Sarah Palin

[sr71plt]

Obama and Biden and their wives are rich and aleady well-outfitted. The Palin family and Levi Johnston are not that rich. There are four adults, two girls and the baby to take care of. I do think it is excessive but nothing to get into an uproar about.

As for the children on the expense account, I will believe that when I see some proof. And, I don't mean the opinion of somebody in the Huffington Post or the NY Times. Pesumably, the baby is being breast-fed. It seems logical that his mother would want to keep him with her for that, if nothing else.

If the othe children ae thee too, isn't that between and the state of Alaska?

Who told you the Bidens were rich? He has one of the lowest wealth numbers in the Senate--99 out 100. Something like between $100,000 and $150,000 in assets.

You really don't bother to check facts before spouting off, do you?

 

[Boxlicker101]

Yes, you keep saying that. I have yet to see real proof.

Honestly, I think this one's pretty innocent. How offensive can Legos be? And it's not a sneer. It's a wink.

A wink is usually a quick closing and opening of one eye. She does seem to have one eye closed, although it's hard to tell though the glasses and with her makeup. In any event, have you ever seen a mouth distorted like that when somebody is winking?

Mud slinging would include an insulting caricature, whether it is drawn or made of Legos. The caricature of Obama was fairly accurate, and it was not insulting. It was also not racist. I see no reason at all why Obama, because of his race, should be teated any differently than any other candidate would be.

 

[epiphany65]

I'm glad to see that the McCain campaign is spending a small fortune outfitting the Palins. It's money they won't be able to spend on airtime or print ads. I think of it as a consolation prize for Sarah et al. At least they'll get to go home with some nice clothes once McCain's Farwell Tour of America is over.

 

[sr71plt]

I'm glad to see that the McCain campaign is spending a small fortune outfitting the Palins. It's money they won't be able to spend on airtime or print ads. I think of it as a consolation prize for Sarah et al. At least they'll get to go home with some nice clothes once McCain's Farwell Tour of America is over.

Ha. That was my thought too when I read this discussion.

Of course (now) they are saying they will give the clothes to charity. I would think it more appropriate to sell them on e-bay like Palin sold that plane. No . . . wait . . .

 

[CeriseNoire]

I agree concerning travel, and if you read Bel's post, you should have gotten that he also thinks its not an issue.

The incredible excess for her clothes, however, is another story. The RNC has spent an enormous amount of money at places like Bloomingdale's, Neiman-Marcus, etc. while Gov. Palin stands there and tells us she is just a hockey mom.

McCain is the one who took issue with the way campaign funds are spent, and he lead the way to tighten the restrictions. Now his campaign turns around and spends those funds on over-priced designer clothes? Would you honestly think any less of her if she was standing there in a $300 suit as opposed to a $2000 suit?

At a time when our economy is tanking, and McCain is pounding others for excessive spending, doesn't this kind of behavior smack of hypocrisy? If you are campaigning on your ability to reign in government spending, you need to be an example.

OBTW, an examination of the DNC and Obama campaign spending showed no such charges.

I agree. No one is saying she should be showing up in K-Mart garb, but this was indeed excessive. $2000 is a month's pay (or more) for many of those she claims to be like. If her persona is so much about being a regular person, then she should have known better. That just seems like basic PR/common sense to me.

 

[sr71plt]

IIf her persona is so much about being a regular person, then she should have known better. That just seems like basic PR/common sense to me.

Ah, yes, there's the main point. She should have known better. The campaign staff should have known better. If this election goes as it's trending (and I'm aware that anything could still happen to change the trend), I think those evaluating the campaigns will say that McCain's staff blew it royally in the last six weeks of the campaign--on all sorts of issues.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Who told you the Bidens were rich? He has one of the lowest wealth numbers in the Senate--99 out 100. Something like between $100,000 and $150,000 in assets.

You really don't bother to check facts before spouting off, do you?

"Rich" might be an overstatement but, counting all net assets, including residential property and the value of his retirement, he is vey well off financially. I am positive it is much more than the amount you are citing, but I could change my mind if you can show a source.

Comparing his wealth with other senators does not mean much, because they tend to be at least millionaies.

