Cronyism - Hiring Unqualified Friends for High-Paid Government Jobs
As both mayor and governor, Palin immediately fired lots of highly skilled, experienced staff and replaced them with "her people." What that means in practice is that Alaskan government now has tons of Wasilla residents, high school friends of Palin and members of her church in high positions, in $80,000 -$120,000 a year jobs, despite minimal or no qualifications.
For example, she named Franci Havemeister (a high school friend) as director of Alaska's Department of Agriculture at $95,000. Asked for her qualifications, the former real estate agent said that she loved cows as a kid.
[And much more]
Abuse of Power
Sarah Palin is extremely vindictive. In a unique twist, she attacks not only her own enemies but even people who have divorced her friends. The most famous case of course is her sister's ex-husband, Mike Wooten (an Alaskan state trooper). Palin's pursuit of him (and her husband Todd's pursuit) is somewhere north of abuse of power and just south of flat-out stalking; she and aides following her orders may actually face criminal prosecution for actions such as opening confidential Workers' Compensation files to use against him.
A bipartisan investigation issued a 263-page report - with a confidential 700 page appendix -- meticulously documenting how Palin and her husband abused power by using the governor's office to hound Wooten. 36 times, Palin, Todd or one of their staff members contacted the office of the chief State Trooper to express anger that Wooten was still employed. They even found out he was going to appear in costume as "Safety Bear" at the Alaska State Fair and got him removed. When a year and a half of this did not get Wooten fired (he was protected by a union), Sarah Palin fired Wooten's boss, and claimed Wooten was not the reason. (But when her staff called his successor, and then interviewed him, they asked about Wooten each time and didn't mention any of the other 262 troopers.)
Abuse of Power
Sarah Palin is extremely vindictive. In a unique twist, she attacks not only her own enemies but even people who have divorced her friends. The most famous case of course is her sister's ex-husband, Mike Wooten (an Alaskan state trooper). Palin's pursuit of him (and her husband Todd's pursuit) is somewhere north of abuse of power and just south of flat-out stalking; she and aides following her orders may actually face criminal prosecution for actions such as opening confidential Workers' Compensation files to use against him.
A bipartisan investigation issued a 263-page report - with a confidential 700 page appendix -- meticulously documenting how Palin and her husband abused power by using the governor's office to hound Wooten. 36 times, Palin, Todd or one of their staff members contacted the office of the chief State Trooper to express anger that Wooten was still employed. They even found out he was going to appear in costume as "Safety Bear" at the Alaska State Fair and got him removed. When a year and a half of this did not get Wooten fired (he was protected by a union), Sarah Palin fired Wooten's boss, and claimed Wooten was not the reason. (But when her staff called his successor, and then interviewed him, they asked about Wooten each time and didn't mention any of the other 262 troopers.)
[And much more]
Liar
I know, I know, "every politician lies." Well, no, that's not true. All politicians spin things to sound good for them, leave out inconvenient details, and make promises that they don't actually keep. But very few will flat-out lie to your face, when it's easy to prove that they are lying, and keep doing it even after they have been caught. Sarah Palin is that kind of liar. The most famous example is the "Bridge to Nowhere" but there are many. In her debate against Joe Biden, she said she and McCain supported letting bankruptcy courts restructure homeowner's mortgages (a lie) and repeatedly said Biden supported John McCain on Iraq until he was chosen as Obama's running mate (a flat-out lie. In fact, Palin also attacked Biden for opposing the surge, which he did, so she herself proved that she was lying). Palin also claimed that her administration fought to divest Alaska's investments in Sudan, because of the genocide in Darfur. That's also a lie. Her administration actually opposed a divestment bill, killing it. (At the very end of the session they said they support it, but too late get it passed.) In any case, she has the power to divest today, without any legislative action, but the state still holds $22 million of investments. When Katie Couric asked for an example of McCain pushing to regulate Wall Street, she said "I'll get back to ya on that" when she clearly had no intention of doing so (and of course didn't). There are dozens of examples. These aren't mistakes -- they are full, knowing lies.
