Obama and Biden Voted for the Bridge to Nowhere Instead of Katrina Aid

Obama and Biden Voted for the Bridge to Nowhere Instead of Katrina Aid

From the Chicago Daily Observer:

Now that Alaska is front and center in the news again, it is a good time to catch up on a favorite story, The Bridge to Nowhere, using the Washington Post US Congress Votes Database.

Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Ketchikan bridge (“to nowhere), she eventually killed the project, chosing to spend Federal money on other infrasturcture programs.

However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted for funding the Bridge, even when given a second chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief.

Sen. McCain did not vote on the Coburn Amendment, though he is on record as opposing the Ketchikan bridge earmark.

Also a reminder: Biden voted for the bridge to nowhere, but he voted against the Trans Alaska Pipeline, which has brought 15 billion barrels of oil to market since it was finished. What would the price of oil be without that pipeline?

For great discussion on this topic, please stop by Little Green Footballs.

McCain Slams Obama on Taxes

While the MSM continues to paint John McCain as weak on the economy, he continues to exhibit signs that he has firmer grasp of economic reality than his opponent Obama. This as evidenced by McCain’s anti-tax and anti-spending positions as well as his long record on both issues. (The notable outlier was his original opposition to Bush tax cuts because they did not at the same time reduce spending. If conservatives had listened to that message perhaps the 2006 election cycle would have gone a bit better for them.)

This morning McCain is on attack again as he challenges Obama’s weakness on taxes:

If you are one of the 23 million small business owners in America who files as an individual rate payer, Sen. Obama is going to raise your tax rates. If you have an investment for your child’s education or own a mutual fund or a stock in a retirement plan, he is going to raise your taxes. He will raise estate taxes to 45%. I propose to cut them to 15%. His plan will hurt the American worker and family. It will hurt the economy and cost us jobs,” McCain will say today, according to excerpts released by the campaign. “At a time of increasing gas and food prices, American families need tax relief and I, not my opponent, will deliver it.

Who knew that Obama had 100 million plus in Earmarks during his short senate stint?