Palin Hates Earmarks, but Alaska's No. 1

State has highest amount per capita; Is crusade on hold?
By Gabriel Winant,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 13, 2009 12:56 PM CDT
Palin Hates Earmarks, but Alaska's No. 1
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, stand on stage as Cindy McCain, center, introduces Palin in Virginia Beach, Va., Oct. 13, 2008.    (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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." (More Sarah Palin stories.)

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