 

[Liar]

A wink is usually a quick closing and opening of one eye. She does seem to have one eye closed, although it's hard to tell though the glasses and with her makeup. In any event, have you ever seen a mouth distorted like that when somebody is winking?

Seriously, dude. It's a goddamn wink. A conscious, deliberate wink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCunBErZZJE

Some like her for it and say she's down-to-eath and charming, some dislike her for it and say she's teathralic and fake. But either way, that wink has become the most memorable and iconic picture of the Rep VP candidate. Making a Lego version of it and posting it online is a comment on people's obsession with that wink. Someone went meta on the meme, if you will.

Welcome to the Internet. Shit like that happens 500 times a day here.

 

[epiphany65]

"Rich" might be an overstatement but, counting all net assets, including residential property and the value of his retirement, he is vey well off financially. I am positive it is much more than the amount you are citing, but I could change my mind if you can show a source.

Comparing his wealth with other senators does not mean much, because they tend to be at least millionaies.

Here's a link that backs up what sr71plt said. Once you've read it and see it disputes your beliefs you can post a reply asking for another link instead of one you consider biased...

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/09/12/politics/horserace/entry4445194.shtml

 

[midwestyankee]

"Rich" might be an overstatement but, counting all net assets, including residential property and the value of his retirement, he is vey well off financially. I am positive it is much more than the amount you are citing, but I could change my mind if you can show a source.

Comparing his wealth with other senators does not mean much, because they tend to be at least millionaies.

Actually, according to the Washington Post's link to the Congressional Database , which includes a PDF of his last two financial disclosures, Biden's net worth is, indeed, between $100,000 and $150,000.

Check it out for yourself.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Actually, according to the Washington Post's link to the Congressional Database , which includes a PDF of his last two financial disclosures, Biden's net worth is, indeed, between $100,000 and $150,000.

Check it out for yourself.

I looked it over as well as I could, but it is blurry and does not show up well. I did note that the value of the senator's residence is excluded, and I believe they also exclude the value of his accued retirement fund. If you add those things in, he is probably also a millionaire.

If he were compiling a balance sheet for some other purpose, such as securing a bank loan, those things would be counted as assets.

 

[sr71plt]

"Rich" might be an overstatement but, counting all net assets, including residential property and the value of his retirement, he is vey well off financially. I am positive it is much more than the amount you are citing, but I could change my mind if you can show a source.

Comparing his wealth with other senators does not mean much, because they tend to be at least millionaies.

You obviously didn't check it out yourself, did you, before making the false statement? Libelous--and obviously you will continue to just "make it up," won't you? Not an ounce of honesty.

 

[midwestyankee]

I looked it over as well as I could, but it is blurry and does not show up well. I did note that the value of the senator's residence is excluded, and I believe they also exclude the value of his accued retirement fund. If you add those things in, he is probably also a millionaire.

If he were compiling a balance sheet for some other purpose, such as securing a bank loan, those things would be counted as assets.

I can' recall a specific source, but I've seen estimates that do include the value of his residence and he still comes in somewhere under a half million. As for the value of his accrued retirement fund, that's an illiquid asset and would not be counted for a bank loan. His retirement plan is a defined benefit plan so he does not have any access to the funds until he retires or dies. After all, if he can't get at the money or even borrow against it, how could it possibly help secure the bank's interest in the loan?

 

[epiphany65]

You obviously didn't check it out yourself, did you, before making the false statement? Libelous--and obviously you will continue to just "make it up," won't you? Not an ounce of honesty.

Never let the truth get inn the way of a good argument. I guess that's why I lose so many debates.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I can' recall a specific source, but I've seen estimates that do include the value of his residence and he still comes in somewhere under a half million. As for the value of his accrued retirement fund, that's an illiquid asset and would not be counted for a bank loan. His retirement plan is a defined benefit plan so he does not have any access to the funds until he retires or dies. After all, if he can't get at the money or even borrow against it, how could it possibly help secure the bank's interest in the loan?

Here is a specific source:

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/10/palins-net-worth-exceeds-1-mil.html

 

[Boxlicker101]

You obviously didn't check it out yourself, did you, before making the false statement? Libelous--and obviously you will continue to just "make it up," won't you? Not an ounce of honesty.

