BREAKING: Whistleblower exposes McCain--claims he used Senate staff for cover-up on Cindy McCain

Hat Tip to: Pam's House Blend

Per Open Left:

A whistleblower is coming forth against John and Cindy McCain, and the picture he is painting is not a pretty one. You've probably heard about Cindy McCain stealing prescription drugs from her charity in the 1990s. Today, Tom Gosinski, her former employee and a close friend of the McCain's, came out on the record about the entire sordid episode. And it appears that McCain used his Senate staff and resources to cover up Cindy's drug use, and potentially to prevent the Drug Enforcement Agency from investigating his wife's theft of illegal prescription drugs. John McCain certainly used his political connections to begin a campaign of intimidation against Gosinski, because at the time - this was after the Keating 5 scandal - another major scandal would have derailed his career. Gosinski stayed quiet out of fear until today; a recent fight with cancer has strengthened his resolve. As he told me today, if he can beat cancer, he can go on the record regarding how the McCain's do business.

This is going to be huge!

McCain's claim of a DNC "air drop of lawyers" is false, but we in Alaska knew that already

Per Talking Points Memo:

As noted below, the McCain campaign has a new ad out designed to portray Obama as a predator and Sarah Palin as prey by pointing to 30 opposition researchers that the Obama team allegedly sent to Alaska to savage her.

Of course, the article that the ad references doesn't say Obama sent them -- it actually says Democrats sent them.

But the Democratic National Committee's chief of research, Mike Gehrke, tells me that the DNC hasn't sent a single researcher to Alaska. "Zero," Gehrke says.

We knew that already as a direct result of Alaska Republican Party spokesperson McHugh Pierre's comments on this blog. He made these comments in response to my sharing the information that the McCain folks were on their way within 24 hours of Sarah's selection...VETTING HER AFTER THE FACT.

Per McHugh:

Thanks for the plug, but could you please pick a better picture of me! ; )

I never said McCain folks are coming to Alaska to investigate Palin and "Troopergate"! That is hilarious!

What I did say is that Obama political snoops just came up to Alaska to dig dirt on Palin and were going to be looking into the "Troopergate" allegations and anything else they can find.

Good luck running down more rumors and gossip.

What's hilarious is that he hasn't said a word since the source for my story came forward...the woman who heard him say it was the McCain campaign coming to Alaska the next day.

So when I heard this being spewed as a Republican Party line just a day or two after the comment was posted, I knew it was the cover story they were using to explain all of the Republican Party black suitted lawyers showing up in Alaska to do the job they should have done BEFORE they picked Palin.

Thanks for the tip, McHugh!

P.S. Could someone artsy show me what an air drop of lawyers looks like? I have great pictures of it in my head but I'd love to see some in print!

McPalin Family Values--Updated

Golly, we are rolling in stories over the last few days about Sarah Palin's relationship with her family and the McPalin ticket's relationships with other people's kids.

It's not a pretty picture.

First, we'll start with the blog that originally talked about at least part of the story that the National Enquirer said they "broke"...Track Palin's legal troubles and the basis for his entrance into the military.
Per "What Do I Know:"

While I trust my sources, I don't have enough independent information to nail this. So I'll drop my editorial based on this and just offer the basic allegation.

Four high school students were arrested for vandalizing school buses in Wasilla in 2005.

Troopers did not release names of the juvenile suspects, but David Coon's mother confirmed her son was one of two Burchell High School students involved in the incident. The other two boys are Wasilla High School students.

We also have this story from Detroit's Free Press:

Her oldest son, Track, lived in Portage [Michigan] during most of his senior year in high school. He played junior major hockey. During an interview at the National Governors Association conference in 2007, she told a Free Press reporter that her son went back to Alaska in March to graduate with his class.

The story I was told is that Track Palin was one of them and that he chose to enter the army rather than go to jail (or have a record?).

*****************UPDATE*********************

Progressive Alaska has deleted their "National Enquirer" post for reasons detailed in the linked article. Since my article here only uses the Track and Bristol stuff (which blogs already knew about) and my post has many parts to it of which the NE stuff is only one, I'm not going to delete this. However, I will post this as a disclaimer.

********************************************

Then we have the Energizer Bunnies, the folks at The National Enquirer and their heartwarming story yesterday which included the Track-avoids-jail-in-the-army story, faithfully reported by Progressive Alaska:

The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Sarah's oldest son, Track, was addicted to the power drug OxyContin for nearly the past two years, snorting it, eating it, smoking it and even injecting it. And as Track, 19, heads to Iraq as part of the U.S. armed forces, Sarah and her husband Todd were powerless to stop his wild antics, detailed in the new issue of The ENQUIRER, which goes on sale today.

THE ENQUIRER also has exclusive details about Track's use of other drugs, including cocaine, and his involvement in a notorious local vandalism incident.

Of course, that was only the part about Track Palin, there is still the Bristol chapter:

“Bristol was a huge stoner and drinker. I’ve seen her smoke pot and get drunk and make out with so many guys. All the guys would brag that the just made out with Bristol.”

When Sarah found out the teen was pregnant by high schooler Levi Johnston, she was actually banished from the house. As part of the cover-up, Palin quickly transferred Bristol to another high school and made her move in with Sarah’s sister Heather 25 miles away!

And here's the money quote:

The friend also confided that both Bristol and Levi “broke up a few times and they definitely messed around with other people.”

Moving on from the Palin family to the McPalin family values in action...

Alaska Real's Writing Raven mentioned the Lipstick...Pig...Hypocrisy story, but I was more interested in Part II--McCain's assertion that teaching children how to escape child sexual abuse is the equivalent of "sex ed":

This latest attack takes Obama's support of preventing sexual abuse of children as "teaching sex ed to kindergartners."

I worked with young children (before they reached kindergarten!) for five years, and one of the things that was very important to teach them the difference about was "good touch, bad touch" and how to recognize predators.

McCain's assertion that they would know "sex ed" before reading, is somewhat true, but not because Obama is in support of abuse prevention. In actuality, there are far, far too many children who will be sexually abused before they learn to read, and they will know far too much, far too early. Children who know the basics of recognizing a predator are more likely to speak up, and prevent the abuse in the first place, or report an offender to prevent him from further abuse.

