Palin for Bridge to Nowhere Before She Was Against It
The Page by Mark Halperin — ... Anchorage Daily News: The Alaska governor campaigned on the build-the-bridge platform in 2006, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them “nowhere.” ...

For It Before She Was Against It
Talking Points Memo — ... Several readers have pointed out that Palin's claim this week that "I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere" doesn't line up with previous pro-Ketchikan Islands statements. But today, the Anchorage Daily News takes it one step further: ...

Palin lied about opposition to "Bridge to Nowhere"
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — Well, at least she has one major qualification to be a Republican president. She's a liar. This, from her home state paper, the Anchorage Daily News: ...

Overload: Palin goes all “John Kerry” on the Bridge to Nowhere
The Moderate Voice — During her speech upon being introduced as John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin scored big points with the fiscal conservative crowd. “I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,” Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to Ketchikan’s Gravina Island bridge. Well, it seems that much like John Kerry on a certain infamous vote, she was for it before she was against it. The Alaska governor campaigned in ...

Latest Lib Smear: Palin Was Not Against Bridge to Nowhere
Gateway Pundit — ... timing attacking this pro-gun, pro-Life, conservative mother of 5 who enjoys an 80% approval rating as Governor of Alaska. (Flickr) The latest lib smear is that Palin did not oppose the "Bridge to Nowhere". The Left is already starting to lie about Sarah Palin. But, sadly, it is the Left, once again, who is lying. They have such a difficult time with reading comprehension. Here is what the Anchorage Daily News reported today: "I told ...

SUNDAY ROUNDUP
News — ... points out that Bush will be in Houston instead, close enough to seem active in relief efforts but still not getting in the way. And the Barack Obama campaign and liberal bloggers are circulating an Anchorage Daily News story saying Palin ran on a build-the-bridge platform in 2006 despite her said opposition to the bridge, ...

Bridge to somewhere
Political Animal — ... after the bridge deal fell through. Indeed, she ran for governor on a " build-the-bridge platform ," and ended up directing federal funds to ...

That Bridge To Nowhere
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin was for the bridge until she was against it, and kept the money anyway: In September, 2006, Palin showed up in Ketchikan on her gubernatorial campaign and said the bridge was essential for the town's prosperity. She said she could feel the town's pain at being derided as a "nowhere" by prominent politicians, noting that her home town, Wasilla, had recently been insulted by the state Senate president, Ben Stevens. "OK, you've got Valley trash standing here in the middle of ...

Palin’s “Bridge to Nowhere”: Fiscally responsible or politically expedient?
Flopping Aces — ... Then again, as a candidate, and not an “in”, Palin was also not in possession of budgetary specifics either. Despite that, and with the obvious national controversy, Palin did say they were considering other alternatives to the bridge late in her campaign. Among these was a more efficient ferry system to replace the current ferry. ...

links for 2008-08-31
J. Bradford DeLong's Grasping Reality with All Eight Tentacles — ... Eduard Bernstein: Evolutionary Socialism (1899) Tom Kizzia: Palin touts stance on 'Bridge to Nowhere,' doesn't note flip-flop ...

Sarah's Pork
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — No different than anybody's, it turns out. Including that "bridge to nowhere." In fact, of course, The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them "nowhere." She then switched, faxed the press release to New York, kept the money for other pork projects and built the road to the bridge to nowhere, which makes it, I think, the road to nowhere. ...

Palin: For Bridge to Nowhere before against it
Jonathan Martin's Blog — Anchorage Daily News: When John McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, her reputation as a tough-minded budget-cutter was front and center. "I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere," Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to Ketchikan's Gravina Island bridge. But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it. The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them ...

