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Sarah Palin on Government ReformRepublican Governor (AK); ; nominee for Vice President |
PALIN: Our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we’ll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation.
BIDEN: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history. The vice president works in the Executive Branch. The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is when there is a tie vote. The idea he’s part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive.
A: Well, let’s see. There’s, of course in the great history of America there have been rulings, that’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others...
Q: Can you think of any?
A: Well, I could think of ... any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But, you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I’m so privileged to serve, wouldn’t be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.
A: His intention in expressing that was so that government did not mandate a religion on people. And Thomas Jefferson also said never underestimate the wisdom of the people. And the wisdom of the people, I think in this issue is that people have the right and the ability and the desire to express their own religious views, be it a very personal level, which is why I choose to express my faith, or in a more public forum. And the wisdom of the people, thankfully, engrained in the foundation of our country, is so extremely important. And Thomas Jefferson wanted to protect that.
A: I think that the example of McCain’s warnings two years ago about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--that’s paramount. That’s more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us. He’s also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he’s been talking about--the need to reform government.
Under past governors, there was lots of conversation in committees that revolved around knowing what the governor would or would not support and proceeding accordingly. However, during Governor Palin’s tenure, legislators would try to support projects (especially because state revenue was high), but Governor Palin would use her line-item veto to veto them without telling the local sponsor. This was very embarrassing to legislators, and she alienated many in the legislature because of it.
A: I think that’s significant, but even more significant is the role that the lobbyists play in an issue like this also. And in that cronyism--it’s symptomatic of the greater problem that we see right now in Washington and that is just that acceptance of the status quo, the politics as usual, the cronyism that has been allowed to be accepted and then it leads us to a position like we are today with so much collapse on Wall Street. That’s the reform that we’ve got to get in there and make sure that this happens. We’ve got to put government and these regulatory agencies back on the side of the people.
A: Yes, it is gridlock and that’s ridiculous. That’s why we don’t have an energy policy. That’s why there hasn’t been the reform of the abuse of the earmark process. And real reform is tough and you do ruffle feathers along the way. But John McCain has that streak of independence in him that I think is very, very important in America today in our leadership. I have that within me also. And that’s why John McCain tapped me to be a team of mavericks, of independents coming in there without the allegiances to that cronyism, to that good ol’ boy system.
A: Oh, I certainly didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. Didn’t mean to offend any community organizers, either. I do have respect for those who have chosen public service. And what I was doing though, certainly, should be obvious, was directing a comment to him as he had taken a shot at small mayors across the nation.
Q: So it’s payback?
A: You know, mayors of small towns, they’re on the front lines. They’re held accountable every single day that they are in office with real responsibilities that do demand that accountability and invite accountability.
A: No. False. Always been a Republican, not been a part of a party that has wanted to secede.
No one expects us to agree on everything. But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant’s heart.
I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau ... when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol’ boys network.
Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That’s why true reform is so hard to achieve. But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up. I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.
McCAIN: Oh, yes. She’s a partner and a soul-mate. She’s a reformer. I don’t particularly enjoy the label “maverick,” but when somebody takes on the old bulls in her own party, runs against an incumbent governor of her own party, stands up against the oil and gas interests--it’s a remarkable person. And I’ve watched her record, and I’ve watched her for many, many years as she implemented ethics and lobbying reforms. And she didn’t just vote for it. She led it. I’ve seen her take on her own party. One thing I know is that when you take on your own party in Washington, you pay a price for it. And she has taken on the party in her own state. She took on a sitting governor and defeated him. And so I’m so pleased and proud, because this is a person who will help me reform Washington and change the way they do business. And that’s what Americans want.
A: The planks in our party’s platform--they are solid. They are the right agenda for America. The planks [include] respect for equality and respect for life and an acknowledgment that it is individual Americans and American families who can make better decisions for ourselves than government can ever make for us. So individual freedom and independence is extremely important to me, and there are planks in our platform that reflect that.
A: Sen. Stevens’ indictment was very dismaying. Hopefully the Ted Stevens issues won’t be a distraction. But yeah, lots and lots of damage has been done by this oil industry service company, VECO. Not good for Alaska.
Q: What about the Republican Party in general? It seems to me the GOP has just got to cleanse itself of all the pork barrel, corruption, lobbying, cash-for-favors that cost them the Congress back in November 2006.
A: You’re absolutely right on the cleaning that’s needed in our party, in the Republican Party. And you know, I think Senator McCain is on the right track with the earmark reform that he’s so adamant about. I’m right there with him.
The State has successfully used eBay in the past to sell State assets, including a former Marine Highways ferry, and several Public Safety aircraft. The State’s surplus property disposal policy is to use eBay for high value, mobile assets because it offers the widest possible exposure for these types of sales, at a low cost.
The jet was purchased for $2,692,600 in November 2005 by the Murkowski administration. Until final sale, Governor Palin has authorized the Department of Public Safety to use the jet for suitable operational purposes.
Yesterday--at the BP forum--I was invited weeks ago to show up. Well, I’d already met with the BP group. I just met with the president of BP. Wasn’t able to re-arrange my schedule to get there yesterday. And I get home last night and all over the news is ‘Sarah was a no show. She wasn’t at the debate.’ “There’s a sign out front making it look like I was supposed to be there and I wasn’t. But I wasn’t supposed to be there.
A: Well, I killed the Bridge to Nowhere. And you know, I think I ruffled some feathers there, also, with our congressman who had been requesting that bridge for so many years. What we needed to do up there in Alaska, was find some good transportation between the two land bodies there. And we did. We found that with an improved ferry system between Ketchikan and its airport. But, the Bridge to Nowhere is, as I’ve been saying in my speeches, if it’s something that Alaskans really want and support, which at this time, they’re not willing to support to such an extent that we’ll pay for it ourselves, we better kill the bridge because we know the rest of the nation’s not going to pay for it.
McCAIN: I’ve been watching her. What she has been doing in Alaska has affected the representation in Washington. We’ve fought against the same adversaries, the same challenges. Look, we couldn’t get the “bridge to nowhere” out, although we tried.
Q: This was the big pork barrel project.
McCAIN: Yes, the pork barrel project, a $233 million bridge in Alaska to an island with 50 people on it. She, as governor, stood up and said, we don’t need it, and if we need it, we’ll pay for it ourselves. Now, that’s guts. I saw that, and I said, this, this is what we need in Washington.
A: Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.
