Oh Dear, More Palin Problems

[SezMe]

Snippets from here (http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/301-palins-reformer-image-tainted-by-history-of-ethical-lapses-.html):

The documents show that Palin used city computers to manage her campaign and billed taxpayers for mailings, phone calls and literature. Palin also had her city secretary, Mary Bixby, print 75 thank-you notes to campaign donors and book a campaign related trip Ketchikan in May 2002 while on city time.

Former city officials said Palin and her campaign staff worked upwards of 10 hours a day using Wasilla City Hall as her campaign headquarters where campaign faxes were sent and received, and campaign staffers used city phones to solicit donations.

On Palin’s lieutenant governor candidate registration form with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, she used the e-mail the city gave her — sarah@ci.wasilla.ak.us — for “campaign chairperson” contact information and the Wasilla City Hall fax telephone number for "candidate information.”
Actually, these seem to be more serious allegations than LibrarianGate.

[Wildy]

But which one will receive more coverage? I'd be putting money on Librariangate.

[not_so_new]

This IS a big deal.

The problem is, will anyone (i.e. the uninformed public voters on either side) know that this is a problem? Unfortunately I seriously doubt it.

[boloboffin]

The Republicans having done so much ground work on Al Gore's telephone calls, the public should know this is a problem.

[Cain]

Snippets from here (http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/301-palins-reformer-image-tainted-by-history-of-ethical-lapses-.html):


Actually, these seem to be more serious allegations than LibrarianGate.

In Wasilla's defense, it is a town of arctic hicks.

[Meadmaker]

In Wasilla's defense, it is a town of arctic hicks.


You are the reason McCain picked her, and if she does become Vice President, it will be because of you.


The charges from the OP could be serious...or not. I know my small town mayor was not a full time employee and so the distinction between "city time" and "personal time" become moot. Also, small town mayoral offices are pretty informal affairs, The fact that people used the offices as campaign headquarters is really no big deal.

On the other hand, if she did, indeed, use city funds for political mailings, that's a whole different kettle of fish. That shows a sense of entitlement, lousy judgement, and a whole host of issues that are not good in potential Presidents. My guess....and this is only a guess again...is that this will turn out to be overblown. Her "political mailings" will turn out to be things she reimbursed the city for, or maybe, "I saw her take stamps out of the drawer to send out a letter to so and so about her campaign!" Time will tell. No stone will be unturned, and if there's something to find, it will be found. However, the fact that people are turning over stones is not really news.

[BenBurch]

But which one will receive more coverage? I'd be putting money on Librariangate.

Well, that one is based only on people's statements. This one is a matter of accounting.

Therefore this one is the most significant at this time.

[Meadmaker]

Reading the linked article, I noted that the documents in question came from the Voice of the Times in July, 2006. Presumably, they were unearthed, and I would guess publicized, during her campaign for Governor of Alaska, which I assume was in November of 2006.

In other words, the people of Alaska have seen these allegations, and it didn't matter to them.

That might not mean much, but it does make one suspicious that maybe these charges aren't a big deal after all. Time will tell.

[gdnp]

Strange thing about Wasilla. My town is about the same size, yet our mayor is part time and unpaid. Her salary was 68,000 per year, which hardly makes it a part time job. They hired a city administrator during her second term, at which point her salary was cut to 64K.

Then again, Alaska seems to do more to decentralize services. Despite similar populations, my town does not have an airport, hospital, or 15 million dollar sports complex.

In any event, using government offices for political purposes is a no-no. As has been pointed out, after Al Gore was investigated for fundraising from his VP office this should have been obvious. It at least deserves investigation.

What worries me is that these minor allegations will simply feed into the meme that the liberal press is unfairly picking on Palin. I expect she will get as much support as criticism.

[Meadmaker]

Strange thing about Wasilla. My town is about the same size, yet our mayor is part time and unpaid. Her salary was 68,000 per year, which hardly makes it a part time job. They hired a city administrator during her second term, at which point her salary was cut to 64K.

That is different, then. My home town had a part time mayor that was paid a few thousand a year. My current suburb, population 5,000, has a part time mayor. I expected Wasilla to be the same.

[Darth Rotor]

In Wasilla's defense, it is a town of arctic hicks uninformed Eskimos.
Do you see what you did there, Cain?

Is tribalism and bigotry really the coin of the realm in your political reality?

