(Jake Turcotte)
McCain’s maverick ad starts shootout over earmarks
By Jimmy Orr | 09.08.08
It’s high noon on the campaign trail. And both campaigns are throwin’ out fightin’ words.
What started it? A new ad.
Called “Original Mavericks” the McCain campaign is playing up the cowboy image. In fact, the spot sounds a heckuva lot like the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner” commercial (see the ad below).
Sam Elliot didn’t do the voice for it but when you hear it, you get the unmistakable feeling that you’re at the OK corral.
“He fights pork barrel spending,” says the Elliot-soundalike. “She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere. He took on the drug industry. She took on Big Oil.
“He battled Republicans and reformed Washington,” the wannabee continued. “She battled Republicans and reformed Alaska. They’ll make history. They’ll change Washington.”
I aim to disagree
The beef the Obama campaign has with the ad? It isn’t true - specifically, the “bridge to nowhere” claim - so says Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
“Despite being discredited over and over again by numerous news organizations, the McCain campaign continues to repeat the lie that Sarah Palin stopped the Bridge to Nowhere,” Burton said.
And there does appear to be some John Kerry-ish “I voted for it before I voted against it,” goings-on going on. She supported it while running for Governor and then abandoned it once in office.
Fight’s commenced!
Barack himself criticized the new ad today while campaigning in Michigan.
“Well, how about Gov. Palin,” Obama said. “She’s you know, an up and comer from Alaska. She - they’re starting to run an ad now saying she opposed the bridge to nowhere. Well now, let’s get the facts clear here. When she was mayor, she hired a Washington lobbyist to get earmarks - pork barrel spending - all the things that John McCain says is bad, she lobbied to get! And got a whole lot of it. When it came to the bridge to nowhere, she was for it until everybody started raising a fuss about it and she started running for governor and then suddenly she was against it!”
Bringing up the infamous Kerry quote, Obama continued, “You remember that? For it before you were against it? I mean you can’t just make stuff up. You can’t just recreate yourself. You can’t just reinvent yourself. The American people aren’t stupid.”
Get to fightin’ or get away!
Not so fast, says Palin spokesperson Ben Porritt.
“Governor Palin killed the bridge to nowhere, period,” Porritt growled. “Barack Obama is attempting to distort Governor Palin’s record because his record on lobbying for earmarks is atrocious including his vote in support of the bridge to nowhere. Since the day Barack Obama entered the US Senate he has requested over $931 million in earmarks which represents nearly $1 million a day in wasteful spending.”
What’s the truth? Well, as Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer would say, “it’s a dead-dang tie!”
FactCheck.org doesn’t dispute her decision but has an important caveat:
“Palin may have said ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ on the Bridge to Nowhere, though not until Congress had pretty much killed it already. But that was a sharp turnaround from the position she took during her gubernatorial campaign, and the town where she was mayor received lots of earmarks during her tenure.”
And PolitiFact gives it a half-truth:
“Fact is, Alaska took the bridge money, and then just spent it on other projects. Palin did make the final call to kill plans for the bridge, but by the time she did it was no longer a politically viable project. We rule Palin’s claim is Half True.”
<< Sarah Palin unplugged - Charlie Gibson grabs first interview | MainComments
3. jbrinkmeyer | 09.08.08
That’s a pretty good description of the myth the Republican spin machine has created for their ill-advised VP pick. It’s mostly “half-true.” But its a familiar story with the Republicans. It’s how they sucked us into the disaster in Iraq. Cynical to the bone, they have built their policies around W.C. Field’s infamous dictum: “there’s a sucker born every minute.”
4. Frank | 09.08.08
How does this little group of pointy heads get to decide what is true and what is not. If you have poof the serve it up, or just shut up.
5. JOHN | 09.08.08
As I understand it, she was for the bridge as probably was her right as an official in the state, but make no mistake about it when DC got a hold of the request and almost doubled the size of it, she said, “Thanks but no thanks”
But why would Obama bring that up. He actually voted for it. He is lame.
6. Charles H. | 09.08.08
Just wait until they figure out that under McCain - your health care benefits will become taxable income. And - under his plan - your group provider will be able to drop you off the roles.