So does McCain think that supporting high school anatomy classes is the equivalent of promoting pornography?

Moving from child sexual abuse to disabled children, The Anchorage Press this week describes a shocked Alaska Legislature after Palin's acceptance speech:

“I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.”

It sounded fantastic, and rang true coming from the mother of a child with a disability.

But the declaration was a revelation to some legislators who’ve worked with Governor Palin for the last 21 months.

“I can tell you she wasn’t a champion for disabled children as governor,” says state Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage). “I was surprised to hear her say that in her speech.”

The state of Alaska has what’s called a “Developmental Disabilities Waiting List,” a list of individuals whose needs qualify them for assistance, but that the state doesn’t have adequate funding to help. At the time of the most recent report, issued in December 2007, the list had 943 individuals on it. The report estimates that it would cost nearly $45 million to provide the services those on the waiting list need. Estimates vary, but most place the state’s budget surplus at about $5 billion.

So we're supposed to believe, Governor Palin, that the child that sprung forth from your uterus has completely changed your mind set regarding the priority of disabled children in your budget plan? Does this mean that as soon as you get the opportunity you will call an emergency session of the Legislature to make sure that $45 mil is allocated?

I'll start holding my breath now.

(Picture photoshopped and provided by Brian Little)

The Alaska Mythbusters--teleconference with Gov. Tony Knowles and Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein

Today, the Obama Campaign launched "Alaska Mythbusters," a group of Alaskans who have followed Governor Palin’s career and will set the record straight about whether Palin has what it takes to bring the change that’s needed in Washington, DC. Former AK Governor Tony Knowles and Mayor Bob Weinstein of Ketchikan, the city of the "Bridge to Nowhere," headlined a press conference call this morning on Palin’s Alaska Record.

Gov. Knowles started by saying that as a former governor, normally he "was reluctant to critique sitting governor." However, in this situation it is not just a sitting governor, it is a candidate for VP just "one heartbeat from the Presidency."

He then went on to discuss the "serious concerns" he had about her qualifications--the fact that McCain chose her with a "serious investigation going on," —citizens said needed to be one to “clear the air.” Said Knowles, "It's more important now that the results should be known to the American people."

“Troopergate”

Gov. Knowles discussed the history leading up to the entire "Troopergate" scandal, covered as it became public (and even before it was public) on this blog.

He emphasized that two rarely-covered facts about the investigation are that 1) it was a Legislative-initiated investigation which hasn't happened before in the history of the State and 2) it is also a Republican-controlled investigation as the Judiciary Committee has a Republican majority.

Gov. Knowles also pointed out that this was a “very serious charge” which was asking the question: can a governor interfere with the results of this case and by means of a personal vendetta extract further punishment from Officer Wooten?

Gov. Knowles also discussed "character" of the people running for an important office and how he's seen Sarah Palin change from publicly stated comments and open cooperation to now being represented by a state-funded lawyer who has said none of her Administration will cooperate. Not only that, but Frank Bailey, who was put on paid leave to cooperate is also not doing so. The other outrageous aspect to this investigation is that Gov Palin filed an ethics complaint against herself to try and get the whole case referred to the personnel committee which makes it's decisions in executive session (behind closed doors) and wouldn't render an opinion for about four months. (And as Bob Weinstein pointed out later, all members are appointed by the Governor.

"Bridge(s) to Nowhere"

Bob Weinstein, the Mayor of Ketchikan, discussed the "Growing credibility gap between what Sarah Palin says and what the facts are." His specific task was to explain the truth behind the "Bridge(s) to Nowhere."

The true name for the originally-referenced bridge was the "Gravina Island Access Project" and the purpose was to provice Ketchikan with better access to Gravina Island--partially because the airport was there and the other part was because not much land for us to develop on Ketchikan and it was used up. Gravina has thousands of acres available. It was deemed a necessary project

In 2005, Congress included 450 million in 4 earmarks for the two bridge projects. In late 2005/early 2006 3 of the 4 earmarks were stripped from the budget. However, the State of Alaska received all 450 million dollars!

So, not only did the bridge earmarks get yanked BEFORE SHE WAS EVEN GOVERNOR, the State received EVERY DIME of that 450 million so SHE NEVER SAID "NO" to anything!!!!

Mayor Weinstein pointed out that during her September 2006 campaign for Governor at a stop in Ketchikan, Sarah Palin was asked if she supported the Gravina Island project. She clearly stated her support, to the point of calling the use of the phrase “bridge to nowhere” a "derogatory term" comparable to calling someone from MatSu “Valley Trash.” In a separate interview on that same day, she said that we had to "come to defense of Southeast Alaska" and not allow "spinmeisters" to determine our resource development.

In an article from October 2006, the Anchorage Daily News also confirmed her support for both bridges.

The Governor released a Sept. 2007 press release at 5:00 AM East Coast time Alaska Time (9:00 AM EST, so it was to make the media on the East Coast) cancelling the Gravina bridge project...there was no communication with the Congressional delegation, Ketchikan or anyone else involved. She promised to come to Ketchikan to explain but has never done that.

"Earmarks"

Mayor Weinstein also pointed out that despite Palins claim of fighting "earmarks" she actually loves them. Sarah Palin aggressively pursued earmarks while she was Mayor of Wasilla and since becoming Governor she used the same lobbyists Ketchikan hired to push the Bridge project. As Governor, Palin has requested 750 million in Federal earmarks.

Tony Knowles also pointed out one more interesting bit of information, that the second "Bridge to Nowhere" was the Knik Arm Bridge which would cross from Anchorage to Point MacKenzie...benefitting the Governor's precious Wasilla. That project is far from "dead" and is moving forward.

As Governor Knowles quipped..."she said “thanks” without the “no thanks”".

Bob Weinstein also pointed out that a 48 million earmark was not stripped from the Ketchikan project and the contract was awarded to construct 3.25 mile road. Even when they cancelled the Juneau access road they DID NOT cancel the Gravina road. So now, the Gravina Highway (since it has no bridge attached) really is a "road to nowhere."

