Great op ed on earmarks, bridge to nowhere

Release from the McCain-Palin campaign is below, but I just have to comment first! I read the stuff on Fact Check about Sarah Palin's record. I've read quite a bit about her, watched the shows they have about her life and am listening to both sides. I have to say that the more I learn about her, the more impressed I am and the more certain I want her in the White House.

Sarah Palin is up-front, honest to a fault, has a wonderful family, an extremely supportive husband, a foundation of faith that is admirable and is just an overall wonderful person. She is the real deal and rare in Washington. I think she is going to be one who isn't corrupted by the town and the politics.

The more Barack and his minions attack her, the more I find to like about her and the less respect I have for Obama and the Dems.


"My Senate colleague Barack Obama is now attacking Gov. Sarah Palin over earmarks. Having worked with both John McCain and Mr. Obama on earmarks, and as a recovering earmarker myself, I can tell you that Mrs. Palin's leadership and record of reform stands well above that of Mr. Obama." -- Sen. Jim DeMint

"Yes, Palin Did Stop That Bridge"
Sen. Jim DeMint
The Wall Street Journal
September 10, 2008

"But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up." -- Barack Obama, Sept. 6, 2008

In politics, words are cheap. What really counts are actions. Democrats and Republicans have talked about fiscal responsibility for years. In reality, both parties have a shameful record of wasting hundreds of billions of tax dollars on pork-barrel projects.

My Senate colleague Barack Obama is now attacking Gov. Sarah Palin over earmarks. Having worked with both John McCain and Mr. Obama on earmarks, and as a recovering earmarker myself, I can tell you that Mrs. Palin's leadership and record of reform stands well above that of Mr. Obama.

Let's compare.

Mrs. Palin used her veto pen to slash more local projects than any other governor in the state's history. She cut nearly 10% of Alaska's budget this year, saving state residents $268 million. This included vetoing a $30,000 van for Campfire USA and $200,000 for a tennis court irrigation system. She succinctly justified these cuts by saying they were "not a state responsibility."

Meanwhile in Washington, Mr. Obama voted for numerous wasteful earmarks last year, including: $12 million for bicycle paths, $450,000 for the International Peace Museum, $500,000 for a baseball stadium and $392,000 for a visitor's center in Louisiana.

Mrs. Palin cut Alaska's federal earmark requests in half last year, one of the strongest moves against earmarks by any governor. It took real leadership to buck Alaska's decades-long earmark addiction.

Mr. Obama delivered over $100 million in earmarks to Illinois last year and has requested nearly a billion dollars in pet projects since 2005. His running mate, Joe Biden, is still indulging in earmarks, securing over $90 million worth this year.

Mrs. Palin also killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state. Yes, she once supported the project: But after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation's budget, she did what others like me have done: She changed her position and saved taxpayers millions. Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.

When the Senate had its chance to stop the Bridge to Nowhere and transfer the money to Katrina rebuilding, Messrs. Obama and Biden voted for the $223 million earmark, siding with the old boys' club in the Senate. And to date, they still have not publicly renounced their support for the infamous earmark.

Mrs. Palin has proven courageous by taking on big spenders in her own party. In March of this year, the Anchorage Daily News reported that, "Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is aggravated about what he sees as Gov. Sarah Palin's antagonism toward the earmarks he uses to steer federal money to the state."

Mr. Obama had a chance to take on his party when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a sham ethics bill, which was widely criticized by watchdog groups such as Citizens Against Government Waste for shielding earmarks from pubic scrutiny. But instead of standing with taxpayers, Mr. Obama voted for the bill. Today, he claims he helped write the bill that failed to clean up Washington.

Mr. Obama has shown little restraint on earmarks until this year, when he decided to co-sponsor an earmark moratorium authored by Mr. McCain and myself. Mr. Obama is vulnerable on this issue, and he knows it. That is why he is lashing out at Mrs. Palin and trying to hide his own record.

Mrs. Palin is one of the strongest antiearmark governors in America. If more governors around the country would do what she has done, we would be much closer to fixing our nation's fiscal problems than we are.

Mrs. Palin's record here is solid and inspiring. She will help Mr. McCain shut down the congressional favor factory, and she has a record to prove it. Actions mean something. You can't just make stuff up.

Read The Op-Ed

Fred Thompson was Magnificent Last Night!!!!!

Wasn't he superb? Just the right timing, inflections and most importantly, the right message! I heard him on Fox News this morning talking a little about the speech. He said they told him right before he went on to cut it a bit short so he and Lieberman could both be on during prime time, and then gave him two more paragraphs to try and squeeze in! He didn't even break a sweat.

I am so proud of everyone who is standing up and supporting both John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Did you see Levi today as the McCains and Palins got off the plane to go to the Convention? Little Bristol has a cutey! For that matter, so does Mama! They certainly have good taste in their men.

Back to real issues that matter, girl.

Can't wait to hear Rudi, Huckabee and SARAH speak tonight. The pressure must be something else on her as she prepare for what everyone keeps saying is the most important speech of her life. Did they say that when Joe Biden was getting ready to talk? Nah.

For that matter, has anyone trashed Joe Biden for choosing to be a politician when he was the single father of two children? It was tragic what happened to his young daughter and wife, and the boys. But rather than find a job that kept him at home or allowed him to be with his two young children he ran for office.

Now, if he had been a woman would that have been acceptable? Oh, wait, yes it would have been if we were talking a liberal instead of a conservative woman! Somehow, I think that if Palin had been in the same position as Biden, she probably would have stayed home with the kids. So, does that make Biden a schmuck 'cause he chose public office? Nope, although I probably wouldn't have done it.

The left seems to be full of hypocrites.