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Archive for the ‘Biography’ Category

Sarah Palin Declares Her Independence

Posted by Gary P Jackson on July 5, 2009


Once the hunted, Sarah Palin becomes the hunter.

Sarah stunned the world Friday by doing something that isn’t done. She is willfully giving up one of the most powerful positions a politician can aspire to. She is stepping down as Governor of one of the most important states in America.

The media elites were stunned. It was almost hilarious watching their reactions of disbelief. Their commentary was downright entertaining, and further proof that they don’t have a clue. Even those on Fox!

And the symbolism of doing this on the 4th of July holiday, the time we celebrate our nation’s birth, and our independence, was completely lost on the whole lot!

Almost universally, no one in the elite media got it. This is a huge comment on why our nation is in deep, deep trouble. One reporter on Fox, who has covered Sarah since she became Governor, went so far to say that her speech was “rambling”, and “incoherent.” Again, this just proves that even the media we most trust for news doesn’t a clue about real Americans.

Sarah Palin sounded just like us! We, the people, understood every single word she said. This is the reason she is wildly popular in the first place. She IS one of us!

Of course, just as universally silly as the commenters are, the pundits are even more clueless. And, evidently, devoid of any and all abilities of comprehension, be it for the written word, or spoken. We’ll get to the speech itself in due time, but suffice it to say, that for normal Americans, those who this speech was aimed at, this was a call to action.

Now the talking heads all agree that Sarah is done.

No chance of ever being anything again.

Certainly no chance of ever being President. Some say this was political suicide. Well, it won’t be the first time Sarah has committed “political suicide.”

After Mayor Sarah Palin was term limited out (why don’t we have term limits for ALL elected officials?) she decided her next move would be Lt Governor. She lost. But Governor Frank Murkowski saw a talented woman with a lot of grit. He appointed her as Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. An important job. One that regulates Alaska’s most important activities, oil and natural gas production.

Chairman Palin was charged with maintaining ethics as part of her job. Something that her history has shown she takes very seriously. And her talent in this area was soon to be put to good use. There were a lot of less than ethical things going on, some big, some really big.

Now one thing, Alaska is a “good old boy network” kinda state. And her agency was filled with a lot of movers and shakers in the Republican party. Including the party chair, and even a former attorney general. So as one would imagine, there was some push back when Chairman Palin sought to end some of their practices.

Now mind you, this is a high paying gig. Six figures. Something a mother of four had to be thinking about.

So, what did Sarah do? Well, she committed “political suicide” and resigned from the post. She then took her fight to the people. She also filed formal complaints.

We all know the result of this effort. Commissioner Randy Ruedrich who is also the chair of the Republican party, was forced to resign, and paid the largest fine in state history for this sort of thing, $12,000. Gregg Renkes the former attorney general was also forced to resign.

Both of these men had conflicts of interest in dealing with companies they were supposed to be regulating. And Ruedrich was also guilty of doing party business on state time. The effort to go after Renkes was bi-partisan, as Sarah joined in with democrat Eric Croft.

Oh, and one more thing, Sarah took on her former boss, Governor Frank Murkowski, and defeated him in a landslide primary election, and defeated popular former democrat Governor Tony Knowels in the general election.

So much for “political suicide.”

People who have followed Sarah Palin for a long time absolutely get what she is doing.

One of the big things behind this move is to change the rules. When Sarah became Governor, she and her administration passed sweeping ethics reform. That’s a good thing. But since she returned to Alaska after the presidential election, the democrat party has turned around and used these very laws she championed against her and the state of Alaska. Chicago politics at it’s “finest.”

I have written about Barack Obama’s direct involvement in the failed “troopergate” smear, and even his payoff to former Alaska Senator Kim Elton for his efforts. I have also written extensively about Linda Kellen Biegel, the Democrat National Committee’s “official blogger for Alaska.”

This Biegel woman has turned her insane hate into a cottage industry, openly raising money online to fund her efforts, the legality of which is in question.