The DNC plans on regular "Mythbusting" telecons and I hope they happen often. It will be interesting to see if they actually make an impact.

***UPDATE***

Per Mayor Weinstein:

Re your story

You wrote: Mayor Weinstein also pointed out that despite Palins claim of
fighting "earmarks" she actually loves them. Sarah Palin aggressively
pursued earmarks while she was Mayor of Wasilla and since becoming Governor
has used the same lobbyists Ketchikan hired to push the Bridge project. As
Governor, Palin has requested 750 million in Federal earmarks.

Being a picky person--the press release- I'm told- was sent out 5:00 AM
Alaska time, not EST, to meet the national media news cycle.

As governor Palin does not use the same DC lobbyist (Steve Silver) as
Ketchikan (borough) did for bridge. She used him when she was mayor.

Regards.

Bob

Sorry, I normally fact check what I heard based on the press release that is normally sent out right after a teleconference, but I didn't get one. (Dangers of being your own "ears" and editor.)

I thank the Mayor for his corrections and for reading the blog and I've encorporated these changes above!

Sarah's boo boos, nasty revelations of how she treated rape victims while Mayor of Wasilla and lies about pork

So, today, I got an email with this video attached:



Per Huffington Post:

...lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies...

...Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement, which came before the government had spent funds baling the two entities out, saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration.

"You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country's mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn't speak well for her, I'd say."

Yeah, you'd like to know that, wouldn't ya?

Of course, you'd like to know that a candidate for Vice President would know that the Founding Fathers did NOT write the Pledge of Allegiance.

You'd like to know that a candidate for Vice President would know the difference between science and creationism.

You'd also like to know that a candidate would have a clue what the duties are of the job that they are vying for (i.e. Vice President of the United States)

Of course, that's not the nastiest (but true) thing that came out today. Americablog posted about an issue from Palin's mayoral reign in Wasilla...something I didn't know about and I lived here (I need to invest in Lexis-Nexis). From an article in the Frontiersman (which is VERY MUCH a real newspaper that frequently scoops the Anchorage Daily News).

From the Frontiersman:

Gov. Tony Knowles recently signed legislation protecting victims of sexual assault from being billed for tests to collect evidence of the crime, but one local police chief said the new law will further burden taxpayers.

The governor signed House Bill 270, sponsored by Rep. Eric Croft, D-Anchorage, outside the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam room at Alaska Regional Hospital. In attendance at the signing were members of victims advocate groups, law enforcement agencies and legislators.

The new law makes it illegal for any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims insurance companies for the costs of examinations that take place to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault did occur....

While the Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies have covered the cost of exams, which cost between $300 to $1,200 apiece, the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests.

Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon does not agree with the new legislation, saying the law will require the city and communities to come up with more funds to cover the costs of the forensic exams.

In the past weve charged the cost of exams to the victims insurance company when possible. I just dont want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer, Fannon said.

According to Fannon, the new law will cost the Wasilla Police Department approximately $5,000 to $14,000 a year to collect evidence for sexual assault cases.

The quotes from Fannon are absolutely horrific. However, we all agree that he was just being the fall-guy for Palin.

I would say that any women's organization should spread this information far and wide to our "sistas" and see how they feel about Palin after that!

Also, here's a great rebuttle of the new McCain/Palin add when it comes to her "Bridge to Nowhere" and earmark lies--go TPM go!!!!

Those old stereotypes, myths and lies keep on working for Sarah and those Repubs***UPDATE*** women are fighting back

***UPDATE***
Running L8 mentioned in the comments that there was an Alaskan group called "Alaska Women Reject Palin" and that they are having a rally on Saturday...which is a very busy day in Anchorage (I'll be posting more about that later).

Here are the links for more anti-Palin groups:

- the blog for "Women Against Sarah Palin" and the website

- The Wiki "Sarah Palin is NOT Hillary Clinton"

**********************************************8

You know, I'm really sick of seeing Sarah's dysfunctional family splashed across the screen as "cute" and "normal" so I'm going to start using more pictures of Obama's adorable kids.

And I'm also sick of folks who claim there are 1) a large group of "angry white women" out there disaffected by Hillary not being on the ticket who are 2) going for McCain/Palin purely because of gender.

Don't believe it for a minute. First off, at the Convention I saw lots of evidence of "Unity" and the only evidence of anything else was someone handing me a solitary PUMA flyer.

I went out to dinner last night with one of my best friends of about 17 years where, of course, the Palin issue came up. Our waitress came over and after the drink and food ordering was over, we started having a discussion with her. We discovered that she had lost her husband not terribly long ago and we could see the pain in her face.

It's actually good that I found that out before the rest of the conversation so that I could mentally strap myself down for what was still to come.

She asked us how we felt about Palin and then before we could really answer, she talked about being a Democrat who was probably going to vote Republican for the first time. She talked about frustration and anger over Obama not picking Clinton for VP and how she didn't like Biden (probably because he wasn't Hillary) She also stated that no matter what Obama said, he was really a Muslim and that she wasn't racist because she "liked black people."

**and the red flags started flying**

She also talked about how "honest" and "ethical" Sarah Palin was and that "she would fight for us."

Clearly she hasn't heard about "Troopergate" or Palin lying about the Ketchikan bridge.

Later on, it got a little tougher for me to keep quiet. She said that "we can't let "that black man" win."

So much for the "not a racist" argument...

I've read a number of the articles from the small number of "PUMA" supporters out there. Many of them fit into the category of this waitress...they'll swear to high heaven that race has nothing to do with it but all McCain had to do was add a white uterus...any white uterus...to his ticket and they have an excuse to vote for the Republicans. In doing so, they are voting against every single ideal that Hillary Clinton stands for, but voting against a black man...errrr...I mean "for a woman" seems to take priority over that.

Folks need to stop giving these lost causes any attention.

