Sarah Palin: Give the Money Back

Sarah Palin famously said in her Republican convention speech that she told Congress "thanks, but no thanks" for the Bridge to Nowhere. Now, this has been discredited in just about every media outlet in the country. During the Charlie Gibson interview, she didn't even deny that she in fact lobbied for the bridge when she was running for governor.

This, of course, has not stopped her from making the same claim dozens of times since it's been discredited. But what's even more interesting is that she apparently kept as much of the money as the federal government sent her. What happened to thanks, but no thanks?

Though the entire financing for the bridge did not pan out, the US government has set aside $73 million for the project. So far, a lot of money has been wasted building access roads to bridges that don't exist and never will. Of course, people get rich off these projects, so they don't give a damn where they lead as long as the money leads right back into their pockets.

So, I'd like to start a simple campaign called "Give the Money Back." If Sarah Palin is going to claim how much she dislikes earmarks -- despite the fact that she asked for over $250 million in earmarks this year for Alaska and asked for more earmarks per capita for Wasilla than any other city in the country -- let her prove it. Why doesn't she give back the $73 million set aside for this useless project?

Remember that's our money. Republicans love to talk about how it's the taxpayer's money and they know how to spend it better than the government. In this case, I agree. I certainly know how to spend it better than the Alaskan government. So, give it back.

Pass this message on. Demand that Sarah Palin give back our money. That $73 million is now sitting in the bank account to nowhere. It's time that it be returned to its rightful owners -- us!

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Comments

[scotchbonnet]

Bumper stickers, T-shirts - get these sold and donate the money to the Obama campaign....

Who wants to take this up.

Brilliant idea for a campaign!

[alt01]

"Thanks" to the bridge, "No thanks" to the project.

The statement is linguistically factual... it's the only explanation for the way she stubbornly persists in the ad nauseum repetition of this phrase.

But hey, the American people aren't supposed to question, they're just supposed to believe what they're told... it worked for Bush! The McSame campaign just jumped on the bandwagon!

[alt01]

That should be "thanks" to the money, "No thanks" to the bridge, as that offer had been off the table by that point!

[alt01]

Don't you get it? She's being TOTALLY HONEST: She said "Thanks" for the money, but "No thanks" to the bridge...

Stop calling her a liar, she did what she said she did...although, I thought the underlying problem with earmarks was the money, not the project...thankfully Sarah straightened me out on that!

[identify]

mccain morphed into a obviously pathological liar, and by sheer stroke of luck, picked a running mate who is the cheney to his bush.. at least he got one thing right this year...everything else has been a disasta!

[Carolab]

Let's tell John McCain, "thanks but no thanks on that Sarah Palin".

[Agent420]

She will not give up the money as there are two other bridges to almost nowhere to be built.

[yliza]

I live in a Red State, and I have actually used this argument. Too bad the listeners were chanting "LA LA LA I DON'T HEAR YOU" with their fingers in their ears.

[RevDr]

Great idea! I sent my email to Gov. Palin.

[mslindab]

Even more shameful, I read that Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) wanted to transfer the bridge earmarks to help Katrina victims. The issue isn't so much about the bridge. The issue is SHE KEPT THE EARMARK MONEY!

[PioneerKing]

CENK:

touche'!

great hit

[larry278]

Cenk, gr8, if it didn't sound like I was asking for Gov Palin's ill gotten gains for Alaska, I'd say, "Here, Here!".

[demfriend]

Great idea Cenk!! Though I doubt she would be able to "find the money" to give it back. I think it mught be helping to pay the per diem on her being home or maybe on the efforts into trying to hide the facts about "troopergate". Actually as her husband is not really on the Alaska Gov payroll andhe's getting all of those "CCs" on email he is probably hiring the native Alaskans to build a bridge on melting ice floes to put them on to make sure they go away. After all the money Palin says is going to infrastructure so it fits.... Creative firing is her specialty as we have found so the hubby has to do the dirty work while she cooks (Gov chef reassigned), cleans (got the use the per diem money on something useful so the guns must be cleaned just in case) and does the family duties (planning the shotgun wedding and building the muscles up so the photo ops with Trig don't wear her out) and all the while doing all of the course work for the new job ( It did take 5 colleges to graduate you know so learning all those new terms and "doctrines" can be a whole lot more thinking than she had planned on when she agreed to the job. They promised her all she had to do was just smile and speak the lines they gave her).

[ihavenobias]

How does this only have 16 comments? This is AWESOME. The Obama campaign better be listening, this could SINK Palin and McCain. It's so damn catchy and obvious, why didn't anyone think of it before?

[PumaAnn]

I think then that you should demand that Michelle give back her personal salary, which was obviously the payoff for O's earmarks.

I'm as disgusted by this type of thinking from the Dems this year as I was in the past by right-wingers.

You have so lost my vote.

[AmandaRuth]

oh pooh, we never had your vpte. Hey PumaAnn, speaking of money, the republicans want you to know YOUR check is the mail. *wink*

[ceeenbee2]

Dear PumaAnn,

I don't think you should be writing comments unless you can write a sentence that actually makes sense.

McCain/Palin - Change you should be scared of.

[harborview]

I would also like to know what the total amount of money that Sarah gave back as a rebate to the taxpayers of Alaska. Isn't it peculiar that the rest of us lower 48 taxpayers had to pay for a road to a bridge to nowhere, while Alaskan taxpayers got a windfall check? Give it back indeed.