Grading Palin's Speech: A
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It was a great night for Alaskans as Governor Sarah Palin hit all of the high notes and delivered a well rounded speech that touched all of the bases.
She introduced her family, talked about her experience, talked about Alaska and how we could help the country with our energy sources and even took swipes at the media and the Obama camp in true Sarah fashion. I gave the speech an A and probably would have given it an A+, except for the fact that I know her actual record as governor too intimately.
In describing some of her accomplishments as governor she not only stretched on some, but down right fabricated others.
And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.
Yes but some of that money was put back during the following budget cycle.
I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.
The legislature had a hand in suspending the state fuel tax and saying she championed reform to end the abuses of earmarks means the state only asked for 31 earmarks this year totaling $190 million dollars.
I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves.
She did cancel the funding for the bridge after campaigning strongly for it a year earlier, but the state kept the money. What we really said was thanks but no thanks but thanks for the cash anyway. Governor Palin's press release on September 21, 2007:
“Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island,” Governor Palin added. “Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.”
When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska.
Yes but the only reason the state had the cash in the treasury was because she raised oil & gas taxes to one of the highest marginal tax rates in the world.
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.
No she did not. With the exception of the major tax hike in November of 2007, nothing has changed any facet of the competitive landscape on the North Slope. In fact last month when BP announced a new development on federal lease lands, their president said the development would have never happened on state lands because Alaska's taxes are too high.
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.
No she did not. What passed was legislation to give $500 million to a Canadian company to do the permitting paperwork. TransCanada's CEO has already stated that they can't afford to build the gas pipeline without the oil companies paying for it.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
Blatantly false. There is no deal to build any pipeline. It is a deal to have a Canadian company spend $500 million of taxpayer money to try and get permits for a pipeline they can't afford to build on their own. Meanwhile, the oil companies who have the legal leases to develop the gas and are the only ones who can financially backstop the pipeline are still waiting to be invited to the table.
Even with the over reaching, good job Governor Palin.
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