McCain Stays Mum On His Buddies Earmarks

The most integral part of the McCain campaign's grasp on the mantle of reform is to talk about earmarks. The Senator may not have requested any directly, but his running mate flat out lies about her's despite everyone yelling at the top of their lungs that the claim is false. Palin's Bridge to Nowhere and the State of Alaska in general takes in the most per capita earmark dollars in the nation. So if McCain lies about Sarah, then what would he do about his best friends Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham's share of the pork?

From ThinkProgress:

The budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense has released an analysis of earmark requests in the 2009 Defense Authorization bill, finding 435 earmarks worth $5.2 billion. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain asked for any earmarks. Joe Biden had an $11.6 million earmark. The Washington Times reports that McCain supporters Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) requested milllions:

Lieberman requested $35 million for “Technology development for F135 engine” for beneficiary Pratt and Whitney. Graham has $20 million in solo requests, including a $9.9 million earmark for a “Physical Fitness Center” at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

“Would McCain veto those if he were president?” the Times asks. Reporter Christina Bellantoni called the McCain campaign to see if he would veto the earmarks. “Update, 5:45 p.m.: Silence from Team McCain,” she writes.

The defense industry loves Lieberman and Graham and I seriously doubt that McCain would try to throw cold water on those relationships. He was silent on the issue yesterday, so expect more of the same from McCain today. As long as truth gets in the way of McCain's message, he'll just continue to try and sweep the evidence of his hypocrisy under the rug.