She’s not alone in this, as other paid operatives, as well as screw loose crazies, have filed 15 so-called “ethics complaints” since Sarah has come home from the presidential trail!

These deals range from the silly, to the down right idiotic!

One complaint had to do with the fact Sarah was photographed holding a fish!

Some background. Sarah has worked as a commercial fisherman. She and her husband still own a commercial fishing business, and yes, when time permits, she has been known to go out and work the nets!

One complaint had to do with the fact she did an interview in her office!

She got tagged because, as Governor, she was at this year’s Iron Dog race, at nearly 2000 miles, the longest most difficult snow machine race in the world.

She showed up in sub-zero weather wearing a jacket.

Oh, the humanity!

Yes, the jacket had the logo of the company that sponsors her husband, Todd, who is a multi-championship winning racer. And?

The bottom line, is these loons, and democrat operatives have managed to cripple the Governor, her staff, and grind governing to a halt. This nonsense has cost Governor Palin and her family $500,000 personally, but more importantly, to her, the state of Alaska has spent $2 million dollars, and 1000’s of hours in time messing around with these complaints.

Needless to say, ALL of these complaints have been thrown out. But as I reported earlier, that means nothing to these bloggers. There were many more bogus ethics complaints planned.

This is Saul Alinsky’s Rules being used relentlessly, and being sanctioned by Chicago’s most famous citizen.

And with a group of dishonest democrats who will just keep filing these bogus ethics complaints, with absolutely no repercussions, she just saved the citizens of Alaska at minimum a couple of million dollars the state would have had to shell out had she completed her term.

This is pretty typical Sarah Palin. When she took office she went on a cost cutting spree. She famously put the executive jet for sale on eBay. And while it was not sold there, it was sold. It was a jet the previous Governor had purchased to travel the state. On the surface, not a bad idea. Alaska is roughly the size of the entire western United States, and many cities are only easily accessible by either air or water.

The only problem, is that jet was unable to land on most of the unimproved airfields in Alaska, and kind of useless.

Palin reassigned the “executive chef” at the Governor’s mansion saying she didn’t want her kids to get used to being waited on by staff. That saved the state money. She also, along with Lt Governor Sean Parnell, turned down a substantial pay increase this year. Something that just isn’t done.

So by stepping down, Sarah Palin just changed the rules on these people. As a private citizen, she is not subject to the constraints of office. She doesn’t have to maintain a certain decorum.

Make no mistake about it, Sarah Palin is a street fighter. What she has done is declare herself the left’s worst nightmare! The paid DNC operatives, and loons, are going to look back and wish they had let sleeping dogs lie.

Case in point, one of the DNC operatives, Huffington Post blogger Shannyn Moore has already been out there spreading lies about Sarah. Moore, who earlier in the year was obsessed with what was under Sarah’s skirt, is peddling a story that Palin is about to be indicted on some sort of federal charges.

Palin’s attorney Thomas V Van Flein has already put Shannyn Moore, the Huffington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times, as well as the Washington Post on notice that they will be seeking actions against them for printing such lies.

Van Flein’s open letter to the parties explains the facts of the story in question, which involves the Wasilla Sports Complex that came to be during Sarah’s tenure as Mayor of Wasilla. Needless to say, another attempt to smear Sarah Palin knocked to the ground.

“Screw Political correctness!”

“Politically Speaking, I don’t care if I live or die, I’m not going to sit down, I’m not going to shut up!” ___Sarah Palin in a June speech introducing Michael Reagan.

It seems we saw signs of Sarah’s big move a while back. We just didn’t know what we were looking at. Sarah made the above remarks during a speech where she introduced Michael Reagan to a crowd in Anchorage.

In her speech she also took Obama and his economic policies head on, as well as his foreign policy. She spoke at length about states rights, and how the federal government had become too big, and too controlling.

It seems that the trip to Kosovo and Germany to visit the troops may have also held clues to what was about to happen. While there, and in Sarah’s tweets, she continually talked about the sacrifices of our brave soldiers, and about the greatness of America. It’s obvious that while her move to change directions has been in the works for some time, her second trip to visit troops in the past two years really had a profound effect on Palin.