As to Palin, she is a politician by choice, and was originally a journalist by profession. That means she is at least ten percent crook, and unlikely to speak honestly about much of anything. If she crossed the line as mayor, and doubtless further investigation will shed a bit of light, then she's made her own bed, John Edwards wise, and will have to sleep in it.

It's tough in the big time, Ms Palin, and you wanted to bright lights of the big city.

OK, you got them. Enjoy.

DR

[not_so_new]

My girlfriend owns a business that sells promotional items. She ends up doing some stuff for small local government types from time to time, county races, local treasurer stuff.

All of them know and play by the rules and play by the rules to ... the ... letter.

One guy (a Democrat that holds a county commissioner seat) is, by all accounts, dumb as a stump I am sorry to say. Nice guy but I wouldn't vote for him... anyway.

Even he 100% refuses to accept faxes or emails from my partners business and only calls her during lunch or after 5:00.

We have a friend that sells radio air time for local, regional and national election campaigns, he worked on Bush's radio campaign for 00 and 04. He was hired to do some buys for Obama and I believe Hillary this year. He also works with state reps, mayoral races etc. He runs the gambit of BIG to tiny.

All of his clients do the exact same thing, all conversations go through the campaign headquarters or the personal lines of the candidate (at the smaller end of the scale obviously). They never ever use their public funds, offices, man-hours or equipment for their campaigns, that is just how it is done.

Again, I don't think the average citizen will think this Palin stuff is big deal but in political circles and with the law it is something that should / maybe will raise a few eyebrows.

[Cain]

You are the reason McCain picked her, and if she does become Vice President, it will be because of you.

This is a great responsibility, but I fully accept it. I'm not votin' for either of those guys anyway, even if Obama is probably preferable to McCain.

I wish the search feature took quotes into account (as it used to) because I would not have looked at this thread twice if not for my buddy, Darthrotor, who writes:

Do you see what you did there, Cain?

Is tribalism and bigotry really the coin of the realm in your political reality?

Don't you mean "Are tribalism and bigotry" rather than "Is..." ? Anyway, c'mon a name like "Wasilla, Alaska" just reminds me too much of "Missoula, Montana" -- a metropolis by comparison, but geez, talk about backward people :rolleyes:.

Anyway, it's a generalization to be sure. Fishbob apparently lives in Alaska, and I bow to his superior intelligence (though I bet he's not from, nor does he live in, Wasilla).

Did you even read the Wikipedia entry on the place?

Attractions

The Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry in Wasilla was established in 1967 "to give a home to the transportation and industrial remnants and to tell the stories of the people and the machines that opened Alaska to exploration and growth.[12]

The Alaska Avalanche hockey team of the NAHL play their home games in Wasilla.[13]

Reviews

Charles Wohlforth, in a Frommer's travel guidebook on Alaska, described Wasilla as "the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots".[14]

Then the entry discusses a couple of their nutty churches, which we've already learned about in other threads. What's incredible is that people are giving me crap for defending them! :)

------
I like Bill Murray's small-town contempt in The Greatest Movie Ever, also known as Groundhog Day:

Rita: Look at all these people. They sit around telling stories. Then they sing songs all morning. :)
Phil: Yeah, they're hicks, Rita.

[FaisonMars]

Palin made racial epithets about Obama in public?

http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/05/alaskans-speak-in-a-frightened-whisper-palin-is-“racist-sexist-vindictive-and-mean”/

[BenBurch]

Palin made racial epithets about Obama in public?

http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/05/alaskans-speak-in-a-frightened-whisper-palin-is-“racist-sexist-vindictive-and-mean”/

I think we covered that one and the mods removed it...

[Wangler]

Palin made racial epithets about Obama in public?

http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/09/05/alaskans-speak-in-a-frightened-whisper-palin-is-“racist-sexist-vindictive-and-mean”/


I just love the sources touted around here: Al-Jazeera, bogus Internet book lists, non-relative Alaska court preceedings, and liberal blogs.

:unicorn:

[SezMe]

... and liberal blogs.
Please have a word with BAC.

[BenBurch]

I just love the sources touted around here: Al-Jazeera, bogus Internet book lists, non-relative Alaska court preceedings, and liberal blogs.

:unicorn:

Here you see played back at you how the GOP has conducted every election since 1992. Intentionally on my part.