The Political Whore

McCain-Palin have a new TV advertisement running in battleground states and online, touting themselves as the “Original Mavericks.” Here’s the ad:

And here’s the “fact check” from the Obama campaign:

“Despite being discredited over and over again by numerous news organizations, the McCain campaign continues to repeat the lie that Sarah Palin stopped the Bridge to Nowhere.  John McCain has voted with George Bush 90% of the time and he and Sarah Palin will continue Bush’s economic policies, his health care policy, his education policy, his energy policy, and his foreign policy.  McCain and Palin will say or do anything to make people believe that they will change something besides the person sitting in the Oval Office.  That’s the kind of politics people are tired of, and it’s anything but change,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

AD WATCH FOR “ORIGINAL MAVERICKS”
9/8/08

VO: The original maverick.

Reality: McCain Has Been A Reliable Vote For George Bush And THE Republican Party

McCain Has Voted With Bush 90 Percent Of The Time In The Senate.  According to Congressional Quarterly, McCain has voted in support of President Bush’s position 90 percent of the time since the beginning of his administration. [Congressional Quarterly, 8/15/08, http://www.cqpolitics.com/cq-assets/cqmultimedia/flash/votestudy/index.html]

Arizona Republic Headline: “In Tight Senate Votes, McCain Not A Maverick. When It Matters The Most, He Seldom Bucks His Own Party.” “Over the years, Sen. John McCain has publicly condemned Republican Party leaders and occasionally voted against the GOP on selected issues. But an Arizona Republic analysis of his Senate votes on the most divided issues in the past decade shows that McCain almost never thwarted his party’s objectives.” [Arizona Republic, 5/7/08]

McCain: On The “Most Important Issues Of Our Day, I Have Been Totally In Agreement And Support Of President Bush.” In a June 2005 interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” John McCain stated that he was a strong supporter of President Bush: “I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.” [NBC, “Meet The Press,” 6/19/05]

VO: He fights pork barrel spending.

CG: San Jose Mercery News: “McCain Faults Bush for Pork Barrel Spending” – 12/1/03

REALITY: MCCAIN HAS VOTED FOR PORK BARREL SPENDING

McCain Has Voted For 12,673 Earmarks Totaling $144 Billion In Just Six Years. In just six of his 25 years in Congress, John McCain voted for spending bills that included 12,763 earmarks totally $144.408 billion according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, which the McCain campaign has cited as an authoritative source for the definition of earmarks. [Appropriations Bills From FYs 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2005 for which the Congressional Research Service totaled earmarks and for which John McCain voted for the conference reports. "Earmarks in Appropriation Acts: FY1994, FY1996, FY1998, FY2000, FY2002, FY2004, FY2005," Congressional Research Service, 1/26/06; Senate.gov; Center For American Progress, 4/16/08]

McCain Himself Has Asked For Earmarks Throughout His Career.  As Factcheck.org pointed out in three cases they analyzed, “McCain may have requested, or been influential in securing, an earmark.” His $10 million request for funding for the Rehnquist Center in Arizona would “meet the public idea” of an earmark according to pork watchdog Taxpayers For Common Sense (TCS). McCain also asked the first Bush administration to “earmark” funds for a wastewater treatment plant, and got last-minute funds inserted into a conference report for an Air Force base, part of a plan that eventually reaped major profits for McCain supporters. TCS also called that an earmark, according to USA Today. [Factcheck.org; New York Times, 2/18/2006; WashingtonPost.com, 12/31/08; USA Today, 5/15/08]

McCain Keeps Making Exceptions For Some Earmarks When People Question His Pledge. When journalists and analysts have pointed out that the McCain definition of earmarks includes billions in aid to Israel, he made an exception, saying “of course not. I’m not cutting any aid.” McCain similarly made exceptions for military housing, a breast cancer research program, billions for Everglades restoration and an Alabama ferry. [Center For American Progress, 4/16/08; Ben Smith, Politico.com, 4/16/08; ABC News, “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” 4/20/08; ”Tales from the Trail” Blog, Reuters, 4/30/2008; CNN Live Feed (Allentown, PA), 4/30/2008; Miami Herald, 6/5/08; Congressional Record, 9/24/07; Taxpayers For Common Sense website; Jonathan Martin, Politico.com, 4/24/08; NPR’s All Things Considered, 4/23/08]

VO: She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere.

