POLITICAL FIX: The Final Debate, McCain and Obama fight to the bitter end!
Posted by lady lynxx - my novel is out now! on October 16, 2008 at 10:30am
Send Message View lady lynxx - my novel is out now!'s blog
The generation gap has never been more apparent until now!
Mrs Obama gets it right again...Mrs McCain please take notes.
Obama and 'Joe the Plumber'
Some of the debate in the above video...
"Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama opened a 19-day sprint to Election Day on Thursday after a contentious final debate that featured aggressive attacks by McCain on Obama's campaign tone and tax plans.
A confident but cautious Obama told supporters in New York "We are now 19 days not from the end but from the beginning. The amount of work that's going to be involved for the next president will be extraordinary."
But he warned against overconfidence down the stretch of a White House race tilting in his favor after Wednesday night's debate.
"We had a lot of fun last night," Obama told about 120 big-money donors at a breakfast fund-raiser in New York City, jokingly pronouncing himself "deeply saddened" there are no more debates.
The presidential rivals complained about the campaign's negativity during a series of testy debate exchanges on Wednesday that featured repeated appeals to average Americans through "Joe the plumber" -- the owner of a small plumbing business whom Obama met in Ohio.
Obama was not rattled by McCain's assault, and two quick polls after the debate, by CBS News and CNN, judged Obama the winner. Obama was also considered the winner of the first two presidential debates.
McCain, 72, an Arizona senator, was under intense pressure in the third and final debate to give a strong performance that could turn around a presidential race moving decisively toward Obama after weeks of economic turmoil and plunging stock markets.
But the debate appeared to do little to change the shape of the race heading into the November 4 election. Obama reminded supporters of his surprise defeat in January's Democratic primary in New Hampshire by rival Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
"We ended up getting spanked," he said. "That's another good lesson Hillary taught me."
During the debate, an aggressive McCain rebuked Obama for his frequent claims he is too close to the policies of President George W. Bush.
"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run four years ago," McCain said in the final presidential debate, held at Hofstra University on Long Island outside New York City.
Obama, 47, said he sometimes had trouble spotting a difference between the two.
"If I occasionally have mistaken your policies for George Bush's policies, it's because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people -- on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities -- you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush," Obama said.
SHARE THE STAGE
The two candidates will be on the same stage again on Thursday night when they give speeches at the Al Smith dinner, a political tradition in Manhattan named for the former New York governor and a regular stop for presidential candidates.
During the debate, McCain called on Obama to explain his relationship with 1960s radical William Ayers, who served with Obama on a community board in Chicago and hosted a political event for him early in his career. Obama distanced himself from Ayers.
"Mr. Ayers is not involved in my campaign. He has never been involved in this campaign. And he will not advise me in the White House," Obama said.
Both candidates admitted the campaign's tone was "tough" and blamed the other. McCain said Obama had spent more money on negative ads than any candidate in history, while Obama noted a recent study said 100 percent of McCain's ads had been negative.
"It's gotten pretty tough, and I regret some of the negative aspects of both campaigns. But the fact is that it has taken many turns which I think are unacceptable," McCain said.
He demanded Obama renounce the comments of Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a leader in the U.S. civil rights movement, who recently linked McCain to 1960s segregationist leader George Wallace.
"That, to me, was so hurtful," McCain said.
Obama said Lewis' link between McCain and Wallace was inappropriate "and we immediately put out a statement saying that we don't think that comparison is appropriate."
Several recent opinion polls have shown McCain's attacks on Obama's character have largely backfired, increasing unfavorable opinions about McCain among voters looking for solutions on the economy.
"The American people have become so cynical about our politics, because all they see is a tit-for-tat and back-and-forth," Obama said.
The candidates fought over their tax plans and promised to help working Americans. McCain criticized Obama's proposal to raise taxes on those who make more than $250,000 a year, saying it would hurt small business owners like "Joe the plumber," an Ohio voter who complained to Obama over the weekend that his tax plans would raise his taxes.
"Why would you want to raise anybody's taxes right now?" McCain asked Obama. "The whole premise behind Senator Obama's plans are class warfare, let's spread the wealth around."
Obama said his plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans and raise them on only a small slice of the most high-income Americans, while McCain would give tax breaks to oil and gas companies." Reuters.com
Who heard McCain talkin' bout 'Joe the Plumber?'...they already interviewed him on CNN!
Political thoughts?
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34 Comments
Comment by jay 1 hour ago
I COULD GET USE TO LOOKIN AT THAT ASS FOR FOUR YEARS, LOL
Comment by James 51 minutes ago
mccain did ok, i think obama spoke in circles...not really sayin much. The only thing Obama had to do was play defense and he did that.
Comment by P Trilla 31 seconds ago
Delete Comment and the nomination for playa of all natzenz is P TRILLA...........
