Changes

'''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.

'''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. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/07/judge-expected-toss-stevens-conviction/ U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan dismisses case against Sen. Ted Stevens]</ref> 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>

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>