the man has no honor, now you are finally figuring that out. Maybe team Obama was just waiting until they had critical mass to release a laundry list of McCain's lies, and all this in one week.
If Obama really believes he should be President, now is the time to stand up and kick some ass, if he caves to the inevitable Rethuglican backlash about "how dare he question a POW's honor" or "be so sexist as to expect a woman to tell the truth", he deserves to lose.
OBAMA CAMPAIGN MEMO: Unraveling the myth of the Straight Talk Express
To: Press Corps
From: Obama Campaign
Re: Unraveling the myth of the Straight Talk Express
Since naming Governor Palin as their Vice Presidential nominee, the McCain campaign has distorted, distracted, and outright lied to theAmerican people about her record in a desperate attempt to hide the fact that a McCain/Palin Administration would be nothing more than a continuation of the failed Bush policies of the last eight years.
Indeed, today alone we learned that the McCain campaign’s claim that
Governor Palin traveled to Iraq is a lie. In fact, she didn’t cross the
Kuwait border. We learned that the McCain campaign is desperate enough
to tell the press phony crowd numbers, which they falsely attributed to
local elected officials and the United States Secret Service. And we
learned that despite Senator McCain’s claim that Governor Palin is a
fiscal conservative, spending actually increased during her brief
tenure as Governor.
Here are the facts. Governor Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere,
requested hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks, never visited
Iraq, increased spending as governor, increased taxes as governor, and
was about as successful selling that luxury jet on eBay as the McCain
campaign has been selling her reputation as a reformer. Oh yeah, and
the gas pipeline she touts won’t be usable for at least a decade, if
it’s completed at all.
While the media is slowly starting to call the McCain campaign on
their dishonest tactics, McCain’s staff boasts that they don’t care. As
a McCain spokesman told the Politico, “We’re running a campaign to win.
And we’re not too concerned about what the media filter tries to say
about it.”
To help you cut through their lies and spin, below are the facts you need to set the record straight.
McCain Myth: Palin Visited Troops In Iraq
FACT: Palin Did Not Venture Further Into Iraq Than It’s Border With Kuwait
“In The Second Official Revision Of Her Only Trip Outside North
America,” Palin Aides Concede That Her 2007 Visit To Iraq “Consisted Of
A Brief Stop At A Border Crossing.” “Sarah Palin’s visit to Iraq in
2007 consisted of a brief stop at a border crossing between Iraq and
Kuwait, the vice presidential candidate’s campaign said yesterday, in
the second official revision of her only trip outside North America.
Following her selection last month as John McCain’s running mate, aides
said Palin had traveled to Ireland, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq to meet
with members of the Alaska National Guard. During that trip she was
said to have visited a ‘military outpost’ inside Iraq. The campaign has
since repeated that Palin’s foreign travel included an excursion into
the Iraq battle zone. But in response to queries about the details of
her trip, campaign aides and National Guard officials in Alaska said by
telephone yesterday that she did not venture beyond the Kuwait-Iraq
border when she visited Khabari Alawazem Crossing, also known as
‘K-Crossing,’ on July 25, 2007.It was the second such clarification in
as many weeks of the itinerary of what Palin has called ‘the trip of a
lifetime.’ Earlier, the campaign acknowledged that Palin made only a
refueling stop in Ireland.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08
]
McCain Myth: McCain’s Appearance Drew Crowd of 23,000 to Event
FACT: Crowd-Size Estimates Provided By Campaign Aides Not Backed By Officials.
Bloomberg: “McCain-Plain Crowd-Size Estimates Not Backed By
Officials.” “Senator John McCain has drawn some of the biggest crowds
of his presidential campaign since adding Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
to his ticket on Aug. 29. Now officials say they can’t substantiate the
figures McCain’s aides are claiming. McCain aide Kimmie Lipscomb told
reporters on Sept. 10 that an outdoor rally in Fairfax City, Virginia,
drew 23,000 people, attributing the crowd estimate to a fire marshal.
