Palin In '06: I Won't Let "Spinmeisters" Turn Bridge To Nowhere Into "Something Negative"

On the campaign trail Saturday, Gov. Sarah Palin defended her record on earmarks and spending claiming - per ABC's Jake Tapper - that she "championed reform of earmark spending by Congress, and I told the Congress thanks but no thanks on that 'Bridge to Nowhere.' If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves."

By now, it is evident that the Alaska Republican is either knowingly deceiving voters or simply has her facts wrong when it comes to her support for the bridge. Palin backed the project when she ran for the governor's seat, even posing for a picture holding a t-shirt reading "Nowhere, Alaska" - a sympathetic gesture to the ridiculed construction plans.

And, it turns out, she once promised the voters of her home state that she would not only come to the defense of the bridge but would "not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative."

Here Palin is from an October 2, 2006 interview with the Ketchikan Daily News, conducted before she was elected governor (and before her opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere became a linchpin of her national persona).

"Asked what issues she's hearing about from Southeast Alaskans, Palin said many residents here feel they've been ignored in some sense.

"I'm hearing from a lot of Southeast residents who believe that maybe they haven't been given their due respect," she said. "Part of my agenda is making sure that Southeast is heard. That your projects are important. That we go to bat for Southeast when we're up against federal influences that aren't in the best interest of Southeast."

She cited the widespread negative attention focused on the Gravina Island crossing project.

"We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative," Palin said.

The Gravina bridge proposal has been a priority of Govs. Frank Murkowski, Tony Knowles and previous governors as well as the Alaska Department of Transportation, said Palin.

"There needs to be a link between Ketchikan and its future and its future opportunities and progress, opening up land in this area," she said.

Then there is this quote that was picked up by NPR, in which Palin praised the pork that the Alaska congressional delegation was able to secure in the transportation bill. The praise of Don Young, who has been ridiculed for his earmarks and is under criminal investigation for his dealings with Alaska oil services company Veco Corp., is particularly problematic.

"And our congressional delegation, God bless 'em. They do a great job for us," Palin said at the forum hosted by the Alaska Professional Design Council. "Representative Don Young, especially God bless him, with transportation -- Alaska did so well under the very basic provisions of the transportation act that he wrote just a couple of years ago. We had a nice bump there. We're very, very fortunate to receive the largesse that Don Young was able to put together for Alaska."

Comments

[OMG1]

The message originally posted on the 7th.

This woman is a chronic liar:

I just saw footage of her in New Mexico regurgitating her RNC acceptance speech even though her opposition to the bridge to nowhere and selling the executive jet on ebay have both been proven to be lies. Dis she really even fire the chef? Is that a lie also? Does anyone know?

The answer: She lied about this too. Hired the person in a different position but she continued to cook for the family as the chef.

[retiredalaskan]

In the 2006 gubanatorial debate which is being used to say Sarah Palin supported the bridge and thus changed her position, the question was about the access road, not about the bridge. The contract for the access road had already been signed by the current governor. Only money for the access road was received by Gov. Murkowski and the contrct to spend it was sigtned by Murkowski. Sarah did turn down further funds. I heard Sarah say that a 'link' to Ketchican was very important but I always heard her use the word "link', not bridge which made me think she planned to look at other ways to link to Ketchican. The media is playing a clip from that debate but not enough so people get the whole story. The entire video is on the net and people need to listen to the question and her entire answer.

[nobush3rd]

Tell Governor Palin and the State of Alaska to put OUR money where HER mouth is:

http://www.petitiononline.com/giveback/petition.html

This is a petition just started to ask Congress and the President of the United States to request that Gov. Palin and the State of Alaska return the funds that are so obviously scorned by Sarah Palin.

The truth is, by the time she got into office, Congress had already released those funds to Alaska to use on any transportation project in the state... and they did. So Sarah didn't speak to Congress AT ALL. And she never told anyone "Thanks, but no thanks."

It is that kind of exaggeration and swagger than typifies the Republican message both by Palin AND McCain. Where's the beef? Do you have NO real accomplishments that are TRUE that you can point to? Or plans and issues you can stand on? And not CHANGE -- we already KNOW whose message THAT is.

But honestly, Sarah... if you are REALLY so against those funds... GIVE THEM BACK.

I'm sure the American public can find somewhere to spend the $433,000,0­00.00 in funding that Alaska received because of that earmark.

[ohiodem250]

We have taken the bait on earmarking - allowing the political conversation to pronounce that earmarks are bad, even allowing McCain to denounce earmarks all together and say, in his RNC speech, that he would veto any bill that contains an earmark. I can tell you this, Cincinnati got money in that Transpo Bill for a bridge that spans the Ohio river and contains the merged highways of both I-71 and I-75 (71 stretching from Cleveland to Louisville and 75 stretching from the top of Michigan to the bottom of Florida). This highway is in serious danger of falling down and it is a major traffic bridge. We need this money and I think our politicians were right in asking for it. I do agree that earmarks should no longer be anonymous so that wasteful politicians can be singled out. I also believe that we should no longer attach these earmarks to unrelated bills. The omnibus bills need to stop! The other thing we are letting this earmark scandal divert us from is the unconstitutional line-item veto. The President is not a king! He is not even part of the legislative branch! If he finds some spending untenable he should veto the whole bill. Congress can then either amend or pass it by 2/3 majority. Did everyone skip Civics in high school or what?

[Fudnick]

The answer to Jaime Lee Curtis' question "Do You Think I'm Stupid?" is YES, I do!

[dadw5boys]

PALIN IN EFFECT STOLE THE MONEY AND UISED IT FOR OTHER PROJECTS.

Of course with no accountability in the Bush Adminstration no one cared!!!!!!!

[rasthedestroyer]

scratch a liar, catch a thief...

[rock2casbah]

How many times does she evoke a "God bless you" into her conversations with the public. I could see occassionally, but she makes a mockery of the usem when evoking it for every sentence. She worries me.

[wdw101]

good

[MountainTime]

Im not not against bridges, i love the idea of infrastruc­ture--howe­ver--where did The Bridge go To? Nowhere? They need to build a giant expensive bridge from san bernadino to los angeles, AND a few other key places to reduce gridlock AND at the same time lower gas prices for everyone in the world for easing the traffic congestion.

[LiberalBuzz]

And what is more amazing is how the MSM is STILL giving her a pass on all of her lies.

NONE of them have called her on it.

NOT ONE PERSON.

[DRaymond]

"We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative,"

And she has succeeded! The spinmeisters have turned the Bridge to Nowhere into her signature example of being a reformer. Doesn't that count as something positive?

[TJustSaying]

Palin is the spin master.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7SweseBkHg&feature=related

[gkurp]

What a joke.. Charlie Gibson!!! Mister Flag pin himself..

[TishiJo]

Palin's lies are obvious, and easy to prove, but it is her views that are most frightening and threatening to the American people, especially to women!!!

[loveamerica4real]

In from Alaska newspaper.
The nomination of Sarah Palin as VP candidate may be bring more attention to Alaska, but some of it may not be so welcome. At this moment, more than one Republican Congress Critter in the lower 48 states are being questioned such as, "why has so much earmark money gone to Alaska when they have so much money to give out to residents". "Why is the per capita earmark dollars for Alaska about eight times what is for the average state"?

This may back fire and cost the State of Alaska some serious $!