Despite lip service to science, McCain ridicules major study of America's grizzly bears

[babylonsister]

Bear facts about John McCain

Despite his lip service to science, the GOP candidate continues to ridicule a major study of America's grizzly bears.

By Katharine Mieszkowski



Oct. 7, 2008 | In his first presidential debate with Barack Obama, John McCain trotted out one of his favorite lines about wasteful federal spending. "You know, we spent $3 million to study the DNA of bears in Montana," he said. "I don't know if that was a criminal issue or a paternal issue, but the fact is that it was $3 million of our taxpayers' money. And it has got to be brought under control."



McCain has been using his bear laugh-line to attack earmarks since 2003, when he first spoke out against the grizzly bear study on the Senate floor. Since then, he's cited the bear study on the stump and in campaign ads, joking that the DNA evidence might be needed to establish a cub's paternity or to solve an ursine crime. Which hungry bear stole the hikers' food?

Attacking excessive federal spending has been a hallmark of the McCain-Palin ticket, as the Republican candidates pledge to shrink government. But in the race for the White House, the past apparently is a foreign country. Just as Palin claims to have killed the bridge to nowhere, when it was already dead, McCain voted to fund the bear study that he loves to mock.

In the 2003 bill that included the bear study, according to FactCheck.org, McCain introduced three amendments to reduce funding for other projects. But he didn't vote to cut the bear study. In fact, the study cost more than he says it did -- about $5 million, not $3 million.

Maybe McCain voted for the study because, as much as he may get a kick out of ridiculing it, it is not some frivolous exercise in furry forensics. Nor is it partisan. Its funding was originally championed by Republican lawmakers, and its goal is one that both conservationists and "Drill, baby drill" cheerleaders can get behind.

The Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project attempts to answer basic scientific questions about one of the largest populations of grizzly bears left in the lower 48 states. How many grizzly bears live in a 12,000-square-mile area in and around Glacier National Park? What is their distribution? What's their gender breakdown? Are they breeding with bears from Canada?

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http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/10/07/john_mccain_bears/