I came across the Democratic opposition research paper here: (http://www.kissmybigbluebutt.com/palin_2006[1].pdf
on Sarah Palin from 2006. Some interesting things in there, but most of the municiple spending issues are above my head. Have a look if you're interested. There are 60+ pages to plough through. My personal favorite? When Palin calls herself a weasel. No kidding.
Palin Said She Fired Stambaugh In Part Because He Gave Her "A Very Stern Look." In describing
why she fired Stambaugh, the Frontiersman wrote, "[Palin] added that when they met in private,
Stambaugh tried to intimidate her by giving her short, uncommunicative answers and staring at her ‘with
a very stern look.’" [Frontiersman, 2/12/97]
Yikes! Obama can beat her with just a very stern look.
Stambaugh Sued for Gender Discrimination After Palin Said She Was Intimidated by His Size.
After Palin fired Irl Stambaugh, the police chief, he sued the city in part based on gender discrimination.
The Frontiersman wrote, "The gender discrimination issues stem from statements Palin allegedly made to
others that she was intimidated by Stambaugh’s size. He stands over 6-feet tall and weighs more than 200
pounds, which, the lawsuit said, is attributed to his gender." [Frontiersman, 2/26/97]
Palin Asked Her Department Heads for Good News—Only the Good News. In 1997, Frontiersman
columnist Paul Stuart wrote, "A couple of weeks ago, Palin sent a memo to her department heads
informing them she wanted weekly reports of the good (that’s positive, of course) things going on in their
respective departments—and only the good things. Nothing else but the good things." [Frontiersman, 1/22/97]
Palin Went to See Ivana Trump at Costco, Saying Alaska was So Desperate for "Any Semblance of
Glamour and Culture." "Sarah Palin, a commercial fisherman from Wasilla, told her husband on
Tuesday she was driving to Anchorage to shop at Costco. Instead, she headed straight for Ivana. And
there, at J.C. Penney’s cosmetic department, was Ivana, the former Mrs. Donald Trump, sitting at a table
next to a photograph of herself. She wore a light-colored pantsuit and pink fingernail polish. Her blonde
hair was coiffed in a bouffant French twist. ‘We want to see Ivana,’ said Palin, who admittedly smells
like salmon for a large part of the summer, ‘because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of
glamour and culture.’" [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), 4/3/96]
Well, that would explain her hair style.
Palin Explained that She Couldn’t Run for Senate Because Then She Couldn’t Be the "Team
Mom." "A hockey mom and a former standout athlete herself, Palin said she understood her son’s
concerns. ‘How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. senator?’ she said." [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska),4/24/04]
Guess VPs have a LOT of time on their hands since she accepted that offer, eh?
And she apparently has problems taking positions:
Palin Said She Would Not Ride the Fence on Any Issue. In 1992, Palin said, "I’m not going to ride the
fence on any issue...You ask me my feelings on an issue and I’ll give it to you straight up, because that’s
the only way a voter knows where his employee stands. Elected officials are exactly that—employees."
[Frontiersman, 9/30/92]
Anchorage Daily News: Palin Delivered "Non-Answers" On Expanding Health Care Coverage and
Walmart. "Asked about expanding health care coverage and about Wal-Mart’s corporate conduct, she
delivered non-answers with a disarming smile." [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), 1/30/06]
Palin’s Position On Wildlife Protection: Ask Someone Else. In response to the State Board of Game’s
inquiry on the merger of wildlife enforcement officers and state troopers, which the Board of Game said
left less attention to game and left wildlife positions unfilled, the Anchorage Daily News wrote, "Sarah
PALIN said she will listen to experts, including the boards of Game and Fish, to decide how to get more
wildlife officers into the field." [Anchorage Daily New, 7/22/06]
So much for not riding that fence,eh?
Palin "Seemed Unsure" About Preferential Voting, Declined to Take a Position. "One question asked
candidates to state their position on preferential voting, a ballot measure on the primary election.