Of course, there are all of her detractors who are now saying she is “abandoning her job.” Funny thing, she is transferring power to Lt Governor Sean Parnell. This is the same Sean Parnell who she would have transferred power to had she become Vice President.

Some say they don’t buy the “lame duck” excuse. But having followed Sarah since she became Governor, having read her writings, watched her speeches, and read other’s thoughts about her, people who know her, I think I understand, at least in a tiny way, how she thinks about her duty to the folks who put her in office.

Again, it’s a given, the loons and DNC operatives were never ever going to stop costing the state of Alaska millions of dollars in their perverted attacks on Sarah Palin. So that obviously weighed very heavily on her mind. As soon as Sarah started speaking out. As soon as Sarah started really challenging those who would destroy America from within, the attacks would come.

Sarah recognizes what most of America now does. We are in real trouble. We have incredibly incompetent leadership in Washington. Both parties are filled with people who are more interested in power than doing their jobs. We have a Congress that spends trillions of dollars and passes insane legislation that will destroy our personal liberty, without reading a single word in these bills!

Congress passed the trillion dollar stimulus package and absolutely no one read this bill. It was rushed through by Barack Obama and his crew. Obama shouting that if the bill wasn’t passed immediately the sky would fall! Then, once passed, Obama took a long weekend, while staff set up the photo op!

The stimulus package has been a disaster, so far.

The House of Representatives just passed the largest tax increase in human history, the cap and tax bill on “climate change.” Here’s a bill that will double or triple the cost of energy, and by default, effect the cost of every single product consumers purchase. And this bill will actually do nothing to help the climate! It would also cost millions of jobs, and send most manufacturing overseas to nations that haven’t bought into the “climate change” nonsense.

Even better, most Americans understand that “global warming” is a hoax. That the planet is actually cooling. More and more scientists have come out and disputed the whole scheme.

In fact, the latest scandal surrounding this involves an internal EPA memo that disproves “global warming”, that was suppressed ahead of the House vote.

Not only had no one read this incredibly huge tax bill, an additional 300 pages were slipped into the bill in the dead of night just before the vote!

This isn’t just insanity, this is criminal!

This sort of thing is why Sarah felt she could no longer sit still and keep her mouth shut. This is why she has decided to travel and speak out.

Of course, as Governor, she does have the bully pulpit, but since the DNC has their operatives filing bogus ethics complaints at the drop of the hat, it would be very detrimental to Alaskans for Sarah to use her power as Governor to challenge these crooks in DC.

Better to take them on as Sarah Palin, America, than as Governor Sarah Palin.

And she did have a point about lame ducks spending the people’s money while doing little of their work.

Now with the dishonest press, and the talking heads, there is a huge double standard. They think its just horrible that Sarah is “abandoning” Alaska.

On the other hand, no one in America seemed to have a problem when Barack Obama, the very inexperienced Junior Senator from Illinois, after promising the people of Illinois that he wouldn’t run for President in his first term, worked a mere 143 days out of his six year Senate term, only to abandon his job completely to spend a year and a half running for President!

All the while collecting his paycheck from all of us taxpayers.

Double standard?

You bet’cha!

I prefer Sarah’s way of doing things.

Now for her speech!

What a red meat patriotic speech it was. This was Sarah Palin speaking out to all of America and letting them know she’s heard the call, and is ready to answer it.

The Video is here and the transcript’s here for all to enjoy.

In her speech Sarah talks about the need to end politics as usual. Yeah, I know, all politicians say that. But with Sarah Palin, you instinctively know that she actually means it. And frankly, has put her money where her mouth is by resigning to take those who are harming America straight on!

Sarah talks about how we need to build America up, not tear it down. She called the extreme spending spree being championed by Barack Obama “obscene” and “immoral.”

Sarah, in her speech, repeatedly called on all to get involved and make a difference.