CG: Anchorage Daily News: “Palin Flies High As Reformer” – 12/27/07

REALITY: PALIN WAS FOR THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE BEFORE SHE WAS AGAINST IT

Politifact: Palin’s Stance On “The Bridge To Nowhere” Is “A Full Flop.”  Politfact, a service of CQ and the St. Petersburg Times wrote, “McCain said Palin has ‘stopped government from wasting taxpayers’ money on things they don’t want or need. And when we in Congress decided to build a bridge in Alaska to nowhere for $233-million of yours, she said, we don’t want it. If we need it, we’ll build our own in Alaska. She’s the one that stood up to them.’ Nevermind that Alaska didn’t give the money back. It spent the money on other transportation projects. The context of Palin’s and McCain’s recent statements suggest Palin flagged the so-called Bridge to Nowhere project as wasteful spending. But that’s not the tune she was singing when she was running for governor, particularly not when she was standing before the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce asking for their vote. And so, we rate Palin’s position a Full Flop.” [Politifact]

Anchorage Daily News Headline: “Palin Touts Stance on ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ Doesn’t Note Flip Flop.” “When John McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, her reputation as a tough-minded budget-cutter was front and center. ‘I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,’ Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to Ketchikan’s Gravina Island bridge. But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.  The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them ‘nowhere.’ They’re still feeling pain today in Ketchikan, over Palin’s subsequent decision to use the bridge funds for other projects — and over the timing of her announcement, which they say came in a pre-dawn press release that seemed aimed at national news deadlines. ‘I think that’s when the campaign for national office began,’ said Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein on Saturday.” [Anchorage Daily News, 8/31/08]

Palin Was for the Bridge to Nowhere Before She Was Against It. In 2006, Palin was asked, “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?” She responded, “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.” [Ancorage Daily News, 10/22/06, republished 08/29/08]

·         2006: Palin: Don’t Allow “Spinmeisters” To Turn Bridge To Nowhere Project “Into Something That’s So Negative.” “Part of my agenda is making sure that Southeast is heard. That your projects are important. That we go to bat for Southeast when we’re up against federal influences that aren’t in the best interest of Southeast.’ She cited the widespread negative attention focused on the Gravina Island crossing project. ‘We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative,’ Palin said.” [Ketchikan Daily News,  10/2/06]

·         2006: Palin On Bridge To Nowhere: “Would Not Stand In The Way Of The Progress Toward That Bridge.” According to the Ketchikan Daily News, “People across the nation struggle with the idea of building a bridge because they’ve been under these misperceptions about the bridge and the purpose,’ said Palin, who described the link as the Ketchikan area’s potential for expansion and growth…Palin said Alaska’s congressional delegation worked hard to obtain funding for the bridge as part of a package deal and that she ‘would not stand in the way of the progress toward that bridge.’” [Ketchikan Daily News, 8/9/06, accessed 8/29/08]

·         2006: Palin Said People Across the Nation Were “Under These Misperceptions About the Bridge and its Purpose.”  According to the Ketchikan Daily News in 2006, “‘People across the nation struggle with the idea of building a bridge because they’ve been under these misperceptions about the bridge and the purpose,’ said Palin, who described the link as the Ketchikan area’s potential for expansion and growth. The Ketchikan community now needs to have a strong, unified effort to say whether it wants the bridge or not. ‘And if you want the thing, there needs to be good justification,’ she said. ‘There needs to be the reasonableness that the rest of Alaska and the rest of the United States wants to see.’  She said that reasonableness could include a compromise in design and cost, such as limiting the link to a single span instead of the two-span Revilla-Pennock-Gravina route. ‘It’s pretty grandiose here, what is proposed,’ she said. Palin said Alaska’s congressional delegation worked hard to obtain funding for the bridge as part of a package deal and that she ‘would not stand in the way of the progress toward that bridge.’” [Ketchikan Daily News, 8/9/06]

Palin’s Spokesman Said She Supported the Bridge to Nowhere. “Republican Sarah Palin’s spokesman, Curtis Smith, said Palin supports the Ketchikan bridge project, but had no immediate response to Murkowski’s plans.” [Ketchikan Daily News, 11/21/06]

VO: He took on the drug industry.