Comment by P Trilla 1 second ago
Delete Comment NAZENZ(NATIONS)
Add a Comment
Comment by A-Mafia 4 hours ago
Ehh body talking about that tash palin??? Like she hot or somethin??? Mrs. Oby smashs her wackass! She fine and phat!!! shoutout to a real Queen!
Comment by tim 4 hours ago
who the fucks joe the plumber LOL
Comment by rdrake 4 hours ago
Obama spanked McCain 3 times in a row....tactfully....ahahahahaha....
Comment by CONVENANT BOY 4 hours ago
MICHELLE OBAMA LOOKIN LIKE SHE GOT A LIL SOMETHIN BACK THERE....STILL WONT HIT THO
Comment by deedout 3 hours ago
stizz07 i was thinking the same thing see got a dunk see got a dunk. i think i like her now!!!!!!
Comment by yardi 2 hours ago
obama 08
Comment by R.B.G.(Zeno Mathematics) 2 hours ago
Michelle Looking good in that dress.Obama do your thing bruh
Comment by ekcco 2 hours ago
Obama beat that ass again. I was waiting for mccains old ass to have a heart attack on stage.
Comment by trama730 1 hour ago
new hit wit 50 cent on www.myspace.com/blacksenate
new hit wit 50 cent on www.myspace.com/blacksenate
new hit wit 50 cent on www.myspace.com/blacksenate
Comment by trama730 1 hour ago
new hit wit 50 cent on www.myspace.com/blacksenate
new hit wit 50 cent on www.myspace.com/blacksenate
Comment by Cameron 6 hours ago
LMAO at Stizz07...she do got some ass..id smash..
Comment by brandon 6 hours ago
ms obama can get the bizness
Comment by Young Creezy 5 hours ago
I felt that mccain came out strong last night. I mean that comment Obama made about "spreading the wealth" was not a good look. It made him seem like a socialist.
Comment by Mimi 5 hours ago
mccain is the ja rule of politics and obama is the 50
50 killed ja so u already know wat that mean
Comment by Dat Boi Bryan 5 hours ago
all you fucking obama supporters are fucking dumb, that guy is going to tax the shit out of you
Comment by Youngsta 5 hours ago
Michelle Obama gat a donkey!!!
Comment by Jiga Byte 5 hours ago
AMERICAAN CITIZENS...U RE JOE..
Comment by G-Man 5 hours ago
IT'S SAD TO SEE THE OLD MAN AGAINST THE ROPES... DURING THE DEBATE U CAN CLEARLY SEE HOW FRUSTRATED HE HAS BECOME WITH HIS APPROVAL RATING AND POLL POSITION. HE HAD "DAMN" WRITTEN ACROSS HIS FUCKIN' RED FACE. "I AM NOT GEORGE BUSH, OK! IF U WANTED TO RUN AGAINST HIM U SHOULD HAVE RAN AGAINST HIM 4 YEARS AGO".... (EHEM). "JOHN THE PLUMBER THIS..." "JOHN THE PLUMBER THAT..." ...LOL.... WATCHING HIM LAST NIGHT MADE ME FORGET HE WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. HE CAME OFF MORE LIKE A USED CAR SALESMAN OR INSURANCE AGENT TRYING TO SELL U A BUNCH OF SQWASH. OBAMA? COOL, POISED, AND FOCUSED, AS USUAL. THERE WAS NOTHIN' MCCAIN COULD HAVE SAID TO THROW OBAMA OFF HIS GAME. ANYWAY, I DON'T THINK LAST NIGHTS DEBATE CHANGED PEOPLE'S MINDS MUCH. IT JUST CONFIRMED WHAT THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN THINKING: MCCAIN IS DEFINITELY NUTS..... LMAO.
OBAMA/BIDEN '08!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Jiga Byte 5 hours ago
POLITICS..LOL..WATCH YA MOUTH G MAN..
OK OK E.G U THINK GAME ND FIFS BEEF IS NOT DRES LEFT ND RIGHT..??
AND IF REHTWSD BETHG..JIDREHTNLOL AM CRAZYYYY HAHAAHA DNT MIND MEEEE RWJS
Comment by Stan 5 hours ago
Obama'08 !
Comment by andreherring 6 hours ago
andre herring king of the bay area
Comment by andreherring 6 hours ago
OBAMA......BITCH
Comment by andreherring 6 hours ago
I GOT BEATS.....http://www.uncleluke.tv/viewProfile.php?user=Andreh&ref=Andreh
Comment by Graffiti Bandanaz 6 hours ago
MRS. OBAMA GOT HER FREAK'UM DRESS ON !!! BARACK, HANDLE YA BUSINESS MAN !!!
Comment by Skarino Gambino 6 hours ago
Mrs. Obama's ass is aight in dat dress, word up!
Comment by lady lynxx - my novel is out now! 6 hours ago
Joe the Plumber was making me laugh last nite!
Comment by Lady Truth 6 hours ago
Who's Ya Daddy!!! OBAMA !!!
Who's Ya Daddy!!! OBAMA!!!!
