Palin: The Non-Reformer

First and foremost, let’s dispose of something fairly quickly. I saw an article, I can’t provide a link here, because quite frankly, I forget where I saw it, that begs a question of whether Sarah Palin deserves to be held to a high standard. I have three responses to that …

1. Yes. What makes her any different than anyone else running for public office? She’s a person, she’s running for public office, period. Should she not for some reason be held tot he same standard that Hillary Clinton was? Why is Hillary Clinton and diffe4rent than Sarah Palin. Answer — she isn’t.

2. Yes. She chose to run for public office, specifically Vice president. Any candidate will tell you they fully expect for their public and private lives to be open. We can all cry about how private matters should remain private, but for both parties, and the way this media is, that is simply not a reality. The media loves controversy, no matter if true, no matter if double checked, no matter what. Yes, the media has become disgraceful, we all know that, but again, it is a REALITY and Sarah Palin is no different than anyone else. You wanna be Veep, then take the hits like all others have.

3. You hold yourself out to be this big reformer, this wonderful new politician, well, you better back it up and you better have the record. If anything, Palin deserves even more scrutiny than normal, because she has held herself out to an even higher standard than others. If you wanna play the higher standard role, you better back it up with action, not words.

Which brings me to the main point of this post, is Sarah Palin really a reformer. Take a look …

* The obvious — Bridge to Nowhere. Sarah Palin claims she said ‘no thank you’ to the Federal Government for the bridge to nowhere project. Reality — SHE LIED, she knows it, McCain knows it, and the media has picked it up. The latest — the Wall Street Journal calls out Palin.

But Gov. Palin’s claim comes with a serious caveat. She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her

gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere.

Ok, it is now well established that McCain is lying about Palin’s record on the Bridge to Nowhere. But, the more interesting point is, she claims to oppose earmarks, but look at this, when she realized that Congress and the public in general turned against the wasteful project, she suddenly opposed it and re-directed the money. RE-DIRECTED. I thought she opposed earmarks? In Obama’s words Mrs. Palin ‘words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.“

* Earmarks. She claims she’s a new poltician, that her and John McCain oppose wasteful, pork spending earmarks. First, see the above Bridge to Nowhere RE-DIRECT. Second, Palin has piled up earmarks for Alaska.

Palin reduced the state government’s requests for special projects this year to 31 earmarks totaling $198 million. Still, that’s $295 per Alaskan, first among states per-capita; other states got just $34 worth of local projects per person this year, on average, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington-based watchdog group.

As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a private lobbyist to secure earmarks. The town obtained 14 earmarks totaling $27 million between 2000 and 2003, according to data compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense, another watchdog group.

More on Plain and earmarks, from the Associated Press (McCain friendly media outlet)

Under Palin’s leadership, Alaska this year asked for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects from one of McCain’s top adversaries: indicted Sen. Ted Stevens. That’s more than any other state received, per person, from Congress for the current budget year. Other states got just $34 worth of local projects per person this year, on average, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington-based watchdog group.The state government’s earmark requests to Congress in her first year in office exceeded $550 million, more than $800 per resident.

More on Palin’s earmarks from the Anchorage Free Press.

Hmmmm. So she opposes earmarks? Good news for Alaska, but bad lies by Palin. Again in the words of Barack Obama, Mrs, Plain, remember “words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.“

* Palin’s Expenditures as Governor.  The Washington Post exposes Palin for the non-reformer that she is.  Reformers in my mind are not politicians that soak taxpayers, but reject that kind of waste.  Not Palin.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

She wrote some form of “Lodging — own residence” or “Lodging — Wasilla residence” more than 30 times at the same time she took a per diem, according to the reports. In two dozen undated amendments to the reports, the governor deleted the reference to staying in her home but still charged the per diem.