CG: AP: “McCain Calls for Permitting the Importation of Prescription Drugs from Canada” – 11/17/07

REALITY: MCCAIN HAS SIDED WITH THE DRUG COMPANIES

McCain Opposed Advertising Regulations for Drug Ads. In 2003, McCain voted against an amendment that would require drug companies to release advertisements with balanced visual and audio information. The Health and Human Services secretary would be required to speed up the review process of such advertisements. The secretary also would be able to require drug companies to assess their drugs against similar ones that already exist and include those comparisons in advertisements. Drug companies violating the advertising rules would be subject to civil penalties. [2003 Senate Vote #248, 6/26/2003]

McCain Voted Against Allowing States To Develop Programs To Force Pharmaceutical Companies To Discount Drug Prices For Americans. In 2002, McCain voted against clarifying that current law does not prohibit a state from entering into drug rebate agreements with a manufacturer in order to ensure affordability and accessibility of outpatient prescription drugs for State’s residents who are not otherwise eligible for medical assistance under Medicaid. [2002 Senate Vote #182, 7/18/2002]

McCain Voted Against Medicaid Drug Discounts And Cracking Down On Provider Fraud. In 1995, McCain voted against restoring drug discounts to state Medicaid programs and public health facilities; to retain provisions against health care provider fraud and abuse; to retain current federal nursing home standards; and to remove provisions that provide greater or lesser Medicaid spending in states based upon the votes needed for passage. [1995 Senate Vote #573, 11/13/1995]

VO: She took on big oil.

CG: AP: Palin Takes on Oil Industry, Republicans” – 12/28/07

REALITY: PALIN HAS CLOSE TIES TO THE OIL INDUSTRY

In Her 2002 Campaign for Lieutenant Governor, Palin Raised ‘About 10 Percent Of Her Campaign Fund’ From Veco, An Oil Company Under Federal Investigation. “While mayor of Wasilla, Palin ran for lieutenant governor in 2002. She gathered $5,000 — or about 10 percent of her campaign fund — from Veco officials or their wives along the way.” [Anchorage Daily News, 9/6/06]

Palin Said She Had Begun Working With the White House and Even Talked With Dick Cheney About Alaska’s Energy Policy. In her 2007 State of the State Address, Palin said, “Of course, the primary focus of our long-term energy plan can be summed up in three words — NATURAL GAS PIPELNE! This gasline will fuel our homes, our economy, and careers for Alaskans - for generations. The gasline is critical not just for our future, but for the nation’s future. It’s also an essential component of our nation’s energy policy. Truly, for energy independence, the nation will look to Alaska. We’ve already begun working with the White House. In fact, I had a nice conversation with Vice President Cheney today. And we are also blessed to have a strong ally in former State Senator Drue Pearce, who’s been tasked by the President to get the gasline built. The energy industry is also engaged and I look forward to working with Congress and our legislators - our “partners” to deliver our natural gas to market.” [Excerpt from January 17, 2007 State of the State Address]

The Weekly Standard Called Palin “The Nation’s Most Prominent Advocate of Drilling in ANWR.”  Sen. John McCain was reconsidering his opposition to drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and planned to talk about the issue with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “the nation’s most prominent advocate of drilling in ANWR,”  an article in The Weekly Standard said.  “In an interview with The Weekly Standard aboard his campaign plane last week, McCain made clear he has not ruled out a change in his position ? to one that endorses drilling in ANWR.”  [The Weekly Standard, 8/25/08]