I will concede that he is worth less than I expected, but he is still worth a lot more than you said.

 

[sr71plt]

I will concede that he is worth less than I expected, but he is still worth a lot more than you said.

Your dishonesty and willingness to "just make it up" to make false points in political discussion is a good index to what's gone wrong in the polarization of American society. You should be ashamed of yourself.

The very article you index shows that Palin is probably worth twice what Biden is worth.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I looked it over as well as I could, but it is blurry and does not show up well.

Oh for pete's sake.

What's the next one gonna be... I'm sorry, my dog ate my computer?

 

[sr71plt]

I will concede that he is worth less than I expected, but he is still worth a lot more than you said.

To add (your) insult to (your) injury (of the truth), Sarah Palin just might be wealthier than Barack Obama as well--certainly nothing like the "rich him/not rich her" claim you made.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/17/candidates.wealth/index.html

 

[john-the-author]

Because she's a cunt?

<snorfle!!!!!>

 

[Dreamthiev]

Yeah, from everything I've seen Palin's claim of being "just a typical hockey mom" isn't true. It's just part of the whole folksy, small-town personae they're trying to create for her.

She has 5 times the income of your average American family and at least double the networth of Joe Biden. She had more than enough money to supply her own wardrobe. And, even if she hadn't, $150,000 is excessive no matter how you spin it. It's also completely contrary to the simple, small-town, and fiscally-responsible image she's trying to cultivate.

 

[shereads]

The Wardrobe to Nowhere, cont'd:

MSNBC just quoted (quoted, Box, not "made up stuff about," but quoted) John McCain during a speech about campaign finance reform, complaining that funds were spent on things like candidate wardrobes including tuxedos and "an inexplicable $299 for bowties."

How many John McCains are there, anyway?

 

[shereads]

Meanwhile, back in the small pro-American town of Earmarks, Alaska...

For Palin, some pork is kosher

By: Kenneth P. Vogel
(POLITICO)

Last year, when a Juneau Pentecostal church asked the Alaska state government for cash for a new youth center, Gov. Sarah Palin, who had recently started worshipping at the church, vetoed the legislative appropriation from the capital budget, explaining it was “not a state responsibility.”

But by the time this year’s budget negotiations rolled around, Palin had become very involved in the Juneau Christian Center, attending an increasing number of services there, touring the youth center with her family, citing the pastor as among her spiritual guides, and appearing with the pastor at a Martin Luther King Day celebration and a religious conference where he laid hands on her while praying.

During this year’s capital budget writing process, Palin penned a letter to lawmakers “in support of the Juneau Christian Center’s new state-of-the-art youth center,” and she approved $25,000 for the center in May, even as she sparked a backlash from officials around the state for slashing spending from projects they deemed crucial to their areas.

Her reversal on the church funding is one small example of what both her critics and supporters in both parties in Alaska say is a trend in Palin’s political track record: She supports spending taxpayer cash on initiatives that tickle her fancy, even as she rails against funding for other — sometimes similar — projects and does little to slow overall government spending.

It’s a pattern that runs counter to the cost-cutting, anti-pork crusader persona that Palin has fashioned for herself from the dawn of her political career in the hometown municipal politics of Wasilla, Alaska, through her 22 months as Alaska’s governor, and now in her surprise turn as John McCain’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

On the campaign trail, Palin’s denouncements of wasteful government expenditures — and her boasts of vetoing “nearly a half a billion dollars in reckless spending” from Alaska’s capital budget — dovetail with McCain’s own pledges to veto pork barrel spending.

But Palin over the years has approved billions of taxpayer dollars for discretionary projects, including some to which she had personal, political or parochial connections.

From the $25,000 for the Juneau Christian Center to $2 million for an academic conference meant to dispel the broadly-accepted idea that climate change is threatening polar bears (she actually preferred the money be used for the state’s lawsuit arguing the bears shouldn’t be listed as threatened) to $630,000 for a kitchen in a hockey arena complex the self-described hockey mom built during her second term as Wasilla’s mayor, Palin has tended to approve line items in Alaska’s capital budget — essentially the state version of federal earmarks — for projects favored by her and her supporters.

