So, who exactly is responsible for now famous Bridge to Nowhere?

So, who exactly is responsible for now famous Bridge to Nowhere?

If you haven’t heard it from the Golden Goose herself, Sarah Palin told Congress thanks, but no thanks to that Bridge to Nowhere and if Factcheck.org hasnt had the opportunity to straighten you out on this misnomer, allow me.

Sarah Palin did in fact support the Bridge to Nowhere until the bitter end, when public opinion had swayed and Congress was no longer willing to fund the operation. Palin’s guilt here however is just surface guilt, Palin supported, campaigned and basically wined and dined the Bridge from the word go, without having championed it’s cause. Palin, intentionally or otherwise played a smart game of politics when it came to the Bridge. Palin supported the Bridge to propel her Campaign for Governorship of Alaska and only stepped aside as the Bridges bright faced spokesperson when Congress refused continued support for the project in September 2007. Otherwise the Bridge had become an uncanny weapon used by Alaska’s Governor to rally the homestead with State pride, civic duty and an us against the world mentality.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden on the other hand, well lets just say the blood or better yet the oil for this Bridge is allover their collective hands.

In July of 2005 both Senator’s Biden and Obama voted in favour of $286.4 million dollar highway bill that included amongst other things the infamous Gravina Bridge project (The Gravina Island Bridge, also know as the "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed bridge to replace the ferry that currently connects Ketchikan, Alaska, to the Gravina Island’s 50 residents, and the Ketchikan International Airport) Congress passed the bill voting 91-4 in favour, with five no votes.

In light of the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New Orleans October of 05 present a opportunity for Nowhere Bridge redemption and somehow Senator’s Obama and Biden failed to answer the call of duty. The proposed amendment would have seen funds earmarked for the Gravina project redirect to support the rebuilding of the Twin Spans bridge which connects New Orleans to Slidell across Lake Pontchartrain. Obama and Biden both voted against the proposed amendment. The amendment was defeated 82-15, with three no votes.

The most curious and perhaps the most damning evidence of guilt regarding the Bridge to Nowhere, the Revised Appropriations Bill also came before Congress in October. Personally I find the Bridge and all it’s dirty stories typical of any bureaucracy and really not all that shocking. What I am shocked by however is the complete lack of any Bridge at all, the vote was made, the money doled out but the labour never completed. Well now, how could it be that hundred of millions of dollars had been acquired under the guises of building a bridge where no bridge was built? The answer; the Revised Appropriations Bill which relived Alaska of the earmarks tied to the bridge and turned the funds over to the Alaskan Department of Transportation, no strings attached. Quite simply put the Bill would see money which was hand over to the state of Alaska to build a bridge to nowhere turned over to the state transportation department, no strings attached and certainly no questions asked. Obama and Biden both voted in favour of the proposed bill, which foolishly passed 93-1 with six no votes.

I’ve attempted to justify Palin’s involvement with Bridge to Nowhere while the facts have vilified both Senator’s Obama and Biden, So then, What of John McCain? What’s the old boys stake in all this?

The answer again is really quite simple, John McCain voted against the initial highway bill the allocated funds to the Gravina project. McCain also gave a rousing speech on the Senate floor claiming the Bridge and a dozen other project were unnecessary.

(http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/record/2005/2005_S09399.pdf) McCain was not present for either the amendment vote or the revised appropriations bill however it is presumed that Senator McCain would have continued his staunch opposition to wasteful projects such as Gravina in spite of mass opposition from colleagues such as Obama and Biden.

So there you have it, Sarah Palin’s guilt is perhaps only surface guilt, Obama and Biden are more responsible for the Bridge to Nowhere then Sarah Palin ever could have been and John McCain comes out of this whole thing smelling like roses. And I thought that was Sarah Palin’s job.

Zoltan Black

Thanks to the folks at www.factcheck.org, a godsend during this the mud slinging season.