"She Has Governed From The Center"

USA Today runs a paean to Sarah Palin:

But in her 21 months as governor, Palin has taken few steps to advance culturally conservative causes. Instead, after she knocked off an incumbent amid an influence-peddling scandal linked to the oil industry, Palin pursued a populist agenda that toughened ethics rules and raised taxes on oil and gas companies.

And she did so while relying on Democratic votes in the Legislature.

"She has governed from the center," says Rebecca Braun, author of Alaska Budget Report, a non-partisan political newsletter. "She has in some small ways supported her religious views — for example, proposing money to continue the office of faith-based and community initiatives — but she has actually been conspicuously absent on social issues. She came in with a big oil and gas agenda, which really required Democratic allies to get through."

Hmm - either USA Today missed the mainstream media memo announcing Pounce on Palin Day or they are hoping to irritate and disappoint her Republican base (as if!), or... this is actually something resembling straight and favorable news.

I'll slide past her tax increase on Big Oil and laud the USA Today emphasis on the "crusading reformer who took on her own party" angle:

Palin's oil populism isn't just one aspect of her record: It's central to her identity as a politician. And it was instrumental in her rise to power.

After serving as mayor of small town Wasilla from 1996 to 2002, she ran for lieutenant governor that fall. She came in second, but her out-of-nowhere performance made an impression across Alaska, says Republican state Sen. Lyda Green.

Gov. Frank Murkowski, a Republican, appointed her to a $118,000-a-year job on an important oil and gas commission. Several months later, she filed an ethics complaint against a fellow commissioner — the state chairman of the Republican Party — alleging he was doing political business on state time. He resigned and later paid a $12,000 fine.

Palin complained that Murkowski hadn't taken the complaint seriously. She quit and began planning to challenge him in the 2006 primary. Among Palin's lines of attacks: He was too close to the oil industry.

The unpopular Murkowski also was being challenged in the GOP primary by state Sen. John Binkley of Fairbanks. Because few initially thought Palin had a chance, Alaska lobbyist Ashley Reed recalls, party activists asked Reed to approach her to see whether she would step aside and run as Binkley's lieutenant governor.

Palin refused. She handily beat Murkowski and Binkley with 51% of the vote; Murkowski finished third with 19%.

That was the primary - check this stat from the Gubernatorial race and exhale:

It was a three-way race against a seasoned former governor, Democrat Tony Knowles, and a former legislator, Andrew Halcro. There were 23 debates, says Bitney, who helped Palin prepare. She wasn't particularly conversant with public policy, he recalls, but she "learned enough about issues to know where not to go."

23 debates?  There is no way she falls in a faint at Biden's feet.

OK, it's tax time:

On Dec. 19, she signed the oil tax increase. Six days before, in the U.S. Senate, an energy bill that would have repealed billions in tax breaks for oil companies failed by one vote. Obama voted yea; McCain skipped the vote.

Financial news service Bloomberg opined that when it comes to extracting more revenue from oil companies, Palin, "is succeeding where Venezuela President Hugo Chávez, a former paratrooper and military coup leader, so far has failed."

Hugo Chavez with lipstick?  Ouch.  But taxes on oil companies are not exactly fertile ground for a Dem attack and I really don't see smitten Republicans dropping Sarah in favor of Big Oil.  You can read my lips on that one.

OK, if America's newspaper is read by middle Americans, this story will be helpful.

LET'S SEE: 

Ross Douthat - this is the Sarah Palin I want to see and which the McCain campaign will probably quash.  OK, probably, but if she has star quality (what am I saying, "if"?) it will shine through.  She gets credit for a McCain victory, he will be tagged with the loss.

And The Captain: he knew about the taxes but gritted his teeth and moved on:

Her efforts to reform government and to ensure that Alaskans got their share of their mineral wealth may not meet with conservative approval — I think it was a mistake — but she clearly had to curb the influence of the oil companies in government.  The Ted Stevens-Veco scandal proved at least that much.

I'm a conservative and I approve!  Conservatism has got to mean more than a reflexive rejection of any and all taxes and reflexive support of any and all businesses.  Where is that Mankiw proposal for a revenue neutral carbon tax?

Comments

[matt]

Alaska has long history of being exploited and abused by outsiders or fat cats on the inside. One would have to research the history of oil royalties and taxes to really get the true picture. One can't say that Alaska has very many big freeway projects or public works, that's for sure.

It may well be that Palin was redressing an imbalance, and certainly the too cozy relationships were detrimental to the interests of the people of Alaska. We would need to look a lot deeper to get to an objective truth on the tax issue.

[clarice]

Well, you sure are coming around,TM, after that unfortunate misstep brought on by those Connecticut yentas.

[bad]

Sarah Palin - Warrior against big oil. The left must be swooning at her feet. Right?

