending and government corruption sends a strong signal to Washington. Her extensive experience on energy issues and her pro-life record demonstrate a commitment to free-market values and conservative principles.” Democrats and left-leaning bloggers are already scrubbing the Palin claims on the Bridge to Nowhere, a symbol of pork-barrel projects that Senator McCain always mentions. Over at The New Republic’s The Plank blog, Bradford Plumer begins a fact-check of this claim, first citing an answer she gave in an ...

Palin Is The Perfect Conservative / Republican Pick
Open Left - Front Page — ... Buchanan's strong message championing states rights resonated with the roughly 85 people gathered for an Interior Republican luncheon in Fairbanks. ... Among those sporting Buchanan buttons were Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin and state Sen. Jerry Ward, R-Anchorage." Palin is a total wingnut Buchannite, (check out what that means in practice), but ran today on feminist themes. She is running as a reformer, but she is under investigation for ethics violations. She favored the bridge to nowhere, but is now running on opposing it. She called Clinton a ...

Palin begins Campaign by Lying
BlueNC - The people's think tank — Today in Dayton, Sarah Palin began her campaign to be the Vice President by lying to America about her record. She declared in no uncertain terms that she was against the Bridge to Nowhere. Always had been in fact. But that turns out to not be the case. The New Republic has the story October 2006 she said the following: 5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges? Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is ...

Rove Must Think Palin Is Inexperienced
Rook's Rant — ... Or maybe Rove did have a hand in the selection. No doubt there were some things Palin did that are now being named.

Palin: Favors Wasteful Spending -- If It's Your Money
Lawyers, Guns and Money — ... Brad Plumer has the goods on claims that Palin was opposed to the Bridge To Nowhere. She favored it, in the fine Alaska Republican tradition of joyous lunches at the federal trough: ...

Forgetting Sarah Palin--It's McCain's CHARACTER, Stupid!
Open Left - Front Page — ... (3) Flip-flopping on the "Bridge To Nowhere".  Part of Palin's reputation as a reformer is the claim that she opposed Senator Stevens' pork-barrel "Bridge To Nowhere."  Only TRN is reporting, not so much: ...

Palin Repeatedly Professed Desire To Renew Federal Funding For ‘Bridge To Nowhere’
Think Progress — ... It appears, however, that Palin is lying. As Bradford Plumer first noted, the Anchorage Daily News interviewed Palin during her 2006 campaign for governor. At the time, federal funding for the bridge ...

Sarah Palin: The other bridge to nowhere
BlueOregon — ... ." We know -- Republican talking points aside -- that Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere just two years ago, citing the need for action before her congressional delegation lost its political advantage. She ...

McCain and Graham Repeat False Claim That Palin Opposed The ‘Bridge To Nowhere’
Think Progress — ... for the project. But as Stephanopoulos notes,the claim made by McCain and Graham that Palin opposed the Bridge to Nowhere is patently false. ...

More from Palinland
Lawyers, Guns and Money — ... More substantively, Palin's vaunted record as a budget-trimming "maverick" and a principled opponent of federal pork is unpersuasive at best. She has never opposed federal earmarks on principle, even for the patently absurd Gravina Island bridge. And while she ...

Bridge to somewhere
Political Animal — ... strength as a leader is a blatant falsehood. On a couple of the Sunday morning shows, John McCain and his chief surrogates touted Palin's opposition to the now-infamous "bridge to nowhere," a $398 million bridge to connect the town of Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents. To McCain and his supporters, Palin's firm stand against the congressional earmark is compelling evidence of her courage and conviction. But what McCain and his cohorts are claiming is simply untrue . Palin supported the funding for the project , and kept the federal funds after the ...

To Serve For The Wrong Reasons
Crooks and Liars — ... She did that? Well, no. When told that Congress had stripped funding for the bridge, she said she was still in favor of Congressional assisstance for that and other Alaskan projects. And when that assistance didn’t materialize, ...

