Yesterday, I noted that while I wanted to do a general overview-type post on McCain's choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, there was a topic that deserved its own front-row spot since it would be a stepping stone to how Palin is viewed by the American public. That topic was the so-called Trooper-Gate scandal that is currently unfolding in Alaska and I blogged about it here. It looks like there is another issue that needs its own right-now coverage, namely Palin's ties to disgraced Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens.
Stevens, you may recall, is most famous for the pork that he brings home to Alaska. He's never been a "policy politician." Rather, for decades he has existed for only two things: (1) getting reelected via; (2) bringing pork barrel projects back to his home state. What is more, he's absolutely open and on the record about his M.O. (I almost find that refreshing, in its own twisted way.) His crowning achievement in the "Pork Olympics" is the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," a $400 million bridge to be built from the Alaska mainland to an island town, Ketchikan, with only 50 inhabitants. It's a boondoggle of classic proportions.
Palin has made a name for herself as an against-her-own-party maverick, taking on corrupt Republican officials -- which appear to be most Alaskan Republican officials -- and specifically being against Steven's bridge project. The only problem is that it isn't really true.
Yes, Palin ultimately fought to have the project killed. However, this was only the case after the portion of the cost of the bridge that Alaska would have to pay increased from its initial amount. Until that point, she was four-square behind the pork barrel project. Indeed, she campaigned on the supposed "benefits" of the project for her state. Many, including Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein, believe that her campaign for national attention began the day that she abandoned her support for the bridge. What is more, the federal money appropriated for the project is being used to build the road that would have gone to the bridge, but will now only go to the beach where the bridge would have started. Palin supported this "Road to the Beach" on the grounds that the money would have otherwise been returned to the federal government.
Palin's ties to Stevens, however, run far deeper than the bridge project. Indeed, she built her state-wide political muscle as the director of Steven's 527 group, "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc." Such 527 groups are able to raise unlimited amounts of money for political candidates. While 527s are legal generally, the legality of Stevens' particular group has been called into question as part of on-going criminal charges against the Senator. (Palin has thus far refused to comment on her role at the 527.)
Stevens also supported Palin in her effort to become Alaska's governor in 2006, going so far as to produce a television commercial for her. That commercial was featured on Palin's web site until the very morning that McCain announced Palin as his running mate. You can see the ad, as well as its original link on Palin's web site, here.)
The links between Palin and Stevens raise a lot of questions, about both Palin herself and the man who asked her to be his running mate. Regarding Palin, what does it say that she closely linked herself to the first US senator to be indicted for criminal felonies -- indeed to be indicted for any type of criminal activity -- in 15 years. (Information on Stevens' legal woes can be found here.) Regarding McCain, this information again has to call his judgement -- or lack thereof -- into question. Either he compitently vetted Palin, knew all of this in advance, and still thought that she was the best person to fill the role of Vice President of the United States -- a scarey prospect -- or he failed to vet Palin such that such readily-available information was known by him. Either way, his actions are reckless. (His vetting of Palin is being called into question on a great many fronts, but this is likely a better topic for another post altogether.) After eight years of Bush, we don't need any more reckless.
1 September 2008
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