Daylife/AP Photo
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Gov. Sarah Palin is putting political ambition above Alaska’s interest by rejecting federal stimulus funds, Democrats said Friday.
Bob Poe, a Democratic candidate for governor, suggested Palin is grandstanding because the legislature can overrule her — and is considered likely to — CNN reported. Poe, in a conference call with reporters, suggested the governor is “narcissistic.”
“It’s outrageous that Palin wants to turn down Alaskans’ fair share of federal stimulus money for education, public safety, unemployment services and health programs,” said State Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins. “It’s very clear that Palin is sacrificing the needs of Alaskans for her national political ambitions.”
Palin said she is willing to take federal dollars for construction projects but not $288 million for schools, energy assistance and social services, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported…
Anchorage School Superintendent Carol Comeau said she was “shocked and very disappointed” that Palin would reject funds for schools.
The Dems aren’t the only pols in Alaska who thinks Palin is playing this game as part of her future plans.
Alaska doesn’t need any more government welfare it ranks No. 1, year after year, in money it sucks in from Washington. Palin can crawl back into the sewer.
Ranking 18th in federal taxes paid per resident ($5,434) but first in federal spending received per resident ($13,950).
You failed to give her reasons…which no doubt, judging by her performance in office, are sound.
Now I must go elsewhere to learn HER reasons for rejecting the funds…
As usual the conservative or conservative argument is misrepresented…to “poison the well”
But Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, R-AK, strongly disagrees with characterizing Palin’s action as a “rejection.”
“What is accurate is she did not request these funds. And there’s a difference when you have a legislative process to work your way through,” Parnell says.
Parnell says the process, reviving the stimulus money, now depends on what happens when lawmakers and the public enter the discussion.
“The whole purpose of the governor not requesting all these operating budget funds is so this discussion could occur. It could happen publicly. And I think this is healthy for us.”
http://ktva.com/ci_11963723
I think the last sentence is pretty telling: “”She’s got the best interests of the state and her career at heart,” said state Sen. Bert Stedman, the Republican leader in the Alaska Senate.” Stedman could have just said “the best interests of the state” but he also said “and her career.”
“It’s outrageous that Palin wants to turn down Alaskans’ fair share of federal stimulus money for education, public safety, unemployment services and health programs,”
There’s nothing fair about it. Rob from the rich (as defined by the robbers) and give to the “poor.”
Two facts:
-Not stated in this article is her own statement, paraphrased: If program does not create jobs and increases tax burden it is not accepted.
-Watch her rating with the citizens who she governs: they are up during the same time when Obama’s ratings are down and country is in trouble. And she was not on J.Leno… Why?
Angry liberal editors can’t even get hits with Palin threads now. This blog really has become irrelevant.
I enjoyed destroying it.
#6 is a bastion of republican consistency. As previous posts have stated, why be a republican unless you can hate school children, unemployed, the local police department and sick people?
I go with #6. You liberal guys can push the BS up as for as you want to, its still sticking to you and any cause you support.
Our Governer, who declined all pay when he was sworn in, has been forced to say no thinks to some items because it was going to end up costing our state a lot of money we didn’t have.
I know this seems like a weird idea to many of you but some people try to balance their budgets and live within their means.
They do this because they see being destitute as being a bad thing and they think they are the ones responsible for seeing that it doesn’t happen to them and theirs.
It is obvious that a few of you think the best thing a government can do is spend everything it can beg, borrow or steal without regard for the tomarrow in order to create the new world order even if it means taxing businesses to the point they all relocate if that is possible.
P.S. Please continue to sock it to the well to do in your communities. Rather than moving to Mexico or other low cost locations some of them are moving to my rural community where the cost of living is still much lower than most location and we would like more of them.
They build real nice homes and pay lots of property taxes besides shopping at local business and we do have some very nice golf courses they can use that provide summer jobs for our college kids. A few of these people have even started businesses because being retired bored them.
I would would like to say on behalf of the people of Lawrence County Tennessee we thank you and if any of you have retired are you are considering retiring you might want to look at our community as a better, safer, and cheaper location to live.
On not accepting school funding: I guess she prefers to keep her taxpayers stupid for the rest of their lives.
This money isn’t for any specific governor. It is for the people of that State. If Palin doesn’t want the money, she doesn’t have to take it. But the American citizens in her State have as much right any any nimrod right wing nut in Lawrence County Tennessee.
Of course, when you play to the press in order to keep your 2012 hopes alive of becoming the first female President you do anything.
Palin in 2012
There’s a lot of strings involved with taking this money. Gov. Perry of Texas rejected it because it forces the State to pay unemployment insurance to people that have never paid into it. In other words it dilutes an already shrinking pie and will lead to greater taxes. Business in that State will be at a disadvantage and it will only make the job market worse in that State.
The Democrats are just pissed that Palin is calling them on this.
We are all better off with fewer states taking money…who’s going to end up paying for it?
This is just wealth transfer, states that can’t keep their idiot politicians from spending money get bailed out..then we all get higher federal taxes and get to enjoy inflation too in a couple of years.
Nice to see someone who still cares about budget deficits.
I don’t get Gov Sanford though. He asked to use the money to pay down school debt. Couldnt he have just redone the budget so that the debt is paid down and cu whatever the feds want them to spend the money on, then take the stimulus money?
It’s only a matter of days before congress starts legislating what the States can do with the money.
Alaska unemployment, US Bureau of Labor.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/d5zcsq
Nobody actually lives in Alaska, it’s a state of itinerant workers, when the work runs out they leave it.
The entire conservative movement is designed to diminish all faith in government. Grover Norquist said “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” The only way to crush government is to persuade the people to lose faith in the government to manage.
It’s pretty hysterical that the govenors of three of the states with the LOWEST literacy and the POOREST schools [South Carolina, Louisiana, Alaska] are the same three govenors who are most hostile to funding their schools with stimulus funding.
What’s funnier is that Palin herself has possibly one of the poorest educations of any governor in US. Thinking things through clearly isn’t one of her strongest positions.
This whole thing is simply political posturing at the expense of the constituents of their states.
This MILF will never be President.