Politico is still pushing this story. They asked Begich for his take yesterday.

meltenn on December 5, 2008 at 2:01 AM

Like Begich has much to say to begin with. The guy si a complete wind bag.

any citizen can run for President as long as they are over 35 years of age

joey24007 on December 4, 2008 at 10:48 AM

And was born in this country.

meltenn on December 4, 2008 at 11:35 AM

Actually, Murkowski was asked Nov. 4th about it. It isn’t as made up as one would think… more a story built on a story.

Someone can’t run for President as a private citizen in Alaska? Or can they?

Hypotheticals!!!!

Crux Australis on December 4, 2008 at 12:43 AM

any citizen can run for President as long as they are over 35 years of age

Someone can’t run for President as a private citizen in Alaska? Or can they?

Hypotheticals!!!!

Makes life interesting now that it is on a national level.

I’d move to Alaska but I hate freezing my hiney off.

That said, it will be in Alaska’s favor if Sarah stays in the governorship until she terms out; past history has led me to believe that senators are mostly worthless.

The Voice of the Times was originally a paper called the Anchorage Times, which was a conservative paper before it went under. It was also owned by Bill Allen, the CEO and owner of Veco.

Alaska… small small world I live in.

upinak on December 3, 2008 at 10:58 PM

Crazy! They really were dead set on taking her out, weren’t they? I just read in the Johnson bio that Palin and Parnell had all of $60,000 between them when they began their run in the general election, and the state GOP wouldn’t give them the $200K they could have and should have. It’s surreal. They really were running against a party full of corruption.

ramrocks on December 3, 2008 at 8:32 PM
meltenn on December 3, 2008 at 8:49 PM

here is a shocker for you both.

The Voice of the Times was originally a paper called the Anchorage Times, which was a conservative paper before it went under. It was also owned by Bill Allen, the CEO and owner of Veco.

Alaska… small small world I live in.

ramrocks on December 3, 2008 at 8:32 PM

That’s insane. Since when do newspapers sell column space to companies? You’re supposed to pay your columnists ADN, not the other way around.

I spent some time this afternoon looking at all of it… And it sure seems like there’s a lot of smoke around Veco and Green. I think you’re right, where there’s that much smoke there’s usually a fire.

meltenn on December 3, 2008 at 8:02 PM

Great minds think alike! I was doing a little reading and research myself. I finally broke down and purchased Kaylene Johnson’s book, and my jaw dropped reading this (see if you can guess which part shocked me):

A handful of emails and a note written by her secretary thanking a campaign contributor were lapses in Sarah’s effort to keep her [lieutenant governor] campaign separate from [Wasilla] city hall. Years later, Voice of the Times columnists Paul Jenkins dug into Wasilla city records to find the emails. Jenkins suggested Sarah had been hypocritical, comparing her lapses to conflict-of-interest scandals that later rocked the Republican Party. (The Voice of the Times appeared in space purchased from the Anchorage Daily News by VECO, an oilfield-services company. The arrangement ended after VECO’s CEO, Bill Allen, pled guilty to bribing state legislators in exchange for votes favoring the oil industry.)

So let me get this straight: the Anchorage Daily News sold column space in their newspaper to a company with a vested interest in defeating one candidate so that they could use their column to dredge up stories to defeat that candidate. Wow! The ADN really is a yellow rag.

Lyda…I also think she is linked to a lot of Veco issues and no one is able to bring her down… yet.

upinak on December 3, 2008 at 1:56 PM

I hadn’t spent much time looking at all the background about Veco, and the history of Palin and the Republican party in Alaska. I knew the basics (That there was corruption, that she had taken on Ruederich and others in the party, and had tried to clean things up.), but not the details.

I spent some time this afternoon looking at all of it. It was quite enlightening to read about some of the people who are on the Legislative Council that ran Tasergate. I don’t remember ever reading an article during the campaign that explained that Cowdery is under indictment and that Sarah called for him to step down. And it sure seems like there’s a lot of smoke around Veco and Green. I think you’re right, where there’s that much smoke there’s usually a fire.

As a Catholic, I am very attracted to Sarah for the same factors you mention above. She seems to understand if not formally, but in substance the Catholic principle of ’subsidiarity’ or that charity should start at the bottom in local communities because that is where it has the most effect and in an efficient mannor and more often with more heart behind it. I get so frustrated with ‘big-government’ Catholics who are totally ignorant of their Faith. Catholic doctrine goes with the religious freedom desired by social conservatives and also the economic subsidiarity of charity of libertarians/socons.

