Palin: Wrong for Alaska, Wrong for America, 4

Palin as Reformer

Sarah Palin likes to paint herself as a reformer. But, if a reformer is defined as someone who improves upon the situation they came into by actively causing others to change their behavior so that prior abuses end, does Palin qualify?

Palin’s reputation as a “reformer” began after she resigned from an appointed post she held as one of three commissioners on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC). Palin was appointed to this post by then-governor Frank Murkowski as a consolation prize because she was not appointed to an open US Senate seat (that position went to Murkowski’s daughter Lisa). While at the AOGCC Palin found out that one of the other commissioners, Randy Ruedrich, had used the state’s e-mail for political purposes and appeared to have close ties to some of the oil companies he was regulating. Palin notified Gov. Murkowski, who did nothing – probably not an unexpected result given both Murkowski’s political allegiances and the relatively benign (compared to other Alaska politicians) nature of the infractions.

Ruedrich eventually resigned, and reporters began asking Palin questions about his resignation; but, at Murkowski’s request, she did not respond. Palin resigned her post at AOGCC a short time later, after rumors surfaced that she may have been connected to a cover-up of the Ruedrich situation. Some individuals who are well acquainted with Palin believe that another reason for her resignation was that she simply disliked the complex and detailed work associated with the job. In any case, Palin’s resignation was not needed to advance the investigation and subsequent punishment of Ruedrich.

Between the time Palin left the AOGCC and the time she became governor, a number of Alaska’s politicians were indicted on corruption charges. During this time, the Department of Justice and the FBI did the heavy lifting in the effort to fight political corruption in Alaska. While Palin had no active part in this effort, she is quick to insinuate that she had a major role in “reforming” Alaskan politics.

In the face of a perception of widespread corruption of politics in Alaska, after being elected governor, Palin did call for new ethics legislation. However, she left the legwork for writing ethics legislation to the Alaska legislature.

So, given that Alaska has passed the Omnibus Ethics Legislation (HB109), the question is: Has anything fundamentally changed that allows Palin to claim the mantle of “reformer?”

Alaska’s senior senator, Ted Stevens is currently on trial for failure to disclose “gifts” (a major remodel of his home) he received from Bill Allen’s VECO (the same individual who bribed a number of other Alaskan politicians who are currently serving prison sentences) and Stevens will likely win the general election, unless he is sent to prison.

Palin’s own Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (who she supported in the primarily) was defeated by Don Young, Alaska’s long-time congressman, in spite of an ongoing federal investigation into Young. Even our new junior senator, Lisa Murkowski, was recently caught up in a scandal to purchase choice riverfront property at below market prices.

Moreover, there is growing dissatisfaction among Alaskans with Palin’s refusal to cooperate with the Troopergate investigation (Palin is alleged to have abused her power by pressuring Walt Monegan to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a trooper in his department). After Palin’s selection as the Republican VP candidate, Alaskan’s ire has been compounded by interference in the investigation from McCain’s camp.

One story that hasn’t received much attention is Palin’s choice to replace Monegan with Chuck Kopp. Within days of firing Monegan, Palin appointed Kopp as his replacement. However, Kopp ran into trouble almost immediately when it was revealed that he had sexual harassment reprimands in his personnel file for his previous position. But, it is believed Palin chose Kopp for his strong ties the fundamentalist Christian right rather than for his credentials in public safety. Kopp is a well-known figure in Alaska’s fundamental Christian movement. This was Palin’s attempt to placate the fundamentalist right in case she did get the VP nod because she had not previously advanced the fundamentalist agenda with her official policies.

Since becoming governor, Palin has used her line item veto power to punish politicians who did not support her agenda – in one case vetoing over 90% of the capital projects for one such legislator’s district. Palin later claimed her budget cuts represented “fiscal conservatism discipline” but the truth is that she provided no guidance whatsoever as to what should be submitted into the initial budget request – so naturally, many members loaded up the budget with pork that should have never gotten into the budget in the first place.

Since becoming McCain’s VP pick we have learned much more about Palin, including: she accepted money from tainted politicians (which she did not return until after her VP nomination), used her position as mayor of Wasilla to get a zoning variance for a fire hazard violation to sell her personal residence, and she used non-government e-mail addresses in an attempt to prevent the public from having access to certain correspondence (even though Palin campaigned on the slogan of “open and transparent”).

In summary, Palin has grossly exaggerated her role as a reformer. She has adopted many of the very tactics she previously criticized the “Good Old Boy” network for using. Alaska is not yet “reformed” and the FBI, the Justice Department and the Alaska legislature have done the real work thus far.

David A. Chacon