Unfounded criticism of Palin conveniently ignores political realities

July 9, 2006

MY VIEW/Kari Sleight

It's no secret the Republican Party has not enthusiastically endorsed Sarah Palin's gubernatorial candidacy. So I shouldn't have been surprised at Paul Jenkins' opinion piece in the July 7 Voice of the Times. But I was.

One only had to read the opening paragraph of Jenkins' piece to know his feelings about Palin, and that's good. Basic journalism 101, grab the reader's attention with the lead. Jenkins opened by calling Palin &#8220a trifle paranoid and maybe not the brightest bulb in the box.” A bit further into his rant he asks the question, &#8220And how would somebody with just six years experience as Wasilla mayor - and none at the state level - be able to manage an enterprise as complicated, complex and dynamic as Alaska?”

Jenkins' question only magnifies his ignorance of Palin's accomplishments and echoes similar statements of Anchorage-based pundits and politicians who only recently started acknowledging Mat-Su for the vibrant, growing community it is. It's time those in Anchorage, and Juneau, realize that the venerable people who call Mat-Su home are not backwoods hicks, or second-class citizens.

The Mat-Su Borough is full of intelligent, articulate and well-educated people - people who care deeply for their neighbors and are passionate about their community and state. We are hard-working, and we want to improve the quality of life for our children and grandchildren.

We want our elected representatives to represent us, not some special interest. We expect those we vote into office to truly represent the best interests of Alaskans. We expect our representatives to conduct business in an ethical manner, despite the vague ethics laws the state of Alaska has in effect.

Sarah Palin knows this. She is one of us.

She blew the whistle on state GOP chief Randy Ruedrich for routinely conducting party business at the taxpayers' expense, and now she is the recipient of the party's wrath for refusing to be a part of the &#8220good ol' boy” network. Palin refused to sweep Ruedrich's unethical behavior under the carpet, and now she is paying the price by being shunned by the very party she championed for so many years.

The message the party sent was loud and clear: You either play by our rules, or we'll hang you out to dry.

I find Jenkins' caricature of Palin quite ironic. Up to the &#8220whistle-blowing” incident, Palin was on a fast track to success within the Republican Party. Although her 2002 lieutenant governor bid was unsuccessful, her political future within the party seemed very bright. She was considered one of the elite movers and shakers of the upcoming generation of Republicans.

Having had the pleasure of many hours of Palin's company, especially on a professional level, she is far from the dumb, beauty queen persona Jenkins attempts to paint her as in his opinion piece. Sarah proved herself to be a progressive and competent civic leader throughout her six-year tenure as Wasilla's mayor. Her leadership during this time impressed me so much that I took the unusual step of contributing to her gubernatorial campaign as soon as she announced - my first campaign contribution to any candidate in Alaska.

Jenkins would have you believe that Palin is the only person in the state who questions the soundness of Murkowski's gas line project and proposed change in the oil tax. Even party-favorite John Binkley has been hard at work distancing himself from the current governor and his oil and gas propositions.

While I value Jenkins' freedom to publicly express his opinion, when it comes to his view of Sarah Palin, I have to respectfully disagree. His July 7 column was nothing more than an 860-word diatribe on a subject he seemingly knows little about.

Kari Sleight is the Frontiersman's

publisher. Contact her at 352-2255 or kari.sleight@frontiersman.com.