Palin Killed Bridge to Nowhere, per ….. AK Dems
The indefatigable Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs has the news:
Alaska Democratic Party Deletes Page Crediting Sarah Palin with Killing ‘Bridge to Nowhere’
A web site paid for by the Alaska Democratic Party says unequivocally that the state of Alaska officially abandoned the Bridge to Nowhere project, and credits Governor Sarah Palin.
Or … it used to say that, before the page mysteriously vanished some time during the past few days
Indeed, the link goes to a now-empty page.
But Johnson notes that it has since been revived at another URL.
The original story comes from “The Senate Conservatives Fund,” and was also noticed by Jake Tapper at ABC shortly after Johnson caught it (considering the three-hour time difference between Johnson and Tapper on the west and east coasts). I should also point out that it’s conceivable that the story was merely moved, or that the remainder of the original URL (“/ted-earmarked-funds-for-bridge-that-goes-nowhere/”) was simply dropped.
Nonetheless, enjoy what Alaska Dems are saying about the Bridge (oddly titled), especially Palin’s role in it, because you won’t see it acknowledged at traditional media outlets:
Ted Earmarked Funds for Bridge that Goes Nowhere
The proposed Gravina Island Bridge, also known as the “Bridge to Nowhere,” became a national symbol of wasteful congressional spending and driver of earmark reform. On Sept. 21, 2007, the State of Alaska officially abandoned the controversial project.
The Gravina Island Bridge initially received $223 million in 2005 via earmarks by Alaska Senators Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski. The bridge would have connected Ketchikan, Alaska with its local airport on nearby Gravina Island (population 50). Congress stripped the earmark after a national uproar about it but appropriated the money anyway for unspecified transportation uses. Former Gov. Frank Murkowski’s administration set aside about $113 million of the appropriation for the Ketchikan bridge. However, Gov. Sarah Palin said the $398 million bridge was $329 million short of full funding, and only $36 million in federal funds were set aside for it. She said it was clear Congress had little interest in spending any more money for it and that the state had higher priorities.
We can quibble about specifics. But the fact is that Palin was governor when the project was abandoned, and no amount of spinning can change that.
Crossposted at NewsBusters.org.
Palin’s repeated claim is that she “told Congress no thanks on that bridge to nowhere.”
You’ve linked to a page that indicates, “Congress stripped the earmark after a national uproar about it but appropriated the money anyway for unspecified transportation uses.” Also from this page, “Gov. Sarah Palin said the $398 million bridge was $329 million short of full funding, and only $36 million in federal funds were set aside for it. She said it was clear Congress had little interest in spending any more money for it and that the state had higher priorities.”
If “Congress stripped the earmark,” and “Congress had little interest in spending any more money,” exactly when and how did Palin tell Congress “No thanks?”
Comment by Tony B. — September 9, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
#1, I wrote the last para as I did because I could care less.
The money could have been used in its entirety for the bridge, and in the Stevens-Young-Murkowski days it might well have been. Under Palin, it wasn’t. I don’t need to know any more than that.
But to satisfy your obsession, see #59 here and follow the link to Hot Air. If this makes her less than perfect, so be it. Obama still has Bill Ayers, ACORN, and a gazillion other things he’ll never satisfactorily explain, and the best his side can do is claim that money that was originally targeted for wasteful spending wasn’t wasted.
Also, nothing can change the fact that Dems in AK were pleased with the bridge-not-built outcome.
Comment by TBlumer — September 9, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
Most Americans are pleased this extremely wasteful project, championed by Alaska’s two Republican Senators, has died. Many media outlets are now acknowledging that, despite her repeated claims, it wasn’t Sarah Palin who killed it.
Comment by Tony B. — September 10, 2008 @ 9:08 am
#3, Club for Growth to Tony B and other Obama shills — Horse manure.
I second that.
Comment by TBlumer — September 10, 2008 @ 9:37 am