Palin was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... when “she saw that Alaska was being perceived as taking from the country and not giving, and that impression bothered her and she wants to change it. … I think that Sarah Palin is someone who has the courage to reevaluate situations as they developed.”… McAlister said he was unaware of the details of Wasilla’s earmarks. But, he added, “As mayor of the city, her charge was very different than it is now. She’s obviously taking a much broader look at things as governor.” More at the Anchorage Daily News in a generally negative piece noting that the state didn’t give the funds ...

Basic Incompetence From McCain
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — ...   only to learn that Palin supported the project and even told residents of Ketchikan that they weren't "nowhere" to her. After the national outcry, she decided to spend the funds allocated to the bridge for something else. Actually, maybe it's more fair to say that coincident with the national outcry, she changed her mind. The story shows her political judgment, but it is not a reformer's credential. ...

What McCain Didn't Know About Palin
Hoffmania! — ...   only to learn that Palin supported the project and even told residents of Ketchikan that they weren't "nowhere" to her. After the national outcry, she decided to spend the funds allocated to the bridge for something else. Actually, maybe it's more fair to say that coincident with the national outcry, she changed her mind. The story shows her political judgment, but it is not a reformer's credential. ...

Media All Over The Map On 'Bridge To Nowhere' Story
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... As all politics are local, it makes sense that the most plainspoken account of VP nominee Sarah Palin's involvement in the famous "bridge to nowhere" fiasco is found in the Anchorage Daily News: ...

Chris Weigant: Framing Sarah Palin
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... road on the island to the Bridge To Nowhere that had been cancelled -- just so she wouldn't have to give the money back to the federal government. She spent $25 million federal tax dollars on a road to a bridge that isn't going to be built, rather than return it to the taxpayers in the other 49 states. Once again, so much for being 'against earmarks,' as John McCain claimed. Sounds more like 'Alaska first' than 'country first.'" (See the Anchorage Daily News for the whole Bridge To Nowhere saga.) ...

Must see: Reporters at convention are “rabid” over Kos smears of Palin, say Brzezinski and Barnicle
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... . Sure, she was a whistleblower on corruption, and yeah, she opposed Alaska’s GOP establishment as governor, and okay, she canceled the bridge to nowhere (after initially supporting it!!1!), but she’s taken earmarks . Really, now: ...

Stevens Is Palin's "Mortal Enemy"? Not Quite
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — ... Now, to be sure, all of this does not change the fact that Palin has been an occasional critic of the federal earmarking practice which Stevens has made his own. Nor the fact that she eventually changed her mind on the infamous "bridge to nowhere" that he fought for in the U.S. Senate (though, when running for Governor, Palin ...

A Hasty, Misguided Decision
Firedoglake — ... Fifth, Alaskans are challenging Sarah Palin's claim to have said, "I told Congress thanks but no thanks to that bridge to nowhere." ...

Strange We Can Believe In
Unqualified Offerings — ... that I haven’t tried to "sway her against" Sarah Palin yet. It remains to be seen whether Palin is merely as big a fraud as most politicians or a bigger one , but Palin herself is a ...

David Quigg: Cheering Deceit in St. Paul
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... Because once you're delirious enough to toss a Sunkist into a cider press, you're ready for the part of the speech where the governor who was for the pork-barrel Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it utters these earnest, erroneous words: "I told the Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' on that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves." ...

Chris Wallace Fact-Checks Sarah Palin’s Bogus ‘Bridge To Nowhere’ Claims
Think Progress — ... This is demonstrably false. Campaigning for governor, Palin visited the town of Ketchikan to promise action on the bridge. She “said the bridge was essential for the town’s prosperity,” and that “she could feel the town’s pain at being derided as a ‘nowhere’ by prominent politicians.” She said the time to secure the funding was now, “while our ...

Anchorage Daily News editorial: Hey, you know who’s been a pretty darned effective governor?
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... I’ve ever read, from a paper that’s well aware of her political faults. They’re not calling her a lightweight exactly, but it’s clear they think her interest in the nuts and bolts of policy is, let us say, insufficiently nuanced . Which makes their conclusion that she’d be a dynamite VP all the more surprising. Gov. Palin is not the kind of leader who gets bogged down in minutia and works 100-hours a week. Instead, she uses her charisma and a simple, clear vision to mobilize mass support for her agenda, then leaves the details and heavy lifting to others… As governor, she ...