The Bridge to Nowhere lie was amazing because, even after being caught lying, she kept repeating it every day for 10 days. It was as if she thought she could outlast the press, because if they kept pointing out that she was lying every day, it would look like they were biased against her. But, of course, when a candidate blatantly lies and keeps repeating the lie, that is in fact news. Most politicians either quietly drop the lie, or find weasel words that make it not exactly a lie. Palin kept repeating "I killed that Bridge to Nowhere and told the federal government, 'Thanks but no thanks. If we want a bridge, we'll build it ourselves.'" Except that Alaska (and Palin) DID want the bridge, and fought for it for years. She officially ended the program only after they lost the fight to get the feds to pay for it. And not only did Alaska (with NO taxes and billions in surplus oil revenue) not pay for it, they actually KEPT the federal money and used it for other projects -- including a $26 million road to nowhere on that same island, that stopped in a cul de sac right where the bridge would have been.
Feathers Her Own Nest
Sarah Palin claims to be a reformer who cleaned up the corrupt Republican political structure in Alaska, and she is definitely cleaner than the many Alaskan officeholders indicted or convicted for accepting bribes and other crimes. But "not a convict yet" isn't the same as being honest.
The most blatant abuse is that Palin pocketed $17,000 in government travel expense payments for food and lodging for the 312 nights she slept in her own house. She also pocketed over $40,000 in travel allowances for both her and her husband Todd, who is not a government employee, got him a state-paid Blackberry, and took her daughter to stay in a luxury New York hotel on the state's dime. Her excuse? She didn't take as much travel money as her predecessor Frank Murkowski. True, but she was only elected because Alaskans were so disgusted with him, so that's not saying much.
[More]
Ties to Militant Right Wing Party
The Alaska Independence Party is a radical group registered as a political party in Alaska. It calls for Alaska to leave the United States (to enjoy its oil wealth, no doubt) and claims that the Alaskan statehood vote was illegal. But that doesn't begin to describe the AIP's extremism. Its founder Joe Volger said "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. And I won't be buried under their damn flag." Volger is dead but still celebrated on the AIP website. He died in 1994 when a blackmarket deal to buy plastic explosives went bad. His body was found in a gravel pit east of Fairbanks, wrapped with a blue tarp and duct tape.
Official voter registration records show that Palin was never an official member, but her husband Todd was, from 1995 to 2002, and Palin attended several of their meetings and conventions. (The McCain campaign confirms that she attended their 2000 convention; AIP officials add that she also attended in 1994 and 2006). Several officials of the party thought Sarah Palin was a member before she became Wasilla mayor, and said so publicly. (One of them went on to say that members should "infiltrate mainstream parties.") As recently as this year (2008), Sarah Palin taped a special video for the AIP's convention, saying "we have a great promise to be a self-sufficient state" and "Keep up the good work and God bless you."
Liar
I know, I know, "every politician lies." Well, no, that's not true. All politicians spin things to sound good for them, leave out inconvenient details, and make promises that they don't actually keep. But very few will flat-out lie to your face, when it's easy to prove that they are lying, and keep doing it even after they have been caught. Sarah Palin is that kind of liar. The most famous example is the "Bridge to Nowhere" but there are many. In her debate against Joe Biden, she said she and McCain supported letting bankruptcy courts restructure homeowner's mortgages (a lie) and repeatedly said Biden supported John McCain on Iraq until he was chosen as Obama's running mate (a flat-out lie. In fact, Palin also attacked Biden for opposing the surge, which he did, so she herself proved that she was lying). Palin also claimed that her administration fought to divest Alaska's investments in Sudan, because of the genocide in Darfur. That's also a lie. Her administration actually opposed a divestment bill, killing it. (At the very end of the session they said they support it, but too late get it passed.) In any case, she has the power to divest today, without any legislative action, but the state still holds $22 million of investments. When Katie Couric asked for an example of McCain pushing to regulate Wall Street, she said "I'll get back to ya on that" when she clearly had no intention of doing so (and of course didn't). There are dozens of examples. These aren't mistakes -- they are full, knowing lies.
