IAP Political Forum

Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 1 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla, located about 45 miles north of Anchorage.

In introducing Palin as his running mate on Friday, Sen. John McCain cast her as a compatriot in his battle against wasteful federal spending. McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, hailed Palin as a politician "with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies -- someone who has fought against corruption and the failed policies of the past, someone who's stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money."

McCain's crusade against earmarks -- federal spending sought by members of Congress to benefit specific projects -- has been a hallmark of his campaign. He has said earmarks are wasteful and are often inserted into bills with little oversight, sometimes by a single powerful lawmaker.

Palin has also railed against earmarks, touting her opposition to a $223 million bridge in the state as a prime credential for the vice presidential nomination. "As governor, I've stood up to the old politics-as-usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good-ol'-boy network," she said Friday.

As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm.

Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996 on a campaign theme of "a time for change." According to a review of congressional spending by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, Wasilla did not receive any federal earmarks in the first few years of Palin's tenure.

Senate records show that Silver's firm began working for Palin in early 2000, just as federal money began flowing.

In fiscal 2000, Wasilla received a $1 million earmark, tucked into a transportation appropriations bill, for a rail and bus project in the town. And in the winter of 2000, Palin appeared before congressional appropriations committees to seek earmarks, according to a report in the Anchorage Daily News.

Palin and the Wasilla City Council increased Silver's fee from $24,000 to $36,000 a year by 2001, Senate records show.

Soon after, the city benefited from additional earmarks: $500,000 for a mental health center, $500,000 for the purchase of federal land and $450,000 to rehabilitate an agricultural processing facility. Then there was the $15 million rail project, intended to connect Wasilla with the town of Girdwood, where Stevens has a house.

The Washington trip is now an annual event for Wasilla officials.

In fiscal year 2002, Wasilla took in $6.1 million in earmarks -- about $1,000 in federal money for every resident. By contrast, Boise, Idaho -- which has more than 190,000 residents -- received $6.9 million in earmarks in fiscal 2008.

All told, Wasilla benefited from $26.9 million in earmarks in Palin's final four years in office.

"She certainly wasn't shy about putting the old-boy network to use to bring home millions of dollars," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. "She's a little more savvy to the ways of Washington than she's let on."

Silver, reached by phone at his Vienna home, declined to comment. Wasilla's town offices were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Maria Comella, Palin's campaign spokeswoman, said Palin sought the Wasilla earmarks because she was "working in the best interests of Alaska, working within the confines of the current system."

Palin became a staunch reform advocate after her 2003 appointment to the state's Oil and Gas Commission. She accused another commissioner -- Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich -- of raising campaign contributions from industries he was regulating. "She realized that the environment around her was no longer what it once was, and elected officials were abusing their power," Comella said.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, used to secure earmarks for public nonprofits in Illinois, but he announced last year that he would no longer seek earmarks for any entity. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), Obama's running mate, co-sponsored $85.6 million in earmarks for 2008, according to one study.

The Palin earmarks came when Stevens was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Young was a senior member of the House transportation committee.

In hiring Silver, Wasilla found someone who was a member of each lawmaker's inner circle. Silver has donated at least $11,400 to Stevens's political committees and $10,000 to Young's reelection committee in the past decade, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Sliver's firm employed Stevens's son, Ben Stevens, in the late 1990s as a federal lobbyist, according to multiple media accounts. Ben Stevens was not listed on lobbying disclosure forms as having worked on Wasilla earmarks.

The firm became ensnared in the wide-ranging federal investigation of corruption by Alaska Republican officials. Federal agents reviewed records about its other municipal clients, as well as fishing companies represented by Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh that were close to Ben Stevens.

The investigation has increasingly focused on Veco, a now-defunct energy services company whose chief executive, Bill Allen Jr., pleaded guilty in May 2007 to bribing Alaska officials.

Ted Stevens is awaiting trial on charges that he accepted more than $250,000 in unreported gifts from Allen. Ben Stevens, who has not been charged, has been identified in court documents as having accepted more than $240,000 in consulting payments in exchange for legislative favors while he served in the state Senate.

A Veco executive testified last year in a criminal trial that Allen had ordered him to arrange annual fundraisers for Young. The congressman has not been charged with any crimes.

