Oopsie! McCain decries earmarks Palin uses

[babylonsister]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/11/MN4F12RM8G.DTL

McCain decries earmarks Palin uses


Republican 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 has requested nearly $200 million in so-called earmarks this year.

McCain blamed earmarks for high food and gasoline prices and the trouble many homeowners face in making mortgage payments. He pledged 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 and 2003, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama hasn't asked for any earmarks this year. The Illinois senator sought $311 million in such funding last year. McCain, an Arizona senator, doesn't seek earmarks for his state.