Comments from Judy Salo, Former State Senator, (D) for Kenai and South Anchorage

I received this forwarded email today:

I just received a copy of the full text of the Kilkenny letter that was referenced in the Anchorage Daily News article today. It is very thorough and puts words to some of the discomfort I feel about Governor Palin's meteoric rise to power. I don't know Ann Kilkenny, but I do know that her recount of events rings true by virtue of other things I have heard here in Alaska political circles.

I would like to see Governor Palin put in a full four years as Alaska's Governor to see if she can sustain progress (and popularity) over time. She has never held any job for that length of time (being Mayor of a small town and hiring a city administrator to do the work doesn't count). There are some red flags about her leadership and serious questions about her experience -- she will paint a pretty picture but should be questioned thoroughly on her rendition of the truth. I applaud the effort of Ann Kilkenny in raising some of those questions.

Sincerely,

Judy Salo (Former State Senator, D for Kenai and South Anchorage)

I got hold of her to ask if I could print this on the blog and she graciously gave me permission but was concerned that we stick to Anne Kilkenny's wishes, clearly unaware that ship had long-since-sailed when Kilkenny's email went viral all over the internet, even possibly used by some to appear as experts on Wasilla.

When we discussed the "fear" part of the equation, she stated that she "had nothing to lose" which is why she spoke up.

I guess Sarah doesn't include that negative part of her "small town experience" in her narrative; she knows how to hurt other small-town people to get what she wants.

"The Progressive Curmudgeon" may have journalistic history, but I think he's making a mistake on this one. **UPDATED**

****UPDATE**** Mr. James has only now added in my comment on his blog.

*****************

On a previous post, I had a reader named Franco leave a comment for me regarding an article on the blog "The Progressive Curmudgeon." One of the articles accuses Sarah Palin of saying some very serious racial epithets. (I'm not going to cut-and-paste anything from the article or link to it because of the accusations it makes, you guys can find it and read it yourself.) Franco asked me what I thought about it.

My first response to Franco in the comments:

If you are talking about the "racist epithets" article, I don't know. I've never heard anyone make that claim and I've lived here 25 years and have lots of Valley friends. Also, her husband is part Yupik...enough to be a member of the Native Corporation. That's no proof, of course, as people can justify anything in their heads. However, it would make the use of those epithets rather ironic.

I'm seriously considering asking my brother-in-law. He's one of the leaders of Alaska Right-to-Life, was an ardent worker on her campaign, writing on some of her speeches and dragged all of his kids out to carry signs for her during the election. I would hope he wouldn't want to so strongly support someone who is racist.

So I went to the "Curmudgeon" and read everything. I even posted. The results ended up in the second comment:

Franco:

I wrote a comment on that article. I said that I was a Dem and if I could prove something like that was true, I'd post it in a heartbeat. However, in the 25 years I've lived in Alaska, of all the folks I know in Wasilla and the rest of the Valley who know Sarah Palin and including my bro-in-law, leader in Alaska Right-to-Life and worker on her campaign, I've NEVER heard ANYTHING about Sarah expressing racism in any form.

I also mentioned that his article was quite misleading regarding Alaska politics. I told him that many of the old guard, hard-core Republicans hate her. Some because she exposed Randy Ruedrich's inappropriate use of State resources (which she should have) but also many die-hard Conservatives because she's not a real conservative. She espouses conservative stances on social issues, yet while in either office never did anything to further them. She espouses conservative fiscal values but has run up the debt and increased spending both times in office. So his insinuation that she is "in" with the Repugs is wrong, which makes his article somewhat suspect to me.

Interestingly enough, he didn't print it. I did not write the comment anonymously unlike the others who criticized him so anyone reading it would be able to find their way to me and my blog. Also, all other disparaging comments printed (other than being anonymous) were also written by McCain/Palin lovers. I guess he knew their questions would be viewed as less-credible.

Additionally, he seems to have taken a lot of what he's saying straight from Anne Kilkenny's wonderful email-turned-call-to-action which has gone viral all over the internet. Anyone can use that sucker and sound like they know what they are talking about for awhile...until they try ad-libbing.

Do I understand anonymous sources? Obviously...all folks have to do is read the blog the last week and a half to know that. Is there a Lucille? Maybe...although I've NEVER heard anyone use the term "Aboriginal" up here to describe someone of Alaska Native descent. Even if there is a "Lucille," we don't know for sure that she is telling the truth.

Other things I find suspect:

In the 25 years I've lived in Alaska, I've worked in Prudhoe Bay, have spent time in Fairbanks, Kodiak, Juneau, Barrow and all over the Kenai Peninsula. I've worked in Construction for most of my career which is the reason for my...errrr...salty language. I have never heard the terms: "Aboriginal" (I explained that before), "Arctic Arab" or "Sambo" in reference to Alaska Natives or black folks. As I've heard a number of epithets in my time, especially those directed towards me since my daughter is black, I'd probably have heard that one before.

(Regarding "Sambo"--that's wayyyyy out of Sarah's and my generation -we're roughly the same age.)

Now, here's a disclaimer: his articles could all be true. His anonymous source could be real. His information could be attained from people who know what they are talking about.

However...while I went forward with the comment from McHugh Pierre about the McCain people coming to Alaska without naming my extremely-credible-source, that was with information that was not-at-all damaging to anyone on a personal level. (It annoyed McHugh, but who didn't enjoy that?) This information is not something I would ever take public without verification...it is very personally damaging to Governor Palin and I'd better be ready to back it up.

So, like I said, this could all be true and maybe someone will come forward who has experience with other examples of this behavior. However, for many of the reasons I previously stated I wouldn't be surprised if we never hear a peep.

Since I wrote this comment I've made contact with some other Valley friends. Realize, some of these folks have had close connections to either Sarah or her kids for many years. (Yes, he got that part right, they are scared...I wrote about that HERE and for Firedoglake.) The information I get from them is that NO ONE has EVER heard Sarah use racial epithets or anything like that. As much as they might like to see Sarah lose her VP nomination, they (like me) won't support lies which tarnish the whole Progressive movement.

