Focus in the media seems to be trying to find something to pin on Sarah Palin in hopes that it sticks there. I thought that some of this needs to be pushed back against their efforts to bring down Governor Palin, particularly the charge that Sarah Palin was for the Bridge To Nowhere.
Back in 2005, Congress voted on and passed H.R. 3058 [109th Congress]: “Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia,…”. This purpose of this bill was for “Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia, and independent agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.”
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Before being passed by the Senate it underwent 181 amendment proposals (49 by the House, 132 by the Senate). One of the Senate amendments, proposed by Tom Coburn (R-OK), S.Amdt. 2165, “To make a perfecting amendment,” was proposed on October 20, 2005. The original full text of the amendment can be found here, but the amendment basically took money that was, in the original bill, allocated to 2 “Bridge to Nowhere” projects in Alaska, the Knik Arm Bridge, and the Gravina Island Bridge, and would put this money toward rebuilding the Twin Spans Bridge which was bridge connecting New Orleans to Slidell, LA, that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
So, who voted against this amendment? The same people who have been lying about Sarah Palin, saying that she supported the Bridge to Nowhere projects. That’s right. Barack Obama and Joe Biden voted to keep this money going toward the Bridge to Nowhere instead of spending it to rebuild after Katrina. Senator McCain was not in the Senate that day.
Later, that same day, Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) (yes, the terrible Republican who got so much pork barrel spending for his state) proposed S.Amdt. 2181: To ensure reconstruction of the Twin Spans Bridge. He probably felt bad about the money going to his bridges instead of the New Orleans bridge. Who voted against this amendment? That’s right, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Again, no vote from McCain, since he wasn’t there that day.
So Barack Obama and Joe Biden voted twice against funding to rebuild after Katrina, but didn’t vote to stop funding TWO Bridge to Nowhere projects? And Obama/Biden call Palin a hypocrite? Palin has always been against the Bridge to Nowhere and for good reason. She didn’t want the American taxpayers to foot the bill on it. Obama and Biden on the other hand were always for it, and they were against rebuilding a bridge and a city damaged by Hurricane Katrina. I dare ask, is this change we can believe in? No, to me, this is the same old Washington politics as usual.
Source: FreeRepublic
Filed under: NObama | Tagged: Dishonesty, Hypocrisy