“Anything she proposed is a good earmark,” said Bob Weinstein, mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska, and a supporter of Palin’s Democratic rival Barack Obama. “Anything that somebody else proposes is not necessarily a good earmark,” added Weinstein, whose city was stung when Palin last year withdrew her support from the infamous bridge to nowhere, which would have connected Ketchikan to its airport.

On the campaign trail, Palin joined McCain in denouncing the bridge as epitomizing government waste. But Weinstein points out that Palin has not withdrawn her support for the Knik Arm Crossing, which has also been lampooned as a "bridge to nowhere,” but which would cut commute times for Palin’s neighbors in Wasilla and the surrounding Matanuska-Susitna — or Mat-Su — Valley.

Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Palin, pointed out that Palin has called for an independent cost analysis of the Knik Arm bridge before there’s any further state action. Comella said the Juneau church’s teen center had widespread community support and that Palin “saw firsthand how this nonprofit organization meets community needs.”

As for Palin’s overarching approach to government spending, Comella said Palin has fulfilled pledges to fight wasteful spending and reduce pork and inefficiencies “by cutting more than $500 million from the state budget in the last two years, vetoing wasteful spending and putting an $8 billion surplus to good use, including setting aside billions of dollars in the state's savings account.”

Palin did, in fact, veto $499 million alone in state lawmakers’ hometown projects from the two capital budgets that came across her desk as governor.

But absent from her stump speech and campaign talking points is that the $4.8 billion in capital spending she approved ($3.2 billion of which was proposed by her own office) made her average capital budget $264 million a year costlier than those signed into law by her predecessor Frank Murkowski, whom she had blasted as a free-spender during her 2006 Republican primary campaign against him.

Likewise, Palin had campaigned for mayor of Wasilla pledging to slash government spending. Once in office, however, she spent heavily on big-ticket projects — including the hockey complex, which was primarily funded by a $15 million voter-approved bond but was still requiring payments from the city last year, and major street and water improvement projects. She also managed to find at least $10,000 to help fund the snowmobile race her husband has won several times. All told, she took the city’s long-term debt from $1 million when she took office to $25 million when she left.

To be sure, both Wasilla and Alaska were raking in revenue during her stints at the helm — the city from rapid retail expansion, which brought a growth in sales taxes that allowed her to cut property taxes, and the state from taxes on oil companies, which she increased, allowing the state to sock away $7 billion while suspending its gas tax and adding $1,200 a year to its payments to citizens.

But during her tenures as both mayor and governor, operating budgets ballooned by 55 percent in Wasilla and 25 percent in Alaska.

It was easier — and splashier — for Palin to slash the capital budget than to rein in the operating budget, said state Sen. Bert Stedman, a Republican who co-chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

“Vetoes make great sound bites, politically,” he said, “but the capital budget is not the side of the equation that will cause long-term troubles for any state. The issue is growth of the operating account, because you’ve got to feed it every year, regardless if you have excess revenue or if you have tight years.”

Stedman, who said he supports Palin and is “very proud of her being nominated on the VP ticket,” nonetheless said she based her vetoes on “arbitrary decisions” and did not consistently adhere to the criteria she said she used for approving funding for capital projects: that they be related to education, public safety, health or infrastructure.

In 2007, Palin slashed funding from the capital budget for 40 sports-related projects, ranging from school baseball and soccer fields to $2.5 million in roof repairs at an Anchorage arena, because she asserted sports did not constitute an essential government service. Yet she approved cash for Wasilla’s hockey complex and several other sports projects in the Mat-Su Valley, including new lights at one high school field and new bleachers at another.

And after this year’s round of capital budget cuts, officials in the Mat-Su Valley, unlike those in many other parts of the state, expressed relief that their top projects were mostly spared Palin’s veto ax.

On the flip side, last year leaders in Anchorage complained that their capital projects got shortchanged. A state budget analysis obtained by Politico shows the vetoes last year and this year inordinately zeroed out projects in Southeast Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula — areas represented by some of the lawmakers who most often butted heads publicly with Palin, including Stedman.