[crazy]

Isn't the new oil revenue from royalties not taxes? Even though both put money into Alaska's treasury there's actually a big difference between them.

[Jim]

I'm a conservative and I approve!

Me, too. What on earth is conservative about believing that private companies and corporations should be given any and all of our natural resources for free? Conservatives can reasonably disagree on the point.

[RichatUF]

On Dec. 19, she signed the oil tax increase. Six days before, in the U.S. Senate, an energy bill that would have repealed billions in tax breaks for oil companies failed by one vote. Obama voted yea; McCain skipped the vote.

I drop a link later, but she didn't "raise taxes" so much as flatten them between new and old wellheads. Alaska, prior to her administration had a very complicated severence tax scheme in which the older the wellhead the less tax revenue they were charged, such that nearly 45% of the well heads in the state weren't taxed at all. It was the way the prior administrations were taxing oil/gas that was one of the biggest hiccups on the Nat Gas pipeline.

[Cecil Turner]

It may well be that Palin was redressing an imbalance . . .

Precisely. Then-Gov Murkowski conspired with oil companies to work a sweetheart natural gas pipeline deal and funnel cash to various (GOP) lawmakers in exchange for lower taxes on oil profits. From the indictment of Sen John Cowdery:

On or about February 21, 2006, the Governor of the State of Alaska (hereinafter "Governor") announced that the State had reached an agreement with the primary oil producers regarding the construction of a gas pipeline. The terms of the agreement concerning construction of the pipeline were not announced or released at that time. Instead, the Governor announced that the agreement with the oil producers included a provision that addressed a significant change to the manner in which the State of Alaska taxes oil production. If the Alaska State Legislature did not approve the proposed change in the manner in which oil production was taxed by the state, then the agreement concerning construction of the gas pipeline would not take effect.

Alaskans want (and need) the natural gas pipeline, so it was a fairly effective ploy. The resultant tax increase under Palin can be legitimately viewed as somewhat punitive (IMHO), and deservedly so.

[Danube of Thought]

I remain steadfastly and unabashedly in love.

[clarice]

Me, too--sounds obscene though.

[baked alaska]

On the campaign trail, John McCain and Sarah Palin characterize a $3 million earmark to study bear DNA in Montana as "evil" and "corrupt." What they fail to mention is that Palin requested a $3.2 million earmark to study the genetics of harbor seals, and an additional $500,000 earmark to study the mating habits of crabs.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014685.php

[MayBee]

baked alaska- have you heard that she made the harbor seals pay for their own rape kits?

[Extraneus]

Lest anyone's under the delusion that Jake Tapper isn't in the tank, too...

Palin Flip-Flops on Whether Global Warming Has Man-Made Causes; Falsely Claims She Never Suggested Otherwise

Check out the so-called "flip-flop" at the end, and try to spot the flip or the flop.

Some people just don't understand the concept of "I don't know, and neither do you."

[DebinNC]

OldNuke posted at HotAir:

"Limbaugh just did in an hilarious Shanklin parody! Obamessiah drug before Pontius Palin, Biden telling Lazarus to stand up, starring John McCain as Methuselah Hillary as a demon possessed woman. I think he got everybody with this one. I’m still laughing."

Me too. It was hilarious!

[Danube of Thought]

That's easy, Baked: the bear DNA earmark was, in fact, corrupt and evil. The harbor seal and crab studies were appropriate to the circumstances.

That's why we're winning. See?

[Neo]

The killer. Alaska had sought federal funding for "the bridge to nowhere" for more than 30 years. Palin could be fighting for it today. But last year, she killed that idea.

[M. Simon]

For More Funnies See this Video

[Jane]

Me, too--sounds obscene though.

Me three and I don't care if it sounds obscene.

[windansea]

me four and it's totally hetero

[PeterUK]

"Palin requested a $3.2 million earmark to study the genetics of harbor seals, and an additional $500,000 earmark to study the mating habits of crabs."

Ooh the infamy! That wouldn't even buy you a toilet seat at the DoD.

[bad]

me five

I am at this moment, in all humility,as I've consistently maintained, in hope of the one we have been waiting for: Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin who is not a pig with lipstick or a stinky fish but an agent of change for the good of my children and Michelle's daughters. Sarah Palin, whom I love as Jesus loved.

[Pofarmer]

Palin requested a $3.2 million earmark to study the genetics of harbor seals, and an additional $500,000 earmark to study the mating habits of crabs.

Alaska requested it because it's the states part of a FEDERALLY MANDATED program you asshat. Lot's of things are funded with earmarks, not all of them evvvviiiiillllll.

[Uncle BigBad]

Sarah is the ONE we have been waiting for.

[glasnost]

The left must be swooning at her feet. Right?