After becoming governor, Palin became a critic of Young and the Stevenses. She endorsed Young's opponent in a Republican primary last week that is still too close to call, and last year she demanded Ben Stevens's resignation as Alaska's member of the Republican National Committee. She has also criticized Ted Stevens.

In addition, Palin has reversed course on at least one major earmark: After initially supporting the $223 million bridge, which was to connect the town of Ketchikan with a remote island, she reversed course last year and canceled the project because of cost overruns. Critics have dubbed the project the "Bridge to Nowhere."

But her administration remains eager for many other earmarks.

In February, Palin's office sent Sen. Stevens a 70-page memo outlining almost $200 million worth of new funding requests for Alaska.

In February, Palin's office sent Sen. Stevens a 70-page memo outlining almost $200 million worth of new funding requests for Alaska.

So...I'm guessing Baracks $740 million in earmarks are just peachy?

Obama never campaigned on the promise of reducing wasteful government spending. In Palin's situation, she is being a hypocrite.

So is McCain for choosing a canidate who supports so many earmarks.

Theres always Baracks $740 million to boast about....and just what happened with the $110 million earmark Barack got for the University of Chicago and terrorist Bill Ayers again?

Annenberg Challenge or something like that?

Do you know the nature of these $200 million in earmarks?

She is a Governer...if the state wants or needs something it's own sources of revenue cannot acquire...seems she is left requesting the funds from the Fed.

So...I'm guessing Baracks $740 million in earmarks are just peachy?

Senator Barack Obama on Thursday released a list of $740 million in earmarked spending requests that he had made over the last three years...

NYTimes (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/politics/14campaign.html)

But wait a minute! But wait a minute! Uh Uh Uh...Barack Obama does it too. Nu-uh - Barack Obama does it too. Mommy Mommy!!!!

Typical 3-year-old Republican response. How about ditching the tu quoque arguments and trying, if you can, to defend John McCain's decision to select an grossly inexperienced champion of wasteful earmarks as his running mate while building his entire campaign around the principals of experience and elminating earmarks and other wasteful government spending. Give that a try, if possible.   

She is a Governer...if the state wants or needs something it's own sources of revenue cannot acquire...seems she is left requesting the funds from the Fed.

As a MAYOR/GOVERNER (executive work) its her job to get money back from taxes the residents of each state sends to the feds. 

So you are against building a hospital? How is that wasteful spending?

Barack Obama has not, and is not, campaigning on the promise to eradicate earmarks.

Is more than happy to piss away millions upon millions of American taxpayer dollars for pet projects that only benefit (constituents)

Barack Obama was exactly 8 years old when Bill Ayers and the Weatherman were active. To suggest a connection between the two only shows the depth of your ignorance about the matter.  

By saying "governor of a po-dunk state".....I guess Democrats are conceding the state?

Way to endear yourselves to an electorate.

Which electorate you want to ostracize next?

 ::)

So I guess he supports them...raising taxes and promoting pork like $740 million....that $11o million went where again? You never answered......

What politician doesn't?

Obama?  Biden?

 ::)

As an Illinois state senator in 2001, Mr. Obama accepted a $200 contribution from William Ayers, a founding member of the group that bombed the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon during the 1970s.

He and Mr. Obama served together on the nine-member board of the Woods Fund, a Chicago nonprofit, for three years beginning in 1999, and they have also appeared jointly on two academic panels, one in 1997 and another in 2001. Mr. Ayers, who was never convicted in the Weather Underground bombings, is now a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. [/i]

You are the one who initiated the tu quoque fallacy of logic by suggesting - without evidence as usual - some sort of impropriety on Obama's part in an effort to distract me and others from the fact that you are unable to counter my sound argument of hypocrisy against McCain.

Why don't you just say "McCain's rubber and you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off him and sticks to you!".

As an Illinois state senator in 2001, Mr. Obama accepted a $200 contribution from William Ayers, a founding member of the group that bombed the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon during the 1970s.

Now this is SCANDALOUS! Somebody call Fox News quick - we have a real story line here!

Thanks for clearing this up for us Patton.

This is too precious to not post. Here are three pundits, including the far-right Republican operatives Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy, when they thought their microphones were not on (I added the emphases). And if you can't believe what you're reading, you can go to the link at the bottom and listen for yourselves:

Chuck Todd: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your blackberry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.
(cut away)

Peggy Noonan: Yeah.

Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --

PN: It's over.  

MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

CT: Yeah they went to a narrative.

