The nicest thing for me about the Palin pick is that I don’t even have to think twice about her to know I oppose her- I simply am done supporting religious nutjobs. I went along with the silliness when I was a Republican because I respect the give and take of coalition building, but now that I am not in the GOP, I don’t have to tolerate the BS. Think evolution is “just a theory,” you are not getting my vote. Think abortion should be illegal no matter what, even in cases of rape and incest- not getting my vote. Think intelligent design should be taught in science classrooms- not getting my vote.
So for me, at least, I don’t have to even bother with the issues of experience and her complete lack of knowledge regarding foreign affairs and well, hell, the fact she didn’t even know what the VP did a few weeks ago. I don’t have to think about any of that, as her extreme religious views already disqualify her in my eyes. No more social conservatives. Ever.
Having said that, it really does seem there is something to this trooper stuff:
We rely on elected officials not to use the power of their office to pursue personal agendas or vendettas. It’s called an abuse of power. There is ample evidence that Palin used her power as governor to get her ex-brother-in-law fired. When his boss refused to fire him, she fired him. She first denied Monegan’s claims of pressure to fire Wooten and then had to amend her story when evidence proved otherwise. The available evidence now suggests that she 1) tried to have an ex-relative fired from his job for personal reasons, something that was clearly inappropriate, and perhaps illegal, though possibly understandable in human terms, 2) fired a state official for not himself acting inappropriately by firing the relative, 3) lied to the public about what happened and 4) continues to lie about what happened.
These are, to put it mildly, not the traits or temperament you want in someone who could hold the executive power of the federal government.
Actually, Josh, after watching the Bush administration queer the Justice Department, those are precisely the traits Republicans want.
zzyzx
Yeah but John, you’re missing the big picture! Obama would have received good press on Friday before everyone switched to hurricane coverage. What’s more important than making sure that you win the news cycle on August 29?
JL
John, Cokie just mentioned that she fired someone because the brother-in-law threatened to kill someone. The media will not touch the Abuse of Power. She will turn into a saint. Sorry but I am disillusioned and the media will not do it’s job. On Meet The Press, David Gregory praised her for hopping on a plane to go home and have her child. There is not a medical person in the world, who would praise her decision. It was dangerous to the child and lacks not only good common sense, it shows bad judgment.
Darkness
Are you kidding? Abuse of executive power. Running up a huge debt even on a small budget. Clueless on foreign affairs (because to be otherwise would smell of liberalism/traitorism).
Republican Trifecta!
burnspbesq
Not to mention that she was likely complicit in the falsification of a public record (i.e., the birth certificate of her daughter’s child, which she is claiming as her own). The photographic evidence on this is compelling, and the governor’s story doesn’t hold water (no pun intended).
This woman is a disaster waiting to happen.
Punchy
This investy will be Cheney’d in less than a week. He’ll get Addington to write an interpretation of the law that allows for governors to fire whomever, based on a re-interpretation of an existing statute covering the Article II particulars vis-a-vis amendments pertaining to executive powers with respect to current federal law, notwithstanding commonly held beliefs in Article I, plus she’s a Republican and SHUT UP!, that’s why.
4tehlulz
The Republican establishmentMoDo is…um…unimpressed:Creepy….
kate r
I know we’re not supposed to pay attention to the pregnant kid cover up nonsense, but I got to say when I heard National Enquirer is all over it, my first response was “hmmmm some soap operas are true.”
Bleargh.
I am now going to put on a hair-shirt to atone and I will stop wondering about shit like how a woman whose water broke and was in the early stages of labor got on an airplane and the flight attendants noticed nothing. http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/apr/22/palins-flight-labor-falls-under-scrutiny/
And I swear upon this laptop that I most certainly will not google “Palin Pregnant” images or post any more links or even think about the subject.
Roschelle
A governor with a 80% approval rating while 87% of Alaskans are positive that she’s lying about her hand in having or trying to have her ex brother-in-law fired. Governor Palin appears to be very well-spoken, an advocate of political reform and yes a self-described hockey mom. But she’s also a blatant liar who didn’t think her plan to attempt to cover up her oldest daughters pregnancy would ever come back to haunt her.
Darkness
BTW, OT on the server issue… have you looked into two servers: one optimized for the db and one optimized for wordpress accessing the db on the other server? That should get you more bang for your $. Course it reduces reliability a bit, but with monitoring, that shouldn’t be an issue.
