OPINION
20
Palin Hates Earmarks, but Alaska's No. 1
State has highest amount per capita; Is crusade on hold?
By Gabriel Winant
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Posted Mar 13, 09 12:56 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Sarah Palin crusaded against earmarks as a VP candidate, but she's going to reap the benefits as a governor. The new spending bill gives Alaska a total of $143.9 million for various projects, or $210 for each resident—the most per capita of any state, write Jonathan Stein and David Corn in Mother Jones. A Palin spokesman points out that most—but not all—of the earmarks came at the request of other lawmakers.
Still, where's the outrage now? "Earmarks rule in Alaska," write Stein and Corn. "And Palin, who last year tried to ride an anti-earmarks campaign into the vice presidency, is apparently willing to exploit the earmarks process, make her own requests, accept all the money that comes, and put that crusade of hers on hold."