"The governor has not rejected any funds -- that I
think was perhaps the interpretation and I know certainly in some of
the coverage of the press event last week," Karen Rehfeld, the
governor's budget director, told the House Finance Committee on
Tuesday.
Palin announced last week that she was only requesting the portion
that would go for construction and infrastructure and that "in essence
we say no to operating funds for more positions in government."
She
made arguments for not accepting the money -- including that some has
strings attached and that the state might be left to pick up the tab
if people expect programs to go on after the federal money runs out.
...
A reporter asked Palin at the time if it was fair to say she was
rejecting the money. "If that's the way you want to look at it," she
replied.
“The governor said she’s not taking it, then she said, ‘I didn’t say
that.’ Now she’s saying she’ll take it,” Rep. David Guttenberg,
D-Fairbanks, paraphrased. “She’s playing her national politics at the
cost of Alaskans. It’s bizarre. It’s whacko.”
...
Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, said Palin’s political ambitions are
coming into play. “The political grandstanding she did was terrific
for the conservative base, but speaking as a conservative, this battle
has been fought and lost by those of us who think we’re digging a hole
for the next generation,” Ramras said.
