BlueHen86 wrote:
.... I would vote for almost any dem or any rep ahead of her. She has shown me nothing of substance since she fisrt showed up on the national stage. Her only hope would be to surround herself with good advisors, a President is only as good as his advisors anyway.
You are blinded, my friend. [Edited to remove wording offensive to my friend, Mr. Blue Pants.]
Sarah Palin had more genuine and sensible non-partisan accomplishment on behalf of her constituents than 99 of 100 Dems elected in the past five decades.
Excerpted from: D’Angelo Gore, "Sarah Palin's Accomplishments," on factcheck.org:
1. Palin has a history of taking on corruption in her own party.
Palin does have a history of taking on established members of her party and in at least two prominent cases she "sent them packing." ... While serving as a member of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Palin, acting on tips from members of her staff, questioned whether fellow commission member, Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich, used his public office to engage in political business for the state Republican Party. The allegations led to an investigation, and Ruedrich subsequently resigned from the commission. He later reached a deal with the state under which he admitted to violating state ethics laws and agreed to pay a $12,000 fine. Palin also went after former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes in 2003, alleging that he stood to benefit financially from a state coal trading deal (which Renkes had pushed) involving a company in which the attorney general owned stock. The Alaska Personnel Board went on to withdraw its complaint against Renkes, but he had already stepped down as attorney general anyway.
2. Palin Fought Big Oil for Resident Sharing of Oil Profits
The Alaska Legislature adopted a plan proposed by Palin in 2007 (Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share) that raised the tax that oil companies have to pay on their profits from a base rate of 22.5 percent to 25 percent. Oil companies, including ExxonMobil, opposed the tax hike, claiming it would affect their project investments. The revenue generated from the tax increase, which significantly added to the state’s budget surplus, allowed Palin’s administration to issue a one time "resource rebate" of $1,200 to eligible state residents in 2008 to help with increasing energy prices. The rebate came in addition to the annual dividend check ($2,069 in 2008) that residents receive as their part of the state’s oil wealth.
3. Pail Reduced Spending and Earmarks.
Palin sold the governor’s jet that Murkowski purchased during his time as governor. She also opted not to have a chef in the governor’s mansion. and "saved an additional $125,000 by reducing her security staff." The paper quoted a Palin aide saying that the positions were added back later, though. ...the Seattle Times found that ...Palin requested $254 million in earmarks, for cuts of 22 percent... Furthermore, the difference between the value of earmarks requested during Palin’s first year and Murkowski’s last year was close to 27 percent.
4. Palin eschewed crony capitalism to find the best value for Alaska taxpayers on the TransCanada’s Alaska Pipeline.
Unlike Murkowski, who proposed a deal to develop the pipeline with three leading oil companies, ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips, Palin proposed opening up the bidding on the project to other companies. This process led to the state entering a deal with TransCanda Corp., a Calgary-based company, to start preliminary work on the pipeline project with the state’s support.
5. Palin Supported Practical renewable Energy in Alaska.
On the campaign trail, President Obama promised to require that 25 percent of the country’s electrical energy be generated by renewable sources by the year 2025. Palin, in January of this year, set an even higher production goal for Alaska: 50 percent of electrical energy from renewable sources by 2025. ...according to the 2007 Alaska Renewable Energy Atlas (based on a 2001 assessment), 24 percent of Alaska’s electrical energy (not including heating and transportation fuels) is made from renewable sources — mostly hydroelectric power. The Energy Information Administration also says that "hydroelectric power supplies about one-fifth" of Alaska’s electricity generation.
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