McCain Was Against Palin Before He Was For Her

One of John McCain's main selling points as a government reformer is that the Arizona Senator sure hates him some earmarks. He hates them so much that he's been willing to call them out by name. As a Senator, McCain's published "pork lists" full up with government spending he's deemed wasteful. On the stump he has promised much more of the same, vowing to make Congress' major pork players "famous."

That brings us, again, to Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Long before McCain focused the national spotlight on Palin as his Veep pick, he was making her famous as a dedicated feeder at the pork barrel trough. As the Chicago Tribune details:

In 2001, McCain's list of spending that had been approved without the normal budget scrutiny included a $500,000 earmark for a public transportation project in Wasilla. The Arizona senator targeted $1 million in a 2002 spending bill for an emergency communications center in town -- one that local law enforcement has said is redundant and creates confusion.

McCain also criticized $450,000 set aside for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla that was requested during Palin's tenure as mayor and cleared Congress soon after she left office in 2002. The funding was provided to help direct locally grown produce to schools, prisons and other government institutions, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group.

McCain's surrogates contend that Palin had no other choice but to seek funding through Federal earmarks. McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin told the Trib that Palin said she was "disgusted" at the fact that "small towns like hers were dependent on earmarks." But the records actually show that "Wasilla had received few if any earmarks before Palin became mayor."

Comments

[AforO]

Wait, no disregard my last comment, they've weighed in:

rollingdivision says:

"As a mayor Palin had no control over earmarks and was doing her job trying to qualify the town for the maximum amount of funding from county, state and federal funding. I'd be more concerned if she hadn't."

Wait... isnt' that a criticism of the top of their ticket now? I mean isn't this the basis of McCain's maverick and "fixing Washington" appeal? Make up your mind guys

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

yeah, make up your minds - was she the executive or not? She had no control but her job was to try to control begging for federal earmarks.

Okay, I get it now! It's okay if you beg for government money as long as you decry the begging of government money?

[AforO]

Anyone else noticing that the only republican's present in this comment stream (at least that I've seen) are one's which are making far reaching comments about Obama and Biden or McCain. Not one that I've seen have actually tried to defend Palin. Is it really so bad, is the evidence so incredibly stacked up against her, that even the irrational far right cannot defend her. Wow...

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

Yeah, what has McCain accomplished?

Obama has:

Of the 15 bills Senator Obama sponsored or co-sponsored in 2005-7 that became law:

Two addressed foreign policy:
Promote relief, security and democracy in the Congo (2125)
Develop democratic institutions in areas under Palestinian control (2370).

Three addressed public health:
Improve mine safety (2803)
Increased breast cancer funding (597)
Reduce preterm delivery and complications, reduce infant mortality (707).

Two addressed openness and accountability in government:
Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (2488)
Full disclosure of all entities receiving federal funds (2590)

Two addressed national security
Extend Terrorist Risk Insurance (467)
Amend the Patriot Act (2167)

One addressed the needs of the Armed Forces
Wave passport fees to visit graves, attend memorials/funerals of veterans abroad (1184).

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

Of the 570 bills Senator Obama introduced into the Senate during the 109th and 110th Congress (Senate Bill numbers are in parentheses), they can be summarized as follows:

25 addressed Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
Suspend royalty relief for oil and gas (115)
Reduce dependence on oil; use of alternative energy sources (133)
Increase fuel economy standards for cars (767, 768)
Auto industry incentives for fuel efficient vehicles (1151)
Reduce green house gas emissions (1324)
Establish at NSF a climate change education program (1389)
Increase renewable content of gasoline (2202)
Energy emergency relief for small businesses and farms (269)
Strategic gasoline and fuel reserves (1794)
Alternative diesel standards (3554)
Coal to liquid fuel promotion (3623)
Renewable diesel standards (1920)
Reducing global warming pollution from vehicles (2555)
Fuel security and consumer choice (1994, 2025)
Alternative energy refueling system (2614)
Climate change education (1389)
Low income energy assistance (2405)
Oil savings targets (339)
Fuel economy reform (3694)
Plug-in electric drive vehicles (1617)
Nuclear release notice (2348)
Passenger rail investment (294)
Energy relief for low income families (2405)

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

21 addressed Health Care
Drug re-importation (334)
Health information technology (1262, 1418)
Discount drug prices (2347)
Health care associated infections (2278)
Hospital quality report cards (692, 1824)
Medical error disclosure and compensation (1784)
Emergency medical care and response (1873)
Stem cell research (5)
Medical Malpractice insurance (1525)
Health centers renewal (901, 3771)
Children’s health insurance (401)
Home health care (2061)
Medicare independent living (2103)
Microbicides for HIV/AIDS (823)
Ovarian cancer biomarker research (2569)
Gynological cancers (1172)
Access to personalized medicine through use of human genome (976)
Paralysis research and care (1183)

