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A post by Pat

The Palin bashers are at it again. This time it’s because Alaska is getting the highest per capita amount of earmark spending in the omnibus bill. That makes Palin a hypocrite by their reckoning. Alaska has a small population you dimwits. Construction materials don’t cost less because the population is smaller. This makes Sarah Palin a hypocrite? And why bring up earmark hypocrisy in the first place? The biggest earmark hypocrite is President A-Promise-Made-Is-A-Promise-Broken.

There are some literally fishy non-construction projects such as $1.5 million for pinniped research and $200,000 for research on stock enhancement for rehabilitation of depleted king crab stocks. Don’t know how many jobs that will create but the more king crabs the merrier I say.

$1.5 million for us?

It’s money better spent than for the Massachusetts whale earmark projects Tammy blogged about. (Cheap shot at a sick man. I know. I’m in a mood.)

Here’s a really neat spreadsheet breakdown of the earmark spending for you wonkish types. (From Taxpayers for Common Sense) Very nicely done with all sorts of breakdowns in a number of worksheets.

Who gets the most? California gets the biggest piece of the earmark pie at $568,730,493. That’s $424,807,618 more than Alaska’s share of $143,822,875, but only $15.47 per capita. If they included all the illegals in California it could come down to pennies per capita. Figures don’t lie but liars figure.

***UPDATE Mar 13*** Jake Tapper takes a punch at Palin over earmarks. Palin’s office replies. Wouldn’t it be great if every politician had this tight a leash?

***UPDATE Mar 14*** Governor’s Office press release.

“Our eight requests have broad public support and have been vetted through a transparent public process, and most of the projects are nationally significant,” Governor Palin said. “The new requests are for national security, with upgrades at the Kodiak Missile Defense Complex, and for America’s energy security, with replacement of a bridge that is critical for a natural gas pipeline.”

Governor Palin said she appreciates other states that understand the dire need to participate in earmark reform so the next generation of Americans is not saddled in debt that we create today with requests for “short-sighted wants.”

“My state can better participate in this reform and we’ll be a more self-sufficient state when the federal government finally allows us greater opportunity to safely and responsibly develop our natural resources,” Governor Palin added. “I look forward to the realization of the enormous potential Alaska has to contribute more to our national security and energy independence by unlocking our potential.”

Currently, less than 1% of the total land mass in Alaska is in private ownership, excluding land set aside by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.