Betsy's Page

Friday, September 05, 2008

How Sarah Palin fought corruption in Alaska

I think that the Republicans made a mistake in not highlighting enough of how Sarah Palin took on the corruption in her party and state and beat it back. Sure they mentioned it in every remark about her, but there just weren't the specifics. I would have had a video that went into some bit of detail about what she did. Kimberly Strassel has the story in today's Wall Street Journal and it's quite illuminating. It's not enough to tell people that she took on corruption and won. Give them the specific evidence of how corrupt the system was before her.
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.
This is the old boy network that Sarah Palin took on. She ran for election on a reform ticket and Alaskans, hungry for a change from the cozy deals between the oil industry and their politicians voted her in. And then she went to work.
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.
This is the reason John McCain chose her. Her record of reform and fighting corruption underscores his own.

Too many stories in the past week have been about the personal story of Sarah Palin. Her family, her hunting, her little town. That's all fine and interesting, but it is her record as a reformer who could clean up some pretty dirty politics and negotiate a deal for the benefit of the state instead of for the benefit of politicians that qualifies her for national office.

It's not enough to just say that she cleaned up politics and fought the oil companies. We need more details to understand the seeming impossibility of her accomplishment. What she accomplished is an almost Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean stables of Alaskan corruption. People need to learn the scope of the task before her and how quickly she changed everything about Alaskan politics.

I thought that it was a mistake not to have an introductory video about Palin before her speech Wednesday night. Rudy's speech could have been seven or eight minutes shorter. There was a video made, but it was really rather poorly done. I don't understand why they couldn't have done a better job with the dramatic story that is Sarah Palin's biography. We all know the small town story of Palin and her family now. A little bit of that is fine, but not what people need to learn about her. What we need to know is more about the specific accomplishments from her short term as governor. It really is an amazing story If I were the McCain team, I'd find some way to condense Strassel's summary into an ad and start airing it. Maybe do a series of ads talking about fighting the corruption and then negotiating the new deal. Those are the basis for the argument that she is qualified to be vice president. And people need to learn that.
Labels: Sarah Palin

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:59 AM 0 comments

Comments:

I think that the Republicans made a mistake in not highlighting enough of how Sarah Palin took on the corruption in her party and state and beat it back. Sure they mentioned it in every remark about her, but there just weren't the specifics. I would have had a video that went into some bit of detail about what she did. Kimberly Strassel has the story in today's Wall Street Journal and it's quite illuminating. It's not enough to tell people that she took on corruption and won. Give them the specific evidence of how corrupt the system was before her.

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.

This is the old boy network that Sarah Palin took on. She ran for election on a reform ticket and Alaskans, hungry for a change from the cozy deals between the oil industry and their politicians voted her in. And then she went to work.

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.

This is the reason John McCain chose her. Her record of reform and fighting corruption underscores his own.

Too many stories in the past week have been about the personal story of Sarah Palin. Her family, her hunting, her little town. That's all fine and interesting, but it is her record as a reformer who could clean up some pretty dirty politics and negotiate a deal for the benefit of the state instead of for the benefit of politicians that qualifies her for national office.

It's not enough to just say that she cleaned up politics and fought the oil companies. We need more details to understand the seeming impossibility of her accomplishment. What she accomplished is an almost Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean stables of Alaskan corruption. People need to learn the scope of the task before her and how quickly she changed everything about Alaskan politics.

I thought that it was a mistake not to have an introductory video about Palin before her speech Wednesday night. Rudy's speech could have been seven or eight minutes shorter. There was a video made, but it was really rather poorly done. I don't understand why they couldn't have done a better job with the dramatic story that is Sarah Palin's biography. We all know the small town story of Palin and her family now. A little bit of that is fine, but not what people need to learn about her. What we need to know is more about the specific accomplishments from her short term as governor. It really is an amazing story If I were the McCain team, I'd find some way to condense Strassel's summary into an ad and start airing it. Maybe do a series of ads talking about fighting the corruption and then negotiating the new deal. Those are the basis for the argument that she is qualified to be vice president. And people need to learn that.