Of course, the elite media who evidently feel it’s their job to tell us what to think (or spread propaganda, I can never decide which) are so sure that Sarah has had enough of all of this and is going home.

So as if to make sure there will be no doubt to her intentions, Sarah put out an Independence Day message.

The end of the message goes as follows:

“I shared with you yesterday my heartfelt and candid reasons for this change; I’ve never thought I needed a title before one’s name to forge progress in America. I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint. I hope you will join me. Now is the time to rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness!

God bless you! And I look forward to making a difference – with you!

Sarah”

Now to many, this is Sarah’s way of announcing her intentions to be the next President of the United States, and it may very well be. But I am absolutely under the impression that this doesn’t really matter to her. I firmly believe she is more interesting in changing America for the better. I firmly believe she is more interested in stopping the destruction that Barack Obama and Congress is causing our great nation.

Of course, this is WHY Sarah Palin will be President. Her millions of followers will demand it. Absolutely no one currently in politics has the vision for America that sees us returning to the principles that our founding fathers set forth.

Absolutely no one out there has the ability and desire to take on Barack Obama and Congress with no holds barred. Straight up, no quarter.

Absolutely no other political figure represents the conservative movement as defined by one of our greatest Americans, Ronald Reagan. An America where personal freedom and liberty rein. A strong America. An America that made us the envy of the world.

Both Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin see America as a shining city on a hill. God’s greatest gift to mankind. The world’s best hope.

Our President and Congress are doing their level best to destroy that vision of America. They are spending our grandchildren’s and great grandchildren’s future on their socialist schemes. They are ignoring the growing threats around the world, while passing unread legislation that threatens our personal liberties and freedom.

Sarah Palin recognizes this, and has answered the call.

The real question here is for you, the gentle reader.

Will you also answer the call? Or will you continue to just sit and complain, hoping someone else will do the heavy lifting for you?

Sarah Palin looked at her kids and asked: “Want me to make a positive difference and fight for ALL our children’s future from outside the Governor’s office?” She got four “yeahs” and a HELL YEAH” in response!

So again, what will your answer be? Sarah has put her entire career on the line for America.

What are you willing to do?

It’s time to choose!

“In the words of General MacArthur: We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”_____Sarah Palin

Posted in 2012, Alaska, Alaska Trust Fund, anklebiters, attorney general, Barracuda, Biography, ECONOMY, Energy, Energy Independence, Environment, ethics, ethics complaint, Faith, Family, freedom of speech, GOP, GOP / Conservative, government control, Governor Palin, Governor Sarah Palin, influential people, Iron Dog, liberal bloggers, Mayor Palin, Media, media bias, Michael Reagan, National, National Defense, natural gas, Obama, politics, President, reform, Republican, resignation, RNC, Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin, SarahPAC, Sean Parnell, stimulus, Vice President, Washington, Wasilla, Woman | Tagged: , , , , | 33 Comments »

How Palin Beat Alaska’s Establishment

Posted by Sarah Palin Web Brigade on February 8, 2009

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
September 5, 2008

POTOMAC WATCH
By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
DOW JONES REPRINTS

How Palin Beat Alaska’s Establishment
September 5, 2008; Page A13
If you’ve read the press coverage of Sarah Palin, chances are you’ve heard plenty about her religious views and private family matters. If you want to know what drives Gov. Palin’s politics, and has intrigued America, read this.

Martin Kozlowski
Every state has its share of crony capitalism, but Big Oil and the GOP political machine have taken that term to new heights in Alaska. The oil industry, which provides 85% of state revenues, has strived to own the government. Alaska’s politicians—in particular ruling Republicans—roll in oil campaign money, lavish oil revenue on pet projects, then retire to lucrative oil jobs where they lobby for sweetheart oil deals. You can love the free market and not love this.

Alaskans have long resented this dysfunction, which has led to embarrassing corruption scandals. It has also led to a uniform belief that the political class, in hock to the oil class, fails to competently oversee Alaska’s vast oil and gas wealth, the majority of which belongs to the state—or rather, Alaskan citizens.