Graeme
I’ve been supporting Obama throughout, but the first time I ever voted against the GOP was 2006. The Terri Schaivo thing REALLY turned me off. I don’t want to see more of that from anyone I pulled a lever to vote into office.
Were I still inclined toward voting for McCain, this VP pick would have pushed me to vote for Barr. This choice is designed to appeal to the fundies, not to the kind of pro-business conservative I consider myself.
No thanks! While I still cringe when Obama’s speeches veer off into populism-land, I think he’s the lesser of the evils.
kate r
PS I don’t buy the story but it is at least as horrifyingly fascinating as the plot of Fargo or an episode of Jerry Springer. EEEIIIIIII Must go for the flail because the hair-shirt obviously isn’t enough.
Big E
re: “Think evolution is “just a theory,” you are not getting my vote.”
you bet, we went through that already in Pennsylvania … the ‘ID’ creationist crowd got their collective narrow minded asses served to them with a biting, severe in it’s criticism, legal ruling in Dover.
This teach creationist doctrine in science class is BULLSHIT
Toyontoots
There is lots of information about Palin and about the TrooperGate investigation on these two websites run by Alaskans:
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/
where the top post today totally refutes Palin’s claim that she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere.
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/
On August 29th, Gryphen at The Immoral Minority wrote:
Okay I just saw Keith repeat the same bit of misinformation about Sarah Palin’s attempt to have the state trooper fired. The trooper in question is Mike Wooten, and he was married to Sarah’s sister. He apparently tasered his 11 year old step son when the boy asked what it felt like. The boy was uninjured and was a willing participant. Wooten did NOT beat up Sarah Palin’s sister! It has been claimed that he threatened to kill Sarah’s father when he hired an attorney to fight Wooten in court for custody of their children. He also threatened to “bring Sarah down” politically.
But the thing that seems to have REALLY pissed Sarah and her family off, was when Wooten dared to show up at the Governor”s picnic with a DATE!
Sarah was not protecting her family from harm. She was trying to protect herself from embarrassment!
Both sites have information on Palin that comes from living in Alaska and following Palin’s career for years … with the added plus of local knowledge.
Incertus
I’ve already talked to a handful of people who feel just this way. I still don’t think that Barr’s going to pull more than one percent nationally in November, but every vote that might have gone to McCain is a good thing. I’d love to be disappointed on that prediction.
boonagain
Didn’t I read somewhere that Mr. Palin is cc’ed on all her correspondence and sits in on all her meetings?
This squares with their fundamentalist beliefs, but surely wouldn’t pass muster for the VP , would it?
JL
Maria Bartoloma of CNBC thinks she is very strong on the economy, drill, drill, drill. I’m going to send Obama another $50.00 after sending him $100.00 on Thursday. My meagre investments will be worthless if McCain gets elected.
lane
is it just me’? she is not hot, at all
Chris Andersen
Josh wrote that in response to people saying he was making a victim out of Palin’s brother-in-law (who may, in fact, be a total jerk). What Josh’s response shows is that the real victim in Palin’s machinations was Monegan, who was the boss who refused to fire said brother-in-law and is, by all accounts, a well-respected individual.
reid
I just saw Meet the Press, too. Bartiromo was obviously charmed over by Palin. A little more objectivity, please.
As the pundit panel was introduced, I groaned at the thought of a republican strategist, but no counterweight democratic strategist. But I have to admit, Mike Murphy was pretty tolerable, pointing out how choosing Palin could blow up. Gregory and Mitchell were bigger repub cheerleaders.
jukeboxgrad
jl:
“Cokie just mentioned that she fired someone because the brother-in-law threatened to kill someone.”
The death-threat allegation is very fishy. Sarah Palin decided to not report it to the father or to police until weeks later. She apparently didn’t take the threat seriously (if it even happened at all).
toy:
“The boy was uninjured and was a willing participant.”
Indeed. And Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol admitted to a police investigator that the Palin family made a fuss about the Taser incident (after saying nothing about it for two years) “because of the divorce and stuff.”