The per diem rate in Alaska is approximately $60.00 per day.  That’s $60 at 319 days.  That’s about $19,000.  You say that’s not too bad.  These were per diems she put in WHILE STAYING IN HER OWN HOME! Alaskan taxpayers paid for her to stay home.  Huh?  Does that mean as Veep, us Federal taxpayers will be paying her a per diem rate to stay home in Alaska?   This is simply milking taxpayers for personal gain.

In separate filings, the state was billed about $25,000 for Palin’s daughters’ expenses and $19,000 for her husband’s.

When the hell did Alaska elect Palin’s husband and daughters?

One event was in New York City in October 2007, when Bristol accompanied the governor to Newsweek’s third annual Women and Leadership Conference, toured the New York Stock Exchange and met local officials and business executives. The state paid for three nights in a $707-a-day hotel room

$707 per day hotel room?  Is this the way ordinary Americans travel?  I can certainly assure you, I have never even paid $300 per night for a room.  That is absurd.  To whom it goes — the taxpayers!  $707 per night?  That’s reform?  Maybe Alaskan style, but certainly not in the true meaning of what Americans believe to be, government reform.

The governor’s daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

Almost $50,000 the Alaska taxpayer has paid to be Palin’s chauffeur service to travel from home to the state capitol.

Asked Monday about the official policy on charging for children’s travel expenses, Garnero said: “We cover the expenses of anyone who’s conducting state business. I can’t imagine kids could be doing that.”

Umm, I would hope her kids are conducting state business.  Again, Mrs. Palin, heed the words of Barack Obama … “words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.“

* Finally, Palin claims to be a reformer as well in how she has run the State of Alaska.  Time magazine disagrees.

Back to reality. Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden per resident is 21/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double. The trick is that Alaska’s government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. Although Palin, like McCain, talks about liberating ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, there is no evidence that being dependent on Alaskan oil would be any more pleasant to the pocketbook.

Nice record.  Plus, on oil and energy policy, she claims to be reading the teleprompter and studying the note cards of the McCain positions, but in fact, she actually agrees with — Barack Obama.

One thing Barack Obama and McCain disagree on is an oil windfall-profits tax. McCain is against it, on the theory that it is a tax and therefore bad and also on the theory that it would discourage domestic production. Obama is for it, on the theory that if oil companies can make a nice profit when oil sells for $50 per bbl., they can still make a nice profit when it sells at more than $100, even if the government takes a bit and spreads the money around to those who are hurting from higher oil prices.

Although Palin’s words side with McCain in this dispute, her actions side with Obama. Her major legislative accomplishment has been to revamp Alaska’s windfall-profits tax in order to increase the state’s take. Alaska calls it a “clear and equitable share” tax. The state assumes that extracting oil from the tundra costs about $25 per bbl. and takes as much as 75% of the difference between that and the sale price.

Again, Mrs. Plain, heed the words of Barack Obama …  words mean something, you can’t just make stuff up.“

* Lastly, well, at least for now until other stuff arrives, and of course, we will bring it to you, how about her support for WOMEN.  She has not been in the forefront for equal pay for equal work.  She simply doesn’t care.  Then how about this …

While Sarah Palin was serving as the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the city charged victims of sexual assault between $300 and $1200 for their own rape kits.

Second she opposes abortion, even to the extreme.

In a gubernatorial debate, Palin stated emphatically that her opposition to abortion was so great, so total, that even if her teenage daughter was impregnated by a rapist, she would “choose life” — meaning apparently that she would not permit her daughter to have an abortion.

This may be reform to John McCain and Sarah Palin, but it simply is NOT to me.  I guess I have another idea, another meaning, and other definition of what I call, reform.  Fact is, Palin’s record is opposite reform and more of the same.

Facts are facts are facts are facts.  Plain is no different than the typical ‘politician’ model.  Problem with her, she holds herself out to be a reformer, but her record simply doesn’t support the claim.  The old addage is, you only have your record to run on,.  Well Mrs. Palin, when it comes to reform, your record simply STINKS!

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