I also have another reason for writing this: I refuse to have my credibility damaged by someone making claims that may be geared solely to "grab the limelight." Yes, Alaska is hot right now and it's amazing how many new blogs have sprung up both within and outside of Alaska. Suddenly, all kinds of folks are "Alaska experts" or "have a good friend with information." I welcome them...whatever it takes to get more folks in the blogosphere, I'm all for it.

However, I won't tolerate folks who don't know what they are talking about smearing the rest of us with bad journalism...and bad journalism can happen from folks who once had good reputations. I would rather waste valuable writing time posting this on the blog to distance myself from the "Curmudgeon" than be thrown into the same category next time I post legitimate information on all-things-Palin from a credible anonymous source.

(Photograph courtesy of "The Progressive Curmudgeon.")

Community Organizers = Sarah Palin!

This YouTube video was sent to me after Sarah Palin's speech in a giant wash of email that night and the next morning. I had forgotten about it, but was reminded that I had it today when on MSNBC, I heard Palin repeat those same anti-community organizer soundbites as part of a traveling stump-speech with John McCain.

I have no doubt that we'll be hearing that same speech over and over for 60 days. God knows they wouldn't dare let Sarah actually write anything herself.

The amusing piece of all of this is that before she was mayor, Sarah Palin was a "community organizer" herself. Of course, it was all wrapped up in her short-lived time on the PTA. I wonder if when she couldn't get her way as a member of that organization, she decided to run for Mayor of Wasilla?

Anyway, according to Wasilla residents, part of Sarah's goal at that time was to get the School Board to accept teaching Creationism in the schools. She was also rumored to be supporting "stealth candidates" for the school board...those folks who were evangelicals and wanted their religion to have more influence in the education process.

So, as you can see, Sarah Palin was a "community organizer" by her own definition...just not one that the majority of Americans would support.

On the topic of "community organizers," Writing Raven has assembled her own list, including the Alaska Native activists who have changed this state for the better.

Random Republican Ridiculousness--Friday, Sep 5th--60 days 'til the election

--McCain's "green screen" had been previously so unflattering viewers were confused why it was being used again, until they saw the full picture. Then they were confused as to what building it was. It turns out to be Walter Reed.................Middle School in North Hollywood, California. The Campaign isn't talking, but did their "Google-meister" commit a fatal fumble because he meant for it to be Walter Reed Medical Center?--Daily Kos with more on TPM.



--It seems that Sarah Palin will be holed up here in Alaska and not doing unscripted interviews per Firedoglake. CREW, in a report released yesterday on how the Governor has been proclaiming to be cooperating has been (not-so-secretly) undermining it all along, doesn't believe she'll cooperate in giving a deposition (which is supported by Van Flein's announcement the other day that she'll be "too busy" to testify):

Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, is unlikely to agree to depositions, forcing the Alaska legislature to issue subpoenas for Palin and other present and past Alaska state employees. At that time, Van Flein will either move to quash the subpoenas, likely claiming the legislature has no jurisdiction to authorize the inquiry and that subpoenas for records violate the Alaska Constitution’s right to privacy or, those subpoenaed will refuse to appear, forcing the state legislature to seek judicial enforcement of the subpoenas. The delay will push the conclusion of the investigation past November 4, 2008.

Someone please explain to me how "holing up in Alaska" makes her "too busy" to testify in a deposition...in Alaska?



--While the front page of the Anchorage Daily News has been full of "Golly Jeepers!" pictures and stories of Sarah Palin, one tiny bit of news seemed to escape their notice. Not so of NBC, CNN, Yours Truly and AndrewHalcro.com, none of whom thought that PSEA, the trooper's union, filing an ethics complaint against the Governor wasn't worth their attention.

ADN, what is wrong with you?

Trooper Union files a complaint against Palin Wednesday

Union Director John Cyr

Per NBC (hat tip to Daily Kos diaries):

The GOP candidate for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, may be facing yet another ethics investigation back in her home state of Alaska. An ethics complaint obtained by NBC News was filed Wednesday by the police officers union in Alaska, requesting a probe into possible wrongdoing by the governor or her office. It was brought on behalf of state trooper Mike Wooten, an ex-brother-in-law of Palin who is at the center of the "Troopergate" scandal.

The complaint alleges that the governor or her staff may have have improperly disclosed information from Wooten's personnel records. The complaint alleges "criminal penalties may apply."

John Cyr, director of the union that filed the complaint, told NBC News, "It seems obvious to us somebody has improperly accessed [Wooten's] personnel file."

HERE is the complaint.

Now let's watch the McCain/Palin tapdance:

The McCain/Palin campaign Thursday launched a spirited defense when contacted by NBC News. They say the personnel files were not protected; a campaign source says Wooten himself had previously signed a waiver allowing a divorce lawyer to obtain his personnel records. The campaign then sent a copy of that waiver to NBC News, which reads "I hereby waive any privilege I may have to said information to said attorneys."

Because of my health issues, I've filled out a ton of freakin' "waivers" in Alaska for personnel (and personal) records. Any legal waiver specifically lists the person or persons they apply to and NO ONE ELSE can use such a waiver to access or use private information if they are not listed.

Sooooo...the divorce attorney cannot allow someone else not listed to access the information on his/her waiver. If they do, they can also be prosecuted.

Oooops...

The issue concerns disclosures about Wooten's records made by a Palin aide - Frank Bailey - in a February 2008 phone conversation. The police officers' union complaint claims the transcript of that conversation clearly indicates there was improper access to Wooten's records.

The McCain/Palin campaign, in a response to NBC News, provided a family twist to the story, saying the governor's husband - Todd Palin - was the source of that information to Bailey. They say the information came from divorce proceedings, and that Gov. Palin never improperly accessed any records.

As is typical of "pageant pit bull" Palin, she just threw a) the divorce attorney and b) her husband under the bus.

Ooops...

Taylor Griffiths, a spokesman for McCain, said "When you're a real reformer like Sarah Palin, who isn't afraid to take on entrenched political interests, scurrilous attacks and empty allegations come with the territory."

What's scary is she's got to be loving how much easier it is to lie and strike-out at your "enemies" when you have an entire presidential campaign to do it for you.

