Hawker getting Hawkish on Palin (Audio)

You can always tell when the rumor mill is filtering information through Andrew Halcro...

On Halcro's website, he has posted a response to Palin's press release on cutting back earmarks.

Here is the response:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-55
Governor Palin Continues Earmark Reform
March 13, 2009, Juneau, Alaska –

"I am proud of the fact that we slashed the number of earmark requests by nearly 85 percent, and we're not done." Palin said she is reminding Congress that of her administration's eight pending requests, six are continuing federal appropriations and only two are new requests. "

I will greatly appreciate receiving an analysis explaining these statements.

I would like to receive a list identifying the earmark requests that make up the original universe of 100% that was "slashed by nearly 85 percent." I would like a list identifying the remaining 15% and a reconciliation of that list to the referenced "eight" and "six" requests that are "pending."

I will also appreciate receiving an explanation of what exactly is meant by "...and we're not done."

Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request. I look forward to receiving this information as soon as possible and beginning a discussion to clarify exactly the position being taken by the administration with regard to pursuing federal investment that may be available to support continued social, economic and infrastructure improvements throughout Alaska.

Best,

Mike

This is politics at its best. It's a setup and you can tell it is. Why? Hawker has been hawkish on Palin's attempt to cut back on federal dollars. He sits on the finance commitee and voted for the resolution on getting as much federal funding the state could get.

That resolution was needed to be passed in order for the state legislature to try and by-pass the executive authority of the Governor.

My bet is; Hawker is pissed that Congress has looked at the stimulus law that allows the legislature to by-pass the governor and determined that it may not hold up under a constitutional challenge.

Hawker tries to play the role of a conservative, but he isn't. He's a spender and proof is; his comments on the Palin administration using federal dollars instead of state dollars on transportation projects.

In other words, Hawker wanted to spend 37 million dollars more than what Palin had done on the projects spoken to in the following audio. In the audio you will hear Hawker mention the Whitter project.



Does Whittier have anything to do with the gas pipeline? And one has to ask Hawker, how much money was spent on the Whittier tunnel?

It was about 80 million dollars to build and about double the orginal cost to build it.

Hawker on the Stimulus Package.

Hawker on the budget.

The administration should "actively reassess" its budget request, Hawker said.

The Legislature faces a deficit at current oil prices that could amount to billions of dollars, but it also has billions of dollars on hand to help protect the state from such deficits.

"How much of our reserves are we willing to spend?" is the question facing the Legislature this session, he said.

(...)

Hawker said he will also propose an increase in eligibility for the Denali KidCare program, the state's Medicaid coverage for children. He said he'd like to expand eligibility for Denali KidCare up to 250 percent of the poverty level, but also require payment based on income levels for those between 175 percent and 250 percent of the poverty level.

"We must add an element of personal responsibility into these programs," he said.

Sure thing Rep. Hawker, keep talking yourself up as a conservative and blaming Palin. How much more was your request going to cost the state?