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Palin's Pattern: Brazen Deceit

Bill Curry

September 21, 2008

At least one person's doing well in the stock market. Just as we were
cutting through Sarah Palin's tissue of lies, it diverted us. But a
leader's poor character can bring worse devastation than even a
hurricane or a stock crash. The examination of Palin must go on.

You recall in her big debut, Palin looked straight into a camera and
from a teleprompter read the following lie: "I told Congress thanks but
no thanks for that 'Bridge to Nowhere.'"

It's a lie because Congress had already said "thanks but no thanks" to
Palin, turning off the spigot while Palin was still plumping for the
bridge. It's a lie because Palin kept what money Congress had sent. Want
to know what she spent it on? Brace yourself: among other things, the
bridge.

That's right, $25 million's still being thrown away on part of the
original project, a road on Gravina Island — the "nowhere" in "Bridge to
Nowhere." Want to know where it goes? Nowhere, except to an empty coast
where the bridge was meant to be.

A state official says Palin is building it because otherwise she'd have
to send the money back. That's fiscal responsibility? A Palin aide says
the bridge may yet be built. Palin, it seems, isn't actually against it.
She's only against taking money Congress isn't giving her.

Palin's speech was a masterpiece of Rovian resentments, innuendos and
half truth. Sad to say, at least one editorial board, this one, gave it
a breathless rave.

Other dishonesties come to light. Among them: She charged the state for
travel for nights she was actually at home. How many? Oh, 312. That's theft.

The whole Palin family gets state travel money. But state law only
covers travel on state business, which one imagines Palin's children are
unable to conduct. Her husband got reimbursed for a trip to Alberta.
It's all wrong. But taking travel money for nights you stayed home; as I
said that's theft.

If Palin didn't pay taxes on her "reimbursements" that's another lie,
and a federal offense. We don't know because she won't release her tax
returns — or just tell us.

Lying and stealing aren't crimes of passion; find one, there are almost
always more. Indeed, a pattern of Palin mistruths has emerged:

Alaska's legislature is investigating her firing of public safety head
Walt Monegan, allegedly for not firing Palin's former brother-in-law, a
state trooper. Monegan says Palin's people bullied him to do it.

For a month, Palin said no one close to her even contacted Monegan. Then
some tape turned up. In a rushed press conference, she admitted just
about everyone she knew threatened Monegan, but that in the midst of her
denials no one bothered to tell her.

Palin said then her staff would gladly testify. Now she won't let them.
She says the inquiry, commissioned by a unanimous vote of a Republican
legislative committee, is somehow partisan. Here's a more likely reason:
If her staff testifies that Palin knew about the calls, it's lights out
for Sarah.

Palin's bio is full of this stuff: obvious lies, clumsily covered up. As
a new mayor, she asked how Wasilla's librarian felt about banning books.
Not so good. Palin tried to fire her. The town rebelled. Now Palin calls
the attempted lynching coincidental. No one's talking in Wasilla. What
do you think happened?

Two weeks ago, my criticisms of Palin triggered the usual orgy of
fly-specking from the usual ideological shut-ins, who seem not at all
bothered by Palin's gross deceptions. On two, my pusilanimous editors
agreed.

I said Palin led a party dedicated to Alaskan secession. The party
chairman had just called her an active member, which made her its
highest-ranking elected official and highest to address its convention,
which she did twice. Then the chairman said oops, my mistake, she's not
a member after all.

A political party chairman didn't know whether the governor was a
member? I think the chairman sounds like the staffers and the librarian.
What do you think? Another disagreement was over contraception. In a
signed statement, Palin said she wouldn't let it be taught in schools.
She later said otherwise. I went with the written record. What would you do?

On this we can agree: Palin's one hard woman to fact-check. But the
truth's after her. To catch her in time, it will need lots more help
than it's getting from the press.

Copyright © 2008, The Hartford Courant



How very Republican of Sarah: no wonder she is the right-wing's darling
daughter.


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