Thursday, September 11, 2008

McCain: ask for an earmark, I'll make you my VP

I would have thought that Forbes would support McCain, but this is from Forbes.com.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, equated lawmakers' requests for funding for special projects with corruption on Wednesday even though Palin herself has requested nearly $200 million in so-called 'earmarks' this year.

Campaigning in Virginia, McCain suggested earmarks are particularly shameful at a time when families are struggling with rising food, gas and home mortgage costs. He vowed again to veto any bill that contains such funding.

'I got an old ink pen, my friends, and the first pork barrel-laden earmark, big-spending bill that comes across my desk, I will veto it. You will know their names. I will make them famous and we'll stop this corruption,' McCain said during a rally at a park in suburban Washington, D.C.

Palin has sought $197 million worth of earmarks for 2009, down about 25 percent from the $256 million she sought in the 2008 budget year. As mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, she hired a lobbyist to seek federal money for special projects. Wasilla obtained 14 earmarks, totaling $27 million, between 2000-2003, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.
And true to his word, McCain has certainly made Palin and her earmark requests famous. So will he be similarly helpful to everyone else who request earmarks? Of course not everyone can be the VP, but there are lots of positions in the Federal government to which he can appoint people. Perhaps his criterion will be how much earmark money someone requests. Want to work in a McCain administration? Simple. Ask for a handout and McCain will make you famous by offering you a job.

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