Sarah Palin misled Republican supporters . Oh Great. What Next?
on 09/01/2008 at 03:51 AM
-’“would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?” she replied: “Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now - while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist’- Where in this exchange does it say Mrs. Palin advocated a Congressional earmark to fund the entire bridge project? Or that she was approving of/accepting of such an earmark - I read Congress to ‘assist’ - not fund it all or as accepting of earmarks.
-’However in 2007 her state received the highest per capita amount of federal funding, £253.16’- Slick way to imply federal funding and earmarks are one in the same - not always.
Boy the Liberals/Left of the World are grasping at straws to smear this Woman - McCain really, really picked a good one.
let’s not forget that Alaska gets so much federal money because it has a very large “indigenous peoples” population, and that, outside of the “big city” areas many Alaskans live in near poverty conditions. Plus there are all sorts of economic stimulus packages. And don’t forget that almost everything in Alaska cost double or triple what it costs down here in the lower 48 because of shipping distances and some crappy legislation pushed through in the late ‘50s. Schools are often run by radio or satellite because the students are so far apart.
Alaska may have received the highest level of funding in 2007, but they have been at or near the top for a long time. Living up there is quite a challenge, and developing the state is a long and expensive process. Gov. Palin flies her own float plane because there are many many little towns that don’t even have roads to them. It is wilderness, for real.
Alaska is almost 3 times the size of Texas (663,267 sq miles VS 261,797) but has a population of only 670,000 - less than 1/13th the population of New York City. Barely 1 person per square mile! (For our UK readers, Alaska is just a bit bigger than the size of the entire UK - England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland - PLUS all of France. Yet it has a population 1/5 that of Wales (or 1/3 of the city of Dublin).)
So if you were to recalculate federal aid per square mile, Alaska would come out near the bottom and New Jersey would probably float to the top. If this $501 figure is correct, then Alaska got $335 million in federal aid. Big whup. Last year, NYC got $125 million, more than a third as much, just to build a single subway line.
Even so folks, this is worrisome at best. Peiper, I hate to disagree with you, but the statement that she stopped the bridge and the statement that she’d put state funds into the bridge project just don’t seem to square. If she’s ready to spend her own state’s money on it, that just doesn’t sound like opposition. Have I missed something?
Overall, the federal funding is a combination of successful lobbying and the needs of Alaska. When the situation is looked at properly, I’ve no doubt that it would be ok. The problem will be getting the electorate to see it.
I still like her better than Biden, or Obama for that matter, but this could hurt.
Yeah Jeff, you did. Her words, as I remember them, were “If we want a bridge WE’LL build it”.
Whoa folks! This is a situation that the Dems can exploit for propaganda. Her actual qualifications or sense of ethics really aren’t in question, at least not by me. The problem is how the Dems can use the two apparently incongruous statements to make political trouble. If you take sound bites out of context, you can make almost anyone look like a cross between Jack the Ripper and a child molester. That’s the danger here.
Look at all my posts. This one I give her the lightest praise by saying that I like her better than I liked her better than Obama or Biden. I probably should have included McCain too. In other posts, I have even gone so far as to say I’d like her for President. I just plain like her.
Sorry about wandering off. I’ve been a bit H.U.A. for a while, but I’ve at least got my chin and mouth out now. Smells bad in here though.
The problem is how the Dems can use the two apparently incongruous statements to make political trouble. If you take sound bites out of context, you can make almost anyone look like a cross between Jack the Ripper and a child molester.
Indeed. And they will, count on it.
09/01/2008 at 11:34 AM
