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Viral Spiral
FactCheck Mailbag
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of March 19-25.
See letters from previous weeks“ Criticizing the Democrats for citing the only available study on gun purchases for its age seems wide of the target. ” -
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2012 Players Guide
Tag Archives: earmarks
Earmark Numbers
Obama’s right about earmark amounts. According to the budget watchdog group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, earmarks totaled just $18.3 billion in 2008. Citizens Against Government Waste came in with a slightly smaller number of $17.2 billion, and the Office of Management and Budget smaller still at $16.9 billion.
McCain: $3 million to study the DNA of bears?
We’ve heard that one before. McCain’s been playing it for laughs since 2003. The study in question was done by the U.S. Geological Survey, and it relied in part on federal appropriations. Readers (and politicians) may disagree on whether a noninvasive study of grizzly bear population and habitat is a …
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One Bridge, Two Bridge
Once upon a time, there were two Bridges to Nowhere. There was the Bridge to Nowhere, and the Bridge to Nowhere’s brother, the Bridge to Nowhere. Or, if you prefer, there was the Gravina Access Project, which would connect the town of Ketchikan to the island of Gravina for purposes …
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Fact-Checking…’The View’?
We generally don’t take it upon ourselves to parse ABC’s morning gabfest. But we noticed that when the chat turned to Palin’s record on earmarks McCain got it wrong. He was correct on one point: Palin vetoed $500 million in spending as governor. She axed over $230 million in state …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged Alaska, earmarks, John McCain, Sarah Palin, spending
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Original Mavericks, Old Bunk
A new McCain ad, “Original Mavericks,” repeats the claim that Gov. Sarah Palin “stopped the Bridge to Nowhere” last year. We’re here to tell you that no matter how many times she and McCain say it, it’s still misleading. We refer you to our story of last week, GOP Convention …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged bridge to nowhere, earmarks, immigration, John McCain, Sarah Palin
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The Budget According to McCain: Part I
McCain’s big promise is that he can balance the budget while extending Bush’s tax cuts and adding a few of his own. He likes to leave the impression that this can be done painlessly, for example, by eliminating “wasteful” spending in the form of “earmarks” that lawmakers like to tuck into spending bills to finance home-state projects. We found that not only is this theory full of holes, it’s not even McCain’s actual plan. In this story we examine the spending-cut side of McCain’s budget program. In Part II, we’ll look at what McCain has said about taxes.
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McCain’s Record on Earmarks
Q: Has McCain ever made any earmarks? A: Not for fiscal year 2008 and never explicitly, though over the course of his career, there are several that might deserve the label.
Defining an ‘Earmark’?
Q: What is an earmark? A: Earmarks are government funds that are allocated by a legislator for a particular pet project, often without proper review.