Palin Scandal Compendium
Open Left - Front Page — ... Deep ties to Alaska pork: Palin claims she opposed "the bridge to nowhere," but she was actually in favor of it for a while. She also ...

The Lies of Sarah Palin
Lawyers, Guns and Money — ... that Palin's extravagant claim that she "told Congress thanks but no thanks on that Bridge to Nowhere" is simply an "outright lie." And this is true not only in the sense that she was for it before she was against it, but also because by the time she become governor Congress had given up the earmark. Her self-praise was simply nonsense. And this lie might seem rather consequential, given that her fictitious opposition to federal pork is central to justifying McCain's selection (cf. ...

The Crackpiper Chronicles with Scott St. Clair - Part 4
HorsesAss.Org — ... latest effort in Crosscut is extraordinary. It’s jaw dropping. But it does give some excellent insight into why Sarah Palin was picked to be on the ticket. Palin is a true believer in the things that make wingnuttia what it is. She’s anti-choice. She believes in letting children figure out sex on their own. She has no knowledge or understanding of foreign policy. She questions evolution and global warming. And she can be a massive hypocrite without flinching. All of these things initially made me agree ...

Factchecking Palin
Obsidian Wings — ... mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man." Steve Benen's list of McCain flip-flops is here. See for yourself whether constancy is, in fact, John McCain's middle name. Palin: "I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves." Just to reiterate what others have said: Congress' requirement that funds be spent on that bridge (aka the 'earmark') were ...

Factchecking Palin
Political Animal — ... (pre-Palin), 2008 , 2009 (all pdfs). * "As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man." Steve's list of McCain flip-flops is here . See for yourself whether constancy is, in fact, John McCain's middle name. * "I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves." Just to reiterate what others have said : Congress' requirement that funds be spent on that bridge (aka the 'earmark') were ...

Oops! She Did It Again
Obsidian Wings — ... by hilzoy ABC's Political Punch reports on Sarah Palin's speech today: "She said she "championed reform of earmark spending by Congress, and I told the Congress thanks but no thanks on that 'Bridge to Nowhere'", she said, ommiting (sic) mention that she'd campaigned for governor supporting the bridge." I take it most readers of this blog will know that this is a flat-out lie. When politicians lie -- and here I mean not just putting the best spin on things, but out and out lying -- they might as well walk up to ...

Oops! She Did It Again
Political Animal — ... reports on Sarah Palin's speech today: "She said she "championed reform of earmark spending by Congress, and I told the Congress thanks but no thanks on that 'Bridge to Nowhere'", she said, ommiting (sic) mention that she'd campaigned for governor supporting the bridge." I take it most readers of this blog will know that this is a flat-out lie . When politicians lie -- and here I mean not just putting the best spin on things, but out and out lying -- they might as well walk up to each and every one of us and say: Hello! I have no respect for the value of your time! You might ...

McCaskill: ‘Sarah Palin Has Been An Earmark Queen In Alaska. That’s The Facts.’
Think Progress — ... the largest per-capita request in the nation.” Just last March, Palin wrote an op-ed in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, explaining that her “role at the federal level is simply to submit the most well-conceived earmark requests we can.” Fiorina’s assertion that it is a “fact” that Palin “rejected the money for the Bridge to Nowhere” is wrong. Once Congress removed the designation for the bridge from the earmark, Palin took the money and redirected it to other projects. As Keith Ashdown, chief ...

Sarah Palin And The Integrity Gap
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... so her views on the matter are certainly relevant. Now during her campaign, Palin did two things. One, which is entirely understandable although something she's reversed herself on when addressing a national audience, is to object to the rhetorical device of calling it a "bridge to nowhere," which naturally irked the residents of the Ketchikan area. Hence, her photo op with the "Nowhere" T-shirt and criticism of "spinmeisters". And second, she supported the bridge project itself. See, e.g., here, here, here and ...

Related: did palin really fight the “bridge to nowhere?, anchorage daily news palin, sarah palin credentials
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