Hello taxes - Goodbye health insurance.
7. khountrygirl | 09.08.08
If you BUY into McCain bringing change to Washington…
I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona you can BUY.
8. Dem with a brain | 09.08.08
As unpopular as Bush is, if the democratic party had a halfway decent candidate they would win by a landslide. Instead, the polarized party leaders pick a polarized candidate. Obama seems like a good guy and a great speaker - but if he were a good candidate he would be ahead by 20 points already.
9. ggtpa29 | 09.08.08
I recall the front page of the London Times following day after the re-election of G.W. “How could 48 million Americans be so dumb”. If enough American support McCain/Palin to give them the key to the Whitehouse in ‘08, I can’t wait to hear what the Brits have to say this time. The Republicans will have succeeded in the dumbing down of American one more time. Enough is enough.
10. Joe | 09.08.08
> Who is the bigger hypocrite here. How many times did Biden and Hillary both say that Obama was not experienced enough to be president and now they say he is the man.
Yeah, but Biden is ON the ticket. The Presidency isn’t a one-man game, Obama has Biden to back him up, and NOBODY disputes that Biden has the experience. Palin didn’t “kill” the bridge until it was already dead and she lobbied for it before she “killed” it.
Also, on experience, McCain said that experience was the most important thing, then changed his tune immediately after picking Palin.
So, by a count of 2-1, I have to say that McCain/Palin are the bigger hypocrites here.
11. thomas | 09.08.08
Cut this into two so it fits… this is from a neighbor of Sarah Palin in Wasilla Alaska…….. I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”. It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym. She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart. Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign. Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing. While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
12. robetson | 09.08.08
Obama health care will raise your taxes to pay for one giant health care provider that will have no competition and no reason to serve you as a customer. vote Obama and take a number.
13. Bob | 09.08.08
Get the whole story. FactCheck.org is an Obama-support group, funded out of the corrupt Chicago political machine’s Bill Ayers’ Annenberg Challenge grant operation that Obama chaired. Anyone with access to the Internet can find this sort of information easily. Look at how Obama rose to power. It isn’t that difficult to discover.
14. mary | 09.08.08
Oh and btw - AP checked the earmark claim against Obama.
At a rally in swing state Missouri, the Republican presidential nominee and his running mate accused Obama of requesting nearly $1 billion in earmarks for his state during his time as a senator. The new line of attack came after Obama made his first direct criticism of Palin over the weekend, using the topic of earmarks, which are special projects that lawmakers try to get for their districts and constituents.
“Just the other day our opponent brought up earmarks — and frankly I was surprised that he would even raise the subject at all,” Palin said. “I thought he wouldn’t want to go there.”
Obama hasn’t asked for any earmarks this year. Last year, he asked for $311 million worth, about $25 for every Illinois resident. Alaska asked this year for earmarks totaling $198 million, about $295 for every Alaska citizen.
Palin has cut back on pork project requests, but under her administration, Alaska is still and by far the largest per-capita consumer of federal pet-project spending.
15. Lori | 09.09.08
forget about all this platitude read this:http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/082908.html
16. johnnie | 09.09.08
The Original Mavericks? What? I once knew a guy in college who made up his own nickname to glorify himself. “Showtime” I believe it was. In the end we all referred to him as “Homotime”
OBAMA/BIDEN 08′
17. Bob Barintine | 09.09.08
You people are amazing. The article clearly states that both parties have had outrageous earmarks. Obama with the most and the most outrageous.
However you still want to bash Mccain/Palin. Drinking the liberal cool aid sure does some amazing things to the mind.
Obama, $1 billion in earmarks including $1 million for his wife’s hospital. Now that’s change you can believe in! Wheeee!
18. Arlene | 09.09.08
Illinois residents got earmarks amounting to $25 per person; Alaska residents got earmarks amountying to $1,000 per person which is the highest of any state. Bob is right about the total dollars, but the not-for-profit hospital in question used the money to help indigent poor without insurance, so how is that Michelle’s hospital, since it is a not-for-profit and helping the poor Bob?
