The Palin record, part 2

Since the McCain campaign only had a couple of days to vet Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, we're taking it upon ourselves to help out with that process and let the American people get to know what the McCain campaign won't tell them. So here is the another installment of the Palin record.

As Mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin fired the police chief for getting in the way of her campaign contributors, including bar owners and NRA members.

After taking over as Mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Palin fired the longtime local police chief. The former police chief, Irl Stambaugh says he was fired because he stepped on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors, including bar owners and the National Rifle Association.

Stambaugh's lawyer, William Jermain, says the chief tried to move up the closing hours of local bars from 5 a.m. to two a.m. after a spurt of drunk driving accidents and arrests.

"His crackdown on that practice by the bars was not appreciated by her and that was one reason she terminated Irl," said Jermain.

In his 1997 lawsuit, Stambaugh also alleged that his stand on restricting concealed weapons upset the NRA.

So much for the law and order image that the Republican party has carefully cultivated for the last 25 years. I say it's an image because, with many Republican lawmakers, the law typically only applies to people outside the good old boys network.

As for John McCain's emphasis on Sarah Palin's status as "Commander-In-Chief" of the Alaskan National Guard: she's never given them an order. Sure she has the title, but she has no experience actually serving in the role. In that respect, she and I have the same amount of experience, since I've never given an order to the Alaskan National Guard either.

Later, when questions were raised about Palin's lack of experience in national and international affairs, the McCain campaign pointed again to her military command experience as governor. Some reporters have tried to follow up.

"Can you tell me one decision that she made as commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard?" CNN journalist Campbell Brown asked Monday while interviewing McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds. "Just one?"

Bounds couldn't, because Palin has never personally ordered the state guard to do anything.

It's also likely that the Bush-McCain doctrine of cowboy diplomacy and war, a la the Wild Wild West, has so depleted the number of Alaskan National Guard members in the state, that there is nobody for Governor Palin to give an order. That's not her fault, it's the fault of John McCain and the Bush Administration.

And what of those earmarks that Palin so loves to say she hates?

Wasilla had received few if any earmarks before Palin became mayor. She actively sought federal funds -- a campaign that began to pay off only after she hired a lobbyist with close ties to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who long controlled federal spending as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He made funneling money to Alaska his hallmark.

Steven Silver was a former chief of staff for Stevens. After he was hired, Wasilla obtained funding for several projects in 2002, including an additional $600,000 in transportation funding.

That year, a local water and sewer project received $1.5 million, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, which combs federal spending measures to identify projects inserted by congressional members.[emphasis mine]

Close ties to a Senator who is under indictment for corruption? That will merit some future research. But for now, it's clear that Sarah Palin has been lying about her opposition to earmarks.

And in the true spirit of the culture of corruption, Palin has also used public resources for campaign purposes.

In her 2002 Lt. Governor bid, Mayor Palin used city employees, telephones, computers, fax machines for campaign fundraising and literature. On her candidate registration form, she used her City Hall fax number, and her mayoral e-mail address. Records show that Wasilla city property was used to contact supporters, donors, media contacts, and media purchasing. [Anchorage Daily News, 7/21/06]

Political reformer? Maverick? No, just more of the same from the Republicans.