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'''Gravina Island Bridge''', the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed 2007 project in [[Alaska]] meant to link the city of Ketchikan with inaccessible Gravina Island. The proposed project was used to criticize a since-failed Congressional [[earmark]] sponsored by Alaska Senator [[Ted Stevens]] during a [[partisan]] [[Witchhunt]] to unseat the senior [[Republican]] senator, who was ultimately found not guilty because of prosecutor misconduct, falsification of evidence, albeit not until after his losing a reelection bid.
'''Gravina Island Bridge''', the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere", was a proposed 2007 project in [[Alaska]], requested by Alaskans, and meant to link the city of Ketchikan with inaccessible Gravina Island. The proposed project was used to criticize a since-failed Congressional [[earmark]] sponsored by Alaska Senator [[Ted Stevens]] during a [[partisan]] [[Witchhunt]] to unseat the senior [[Republican]] senator, who was ultimately found not guilty because of prosecutor misconduct, falsification of evidence, albeit not until after his losing a reelection bid. It was also used for partisan purposes to paint [[Sarah Palin|Governor Sarah Palin]] with corruption in the same way.
Though Governor Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Ketchikan bridge (“to nowhere"), which was the usual procedure for all state governors in dealing with [[Congress|Congressional]] "[[earmarks]]", she eventually killed the project, choosing to spend Federal money on other infrastructure programs. <ref>[http://www.cdobs.com/archive/our-columns/obama-and-biden-voted-for-bridge-to-nowhere,1628 Chicago Observer, Aug. 31, 2008; Obama and Biden Voted for Bridge to Nowhere]</ref> Most of the [[Mainstream Media]] were not overly eager to report that the [[Democratic Party]] standard bearers, Senators [[Barack Obama]] and [[Joe Biden]] both voted to approve funding for the earmark, and later voted against an attempt by Sen. Tom Coburn to redirect the money to [[Hurricane Katrina]] disaster relief. <ref>[http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/109/senate/1/votes/262/ 109th Congress / Senate / 1st session / Vote 262]</ref>
{{cquote|<big>'''Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer.</big> <small>-- Gov. Sarah Palin, 9/21/2007'''</small> <ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20908207/ Associated Press; Alaska ends plan for 'Bridge to Nowhere']</ref>}}
== Time Line ==
* Palin expressed support for the bridge while running for office.
* Congress removed earmarks for both bridges long before Palin was elected.
* Palin chose not to use the money for the Gravina bridge but kept it for other projects, including the Knik Arm bridge.
* [[Biden]] and [[Obama]] voted for the authorization bill, which included the earmarks, and the final appropriations bill, which didn't.
* [[John McCain|Senator John McCain]] '''voted against''' the authorization but was not present for the vote on the final appropriations bill.
* [[Joe Biden|Senator Joe Biden]] and [[Barack Obama]] while still a Senator, voted against redirecting the money intended for Alaska to Louisiana. <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/biden.earmarks/index.html CNN; Biden, Obama helped keep 'Bridge to Nowhere' alive]</ref>
<ref>[http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/whats_the_full_story_on_the_bridge.html Factcheck.org; Full story on "Bridge to Nowhere"]</ref>
== See Also ==
== See Also ==
*[[Ted Stevens]]
*[[Ted Stevens]]
*[[Sarah Palin]]
*[[Sarah Palin]]
*[[Barack Hussein Obama]]
*[[Joe Biden]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[category:politics]]
[[category:politics]]
[[Category: Deceit]]
[[Category: Deceit]]