Hope she doesn't get used to it.

Alaskan loyalty...and fear of retribution: Why Palin stories didn't break before the nomination -- my Firedoglake post

Here's my post up at Firedoglake:

It was clear that Editor and Publisher was peeved at the Alaska media for sitting on a story for weeks, even months...the pregnancy of Bristol Palin. I can understand why a reporter from a large media outlet in a populous city would be baffled by all of the secrecy. Understand that NO ONE was saying ANYTHING on the record and the blogs (and the Anchorage Daily News) had to make due with emails and on-line comments. Also understand that there is a reason no one was saying anything and one must appreciate living in Alaska to get the full picture.

I like to explain the State of Alaska as a small town (600,000 +) broken up by great distances into many VERY small towns. Alaskans will snicker if someone from the "lower-48" assumes we know their second cousin thrice removed on their mother's side just because he happens to live up here. However, we're also quite accustomed to running into our politicians and other "celebrities" in line at the grocery store, coming out of a movie theater, dip-netting for salmon on the Kenai River, etc... Folks from other parts of the country don't understand our nonchalant familiarity as was evident by the chuckle I had with progressive radio talk-show host, Cary Carrigan, when I was reporting on his show from the Democratic Convention. He recounted a phone call that he received from an Obama campaign worker (probably an intern) who was "excited" to tell Cary that he could "get him some media time" with former two-term Democratic Governor, Tony Knowles. I later was able to laugh about it with Governor Knowles, who was at my breakfast table.

So on one hand, Alaskans feel a connection to their politicians because those politicians are more available to their constituents. This breeds loyalty. The next reason for silence and secrecy, however, is not filled with "lollipops and rainbows." As a matter-of-fact, it has people fearing for their jobs and believe it or not, their lives.

Friday, July 11th, the highly-respected Walt Monegan was fired as the Commissioner of Public Safety for undisclosed reasons by a Palin underling, not by the Governor herself. Many of us who had been at least guarded supporters of Palin on some issues were perplexed and outraged. Walt Monegan seemed to be working towards actual solutions to serious problems with more than just a band aid. Plus, there were indications from the very first press event that the new appointee, Chuck Kopp, could end up being a disaster. (He was...he lasted 10 days.) It was around that time that many of us were starting to write highly critical articles of the Governor that her spokesperson, Sharon Leighow, started "selectively" handing out press releases. One day, while a number of us were waiting by our email accounts for the Governor's statement regarding Chuck Kopp, I got a phone call from a friend at progressive radio, declaring "Dan Fagan (conservative talk-show host) is reading the statement on the air NOW!"

The Governor's spokesperson, Sharon Leighow, was Dan Fagan's radio partner on his talk show before she worked for Palin.

So, as you can see, Sarah Palin and her spokesperson do the George W. Bush (and now John McCain) practice of punishing those they don't like and rewarding those they do. As a result, Alaska MSM...a business that depends on getting timely information...has been putty in her hands.

The media manipulation is just a small demonstration of how she does business in Alaska. The Monegan firing and then ensuing information regarding the attempt to get her ex-brother-in-law fired is only the most recent example of what she does when she perceives that someone has "crossed her." She also has a history of exactly the same behavior.

When she was Mayor of Wasilla, she fired the police chief, Irl Stambaugh saying that he "intimidated her." Palin also wanted to ban some books from the library and when library director Mary Ellen Emmons fought her on it, she fired her as well. Her explanation:

“I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment …” (The Anchorage Daily News, via nexis)

Ultimately, Palin let the library director have her job back; though Stambaugh’s position was not returned. The police chief took the matter to court, where a judge sided with Palin, saying city law allows the mayor to fire the police chief without cause.

When questioned by the Anchorage Daily News at the time, Palin refused to give details on how Stambaugh had not supported her, saying only: ”You know in your heart when someone is supportive of you.”

According to the nationally-touted comments (read on the Randi Rhodes Show today) in the Washington Independent article from Wasilla resident, Anne Kilkenny:

She [Palin] has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

The fear has escalated now that Palin is in line to potentially hold the second-highest position in the country.

A blogger told me that he needs to back off the more sensitive Palin information because he's afraid of getting shot by some of the more fanatical, hard-core "Palin-bots." I've been told that when media representatives attempted to speak to several members of Palin's former church, one member wouldn't speak out of fear of his/her life and the other declined out of fear of potential treatment by law enforcement who are also members of the church.

Wow. Can you imagine Sarah Palin with full access to all Departments of the Federal Government? Perhaps G.W. Bush wasn't the worst we could do after all.

There may be some Alaskans who are incensed by the deluge of national media into our state, especially Wasilla. However, I am grateful for their help and I offer my assistance to anyone who needs it. After all, what we are all looking for is change and unless for you that means a power-mad, inexperienced, vindictive former Alaska Governor one step away from the Presidency (and the button), we can use all of the research help we can get.

Factchecking Sarah Palin's speech

A big chunk of Sarah's speech was bull last night. Let's share with you the facts that those of us in Alaska know so well.

-CLAIM-

PALIN: "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already. But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all."

-FACT-

REALITY: PALIN SAID SHE WOULD BEG TO DISAGREE WITH ANY CANDIDATE WHO SAID WE CAN'T DRILL OUR WAY OUT OF OUR PROBLEM

Palin Said She Would Beg to Disagree With Candidate Who Said We Can't Drill Our Way Out of Our Problem. Asked by Invester's Business Daily "Some politicians and presidential candidates say we can't drill our way out of our energy problem and that drilling in ANWR will have no effect. What's your best guess of the impact on prices?" Palin responded, "I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can't drill our way out of our problem or that more supply won't ultimately affect prices. Of course it will affect prices. Energy being a global market, it's impossible to venture a guess on (specific) prices." [Investor's Business Daily, 7/11/08]

-CLAIM-

PALIN: "Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest - and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works."

-FACT-

REALITY: PALIN OPPOSED CRUCIAL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE AND SENIORS FUNDING

EDUCATION/CHILDREN

Total: 396,000.