And so it came as no surprise in 2004 when former Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski made clear he’d be working exclusively with three North Slope producers—ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP—to build a $25 billion pipeline to move natural gas to the lower 48. The trio had informed their political vassals that they alone would build this project (they weren’t selling their gas to outsiders) and that they expected the state to reward them. Mr. Murkowski disappeared into smoky backrooms to work out the details. He refused to release information on the negotiations. When Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin suggested terms of the contract were illegal, he was fired.

What Mr. Murkowski did do publicly was instruct his statehouse to change the oil and gas tax structure (taxes being a primary way Alaskans realize their oil revenue). Later, citizens would discover this was groundwork for Mr. Murkowski’s pipeline contract—which would lock in that oil-requested tax package for up to 40 years, provide a $4 billion state investment, and relinquish most oversight.

Enter Mrs. Palin. The former mayor of Wasilla had been appointed by Mr. Murkowski in 2003 to the state oil and gas regulatory agency. She’d had the temerity to blow the whistle on fellow GOP Commissioner Randy Ruedrich for refusing to disclose energy dealings. Mr. Murkowski and GOP Attorney General Gregg Renkes closed ranks around Mr. Ruedrich—who also chaired the state GOP. Mrs. Palin resigned. Having thus offended the entire old boy network, she challenged the governor for his seat.

Mrs. Palin ran against the secret deal, and vowed to put the pipeline back out for competitive, transparent, bidding. She railed against cozy politics. Mr. Murkowski ran on his unpopular pipeline deal. The oil industry warned the state would never get its project without his leadership. Mrs. Palin walloped him in the primary and won office in late 2006. Around this time, news broke of a federal probe that would show oil executives had bribed lawmakers to support the Murkowski tax changes.

Among Mrs. Palin’s first acts was to reinstate Mr. Irwin. By February 2007 she’d released her requirements for pipeline bidding. They were stricter, and included only a $500 million state incentive. By May a cowed state house—reeling from scandal—passed her legislation.

The producers warned they would not bid, nor would anyone else. Five groups submitted proposals. A few months before the legislature awarded its license to TransCanada this July, Conoco and BP suddenly announced they’d be building their own pipeline with no state inducements whatsoever. They’d suddenly found the money.

Mrs. Palin has meanwhile passed an ethics law. She’s tightened up oil oversight. She forced the legislature to rewrite the oil tax law. That new law raised taxes on the industry, for which Mrs. Palin is now taking some knocks, but the political background here is crucial.

The GOP machine has crumbled. Attorney General Renkes resigned. Mr. Ruedrich was fined $12,000. Jim Clark—Mr. Murkowski’s lead pipeline negotiator—pleaded guilty to conspiring with an oil firm. At least three legislators have been convicted. Sen. Ted Stevens is under indictment for oil entanglements, while Rep. Don Young is under investigation.

Throughout it all, Mrs. Palin has stood for reform, though not populism. She thanks oil companies and says executives who “seek maximum revenue” are “simply doing their job.” She says her own job is to be a “savvy” negotiator on behalf of Alaska’s citizens and to provide credible oversight. It is this combination that lets her aggressively promote new energy while retaining public trust.

Today’s congressional Republicans could learn from this. The party has been plagued by earmarks, scandal and corruption. Most members have embraced the machine. That has diminished voters’ trust, and in the process diminished good, conservative ideas. It is no wonder 37 million people tuned in to Mrs. Palin’s convention speech. They are looking for something fresh.

