RNC FactCheck: Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention

[WoodysGirl]

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 3, 11:48 PM ET



ST. PAUL, Minn. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

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Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

___

Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

[Goldenrichards83]

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 3, 11:48 PM ET


ST. PAUL, Minn. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.
Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.
He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.


MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."


THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

___ Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington contributed to this report.

[FolsomCowboy]

Sobreity is a beautiful thing...you should try it

[ajk23az]

ummmm wrong forum?

[rcaldw]

Can we get this garbage off the board?

[Sam I Am]

Why was this posted?

[Jarv]

It was a great night for the Republicans !! :star:

[theebs]

liberal media.

I bet while he wrote that he was burning a flag, doing drugs, cashing a welfare check, talking to his life partner on the phone who was making wedding plans and praying to an obama statue.

[dueyhemlock]

Yeah I agree GR83, the cowboys should win on Sunday. I didn't really understand your explanation of how they would achieve that, but I got the end result. ;)

[REDVOLUTION]

Now wait a second... I want to know what is in fact true and whats taken out of context in the article. (I know both sides do it... but I want to know)


IT matters!!

[Goldenrichards83]

Why is this garbage? There is political post all over this board but this is garbage? Woodysgirl just posted the same thing lets see you call her post garbage. lol

[yeahyeah]

awwww come on WG...dont pee in the wheaties so quick...they wanna bask in the "profoundness" of the moment.

[adbutcher]

Why is this garbage? There is political post all over this board but this is garbage? Woodysgirl just posted the same thing lets see you call her post garbage. lol

She posted it in the appropriate zone.

[Goldenrichards83]

She posted it in the appropriate zone.Ok, again my bad. Apologies to the board. I know the rules now.

[Sasquatch]

And the Straight Talk Express keeps chugging along. Toot, toot!

[ConcordCowboy]

Don't let facts get in the way.

[iceberg]

Now wait a second... I want to know what is in fact true and whats taken out of context in the article. (I know both sides do it... but I want to know)


IT matters!!

it does. these are the types of articles i like to read because it takes out the wonderful adjectives and cheerleading for a given side and just give some facts w/o namecalling and biased laced through it.

[Dallas]

Someone didn't go and check his own facts.

I don't have time to go over each one. I just read where she isn't fiscal and not a cutter.

Being a resident of Alaska...yeah I know more than this author. It is so easy for the media just to say something w/o the full knowledge. They dont investigate why and why not's. They just sling it out here and you lefties GOBBLE it down hook, line and sinker.

Watching her everyday in our state government, I see exactly what she does and how she handles our legistature.

Like CC said. Don't let facts get in the way. This author didn't do his homework. Im exhausted trying to defend every smidge of crap they toss out here.

BTW: WG - You constantly post negative things about the Republican ticket, but you claim that you are in the middle and dont really care.

It appears you do care, and care quit vigerously about the left. You may not get into debate w/ the posters here but I'd say about 90% of the articles you post here are left.

Says much. :p:

Either you do or you don't. Im not a tippy-toer like some. I know my horse in the race.

[ConcordCowboy]

Someone didn't go and check his own facts.

I don't have time to go over each one. I just read where she isn't fiscal and not a cutter.

Being a resident of Alaska...yeah I know more than this author. It is so easy for the media just to say something w/o the full knowledge. They dont investigate why and why not's. They just sling it out here and you lefties GOBBLE it down hook, line and sinker.

Watching her everyday in our state government, I see exactly what she does and how she handles our legistature.

Like CC said. Don't let facts get in the way. This author didn't do his homework. Im exhausted trying to defend every smidge of crap they toss out here.

BTW: WG - You constantly post negative things about the Republican ticket, but you claim that you are in the middle and dont really care.

It appears you do care, and care quit vigerously about the left. You may not get into debate w/ the posters here but I'd say about 90% of the articles you post here are left.

Says much. :p:

Either you do or you don't. Im not a tippy-toer like some. I know my horse in the race.

She just posted the same thing about the Democrats.

[iceberg]

Someone didn't go and check his own facts.

I don't have time to go over each one. I just read where she isn't fiscal and not a cutter.

