Palin: Wrong for Alaska, Wrong for America

{Note from Bradley C. Roberson: This post is a guest article from a friend of mine who works in the oil industry. His analysis is provided here as an underscore to much of the talk about Sarah Palin's religion and executive preparedness. Here we have a member of the oil industry who was willing to vote for McCain originally but has become opposed to McCain for his choice of Vice President. Please feel free to post follow up comments or questions which Brad will relay to Mr. Chacon. As a skeptic, this point of view is not readily available to the mainstream and is a welcome addition to the other commentaries on Palin already posted.}


Since John McCain selected Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate a short while ago, I have had numerous inquiries about my take on Palin because, as many of you know, I have lived in Alaska for the last four years.  Therefore I've decided to provide some of my thoughts on Palin to those who wish to receive them.

I will base any comments I make on the best factual information that I have at my disposal and try to be fair but provide insightful analysis.  I will not respond to questions that I believe are inappropriate, but will try to address the main questions I have gotten so far and any new questions I receive.

That said, you may what to know some of my basic political views, so here they are:  A) I consider myself a independent moderate; B) I had planned to vote for McCain (making my decision even before he was the Republican nominee); C) I changed my mind as soon as Palin was announced as his VP choice; E) I now plan to vote for Obama

My Communication Plan

Since becoming Governor of Alaska, Palin’s three major objectives have been:  1) increasing taxes on the oil companies that operate in Alaska, 2) promoting the construction of a natural gas pipeline to market stranded Alaska gas, and 3) ethics reform.  I’ll share some unpublished editorials I’ve written and supplement them with more detailed analyses.  I’ll write on Palin’s tax policy first and follow up with articles on Palin’s other two objectives as time permits.  After that, I hope to address Palin’s challenges and achievements as mayor of Wasilla and state of Alaska issues beyond Palin’s three main objectives.  I hope to address the issue of “executive experience” and point out that it’s not measured by the amount of time someone has held an “executive title” but instead by the nature of the challenges they faced as a decision maker and the results that were delivered.

Palin:  Wrong for Alaska, Wrong for America


As a long time supporter of John McCain, I decided some time ago that, if he got his party’s nomination, I would vote for him.  My choice was based on a strong belief in McCain’s personal honor and integrity and his willingness to be a maverick by rejecting the far right fringe of his party.  With McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, the state where I currently live and work, I will now vote for Obama.

Over the two years Palin has governed Alaska she has demonstrated her true colors – not as a conservative, but as a populist.  And, as a populist she either doesn’t care about the long-term impact of her policies or doesn’t understand their impact.  Palin’s most notable achievements have been substantially increasing taxes on the oil and gas industry – the foundation of Alaska’s economy – and intervening in the free market to give a foreign company a leg-up in the race to build a pipeline to get Alaska’s stranded gas to market.

Palin’s tax plan, named “ACES” for Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, raised taxes to such a high level that, since being passed less than a year ago, more than half a billion dollars of capital projects have been cancelled.  Almost immediately after Palin passed ACES, ConocoPhillips cancelled a $300 million project to produce ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) in a plant close to Alaska’s oil producing region, the North Slope.  Today, Alaska is facing increasing tight supplies of diesel and has some of the highest diesel prices in the nation –  over $5 per gallon. And, to make matter worse, the need to transport USLD hundreds of miles via diesel-hungry trucks will add to air pollution and erode any environmental benefit that comes from the switch to USLD.

There has been a corresponding negative impact on jobs from ACES.  So far, it hasn’t been noticed because, thanks to high oil prices, Alaska’s economy is red-hot.  But many Alaskans are already seeing signs of softening demand for labor.

Palin’s policies to deliver Alaska’s stranded natural gas to market are poised to have negative impacts that are potentially even greater than ACES.  Her plan, which goes by AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) amounted to giving away $500 million of state money for a project that likely would be built without any incentives.  Under AGIA pipeline companies were invited to submit applications that met its terms.  Interestingly, the terms of AGIA were rumored to have been tailored to attract a bid from Mid-America Pipeline Company, but not only did AGIA failed to attract this bid, the only valid bid came from Trans-Canada, the eventual recipient of Palin’s largesse.  After the media hype her administration put out about AGIA – it’s likely that Trans-Canada was chosen because it would have been too embarrassing for Palin if there were no “winner” and even more embarrassing if her administration chose any other applicant.

As wasteful as AGIA is, the greatest risk to Alaska’s long held dream to build a gas pipeline is due to the Palin administration’s handling of Pt. Thompson, the gas field with the largest reserves needed to make any pipeline economically viable.  Her administration is trying to expropriate this field thereby putting a cloud over ownership of Pt. Thompson’s gas.  As long as this cloud exists, its difficult to imagine how any pipeline could be built.  And that could cost Alaska tens of billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs.  Palin’s clear animosity toward oil companies puts Alaska’s future economic development at risk.

These actions are contrary to the traditional conservative platform of promoting resource development.  It’s no wonder that some nickname Palin “Hugo Girl” a reference to Hugo Chavez and simultaneous play on “You Go Girl” in deference to her self-described “hockey mom” image.

Beyond Palin’s policy failings, she brings the kind of baggage that calls into question not only her judgment, but also the judgment of the McCain campaign for choosing her as a running mate.  Palin is currently being investigated for abuse of power with respect to the firing of Walt Monegan, Alaska’s Public Safety Commissioner.  Her recent effort to hand out $1,200 of state money to pay for high energy costs in Alaska was not well thought out.  It started out as a scheme to pass out debit cards to virtually every Alaskan man, woman and child – regardless of the fact that few children buy gas or pay utilities.  In an effort to avoid a decline in the popularity she clearly cherishes, she morphed this plan into a cash payout to her constituency.

Palin’s governorship has been wrong for Alaska.  But, this pales in comparison to how wrong Palin would be if she should ever be called to fill in for a McCain presidency.  Palin has no international experience, no national security experience and no natural interest in these important topics.  My fellow Alaskans and I have had over two years to understand the failings of Palin, the rest of the United States has only two months, but I am confident that will be enough time for Americans across this land to understand that Palin is wrong for America.

(David Chacon lives in Anchorage, AK and works for a major petroleum company.  He has more than 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.)