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

20 addressed Public Health:
Violence against women (1197)
Biodefense and pandemic preparedness and response (1821, 1880)
Viral influenza control (969)
End homelessness (1518)
Reduce STDs/unintended pregnancy (1790)
Smoking prevention and tobacco control (625)
Minority health improvement and disparity elimination (4024)
Nutrition and physical education in schools (2066)
Health impact assessments (1067, 2506)
Healthy communities (1068)
Combat methamphetamines (2071)
Paid sick leave (910)
Prohibit mercury sales (833, 1818)
Prohibit sale of lead products (1306, 2132)
Lead exposure in children (1811, 2132)

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

14 address Consumer Protection/Labor
Stop unfair labor practices (842)
Fair minimum wage (2, 1062, 2725, 3829)
Internet freedom (2917)
Credit card safety (2411)
Media ownership (2332)
Protecting taxpayer privacy (2484)
Working family child assistance (218)
Habeus Corpus Restoration (185)
Bankruptcy protection for employees and retirees (2092)
FAA fair labor management dispute resolution (2201)
Working families flexibility (2419).

[margardner]

"personal discovery" Sarah Palin rhetoric is easy, especially when you have someone write your speech, but what have you done? You spent your time as a typical Repub just bashing and being sarcastic, that's easy, but WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Not impressed!

[08Barack08]

McCain exercised poor judgment by choosing the inexperienced Sarah Palin to lead the free world if he were to become incapacitated.

Agree? Join the movement:
http://www.IMPALIN.com/
Impalin' the McCain-Palin machine o

[watereddown]

I feel like I'm watching a scene from an old WW2 movie where the Nazis rally and the camera shows the crowd- a sea of white faces, blonde and blue eyes, and the contagion of idiocy spreading through the throngs. Do these people realize how absurd and ridiculous they look?

[08Barack08]

McCain exercised incredibly poor judgment by choosing the inexperienced Sarah Palin to lead the free world if he were to become incapacitated.

Agree? Join the movement:
http://www.IMPALIN.com/
Impalin' the McCain-Palin machine of distrust.

[08Barack08]

McCain exercised poor judgment by choosing the inexperienced Sarah Palin to lead the free world if he were to become incapacitated.

Agree? Join the movement:
http://www.IMPALIN.com/
Impalin' the McCain-Palin machine of distrust.

[joyfultoo]

"Is this mob, chanting "USA USA" typical of the American voter?? I pray that it's not."

Shade3,

I can happily tell you that the crowd is not even close to the average voter. According to CBSNews, the RNC delegates are 97% white, 5% are Hispanic and 2% are African American. Did you hear how the "Buenos Dias" greeting by Luis Fortado from Puerto Rico went over with this rich, white, conservative male crowd tonight?

The DNC delegates are more like the population of the US with 23% percent African American and 11% Hispanic.)

32% of RNC delgates are women (down from 43% in 2004). 50% of DNC delegates are women.

The RNC delegates overwhelmingly think Bush is doing a good job....a bit out of touch with the population as a whole where less than 1/3 support him. And almost 33% of RNC delegates are white evangelicals.

[CaptainSunshine]

This crowd would not only make English the official language of the US. It would make it the only language.

[T Pol]

Hyyyyy-po-criiiiiites, hyyyy-po-crites, posers every one.
The sheep are in convention, the surrogate's full of corn.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amateur Night at the Republican Trough, courtesy of your tax dollars.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

The Republicans don't even have a platform to run on except more of the same!

There was a rundown on issues and every single one was detailed and planned and most of the McCain policy issues were not elaborated, some with no plan whatsoever!

[shades3]

The Palin family haven't blinked once. They are sitting there, dazzled by all the hoopla. Ms. McCain is sitting beside the daughter and her boyfriend and she is being solicitous, paying attention to a family that she would pass by on the street as her inferiors.
I'm listening to Guiliani and he is hurling the insults at Obama, suggesting that SARAH PALIN would be the one he would trust in a crisis.
Is this mob, chanting "USA USA" typical of the American voter?? I pray that it's not.
YIKES!!!!!!

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

you've got to love the Freudian head shaking from Cindy McCain... No, no, no, no, no, no, no...

[IslandGyal]

Thank you!

[ThePublicRecord]

http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/301-palins-reformer-image-tainted-by-history-of-ethical-lapses-.html

Palin's Reformer Image Tainted by History of Ethical Lapses

When John McCain trotted out Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, his campaign and much of the U.S. news media depicted the Alaska governor as an ethics “reformer” whose meteoric political rise came from her confronting corruption within her own state Republican Party.

But a closer look at Palin's short political career reveals that she committed some of the same ethical lapses that she has attacked, especially during her unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor in 2002

[LeawoodKansas]

So she is in favor of them if they go to the state of Alaska?

Hypocrite.

[wpiv926]

Some reformer. One of the only things McCain has been steadfast against is earmarks. And I mean about the only one. And his running mate cancels this out. Man, this is getting better every minute.

[entropyisfun]

Why do you hate women? Don't you know John McCain was a POW?

[kotipup]

LOL!

[Lupin77]

Heard she has received millions in earmarks in the past and would like to know more about that ie what were they for?