The debate was crazy cain wife is nervous
she was pist at end she was like thinkin
Im uh kick his arse he done messed up mccain
lmao....................
Comment by STIZZO7 6 hours ago
LET ME FIND OUT!!!!!!!!..............MRS. OBAMA GOT A LITTLE DONK ON HER............OBAMA WATCH YOUR BACK SON!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by STIZZO7 6 hours ago
LET ME FIND OUT!!!!!!!!..............MRS. OBAMA GOT A LITTLE DONK ON HER............OBAMA WATCH YOUR BACK SON................THE DARK SKINNED JOKER COULD GET IT FROM THE BACK.............LMAO..........LMAO.
Comment by Sportz 6 hours ago
MYSPACE.COM/KENAKASPORTS
Add a Comment
Showing posts with label john maccain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john maccain. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Russel Simmons on The politics and the presidency
ABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe". It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the
gym. She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She's smart. Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road
projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing. While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs. She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Plain fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support. She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her. When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to. As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork". She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum. Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National WildlifeRefuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiative that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are getting it.
CLAIM VS. FACT
*"Hockey mom": true for a few years
*"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
*"NRA supporter": absolutely true
*social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconstitutional).
*pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
*"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation.
*"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
*political maverick: not at all.
*gutsy: absolutely!
*open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
*has a developed philosophy of public policy: no.
*"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
*fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
*pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
*pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents.
*pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
*pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen
when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the
100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against
Sarah's attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are
swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for
the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000.
The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
Anne
-Russell Simmons
Please login to post a comment
Kdollaz1
September 08, 2008, 03:46 PM EST
Barack or Die!
September 08, 2008, 05:23 PM EST
• Hi Russell: thanks for the information. This election is tough because you have one candidate who is advocating change and demonstrating how this change will come along. And you have another candidate who is advocating change but is really not demonstrating how that change will come along. I think that when Obama “picked a fight with McCain” he picked a fight based on the issues and it is those issues that I think should be the center of the campaign. When McCain picked a fight with Obama, I don’t think that he really had a foundation. In this debate, I think that the issues we should focus on are what is being ignored by the McCain Camp. (Economy/ Health care/ The War). I have read this article and it is very informative. Note that I am not looking to bash any candidate. I just want to choose a candidate who will be right for the position. To me, this election is a job interview and each candidate should be well qualified. At the selection of Sarah Pallin, quite frankly, I think that she is more “eye candy” for the McCain Camp rather than legitimate candidate who can make a difference. There is a serious disparity in the McCain Camp with Pallin. Like, I have every confidence that should “god forbid” anything happen to Obama; Biden would step into his shoes and do the job with ease. But should, god forbid, anything happen to McCain, “are you kidding me that this inexperience girl would because the leader of this nation. Please I hope that people open their eyes and see beyond her beauty and see the depth of this person. In my opinion, she is not the right person for the job. She is too inexperience, She is not within the league of Hilary Clinton or any of the senior governors.
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe". It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the
gym. She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She's smart. Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road
projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing. While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs. She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Plain fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support. She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her. When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to. As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork". She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum. Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National WildlifeRefuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiative that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are getting it.
CLAIM VS. FACT
*"Hockey mom": true for a few years
*"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
*"NRA supporter": absolutely true
*social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconstitutional).
*pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
*"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation.
*"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
*political maverick: not at all.
*gutsy: absolutely!
*open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
*has a developed philosophy of public policy: no.
*"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
*fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
*pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
*pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents.
*pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
*pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen
when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the
100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against
Sarah's attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are
swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for
the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000.
The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
Anne
-Russell Simmons
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Kdollaz1
September 08, 2008, 03:46 PM EST
Barack or Die!
September 08, 2008, 05:23 PM EST
• Hi Russell: thanks for the information. This election is tough because you have one candidate who is advocating change and demonstrating how this change will come along. And you have another candidate who is advocating change but is really not demonstrating how that change will come along. I think that when Obama “picked a fight with McCain” he picked a fight based on the issues and it is those issues that I think should be the center of the campaign. When McCain picked a fight with Obama, I don’t think that he really had a foundation. In this debate, I think that the issues we should focus on are what is being ignored by the McCain Camp. (Economy/ Health care/ The War). I have read this article and it is very informative. Note that I am not looking to bash any candidate. I just want to choose a candidate who will be right for the position. To me, this election is a job interview and each candidate should be well qualified. At the selection of Sarah Pallin, quite frankly, I think that she is more “eye candy” for the McCain Camp rather than legitimate candidate who can make a difference. There is a serious disparity in the McCain Camp with Pallin. Like, I have every confidence that should “god forbid” anything happen to Obama; Biden would step into his shoes and do the job with ease. But should, god forbid, anything happen to McCain, “are you kidding me that this inexperience girl would because the leader of this nation. Please I hope that people open their eyes and see beyond her beauty and see the depth of this person. In my opinion, she is not the right person for the job. She is too inexperience, She is not within the league of Hilary Clinton or any of the senior governors.
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