(no subject)

[wileypeter]

Sarah Palin, John McCain, and Earmarks

"There is nothing particularly wrong with any of these actions. Yet Palin has advertised herself as a reformer and a skeptic of earmarking while maneuvering to become the earmark queen of the earmark state. The energy she has put into finding resources to help solve problems in her hometown and her state is admirable. She didn’t create the rules about how federal money is distributed—by competitive grants, formulas, or congressional earmarks—but once the rules were in place, she used them to the maximum advantage of those she was elected to represent.

That creates an odd juxtaposition between her and the man with whom she shares the ticket. Unlike most of his colleagues in Congress, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has not only tried to change the rules governing the use of earmarks—he has refused to pursue them on behalf of needy constituencies he was elected to defend even when it was clear that the rules would not be changed and millions of dollars that might go to Arizona would be headed to other parts of the country."