I posted this in a comment, but I thought it was important enough to post again as a diary.
Sarah Palin has repeated her plane on eBay story many times now. I guess it's supposed to be some sign that she's ingenuitive and goes against the normal government grain. Perhaps it was a good idea.
But, the fact is, while she did post the plane on eBay, she didn't SELL the plane on eBay. Facts after the jump.
Politifact.com has the real deal about the plane:
In her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin talked about her record as governor of Alaska.
She talked about ethics reform and cutting the state budget.
"While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for," Palin said. "That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay."
The state's jet plane was a major issue in the 2006 election, which Palin won. Then-incumbent Frank Murkowski had defied protests from members of the state Legislature and the public when he bought the jet in 2005 to travel around the state. His political opponents said the jet symbolized his arrogance and free-spending ways.
Palin defeated Murkowski in the Republican primary and then won the general election. She said during the campaign she would sell the jet, and one of her first orders on taking office was putting the it up for sale. And yep, the state decided to list it on eBay for an asking price of $2.5-million. (The state had paid just under $2.7-million for it in 2005.)
It wasn't as wacky as it sounds. The state had sold smaller aircraft previously on eBay. (Alaska is a large, rural state, and state officials do use aircraft to get around. But typically they use smaller, more rugged planes than Murkowski's jet.)
But the jet's eBay listing did not prove effective, and the state never got its asking price. Instead, in 2007, the state turned to an aircraft broker, Turbo North Aviation. The jet was purchased that year by businessman Larry Reynolds, the owner of a sporting goods store and marine supply store in Valdez. Reynolds paid $2.1-million.
So it's true that Palin put the plane up for sale on eBay, but it didn't sell on eBay. That's not a huge point, but it is worth noting. We rate Palin's statement True.
Kossak Patch Adams mentioned, in a comment to this diary:
Incidentally, that eBay plane (of the former Alaska Governor's) was bought by a tycoon that relocated to Valdez. Still working on the story of this with others, but it's looking more and more like this is no coincidence that the plane was purchased by the current owner, no matter the "bidding" wars that site is prone to receive.
Makes you wonder...
Update [2008-9-4 13:26:41 by djrez]: This post is now the second link that pops up in a Google search for "palin plane ebay." Maybe it'll help dispel some of the myth!
Update [2008-9-4 14:55:4 by djrez]: From the comments, Ckntfld says:
To me, another interesting point:
The state had sold smaller aircraft previously on eBay.
The GOP spin was not just that she put the plane up for auction on EBay, but that she really understood the whole interTubes thing. It was her idea - how smart, clever and showed real "outside Washington thinking"! How many people now have the impression it was her idea?
IIRC it was Carly F. who mentioned this in between slams about the Liberal/sexist media.
This seems to be the Republicans' attempt to balance the fact that McCain couldn't send an email until sometime this year.
Update [2008-9-4 21:39:35 by djrez]: Now the #1 search result on Google! Truth is on top. Let's keep working to get more truth to the top of Google searches.
Update [2008-9-4 23:37:20 by djrez]: Tribune News has picked up the story and added a few details:
By Jason George and Andrew Zajac
Chicago Tribune
Thursday, September 04, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska — When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sought to illustrate her frugality to delegates at the GOP convention Wednesday, she described how she disposed of a corporate jet acquired by her unpopular predecessor.
"That luxury jet was over the top," Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, said to loud cheers. "I put it on eBay."
Palin’s statement implied a sale of the plane through the online auction site revered for empowering millions of small entrepreneurs, and Palin’s spokeswoman, Maria Comella, insisted Thursday that the transaction occurred.
But the plane failed to sell on eBay. Instead, the plane, a 23-year-old 10-seat Westwind II, was sold in August 2007 for $2.1 million to a Valdez, Alaska, entrepreneur — about $300,000 less than a broker’s asking price, according to press accounts.
Also, while Palin characterized the plane as an extravagance of former Gov. Frank Murkowski, who arranged for its purchase in November 2005, the plane saw heavy use transporting Alaskan convicts, according to flight records and interviews with corrections officials.
Alaska does not have adequate prison capacity and contracts for space with a private facility near Phoenix. On Thursday, 24 percent of the 4,546 Alaskans in jail or in prison were serving their time at Arizona’s Red Rock Correctional Center, said Richard Schmitz, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Corrections.
When the state first began using the plane in November 2005, prisoner transport accounted for 58 percent of the jet’s use, and Murkowski’s office used it 23 percent of the time. Over time, Murkowski’s usage increased.
Today, without the jet, the U.S. Marshals Service transports 90 percent of Alaska prisoners to Arizona, with Alaska Airlines taking the rest on commercial flights.
"The Marshal plane is much bigger — they can take 100 people at a time," Schmitz said. "But it comes from the Midwest somewhere and is less frequent."
The last Marshal flights to and from Arizona transported 145 prisoners at a cost of $127,000, or about $875 per prisoner. Such a cost is cheaper than the jet, whose per-prisoner cost averaged $1,674.
While a case could be made for jet travel in a state as vast as Alaska, the acquisition of the plane by Murkowski helped seal a perception of him as out-of-touch and added ammunition to Palin’s campaign as a reformer. The plane became a major issue in their 2006 primary race.
So, her spokesperson didn't just imply that it sold on eBay. She "insisted the transaction occured." Except, it didn't.
Meanwhile, I SO scooped you Tribune guys.
Update [2008-9-5 0:6:11 by djrez]: Oh, the irony. Palin, who thought a private jet was too plush for the governor of Alaska, is now riding in a newly outfitted private jet that seats ten times the number of people as the old one.
The Arizona Daily Star reports:
Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has long had ties to Arizona.
Now his running mate does, too — to Tucson.
Tucson-based Global Aircraft Solutions Inc. was set on Thursday to deliver Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's new campaign plane, an Embraer 190 regional jet complete with the duo's campaign logo on the fuselage.
The new jet seats about 100 people and was reconfigured with bigger first class seats, dividers and an area for the press, Global Aircraft president John Sawyer said. New York-based JetBlue Airways will operate the plane.