Corruption comes in two flavors - Republican and Democrat

Oct. 20, 2006

SPECTRUM/Ray Metcalf

While Gov. Knowles gave BP a free, $200 million oil lease, VECO and friends laundered $400,000 through a Washington, D.C., bank account known as &#8220the Governor's Fund,” created for Knowles' personal use. They evaded Alaska's contribution limits doing about the same thing that got Rep. Tom Delay indicted in Texas.

When BP attempted to takeover ARCO and monopolize Alaska's oil industry, Knowles sided with BP by ordering his attorney general to oppose the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit to stop BP's takeover.

What good, then, is Knowles' negotiating experience if he's negotiating for the wrong team?

VECO's more recent cash for Ben Stevens' favors wasn't even a little bit subtle. It took the cooperation of every Republican in the Legislature for Ben to preside as Senate President while taking bribes from VECO. Any legislator who says they didn't know is either lying or way too stupid to represent you.

Over the years, the VECO owned &#8220Voice of The Times” has published numerous articles advocating the end of Alaska's PFD program. If VECO can get us to patch our potholes and pay our teachers with permanent fund money, there will be less pressure for our legislators to get what we should from VECO's oil company clients who produce our oil.

In 2005, when Ben Stevens introduced legislation to initiate VECO's plan, I began a campaign to expose the money Ben was taking from VECO.

Long before that, it was Tony Knowles I was writing about for pushing VECO's plan. That's what that special election in 1999 was all about. Tony was trying to persuade you to give him permission to raid the permanent fund and spend it on capital projects. VECO's owners raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a campaign to get you to vote yes.

Any Alaskan willing to put Democrat Tony Knowles back in the governor's chair or vote to send any former Republican member of the House or Senate back to Juneau should just save VECO the trouble and hand deliver their last PFD check to VECO. Then move to North Dakota. That would raise the average IQ in both states.

If you doubt the content of this article, just follow the money. VECO's friends, who have given tens of thousands to re-elect House and Senate Republicans, have abandoned the Republican nominee for governor. She's not for sale! They are backing their old friend Tony.

If you agree that ending the corruption is the most important issue facing Alaska, and trust that my campaign to end corruption is on the right track, please vote Democrat for House and Senate and vote Sarah Palin, Republican, for governor.

Ray Metcalfe is a former Republican legislator from Anchorage who now chairs the Republican Moderate Party. Contact him at RayinAK@ aol.com.