“There were projects that I was astounded were vetoed in light of some of the projects that made it in the Mat-Su Valley, and particularly Wasilla,” said Bruce Botelho, the mayor of the state capital of Juneau, located in the southeastern part of the state.

Palin eliminated the $347,000 Juneau was seeking to improve safety at its schools, access to a park and drainage at a city ball field, and she slashed in half the $2.8 million the city was seeking for its top priority, an extension of power lines to a weather-monitoring station essential for its airport.

Meanwhile, Botelho also wrote a letter supporting the Juneau Christian youth center’s state funding request, even though he said the city considered it a low funding priority and that he wrote letters supporting many local nonprofits seeking state cash.

In fact, Juneau’s City Assembly rejected the church’s request for $45,000 from the city, partly because the arrangement raised church-state separation concerns for some City Assembly members.

“That was my judgment,” said Botelho, an Obama supporter, who noted that funding the center would “kind of open the Pandora’s Box.”

Representatives from the church, which created a separate nonprofit group to run the youth center, did not return telephone and e-mail messages from Politico inquiring about Palin’s involvement with the church or the funding push.

“She’s certainly in a position to favor those projects that she likes and that satisfy her personal interests,” said Botelho. “Every executive has that prerogative.”

 

[Boxlicker101]

Okay, this is really not worth arguing about but, according to this link that was posted by E65, the Biden family had $432,000 in revenues in 2007. I said "revenues" not "income" because it includes $112,000 in advances for a book written by the senator. I'm not sure if this would be considered income, because it is not earned yet, and would actually be a liability that need not be repaid. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/10/palins-net-worth-exceeds-1-mil.html

I don't know just how property taxes are calculated in that state but, if they are 1% of the assessed valuation, the value of their home is about $2,550,000. Since their mortgage interest has declined that much in ten years, they probably have enough equity that, when added to other assets, they have a net worth of about two million dollars. Not as much as most senators, perhaps, but I would still classify them as being rich.

According to this link, http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/10/palins-net-worth-exceeds-1-mil.html
The Palin family owns a home woth about half a million dollars. I don't know if they own it clear or not, because it doesn't say. At their relative young age, probably not. Also there is his business, worth between $150,000 and $350,000. There is no information on what else they own or on their income, but I certainly do not believe they have a net worth that is as high as the Bidens.

As I said, this is not worth arguing about, so I will not be posting about it anymore.

 

[sr71plt]

Okay, this is really not worth arguing about but, according to this link that was posted by E65, the Biden family had $432,000 in revenues in 2007. I said "revenues" not "income" because it includes $112,000 in advances for a book written by the senator. I'm not sure if this would be considered income, because it is not earned yet, and would actually be a liability that need not be repaid. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/10/palins-net-worth-exceeds-1-mil.html

I don't know just how property taxes are calculated in that state but, if they are 1% of the assessed valuation, the value of their home is about $2,550,000. Since their mortgage interest has declined that much in ten years, they probably have enough equity that, when added to other assets, they have a net worth of about two million dollars. Not as much as most senators, perhaps, but I would still classify them as being rich.

According to this link, http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/10/palins-net-worth-exceeds-1-mil.html
The Palin family owns a home woth about half a million dollars. I don't know if they own it clear or not, because it doesn't say. At their relative young age, probably not. Also there is his business, worth between $150,000 and $350,000. There is no information on what else they own or on their income, but I certainly do not believe they have a net worth that is as high as the Bidens.

As I said, this is not worth arguing about, so I will not be posting about it anymore.

The upshot of what you just posted is that there are no hard comparisons between the two (or three, actually, because you were also asserting that the Obamas are a lot wealthier than the Palins). Everyone includes/excludes different things.

This is beside the point, however. You didn't do any of this research beforehand; you just made something up and posted it as fact--as foundation for highly partisan remarks. That's dishonest and seems to be how you operate in your dissembling, over-the-top partisan "discussions" (something you've apparently picked up from a certain campaign strategy).

Can't believe a single thing you post or take you at all seriously. Perhaps you should stick to writing porn; I think you have a following there.