Getting It Right- McCain and Sarah Who??

9/4/08

"The nominations are set and the final stages of the campaigns are in full throttle, Obama – Biden Vs. McCain – Palin. The next 60 days should be fun to watch."
Obama wowed them in Denver with a carefully orchestrated show of rock star proportions, punctuated with fireworks, magnificent oratory, party unification as the Clintons gave up, and touching scenes of a loving family. The Democrats left the event charged up and ready for battle.
With a stunning announcement timed to wash away the lingering visions and tastes of Denver, the Republicans quickly sprang into action. Everyone was expecting McCain to make a ho-hum announcement that Mitt Romney was his running mate as they prepared for their nominating convention in Minneapolis this week. Romney offered the ticket great depth of executive management experience which in these trying economic times is much needed at our topmost levels. But McCain had a well kept surprise in store for everyone.
Instead he brought forth a dedicated, determined, pit fighting conservative bull dog, clothed in the radiance of a beauty queen and the loving grace of a mother of five, Sarah Palin. It is undoubtedly a giant political gamble for McCain, but at the same time it may be a great stroke of political brilliance.
I believe that McCain realizes the American public is totally disgusted with the Washington political establishment, the same old party rhetoric, the stifling weight of an oppressive bureaucracy, and the ineptness of the existing political system. As Obama has preached throughout his campaign…. "It is time for change."
McCain realized that if his campaign could not offer an opportunity for change that at least equaled the promises being made by Obama, his chances of winning were slim. Obama is promising a change in the philosophy and extent of social programs in Washington…McCain is now promising to change the way Washington does business.
Palin is a conservative, reformer state Governor who has a varied and rich experience level for a 44 year old woman and mother of five. In high school she was captain of a state championship girl’s basketball team, and made a game winning, final seconds free throw with a fractured ankle. Her nickname was "the barracuda" because of her determined style of play.
She and her husband operate a fishing boat, fishing out of Bristol Bay, Alaska. She favors government reform, is a member of the NRA, loves to hunt and fish, favors Anwar drilling, and elimination of "pork barrel" politics. To me, one of the most significant aspects of her philosophy was demonstrated by the manner in which she, as governor, dealt with the infamous "bridge to nowhere" earmark project that was approved for Alaska by our wonderful Washington politicians.
This series of reeking pork barrel earmarks for a total of $320,000,000 were attached to critical legislation and were thus passed by a shameless congress. This massive expenditure of taxpayer dollars was to be used to build a bridge from the Alaska shoreline at Ketchikan to the nearby Island of Gravina Island which houses fifty residents and the Ketchikan airport.
The federal grant money was awarded and available to the Governor for the project. However, Sarah Palin knew it was wasteful and other much more deserving needs existed for the use of this money. She refused to accept the grant.
Local Jackson County Politicians and Bureaucrats…did you read what I just wrote?? ….SHE REFUSED TO TAKE THE GRANT OF $320 MILLION FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS! She did not say "I know it is a waste and not really justified, but if I don’t take the money…someone else will", which is a familiar philosophy expounded by many in our various local administrations. It is refreshing to find a politician that still focuses on separating "right" from "wrong" and has the conviction to only deal with the positives.
Instead she and her staff identified a bridge project awaiting funding for a hurricane destroyed bridge in Louisiana, and encouraged congress to divert the funds to that project which helped many more people than the Alaska bridge to nowhere project. In my opinion, in today’s political, bureaucratic system, that type of action took immense courage and a sense of putting national good ahead of personal, local gain. As a result, she gained an 80% approval rating in the state of Alaska.
So, local bureaucrats and politicians, please remember this example when Tallahassee or the Federal Government dangles money for unneeded parks, playgrounds in remote areas, seldom walked sidewalks, unnecessary second courthouse ramps, unnecessary replacement and upgrade of infrastructure, unnecessary bridge widening, overly expensive girls softball fields, plush offices, unjustified vehicles, new buildings when suitable structures exist, approving add-on features to water treatment systems because of excess left over grant funds, unnecessary building restorations, and other "nice but not necessary" projects while the taxpaying public is struggling each month to keep their electricity turned on. If you can not accept the mantle of responsibility and insist on wise use of public funds, we need to find those among us who will.
Rudiments - Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
♦ There is one story in this week’s paper about the "crats" in Georgia deciding to close several state parks in response to budget tightening. This is the old bureaucratic tactic of closing parks and taking away school sporting events when their money is threatened. They never consider laying off unnecessary staff, dropping foolish requirements, not traveling to annual conferences and events and staying in first class hotels at taxpayer expense, doing away with unnecessary programs, or taking away unjustified government provided vehicles.
♦ Our esteemed Washington politicians in Washington are still on their five week tax paid vacations. Meanwhile, our nation founders with nothing being done to cure our ailing economy and our dependence on the sheiks of the deserts for our energy. They needed the vacation, pointing fingers of blame at the other person month after month is hard work.
♦ Well, the proposed tax notices for next year have been mailed. I have received complaints from several property owners about the fact that although they received a tax decrease over last year, it was swallowed up by the impact of an increase in valuation by the property appraiser and the increased millage from the school tax increase which was mandated by the State. I can not understand the justification for increasing property valuations during this severe real estate downturn. Do they really think property values have increased during the past year? Anyhow, the net result managed to keep all of the tax decreases we were promised. If you were unfortunate enough to live inside the city of Marianna, they added enough millage there to give you a tax increase in your total computation…….You didn’t really think you were going to get a tax decrease, did you?
I hope you will have a long memory about these issues when you step into the voting booth in November. Vote wisely and you will be "Getting It Right".
Note: The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hatcher Publications.