Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Governor Palin attempts damage control in Per Diem allegations. And fails.

Clearly the constant drumbeat of criticism surrounding Sarah Palin's Per Diem charges for staying in her own home and the food she ate while in her own home have rattled the Governor who has sent her lap dog Bill McAllister out shovel bullshit at us until we stop talking about it. (Here is the video.)

Nice try.

Gov. Sarah Palin, under scrutiny for charging the state for expenses while living in her Wasilla home, is actually living much more inexpensively than her two immediate predecessors, according to an analysis provided Monday by her staff.

Officials compared Palin's expenses for items including travel, lodging, and meals to that of former Govs. Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles. They said she's spent about $900,000 less in her first two years than Murkowski did his last two years.

Big deal! Murkowski was a crook and that is why his political career came to a screeching halt. Comparing yourself to a criminal to demonstrate you are less guilty and therefore innocent is not a very effective strategy.

Her expenses were also lower than for Knowles his last two years, though the difference was not as dramatic.

This statement is made without explaining that the reasons for Knowles higher expenses seem to stem from the fact that while in Anchorage he rented a hotel room because his RESIDENCE WAS IN JUNEAU! NOT WASILLA! Tony Knowles actually spent a great deal of time in the Capitol doing the states business, imagine that.

Most of the criticism of Palin and her living expenses concerns the $60-a-day for meals and incidentals she collects when she works outside her assigned duty station, which is Juneau. That money will now be taxed as income.

Since taking office in December 2006, she's collected more than $18,000 in meal money during the time she was staying in her Wasilla home. That figure is higher than has been previously reported because it includes charges through Dec. 14.

So to get this straight the Governor charged the state of Alaska for food she bought and prepared IN HER OWN HOME. Now if she had been living in Juneau and, because of the demands of her job, had to eat in Anchorage, then this would have been acceptable. But the only reason that she did this IS BECAUSE SHE CAN. She doesn't need to charge the state, both she and Todd make plenty of money to feed their family, she did it because there is a loophole in the Per Diem rules that allows her to take advantage of the citizens of Alaska. Period!

McAllister said that meal money is minor in the scheme of things, and that she's saving more than enough in other areas to make up for it.

No Mr. McAllister is not "minor in the scheme of things". It is "major in the scheme of things" because it demonstrates a certain sense of entitlement that the Governor seems to possess and which we see demonstrated in her Vice Presidential run, her interactions with the press, and the manner in which she treats her job. This Governor seems to spend the majority of her time explaining why the things she does are not as bad as they seem, and hardly any time doing her damn job! If her job were simply photo ops and mall openings, she would be the best Governor ever. But our state is facing some very serious problems and Sarah Palin cannot stop making sure "she gets hers" long enough to help provide any real solutions.

Update: Here is the PDF that compares the expenses of all three Governors.

13 comments:

  1. My thoughts were why defend your position if these were reasonable per diem charges? Obviously they are not and Alaskans needs to demand that they see all of her expenses that she is charging the state of Alaska.

    Love that she turned in her state provided vehicle after she found out she is going to be taxed personally on the use. She is a scammer. She said it in Wasilla over her office redecoration. All is fair to her until she is told it is illegal. Says it all. I will push the envelope until I am slapped with a lawsuit. Sounds like the family values she has taught her children.

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  2. Anonymous10:28 AM

    Palin may reject the stimulus money that would help Alaskans, but she gladly takes government assistance for herself.

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  3. Anonymous10:34 AM

    Thank you Gryphen and Lynn D for bringing back into focus not the amount of money she took, but the principles of those actions.

    One of the snarky comments on ADN is "so she is only a little bit of a crook?"

    Spot on about the Wasilla office redecoration. This is more of the same.

    Wow! I bet she is really angry about being called out on her tricks. My guess is that she has been able to sneak, charm, bluff, or bully her way out of these kinds of situations before.

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  4. Anonymous11:03 AM

    How much does she pay for childcare? I want to see her monthly bill for childcare!!!! Cuz as far as I know, we are paying her "personal assistant," Kris whatever her name is, to watch Trig & Piper. So unless she coughs up an monthly bill from XYZ Daycare, I believe she is getting that paid for as well. Freeloading so & so.

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  5. keeping the pressure on her is so delicious. she says and does the stupidest things to defend herself.

    These blogs are keeping this theocrat-fascist out of the lower 48 and I thank you!!!

    Obama never whines about the right wing bloggers and how they bother him!!!!

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  6. I posted this comment on ADN's article where McBootlicker tries to justify the Governor being less of a crook than Murkowski:

    When I travel for my job, I need to have authorization and prior approval for the expenses I charge. Who authorizes Governor Palin's expenses? Being the chief executive of the state, does she get to approve her own?

    When I collect per diem on travel, it is because I am not at home to cook for myself. When Governor Palin collects per diem, she is at home and can cook for herself. That defeats the purpose of what per diem is meant to compensate for!

    I would be laughed out of my job if I requested per diem for the days I *chose* to work from home, or from anywhere but where my official office is.

    When I accept a job where the office is more than 50 miles from my home, my employer does not pay for me to travel there.

    The Governor's sense of entitlement ("Hey, I'm not fleecing you as much as my predecessor did!") is absurd. I honestly don't know why Alaskans put up with it.

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  7. Anonymous1:53 PM

    The only reason they're taxable as income is because they're not legitimately claimed in her case. Her fans are too stupid to see that.

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  8. Anonymous1:58 PM

    When are we going to do something about all the Sarah issues. I read this stuff daily, and listen to the local radio talkshows. Why do we have to sit back listen and take no action? Who can tell us what to do in order to take action?
    If anyone has the answer please let me know because I know alot of people who are just plain fed up.

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  9. Anonymous2:49 PM

    ...so all that money is a MINOR thing....

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  10. Anonymous4:04 PM

    From the presser: "expenses incurred by Governor Palin is discharging her official duties, notably the per diem she has collected while working in Anchorage, nearly fifty miles away from her home in Wasilla."

    So they are now claiming that the per diem was for spending time in Anchorage, so far away from her home in WASILLA. Has her duty station changed?

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  11. time for an INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION!

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  12. Anonymous8:52 PM

    If she runs for the Big House, (currently called the People's House and I hope that name sticks for a LONG TIME), I hope she knows that its residents are BILLED for the groceries bought to prepare their family meals! (Maybe that would convince her not to run ?)

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  13. Anonymous6:51 AM

    Two points:
    I assume the $60 per day food allowance when the Gov. is away from Juneau is supposed to cover RESTAURANT meals. So even if it was perfectly legit that she claimed per diem while living at home (which it’s not), it’s ridiculous that she would charge the state $60 every day for food she buys and makes herself at HOME. I sure as h*** can feed myself for less than $60 a day. But–oops, I forgot, she has to feed all the REST of her “large and loving” family when she’s at home, on the state’s dime…
    Second, if you look at the expense reports for November and December, she doesn’t claim per diem for EVERY day she was at home or in Anchorage. There are days when it says “no perdiem claimed.” Does that mean she was not working that day–that is, not conducting the state’s business? If so, WHY NOT? Vacation, spa day, what? But I thought the esteemed Sarah worked 24/7….

    IMO, she should not have run for Gov. unless she was willing to move to Juneau or to sacrifice time with her family–one of those tough choices that REAL WORKING PARENTS have to make all the time. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Sarah.

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