Update below on Sudan debate statement
Tomorrow veep candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will meet and debate. Much has been made of Governor Palin’s underwhelming interview performance in interviews with Katie Couric. The most recent being where Palin dodges the question of what newspapers and magazines she reads.
Couric: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?
Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
No matter how you feel about the non-answer at least it is clear to all that Sarah is not naming names. What about when she just … lies?
For an Alaskan perspective I’ve been reading Mudflats: Tiptoeing Through the Muck of Alaskan Politics. Two recent articles discuss the good Governor’s honesty and character. Troopergate Witnes Flips Like a Pancacke and McCain Campaign Rewrites Alaska History. The history rewrite review comes from Alaska State Representative Les Gara.
What do these pieces reveal?
Murlene Wilkes, owner of Harbor Adjusting Services, and holder of a $1.2 million/yr. contract with the State of Alaska to handle workers compensation claims, was asked to deny the claim [Palin's ex-brother in law's worker's comp claim] – at the direct request of Sarah and Todd Palin. Palin has denied wrong doing. She also said she would cooperate with the investigation. That lasted until she was tapped by McCain. Since then it’s been stonewall all the way. Her aides have been directed to ignore subpoenas. They have complied. As to actual wrongdoing we have the abuse of power shown in Murlene Wilkes statement. There is also the troubling fact that Harbor Adjusting Services was not the low bidder for the worker’s comp contract when it came up for renewal. Yet they got the contract. Quid pro quo? Check the story for yourself.
As to the rewriting of Alaskan history, the piece from State Representative Les Cara includes more than a few choice tidbits that catch out Sarah Palin in direct lies.
During the August Republican National Convention, Alaskans heard for the first time that our Governor opposed a national symbol of federal pork, what folks in the Lower 48 call the “Bridges to Nowhere.” We didn’t know that. In her 2006 Governor’s campaign, when her opponents took the risk of telling boomers these two bridges might be too expensive – candidate Palin said she supported them – and said she’d work to get more Congressional money for them.
Now the campaign has a new line, that Governor Palin “told Congress thanks, but no thanks” for this money. That’s a problem. See, she never could have said that. Congress debated our Alaska’s request for $400 million in bridge money in 2004 and 2005, before Palin was elected Governor. A national outcry against these projects, at a time when a Republican Congress was pushing pork over effective relief for Hurricane Katrina’s victims, forced Congress to re-write this earmark. Alaska ultimately got the money in 2005, but the Congressional language requiring that we spend it on these bridges was deleted. We said thank you. Governor Palin never opposed this funding. She never offered to return it when she took office in 2007.
We also heard at the Convention that Governor Palin’s been a budget cutter. But in Governor Palin’s two years as Governor state spending has gone up by 20%. She did veto projects, and I supported those vetoes. But after vetoes, there’s still been a 20% budget hike. Depending on your views, a 20% spending increase might be defensible. It’s not defensible to make people believe you cut the budget when you didn’t.
Both Biden and Palin have a history of verbal gaffes, tickling their tonsils with their toes. However one of the pair has a demonstrated history of lying. You might keep that in mind when you watch or listen to the debate.
Update:
During the VP candidate debate Sarah Palin made a strong statement about the state of Alaska’s investments in Sudan:
ABC News reports the record shows otherwise.
“The [Palin] administration killed our bill,” said Alaska state representative Les Gara, D-Anchorage. Gara and state Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, co-sponsored a resolution early this year to force the Alaska Permanent Fund – a $40 billion investment fund, a portion of whose dividends are distributed annually to state residents – to divest millions of dollars in holdings tied to the Sudanese government.
“The legislation is well-intended, and the desire to make a difference is noble, but mixing moral and political agendas at the expense of our citizens’ financial security is not a good combination,” testified Brian Andrews, Palin’s deputy revenue commissioner, before a hearing on the Gara-Lynn Sudan divestment bill in February. Minutes from the meeting are posted online by the legislature.
Because of the Palin administration’s opposition to the bill, “We could not get a vote in that committee,” he explained. At no point did Palin come out in support of the effort, Gara said.
The direct investments Alaska had in Sudan amounted to approximately $22Million out of a total $4Billion funds invested – we’re talking less than one percent of the total. Andrews objected at moving .55% (note the leading decimal place) out of Sudan into investments elsewhere in the world. Even if they took the money and burned it “our citizens’ financial security” would not be endangered.
You can check the minutes of the legislative session to get the full set of statements from Andrews and the context in which they were delivered.
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