Labels: Sarah Palin

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:59 AM 0 comments

Comments: Post a Comment

The truth about Avesil

Cheap Hosting

Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney

Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney

Wikio

Get exclusive travel deals and book discount cheap flights

Online Bachelors Degree

Friday, September 05, 2008

How Sarah Palin fought corruption in Alaska

		Betsy's Page

HOME Betsy neither necessarily uses, nor endorses, the products advertised on this site. The truth about Avesil Cheap Hosting Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney Wikio Get exclusive travel deals and book discount cheap flights Online Bachelors Degree Comments from an AP history and government teacher in Raleigh, NC. e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com Commissions earned from selling items through Amazon will go towards buying materials for my classes. Thank you. Site Feed		Friday, September 05, 2008 How Sarah Palin fought corruption in Alaska I think that the Republicans made a mistake in not highlighting enough of how Sarah Palin took on the corruption in her party and state and beat it back. Sure they mentioned it in every remark about her, but there just weren't the specifics. I would have had a video that went into some bit of detail about what she did. Kimberly Strassel has the story in today's Wall Street Journal and it's quite illuminating. It's not enough to tell people that she took on corruption and won. Give them the specific evidence of how corrupt the system was before her. 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. This is the old boy network that Sarah Palin took on. She ran for election on a reform ticket and Alaskans, hungry for a change from the cozy deals between the oil industry and their politicians voted her in. And then she went to work. 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. This is the reason John McCain chose her. Her record of reform and fighting corruption underscores his own. Too many stories in the past week have been about the personal story of Sarah Palin. Her family, her hunting, her little town. That's all fine and interesting, but it is her record as a reformer who could clean up some pretty dirty politics and negotiate a deal for the benefit of the state instead of for the benefit of politicians that qualifies her for national office. It's not enough to just say that she cleaned up politics and fought the oil companies. We need more details to understand the seeming impossibility of her accomplishment. What she accomplished is an almost Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean stables of Alaskan corruption. People need to learn the scope of the task before her and how quickly she changed everything about Alaskan politics. I thought that it was a mistake not to have an introductory video about Palin before her speech Wednesday night. Rudy's speech could have been seven or eight minutes shorter. There was a video made, but it was really rather poorly done. I don't understand why they couldn't have done a better job with the dramatic story that is Sarah Palin's biography. We all know the small town story of Palin and her family now. A little bit of that is fine, but not what people need to learn about her. What we need to know is more about the specific accomplishments from her short term as governor. It really is an amazing story If I were the McCain team, I'd find some way to condense Strassel's summary into an ad and start airing it. Maybe do a series of ads talking about fighting the corruption and then negotiating the new deal. Those are the basis for the argument that she is qualified to be vice president. And people need to learn that. Labels: Sarah Palin posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:59 AM 0 comments Comments: I think that the Republicans made a mistake in not highlighting enough of how Sarah Palin took on the corruption in her party and state and beat it back. Sure they mentioned it in every remark about her, but there just weren't the specifics. I would have had a video that went into some bit of detail about what she did. Kimberly Strassel has the story in today's Wall Street Journal and it's quite illuminating. It's not enough to tell people that she took on corruption and won. Give them the specific evidence of how corrupt the system was before her. 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. This is the old boy network that Sarah Palin took on. She ran for election on a reform ticket and Alaskans, hungry for a change from the cozy deals between the oil industry and their politicians voted her in. And then she went to work. 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. This is the reason John McCain chose her. Her record of reform and fighting corruption underscores his own. Too many stories in the past week have been about the personal story of Sarah Palin. Her family, her hunting, her little town. That's all fine and interesting, but it is her record as a reformer who could clean up some pretty dirty politics and negotiate a deal for the benefit of the state instead of for the benefit of politicians that qualifies her for national office. It's not enough to just say that she cleaned up politics and fought the oil companies. We need more details to understand the seeming impossibility of her accomplishment. What she accomplished is an almost Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean stables of Alaskan corruption. People need to learn the scope of the task before her and how quickly she changed everything about Alaskan politics. I thought that it was a mistake not to have an introductory video about Palin before her speech Wednesday night. Rudy's speech could have been seven or eight minutes shorter. There was a video made, but it was really rather poorly done. I don't understand why they couldn't have done a better job with the dramatic story that is Sarah Palin's biography. We all know the small town story of Palin and her family now. A little bit of that is fine, but not what people need to learn about her. What we need to know is more about the specific accomplishments from her short term as governor. It really is an amazing story If I were the McCain team, I'd find some way to condense Strassel's summary into an ad and start airing it. Maybe do a series of ads talking about fighting the corruption and then negotiating the new deal. Those are the basis for the argument that she is qualified to be vice president. And people need to learn that. Labels: Sarah Palin posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 6:59 AM 0 comments Comments: Post a Comment