Palin Said She Would Beg to Disagree With Candidate Who Said We Can’t Drill Our Way Out of Our Problem. Asked by Invester’s Business Daily “Some politicians and presidential candidates say we can’t drill our way out of our energy problem and that drilling in ANWR will have no effect. What’s your best guess of the impact on prices?” Palin responded, “I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can’t drill our way out of our problem or that more supply won’t ultimately affect prices. Of course it will affect prices. Energy being a global market, it’s impossible to venture a guess on (specific) prices. We never would have thought oil would reach $140. Only a few months ago, we thought $100 would be the peak. And here it is at $140 (with) no end in sight. It’s very difficult to determine, but we do know the demand is going to continue to increase. The demand in Asia especially is one reason why prices are going to increase. But if I could predict energy prices, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.” [Investor’s Business Daily, 7/11/08]

Sierra Club Director Carl Pope Said “No One is Closer to the Oil Industry Than Governor Palin.” “No one is closer to the oil industry than Governor Palin,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club in comments reflecting the views of a cross section of environmental activists. They cite her eagerness to embrace expanded offshore oil development, her lawsuit against further protection of polar bears so as not to hinder oil drilling in Alaska’s ice-filled waters and her ardent support to allow oil companies into the Alaska wildlife refuge. [Associated Press, 8/30/08]

Palin Took $13,000 from Lobbyists Representing the Oil Industry in Her 2006 Campaign for Governor. The lobbyists who donated to her campaign represent a range of industries, including oil and gas, tobacco, education and the Native Alaskan community. “She’s fought oil companies and party bosses and do-nothing bureaucrats and anyone who puts their interests before the interests of the people she swore an oath to serve,” Mr. McCain said Friday at an Ohio rally to introduce her as his running mate. But since Mrs. Palin leads a major oil-producing state, that industry is one of her top donors.  She collected nearly $13,000 from lobbyists who represent oil and gas industries in her primary and general campaigns, according a review of her campaign donations and 2006 registered state lobbyists. [Washington Times, 9/1/08]

Palin Said She Understood and Appreciated the Oil Industry. In 2006, Palin said, “I’m not anti-industry. As a former mayor of the fastest-growing area in Alaska and a former regulator of oil and gas, I understand and appreciate the contributions that industry provides to our state economy and the U.S. economy. My husband started his job on the Slope 18 years ago. He’s a blue collar union man up there, and I appreciate the job opportunities provided him. He’s from Dillingham, from Bristol Bay. He’s got good skills, a good work ethic and he has been rewarded for that work ethic, materially, if you will, with a good job on the North Slope. He’s the kind of Alaskan I want to see more of employed on the Slope. … I also have a great understanding of industry’s motivation. Industry’s motivation … unfortunately for us … is that they take as much possible and leave as little behind, but that’s what the CEOs of these producing companies are supposed to do; that’s what they are tasked to do by their shareholders. It’s all the more reason for us to understand what our relationship with the industry needs to be; that the state’s CEO works just as hard for the shareholders in this state, who are fellow Alaskans.” [Alaska Journal of Commerce, 10/8/06]

VO: He battled Republicans and reformed Washington.

CG: Boston Herald: “Maverick McCain Rips GOP” – 4/2/04

REALITY: MCCAIN ABRAMAOFF INVESTIGATION “IGNORED” ACTIONS BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

McCain Acknowledged That Members Had Responsibility In The Lobbying Scandal, But Refused To Investigate Member’s Actions In An Investigation That “Ignored” Congressional Republicans.  McCain acknowledged that Members were responsible for their conduct in Congress surrounding the lobbying scandal, saying, “Many cast blame [for the Abramoff Scandal] only on the lobbying industry. But, we should not forget that we, as Members, owe it to the American people to conduct ourselves in a way that reinforces, rather than diminishes, the public’s faith and confidence in Congress.”  But during his investigation, McCain refused to include the legislative actions taken by Members of Congress saying, “We stop when we find out where the money went.”  The Associated Press reported that, “The intervention by congressional Republicans…was all but ignored in recent hearings on Capitol Hill led by [McCain], that examined Abramoff’s lobbying inside Interior. [Senator McCain, CQ Transcriptions, 1/25/06; Roll Call, 3/10/05; AP, 11/17/05]