Fairfax City Fire Marshal Andrew Wilson said his office did not supply
that number to the campaign and could not confirm it. Wilson, in an
interview, said the fire department does not monitor attendance at
outdoor events. . The McCain campaign said 10,000 people showed up at
the Consol Energy Arena in Washington, Pennsylvania, home of the
Washington Wild Things baseball team. The campaign attributed that
estimate, and several that followed, to U.S. Secret Service figures,
based on the number of people who passed through magnetometers. ‘We
didn’t provide any numbers to the campaign,’ said Malcolm Wiley, a
spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service. Wiley said he would not ‘confirm
or dispute’ the numbers the McCain campaign has given to reporters.”
[Bloomberg, 9/13/08
> ]
McCain Myth: Palin Is a Fiscal Conservative
FACT: Palin Has Grown Government in Her Time as Executive of Both Alaska And Wasilla
Boston Globe: “Fueled by Oil Taxes, Alaska Spending Soared Under
Palin.” “Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has also presided over a
dramatic increase in state spending in the last two years. Still, she
can accurately claim that her state is in good fiscal health, thanks to
an explosion of revenues from state taxes on oil industry profits.
Indeed, in her 20 months in office, Palin’s toughest financial
decisions involved dickering with the Legislature on creative ways to
spend and salt away the billions of dollars in oil revenues pouring
into the state treasury.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08
]
· In Two Budget Cycles, Palin Only Vetoed $2.6 Million In
Spending Requests For Alaska’s $8.1 Billion Operating Budget - Which
Has Increased 30 Percent In Two Years. “.in two budget cycles, Palin
has vetoed a total of only $2.6 million in spending requests for the
state’s now $8.1 billion annual operating budget, which, according to
an analysis by the legislative finance office, has increased about 30
percent in two years. The increase figure includes the one-time energy
rebate checks but no increases in reserve accounts or any capital
expenditures. It also doesn’t include a supplemental appropriation for
additional expenditures, which is routine. Last year, the supplemental
budget was more than $4 billion, mostly deposits in reserve accounts
when revenues continued to pour in at high levels.” [Boston Globe,
9/13/08
]
Wasilla’s Total Government Expenditures Increased 63 Percent Under
Palin. In fiscal 2003-the last fiscal year Palin approved the
budget-the total government expenditures of Wasilla, excluding capital
outlays, were $7,046,325. In fiscal 1996-the year before Palin took
control of the budget-the expenditures were $4,317,947. The increase
was 63 percent. [Wasilla Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2003,
Table 1]
McCain Myth: Palin Has Succeeded in Signing a Deal to Build Alaska’s Long-Stalled Gas Pipeline
FACTS: High Gas Prices Have Given Alaska a Huge Windfall, Passed on
to Alaskans Like Sarah Palin in Huge Dividend Checks - And Palin Has
Backed Shipping Alaskan Natural Gas to Asia
Palin Touts Her Pipeline Deal, But It Has Not been Started, Would
Take Years to Complete and Could Never Happen, Costing Taxpayers $500
Million for Nothing. “When Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska took center stage
at the Republican convention last week, she sought to burnish her
executive credentials by telling how she had engineered the deal that
jump-started a long-delayed gas pipeline project. But an examination of
the pipeline project also found that Ms. Palin has overstated both the
progress that has been made and the certainty of success. The pipeline
exists only on paper. The first section has yet to be laid, federal
approvals are years away and the pipeline will not be completed for at
least a decade. In fact, although it is the centerpiece of Ms. Palin’s
relatively brief record as governor, the pipeline might never be built,
and under a worst-case scenario, the state could lose up to $500
million it committed to defray regulatory and other costs.” [New York
Times, 9/13/08
]
· Republican Lawmaker Worried Alaska Bargained Away Too Much
Leverage, Has No Agreement to “Lift One Shovel of Dirt or Lay Down One
Inch of Steel.” “As Ms. Palin takes to the road to campaign with Mr.
McCain, invoking the pipeline as a major victory, some Alaska lawmakers
who initially endorsed her plan now believe it was a mistake. State
Senator Bert Stedman, a Republican who is co-chairman of the finance
committee, said that in its contract with the chosen developer,
TransCanada, the state bargained away too much leverage with little
guarantee of success. ‘There is no requirement to lift one shovel of
dirt or lay down one inch of steel,’ he said.” [New York Times, 9/13/08
]
McCain Myth: Palin’s Energy Experience Will Lower Gas Prices and Reduce Our Dependence on Foreign Oil
FACTS: High Gas Prices Have Given Alaska a Huge Windfall, Passed on
to Alaskans Like Sarah Palin in Huge Dividend Checks - And Palin Has
Backed Shipping Alaskan Natural Gas to Asia
Thanks To “Soaring Oil Prices And A Higher Windfall Oil Profits
Tax,” Alaska’s State Coffers Are “Overflowing With Petrodollars.”