McCain's Latest Ad-Spin...and Palin's Secret Emails
David Corn — ... Okay, how many times does it have to be pointed out? Governor Sarah Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere at first. This is how the Anchorage Daily News put it: ...

Obama: Palin lied
AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — ... . And she is. She has repeatedly claimed that she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere. She didn't. She supported it. Her support for the bridge was ...

No More Mister Nice Blog — ... Point out that Palin was for it before she was against it and that the state kept the money. (And go for the cheap seats -- use a cash-register sound on the last point.) ...

McCain Campaign Piles Up New Falsehoods On Bridge To Nowhere
TPM Election Central — ... Bottom line: Palin did not tell Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," on the bridge. It was Congress who cut off the money to Alaska. Oh, and she didn't Say No To Pork, either -- when Congress wouldn't spend that money on the Bridge, Congress did allow her to keep it for other projects. And she did. ...

Kinda Like An Old Soviet Factory
ArchPundit — The road to nowhere: Meanwhile, work is under way on a three-mile road on Gravina Island, originally meant to connect the airport and the new bridge. State officials said last year they were going ahead with the $25 million road because the money would otherwise have to be returned to the federal government. So when she says she hates earmarks it would be nice if the press could point out that she is lying. ...

More lies about the Bridge to Nowhere
Majikthise — ... McCain campaign just keeps digging itself in deeper on the Bridge to Nowhere story. Spokesman Tucker Bounds admitted that Palin was for the bridge before she was against it. Bounds tried to imply that Palin killed the plan when she realized that bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island would be a bad use of federal tax dollars. Actually, Palin only nixed the plan after it became clear that Congress wouldn't pay for the bridge. Palin used the federal money for other construction projects. ...

Alaska's Bridge To Nowhere: An Update
Pacific Views — ... , Sarah was able to find matching Alaska funds to finish the project. And why would she do something like that? Here's how her local paper describes it: ...

Amazing and depressing
Rising Hegemon — The local press organizations are actually able to perform the journalism on McCain and Palin the national media absolutely refuses to do: ...

The Road to Nowhere
The Agitator — I missed this when it came out. From an Anchorage Daily News article on the “Bridge to Nowhere” flap: Meanwhile, Weinstein noted, the state is continuing to build a road on Gravina Island to an empty beach where the bridge would have gone — because federal money for the access road, unlike the bridge money, would have otherwise been returned to the federal government. So not only did Palin support the BtN before she opposed it, not only did she accept the money for it anyway then divert it to other projects, she ...

The Road to Nowhere
Hit & Run — ... I missed this when it came out a couple of weeks ago. From an Anchorage Daily News article on the “Bridge to Nowhere” flap: ...

CNN Slams Palin for ‘Road to Nowhere’ Project She Couldn’t Oppose
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias — ... Boudreau did not emphasize that both Weinstein and Elerding were backers of the Bridge to Nowhere who are now angry with Palin for reversing course. They also failed to note that Weinstein ran the local Democratic campaign against her in 2006, as the Anchorage Daily News reported two days after Palin became McCain's running mate. ...

Sarah Palin And The Integrity Gap
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... 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 ...

Sarah Palin: The Welfare Queen from Wasilla
BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash — ... ."According to Politico, however, it's more than just tacky to spend donors' money on luxury clothing for one's family, it may actually violate the Federal Election Commission's prohibition against personal expenses. Palin is clearly used to getting a free lunch. Her record as a reformer is as thin as tissue paper. Her claim that she said "No thanks" to the bridge to nowhere? Bogus . Her selling the governor's private jet on eBay? It was eventually sold, but ...