Alaska Governor Sarah Palin wants the American public to believe that she is a strong reformer and a logical teammate for Republican candidate Senator John McCain. Because of her relative freshness to the national political scene I thought I'd put together some background on her reform record.

  • Flip-flopped on "Bridge to Nowhere" project.

  • Under Palin, Alaska has requested 31 earmarks worth over $197 million according to Senator Ted Stevens' website.

  • As mayor of Wasillia, Palin hired a Washington lobbyist in order to represent the town. (That lobbyist, Steven Silver, previously had served as an aide to Senator Ted Stevens).

  • 90% of campaign contributions during her race for governor came from individuals, not PACs. This will help her argument as being a Washington outsider.

  • In that same campaign, Palin accepted over $10,000 from lawyers and lobbyists.

  • Palin's Legislative Director has been under scrutiny due to his ties to a Juneau lobbyist who has given Palin's campaign $1500 over the past three years.

  • Of the $460K she raised during her campaign only $4,750 was from the oil and gas industry.

  • Palin joined forces with Democrats to push through new corporate oil taxes going against industry as well as her own party.

  • In early 2007, Palin tried to push an ethics bill through the Alaskan Legislature. SB 19 and 20 were both passed but were watered-down versions of her initial effort.

    • Regardless of the laundry lists being emailed around about Palin's ability and experience, we're all trying to get to know her as quick as possible. At the moment, if feels as though Palin has dipped in and out of playing the political game while at the same time trying to remain an outsider.

    Hiring a Washington lobbyist on behalf of your town of 5,470 is not a compelling argument for a candidate claiming to be a reformer. However, raising taxes on Big Oil and challenging the party line does show either acute political adroitness or a maverick streak.

    Based on Palin's green (and thin) record, I wouldn't say she is any more a reformer than your typical politician. And being a reformer at the state level is certainly different than being one at the federal level. But seriously, what did we expect to find after three days of media hype? More is coming I am sure.