Sarah Palin: Earmark Queen Of The Earmark State
Sarah Palin: Earmark Queen Of The Earmark State
In 2000, Sarah Palin, as mayor of the Alaskan town of Wasilla, hired a Washington lobbyist to secure federal earmarks for her community.
This is not totally atypical in her state. Alaska’s government receives more money per capita in federal earmark money than any other state, despite being the only state in the union with no income tax and no sales tax. They fund their government primarily with petroleum money, and recently distributed oil profits to its citizens in the form of rebate checks.
But even in her heavily earmarked state, Sarah Palin was the earmark queen.
From 2000 to 2003, she secured over $27 million in earmarks, averaging $6.7 million in federal money every year for her town of about 6,700 people.
An analysis of the databases of Taxpayers for Common Sense by Center for American Progress Action Fund Senior Fellow Scott Lilly puts these numbers in perspective.
He notes the following amounts:
–$50: The amount the average state received in earmarked funds, per capita in 2008
–$506: The amount received by Alaska’s citizen per capita in 2008, represented by the Senate’s earmarker in chief, Ted Stevens, ten times the national average
–Over $1000: The annual amount received per capita in Wasilla between 2000 and 2003, twice the 2008 Alaska state average
Some of these earmarks drew the scorn of Senator John McCain. The LA Time reports that, “three times in recent years, McCain’s catalogs of ‘objectionable’ spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time — Sarah Palin.”
As Scott Lilly writes, “Palin has advertised herself as a reformer and a skeptic of earmarking while maneuvering to become the earmark queen of the earmark state.”
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Why is this not a surprise? McCain is no longer a maverick and it appears Palin is but another traditional Republican.
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:28 pmAlaska is the biggest welfare state in the country. Rather than doing for themselves they put their hand out and take charity from the rest of the country.
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:11 pmLOL, When it comes to Palin, just say NO, something apparently her daughter cannot say to boys! LOL
Jish
September 4th, 2008 at 10:40 pmhttp://www.anonymize.kr.tc
Alaska will rack up a $5 billion surplus this year. That’s enough for 16 bridges to nowhere, with enough change left over to spay the governor’s daughter.
September 5th, 2008 at 11:13 pmI read in today’s Rassmusman Report, that respondents believe the media are out to hurt Caribou Barbie’s chances for the VP house. It makes me wonder who the idiots are who are being asked this question….
After all, when is asking why a light weight, earmark sucking, liar is actually qualified to be COMMANDER IN CHIEF of the most powerful nation on Earth a bad thing to ask??
According to the McBush campaign, to do just that is tantamount to saying the hockey mom is a closet Democrat.
I’m so sick of republicans circling the wagons around Un-American causes while attempting to destroy the nation and our civil rights a little more with every candidate they back.
September 6th, 2008 at 12:51 pm