Write to kim@wsj.com1

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122057381593001741.html

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WhoRunsGov.com

Posted by Sarah Palin Web Brigade on February 7, 2009

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Sarah Palin’s Profile
Last Edited: Feb. 04, 2009, 6:57PM
by Amanda Carpenter
View all page revisions for Sarah Palin
Links
Alaska governor’s office

Key Associates

Last edited Jan. 23, 2009 | 5:41PM
John McCain
read edits
News
Palin weighs in on stimulus package (she’s opposed) – The Miami Herald
Feb. 05, 2009 | 12:56PM
Political bench??? – Boston Herald
Feb. 06, 2009 | 6:05PM
Heart’s brush with politics – Las Vegas Sun
Feb. 06, 2009 | 10:04AM
Legislator calls out Palin administration for rural help – KTUU
Feb. 06, 2009 | 5:27AM
Alaska lawmakers question Sarah Palin’s focus – The Associated Press
Jan. 31, 2009 | 10:01AM
Sarah PalinTable of contents
1. Why She Matters
2. At a Glance
3. Path to Power
3.1. Gubernatorial Race
3.2. In Her Own Words
4. The Issues
4.1. Three E’s
4.2. Feminism and Family
5. The Network
5.1. Footnotes
Current Position: Alaska Governor (since January 2007)
Why She Matters
Palin, a relative unknown before the 2008 election, managed to do what no GOP presidential candidate could do for their party throughout the Republican primary: energize the conservative base. And the political future of the Alaska governor is being fiercely debated even after her bid as the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee failed.

For a brief period, Palin unified fractured, demoralized Republicans uninspired by their presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain1 (R-Ariz.), a man who called himself a maverick because he opposed his party on some key issues.

Palin, who also describes herself as a maverick, represented something different. Most notably, she is the first woman to appear on a Republican presidential ticket, but that fact seemed to be almost an afterthought in the fervor of the election. The vivacious former PTA mother of five and one-term Alaska governor who knows how to wield both a shotgun and a fishing pole instantly captured the hearts of the party faithful.

Throughout her meteoric political career, Palin has positioned herself as an outsider, which wasn’t hard considering she’s never been a hands-on favorite to win any of her elected positions. She earned her political chops exposing the GOP elite’s corrupt dealings with Alaska’s vibrant oil industry, which caused the Republican establishment in her state to abandon her during her 2006 bid for the governorship.

Despite the odds, Palin won that race and has governed with an eye towards fiscal responsibility, transparency and ethics reform. During her first year in office she vetoed $231 million from the proposed state budget, placed expenses online for everyone to see and listed her Republican predecessor’s $2.69 million private jet on eBay.(1)

These kinds of unapologetic, take-charge actions, coupled with Palin’s positions on social issues, have caused even the most hard-line members of the conservative base to become infatuated with Palin during her vice presidential run. Shortly after Palin was announced as McCain2’s vice presidential choice, talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh declared during one of his programs, “Sarah Palin: Babies, guns and Jesus. Hot damn!”(2)

In post-election interviews, Palin has been careful to keep options open for her political future. “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door,” she has said.(3)
At a Glance
Current Position: Alaska Governor (since January 2007)

Career History: GOP vice presidential nominee (2008); Wasilla Mayor (1996 to 2002); Chairwoman Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (2003 to 2004); Wasilla City Council member (1992 to 1996); Television sports reporter (1987 to 1989); Co-owner commercial fishing operation (1988 to 2007); Owner, snow machine, watercraft, and al-terrain vehicle business (1994 to 1997)

Birthday: Feb. 11, 1964

Hometown: Wasilla, Alaska

Alma Mater: University of Idaho, B.S. in communications-journalism, 1987

Spouse: Todd Palin

Religion:Christian

State Office:
P.O. Box 110001
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0001
(907) 465-3500

Email

Web site3
Path to Power
Palin often credits days playing basketball in high school for giving her an edge in the political arena. She helped clinch the state title for her team in 1984 with a free-throw in the final minutes of the championship game. “This really sounds hokey, but that was a turning point in my life” she told the Anchorage Daily News after winning Wasilla’s mayoral race in 1996. “We were supposed to be the underdogs big time. You see firsthand anything is possible and learn it takes tenacity, hard work and guts.”(4)

Born in Idaho, but raised in Alaska, Palin had something of a tomboy’s upbringing. Her father, Chuck, is an avid sportsman who taught his daughter to hunt, fish and trap game. Palin later parlayed her love of the outdoors into several business ventures, working alongside her husband, Todd, for a time as a commercial fish operator. She also made periodic appearances as a television sports anchor on KTUU, Anchorage’s NBC affiliate.

