December 2, 2008 7:41:38 PM CST
(Newser) – Requests from Sarah Palin made it onto John McCain's "pork list" of objectionable spending three times while Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the Los Angeles Times reports. McCain's lists came as part of his long campaign against the earmarking system in which members of Congress can chuck cash at pet projects with little or no scrutiny.
The Palin projects targeted by McCain included a $1 million emergency communications center for Wasilla that local law enforcement officials say is redundant. A McCain spokesman said that small-town dependence on federal earmarks was a major factor in forming Palin's reform-minded views. According to public records however, Wasilla only began receiving earmarked funds after Palin became mayor and launched an aggressive campaign to snare federal cash.
Source Los Angeles Times
Sep 15, 08 8:00 AM CDT Sarah Palin called them "un-American" and John McCain denied again Friday that she requested them as governor of Alaska. But the Wall Street Journal, doing the math on earmarks, finds that Palin sought $453 million of them for her state since taking office, including $197 million in the current fiscal year. And using the same calculation she applies to Barack Obama—earmark dollars sought per day in office—her record is worse than his. More »
Sep 11, 08 3:52 PM CDT Despite what he calls her “recasting as an anti-earmark champion,” Ben Smith writes in Politico that Sarah Palin has consistently sought millions in such funds for her home state of Alaska. But while "every self-respecting mayor and governor in America seeks federal dollars for local projects," many of Palin's are "exactly the sort that McCain has made a career of mocking—like animal research." More »
Sep 4, 08 10:29 AM CDT How’d Sarah Palin do in her convention debut? Commentators agree that she showed impressive speaking skills, but part ways on whether she was convincing as a potential VP.
Sep 3, 08 11:32 AM CDT Running for mayor in Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin brought ideological politics to a small-town race that had been focused on roads and sewers, the New York Times reports. The 32-year-old candidate defeated a three-term incumbent by highlighting her anti-abortion stance, her NRA membership, and her religious work —while the state Republican Party, never before involved in mayoral elections, endorsed her. More »
Sep 2, 08 8:28 AM CDT As mayor, Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm that secured some $27 million in earmarked federal funds for her town of 6,700, a watchdog group has discovered. The money went toward railways, sewers, a transportation hub, and a youth shelter, reports the Washington Post. Fighting federal earmarks, which are designated for specific projects, is considered a hallmark of John McCain’s record. He has praised Palin for "standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies." More »
While Sen. McCain was going after cutting earmarks in Washington, Gov. Palin was going after getting earmarks. - Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense
Earmarking deprives federal agencies of scarce resources, at the whim of individual members of Congress. - John McCain
John McCain • Sarah Palin • Congress • Alaska • Wasilla • earmarks • pork barrel spending • federal spending