I’m going to shamelessly plug my diary which documents a bunch of details like this. Including the glowing reference that Palin wrote for Wooten.
reid
By the way, I’m glad Pawlenty wasn’t chosen as VP. Today was my first time seeing him. He really grates. A smooth, dweeby, talking point machine. Ugh.
dr. luba
Toyontoots has it right, from everything I’ve read. This was a family matter–custody dispute, apparently–and Palin abused her power by dragging the state into it. The cover-up demands demonization of the BIL, and that’s what’s been going on in the media. (But screwing with the state troopers was not a good idea–that’s why she’s under investigation a the moment.)
Palin is as much a “fiscal conservative” as any other republican Alaska politician–sucking vigorously at the government teat, and trying to get as much as they can from Washington, while condemning big government. The entire “rugged individualist” reputation of Alaska is a bunch of bullshit–it is a welfare economy, with the people depending on their annual welfare check from the government ($1,654.00 per person last year), and the state getting by with huge handouts from DC. (In 2005, they got back 2.62 for each dollar sent to Washington as taxes.)
And no wonder they want to rape the land, shoot the wolves, and let the polar bears drown–the more they drill, the bigger their annual welfare check. The state collects no state taxes what so ever–the entire state budget is from oil revenues.
Darkness
is it just me’? she is not hot, at all
Her hair needs help. It’s the Monica Lewinski ‘do what with her stringy bangs plastered to her forehead.
demimondian
Sorry, no, you can’t Taser a minor without consequences. It is a big deal, although wasn’t child abuse, but rather reckless endangerment.
Asa result, Wooten was punished for the action by being suspended without pay for a period of five days, and, as Marshall points out, that’s the end of it. Nothing else remained to be done. Palin wasn’t satisfied with the law as it was written, and insisted on trying to add extralegal punishment; then lied about it.
Sound like another vice-president we’ve had recently?
JL
A friend calls it republican hair. It doesn’t move.
boonagain
Choice:
Meanwhile, Palin’s mother-in-law, Faye Palin, told a New York Daily News reporter that she didn’t agree with Sarah on everything and hadn’t yet decided how she would vote. She added: “I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she’s a woman and a conservative. Well, she’s a better speaker than McCain,” Faye Palin said with a laugh.
(from Huffpo)
gottago60
McCain and Palin are real people who get “it.” Real world, not Harvard Law Review types. Biden and Osama are inside the beltway “more of the same.” I cannot wait for Palin and Biden to debate. A straight-shooter vs. a wind-bag. It’s time for McCain to start putting together his transition team and cabinet appointments.
jukeboxgrad
demi:
“Nothing else remained to be done”
Exactly. You nailed it. The Tasing was wrong, but it was dealt with. And currently lots of people are trying to distort the facts of what happened that day.
Walker
Anyone who listens to that idiot Bartiromo for investment news deserves to have their portfolio go to zero. She is as stupid as Cramer without all the theatrics. CNBC did not learn its lesson in 2001 it seems.
The Moar You Know
It’s not just you. She’s got the build of a former fattie who has managed to puke most of it off.
Not to mention that from what’s come out so far about her actions, she seems like the kind of person who never mentally got out of high school and is now avenging every slight she ever received – because she can.
Kinda like her new boss.
All this adds up to one very unattractive package.
Dennis - SGMM
Palin seems to believe that the executive does whatever the executive wants. From Slate:
“Personal privilege,” she’s a perfect fit for a third Bush term.
Brachiator
We’re on the same page here. A sincere belief in the superstitious ignorance of creationism or “intelligent design” renders Palin totally unacceptable.
Ironically, Palin is a female version of Dubya, with a dash of Harriet Miers. Her inexperience and religious views have sealed the deal with evangelicals. They don’t care that she doesn’t know anything, because they are convinced that the Baby Jesus will tell her what to do. The pundits won’t pick up on this because they will focus on her anti-abortion bona fides and most reporters and pundits prefer to keep their distance from actual evangelicals.
Her “independence” and “Buffalo Gal” appeal will get some play with the NRA and gun crowd, and perhaps some voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio, where Hillary could only pretend to be a hard drinkin’ gun totin’ mamma. By contrast, Palin is the real deal, and can tell ya what a mooseburger tastes like. So for some conservatives, Palin will come across like Maggie O’Connell from Northern Exposure, all grown up and running for public office. Again, her actual suitability for the job will be a non-issue.
