Rick actually supported a moratorium on earmarks because the earmark process was being abused by his colleagues, many of whom were dishonest about where the money was going. The funding for that bridge was hidden in an appropriations bill.
Megyn Kelly asked Santorum about accusations in the ads including his support of the Gravina Island Bridge, more commonly referred to as the “Bridge to Nowhere”. When Santorum was in the U.S. Senate, he voted for the bridge in Alaska that if built would have cost taxpayers almost $400 million.
Santorum responded that the money came from an earmark that was going to Alaska. He went on to explain, “My determination on all these projects is, if this is money that’s going to the state and the senator from the state says that this is where I want to spend that money, who am I in Pennsylvania to tell the people in Alaska … what the priorities of the state of Alaska should be.”
He argued that holding down spending is the problem, not earmarks as suggested by Ron Paul. Santorum retorted, “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, [Paul] was the number four earmarker in the United States Congress in the last few years. He’s a huge earmarker. The only difference with Ron Paul is he earmarks bills and then he doesn’t vote for them and says he is for lower spending.”