The Bridge to Nowhere lie was amazing because, even after being caught lying, she kept repeating it every day for 10 days. It was as if she thought she could outlast the press, because if they kept pointing out that she was lying every day, it would look like they were biased against her. But, of course, when a candidate blatantly lies and keeps repeating the lie, that is in fact news. Most politicians either quietly drop the lie, or find weasel words that make it not exactly a lie. Palin kept repeating "I killed that Bridge to Nowhere and told the federal government, 'Thanks but no thanks. If we want a bridge, we'll build it ourselves.'" Except that Alaska (and Palin) DID want the bridge, and fought for it for years. She officially ended the program only after they lost the fight to get the feds to pay for it. And not only did Alaska (with NO taxes and billions in surplus oil revenue) not pay for it, they actually KEPT the federal money and used it for other projects -- including a $26 million road to nowhere on that same island, that stopped in a cul de sac right where the bridge would have been.
Feathers Her Own Nest
Sarah Palin claims to be a reformer who cleaned up the corrupt Republican political structure in Alaska, and she is definitely cleaner than the many Alaskan officeholders indicted or convicted for accepting bribes and other crimes. But "not a convict yet" isn't the same as being honest.
The most blatant abuse is that Palin pocketed $17,000 in government travel expense payments for food and lodging for the 312 nights she slept in her own house. She also pocketed over $40,000 in travel allowances for both her and her husband Todd, who is not a government employee, got him a state-paid Blackberry, and took her daughter to stay in a luxury New York hotel on the state's dime. Her excuse? She didn't take as much travel money as her predecessor Frank Murkowski. True, but she was only elected because Alaskans were so disgusted with him, so that's not saying much.
[More]
Ties to Militant Right Wing Party
The Alaska Independence Party is a radical group registered as a political party in Alaska. It calls for Alaska to leave the United States (to enjoy its oil wealth, no doubt) and claims that the Alaskan statehood vote was illegal. But that doesn't begin to describe the AIP's extremism. Its founder Joe Volger said "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. And I won't be buried under their damn flag." Volger is dead but still celebrated on the AIP website. He died in 1994 when a blackmarket deal to buy plastic explosives went bad. His body was found in a gravel pit east of Fairbanks, wrapped with a blue tarp and duct tape.
Official voter registration records show that Palin was never an official member, but her husband Todd was, from 1995 to 2002, and Palin attended several of their meetings and conventions. (The McCain campaign confirms that she attended their 2000 convention; AIP officials add that she also attended in 1994 and 2006). Several officials of the party thought Sarah Palin was a member before she became Wasilla mayor, and said so publicly. (One of them went on to say that members should "infiltrate mainstream parties.") As recently as this year (2008), Sarah Palin taped a special video for the AIP's convention, saying "we have a great promise to be a self-sufficient state" and "Keep up the good work and God bless you."
And the right wing assholes at her mini-Nuremberg Rallies shrieking "Kill him!" (in reference to Obama) just love her. She is one of the most dangerous, criminally dishonest politicians in America, and she needs to be not only wiped out on 4 November, but she needs to be turned out of office in Alaska so she can never threaten our dear Republic again.
1 comment:
This is an interesting category from you Joseph. I think we should all make a list of the worst candidates of all time. Here we go...Michael Dukakis, Geraldine A. Ferraro, George W. Bush, Walter Mondale, Andrew Jackson, James Polk,Ulysses S. Grant, Eugene V. Debs, Robert M. LaFollette, Herbert Hoover, Adlai E. Stevenson, Richard M. Nixon, Hubert H. Humphrey, Eugene J. McCarthy, H. Ross Perot. Sorry for the long list but we have had some winners of candidates. What do you think of the list. I am sure some of your readers can think of a few bad ones also. Sorry I crossed all political lines. These "great" people are from all parties.
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