Anchorage – Fire Lake Elementary School Replacement of Unsafe Sports Equipment. Palin vetoed $10,000. [FY08 Budget]

Tanana City School District – Repair School Bus. Palin vetoed $36,000. [FY08 Budget]

American Lung Association of Alaska – Asthma Control Program and Champ Camp. Palin voted $350,000. [FY08 Budget]

HOSPITALS/HEALTH CARE

Total: $4,527,500.

Ketchikan General Hospital Surgical Suite Expansion/Relocation. Palin vetoed $4,400,000. [FY09 Budget]

Ketchikan General Hospital – Replacement of Outdated Equipment. Palin vetoed $70,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Sitka – Community Hospital – Medical Equipment. Palin vetoed $31,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Kenai Peninsula Borough – Diagnostic Hospital Equipment. Palin vetoed $26,500. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

SENIORS

Total: $600,000.

Ketchikan Senior Citizens, Inc. – Access Road for Pioneer Heights. Palin vetoed $300,000. [FY08 Budget]

AARP Ketchikan – Access Road for Ketchikan Senior Housing Project. Palin vetoed $100,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Catholic Community Services – Angoon Senior Center Stove, Refrigerator and Freezer. Palin vetoed $20,000 twice. [FY08 Budget, 2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Alpha Omega Life Care, Inc. – Delivery Van and Moveable Building. Palin vetoed $20,000. [FY09 Budget]

Older Persons Action Group – Senior Voice Equipment Upgrade. Palin vetoed $20,000. [FY09 Budget]

Statewide Independent Living Centers – Assistive Technology for Alaska's Centers for Independent Living. Palin vetoed $125,000. [FY09 Budget]

Kodiak Senior Center – Facilities repair and Equipment. Palin vetoed $15,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

(Thanks to Laurin Manning for sending this to me.)

OK, Fox News...let's see you be "fair and balanced" on THIS one--Sarah Palin sits through anti-Jewish sermon

You don't even need to go to You Tube to get it...Wasilla Bible Church very kindly has the audio and transcript on their website--August 17th.

David Brickner of Jews for Jesus:

But what we see in Israel, the conflict that is spilled out throughout the Middle East, really which is all about Jerusalem, is an ongoing reflection of the fact that there is judgment. There is judgment that is going on in the land, and that’s the other part of this Jerusalem Dilemma. When Jesus was standing in that temple, He spoke that that judgment was coming, that there’s a reality to the judgment of unbelief. He said “I long to gather you, but...” what? “You were unwilling.” God never forces His way on human beings. And so because Jerusalem was unwilling to receive His grace, judgment was coming...

...When Isaac was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment—you can’t miss it.

Ben Smith has an excellent analysis of what Sarah Palin's addition to the ticket means to the Jewish voters in this election.

Sarah is speaking...in words she never uses

(I don't hear one "cool")

6:33 PM -- Oh God...they are honoring Track Palin for going to Iraq. Anyone read Shannyn Moore's piece? I wonder if he deserved it?

6:38 PM -- "Too-Odd"--touting that Union affiliation again--so, what has Sarah done for Unions exactly?

6:41 PM -- Hockey mom and PTA--things she did for about 5 minutes each.

6:43 PM -- Hmmm, talking about working people -- "John McCain is the same man" -- who still doesn't know how many houses he has and hasn't held a real job. And Sarah is going to Washington to "serve the people of this great country"...until they piss her off. Then she'll have them all fired and say that "they serve at her pleasure."

6:46 PM -- Expected to govern with integrity..."I will carry myself in this spirit as Vice President of the United States." Stood up to the good old boys. "We put the government of our state back on the side of the people." Uh...that was the FBI... "That luxury jet was over the top...I put it on Ebay" and took a loss. "I love to drive myself to work." Without using child restraints.

"Our state budget is under control...we have a surplus." OMG...she's taking credit for oil prices?????

OMG--she's touting the oil money we're getting.

OK, getting ill now...yeah, she's "helping to lead America to energy independence"...by sending the work to Canada.

OMG--"Take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska, we've got lots of both." (Oil and Gas) Says Obama wants to "do nothing"--Jesus, so alternative energy is nothing?

6:54 PM Sarah Palin just lifted a bunch of Barack Obama's energy policy and claimed it as their own.

Wow, I don't think I've heard so many lies told at one time. They roll so easily off her tongue.

6:58 PM Obama will increase the tax burden on folks making $150,000 because of Bush's serious economic f*ck up. Lies, lies, lies...saying that he's adding tax burden to farmers

OK...I've had enough. Read Jane's liveblogging at Firedoglake

P.S. MSNBC reported that on the teleprompter, Sarah had a number of the bigger words spelled out phonetically.

So, where did she get that degree again?

Sarah's address to and Todd's membership in Alaska Independence Party--a party that has an interesting history

This is Sarah addressing the Alaska Independence Party convention this past year.

Also, Todd was a member of AIP most of the time from 1995 to 2002 when he then registered as "undeclared.":

...the director of Division of Elections in Alaska, Gail Fenumiai, told TPMmuckraker that Todd Palin registered in October 1995 to the Alaska Independence Party, a radical group that advocates for Alaskan secession from the United States.

Besides a short period of a few months in 2000 when he changed his registration to undeclared, Todd Palin remained a registered member of AIP until July 2002 when he registered again as an undeclared voter.

The AIP has an interesting history. Back in 1990, Alaska State Senator Arliss Sturgelewski won the Republican candidacy for Governor when the Republicans still had an open primary. Mayor of Anchorage at the time, Tony Knowles, won the Democratic Primary. Both of them were similarly aligned on social issues. (Arliss was one of the last openly Pro-Choice Republicans in Alaska)

Joe Vogler, founder and chairman of the Alaska Independence Party, saw an opportunity. He offered former Governor Wally Hickel and the Republican Lt. Governor choice Jack Coghill the chance to run on the AIP ticket against Knowles and Sturgelewski. Coghill jumped ship from the Repubs, he and Hickel jumped on board where they sailed to victory in the election. Hickel never endorsed secession and he rejoined the Republican Party in 1994 as soon as his term in office was over.