…I think she has a lot in common with Ron Paul’s philosophy than I think people are noticing.

She could start by reading the works of Kirk, Weaver, and Nisbet to start if she hasn’t already.

This is her chance to communicate who she is. Her brand of limited government could drive the GOP for quite awhile if she pursues it, or the next great GOP leader.

Sapwolf on December 3, 2008 at 5:20 PM

Wow! You took the words right out of my mouth! I’m a little stunned because it’s not everyday that you meet someone who was thinking the exact same thing you were.

I send you a huge cyber high five! I totally agree with you about ’subsidiarity’. And it’s good to know of a fellow Catholic who still reads Chesterton and Belloc. And a fellow conservative who reads Kirk, Weaver, and Nisbet.

Totally agree with you about the Ron Paul stuff. It should be noted that well over a year ago, the Ron Paul supporters thought that if Paul had by some miracle won the nomination, Sarah Palin would have been the perfect choice for his vp because she is ideologically in line with his libertarian values.

Her approach to government seems to be centered on her belief that the most effective government is local. Problems are solved locally. And what works on a local level should not be assumed to work on a national or even state level. Her support of local revenue sharing is a great case in point. Her criticism of “No Child Left Behind” is based on the fact that it is counterproductive in Alaska because in remote rural regions there is no alternative to the public school. If the public school fails the “No Child Left Behind” litmus test, there is no other option. Whenever Washington tries a “one size fits all” approach to matters like this they fail miserably. Her frustration at Washington interference could be felt in her RNC convention speech when she complained of “getting more marching orders from Washington, D.C.” It’s classic small government libertarianism.

BTW, during the primaries the only candidate that Palin gave enthusiastic praise for was…wait for it…Ron Paul! I’m not suggesting that she would agree with him on everything, but she is certainly sympathetic to his libertarian ideals, though I’m sure she would differ with him on other things.

Discovery went on what the greenies told them … they were wrong. Seal live and give birth in small snow caves. The Bears look for little humps in the snow and listen. If they hear something, they bash the hump in.. and 50% of the time they find a pup seal. The seals are all over, it is the polar bears that are getting lazy. They like the large garbage dumps.

Caribou aren’t going to die off anytime soon. Those dumb animals (or so what everyone thinks) stay near the pipeline because they know they won’t get shot at. Bow Hunting is a little different but same idea. Caribou aren’t stupid. The Polar Bears and Polar Grizzly’s got smart and start getting them if they are near a pipeline though.

upinak on December 3, 2008 at 5:20 PM

This is why we need to let the Alaskans deal with their animals themselves instead of some biologist from Yale who flies in for a month to do a Discovery documentary. I always found it intriguing that Palin would say that they needed to consult with the “native elders” about things like the polar bears because they knew more about them than anything. Good thinking!

This one in Barrow is ready to go.

meltenn on December 3, 2008 at 5:26 PM

ROTFLMAO!!! That’s classic! See, he just wants to go the San Diego zoo.

I mean, if it was a choice between making our nation energy independent or keeping the polar bears happy, I’d say move the polar bears! Tranquilize them, load them into trucks, and move them to Canada. Or send them to the zoo.

ramrocks on December 3, 2008 at 5:12 PM

This one in Barrow is ready to go.

Sapwolf on December 3, 2008 at 5:20 PM

But Sarah isn’t saying stupid things like Ron Paul.

And she is a tad easier on the eyes.

ramrocks on December 3, 2008 at 5:12 PM

Discovery went on what the greenies told them … they were wrong. Seal live and give birth in small snow caves. The Bears look for little humps in the snow and listen. If they hear something, they bash the hump in.. and 50% of the time they find a pup seal. The seals are all over, it is the polar bears that are getting lazy. They like the large garbage dumps.

Caribou aren’t going to die off anytime soon. Those dumb animals (or so what everyone thinks) stay near the pipeline because they know they won’t get shot at. Bow Hunting is a little different but same idea. Caribou aren’t stupid. The Polar Bears and Polar Grizzly’s got smart and start getting them if they are near a pipeline though.

