Posted on 09/09/2008 3:42:29 AM PDT by Raycpa
Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home Taxpayers Also Funded Family's Travel By James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, September 9, 2008; Page A01
ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.
Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.
The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel and many of the trips were to and from their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Another paper takes the same story,titles it:
Alaska Law Backs Palin Expenses
and it with the headline change, the same story becomes the rebuttal for the charges.
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080909/LOCAL08/809090354/1044/LOCAL08
No bias here...
>>ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.<<
How far does she live from the capital - that might include traveling each day.
She spent a lot less than her predicessors. Everything will be picked apart and framed against her. It’s so insane what the media are up to.
I suspect that if the O’Bama team tries to make the expense accounts a front burner issue they will surely get their hands burned on that stove.
HUNDREDS OF MILES. END OF STORY!
Yawn.
Let your heart be not troubled. Everytime the MSM pulls this crap, she gains votes. She is made of teflon now and I’m loving all them Dem head explosions.
I’ve personally learned from friends in Alaska that Palin also PERSONALLY tore off some of those DO NOT REMOVE mattress tags.
The beast!
YAWN
So who pays for the 5 suv’s that take obama’s kids to school?
Since when has a politician ever spent a dime of their own money? Most states have Governors mansions and full time staff to cook for and wipe his/her honor. It’s really up to Alaska to determine how pampered the Governor will be. At 80% approval, it seems the residents are happy to pay for a few perks.
Deep in the bowels of the hit piece is a fragment of truth that must of missed the editors scissors:
Gov. Palin has spent far less on her personal travel than her predecessor: $93,000 on airfare in 2007, compared with $463,000 spent the year before by her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. He traveled often in an executive jet that Palin called an extravagance during her campaign. She sold it after she was sworn into office.
Let's call it what it really is, a 20% kickback on delivery, with an annual vig of 20% that has to come from those funds or funds yet to be leveraged.
Has anyone seen the accounting for how that million was spent?
Not that it would show up directly but a full audit would reveal fungible shifts from other sources to cover.
I wonder if ironically enough palin could end up being our Clinton.
Clinton was teflon. No matter what he did, no matter what he said, his lies, his scandals, troopergate, filegate, chinagate, whitewhater, the buddhist temples, billy dale and ttravelgate, johnny ching and the riadys, vince fister, monica, paula jones, draftdodging, didnt inhale, etc... nothing ever stuck with him. he remained popular and srved two terms.
Yet another desperate attempt to thorw mud at Governor Palin hoping that something will stick.
Tomorrow it will be revealed that while doing her job as governor she actually used STATE-OWNED computers and stationary!
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