“Soaring oil prices and a higher windfall oil profits tax - an increase
pushed through by Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee -
have state coffers overflowing with petrodollars. The Alaska oil
industry calculates that its annual payments to the state doubled in a
single year to $10.2 billion.” [Boston Globe, 9/13/08
]
· Every Alaskan Receiving $1,200 From The State, Along With
Annual Check From The Permanent Fund, Which Is A Record $2,069 Per
Resident This Year - Palin Family Eligible For $19,000. “And Alaska
residents are getting their cut. Starting this week, every Alaskan who
has lived in the state more than a year will receive $1,200 from the
state, a total of about $756 million in rebates to offset high energy
costs in the 49th state. That’s on top of the perennial check each will
receive from the state’s oil revenue-endowed Permanent Fund, this year
a record $2,069 per resident. The large Palin family is eligible to
receive more than $19,000 from the combined payments.” [Boston Globe,
9/13/08
]
Palin Backed A Two-Year Extension Of The Export License To Export
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) To Japan And Other Asian
Countries-Criticized Because Alaska’s Gas Reserves Are Declining.
“Alaska producers can continue shipping gas to Asia after DOE last week
approved an extension of the export license for the Kenai liquefied
natural gas plant owned by ConocoPhillips and Marathon. The companies
will be allowed to export up to 98.1 Bcf to Japan and other Pacific Rim
countries over a two-year period through March 31, 2011. [.] The
application came under fire from local end-users, including gas
distribution companies Enstar and the Chugach Electric Association, as
well as fertilizer maker Agrium, all of which claimed the exports would
exacerbate the problem of declining gas reserves in south-central
Alaska. Agrium permanently closed its plant near Kenai due to an
inability to find enough local supply for the facility that used 53
Bcf/year. In January, ConocoPhillips and Marathon reached a deal in
which they agreed to step up development in the Cook Inlet region in
return for the state’s support of the export license extension. The
producers also agreed to divert gas from the LNG plant as needed to
meet the peak winter supply needs of the local utilities. [.] Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin welcomed the DOE approval. “In these times of
economic uncertainty, this is great news for the state and its
residents. This extension will secure a future for the LNG operation
and is another step toward ensuring energy supplies and energy security
for Alaska,” the Republican governor said. [Platts Inside FERC, 6/9/08]
McCain Palin Myth: Sarah Palin Told Congress “Thanks But No Thanks” On That Bridge to Nowhere
FACT: Palin Was Before It Before She Was Against It - Kept the Money for Other Projects
Politifact: Palin’s Stance On “The Bridge To Nowhere” Is “A Full
Flop.” Politfact, a service of CQ and the St. Petersburg Times wrote,
“McCain said Palin has ’stopped government from wasting taxpayers’
money on things they don’t want or need. And when we in Congress
decided to build a bridge in Alaska to nowhere for $233-million of
yours, she said, we don’t want it. If we need it, we’ll build our own
in Alaska. She’s the one that stood up to them.’ Nevermind that Alaska
didn’t give the money back. It spent the money on other transportation
projects. The context of Palin’s and McCain’s recent statements suggest
Palin flagged the so-called Bridge to Nowhere project as wasteful
spending. But that’s not the tune she was singing when she was running
for governor, particularly not when she was standing before the
Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce asking for their vote. And so, we rate
Palin’s position a Full Flop.” [Politifact
]
McCain Myth: Sarah Palin NEVER Sought Earmarks As Governor.
FACT: Palin Sought Nearly $200 Million Earmarks For The Coming Year.
AP Fact Check: McCain “Erroneously” Asserted That, As Governor,
Palin Never Sought Earmarks. “John McCain continued to laud his running
mate, Sarah Palin, as a budget cutter on Friday, this time erroneously
asserting that as governor of Alaska she had not sought congressional
earmarks for her state. In fact, while Palin has significantly reduced
the state’s earmark requests, she asked for nearly $200 million in
targeted spending for the 2009 fiscal year. And in an interview with
ABC News aired Friday, she defended her earmark requests, emphasizing
that she opposed ‘earmark abuse.’ . Appearing on the ABC television
show ‘The View,’ McCain was pressed on her record of seeking such
targeted money for Alaska. ‘Not as governor she didn’t,’ McCain said.
McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said that McCain’s remark came ‘in the
middle of a conversation, the middle of a back and forth,’ and the
reference was to her record of cutting spending.” [AP, 9/12/08
]
McCain Myth: Sarah Palin Has Taken a Tough Stance Against Earmarks
FACT: As Mayor, Palin Hired a Lobbyist Tied to Ted Stevens Who Got
Wasilla $27 Million in Earmarks and as Governor, Alaska Has Sought and
Received More Earmarked Spending Per Person than Any Other State
Lobbyist Hired By Palin Secured $27 Million In Federal Earmarks for
6,700-Person Town. “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.” [Washington Post
, 9/2/08]
In 2008, Alaska Got More Earmarked Federal Funding Per Person Than
Any Other State. “Arizona, the second fastest growing state in the
nation, will receive just $18.70 per capita in federal earmarks this
fiscal year. By comparison, Alaska - with roughly a tenth of Arizona’s
population - is set to receive $506.34 per capita, the highest in the
nation, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group which
tracks earmarks. The state of Alaska receives about three times as much
as Arizona receives in actual dollars, $346 million to $119 million.”
[USA Today, 3/22/08
]
Palin’s Requests - More Per Person Than Any Other State. “Just this
year, she sent to Sen. Ted. Stevens, R-Alaska, a proposal for 31
earmarks totaling $197 million - more, per person, than any other
state.” [Seattle Times, 9/2/08
]
McCain Myth: Palin Cut Taxes
FACT: Palin Raised Wasilla’s Sales Tax
Palin Supported First-Ever Wasilla Sales Tax to Pay for Police
Department. In 1992 “Palin, a political newcomer, was one of two
supporters of the police-sales tax plan elected to the city council in
Wasilla, Alaska.” [Anchorage Daily News (AK), 10/8/92]
Palin Supported Increasing Wasilla Sales Tax From 2 to 2.5 Percent
to Build $14.7 Million Sports Center. “Wasilla residents have given
the go ahead to building a new multiuse sports center in town and to
raising the city sales tax to pay for it. With the final votes counted
Friday, residents voted 306 to 286 in favor of a measure to raise the
city sales tax from 2 percent to 2.5 percent to pay the estimated $14.7
million cost of building the center.Mayor Sarah Palin, who supported
the measure, said the tight vote will motivate city officials to keep a
close eye on the budget for the center.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/9/02]
McCain Myth: Palin Is a Reformer Who Brought Ethics Back to Alaskan Politics
FACT: Palin Is Under Investigation, Faces a Separate Ethics Complaint and Signed a Weak Ethics Law
Joint Legislative Council of the Legislature Voted Unanimously to
Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate Palin Abuse of Power Claim.
The Alaska State Legislature’s Legislative Council voted 12-0 to
approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin an investigation
into claims Palin fired a former state official because he would not
fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with
Palin’s sister. [KTVA 11, 07/28/08
]
Ethics Complaint Filed Against Gov. Palin Over Alleged Involvement
in Hiring a Campaign Contributor. In August 2008, former state House
member Andree McLeod” filed against Gov. Sarah Palin and her staff
today with the Attorney General’s Office. It accuses the governor’s
office of using its pull to get a Palin supporter hired to a
[Department of Transportation] job in Fairbanks.” McLeod said ”
‘Executive branch employee shouldn’t be getting involved in the
recruitment process unless it’s based on merit,’ said Andree McLeod,
who wrote the complaint based on a series of e-mails between members of
Palin’s team.The complaint accuses Palin, her acting chief of staff and
others of breaking executive ethics branch and hiring rules. It centers
on the hiring of surveyor Tom Lamal, who once co-hosted a Palin
fundraiser, for a state right-of-way agent job in Fairbanks.” The
complaint
is available online. [Anchorage Daily News
, 8/6/08; Anchorage
Daily News , 8/7/08]
McCain Myth: Palin Traveled Abroad to Ireland
FACT: Palin Stopped In Ireland To Refuel Plane.