Palin’s first elected position was to the Wasilla City Council in 1992. Four years later she ran for mayor against a three-term incumbent on a tax-cutting platform and won an upset victory. In 2002, she embarked on a longshot race to become lieutenant governor and lost. She did, however, run an impressive campaign that caught the attention of incumbent Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski.

This led to a short-lived appointment to the Alaskan Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which was created to protect the public interest in exploration and development of oil and gas resources. Palin resigned from her post in protest as part of whistle-blowing efforts against fellow Republican Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, who was also chairman of the state party and very close to Gov. Murkowski. Palin believed Ruedrich, and others, hadn’t acted ethically during deals the state had negotiated with ExxonMobil, Conoco Philips and British Petroleum for development along Alaska’s North Slope.

After Palin resigned from the commission, she embarked on a campaign to unseat Gov. Murkowski, promising to open the North Slope to competitive bidding. Ruedrich eventually resigned from the commission and was fined $12,000 for ethics violations in 2004.(5)

Gubernatorial Race
When Palin ran against Murkowski in the 2006 GOP primary, she was forced to rely on grassroots support to advance her candidacy. This was largely because Ruedrich, a loyal Murkowski supporter, remained state GOP chairman and controlled party resources, keeping them out of her reach. Palin was such an outcast from the state party that she even considered running as an Independent. At the time she vented to a local talk-radio host, “One of the challenges is being up against those who run our party.”(6) But Palin was also helped by the fact Alaskans were feeling hostile towards members of the GOP establishment, like Ruedrich, who had become too cozy with the oil industry.

After winning the GOP primary, Palin gained a comfortable lead over former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles, who after losing a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2006, sought to reclaim his position as governor. Palin won by double-digits and became Alaska’s first female governor at the age of 42.

A little more than a year after being sworn-in, Palin met GOP presidential candidate John McCain4 at a Republican governor’s meeting. “We just talked about earmark reform and how it’s going to happen,” Palin said at the time.(7)

After McCain5 won the Republican nomination for president, he unexpectedly tapped Palin to become his vice presidential candidate. Although the McCain-Palin ticket did not win in 2008, the campaign introduced Palin to the nation and she is now one of the most popular figures within the Republican Party.
In Her Own Words
In post-election interviews, Palin has been careful to keep options open for her political future. “I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door,” she has said.The Issues
Three E’s
Palin’s top policy issues could be boiled down to three E’s: energy, environment and ethics. All three of these subjects have been closely intertwined throughout Palin’s career and are at the forefront of her political agenda.

As governor, Palin has challenged non-competitive oil contracts and environmentalists alike in her efforts to increase exploration in Alaska. Her centerpiece legislation, the Alaskan Gas Inducement Act, authorized the construction of a 1,715-mile natural gas pipeline to TransCanada Alaska, a project significantly larger than the 800-mile Alaskan pipeline.

She is an assertive advocate for developing natural resources, arguing it should be within her state’s right to drill, even in prohibited places like the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. She’s similarly fought efforts to list the polar bear as an endangered species. “We’ve got other places in the world once again telling us Alaskans how to live and whether we can develop,” she told Investors Business Daily in 2008. ‘We’ve coexisted with bears for decades to no detrimental effect. Our bear population is thriving. The listing is nothing but interference from outsiders who insist on keeping Alaska from developing resources responsibly.”(8)

Feminism and Family
A spate of pro-Palin groups has cropped up in the wake of the governor’s vice presidential candidacy.(9) Palin enjoys strong support among Republican women. Many of them were compelled to unite behind Palin in 2008 due to the drubbing she was subjected to throughout the presidential election for campaigning for vice president while mothering an infant.

