Palin certainly has balls.
LEBANON, Ohio (CNN) – Sarah Palin refuses to yield on her claim that she opposed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere earmark, despite charges by the Obama campaign that her assertion is a "lie."
"I told Congress thanks but no thanks for that Bridge to Nowhere," Palin said Tuesday in Lebanon, Ohio.
Though Palin recently came out against the completion of the Gravina Island Bridge, she initially supported the project as governor before it became a national symbol of wasteful pork barrel spending. In 2007, Palin’s office cancelled work on the bridge, but Alaska still kept the federal funds that were allocated for state transportation projects.
In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in earmarks, and in a Fairbanks newspaper column earlier this year, she wrote that federal monies, including earmarks, are “incredibly important” to the state. Palin also helped secure millions of dollars in federal money for her hometown of Wasilla while she was mayor.
Nevertheless, Palin told the outdoor audience in Ohio — many of whom came out in spite of the rain – that she was a champion of earmark reform in Alaska.
And from a new Wall Street Journal article:
Why is this one issue (earmarks)
such a big deal? Sen. McCain's anti-earmarks stance has been paramount to his campaign. The Arizona senator has blamed everything from the Minneapolis bridge collapse to Hurricane Katrina on Congress's willingness to stuff bills full of pork barrel spending.
As such, Gov. Palin's image as a "reformer" is part of the storyline the McCain campaign needs to complement the top of its ticket. Her quip about passing on the bridge and "building it ourselves" has been a staple of her stump....
.....At a rally today, Sen. McCain again asserted that Sen. Obama has requested nearly a billion in earmarks. In fact, the Illinois senator requested $311 million last year, according to the Associated Press, and none this year. In comparison, Gov. Palin has requested $750 million in her two years as governor -- which the AP says is the largest per-capita request in the nation.
Clearly, the Republicans are absolutely right and truthful about at least one thing - for many people, this election will
not be about the issues. If it was, Palin would be getting laughed back to Alaska by all....