’)This year, Palin, who has been governor for nearly 22 months, defended earmarking as a vital part of the legislative system. “The federal budget, in its various manifestations, is incredibly important to us, and congressional earmarks are one aspect of this relationship,” she wrote in a newspaper column.
In 2001, McCain’s list of spending that had been approved without the normal budget scrutiny included a $500,000 earmark for a public transportation project in Wasilla. The Arizona senator targeted $1 million in a 2002 spending bill for an emergency communications center in town — one that local law enforcement has said is redundant and creates confusion.
McCain also criticized $450,000 set aside for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla that was requested during Palin’s tenure as mayor and cleared Congress soon after she left office in 2002. The funding was provided to help direct locally grown produce to schools, prisons and other government institutions, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
Again, I’m not against earmarks. While I’m against wasteful spending, I think its a given that pols will request money to come home from Washington. But John McCain has made opposition to earmarks a cornerstone of his political life, a signature issue of his maverickyness. And there his running mate is, requesting pork that he opposed. Of course, he never checked her out before he picked her, so…
A bigger issue that McCain has made a cornerstone of his political life is working closely with people with whom he disagrees on this issue or that. Hence Lieberman speaking at the convention. Hence selecting a VP who has a different opinion about abortion than he has. It’s amusing to see the Democrats apparently missing this point and how attractive it makes McCain to so many voters.
I agree that this is a good issue to throw in McCain’s face. But seriously — are you not in the least bit embarrassed to act like differences between McCain and Palin are unique to this campaign? This is somehow proof that McCain didn’t know about Palin’s record? Well, it could’ve been worse, McCain could’ve picked a “racist” “idiot” who voted for the Iraq war and argued that McCain didn’t have the experience to be president as his running mate. How embarrassing would that have been?
Speaking of, and at the risk of digressing, I will point out that yesterday Biden said, [I paraphrase] “Based on what I’ve seen, Gov Palin is qualified to be Vice President.” And I’m assuming he either gets the same live oppo feed as Oliver, or reads Oliver’s website directly.
Except Sen. Obama knows the ins and outs of what Sen. Biden has said and done. Even today I bet the McCain team is still vetting Palin.
Can you show me that McCain did not know about Palin’s position on this (which, let’s be real, is the same as the position held by virtually everyone in elected federal office,) or are you just presuming once again to know what’s in his head?
Isn’t it obvious? Unless the VP is an exact clone of the presidential candidate, it means the VP was not vetted. It doesn’t take a mind reader to understand that undeniable truth.
Occam’s Razor. McCain doesn’t know anything else about Palin, why would he know this?
Even Oliver’s own citations claim McCain knew about Palin’s so called “drama” before the announcement.
McCain doesn’t know anything else about Palin…
I see. The familiar pattern: “I know it’s true now, because of all those other times I knew it was true.”
A philosophical question: if you wear earplugs in an echo chamber, do you still believe everything you say?
So, in 2001, the-Mayor Palin was requesting money for her city, and Senator McCain was in Washington to oppose such spending, even from a member of his own party. At the time then-state Senator Obama was voting “present” on tough issues facing the state of Illinois.
Palin: trying to support the residents who elected her to be their mayor.
McCain: trying to oppose excessive spending in the government he took an oath to support.
Obama: passing the buck on issues which affected his constituents.
John McCain is Drew Barrymore in 50 first dates
Hilarious to see SFC B literally defend BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE SIMULTANEOUSLY! Earmarks are John McCain’s signature domestic issue, and conservatives just don’t know what to say when there’s a conflict. ALL OF THE ABOVE! ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!
and conservatives just don’t know what to say when there’s a conflict.
I’m afraid you completely miss the point. It is OK WITH REPUBLICANS to have more than one view on the ticket. Palin was doing right by her constituents and McCain was doing right by his. So here’s what I, as a conservative, have to say: good for both of them. No problem.
Have you ever worked/lived/talked to someone with whom you had a conflict? Doesn’t sound like it.
“It is OK WITH REPUBLICANS to have more than one view on the ticket.”
If that were true, then Tom Ridge would be your VP nominee. Your pro-life litmus test cost you the election.
I didn’t mean to come across as “defending” anything. I’m simply bemused that the Democrats choose to attack some of Palin’s flaws the way they do. Trying to attack Palin because of her efforts to support those who voted her in to office can be riposted back to the fact that Senator Obama wasn’t doing anything for his voters, and if some of the commentary about CAC and the housing projects is to be believed, he was actually hurting those he was elected to serve.
It has been only five days since Palin was announced, so I doubt that we’ve seen the best of the Democrat’s attacks, but from what has been seen so far, it’s awful self-defeating.
Palin is inexperienced. That is, at best, a wash when compared Senator Obama.
Palin sought earmarks for her city and state. Do the Democrats really want this issue brought up? Both Obama and Biden have extensive histories of earmarks, and on top of it, Obama’s wife gets a large pay raise around the same time the good senator sends millions of dollars to her employer, while Senator Biden’s son is a lobbyist for a company to which Senator Biden has sent money from earmarks.
AIP is a serious black mark, but for it to stick then it’s a case of “guilt by association”. Does the Palin’s ten year association with a far-right/libertarian party trump Obama’s 20 year association with Reverend Wright? Does the Obama camp really want the “God Damn America” clip playing in suburban and rural communities the weeks before the election?
Troopergate, if the worst of the allegations about Palin abusing her power are true, still put the attackers in the position of defending a cop who remained on the job after making threats against his estranged wife’s family, driving drunk, and tasering a child. This from the party of “Don’t tase me bro!”?
It also strikes me as Obama lowering himself when he makes comments about the Republican’s vice presidential nominee. He’s not running against her. Of course, I’m just a dumb Soldier who wasn’t smart enough to find a better job so I’m just stuck in the Army.