Palin’s decision to accept the vice presidential slot so soon after having her fifth child was openly debated in the media. The questioning reached such an intense clamor that former 2008 GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani directly addressed the chattering classes during the Republican National Convention. There, he issued a passionately feminist defense. “How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president,” he said. “When do they ever ask a man that question?”(10)

Palin has avoided most discussions about the historic nature of her candidacy due to her gender. She has, however, criticized the media’s discussion of her children and anonymous bloggers who drove salacious rumors about her family on several occasions.(11)
The Network
In some ways it’s easier to count those who aren’t in Palin’s inner circle than those who are. Before appearing on the GOP presidential ticket, Palin often relied mainly on grassroots support to propel her political efforts.

Murkowski, her 2006 gubernatorial primary opponent, consumed most of the political talent in Alaska. And the fact Murkowski appointed his daughter, Lisa, to the U.S. Senate didn’t help Palin, either. In 2004, Palin considered challenging Lisa Murkowski. In the end, she decided to sit out and endorsed Sen. Murkowski’s other Republican challenger Mike Miller.(12)

Palin’s campaign manager for her gubernatorial race was one of her hometown friends, Kris Perry. Other people playing lead roles in the campaign included middle-school friends and work acquaintances.(13)

GOP consultant Becki Donatelli, chair of Campaign Solutions, was hired to manage SarahPAC in January 2008, indicating Palin is expanding her circle to a competitive, national level.(14)

Footnotes
Amanda Carpenter, “What a Vice President Palin Agenda Could Look Like,” Townhall Magazine, October 2008.
Rush Limbaugh, The Rush Limbaugh Show6, August 29, 2008
Greta Van Susteren, Sarah Palin interview7, Fox News’s On the Record, November 11, 2008, Fox News
S.J. Komarnitsky, “New Mayor, Sharp Knife,” Anchorage Daily News, October 3, 1996.
Richard Mauer, “GOP chief settles, is fined; Randy Ruedrich: Party Chairman admits violations, to pay $12,000.” Anchorage Daily News, June 23, 2004.
Tom Kizza, “PALIN: Her reputations as a crusader had perfect timing,” Anchorage Daily News, October 24, 2006
Erika Bolstad, “Palin for earmarks before she was against them,8” McClatchy Newspapers, September 4, 2008
Sarah Palin interview, “Alaska ‘Frustrated’ Governor Palin on Our ‘Nonsensical’ Energy Policy,9” Investor’s Business Daily, July 11, 2008
http://www.sarahpac.com/10
Bumiller, Elisabeth and Cooper, Michael, “Palin Assails Critics and Electrifies Party,11” The New York Times, Sept. 4, 2008
Ryan D’Agostino, Sarah Palin interview, “What I’ve Learned,12” Esquire Magazine, January 13, 2009,
Richard Mauer, “Palin to back Miller for U.S. Senate,” Anchorage Daily News, April 24, 2004.
Tom Kizza, “PALIN: Her reputations as a crusader had perfect timing,” Anchorage Daily News, October 24, 2006.
Chris Cillizza, “White House Cheat Sheet: Bantering over Bipartisanship,13” Washington Post, January 30, 2008

SideBar14
SideBar15

Endnotes
1 http://whorunsgov.com/Profiles/John_McCain
2 http://whorunsgov.com/Profiles/John_McCain
3 http://www.gov.state.ak.us/
4 http://whorunsgov.com/Profiles/John_McCain
5 http://whorunsgov.com/Profiles/John_McCain
6 http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082908/content/01125111.guest.html
7 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,449884,00.html
8 http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/51745.html
9 http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=300668510518137
10 http://www.sarahpac.com/
11 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/us/politics/04repubday.html
12 http://www.esquire.com/the-side/qa/sarah-palin-quotes-011309
13 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2009/01/white_house_cheat_cheet_banter.html?hpid=topnews
14 http://whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Sarah_Palin/ProfileInformation
15 http://whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Sarah_Palin/Quotes

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Table of contents
1. Why She Matters
2. At a Glance
3. Path to Power
3.1. Gubernatorial Race
3.2. In Her Own Words
4. The Issues
4.1. Three E’s
4.2. Feminism and Family
5. The Network
5.1. Footnotes
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