Being a resident of Alaska...yeah I know more than this author. It is so easy for the media just to say something w/o the full knowledge. They dont investigate why and why not's. They just sling it out here and you lefties GOBBLE it down hook, line and sinker.

Watching her everyday in our state government, I see exactly what she does and how she handles our legistature.

Like CC said. Don't let facts get in the way. This author didn't do his homework. Im exhausted trying to defend every smidge of crap they toss out here.

BTW: WG - You constantly post negative things about the Republican ticket, but you claim that you are in the middle and dont really care.

It appears you do care, and care quit vigerously about the left. You may not get into debate w/ the posters here but I'd say about 90% of the articles you post here are left.

Says much. :p:

Either you do or you don't. Im not a tippy-toer like some. I know my horse in the race.

there are many people "in the middle" that lean a given direction. i view her in the middle and leans to the liberal side and will post accordingly. i am in the middle and lean to the conservative side.

and post accordingly.

in the end while wg and i may get into slightly for a bit, i still have a lot of respect for her and when she says something i'll calm down (eventually) and listen. i may not agree in the end but that's ok also.

[ConcordCowboy]

there are many people "in the middle" that lean a given direction. i view her in the middle and leans to the liberal side and will post accordingly. i am in the middle and lean to the conservative side.

and post accordingly.

in the end while wg and i may get into slightly for a bit, i still have a lot of respect for her and when she says something i'll calm down (eventually) and listen. i may not agree in the end but that's ok also.

Yeah she's pretty level headed in a sometimes non-level headed forum.

[WoodysGirl]

BTW: WG - You constantly post negative things about the Republican ticket, but you claim that you are in the middle and dont really care.

It appears you do care, and care quit vigerously about the left. You may not get into debate w/ the posters here but I'd say about 90% of the articles you post here are left.

Says much. :p:

Either you do or you don't. Im not a tippy-toer like some. I know my horse in the race.I just posted the DNC Fact thread here. http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126557

Not really a fan of labels, but many of you on here are. I look at posting things down here the same way I do in other forums. There are certain topics I don't like, but I'll post 'em anyway, cuz I know the members will be interested. I look at is knowledge sharing. For me, I feel like I don't know enough about either candidate to make an informed decision. I think certain things will occur in the next four years regardless of who the president is, so I'm doing my part to post for those aren't regulars down here different information.

I found a really good article about the differences and similarities between McCain and Obama and I don't know tht it got a sniff, but it was a good read.

there are many people "in the middle" that lean a given direction. i view her in the middle and leans to the liberal side and will post accordingly. i am in the middle and lean to the conservative side.

and post accordingly.

in the end while wg and i may get into slightly for a bit, i still have a lot of respect for her and when she says something i'll calm down (eventually) and listen. i may not agree in the end but that's ok also.That's a pretty accurate take, tho I'm not nearly as "left" as some might want to think.

That said, I've been trying to post what I've seen. Right now republicans are getting their day in the sun. Good and bad. So I'm posting the articles as I see them. Tho some might see them as negative, some of these have been pretty fair, IMO. This was one of them, I thought. Guess not.

[ThreeSportStar80]

Great post, thanks! I mean politicians lie, that's all in the job description unfortunately... However some are taking it overboard.

[NinePointOh]

Someone didn't go and check his own facts.

I don't have time to go over each one. I just read where she isn't fiscal and not a cutter.

Being a resident of Alaska...yeah I know more than this author. It is so easy for the media just to say something w/o the full knowledge. They dont investigate why and why not's. They just sling it out here and you lefties GOBBLE it down hook, line and sinker.

Watching her everyday in our state government, I see exactly what she does and how she handles our legistature.

Like CC said. Don't let facts get in the way. This author didn't do his homework. Im exhausted trying to defend every smidge of crap they toss out here.

BTW: WG - You constantly post negative things about the Republican ticket, but you claim that you are in the middle and dont really care.

It appears you do care, and care quit vigerously about the left. You may not get into debate w/ the posters here but I'd say about 90% of the articles you post here are left.

Says much. :p:

Either you do or you don't. Im not a tippy-toer like some. I know my horse in the race.

