September 23, 2008 5:55 AM
Palin fights corruption - Insider Alaskan view
Received this op-ed this morning from Seth Church, a business owner and plaintiff in the citizens-taxpayers' lawsuit against the Branchflower investigation. For more information go to: www.palinfightscorruption.com.
Sarah Palin entered the Alaskan political scene during a time when rumors of oil and gas company improprieties were whispered about behind closed doors in Juneau. She got involved in government service and started seeing the strong arm of special interests affecting the executive and legislative branches of government, and she wasn't willing to just stand by and be quiet like others had been. She blew the whistle and, as they say, "the rest is history."
Veco, the oil service company, had been influencing legislators to get taxes changed in the major oil companies' favor, so they could get a natural gas pipeline built. The problem was not that Veco asked legislators to vote a certain way; it was that Veco reimbursed employees who contributed to campaigns, and, in some cases, Veco officers would actually hand money to legislators simply for their personal use.
Gov. Frank Murkowski put Sarah Palin on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, as co-chairman and ethics director. Not long afterward, she blew the whistle on her co-chairman, who was also the chairman of the Republican Party of Alaska. The Alaska Public Offices Commission imposed the largest fine in its history on the party boss for his misuse of the public office.
Palin ran for governor and was elected by a large margin, despite absolutely no support from the Republican Party. After her election, she took on Big Oil by implementing the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, which put a fair rate for petroleum revenues back on the table and spurred the companies into action to get a gas line started. Her support of fairer taxes on the oil companies gave her a lot of enemies but nothing compared to the adversaries created by her strong stance against corruption.
Joe Miller and I decided to go down to the Alaska Republican convention as delegates to try to oust the party chair. We believed as long as he was the leader of the party, people would lose faith in the party's values.
Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at the convention and asked everyone in the room to stand up for change in the party leadership--to literally stand. More than half the people in the room did! The party boss and his followers, however, through a series of crafty parliamentary proceedings and some outright breaking of the rules, avoided votes until many who wanted change gave up and left.
Gov. Palin really earned my respect because she was willing to stand up when so many were so comfortable sitting down. She was willing to take a politically risky move against the most powerful people in the state and to do it with passion.
The "troopergate" investigation purported to be a "fair and unbiased" look at the governor's reassignment of Walt Monegan from his job as Department of Public Safety Commissioner. Allegedly, the governor's staff put pressure on Monegan to fire Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten, the governor's ex-brother-in-law.
The moderator appointed by the Legislative Counsel's chairman was Sen. Hollis French, who had worked closely with Walt Monegan, without the governor's approval, in attempting to get funds for the Department of Public Safety.
The investigator picked for the case was Steve Branchflower, whose wife, Linda, worked with Monegan for many years as a detective in the Anchorage Police Department. When Monegan was named Anchorage chief, the Anchorage Daily News (Jan. 31, 2001) summarized Linda Branchflower's comments, saying she praised him as "a respected supervisor because he listens to his employees and isn't afraid to change course if something isn't working out."
Sen. French has said publicly that he believes the investigation could lead to Sarah Palin's impeachment, that the case would probably be damaging and that they had decided to shorten the investigation for an "October surprise" before the Nov. 4 presidential election.
It has become increasingly apparent that the case is being used as a political smear attack; funded by taxpayer money, against the McCain-Palin ticket by strong supporters of the Obama campaign.
Sarah Palin has thrown out the idea that government is a place for "good old boys" and corrupt politicians. She has become the standard bearer for standing up for what is right, even when the costs are high. A small-town American woman, who still "clings" to her "religion and guns," has created a tidal wave of enthusiasm and hope for the Nov. 4 election.
From the beginning, I instinctively thought Sarah Palin - with whom I was already familiar - was the perfect candidate for this time. A lot of that was based on her family's walking the walk when it came to pro-life.
But her anti-corruption track record and the media/left's complete obsession with destroying her politically should be a wake-up call to every voter. Nancy Pelosi promised to clean house and has done nothing - nothing - nothing. The past two years the Democrats have controlled Congress and the committees responsible for financial oversight. And yet they're screaming that the financial collapse is the Republicans' fault.
Believe me, for all Obama's talk of change, he too is firmly ensconced in politics-as-usual in Washington - people around him seem to make a lot of money and so does he. Obama was the Number 2 beneficiary of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac funds. He now accuses McCain of doing nothing - which is actually a lie. See McCain's attempt to fix Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac in 2005; Update: Obama can't get AIG right .
Palin has shown that she is unafraid to do the right thing - even if it means standing up to those in her party and risking her own position. This is why she is wildly popular with the people of Alaska.
Please spread the word, as the Mainstream Media has so decided who our next president will be that they are not only biased - they are part of his campaign. How else to explain why "Troopergate" is more important to them than Obama's ties to unrepentant terrorist William Ayres. Why haven't they done a thorough investigation of his "community organizing." What are they afraid of?
I get the feeling Sarah Palin is not afraid of the truth. She has a moral compass and that is how she steers her course - not by the political winds and polls. This is what is refreshing and appealing to a growing number of voters.
Posted in Campaign 2008, Media Bias | Permalink
