OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Parks and Recreation is striking back at Republican Sen. John McCain for putting it on a list of wasteful government stimulus spending.
McCain's list, prepared with Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, placed Parks and Rec in a spending category titled "Anti-Capitalist, Socially Conscious Puppet Shows." It said the commission used part of a $50,000 grant to pay for Asian music, dance and puppet shows, including a performance at Blaine's Peace Arch Park by a Chinese immigrant puppet troupe.
The parks commission says that's simply false. The $50,000 it received went only to pay the salary of its folklore-in-the-parks program coordinator, Jens (YENS') Lund, whose position was otherwise going to be cut. The commission says Lund organized 11 festivals and concerts around the state this year that helped bring 5,000 people into Washington parks — and that those visitors spent money in local communities and on park fees. They say that's what federal stimulus spending is designed to do.
Lund says McCain's report is "disingenuous."
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