Palin's Peeved at Political Punch

By GottaLaff

(via)

In the news again. Poor Limelight Palin! Or should I say, Grabby McEarmark? This news cycle, it's Jake Tapper who got her all upset. Not being one to take sass like his lying down [Laffy Note to self: Forgo mother-of-five "lying down" jokes here], she sic'd her flunky on him, that's how mad she was. The truth hurts, doesn't it, Grabby?

A very irate aide to Gov. Sarah Palin contacted ABC News today to explain why his boss's 31 requests for earmarks in the fiscal year 2009 budget, totaling $197 million, represent a victory for fiscally conservative values.

"I am disturbed by this item," wrote Bill McAllister, director of communications for Gov. Palin, referencing a blog entry from last night in which we referred to an article in the liberal magazine Mother Jones noting that Palin -- after what seemed like a campaign against earmark abuse -- was back at the proverbial trough.

"The headline [link] doesn't seem very dignified for a major news organization,"said the spokesman for the governor who repeatedly referred to then-Senator, now-President Obama as "palling around with terrorists." He also quibbled with our referencing Mother Jones. (We also reference conservative publications here. But anyway.)

"Let's start with the overwhelming mischaracterization of Gov. Palin's stance on earmarks that has been repeated and repeated since Aug. 29," McAllister wrote. "The governor never said that earmarks should be abolished or that the State of Alaska wouldn't seek or accept any. Didn't happen. What she said well before she was a national candidate (going back at least to October of 2007) was that earmark reform was necessary and the state would need to rely less on federal money than it had been."

McAllister then pointed out that Palin made 51 earmark requests for the FY 2008 budget, totaling $256 million; and 31 requests totaling $197 million, for the FY 2009 budget.

McAllister said that for next year's budget, Gov. Palin will only make eight requests, totaling $69 million, which will include "six ongoing federal appropriations and just two new projects: an upgrade at the Kodiak Missile Defense Facility, which is relevant to national security, and a bridge replacement critical to construction of the pending Alaska natural gas pipeline, also in the national interest." [...]

"She has spoken out on reform of the federal process, and it is a disservice to her that her position was so egregiously mis-reported last year and that those same false stories are now being used to make her look like a hypocrite -- adding insult to injury, quite literally."

Alarmed, I asked McAllister how Palin was "literally" injured. Was she okay? Was she infirm?

"I didn't say physically injured," he wrote back. "Certainly her reputation was injured by the erroneous reporting." [...]

In any case, the point is, Gov. Palin as a vice presidential candidate claimed that she "championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending of Congress."

And yet, she has asked for and is still asking for -- and receiving -- tens millions of dollars in earmarks [...]

Including [...] moneys for alcohol bootlegging interdiction and North Pacific fisheries programs.

Yes, all that erroneous reporting is what's injuring what's left of her stellar reputation. It was nothing she's done, said (er, tried to say), or insinuated. Glad we cleared that up. It would be a shame if she began her 2012 campaign with any misunderstandings.

Big H/t: Mark Karlin at Buzzflash for the Palin photo link