Sorry, an 11 year old cannot give informed consent to being tasered, and cannot be a “willing participant” in any universe in which common sense prevails
If Democratic Party campaign surrogates try to push this as proof of deep “abuse of power,” they will end up looking like fools.
Also, I find it hard to believe that McCain’s people either did not know about this or did not at least factor it into their considerations. They may have concluded that the public mood would be very forgiving on this, and they may well be right.
smiley
I just love those guys at TalkLeft:
All sexual identity politics all the time over there.
shirt
Choice? What do you say to a person who knowingly chose to have another baby when the odds were 1/35 it would be a downs baby? See http://www.ds-health.com/risk.htm. It’s one thing to make that kind of choice if you have no children: it’s quite another when you have four great kids already. I wonder if she blames god or herself?
When that poor downs baby turns 21 she’ll have qualified for Social Security.
PC
So a state trooper gets involved in a nasty custody battle with the Governor’s sister and the Governor attempts to use her power and influence to get the trooper fired. The trooper is disciplined according to department rules, but that’s not good enough so the Governor fires the top cop as retribution. How is that not abuse of power? It’s the exact same shit the Bush administration is known for.
jukeboxgrad
“an 11 year old cannot give informed consent to being tasered, and cannot be a ‘willing participant’ in any universe in which common sense prevails”
No one is saying that Wooten’s behavior was appropriate. But the nature of what actually happened is relevant. That’s why McCain’s people are hoping no one will look closely at what happened that day.
“If Democratic Party campaign surrogates try to push this as proof of deep ‘abuse of power,’ they will end up looking like fools.”
If we give Palin a free pass on this, then we’re the fools. Josh Marshall did a really nice job of explaining why we shouldn’t be squeamish about pursuing this.
w vincentz
OK folks, take a deep breath, take a step back and look at this Palin choice is really all about… huge distraction.
Or more than one…
#1 distraction- take the focus away from real issues like the economy, Iraq, and Bush policies that will continue.
#2 distraction- divert attention away from Obama’s momentum from the convention and have the talking heads focus on Palin’s qualifications (or lack thereof). Great for Labor Day news cycle.
#3 distraction- toss a woman out there, one who might gain sympathy for going to term with a down’s syndrome baby, and the discussion is now about “abortion” and overturning Roe v Wade.
#4 distracton-take the focus off McCain and have everyone discuss his VP choice. Creationism in classrooma, maternity of baby, troopergate, etc. Heck, even her mother-in-law is undecided about supporting her candidacy.
I’m sure we can all come up with more reasons for these distractions by the McCain campaign. Please take the time to consider what this “move” is really about.
It takes the discussion away from Obama/Biden, and even away from McCain, as there’s now a small town mayor that might be a heartbeat away from becoming your unitary executive.
Geesh!
jukeboxgrad
“So a state trooper gets involved in a nasty custody battle with the Governor’s sister and the Governor attempts to use her power and influence to get the trooper fired. The trooper is disciplined according to department rules, but that’s not good enough so the Governor fires the top cop as retribution. How is that not abuse of power? It’s the exact same shit the Bush administration is known for.”
You’re exactly right, but I want to clarify the chronology. The “nasty custody battle” started in 2005, before Palin ran for governor. But at that time she was already a prominent part of her family’s efforts to ruin Wooten. Wooten was “disciplined according to department rules” in 2006. A few months later, Palin was elected governor, and she used the office to continue her crusade against Wooten.
A detailed timeline is in my diary that I cited above.
smiley
In case it was a bit unclear (if anyone cares) the comments I posted above were in response to a post by Big Tent Democrat about exactly the same TPM post that John quoted.
Shorter BTD: Of course the trooper should have been fired and Palin was right to do everything she could to make it happen.
Brachiator
This is just not true at all. Alaska has a corporate income tax and derives tax revenues from this, along with taxes on tobacco, alcohol, fisheries, commercial passenger vessels, mining and insurance.
Oil revenues count for a chunk of Alaska’s state revenues, and they do suck hard on the government teat, but in this age of teh google, there is no reason for anyone except the worst conservative wingnuts to post crap that is empty of facts.
Anyone who claims that an 11 year old was “a willing participant” to being tased is attempting to justify the act. That the kid’s dad was a trooper only magnifies the error in judgment.
Had the trooper tasered a dog, I suspect that some here would be calling for his head on a platter no matter what the circumstances.
