The bridge to nowhere makes fascinating politics, because it’s a symbol and also a symptom.<\/p>\n
Symbol because John McCain used the infamous bridge proposed for Ketchikan, Alaska, as exhibit A in his attack on earmarks and pork-barrel projects.<\/p>\n
Symptom because projects like the bridge are a cornerstone of rural life.<\/p>\n
The facts are pretty clear: Sarah Palin, as a candidate and a governor, supported the bridge. She pushed Alaska’s congressional delegation to hoover up as much Federal pork as possible.<\/p>\n
That’s what small-town politicians do.<\/p>\n
Urban politicos do the same, but in the cities and suburbs there’s also a lot of private-sector investment. <\/p>\n
Increasingly, small towns like Ketchikan, Alaska (and Wasilla) look to only one place for their capital dollars, for everything from business start-ups to infrastructure projects: taxpayers.<\/p>\n
Here in the North Country, state and federal taxpayers shell out for hundreds of projects that are arguably just as frivolous as Ketchikan’s bridge.<\/p>\n
Is it really the government’s job to finance tourist trains, carousels, and convention centers? The answer, so far, has been a resounding Yes.<\/p>\n
Palin’s denial of her role in the bridge to nowhere echoes a common tension in small towns: disdain for Washington, concealing a secret addiction to state and Federal goodies. <\/p>\n
I interview local politicians all the time who demand lower taxes and insist that they are firm fiscal conservatives. <\/p>\n
But they regularly demand far more state and federal money than their community pays in taxes.<\/p>\n
In the end, Palin’s bold statements — “thanks but no thanks” and “if we want a bridge we’ll build it ourselves” — are really part of a much larger myth that small town America cherishes.<\/p>\n
Alaskans — just like Adirondackers — see themselves as independent, bootstrapping communities.<\/p>\n
But it turns out both places rely on government hand-outs (and jobs and investment) to a much greater degree than their more urban neighbors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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