I’ve lived out here in the Mat-Su Valley for about 11 years now. And I met Governor Palin when she was in her second term as the Wasilla mayor. I met Sarah through my work as a community organizer, actually. And the responsibilities that I had were, I believe, significant.
Senator McCain said that he chose Governor Palin to be his running mate because she’s going to change Washington D.C. the same way that she, supposedly, brought change to the governor’s mansion in Alaska. There are several examples of how that isn’t, exactly, the case. Her record does not stand up to scrutiny. Governor Palin billed the people of Alaska for 312 nights that she actually spent at home, in her own house, in her own bed. These per diems are intended to compensate state employees to cover for travel costs when they are traveling on official state business.
Governor Palin got paid to sleep at home. She also got paid to attend the Great Alaska Shootout, which is a Thanksgiving Day basketball tournament, here in Anchorage, that’s very popular. In all, according to the -- the Post, that we’ve seen, she has spent -- or she has collected from the people of Alaska nearly $17,000 in per diem in the 19 months that she was been in office, which indicates that she is out of her office more than she’s in her office.
The important question today, I guess, would be -- because Senator Biden released his tax return -- would be for Governor Palin to release her tax returns -- federal tax returns -- to show whether or not she actually paid federal income tax on those reimbursements, for when she was living in her Wasilla home.
I am probably more involved, and pay attention more, to what’s going on in the state than a lot of residents. And I was unaware that she was not in Juneau, doing her job, as much as -- as this report seems to indicate. When she said -- made the announcement that she wasn’t going to stay in the mansion in Juneau, and she was going to -- because she “didn’t need this fancy house,” and she “didn’t need the cook,” and she “didn’t need the housekeeper,” and her home was in Wasilla, so she was only going to be in Juneau when she had to be in Juneau -- that rang pretty true to everybody.
We thought, “Well, that’s really great. You know, here’s this person who’s not, you know, feeling like she gets to -- to live in the castle on the hill. And she was going to be staying at her home in Wasilla,” and, “How noble is that?”
But if she is billing the state to stay at her home in Wasilla, that’s pretty shocking to me, as a resident of the State of Alaska. So I think that this is -- it just raises one problem with the transparency and dishonest government that we have seen in Washington, D.C. And I don’t’ think it’s indicative of her bringing any kind of change to that.
Palin's family off-limits? Get real
I’ve lived out here in the Mat-Su Valley for about 11 years now. And I met Governor Palin when she was in her second term as the Wasilla mayor. I met Sarah through my work as a community organizer, actually. And the responsibilities that I had were, I believe, significant.
Senator McCain said that he chose Governor Palin to be his running mate because she’s going to change Washington D.C. the same way that she, supposedly, brought change to the governor’s mansion in Alaska. There are several examples of how that isn’t, exactly, the case. Her record does not stand up to scrutiny. Governor Palin billed the people of Alaska for 312 nights that she actually spent at home, in her own house, in her own bed. These per diems are intended to compensate state employees to cover for travel costs when they are traveling on official state business.
Governor Palin got paid to sleep at home. She also got paid to attend the Great Alaska Shootout, which is a Thanksgiving Day basketball tournament, here in Anchorage, that’s very popular. In all, according to the -- the Post, that we’ve seen, she has spent -- or she has collected from the people of Alaska nearly $17,000 in per diem in the 19 months that she was been in office, which indicates that she is out of her office more than she’s in her office.
The important question today, I guess, would be -- because Senator Biden released his tax return -- would be for Governor Palin to release her tax returns -- federal tax returns -- to show whether or not she actually paid federal income tax on those reimbursements, for when she was living in her Wasilla home.
I am probably more involved, and pay attention more, to what’s going on in the state than a lot of residents. And I was unaware that she was not in Juneau, doing her job, as much as -- as this report seems to indicate. When she said -- made the announcement that she wasn’t going to stay in the mansion in Juneau, and she was going to -- because she “didn’t need this fancy house,” and she “didn’t need the cook,” and she “didn’t need the housekeeper,” and her home was in Wasilla, so she was only going to be in Juneau when she had to be in Juneau -- that rang pretty true to everybody.
We thought, “Well, that’s really great. You know, here’s this person who’s not, you know, feeling like she gets to -- to live in the castle on the hill. And she was going to be staying at her home in Wasilla,” and, “How noble is that?”
But if she is billing the state to stay at her home in Wasilla, that’s pretty shocking to me, as a resident of the State of Alaska. So I think that this is -- it just raises one problem with the transparency and dishonest government that we have seen in Washington, D.C. And I don’t’ think it’s indicative of her bringing any kind of change to that.
September 14, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. permalink suggest removal