Since the earlier joke didn't set well with many readers, I apologize to those who were offended.
Racism is a serious issue and accusation and certainly was never the intent.
For the remainder of the weekend, we'll move on to some real facts regarding the candidates and see if we can get some discussion on these issues.
Waste is definitely prevalent in Washington and both parties are to blame.
But with Obama touting “change”, can we really believe anything he says based on his track record.
McCain has always been the maverick when it comes to earmarks and the pork-barrel spending, so Obama will never be able to win that comparison.
But the mainstream media continually acts as if Palin is a spender because of the Bridge-to-nowhere issue. Senator Demint summarized some details in the Wall Street Journal recently.
Here are some of the facts:
• Governor Palin vetoed more local projects than any other governor in the Alaska's history.
• She cut nearly 10% of Alaska's budget this year, saving state residents $268 million.
o This included vetoing a $30,000 van for Campfire USA and $200,000 for a tennis court irrigation system.
o She succinctly justified these cuts by saying they were "not a state responsibility."
• Obama voted for numerous wasteful earmarks last year including the following:
o $12 million for bicycle paths
o $450,000 for the International Peace Museum
o $500,000 for a baseball stadium
o and $392,000 for a visitor's center in Louisiana.
• Governor Palin cut Alaska's federal earmark requests in half last year which was one of the strongest moves against earmarks by any governor
• Obama delivered over $100 million in earmarks to Illinois last year
o Obama requested nearly a billion dollars in pet projects since 2005
o His running mate, Joe Biden, is still indulging in earmarks, securing over $90 million worth this year.
• Governor Palin killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state.
o It is true that she once supported the project, but after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation's budget, she did change her position and saved taxpayers millions.
o Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge project. So yes she did flip-flop but unlike most flip-flopping democrats, she changed and made the right decision.
o When the Senate had its chance to stop the Bridge to Nowhere and transfer the money to Katrina rebuilding, both Obama and Biden voted for the $223 million earmark, siding with the old boys' club in the Senate. And to date, they still have not publicly renounced their support for the infamous earmark.
• Governor Palin has also taken on the big spenders in her own party.
o In March of this year, the Anchorage Daily News reported that, "Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is aggravated about what he sees as Gov. Sarah Palin's antagonism toward the earmarks he uses to steer federal money to the state."
• Obama failed when he had a chance to take on his party when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a sham ethics bill, which was widely criticized by watchdog groups such as Citizens Against Government Waste for shielding earmarks from public scrutiny.
o Obama voted for the bill rather than standing up for taxpayers
o Obama is now claiming he helped write the bill that failed to clean up Washington.
• Obama just this year (election year) is claiming to co-sponsor an earmark moratorium authored by Mr. McCain.
I’d say based on this information, Obama is less than honest and really has no facts to support a claim that he will cut spending.
Governor Palin is one of the strongest antiearmark governors in America and if other legislators would follow her lead, we might finally be able to balance a budget and spend less than we take in.
If change is going to occur with finances, the McCain/Palin ticket is by far our best chance.
Labels: Obama, Palin, politics