Some amazing factual points on our next V.P.
Excerpts from my politico international chat group.
More on the story about Palin, before she was even a consideration for VP: Here's the best profile I could find on Sarah Palin, by Fred Barnes in The
Weekly Standard in July 2007.
lindsey
The wipeout in the 2006 election left Republicans in such a state of
dejection that they've overlooked the one shining victory in which a
Republican star was born. The triumph came in Alaska where Sarah Palin, a
politician of eye-popping integrity, was elected governor. She is now the
most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and
probably the most popular public official in any state.
Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to
principle--especially to transparency and accountability in government--can
produce political success. And by the way, Palin is a conservative who only
last month vetoed 13 percent of the state's proposed budget for capital
projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, "may be the biggest
single-year line-item veto total in state history."
As recently as last year, Palin (pronounced pale-in) was a political
outcast. She resigned in January 2004 as head of the Alaska Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission after complaining to the office of Governor Frank
Murkowski and to state Attorney General Gregg Renkes about ethical
violations by another commissioner, Randy Ruedrich, who was also Republican
state chairman.
State law barred Palin from speaking out publicly about ethical violations
and corruption. But she was vindicated later in 2004 when Ruedrich, who'd
been reconfirmed as state chairman, agreed to pay a $12,000 fine for
breaking state ethics laws. She became a hero in the eyes of the public and
the press, and the bane of Republican leaders.
In 2005, she continued to take on the Republican establishment by joining
Eric Croft, a Democrat, in lodging an ethics complaint against Renkes, who
was not only attorney general but also a long-time adviser and campaign
manager for Murkowski. The governor reprimanded Renkes and said the case
was closed. It wasn't. Renkes resigned a few weeks later, and Palin was
again hailed as a hero.
Palin, 43, the mother of four, passed up a chance to challenge Republican
senator Lisa Murkowski, the then-governor's daughter, in 2004. She endorsed
another candidate in the primary, but Murkowski won and was reelected.
Palin said then that her 14-year-old son talked her out of running, though
it's doubtful that was the sole reason.
In 2006, she didn't hesitate. She ran against Gov. Murkowski, who was
seeking a second term despite sagging poll ratings, in the Republican
primary. In a three-way race, Palin captured 51 percent and won in a
landslide. She defeated former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the
general election, 49 percent to 41 percent. She was one of the few
Republicans anywhere in the country to perform above expectations in 2006,
an overwhelmingly Democratic year. Palin is unabashedly pro life.
With her emphasis on ethics and openness in government, "it turned out
Palin caught the temper of the times perfectly," wrote Tom Kizzia of the
Anchorage Daily News. She was also lucky. News broke of an FBI
investigation of corruption by legislators between the primary and general
elections. So far, three legislators have been indicted.
In the roughly three years since she quit as the state's chief regulator of
the oil industry, Palin has crushed the Republican hierarchy (virtually all
male) and nearly every other foe or critic. Political analysts in Alaska
refer to the "body count" of Palin's rivals. "The landscape is littered
with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah," says pollster Dave Dittman,
who worked for her gubernatorial campaign. It includes Ruedrich, Renkes,
Murkowski, gubernatorial contenders John Binkley and Andrew Halcro, the
three big oil companies in Alaska, and a section of the Daily News called
"Voice of the Times," which was highly critical of Palin and is now
defunct.
One of her first acts as governor was to fire the Alaska Board of
Agriculture. Her ultimate target was the state Creamery Board, which has
been marketing the products of Alaska dairy farmers for 71 years and wanted
to close down after receiving $600,000 from the state. "You don't just
close your doors and walk away," Palin told me. She discovered she lacked
the power to fire the Creamery Board. Only the board of agriculture had
that authority. So Palin replaced the agriculture board, which appointed a
new creamery board, which has rescinded the plan to shut down.
In preserving support for dairy farmers, Palin exhibited a kind of Alaskan
chauvinism. She came to the state as an infant, making her practically a
native. And she is eager to keep Alaska free from domination by oil
companies or from reliance on cruise lines whose ships bring thousands of
tourists to the state.