MM: I totally agree.

PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

MM: You know what' sreally the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.

CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.  

MM: Yeah.

Cynical and gimmicky. I said that all along, but hey, don't ask me. Ask Peggy Noonan. Ask Mike Murphy. Two top GOP insiders and advisors.

My favorite? Noonan: "It's over."

Source: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/212920.php

By saying "governor of a po-dunk state".....I guess Democrats are conceding the state?

Way to endear yourselves to an electorate.

Which electorate you want to ostracize next?

 ::)

LOL! I'm sorry, but Alaska is most certainly a "po-dunk" state. When the total population of your entire state is much less than a single medium sized city, your state is irrelevant. Period. And yes, I will be happy to concede Alaska's 1/4 of 1 electoral vote or whatever it is you get for winning Alaska.

Sadly, for being such an insignificant state, it turns out political criminals and political corruption like a state with 50 times its population so it's certainly not surprising the latest political crook to be puked out of that worthless ice box is Sarah "Troopergate" Palin who was for the $230 million Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.   

I like Palin and I think most americans will like her, but lets hope its true and this is over, so we can start planning for 2010 and 2012.

The 2007 Congressional Ratings show that the Democratic nominees
for President and Vice-President would spend and tax far more than
John McCain," said CCAGWPAC Chairman Tom Schatz.

Back at the ranch:

Obama and Biden Don't Measure Up to McCain on Spending and Taxes

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste Political Action
Committee (CCAGWPAC) today compared the abysmal voting records of
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Vice Presidential
nominee Joe Biden to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain from
the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste's 2007 Congressional
Ratings.

   "The 2007 Congressional Ratings show that the Democratic nominees
for President and Vice-President would spend and tax far more than
John McCain," said CCAGWPAC Chairman Tom Schatz. "Throughout their
careers in the Senate, the two Democrats have demonstrated little
regard for the harmful effect a large and cumbersome federal
government has on taxpayers' wallets. Voters should take into
consideration both their low ratings and their numerous earmarks."

   --  Sen. Obama's 2007 rating was 10 percent, making his lifetime
        score 18 percent. The 2008 Congressional Pig Book contained 53
        earmarks worth $97.4 million for Sen. Obama, including
        $1,648,850 for the Shedd Aquarium.

   --  Sen. Biden received the worst possible rating in 2007 with 0
        percent, while his lifetime rating is 22 percent.  According to
        the Pig Book, Sen. Biden had 70 earmarks for a total of $119.7
        million in fiscal year 2008, including $246,100 for the Grand
        Opera House in Wilmington.

   --  Sen. McCain has a lifetime rating of 88, has never requested
        nor received a single earmark, and has pledged to veto any
        spending bill that contains any earmarks.

   "The key word in the election is 'change,' but the Obama-Biden
ticket only offers more of Washington's wasteful ways," said Schatz.
"John McCain has a history of putting the interests of taxpayers ahead
of politics by consistently voting to cut wasteful spending, reduce
the tax burden, and make government more accountable to taxpayers. On
Election Day, Senators Obama and Biden should be returned to their day
jobs and Sen. McCain should be sent to the White House."

   CCAGWPAC is affiliated with the Council for Citizens Against
Government Waste, a 501(c)(4) organization. CCAGWPAC's mission is to
support political candidates who will fight to eliminate waste, fraud,
and abuse in government and represent the best interests of taxpayers.

Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS214423+28-Aug-2008+BW20080828)

You quoted a partisan conservative Political Action Committee (PAC) that has declaring - shockingly - they don't think Barack Obama should be elected president.

Back at the ranch:

Obama and Biden Don't Measure Up to McCain on Spending and Taxes

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste Political Action
Committee (CCAGWPAC) today compared the abysmal voting records of
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Vice Presidential
nominee Joe Biden to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain from
the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste's 2007 Congressional
Ratings.

   "The 2007 Congressional Ratings show that the Democratic nominees
for President and Vice-President would spend and tax far more than
John McCain," said CCAGWPAC Chairman Tom Schatz. "Throughout their
careers in the Senate, the two Democrats have demonstrated little
regard for the harmful effect a large and cumbersome federal
government has on taxpayers' wallets. Voters should take into
consideration both their low ratings and their numerous earmarks."

