Palin left her town $20 million in debt.

[Barack_America]

Is THAT the executive experience we need? Particularly when George Bush is already leaving our nation trillions of dollars in debt?

Palin=Bush="Executive Experience"


And that, folks, is how to EASILY bat down the only talking point the GOP has regarding Palin.

They've got nothing to sell her with. It's pathetic, really.


ETA source: Most people are quoting this Politico piece.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12987.html

[Wickerman]

1. 20 mill in debt and they have no storm sewers or water treatment plant n/t

[Madam Mossfern]

3. To be fair, what is the debt for?

Is it bonds for capital projects? I know in NJ, there's a cap for the amount a town can bond for.

[tabatha]

4. stadiums

[Wickerman]

6. "economic generators"

Parks and a rec center. She didn't insure clear title to the land the rec center sat on so it took 7 years and gawd knows how much in legal fees to clean up the mess.

[Barack_America]

8. More valuable "executive experience"....

:eyes:

[phantom power]

2. Oh, but I bet she lowered taxes!

And that makes her a GOP hero. If she left the town in debt, that just means Grover Norquist approves too.

[Barack_America]

5. Taxes for regular folks went up. Only the rich got the breaks...just like Bush. nt

[WCGreen]

16. She raised the most regressive of all taxes, the sales tax....

[TexasProgresive]

7. That may be true but can you link to legitimate sources?

And how does that figure with her getting 20+million in earmarks from the feds for her village? That I know is true but I've yet to see a credible report on the 20 million debt.

[Barack_America]

9. Added where I read it...

On politico.com.

Not sure whether you consider that "legitimate". ;)

[TexasProgresive]

10. A legitamate source would be a report from the town or

state - official documents. An internet search turned up quite a few hits and they were all saying the same thing - some word for word. This is the kind of thing the B* misadministration did in the run up to the Iraq war. They corroborated intel in a round robin - one source affirmed another and they were all just feeding each other.

I'm not saying it isn't true but to keep this thing alive on the internet without proof is dangerous because if it is not true and proven not true it puts us in the same boat as the lying opposition.

About your link to politico- the article cited no valid references and is therefore suspect.

[Douglas Carpenter]

11. here are more details from sources operating out of Alaska

From Miss Congeniality To “Sarah Barracuda”, How Sarah Palin Changed From A Pro-Tax Politician To A Ruthless Pol

http://foolocracy.com/2008/08/from-miss-congeniality-to-sarah-barracuda-how-sarah-palin-changed-from-a-pro-tax-politician-to-a-ruthless-pol/

Posted in August 30th, 2008 by Glenn Church in Alaska, Irl Stambaugh, John Cramer, John Stein, Mary Ellen Emmons, Sarah Palin

"Her fiscal conservative reputation took another blow in 2002 when she pushed through a multi-use sports complex. The land purchase was mishandled and led to an extra cost, plus that 2 per cent sales tax Palin advocated in 1992 was raised up a ¼ of a percent. When she left office, Wasilla had $20 million in long-term debt. That exceeded $3,000 per resident. It had a budget close to $6 million. That is a long way from the town financed by property taxes before Palin became a council member. In all, Palin’s tenure in Wasilla’s city goverment resulted in a massive tax increase and vast expansion of city services."

http://foolocracy.com/2008/08/from-miss-congeniality-to-sarah-barracuda-how-sarah-palin-changed-from-a-pro-tax-politician-to-a-ruthless-pol/

Palin's Small Alaska Town Secured Big Federal Funds($27 million for town of 6,700)

Source: WP

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 2, 2008; Page A01

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 1 -- 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.

There was $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project -- all intended to benefit Palin's town, Wasilla, located about 45 miles north of Anchorage.

In introducing Palin as his running mate on Friday, Sen. John McCain cast her as a compatriot in his battle against wasteful federal spending. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, hailed Palin as a politician "with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies -- someone who has fought against corruption and the failed policies of the past, someone who's stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money."

McCain's crusade against earmarks -- federal spending sought by members of Congress to benefit specific projects -- has been a hallmark of his campaign. He has said earmarks are wasteful and are often inserted into bills with little oversight, sometimes by a single powerful member of Congress.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090103148.html?hpid=topnews

.

HERE is the picture of the Wasilla City Hall

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2008_08_31.php

[Douglas Carpenter]

12. KICK AND RECOMMENDED ---

[Douglas Carpenter]

13. one kick

[mystieus]

14. ha haha

[WCGreen]

15. And yet, she can multi-task....