Republicans Lie, All the Time, About Everything

Sarah Palin watch:

PALIN: “In fact, I told Congress -- I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere.”

REALITY: October 2006: Palin Supported Bridge To Nowhere. In 2006, Palin was asked, “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?” She responded, “Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” [Anchorage, 10/22/06, republished 08/29/08]

REALITY: 2006: Palin: Don’t Allow “Spinmeisters” To Turn Bridge To Nowhere Project “Into Something That’s So Negative.” "Part of my agenda is making sure that Southeast is heard. That your projects are important. That we go to bat for Southeast when we’re up against federal influences that aren’t in the best interest of Southeast.' She cited the widespread negative attention focused on the Gravina Island crossing project. 'We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative,' Palin said." [Ketchikan Daily News, 10/2/06]

REALITY: “Among the earmarks: $449 million for what critics have ridiculed as two ‘bridges to nowhere’ -- one in Ketchikan and one across Knik Arm in Anchorage formally named Don Young's Way.... As Recently as June, State Asking for Cost Estimate Proposals for Knik Arm. “An independent party will be called in to look at one of the most elusive aspects of a proposed bridge linking Anchorage and Mat-Su: the price tag. Gordon Keith, regional director for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said his office will be putting the job of estimating the cost of the controversial project out for bids in coming weeks. He said the task of coming up with a price could cost up to $200,000 and take up to 3½ months. ‘The issue keeps swirling around, so we thought it best to go ahead and do an independent estimate,’ he said. The cost to get the estimate is going to be high ‘if you want to do it correctly,’ he said. The cost of a span reaching across Knik Arm from Anchorage to Point MacKenzie has ranged over the years from $450 million to $1 billion, depending on what kind of bridge is envisioned and what starting date is plugged into the formula… Randy Ruaro, a special assistant to Gov. Sarah Palin, said the administration, even in the face of the recent lengthy report from the bridge authority, was having trouble getting an accurate picture of everything that is involved in the project, of the timing of the phases, and of the costs. He said the independent estimate is expected to answer those questions. Mary Ann Pease, spokeswoman for the authority, said she welcomes the effort to get updated costs.” [Anchorage Daily News, 6/22/08]

Comments

[albrt]

There is not much point attacking her on substance because her natural audience will reject any reality-based argument. There is not much point attacking her Enquirer-style because the Enquirer can do that very nicely, thank you.

Obama has good judgment. This is not the swift boat episode. Counter attacking now is counterproductive. Attack John McCain tomorrow night. Allow Joe Biden to mop up Sarah Palin in October if she lasts that long.

[bks]

I'm not counting on Biden to win the debate. I watched Carter v. Reagan. All she
has to do is memorize a few zingers in the next four weeks and she might mop the floor with motormouth.

Two words you will not find in her speech: Bush, Republican

That's the Achilles heel.

--bks

[albrt]

Biden doesn't need to win the debate. He just needs to be slightly less pompous than Joe Lieberman in 2000 and contain Sarah Palin. Then slightly more than half of the congenitally vacant and fretful people in the middle of the electorate need to focus on the top of the ticket and recognize that the angry cipher John McCain is scarier than a sensible, fist-bumping "community organizer."

It's a tall order, but Joe Biden has time to prepare for this task. If Joe Biden does not currently know what to do when confronted with a second rate Tina Fey impersonator, I think Obama will tell him what to do.

And really, if they can't manage McCain and Palin, how will they ever manage somebody like Putin?

[bad Jim]

Palin's best line was something like "no family seems typical from the inside", which is good, even if it was cribbed from the opening of Anna Karenina: "All happy families are alike, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Otherwise her speech was typical Republican dreck: taxes bad, Muslims bad, keep us safe, big daddy! There wasn't much novelty in seeing a youngish woman serving up the same old porridge.

[Neal]

The Republicans are going to spend the remainder of the capaign pretending that that aren't the party that has screwed up for the past 8 years.

Pogo would be proud---never has the phrase "We have met the enemy... and he is us" been more appropriate. Except they don't seem to see that "they" are "us".

It is as though the Republican party is a bunch of jello, ready to pour into and fill any mold the party leaders decide to make. Polls show that the people in that convention hall overwhelmingly support GWB and his policies. Yet they are running as fast as they can from his policies and they avoid speaking his name as though it would burn their toungue. They whole-heartedly support a candidate that was a pariah less than a year ago.

All in all, the Palin speech showed that she could read a speech with emotion and emphasis, something McCain has been unable to do with regularity. This will be a positive for her because the bar was set so low.

All they have to do is avoid the tough questions, avoid specifics. play the victim of a "left wing media" conspiracy against Chistians and Republican, land a few zingers and they have a pretty good shot.

There are so many defects in Palin that the media questioning will be easy to portray as persecution. And, all of the attention on Palin will ease the scrutiny of McCain and the actual issues of the campaign.

Kind of reminds me of a strategy that a contractor once told me about on how he avoided a lot of the tough inspections on an Army Corps of Engineers construction project. He had built a really obvious rookie defect into a portion of the work located right by the entry gate to the the project. He didn't fix the error week after week. The Corps inspector got so worked up and angry about the unrepaired error every time he entered the site that he would spend his time on site harassing the contractor to repair the error. As a result, the inspector never really took a good look at the remainder of the construction, ultimately making the life of the contractor much easier.

[donna]

Full list of lies here:

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/campaign_2008_/2008/09/palin_v_reality.php

It's quite long...