In other words, AIP was a means to an end. They have a very conservative, influential membership which cannot be ignored.

Speaking of a means-to-an-end, Healing a Nation has a very interesting video and post of current AIP Vice Chairman, Dexter Clark:

Clark’s following statement is found at 8:26.

Clark talks about *masquerading inside political parties in order to win elections: “I think Ron Paul has kind of proven that …and he’s a dyed in the wool Libertarian. I mean he came to Alaska and spoke as a Libertarian and he put the Republican label on to get elected. That’s all there is to it. And anyone in your organization should be using that same practice….you should infiltrate, I know that the Christian Exodus is in favor of it, The Free State Movement is in favor of it. I don’t know if they even care which party it is. Whichever party you seem in that area you can get something done…get into that poilitical party even though, it does have its problems right now… that is one of the only avenues and when you get a few people on a city council or county board you can have some effect………………… I kind of digressed there a little bit….”

Imagine Republican/media response if Barack Obama was a former member of a group inciting Party infiltration by way of *masquerade, in addition to state secession. Just imagine the frenzy.

While I don't believe AIP affiliation alone will determine her success as a candidate, I do believe that combined with other affiliations, such as a wingnut right-wing church and their subsequent activities, her attempts to ban books in Wasilla and the firing of the librarian who would not comply, and other disturbing events now surfacing in the media may cause people to wonder about her real agenda.

It seems that she's aligned closer with George W. Bush's ideology than McCain.

Soulmate? *gag*

Can someone please remind John McCain that his "soul" does not reside (nor does it make decisions from) below the waist? (Watch him "check out" Sarah below)

Andrea and Stephanopolis knows what we know

From Talking Points Memo:



According to Stephanopolis:

“They are sending a rapid response team of about 10 people that includes lawyers up to Alaska right now. They know there’s going to be an army of investigative reporters going up there, and they want to be ahead of it.”

“Some senior Republicans operatives outside the campaign say there’s no way they could have had a complete vetting with this kind of information coming out. Democrats say… the McCain campaign didn’t even go through Gov. Palin’s local newspapers.”

McHugh Pierre tells retired U.S. Army Officer that McCain Campaign is on its way to Alaska

Barbara Bachmeier walked into the Republican Party offices Friday looking for someone else but she found McHugh Pierre. He's on leave from the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and hand-picked by Sarah Palin to act as the Alaska Republican Party spokesperson in place of Republican Chair, Randy Reudrich.

Bachmeier walked in just as Pierre hung up the phone. She described his look as "the cat that just swallowed the canary."

Pierre: "I just got off the phone with the McCain people. They are coming in tomorrow to do their investigations."

Bachmeier (incredulously): Now???!!! This is going to be like an episode of the "Beverly Hillbillies!"

Pierre: (nods and smiles)

Bachmeier: "Do you really think she's going to win?"

Pierre: "No, but she's really going to do a lot for Alaska."

Bachmeier goes to the Republican Party office as often as she visits the Alaska Democrats. She also attended the conventions of both parties. She is a registered "non-partisan" and maintains her neutrality in all-things-political because of her roll as an advocate for woman veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and the debilitating Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is the result in most cases. As an MST survivor herself, her avocation is helping others like her by starting the 501-C3 "Women Serving Women Veterans" and the "Alaska Military Veterans PAC"--the only Federally recognized veterans Political Action Ccommittee in Alaska.


As a matter of fact, Barbara inadvertantly shared her conversation with Pierre while we were discussing the progress of both organizations and the work we would do together when I got home (I was still in Denver). My personal mission is to work with veterans...especially disabled vets. I am already dedicated to one non-profit, Veteran's Aviation Outreach, and I am also going to do some work with Barbara.

It was clear when she recounted the story of her day at Republican headquarters that she didn't expect my reaction.

"Oh my GOD...YOU ARE KIDDING ME!!!!"

In my writing, I had been very careful to leave Barbara's name out of it because a) she didn't have any political agenda when she told me this information, we were just talking about veterans' issues and b) I didn't want there to be any kind of retaliation against her.

However, McHugh Pierre's insistance upon lying in the comments of the blog posts got her back up. His second comment especially irritated her:

I figured I would share the truth with you. Obviously you don't care about the truth so soldier on rumor monger!

She found it interesting that he used the term "soldier on."

"If you don't stand for something, you stand for nothing. I am a soldier and I stand for the truth," Bachmeier stated as we talked in my cramped little office. "I can't stand it when anyone is being disingenuous and I know about it."

However, she wants it known that she's not anybody's "mouthpiece."

"I have no loyalty to either party. My loyalties are with the active-duty soldiers and the veterans. Many of Alaska's veterans are in dire straits and I need everybody's help to bring about change. I just call them as I see them"

It's Official! Palin announces Bristol's Pregnancy!!

Per CBS:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced that her 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnan.

Ohhh...gee...color me surprised...

The announcement is “intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child,” says the Reuters news service, which carried the first report.

Nooooooo...that's not why...those stories made "liberal blogs" sound crazy. It's because a number of us were trying to straighten out those blogs and tell them what the abundance of credible rumors ACTUALLY said...that Bristol was pregnant now.

And it probably didn't help that the intrepid Kim...member of Team Blue Oasis, found Meghan McCain's blog...who had a number of realllllly inconveniently angled pictures of Bristol backstage in Dayton, Ohio. (It has since been taken down but not before I got them on my blog.)

In a statement, the Palin family says that Bristol Palin is “about five months pregnant” and that she intends to marry the father. “We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," the Palins said in the statement. "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”

I'm glad this is out now and that everyone can now leave Bristol alone. Seriously, I posted on it to dispell the rumor about Trig, but had no intention of talking about it again and I truly hope that her impending marriage will only be happy.

But THIS is the part that made me laugh out loud:

According to the Reuters report, John McCain’s campaign was aware of the pregnancy when the Arizona senator selected Palin to be his running mate last week.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure he was...because a VP with a daughter pregnant out of wedlock is a shoe-in to bring in those evangelicals!

I think Palin has just had "strike one!"