FACT: This smear was first published by the Washington Post on Sept. 2, 2008, when it declared, "Palin Slashed Funding For Teen Moms."
Bristol Palin, Sarah's 17 year old daughter, is now pregnant. Har-dee-har-har.
The Post accompanied its story with a facsimile of Palin's own handwritten notes in the state budget:
Unfortunately for the Washington Post, this story was debunked by website commenters almost as soon as it was published. What Palin did was to reduce a proposed spending item from $5 million to $3.9 million, but this amount was actually a $2.6 million increase in funding for Covenant House Alaska, which sponsors a mix of programs for troubled youths.
Of course the mainstream press is notorious for taking reductions in proposed spending and labeling them "cuts," even if the reduced spending proposal is greater than the previous year's budget line.
Commenter "Vicki Verdane" at the Washington Post website explains:
It's both incorrect and misleading. Check the facts:
Covenant House Alaska grant income received from the State of Alaska:
(2006) $1.2 million
(2007) $1.3 million
(2008) $3.9 million
In 2008, Covenant House Alaska asked the state for $10 million to assist in the building of a new $22 million facility. The legislature appropriated $5 million, and Governor Palin used her line-item veto to limit this year’s grant INCREASE to $2.6 million (a total grant this year of $3.9 million). Additional money will be allocated for this capital expenditure project over the next few years, a phased-in grant rather than all the money at once.
This was confirmed in a quote from the Executive Director of Covenant House Alaska, Deirdre Cronin:
“Despite some press reports to the contrary, our operating budget was not reduced. Our $3.9 million appropriation is directed toward a multi-year capital project and it is our understanding that the state simply opted to phase in its support for this project over several years, rather than all at once in the current budget year.”