I agree that Marshall makes some good points. Here are some of the key points for me from Marshall’s post:
Here is the potential abuse of power and indication of a grave error in judgment. The trooper had been disciplined, so this should have been the end of the issue. Palin may have brought a grudge with her into her gubernatorial post. Worse, when she couldn’t punish the person she wanted, she decided that collateral damage was acceptable.
Now, the only question is whether the compliant media will dig into this before Palin is officially nominated by the Republicans.
demimondian
w vincentz —
yes and no. McCain’s Hail Mary is a double edged sword. Yes, it certainly does take the focus away from Obama at a bad time. However, it also threatens to take the focus away from McCain and Republicans during the one time when they get to introduce their candidates. The first impressions of John McCain and Sarah Palin are being formed *right now* — and they’re not going to be good if this story has legs.
PC
It’s a long weekend and we’re waiting for the lulz to start at the Republican convention. Might as well fuck some rats while we wait.
This sounds like a job for Timeline!
w vincentz
@Demimondian,
Yes, it’s a “hail mary” and impressions are being formed.
However, have you noticed that the discussion is now about down’s syndrome babies, anti-abortion, troopergate, and Alaska politics rather than the economy, two “wars”, financial and housing meltdown, and many other more relevant topics?
Brachiator
I agree with demimondian that “McCain’s Hail Mary is a double edged sword.”
The Republicans may have outsmarted themselves by harping on the “celebrity nature” of Obama’s stadium appearance. Over 84,000 people got to see and hear Obama, millions more watched it on TV, and the move of the pundits to talk about or to defend McCain’s Choice means that voters have been free to digest Obama’s message without hordes of pundits to tell them what they should think about it.
And in this day of teh InterTubes and text messaging, the word-of-mouth reactions and discussions about Obama may be far more important than what comes from official channels.
The Republicans may not even understand the degree to which they no longer control the message.
On the other hand, McCain’s choice of Palin reminds me of organized crime’s choice of The Joker in The Dark Knight. In his desperation, McCain turned to a woman he doesn’t fully understand.
McCain is supposedly no great friend of the evangelicals, but he has selected someone whose greatest appeal is to those who believe that the United States should be a Christian nation in which the Constitution is subordinate to their understanding of the words of the baby Jesus.
More than any policy agreement with Bush, the choice of Palin signals McCain’s willingness to be the steward of a third Bush term. And should McCain get elected but be unable to complete his term due to health reasons, evangelicals will be very satisfied to see Palin as commander-in-chief.
jukeboxgrad
brach:
“Anyone who claims that an 11 year old was ‘a willing participant'[ to being tased is attempting to justify the act.”
No one “is attempting to justify the act.” But the behavior of other parties (including, especially, Payton and Molly) is relevant in assessing Wooten’s actions and determining the proper punishment.
For example, it would obviously be wrong to consider Wooten’s actions indistinguishable from someone who used a Taser to torture, punish or discipline a child. But lots of people are probably reading the story superficially and assuming that’s what he did. It would be a big mistake to let McCain/Palin get away with selling that narrative.
“the move of the pundits to talk about or to defend McCain’s Choice means that voters have been free to digest Obama’s message without hordes of pundits to tell them what they should think about it.”
Thanks for that very astute observation.
pc:
“This sounds like a job for Timeline!”
I never saw that before. Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to think about using it next time.
Erieg
Forget “Troopergate”, at most it will turn out that there is a vindictive Republican in office. What’s new there? This will get nowhere.
Stop the nonsense about the baby. It is a disgusting attack. Repubs do this all the time and it’s one reason I am no longer one of them.
What needs to be focused on is the fact that this pick is scary and reckless as hell. This woman is barley qualified to be mayor of a small town. It’s amazing that she became the Governor of Alaska. I guess graduating with a degree in journalism from a podunk university in Idaho is all the cred needed to lead a state to prosperity.
Doesn’t this bring McCain’s age front and center? I swear to God this sounds like a damn sitcom, I can see the pitch now.
“Spunky, small town woman is selected by a presidential candidate to be his running mate. The day after winning the election the new 72 year old president falls over dead after two long years of grueling campaigning.
The “fire-brand” VP assumes the highest office in the world. Think “Beverly Hillbillies meets Mr. Smith goes to Washington”
Hilarity ensues.
