A little Google research was all it took me to find this article from the USA Today, March 22nd of this year.
The headline says it all: Alaska 1st, Ariz. last in pork spending
And which governor do they choose to illustrate the porkiest of them all? None other than Sarah Palin.
Updated: Screencap of the Queen of the Earmark:, and a new title per suggestions.
The article mentions McCain in a fairly complimentary light:
Arizona has some powerful lawmakers in Washington, including Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.
But when it comes to pork-barrel spending, otherwise known as earmarks, the state ranks last.
That's mostly because three of the state's 10 lawmakers in Washington — McCain and House Republicans Jeff Flake and John Shadegg — refuse to ask for any federal money for local projects.
For the most part, McCain has walked the walk when it comes to his earmark talk.
Palin, however, is all talk.
Arizona, the second fastest growing state in the nation, will receive just $18.70 per capita in federal earmarks this fiscal year. By comparison, Alaska — with roughly a tenth of Arizona's population — is set to receive $506.34 per capita, the highest in the nation, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group which tracks earmarks.
You read that right. Alaska gets TWENTY-EIGHT times the amount of earmarks per capita than Arizona does. And yet she is seriously trying to paint herself as against earmarks!
The article also mentions Palin's ally Ted Stevens. She's trying to distance herself from him, but her lobbying ties are by now well known.
There's another reason Arizona gets so much less money than Alaska — political power.
Alaska is home to Sen. Ted Stevens, a senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which largely controls how money is doled out in Washington.
She's trying to paint herself as a Washington outsider -- but clearly she works the system harder and better than anyone.
I know there's a lot going on today, but we have 3 diaries on the rec list about Noonan's comments. Let's make sure important issues don't get lost in the noise!