How much more ‘outside’ does Palin need to be?

“We’re not retreating; we’re advancing in another direction,” so said Sarah Palin in her exit speech from the governorship. She attributed the quote to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, but it was actually a bit of gallows humor from Gen. Oliver Prince Smith during the Korean War. He gave it to a hastily assembled press corps as his 1st Marines were retreating after suffering 30 percent casualties. They were asked by the press to smile and look happy.

So why drag up this bit of ancient Palin history? She’s gone, off the radar, in the wind, right? Well, that’s exactly the point. When she left office the torch was passed to then Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, the same governor who now wants to dismantle her signature accomplishment, the oil tax structure dubbed ACES, or Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share. Why has she not weighed in on what this sorcerer’s apprentice of a governor is trying to do? The silence coming from the Palin house is deafening.

During the last legislative session, Parnell proposed a $1.4 billion tax break for oil companies as an incentive to increase North Slope activity. The Alaska Legislature, primarily the Senate, blocked its passage in regular and special sessions, saying it was too much of a giveaway with no guarantee from the oil companies. The sky-is-falling argument coming from the governor’s mansion is big oil will be more likely to invest in the state if we just lighten up on the industry. The facts are that while production is falling, investment is rising. Shell is pumping millions into the state with offshore exploration in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, oil companies are drilling new exploratory wells and developing new gas fields. Last year alone, oil lobbyists spent more than $1 million in Juneau, but I guess that’s exploration of a different sort.

It was Palin who put the present tax structure in place. She flew in the face of her own Republican Party and “Oil Inc.,” the real power in the state. She said then that it was her view that the resources of Alaska belong to Alaska, aka the people, and not to the denizens of some far-away boardroom. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Like her or hate her, you have to give her props for standing up to the big boys and speaking truth to power. It makes you wonder what might have been had she not left office.

So where is our esteemed ex-gov? Her Alaska legacy is under attack. Isn’t she the one who said, “You can effect change, and I can too, from the outside?” Well, ex-governor, look around you. You’re outside — out of office, mostly out of the local political limelight and probably out of state. I don’t see how you could be much more “outside.” It looks like you’re in a prime position to effect some change.

I know you’re busy trying to influence Senate races in Nebraska and Missouri. I know your demanding schedule at Fox must keep you hopping. And defending your vice presidential bid from the likes of Dick Cheney has to be time consuming (I wouldn’t go hunting with the guy either). But, it would be nice if you could spare a few minutes to defend your defining contribution to the state. Maybe you could Tweet something; 140 characters isn’t too much to ask, is it?

It seems odd that someone who obviously wants to make her mark would not defend the mark she has already made. Even the late Gov. Wally Hickel has stepped up to try and stop Parnell. Decades ago he formed an organization called Backbone to keep the oil industry from running roughshod over the state. That organization is now making noise to keep Parnell from giving oil companies a billion-dollar gift. Of course, being dead, Hickel is more outside than Palin and probably in a better position to effect change.

There is no estimate — state or private — that puts Alaska on the winning end of this tax cut. I take that back; ex-oil lobbyist Sean Parnell and his previous employers say the present tax system is cramping their style. Their obscene profits could go from double to triple if the state would just write them a check for $1.4 billion. The state could make up the difference with the increased production that hasn’t been promised. Or perhaps we could implement a state sales tax or income tax, or maybe cut spending. That’s it, school kids could send their lunch money to Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips, et al. That should help the state budget.

Whatever her reasons, Palin has chosen to stay out of the fight. While Momma Grizzly appears to be hibernating, we stand to loose more than $1 billion. I guess the state of Alaska is just “advancing in another direction.” Don’t forget to smile and look happy everyone.

Chuck Legge is a freelance political cartoonist who lives in Sutton. His political cartoons, “The World According to Chuck,” are printed in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman and other newspapers around the state and nation.