The problem with this premise is that the woman in question is an EXTREME right wing fundie who lacks the knowledge, experience or judgment to lead this country. Not only would there be a push to turn this country into a group of damn snake handlers we would lose any credibility we have with the rest of the world.
If you say that “Obama will win so we don’t have to worry about this” you haven’t paid attention to the level of stupidity in this country. BUSH WAS RELECTED. That says it all.
It’s time to do everything we can to stop this. Donate money, phone bank, try to convince everyone you meet to vote Obama.
Christ… I might even try something for the first time. Prayer.
w vincentz
@Brach,
I respectfully disagree regarding, “the Republicans may not even understand the degree to which they no longer control the message.”
Look, they’ve taken the spotlight away from Obama/Biden and the thrilling speeches of the DNC convention. They are now creating a false dialogue on the issues they wish to bring to the fore. Additionally, the message they’re sending to the evangelical wingnuts is gaining traction that McIdiot didn’t previously possess.
Though, to many this VP pick is a laughable joke, the motives are clear. Don’t underestimate the Refucks. To do so is an unlearned lesson from previous presidential elections.
D. Mason
My view on the troopergate is quite simple. If she had gone after the cop only I would give her a pass. It’s mildly inappropriate but then again, a cop who would taze an 11 year old doesn’t really need to be on the streets. She didn’t stop with the trooper though, she went after a higher official who’s only sin was that he refused to do her dirty-work and that’s what makes it a scandal. I get the impression that most people agree with my view and I suspect that’s why the full story doesn’t get told.
grenson
The day after the NH primary I posted the following (synopsis):
Obama will be the Democratic candidate. McCain the Republican candidate.
McCain will win the election. He will serve for two years and then be replaced by his VP.
It will be a disaster.
puredesighee
FOR THE LAST TIME, she did not fire the person who allegedly abused her relative. She tried to pressure the guy’s boss to do the firing, and he refused. So she fired the boss – a COMPLETELY innocent public official who acted within the integrity of his office, even in opposition to the power of the Governor.
She was a bully. And she punished an innocent man for not breaking his code of office for her personal vendetta.
The fact that the old media can’t get these simple facts right is their fault. It shouldn’t limit anyone with access to the internet.
truth machine
McCain-Palin has the stupid vote sewn up.
julie
Here’s the thing — everyone says she is Quayle or Agnew in a skirt. She is NOT. She is an evangelical, creationist, non-traveling, anti-intellectual who believes in personal privilege. Does this sound familiar?
One of us, one of us…
Lewis
I would not rule out Sarah Palin. Expectations have been lowered, so all she has to do is be a cute cheerleader for John McCain. I do pause when I think what Palin might have in store for her. In the few days since the veep announcement, there have been signs of an almost fanatical interest in Palin. She has a Steppford wife quality to her, that I believe will appeal to other Republican Steppford wives. Palin just might energize a base that has been thus far lukewarm to McCain. Lastly, you can’t tell me that the GILF/hottie factor is not good for a few votes. A Maxim, Stuff, FHM Online babe piece on Palin, just might sway some 18 to 22 year old “horndog” Democrats who went liberal just to impress the girls at school.
http://www.PotomacBrief.com
Just say NObama, NObiden
This is my FAVORITE web-site. I love reading all the moonbat left-wing nut jobs blabbing their liberal, marxist, socialist trash… NObama, NObiden, NOWAY…. I’d vote for hillary first, at least she has some common sense… NObama doesn’t NEED John McCain to portray him as scary, he IS SCARY… AND I LOVE my pop-up blocker to keep the liberal want ads from popping up…
norman gissel
I agree that all you need to know about foreign policy you can learn from living nest to Russia. In this context I believe that McCain should nominate Miss Teen South Carolina as the next Secretary of Existential Geography.
C.R.
Get used to saying Vice President Palin. Admit it you secretly want this so you have more to complain about for the next four years. Have fun being miserable.
dr. luba
I misspoke–the state of Alaska collects no personal taxes (income, property, sales) from its citizens, except for a small amount in alcohol and tobacco taxes. According to Wikipedia:
“Alaska has the lowest individual tax burden in the United States, and is one of only five states with no state sales tax and one of seven states that do not levy an individual income tax. To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues. ….