"She's as Alaskan as you can get," says Dan Fagan, an Anchorage radio talk
show host. "She's a hockey mom, she lives on a lake, she ice fishes, she
snowmobiles, she hunts, she's an NRA member, she has a float plane, and her
husband works for BP on the North Slope," Fagan says. Todd Palin, her high
school sweetheart, is a three-time winner of the 2,000-mile Iron Dog
snowmobile race from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. It's the world's longest
snowmobile race.
Gov. Palin grew up in Wasilla, where as star of her high school basketball
team she got the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her fierce competitiveness.
She led her underdog team to the state basketball championship. Palin also
won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest, in which she was named Miss
Congeniality, and went on to compete in the Miss Alaska pageant.
At 32, she was elected mayor of Wasilla, a burgeoning bedroom community
outside Anchorage. Though Alaskans tend to be ferociously anti-tax, she
persuaded Wasilla voters to increase the local sales tax to pay for an
indoor arena and convention center. The tax referendum won by 20 votes.
In 2002, Palin entered statewide politics, running for lieutenant governor.
She finished a strong second in the Republican primary. That fall, she
dutifully campaigned for Murkowski, who'd given up his Senate seat to run
for governor. Afterwards, she turned down several job offers from
Murkowski, finally accepting the oil and gas post. When she quit 11 months
later, "that was her defining moment" in politics, says Fagan.
Her campaign for governor was bumpy. She missed enough campaign appearances
to be tagged "No Show Sarah" by her opponents. She was criticized for being
vague on issues. But she sold voters on the one product that mattered:
herself.
Her Christian faith--Palin grew up attending nondenominational Bible
churches--was a minor issue in the race. She told me her faith affects her
politics this way: "I believe everything happens for a purpose. In my own
personal life, if I dedicated back to my Creator what I'm trying to create
for the good . . . everything will turn out fine." That same concept
applies to her political career, she suggested.
The biggest issue in the campaign was the proposed natural gas pipeline
from the North Slope that's crucial to the state's economy. Murkowski had
made a deal with the three big oil companies--Exxon, BP,
ConocoPhillips--which own the gas reserves to build the pipeline. But the
legislature turned it down and Palin promised to create competition for the
pipeline contract.
She made three other promises: to end corruption in state government, cut
spending, and provide accountability. She's now redeeming those promises.
Palin describes herself as "pro-business and pro-development." She doesn't
want the oil companies to sit on their energy reserves or environmental
groups to block development of the state's resources. "I get frustrated
with folks from outside Alaska who come up and say you shouldn't develop
your resources," she says. Alaska needs to be self-sufficient, she says,
instead of relying heavily on "federal dollars," as the state does today.
Her first major achievement as governor was lopsided passage by the
legislature of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, which is designed to
attract pipeline proposals this summer. The state is offering $500 million
in incentives, but the developer must meet strict requirements. The oil
companies have said they won't join the competition.
Palin's tough spending cuts drew criticism from Republican legislators
whose pet projects were vetoed. But her popularity doesn't appear
threatened. "It's not just that she's pretty and young," says Dittman.
"She's really smart. And there's no guile. She says her favorite meal is
moose stew or mooseburgers. It wouldn't shock people if that were true."
In a message dated 8/30/2008 8:56:34 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, dean@emailstring.com writes:
Hi Laura –
I talked with Tony on the phone. He is a researcher and found that she took on the corrupt Republican machine in Alaska and cleaned house. Some went to jail. She also knew in month four of her pregnancy that her child was a down-syndrome child and because of her strong belief in protecting human life, carried it to term.
Most of the libs don’t understand this kind of character, commitment and integrity.
And yes, to top it all off she was a 2nd runner up in the Miss Alaska beauty contest.
I believe her to be more qualified for public office than Obama. All he has ever done is run for office.
Regards,
- Dean
PS Hope you are well.