McCain’s Abramoff Report Said No Need for New Lobbying Laws Following Abramoff Scandal.  The report by released by John McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in June 2006 on the Abramoff investigation argued that “no new lobbying restrictions are needed to prevent schemes like those used by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.”  In addition, “despite a pledge by McCain two years ago to get to the bottom of a now-convicted lobbyist’s influence-peddling, his committee’s 373-page report does not detail the relationships between Abramoff and the dozens of lawmakers to whom the lobbyist helped funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in tribal political donations.” [Arizona Republic, 6/23/06]

REALITY: McCain Has Backed Away From Bipartisan Reforms He Once Championed

2007: McCain Acknowledged His Shift On Immigration From Supporting Comprehensive Reform To Supporting An Enforcement First Strategy. “John McCain spent months earlier this year arguing that the United States must combine border security efforts with a temporary worker program and an eventual path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.  Now, the Republican presidential candidate emphasizes securing the borders first. The rest, he says, is still needed but will have to come later.  ‘I understand why you would call it a, quote, shift,’ McCain told reporters Saturday after voters questioned him on his position during back-to-back appearances in this early voting state. ‘I say it is a lesson learned about what the American people’s priorities are. And their priority is to secure the borders.’ The shift in approach is likely to draw criticism from McCain’s GOP opponents. Immigration has been a flash point in the race, with rivals Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson all seizing on it.” [Associated Press, 11/3/07]

·         2008: McCain Said He Would Oppose the Legislation He Authored With Kennedy. Asked whether he would vote for the immigration legislation he previously sponsored, McCain eventually replied, “No, I would not.” [CNN GOP Presidential Debate, 1/30/08]

2006: McCain Was “Noticeably Missing” From Latest Campaign Finance Reform Legislation, Likely To Avoid Charges Of Hypocrisy If He Side Steps The System In 2008.  With John McCain “noticeably missing” as one of the former “key proponents of BCRA,” Senator Feingold and Congressmen Shays and Meehan offered campaign finance reform legislation “to raise the spending limits for the primary and general elections and significantly boost the matching funds available to candidates. They want to make these additional funds accessible to the candidates earlier in the process, provide additional public funds to candidates facing well-heeled opponents who are outside the public-financing system, and increase the current $3 tax check-off that finances presidential campaigns to $10 per individual, $20 for a married couple,” and to bring an “end to the use of ‘soft money’ from corporations and labor unions to pay for the national conventions held every four years.”  McCain, who was “conspicuously absent from the latest [campaign finance reform] effort” was not made available for comment by his office.  “Several people involved in discussions about the legislation said the senator’s absence was related to his widely expected bid for the presidency in 2008.”  Meredith McGehee, a “longtime advocate for campaign finance reform,” said of McCain, “He does not want to be caught in a position where he can be accused, rightly or wrongly, of hypocrisy” should he opt out of public financing during the Republican presidential primary.”  [Roll Call, 7/27/06; New York Sun, 7/28/06]

·         2007: McCain Removed His Name From Campaign Finance Legislation. “People involved in the Republican primary campaign of Senator John McCain of Arizona say he, too, is beginning to seek private donations for the primary and general elections, albeit with the option of returning them. A longtime proponent of campaign finance change, Mr. McCain has recently removed his name as a co-sponsor of a bill to expand the presidential public financing program.” [New York Times, 1/23/07]

VO: She battled Republicans and reformed Alaska.

They’ll make history. They’ll change Washington.
McCain. Palin.
Real change.

JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approve this message.

CG: Wall Street Journal: “Palin Fought for Reform in Alaska” – 8/30/08

McCain-Palin

The Original Mavericks

Paid for by McCain-Palin 2008. Approved by John McCain.

REALITY: PALIN IS PART OF THE SAME OLD CORRUPT ALASKA REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT

Palin Has Refused to Say If She Will Support Indicted Senator Stevens’ Re-Election Bid. “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is not saying whether she will vote in November to send the indicted Ted Stevens back to the Senate for a seventh full term. The indictment has put Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) running mate in a tricky position. If Palin endorses Stevens, it will appear that she is undermining her message of taking on the GOP establishment and cleaning up corruption in her state. But should the popular governor oppose his reelection, it could deliver a blow to Stevens’s campaign and give Democrats ammunition as they try to pick up one more Senate seat. Palin’s spokesmen in the McCain campaign have not responded to several inquiries seeking comment on the governor’s position on Stevens. A spokesman for the McCain campaign told the Alaska-based Peninsula Clarion that Palin has yet to endorse Stevens, the paper reported on its website Friday.” [The Hill, 9/5/03]