Palin’s Ireland Trip Was A Refueling Stop. Politico’s Ben Smith
reported, “I wrote the other day that a Palin spokeswoman said trips to
Germany, Kuwait and Ireland made up her foreign travel. Two details
worth clarifying: The Ireland trip was a refueling stop on her trip to
military installations in Germany and Kuwait, spokeswoman Maria Comella
said. And she’s also visited Canada, another spokesman, Ben Porritt,
says.” [Politico
, 9/2/08]
McCain Myth: Palin Has Experience in Foreign Affairs Because She Was Commander-in-Chief of the Alaska National Guard
FACT: Palin Has No Role in National Guard’s National Defense
Responsibilities or Overseas Deployments and Never Issued Any Orders to
the Guard Since She Took Office
Adjutant General of Alaska National Guard Said Palin Plays No Role
in National Defense Activities, Even When They Involve Alaska National
Guard. “Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska
National Guard, considers Palin ‘extremely responsive and smart’ and
says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as
emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first
responder. But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he
said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even
when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is
under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.”
[AP, 8/31/08
]
· Palin Has Not Issued Any Orders for Guard Activity Since
Becoming Their Commander in Chief. “Occasions in which Palin retains
command authority over the 4,200-member Alaska National Guard are
whenever the Guard responds to in-state natural disasters and civic
emergencies, said Campbell, who also serves as the commissioner of the
state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.Some examples? ‘We’ve
deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah
Palin,’ he said. ‘We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount)
Marathon run doing security. ‘Out west and northwest we had erosion
problems, and the National Guard was involved in some of the protection
out there. About three days ago, the Army National Guard picked up a
lady from Little Diomede (Island) . . . at the request of state
troopers.’ Did Palin directly approve each of those activities? No,
Campbell said. The governor has granted him the authority to act on his
own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies - when a quick
response is required - and minor day-to-day operations.” [McClatchy,
9/3/08 ]
McCain Myth: Palin Sold the State’s Jet on eBay
FACT: Palin Sold the Jet to Campaign Contributor at a Loss of $600,000 for the State
Palin Did Not Sell Murkowski’s Plane on eBay - Sold it to an Alaskan
Entrepreneur at a Loss of $600,000. “One of the compelling anecdotes
about Sarah Palin is that she auctioned off the Alaska governor’s jet
on eBay after taking office - a swift move made by a reformer hoping to
clean up the excesses of her predecessor. But in fact, the jet did not
sell on eBay. It was sold to a businessman from Valdez named Larry
Reynolds, who paid $2.1 million for the jet, shy of the original $2.7
million purchase price, according to contemporaneous news reports,
including a story in the New York Times. What happened? It appears
that, as promised during her bid for governor in 2006, Palin did try to
sell the plane on eBay, but that doing so was not as easy as it might
have sounded. After putting it up to auction, there was one serious
bid, in December of 2006, and it fell through. Still, the Westwind II
was sold about eight months later, achieving Palin’s goal of ridding
the state of a luxury item.” [Washington Post Blog, 9/5/08
]
· Larry Reynolds Made Campaign Contributions To Palin And
State Rep. John Harris, Who Is Credited With Brokering The Sale, In
2006 And 2007. “Dan Spencer, the director of administrative services
for Alaska’s Public Safety Department, said that the Republican speaker
of the Alaska House, John L. Harris, brokered the deal. Reynolds made
campaign contributions to both Palin and Harris in 2006 and 2007.”
[Washington Post Blog, 9/5/08]
McCain Myth: Palin Fired the Governor’s Chef
FACT: Palin Did Not Fire the Chef, Just Reassigned Her to a Different Job - She Now Cooks for the Legislature
Contrary to Palin’s Claim, Governor’s Chef Wasn’t Fired, She Was
Just Reassigned. “Remember the long-time executive chef who lost her
job at the Mansion when Sarah decided to live mostly in Wasilla instead
of Juneau? Stefani Marnon was first reassigned as a ‘constituent
relations assistant’ in the governor’s office and later to the state
museum. Earwigs report she’s finally landed where they really
appreciate a good chef: the Legislative Lounge. Lawmakers were smacking
their lips in anticipation, according to Sen. Kim Elton’s newsletter.”
[Anchorage Daily News, 9/9/08
]
