McCain's VP:

Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s

September 01, 2008 6:52 PM

The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., likes to herald the independence of its new running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.

And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."

Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html

Vetting Sarah Palin: Irl Stambaugh, Walt Monegan and Cronyism

It seems that John McCain's vice presidential pick Sarah Palin is not squeaky clean. In fact, she may be as corrupt as pretty much every other still living Alaskan Republican to have held statewide office (the Murkowskis, Ted Stevens, Don Young pretty much covers it).

It seems that in 1997, she almost got recalled as mayor of Wasilla?

What led to this? Seems she fired the city police chief and library director.

"Not fully supporting her efforts to govern" seems to have meant, "supporting her opponent, John Stein, in the 1996 election"

This led Police Chief Stambaugh to sue for breach of contract.

Three years later (via March 2nd, 2000's AP State and Local Wire), a federal judge ruled in favor of Palin. Not that she fired him for an ethical reason, though.

No, his ruling was that Alaska state law allows mayors to fire the chief of police for whatever reason he or she wanted.

http://hatthief.blogspot.com/2008/08/vetting-sarah-palin-irl-stambaugh-walt.html

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group.

There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla, located about 45 miles north of Anchorage.

In introducing Palin as his running mate on Friday, Sen. John McCain cast her as a compatriot in his battle against wasteful federal spending. McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, hailed Palin as a politician "with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies -- someone who has fought against corruption and the failed policies of the past, someone who's stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money."

McCain's crusade against earmarks -- federal spending sought by members of Congress to benefit specific projects -- has been a hallmark of his campaign. He has said earmarks are wasteful and are often inserted into bills with little oversight, sometimes by a single powerful lawmaker.

Palin has also railed against earmarks, touting her opposition to a $223 million bridge in the state as a prime credential for the vice presidential nomination. "As governor, I've stood up to the old politics-as-usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good-ol'-boy network," she said Friday.

Another thing they are going nuts over, abstinence. Last I checked, if you don't do it, you won't get pregnant 99.999999% of the time. Abstinence is apparently another cardinal sin to suggest such a thing to children.

THINK succession. Would you want her as president? McCain has lost my vote. I figured hed shore up his creeping senility issue by nominating a strongVP. Instead, he goes for some purely symbolic choice , and one who has a lot of questionable ethical issues surrounding her.