Gov. Sarah Palin: End of the Bridge to Nowhere

The liberal harpies are out trying to paint Gov. Sarah Palin as a liar on the subject of the so-called "bridge to nowhere." In her statement last Friday, Gov. Palin stated that she killed the bridge project.

Now, in the left-wing blogs and in some media outlets, it is being played that Palin was for the bridge before killing it. That's true. But the project turned out to be too costly and she decided against it.

ABC News wrote this story on September 21 of last year. It appears to support Palin's claim.

The End of the Bridge to Nowhere

September 21, 2007 1:43 PM

ABC News' John Cochran reports: The Bridge to Nowhere is gone. Not the victim of aging frames, bolts and joints. No, this bridge has collapsed, even before it was built, after an onslaught of angry editorials, furious anti-pork citizens groups, and caustic jokes on late night TV.

First, that name. It was not accurate. If built, the bridge would have gone somewhere. It would have replaced the ferry that takes residents of Ketchikan, Alaska (population 8,000) to the local airport on Gravina Island. In 2005, Congress approved $223 million for construction.

In Washington, groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense and Citizens Against Government Waste, rallied their troops to try to block the money. They said the island was home to far more deer than people (50).

The bridge's main sponsor in the Senate, Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, was outraged by any attempt to prevent his state from getting federal funds. In 2004, with the help of Stevens, his state got special projects worth $645 million. That was $984 for every Alaskan. By contrast, Congress handed out less than $3 to every Texan. And a Texan was, and still is, the President.

But the barrage of publicity was too much for his fellow Republicans. Senator John McCain, R.-Ariz., cited the Bridge to Nowhere as a perfect example of wasteful spending. Senator Tom Coburn R-Okla., a longtime foe of pork spending, tried to shift the money to rebuild an interstate highway damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Senator Stevens grew even more outraged: "I don't kid people. If the Senate decides to discriminate against our state…I will resign." He did not resign.

An uneasy compromise was reached. Congress took away the money for the Gravina Island bridge and another Alaskan bridge which was almost as controversial. Instead, Congress gave the money to the state with the understanding that it was not required to use the funds specifically for bridges.

Friday, the state of Alaska officially sank the Bridge to Nowhere. Governor Sarah Palin, also a Republican, said "Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport." "But," she said, the bridge "is not the answer." Palin has told state transportation officials to look for the most "fiscally responsible" alternative.

A spokesman for Senator Stevens was not immediately available for comment.

On September 29, 2007, Patrick Ruffini wrote this at Townhall.com:

That's why Sarah Palin's crusade for clean, efficient government doesn't stop in Alaska. This week, it was Palin who singlehandedly killed the leading symbol of Republican spending excess in Washington: the Bridge to Nowhere.

The Bridge to Nowhere was actually a state project, to be built with funds earmarked by the state's powerful Congressman Don Young. Last week, Palin killed the $398 million bridge to Gravina Island (pop. 50), directing that the money be spent on more "fiscally responsible" projects.

This raises a big question: What pork-barrel projects earmarked for Illinois has Obama killed?