Setting the Record Straight: Sarah Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere
Sarah Palin has been the talk of the nation. As each new story is revealed, citizens wonder if John McCain really did his homework in chosing this vice presidential candidate. From teen pregnancy to a legislative ethics investigation, over 45 problems in just 35 hours have erupted with the presumptive Republican VP choice. From forcing her daughter to have a hypothetical rapist’s child to not supporting McCain in the primaries, Palin may soon be the biggest embarrassment to the Republican Party since George W. Bush. As of last week, you may have never heard of Sarah Palin if you lived in the lower 48; however, you’ve probably heard of Alaska’s infamous “Bridge to Nowhere”.
The “Bridge to Nowhere“, aka the Gravina Island Bridge, was advocated by Ted Stevens, who was indicted on federal corruption charges. Palin jumped on the bandwagon in supporting the $398 million project as part of her 2006 campaign for governor. The bridge would have been as long as the Golden Gate Bridge, and it would have replaced a ferry currently used to transport the island’s 50 residents, as well as tourists, to an international airport. In 2006 when asked about the bridge, Palin stated:
I do support the infrastructure projects that are on tap here in the State of Alaska that our Congressional delegations worked hard for…I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now — while our Congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.
The project was abandoned last fall when the state could not afford their share of the cost, which doubled when Congress stripped specific funding allocations for the bridge. Even though the bridge was canceled, road building continued on the island and the state of Alaska still got the same amount of money to use for transportation infrastructure. The Gravina Island Highway, the first phase of the project, is currently underway, and Alaskans haven’t given up hope this bridge will be built.
Was the Bridge to Nowhere really as its name implied? Although the island of Gravina’s population is small, the Ketchikan’s airport is the second largest in Southeast Alaska, serving 200,000 people. This bridge may have gone to “nowhere”, but nowhere is a pretty popular destination.
The Alaska State Senate canceled the bridge project, not Governor Palin. McCain mistakenly praises her stating, “She, as governor, stood up and said, ‘We don’t need it, and if we need it, we’ll pay for it ourselves.’ Now that’s guts.” In Dayton last week, Governor Palin said, “I told Congress, ‘Thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we’d build it ourselves.’” If this is true, then why did the Alaska State Senate cancel the project when they couldn’t fund their portion? Why is the first phase of the project still underway causing environmental degradation to the island?
I wish someone would make a political issue of another FHWA project, the “Road to Nowhere“. Our community of 200 is suffering from having a massive federal transportation project forced upon us, even though over half the residents do not support it. I wish California politicians would change their mind about this road project. Maybe Palin is right in flip flopping on the bridge; however, I don’t think she had the environment in mind when changing her opinion. Her state couldn’t fund their portion, so she changed her tune. We all know Palin is a bad choice for the environment; I think the Republicans will soon find out she is an all around bad choice for their ticket too.
Image: Sierra Club
Tell Governor Palin and the State of Alaska to put OUR money where HER mouth is:
http://www.petitiononline.com/giveback/petition.html
This is a petition just started to ask Congress and the President of the United States to request that Gov. Palin and the State of Alaska return the funds that are so obviously scorned by Sarah Palin.
The truth is, by the time she got into office, Congress had already released those funds to Alaska to use on any transportation project in the state… and they did. So Sarah didn’t speak to Congress AT ALL. And she never told anyone “Thanks, but no thanks.”
It is that kind of exaggeration and swagger than typifies the Republican message both by Palin AND McCain. Where’s the beef? Do you have NO real accomplishments that are TRUE that you can point to? Or plans and issues you can stand on? And not CHANGE — we already KNOW whose message THAT is.
But honestly, Sarah… if you are REALLY so against those funds… GIVE THEM BACK.
I’m sure the American public can find somewhere to spend the $433,000,000.00 in funding that Alaska received because of that earmark.
A massive FHWA project has everything to do with the environment. Why else would they have to prepare EIRs?
6 weeks later….Jennifer is correct, McCain did not do his homework when he selected Governor Palin. I’m sure he would do it differently if he had a 2nd chance. She has become a “celebrity” and been exposed as an opportunistic pretty face who was at the right place at the right time. Can anyone American (Liberal or Conservative) honestly say they would trust her to be President if something happened. She has single handed torpedoed McCain chance of becoming President. And his choice shows how he was desparate to make a splash and made a poor decision, I now can’t trust him to make good decisions under pressure.
Thank you Jennifer for having the insight and knowledge to point these issues out way back in September.