I often think that Sarah Palin is a startling echo of a figure from our now distant past — the American frontier woman. It’s startling because we’ve forgotten that it was tough courageous women who were willing to cross an uncharted wilderness with kids in tow to settle the American west. I feel in my gut that western conservatism is the last best hope for this country. We need to regain our sense of personal responsibility and the rugged individualism that pushes back encroaching nanny state government. But rugged individualism doesn’t have to mean anti-community or anti-social responsibility. One of David Brooks’ recent criticisms of Goldwater conservatism is that it denies the need for community. If Palin can articulate a vision for conservatism that combines the western conservative tradition of individualism with a localism approach to social responsibility, I think she give conservatism a new direction for the 21st century.

With that in mind, I’m interested in her statements about “revenue sharing” and her positions on moving control away from state bureaucracy in Alaska towards more local communities.

I read this great article from the Weekly Standard about your great state and was reminded that this sort of Alaskan libertarian spirit is exactly what we need. We need to regain the spirit that made this country great. It’s demoralizing to see our industry leaders and even governors go cap in hand begging for handout from the federal government.

ramrocks on December 3, 2008 at 3:39 PM

As a Catholic, I am very attracted to Sarah for the same factors you mention above. She seems to understand if not formally, but in substance the Catholic principle of ‘subsidiarity’ or that charity should start at the bottom in local communities because that is where it has the most effect and in an efficient mannor and more often with more heart behind it. I get so frustrated with ‘big-government’ Catholics who are totally ignorant of their Faith. Catholic doctrine goes with the religious freedom desired by social conservatives and also the economic subsidiarity of charity of libertarians/socons.

If this is where she stands, Sarah has a good chance of articulating a real all-round conservative philosophy incorporating:

1) True respect for the Constitution similar to Ron Paul,
2) Promotion of a social conservatism within restrictions of the Constitution and moving some issues to the states via the 10th Amendment.
3) Compassion at the grass-roots level, but a ready government for major disasters like Katrina.
4) Reassessment of foreign policy with the goal to reign in too much overextension of military and a more prudent foreign policy.
5) Loosening federal government restrictions that are blocking the states from taking more ownership of their economies/industries.

She already appears to be a fiscal conservative and is for government reform.

I think she has a lot in common with Ron Paul’s philosophy than I think people are noticing.

She could start by reading the works of Kirk, Weaver, and Nisbet to start if she hasn’t already.

This is her chance to communicate who she is. Her brand of limited government could drive the GOP for quite awhile if she pursues it, or the next great GOP leader.

The GOP should always be the party of a strong military as a deterrant to other nations, but the neo-conservatism along with RINO’s must be purged from the core of the GOP.

if the polar bears are dieing of anything… it is ingesting garbage because the greenies won’t let the native Villages bury the trash… it has to be hauled out. The was a polar bear that died and a vet I know did an necropsey on it. It had a can top off of a tuna or pea can stuck in it’s throat and is slashed it on both sides of the throat. It died a horrible death. But the Bears are doing well other then that.

I saw something on the Discovery channel that said the reason behind the endangered species listing was that the melting polar ice meant that the polar bears couldn’t travel to the islands to eat seals, and so the bears were getting thinner and even fighting each other — as if they were going to eat each other or something. I’m watching this, thinking, “Dude, just throw ‘em some friggin’ food!” How is listing them as endangered going to change the weather? Besides all that, they’re not endangered yet — they’re just hungry!

Makes no sense. My favorite line about Alaskan oil and gas development came from an Ann Coulter article. She was saying that the trans Alaska pipeline did not harm the caribou herds as some claimed it would, but even if it did the sane response in a time of a gas shortage would be, “Sorry, caribou, you’ve got to take one for the team.”

I mean, if it was a choice between making our nation energy independent or keeping the polar bears happy, I’d say move the polar bears! Tranquilize them, load them into trucks, and move them to Canada. Or send them to the zoo.

What’s it like living in a place with no darkness for part of the year and no sunlight for another part of the year? I remember seeing that movie “Insomnia” and just thinking, “wow! it’s like another planet!” How long does that midnight sun period last? Months?

ramrocks on December 3, 2008 at 2:55 PM

You think that’s bad? How about the vampire movies that takes place in Barrow, Alaska during winter? It had Josh Hartnett I think in it.

Alaskans have it tough. I’d be a Christopher Plumber Evangelical too if I lived up there. :)