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The Buying of Sarah Palin?

By Sarah Laskow | August 29, 2008, 12:07 pm

The Dems may be trying to tag John McCain as George W. Bush Jr., but McCain, with his pick of Sarah Palin for VP, is clearly trying to shore up his own image as a maverick who fights for reform. Palin, the governor of Alaska, has earned a reputation as a government reformer, having run for the Statehouse on a platform of cleaning up Juneau. One of her first acts was pushing ethics bills that advocated greater access to politicians’ financial disclosure reports and restricted gifts from lobbyists to public officials. Nevertheless, as with Joe Biden, we still must ask, does anyone own Sarah Palin?

As you might expect from an Alaskan politician, you don’t have to look far for a connection to Big Oil. Her husband, Todd Palin, works as a production operator for BP Alaska in Prudhoe Bay, according to Palin’s 2007 financial disclosure form (which we’ve obtained from the Alaska Public Offices Commission and scanned so everyone can see). Mr. Palin is not totally reliant on BP for his income, however. He’s also a champion “Iron Dog” snowmobile racer with sponsorships, and he owns a fishery that sells to PeterPan Seafoods.

Palin herself does not depend on the oil and gas industry for campaign cash. The biggest chunk of her war chest in the 2006 governor’s race came from party committees, retirees, and civil servants, according to the National Institute for Money in State Politics. (The oil and gas industry chipped in to her campaign, but is not one of the top 10 industries donating to her campaign.)

On house ownership, the Palins can’t match the McCains’ eight homes, but her real estate portfolio is respectable, thank you very much. Palin owns three houses, according to her 2007 financial disclosure form. The forms don’t list the value of the properties, but indicate that one is residential and the other two are used for recreation.

Bonus trivia: At the Democratic convention, factory worker Barney Smith gave a deadpan speech featuring the memorable line, “We need a president who puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney.” Well, guess what group manages Palin’s portfolio? That’s right: Smith Barney.

Next entry: No Star Turn for McCain and Obama at the Local Cineplex
Previous entry: Little House(s) and the Veepstakes: Part Two

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Posted by: longtimewatcher on August 30, 2008, 10:58 pm

Will this stick? Or is she an Eagleton, or rather, a Harriet Myers?

The obvious lack of knowledge and extreme views, coupled with a four time cancer survivor, are driving the blogosphere absolutely nuts.

Can this go on?
Posted by: calwatch on August 31, 2008, 3:17 am

Doing the math about how much is in their retirement accounts (they whited out the actual balances, but the actual value can be easily derived from the number of shares in each account, the date that the snapshot was taken, and the percentages of a particular investment option in their portfolio), the Palins have roughly $350,000 in retirement savings ($175,000 in each of the 401k and IRA). This is either extremely good (they are frugal and have saved a lot of money for their retirement), or they are out of touch (since the median 401k account is about $66,000).
Posted by: nef garcia on August 31, 2008, 3:39 pm

it is not unusual for office holders to use campaign contributions for personal expenses. Making available these data for Gov. Palin would be helpful to the reader to make his/her own judgment. Ethics is a slippery concept.
Posted by: Kestrel on September 10, 2008, 7:31 pm

For up-to-date information from around the series of tubes regarding Sarah Palin, visit: http://planetpalin.wordpress.com/
Posted by: aurora on September 11, 2008, 2:35 am

Please explain why no one in the mainstream media is willing to ask about Sarah Palin and her non-pregnancy? There are no pics of her pregnant in the past two years yet she claims that baby is hers and not her daughter’s. If she lied about this that means she has committed a felony by altering a birth certificate. Yet it seems non of the press is brave enough to investigate this. Bill Maher is the only one who has mentioned this on his show. Please bring this out. The public needs to know.
Posted by: caluns on September 26, 2008, 9:08 am

I saw her in an advanced state of pregnancy on a Fox News report.
I also heard the Govrenor of Haiwaii talk about her advanced state of pregnancy when she spoke at the Republican Governors meeting the day before her son was born.
Those on the left are grasping for any straw to hurt Gov. Palin because they fear she will blunt their headlong rush for socialism.

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