Preferential voting is essentially ranking candidates instead of supporting just one so that the first
candidate to get a majority of voters’ support wins. This way of voting negates the spoiler effect. Leman,
Benson and Taylor said they support preferential voting. Hall and Phillips are against it. Palin seemed
doubtful about the voting system and is still studying the matter." [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 8/7/02]
Palin Called Herself "Such a Weasel" For Not Having a Firm Stand on the Property Tax Cap."Does that mean she’d vote for it? ‘I still have five more weeks to make up my mind, like everybody’s
trying to do,’ Palin said. ‘I wish it were not a statewide issue.’ Palin said she has declined requests by Tax
Cap Yes to speak in favor of the initiative. Yet, she said, she doesn’t object to her name’s continuing to be
listed on the group’s Web site among 10 current or former government officials -- half from Mat-Su -- in
support of the initiative. Palin acknowledged that she was sounding quite the politician. ‘I am so sorry I’m
such a weasel,’ she said." [Anchorage Daily News, 10/8/00]
Palin Exaggerated Work Experience for Mayoral Campaign. In 1997, Frontiersman columnist Paul
Stuart wrote that after Palin had criticized her opponent for using City Hal resources for political gain,
"when Palin was asked back then (by me) why the lodge where she claimed, in her campaign, to have
gained her management experience, had no record of a borough business license or of paying any bed tax,
she paused and said it might have been because the place had no clients for a year or so." In an article
describing the possibility of recalling Palin, the Frontiersman wrote the "reasons include Palin’s alleged
falsification of her credentials during the campaign last fall." [Frontiersman, 1/22/97, 2/5/97]
But everyone pads their resume, right?
Apparently, she has never been able to handle criticism:
Frontiersman Editorial: Palin Blamed Everyone But Herself. A Frontiersman editorial wrote, "The
mayor’s administration has been one of contradiction, controversy and discord. While she will blame
everyone but herself, we see mostly Sarah at the center of the problem." [Frontiersman editorial, 2/7/97]
Critical Group Called on Palin to Meet with Them, She Said they Could Fax the Questions. In 1997,
a Wasilla group called Concerned Citizens asked Palin to appear before them to answer questions, but the
Frontiersman wrote, "she doesn’t intend to face the hostile group to answer their questions." Her deputy
administrator said that the group could fax the questions and she would answer them then. [Frontiersman,
3/5/97]
And now she's not avail to the press? Why does she keep hiding from questions?
Frontiersman Editorial Slammed Palin For Not Tolerating Dissent. A Frontiersman editorial wrote,
"Wasilla is led by a woman who will tolerate no one who questions her actions or her authority."
[Frontiersman editorial, 3/7/97]
Frontiersman Editorial: Palin Philosophy Is People Are Either With Her or Against Her. A
Frontiersman editorial wrote, "Palin continues to lose public faith sticking by her philosophy that either
we are with her or against her." [Frontiersman editorial, 3/7/97]
Gee, does that sounds familiar?
Council Member Pushed To Create City Manager Because He Said Palin Did Not Have Skills to
Run Wasilla. In 1997, a councilman made a push to create a city manager position in Wasilla. The
Frontiersman reported, "Wasilla voters may get the chance to transform the city to the city manager form
of government under a proposal by Wasilla councilman Nick Carney...He said he thinks Palin does not
have the management skills to run the City of Wasilla." [Frontiersman, 2/21/97]
Gag orders, anyone?Palin Ordered that Department Heads Get Permission from Her Before Talking to the Press,
Which a Paper Called a "Gag Order. "She’s also been criticized by the local semiweekly newspaper
for a new policy requiring department heads to get the mayor’s approval before talking to reporters. An
editorial in The Frontiersman labeled it a ‘gag order.’ Palin said it’s a temporary rule to smooth the way
until department heads have a better sense of the administration’s policies." [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska),
10/26/96]
After Becoming Mayor, Palin Instituted Gag Order for the City’s Top Employees. Two weeks after
becoming mayor, Palin instituted a gag order on talking to the media for the city’s top employees. Palin
denied it was a gag order saying "The department heads appreciated not having to talk to the media."
[Frontiersman, 10/25/96, 10/30/96]
Finally, personal, yet funny:
Palin’s Brother-In-Law Appeared on Reality Dating Show. IF THIS IS REALITY . . . Lite Gov.
candidate Sarah Palin thought it might help her campaign when brother-in-law Jack McCann showed up
as a desirable catch on the new "reality" TV show, "Looking for Love: Bachelorettes in Alaska." That
hope lasted until she actually saw an episode of the series, which turns out to be your basic meat market
twitch & grin. "Oh Lord," she said. "My sisters and I watched it in horror." Jack, who is scheduled to
appear again even though he crashed a mountain bike in the first episode, is pretty cute and has a sense of
humor, Sarah reports. "He described his occupation . . . as an office environment consultant," she said.
"He sells furniture." [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), 6/9/02]
Palin and Her Husband Owned 26 Vehicles. Palin and her husband have owned 26 vehicles since
- [Alaska Motor Vehicle Registration]
This includes snowmobiles, but 26 gas powered vehicles? No wonder they love Big Oil!
I guess this says it all in a nutshell:
Frontiersman Editorial Criticized Cronyism and Political Maneuvering in City Hall. A Frontiersman
editorial wrote, "Palin promised to change the status quo, but at every turn we find hints of cronyism and
political maneuvering. We see a woman who has long-since surrendered her ideals to a political
machine." [Frontiersman editorial, 2/7/97]