“While Alaska has no state sales tax, 89 municipalities collect a local sales tax, from 1% to 7.5%, typically 3% to 5%. Other local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel, motel, and B&B “bed” taxes, severance taxes, liquor and tobacco taxes, gaming (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes. A percentage of revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (such as petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska.”
In 2007, total revenue was 3.55 billion dollars; of that 3.04 billion came from “Oil and Gas” (including corporate income tax on the oil and gas industry). That is 85.8% according to the state of Alaska. Sin taxes (tobacco and alcohol) were 2%, and motor fuel was 1% (although that has now been suspended).
And Alaska, which can afford to give each citizen large check every year for just living there, gets back $2.32 for each dollar it sends to Washington. Meanwhile, my state (MI), which has been in recession for several years now, is a net donor when it comes to federal taxes. Why can’t they pay for their own goddamned infrastructure?
Why is it that all those rugged individualist red states are such welfare cases?
demimondian
Hey, D-Chance, I see the talking points are already out.
Don’t you feel bad telling lies for profit, though?
jacy
Re: Palin’s hairstyle –
The day she was announced, my 70-year-old lifelong liberal mom called me up to say how appalled she was about this woman being chosen. The second thing out of her mouth was:”Did you see her hair? She’s got that crazy homeschooling hair.”
Henceforth in my household, that style will officially be known as “crazy homeschooling hair.”
TenguPhule
Get out, Republican Ratfucker.
Sleeper
What’s particularly galling is how some who are predisposed to hate all things Obama try to cover for this, by saying that Palin’s dad is a science teacher, and she’s not really for creationism, she just thinks that they should “teach the controversy.”
When someone believes that evolutionary theory is controversial, they’re a creationist. Sorry. They may not be a Young Earth Creationist, but they’re still deeply stupid. Oh, I mean ignorant. The GOP hatred of science (excluding that technology which has military applications) doesn’t make the headlines as often, getting eclipsed by the screaming incompetance and corruption bleeding from the Bush Administration, but it’s going to take decades for us to recover from it.
Sleeper
Another visitor from a parallel Earth. Have you travelled to the one where Lee won Gettysburg yet?
KPM in Salt Lake
To Nobama Nobiden:
I’ve heard a number of comments like yours that Obama and the left are “marxists.” Do you know what Marxism is? Do you know who Marx was? I haven’t made up my mind on my presidential vote and I’ve been reading a LOT of blogs like this one. Both sides resort to petty, ad hominem attacks and trite slogans rather than try to understand the message. This is participatory democracy?
Brachiator
It really wasn’t that much of a spotlight. The Democrats did well and were treated to the sight of Patrick Buchanan in ecstasy over the magnificence of Obama’s speech. And indications are that 38 million people watched the speech on television. You can’t really ask for more than that.
On the other hand, we were spared the ignorance of the punditocracy, which shifted from “Will Obama’s speech seal the deal?” to “Did Obama’s speech seal the deal?” with their usual lack of substantive analysis.
Going into a holiday weekend, however, what is far more important is the discussions that people have among themselves, including the discussions that evangelicals are having in church and at home over Palin. People traveling or getting in that last Labor Day vacation before school starts are not going to be paying a lot of attention to the news or pundits. And the Republican message is competing with traditions such as the Jerry Lewis Telethon.
Also, the Republicans hurt themselves with questions about whether their convention would go on at all, or might be postponed “out of respect” to New Orleans hurricane victims. And I am waiting for some pundit to point out the obvious “fuck you” to the working class by the Republicans scheduling their convention to begin on Labor Day.
More importantly, you don’t need the media to keep economic issues in front of the people. Everyone who is paying their rent or mortgage on September 1 knows what the economy is doing for them. Anyone who is looking at how they had to crimp and save to get their kids’ back-to-school stuff together knows what the economy is doing to them. The average voter does not need a media weathervane to know which way the wind blows.
And Obama will benefit from this.
I don’t underestimate them. Nor do I fear them.
Of course, this kind of thing energizes “low tax” conservatives, and even some progressives might applaud Alaska’s approach to “sin” taxes: “A sales tax for the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB)has been voted on many times, but has yet to be approved, leading law makers to increase taxes dramatically on other goods such as liquor and tobacco.”
Wikipedia also notes the following:
The irony here is that these states, with the exception of Nevada, are always at the bottom of the list with respect to gross state product (GSP), indicating that being business friendly does not always yield a booming local economy.