You have indeed found one thing I like about Sarah Palin. Problem is, she's Vice President. What she did in Alaska is literally meaningless, as John McCain is explictly campaigning on a platform, as he phrases it, of

(Conservatism has got to mean more than) a reflexive rejection of any and all taxes and reflexive support of any and all businesses.

Wrong! That's exactly what it means to the political and policy nerve center of the Republican party. That's why it accurately describes the party platform and McCain's policy proposals.

If she wasn't an ethically challenged, serially dishonest lightweight with anger control issues and a meaningful hostility to homosexuals, abortion, and gun control, Sarah Palin would economically make an OK democratic nominee. Well, except for the fact that the taxes she raised were targeted at poor people and the relief was targeted at rich people.

[Harland]

It is funny how the left destroy everything in their path, and burn the bridges behind them. It has happened with John Stossel and Bill O'Reilly. They have talked about earlier in their career if they irritated conservatives, the conservatives would just say we strongly disagree. When these two would irritate liberals, the libs would call Stossel and O'Reilly evil, stupid, corporate pigs (hehe), etc. Everyday you can see the effect the previous attacks have had on O'Reilly.

This also happened with Clarence Thomas who wasn't as conservative as the left made him out to be. Then end result was they created an enemy for life.

I knew all about Palin's tax raising history already. And quite frankly it would concern me if it was not for the left going after her so ferociously. They just burned another bridge, and created one more enemy for life by the name of Sarah Palin.

[Danube of Thought]

Glasnost, you're in for a long and unhappy four or eight years. Deal with it.

[Syl]

me six.

[jc]

It would be very interesting if more people in the lower 48 chose to learn anything about Alaska before they formed their opinions.

First, what most of you think when you see the word “tax” is not representative of what is really going on. Read the Alaska State Constitution. (or just highlights at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Constitution) Pay special attention to Article VIII. The people of Alaska own the resources. Alaska charges severance taxes at sale – it is closer to a royalty than to a tax in a conventional sense. BTW, it is because the people own the resources that the Permanent Fund has a dividend.

Second, Palin is conservative personally, but she governs more like a libertarian – because Alaska is fundamentally a libertarian state. She would not be Governor any other way. Think I'm wrong? Which one of your states has a right to privacy in the constitution? Because of the right to privacy, marijuana was legal in Alaska for many recent years and still would except for federal interference. Does that sound like a right wing place to anybody?

Many Americans have looked at Palin's bio and applied it to a caricature of some hick from the Bible Belt. It is charmingly ignorant for now. It is getting tiresome. Soon it will just be stupid. I hope people will start to get some context and perspective soon.

[Perestroika]

According to Glasnost, Sarah Palin has a "meaningful hostility towards gun control".....that shocking disclosure is sure to change a lot of votes here. Kinda of the same reaction the Daily Kos readers would have to the revelation that Obama has a "meaningful hostility towards tax cuts"....

[ben]

Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas, arguably a state with less strategic importance than Alaska. He didn't inhale in England, but what was his "foreign policy" experience when he ran for President? Or George W. for that matter? Or Jimmy Carter or even Ronald Reagan? The guy with a real resume in foreign policy was GHWB, CIA Director, Ambassador to China, UN Representative....

But not everyone is fooled...new AP poll shows that 36% of Americans dont think Palin is qualified, versus 47% for Obama (and 20% for McCain)

"Eighty percent say McCain, with nearly three decades in Congress, has the right experience to be president. Just 46 percent say Obama, now in his fourth year in the Senate, is experienced enough.

Fully 47 percent say Obama lacks the proper experience — an even worse reading than the 36 percent who had the same criticism about McCain running mate Sarah Palin, serving her second year as Alaska governor after being a small-town mayor."

[PapayaSF]

Ben: which is precisely why the "Palin doesn't have enough experience to be Vice President" is such an obvious trap for the Democrats, who have yet to convince most people that Obama has enough experience to be President.

[DebinNC]

Michael Barone: "I am not the only one to notice that John McCain and Sarah Palin have gotten inside the Obama campaign's (and mainstream media's) OODA loop. Blogger Charlie Martin sprang into pixels on www.americanthinker.com before I could spring into print with this column."

[kim]

Boyd's biography 'Boyd' is an excellent read. Maverick, be his name.
=========================================

[SDN]

Bill Whittle also has an excellent essay on Boyd here.

[Harland]

Wow good catch ben. However I know in the past AP wasn't the best polling firm around. Still that number is devastating even if it is a bit off. And shows how idiotic it is for Obama and his surrogates (in the press) to keep on going after Palin.

But they can't help themselves. She didn't pass their leftist woman test and therefore must be teared apart limb by limb.

[sophy]

We all love game, if you want to play it, please buy 12 sky gold and join us.