   --  Sen. Obama's 2007 rating was 10 percent, making his lifetime
        score 18 percent. The 2008 Congressional Pig Book contained 53
        earmarks worth $97.4 million for Sen. Obama, including
        $1,648,850 for the Shedd Aquarium.

   --  Sen. Biden received the worst possible rating in 2007 with 0
        percent, while his lifetime rating is 22 percent.  According to
        the Pig Book, Sen. Biden had 70 earmarks for a total of $119.7
        million in fiscal year 2008, including $246,100 for the Grand
        Opera House in Wilmington.

   --  Sen. McCain has a lifetime rating of 88, has never requested
        nor received a single earmark, and has pledged to veto any
        spending bill that contains any earmarks.

   "The key word in the election is 'change,' but the Obama-Biden
ticket only offers more of Washington's wasteful ways," said Schatz.
"John McCain has a history of putting the interests of taxpayers ahead
of politics by consistently voting to cut wasteful spending, reduce
the tax burden, and make government more accountable to taxpayers. On
Election Day, Senators Obama and Biden should be returned to their day
jobs and Sen. McCain should be sent to the White House."

   CCAGWPAC is affiliated with the Council for Citizens Against
Government Waste, a 501(c)(4) organization. CCAGWPAC's mission is to
support political candidates who will fight to eliminate waste, fraud,
and abuse in government and represent the best interests of taxpayers.

Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS214423+28-Aug-2008+BW20080828)

Whatever. God the BS piles up so fast.

We noticed you had nothing to refute:

Obama and Biden Don't Measure Up to McCain on Spending and Taxes

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste Political Action
Committee (CCAGWPAC) today compared the abysmal voting records of
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and Vice Presidential
nominee Joe Biden to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain from
the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste's 2007 Congressional
Ratings.

   "The 2007 Congressional Ratings show that the Democratic nominees
for President and Vice-President would spend and tax far more than
John McCain," said CCAGWPAC Chairman Tom Schatz. "Throughout their
careers in the Senate, the two Democrats have demonstrated little
regard for the harmful effect a large and cumbersome federal
government has on taxpayers' wallets. Voters should take into
consideration both their low ratings and their numerous earmarks."

You come across as a frustrated dramaqueen spewing the regular tried-n-true insults that lack substance and are completely inflated with irrational playground hyperbolic opinions.....

Was this to be directed at the context of my last post....or some overwheming global all encompassing whine?

The Presidency is not an accomplishment?

 ::)

All you have provided here is someone's opinion.

The conservative PAC group's chairman feels Obama & Biden will "tax and spend" if elected. Okay, great. But it's still just an opinion and nothing more.

SomeONE?

I believe it's the opinion of the ORGANIZATION, that incidental has been a watchdog on federal pork since 1991.

When an ORGANIZATION releases an opinion, do you feel each and every member must make the announcement?  ::)


An opinion based on the legislative lifetime of those reported on.....so not just an unsupported off-the-cuff opinion of the type you're real good at hurling....but an opinion supported by legislative history.

Most of the projects drawing the funding sound like good uses of money.

IMO, earmarks, though they can be (and often are) wasteful have a connotation more negative than they deserve. They should be transparent, so people are aware of who's spending what, but I'm not for any political witch-hunts.

My biggest problem with this is that the money should have been coming more (much more) from the state government than the federal government. I might think differently on the matter if AK government was poor, but it's not.


This is a classic case of passing the buck (invoice) on. The AK government wants to pass the cost on to the rest of us, so that it can cut state taxes. It's just the federal treasury (read: federal debt) anyway, so who's counting?

Illy, stop talking sensible and let the lunatic fringe of both sides masturbate over perceived problems while chastising their opponents.

SomeONE?

I believe it's the opinion of the ORGANIZATION, that incidently has been a watchdog on federal pork since 1991.

When an ORGANIZATION releases an opinion, do you feel each and every member must make the announcement?  ::)


An opinion based on the legislative lifetime of those reported on.....so not just an unsupported off-the-cuff opinion of the type you're real good at hurling....but an opinion supported by legislative history.

I wouldn’t [cancel the project]. I’m not going to stand in the way of progress that our congressional delegation — in the position of strength that they have right now — they’re making those efforts for the state of Alaska to build up our infrastructure. I would not get in the way of progress.

Independent candidate Andrew Halcro responded that he would cancel the project, explaining “this isn’t progress. This is a road to a bridge that will never be built.”