Or perhaps your perceptions don't match the facts. Living in Alaska doesn't make you an objective Sarah Palin guru whose personal opinion automatically trumps all others. I'm sure you think all of your perceptions are God's honest truth, but maybe you're an unbiased Alaskan observer with unlimited firsthand knowledge, maybe you're a completely biased Palin homer, or maybe you're somewhere in between.

FactCheck.org actually has a lot of credibility as a reasonable bipartisan researcher and evaluator. Dick Cheney himself even told people at a 2004 VP debate to go there and learn the truth about something that was said about him (I forget what - something Haliburton related, I think), and if you go to the main page right now, there are just as many articles breaking down Obama's distortions as there are about McCain.

[WoodysGirl]

FactCheck.org actually has a lot of credibility as a reasonable bipartisan researcher and evaluator. Dick Cheney himself even told people at a 2004 VP debate to go there and learn the truth about something that was said about him (I forget what - something Haliburton related, I think), and if you go to the main page right now, there are just as many articles breaking down Obama's distortions as there are about McCain.
I actually posted that here. But I guess it's not as interesting. Go figure.

[Dallas]

Or perhaps your perceptions don't match the facts. Living in Alaska doesn't make you an objective Sarah Palin guru whose personal opinion automatically trumps all others. I'm sure you think all of your perceptions are God's honest truth, but maybe you're an unbiased Alaskan observer with unlimited firsthand knowledge, maybe you're a completely biased Palin homer, or maybe you're somewhere in between.

FactCheck.org actually has a lot of credibility as a reasonable bipartisan researcher and evaluator. Dick Cheney himself even told people at a 2004 VP debate to go there and learn the truth about something that was said about him (I forget what - something Haliburton related, I think), and if you go to the main page right now, there are just as many articles breaking down Obama's distortions as there are about McCain.

All I am saying is that this author didnt do his homework w/ these so called facts he was stating about Palin.

He didn't go into why she changed her mind on the bridge. He assumed she changed her mind because of outside public opinion. That is a complete farse. She changed her mind because of the huge project that the bridge would be and she felt if Alaska needed that bridge then Alaska should build it themselves. The bridge thing all started before she even became Gov btw. She just ended it when she took office. Her whole assignment when taking over was getting that 40billion dollar gas line project off the ground, which she did.

That is just one fact the author completely ignored. Again - I said I dont want to have to defend every piece of dirt these sites try and sift through google. It is very time consuming.

Its easy to try and say my perception is clouded because I live here. I would think that being an Alaskan resident who has lived here most of my entire life and that I work for the government of Alaska, I would know a bit more about our government process and am privy to much more politics regarding Sarah than Google can deliver.

[iceberg]

That's a pretty accurate take, tho I'm not nearly as "left" as some might want to think.

well i think we're all in the middle and just lean. some just lean a lot further than others and never to the other side. depending on the issue i'd figure that the amount of lean will change depending upon how closely that issue hits home. sometimes something just hits us and our own ability to "reason" goes out the door.

left or right is usually someone elses interpretation anyway.

[masomenos]

All I am saying is that this author didnt do his homework w/ these so called facts he was stating about Palin.

He didn't go into why she changed her mind on the bridge. He assumed she changed her mind because of outside public opinion. That is a complete farse. She changed her mind because of the huge project that the bridge would be and she felt if Alaska needed that bridge then Alaska should build it themselves. The bridge thing all started before she even became Gov btw. She just ended it when she took office. Her whole assignment when taking over was getting that 40billion dollar gas line project off the ground, which she did.

That is just one fact the author completely ignored. Again - I said I dont want to have to defend every piece of dirt these sites try and sift through google. It is very time consuming.

Its easy to try and say my perception is clouded because I live here. I would think that being an Alaskan resident who has lived here most of my entire life and that I work for the government of Alaska, I would know a bit more about our government process and am privy to much more politics regarding Sarah than Google can deliver.

Why did she support the bridge in the first place?

[NinePointOh]

He assumed she changed her mind because of outside public opinion. That is a complete farse. She changed her mind because of the huge project that the bridge would be and she felt if Alaska needed that bridge then Alaska should build it themselves.

Of course, you only "know" this because that's the story she herself gave. I doubt you've given Obama and Biden the same benefit of the doubt when it comes to the way they justify their decisions.

