Sarah Palin should withdraw from the McCain ticket

No one represents the Republican "culture of corruption" in Alaska more than the reprehensible Senator Ted Stevens.

Sarah Palin has long been a friend and supporter of Ted Stevens.

Contrary to the portrait Palin paints of herself, she has also been very much part of Alaska's "culture of corruption." As National Affairs says, Palin "...not only owes her governorship to Stevens' throaty endorsement, but as recently as 2005 served as the director of 'Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service' 527 group.

The Anchorage Daily News has a video which includes a "last-minute 2006 campaign commercial in which Stevens passes the baton to Palin's 'new generation' of leadership, asking his fellow Alaskans to 'help Sarah become governor, which we all want to see.'"

Another later segment of the video includes Steven's saying "Hell, I don't know if you know it but when Frank Murkowski was first elected, this lady and I ... traveled around the state for two weeks. We've know each other a long time. Worked together a long time."

Further along yet, Palin says "I have great respect for the senator.... His voice, his experience, his passion needs to be heard across America. So that Alaska can contribute more. So that we can be producers. So that we can help lead the rest of the U.S. ..."


Fast-forward to late October 2008.

Palin is calling upon Stevens to resign his Senate seat. "After being found guilty on seven felony counts, I had hoped Senator Stevens would take the opportunity to do the statesmen-like thing and erase the cloud that is covering his Senate seat. He has not done so."

She went on to say that even if the voters re-elect him next week, he should "step aside to allow a special election to give Alaskans a real choice of who will serve them in Congress."


Well, now. Stevens was convicted of lying about gifts and services he received from VECO, an Alaskan oil services company. Palin had the gall to say that the company's influence "was part of the culture of corruption that I was elected to fight." Hmm. Seems to me that Palin herself, along with her cronies, have accepted money from VECO in the past.

Not only so, but Palin has just been judged to have abused her power as the governor of Alaska, and she is currently under investigation for additional, similar charges. She is known to have extended the so-called "culture of corruption" by hiring friends and cronies for state office in spite of the fact they were not qualified for the positions involved.


It is therefore obvious that, Sarah Palin, who pals around with convicted felons, and is herself convicted of abuse of power, ought to resign the McCain ticket so that Republicans, at least, will have a "real choice" as to who they want as a vice presidential candidate!