McCain had criticized earmarks from Palin

[sabra]

Source: LA Times

Three times in recent years, the Arizona senator's lists of 'objectionable' pork spending have included earmarks requested by his new running mate.


WASILLA, ALASKA -- For much of his long career in Washington, John McCain has been throwing darts at the special spending system known as earmarking, through which powerful members of Congress can deliver federal cash for pet projects back home with little or no public scrutiny. He's even gone so far as to publish "pork lists" detailing these financial favors.

Three times in recent years, McCain's catalogs of "objectionable" spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time -- Sarah Palin.

Now, McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has chosen Palin as his running mate, touting her as a reformer just like him.

McCain has made opposition to pork-barrel spending a central theme of his 2008 campaign. "Earmarking deprives federal agencies of scarce resources, at the whim of individual members of Congress," McCain has said.

But records show that Palin -- first as mayor of Wasilla and recently as governor of Alaska -- was far from shy about pursuing tens of millions in earmarks for her town, her region and her state.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-earmarks3-2008sep03,0...

[dubyaD40web]

1. McLame couldn't have picked a better veep....

I was hoping for Lieberman but Palin is really opening up a can of worms for him. This is just too easy.

[dennis4868]

2. But but but....

MSNBC and FIXED News just told me that she is a maverick and reformer...

[redqueen]

3. When's the first ad?

Thanks McDirtyOldMan!

[paparush]

4. This Bimbo is the iceberg against which Titanic-McCain will grind itself.

Sinking slowly, but inevitably, to an icy grave.

[mwb970]

7. I'm not sure she is a "bimbo".

Wrong on everything, yes. Unqualified for VP, yes. Doomed, yes. But I associate "bimbo" with a different type of person.

[paparush]

8. Bimbo is more friendly than the other terms I was going to use. :-)

[krkaufman]

11. Doesn't say much about your lexicon, then.

We might remember that gender-specific attacks are amongst the most unproductive one could mount.

[paparush]

18. Way too touchy feely. This election is war. No prisoners. Take the gloves off or lose.

And we CANNOT lose this time.

[krkaufman]

19. Except that terminology used will drive AWAY a key demographic both sides are fighting for. nt

[raebrek]

5. Here is the entire article by Palin

http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/mar/05/setting-earma...

Raebrek!!!

on edit: to say this article is the one quoted in the link of the OP.

[Zenlitened]

6. Once, again, we see just how out of touch John McCain is.

He's just not fully aware of what's going on around him. That's a difficult way to get through the day for all of us, as we get older. For the President of the United States of America... that's just plain dangerous.

[Solly Mack]

9. McCain's a liar. This is just one more example

[Bluestar]

10. This woman is Bush in a skirt

She never met a federal fund she didn't like or couldn't squander. She uses and abuses her power vindictively. She makes decisions from her emotions.

The MSM is finally doing some real journalism. Apparently the "vacuum" of information that the McCain campaign has left because he is oh-so-ticked-off at the press is starting to bite them from behind.

[krkaufman]

12. And don't forget "loyalty over competence" and science denial

How can the public expect someone who denies basic science to steward our country to a new, alternative energy future?

[HopeHoops]

13. Palin's pork requests confound reformer image

Source: AP via Yahoo News

ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain touts Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a force in the his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers, but under her leadership the state this year asked for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects from one of McCain's top adversaries: indicted Sen. Ted Stevens.
...
That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress for the current budget year, and runs counter to the reformer image that Palin and the McCain campaign are pushing.
...
"I have championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress," Palin said in her vice presidential campaign trail debut last week.
...
At the same time, Palin's campaign trail braggadocio last week that she told Washington "'thanks but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere" didn't tell the whole story.

In fact, Palin was for the infamous $398 million bridge — to connect the town of Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport on it — before she was against it, speaking in favor of it during her 2006 race for governor.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_pal... ;_ylt=AseqEsQitZ8Jke9fEqAFKdqs0NUE

---

Reminds me a bit of candidate Shrub, at a time when gas was $1.36/gal around these parts...
"Gas prices are too high. Dick and I are oil men. I'll get on the phone and jawbone OPEC into lowerin' prices."

Yeah, Palin has top GOP experience - say one thing, do another, and lie, lie, lie for evermore.

[L. Coyote]

14. “Do you know how many sties you own?”

The winner's text from: Election 2008 'Toon In - http://www.pbs.org/now/php/cartoons.php

What did John McCain ask Sarah Palin during the vetting process?

“Do you know how many sties you own?”


"We porkers have to think about our barrel first."
"Yeah, if the trough remains full, I don't care who slings what."

[AzDar]

15. This is hilarious...and kind of sad.

John Mccain is a full-on IDIOT.

[JenniferJuniper]

16. feeling groovy

[nbcouch]

17. WHAT reformer image?

Palin says she is a reformer, McCain says she is a reformer, and apparently some people in Alaska are convinced, for no discernable reason, that she is a reformer. Beyond that, I see no justification for conferring that label upon her. For example, she campaigned for millions in local pork projects as mayor of little ol' Wasilla, via a hired lobbyist, just like she's campaigned for state-level earmarks.

McCain wants to run with someone who is known as a reformer, so they pick this Palin woman, call her a reformer, and that's the end of that, right? What a crock of crap. It is no different from the McCain campaign, and most of the media, insisting on calling McCain a "maverick," when he long ago ceased to deserve being called that. It's been years since he fought the Bush administration on anything of substance. He's voted with them 95-100 percent of the time in 2008 and 2007. Obama has been charitable and given him credit for voting with BushCo only 90% of the time, but in fact it is more than that.

McCain has fully embraced BushCo on a wide range of issues, including even torture. He campaigned vigorously for Bush in 2004. He sold out to the current GOP establishment ages ago. You just can't credibly call him a maverick, any more than you can credibly call Palin a reformer.

This is the Big Lie propaganda technique being practiced here, folks, about McCain and about Palin. Time to call a spade a spade.

[newtothegame]

20. Love it!! n/t

[Captiosus]

21. For the record

Here's the link to the PDF where McCain, himself, lists Wasilla's 500,000 earmark as an "Objectionable Provision" in S. 1178. Page 10 of the PDF, about middle of the page.

http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Fi...

I'm currently digging for the others, but there it is in black and white and listed officially on his Senate page. He clearly calls out the earmarking going to the Palin-led town.