The Usual Alaska Suspects - Ted Stevens, Don Young, And Lisa Murkowski Fundraised For Palin. “Will we see Ted Stevens stumping for Sarah Palin? Palin said this morning that Stevens appeared at a fund-raiser for her in Ketchikan and gave a speech about ‘moving Alaska forward.’ But does that mean he’ll pop up in any advertisements? (Remember his arguably pivotal role at the end of the Knowles and Murkowski Senate race?) Palin said she doubts it and hasn’t asked… She said Don Young came to one of her fund-raisers two days ago, and she expects Lisa Murkowski at an upcoming event. Tonight she planned to talk with John Binkley, who she says is writing a letter to his supporters on her behalf, and she planned to meet with Frank Murkowski tomorrow morning.” [“The Trail” blog, Anchorage Daily News, 10/13/06]

As Mayor, Palin Hired a Washington Lobbyist to Help Get Earmarks for Wasilla – Lobbyist Was Former Chief of Staff for Indicted Senator Ted Stevens. “And as mayor of the small town of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002, Palin also hired a Washington lobbying firm that helped secure $8 million in congressionally directed spending projects, known as earmarks, according to public spending records compiled by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste and lobbying documents. Wasilla’s lobbying firm was headed by Steven Silver — a former chief of staff to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, a key proponent of the bridge project.” [USA Today, 8/31/08]

JULY 2008: Legislature Voted to Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate Palin Abuse of Power Claim.  In July 2008, the Alaska State Legislator voted 12-0 to approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin an investigation into claims Palin fired a former state official because he would not fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Palin’s sister.   The legislator’s intent was to investigate the events surrounding the termination of former Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and potential abuses of power and improper action by Palin and her administration.  [KTVA 11, 07/28/08]

After agreeing to Legislative Inquiry, Palin Changed Her Mind and Tried to Have Troopergate Handled by Her Own Personnel Board.  Palin made multiple statements saying that she would fully cooperate with the Legislative inquiry, but now she wants Troopergate to be handled by the State of Alaska Personnel Board, which has three members: Debra English, who Palin reappointed on January 29, 2008; Laura Plenert, a registered Republican; Alfred Tamagni, Sr., who gave $400 to the Palin/Parnell campaign in 2006. The latter two were appointed by Frank Murkowski. [Alaska Department of Administration, Division of Personnel Director’s Office Website;  Van Flein Letter to Branchflower]

Palin’s Lawyer Canceled the Deposition of an Aide Was a Key Witness in Troopergate. “The deposition of one of Gov. Sarah Palin’s staff members was canceled yesterday by the staffer’s attorney, in what is yet another setback to the state legislature’s investigation into claims that Palin fired the public safety commissioner after he refused to dismiss a trooper, Palin’s former brother in-law. Palin has denied any wrongdoing surrounding the dismissal of Walt Monegan, but has acknowledged that phone calls were made by her staff members to Public Safety officials regarding the trooper, Mike Wooten. One of those calls was made by Palin’s director of boards and commissions, Frank Bailey. Bailey was scheduled to be deposed as part of the legislature’s investigation, but his attorney canceled the deposition yesterday and challenged the legislature’s jurisdiction, according to the state senator running the probe.” [ABC News, 9/3/08]

Palin Administration Refuses to Release E-Mails, Citing Executive Privilege. “E-mails from the Palin administration are being withheld from the public and the governor is citing executive privilege. With subject lines like ‘Fagan,’ ‘Andrew Halcro’ and even ‘Alaska Ear,’ it makes some wonder how those topics could possibly be policy related; especially since those same e-mails were copied to the governor’s husband. The administration says public employees need to know they can debate openly amongst themselves. Andree McLeod, who tried repeatedly to get a job with the Palin administration, obtained the e-mails through a public records request. The Department of Law says the e-mails are privileged. Officials say the private e-mails within the Palin administration won’t be released.” [KTUU, 8/6/08]

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