Its easy to try and say my perception is clouded because I live here. I would think that being an Alaskan resident who has lived here most of my entire life and that I work for the government of Alaska, I would know a bit more about our government process and am privy to much more politics regarding SarahI never said you were ignorant. I said you may or may not be entirely objective. Would you trust one of Barack Obama's employees to give you the unbiased truth about him?

than Google can deliver.Factcheck isn't just some blog where random buffoons make retorts with information they pilfered from Google. It's a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, run by journalists with PhDs and Masters degrees from Ivy League schools and 20-30 years of experience writing for the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.

No offense, but I trust their research slightly more than yours.

[Bach]

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years.


Since when has GWB been a conservative?

[Dallas]

Why did she support the bridge in the first place?

I am not sure but what I hear was that the cost was to extremely high to build the bridge in the end.

When congress earmarked the 233million back in 2005 the prjoect looked like it could be built for that amount. She was for the bridge then.

When she did take office as governor her stance changed immediately because the project had ballooned to nearly 400 million dollars and she did not want to allocate more state and federal funds to build it.

I personally think after seeing the project and the cost involved is when her stance changed. I am sure pressure from her own party over the label and the national media attention to the bridge also played a small role.

At the end of the day. It was a terrible idea. I think she knew that once she saw the plans for the bridge.

[trickblue]

liberal media.

I bet while he wrote that he was burning a flag, doing drugs, cashing a welfare check, talking to his life partner on the phone who was making wedding plans and praying to an obama statue.

Hey... no one ever said libs couldn't multi-task... :laugh2:

[masomenos]

I am not sure but what I hear was that the cost was to extremely high to build the bridge in the end.

When congress earmarked the 233million back in 2005 the prjoect looked like it could be built for that amount. She was for the bridge then.

When she did take office as governor her stance changed immediately because the project had ballooned to nearly 400 million dollars and she did not want to allocate more state and federal funds to build it.

I personally think after seeing the project and the cost involved is when her stance changed. I am sure pressure from her own party over the label and the national media attention to the bridge also played a small role.

At the end of the day. It was a terrible idea. I think she knew that once she saw the plans for the bridge.

Well, I mean 233 million is still a lot of money for a bridge that would service so few people. I wonder if the cost had remained at 233 million if she would have still supported it when she took office? Don't get me wrong, she did the right thing by not approving the bridge in the end. It's just odd to me that when she talks about the bridge she says "Oh I told congress no on that and that if we Alaskans wanted a bridge then we'd build it for ourselves". It's strange because she brings up the point that Alaskans would do it themselves if they wanted it but prior to that she was for the government paying for it.

Just seems like a bit of inconsistency. But you get that with all the candidates so it's not really notable, like I said, just kind of odd to me.

[trickblue]

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

Wow... this shows how out of touch this doofus is...

[Dallas]

Well, I mean 233 million is still a lot of money for a bridge that would service so few people. I wonder if the cost had remained at 233 million if she would have still supported it when she took office? Don't get me wrong, she did the right thing by not approving the bridge in the end. It's just odd to me that when she talks about the bridge she says "Oh I told congress no on that and that if we Alaskans wanted a bridge then we'd build it for ourselves". It's strange because she brings up the point that Alaskans would do it themselves if they wanted it but prior to that she was for the government paying for it.

Just seems like a bit of inconsistency. But you get that with all the candidates so it's not really notable, like I said, just kind of odd to me.

I don't live in the SE but I still think there is a plan to do something for Ketchikan. I know they just finished the road to the bridge that isn't there.

I don't know what the folks in the SE are trying to get going w/ that project anymore. What I do know is that the state and the federal government isn't involved in it anymore.

You only hear about it now. Its not been in Alaska news since she squashed it back in 2006.

[masomenos]

I don't live in the SE but I still think there is a plan to do something for Ketchikan. I know they just finished the road to the bridge that isn't there.

I don't know what the folks in the SE are trying to get going w/ that project anymore. What I do know is that the state and the federal government isn't involved in it anymore.

You only hear about it now. Its not been in Alaska news since she squashed it back in 2006.

Hmm, interesting.