19. E. G. O’Neil | 09.09.08
How quickly people forget that Biden is a confessed “plagarist”! How quickly people forget that Obama has No experience… Zero experience… in his only real experience seems to be campaigning! Obama’s character has been poisoned by the likes of Wright and other despicable demons! Who in their right mind would allow an Obama/Biden ticket to do anything except collect movie tickets on Saturday afternoon… wait, that’s an insult to ticket-takers! Let’s get real… this is America! We were attacked by terrorists on 9/11 and it really damaged our economy and affected so many lives… remember! We need a REAL leader to keep us safe… keep us on the offensive against terrorism… and grow our economy! And that we will not get from Obama… and definitely not from Biden (he would be too busy copying someone else’s speeches)!
20. Rose Walsh | 09.09.08
You can see the rest of comment # 10 on Snopes.com, and their comment on it.
21. J Rome | 09.09.08
Fact is, Alaska took the bridge money, and then just spent it on other projects one of which was a Road to the Bridge to Nowhere.
New taxes charged the Oil Companies to give Alaskans a bonus was charged to the lower 48 which cost us that US more for gas.
I have the health care program that Obama has touted. I and 100s of thousands have the same health care and like it the House and Senate have the same health care So does the President but he would rather go to GOVERMENT HASPITAL not For profit of nonprofit hospital.
Please in GOD’S Name get it right and I don’t mean the right-wing.
22. Mary Gold | 09.09.08
Obama Biden just the same, same, same, good old boys (who both voted for the bridge to nowhere) even when offered the opportunity to give Katrina relief instead. Dems ALL look down on their constituency, it is so obvious.
Charter schools ???? Where does washington need to be providing that????
We have no charter schools in our entire state. But there will be plenty of high paying no show jobs for Obamas education professionals.
McCain (the man spent 5 yrs as a POW) he loves this country, he dosen t have to put himself through running for pres but he does it cause he loves America, how can anyone in their right mind argue with such integrity. He WANTS to solve the problems of the country he loves, NOT support the continuing of the Good Old Boy
Washington network.
23. Paddy Rao | 09.09.08
The popularity of Bush (or lack thereof) is a non-factor in these national races. There are 13% independents who are unsure…and the ones that are have made up their minds.
For example, I am independent, and have strong Hindu conservative values. But my vote and perception is mainly Iraq, a war that was never necessary. So while my choice would have been Hillary, Obama is just fine, even though I don’t agree with everything he says. If Obama becomes President and does not do well, I will vote the other way the next time. I don’t view my vote as a loyalty vote; I view it as a powerful show of individual freedom, as millions have died so I can have this privilege.
There are more independents now than before, and more and more folks have left either party, and I view this as a good thing. Both sides are perverse, and silly, and it is this lack of clarity that leaves the field open.
Democrats can feel frustrated with Obama for not having a greater lead, but if McCain’s ads and speeches strengthen his base, there is very little room in the polls. The independents can, and will make a difference, and usually independents will wait until the debates to decide. Hopefully they will not get bamboozled by McCain’s “maverick” push, and see through him.
24. Sarah | 09.13.08
As an independent also, I was interested in what Palin had to offer. After hearing all of her lies, I wonder why anyone would want another Bush. She clearly raised taxes when mayor and turned a surplus into a deficit, just like Bush. She sent lobbyists to DC to get earmarks. She’s still requesting earmarks as governor. She didn’t say “Thanks but no thanks,” she kept the money. She ridiculed Obama for his faith-based work, but claims she has faith? A couple of months ago she said she didn’t even know what the VP does, and then says that she didn’t hesitate when asked to be the VP? She says that there was never an issue about her career and her family, but she waited seven months before she told anybody she was again pregnant. She tried to fire the librarian, fired the trooper’s boss, and lied about that. Her cabinet and agencies that she says she wants to rid waste from are all filled with friends and cronies that have no experience, experise, or education. Like Bush did with FEMA and look what happened there.
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. attaboy | 09.08.08
Who is the bigger hypocrite here. How many times did Biden and Hillary both say that Obama was not experienced enough to be president and now they say he is the man. Perhaps she changed her mind on the bridge to no where, I guess she should have just voted “present”. What about obama getting 1 million in earmarks for his wife’s hospital. That is shady.