Thursday, September 11, 2008

Seal DNA?

We're not going to spend $3 million of your tax dollars to study the DNA of bears in Montana. I don't know if it was a paternity issue or criminal, but it was a waste of money.
Sen. John McCain

Really, Senator? Then how do you feel about half a million dollars for research on the recreational halibut industry? (Are there halibut theme-parks? Who knew that halibut needed recreation?) Or $3.2 million to study seals' DNA? or $2 million to study the mating habits of sea crabs? Those were all earmarks requested by Sarah Palin's administration for the current fiscal year. (Maybe she's changed her mind about these--yet more instances in which she was for them before she was against them.)

That's not reform we can believe in.

Before signing off this post, let me note that any or all of those requests might be good ways to spend taxpayers' money. But if John McCain wants to base his claim to the presidency on opposing earmarks, he's got to take the hit when it turns out that his allies don't have clean hands.

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