Five Things We Learned about Sarah Palin Last Night

Lesson One: Palin is FOR windfall taxes. Palin awarded each and every Alaskan an extra $1,200 on top of the $2,200 that they already get from oils and gas(Palin’s family receives over $22,000).

Lesson Two: Although Palin said in her speech that she would be an advocate for Special Needs Children, the fact is she CUT MONEY TO SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN in Alaska by 62%. The Annual budget for 2007, which preceded Gov. Palin was $8,265,300.
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/...
The Annual budget for 2008, enacted by Gov. Palin is $3,156,000.
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/...
The Annual budget for 2009, enacted by Gov. Palin is $3,156,000.
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/...
This is a cut in special needs services to children in Alaska of 5,109,300 , or 62%.
So, as the Alaska State Budget description states, "Without the supplementary services the child’s needs would not be met by the local school district in most cases."

Lesson Three: Palin was FOR the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against the Bridge to Nowhere.
The Anchorage Daily News interviewed Palin during her 2006 campaign for governor. At the time, federal funding for the bridge had been stripped by Congress. The Daily News asked if she was in favor of continuing state funding for the project. "Yes,” she responded, noting specifically her desire to renew Congressional support:
"Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now–while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."

That assistance never materialized. When Palin finally canceled the $400 million project, Palin lamented the fact that Congress was not more forthcoming with federal funding. She said in a statement at the time:
"Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island."

Lesson Four: Palin is FOR Earmarks from the United Stated Congress.
Palin’s documented record on requesting earmarks is:
In her second term as Wasilla mayor she got a total of $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of fewer than 9,000 people.
As governor she requested $254 million in earmarks last year and $197 million in earmarks this year. As a Seattle Times story notes, that’s more per capita than requested by any other state in the union:
“Palin’s requests to Congress came at a time of huge federal deficits while Alaska state revenue was soaring due to rising oil prices and a major tax increase on oil production that Palin signed into law in late 2007.
As a result, Alaska this year was in such a money-flushed condition — with no state income tax or sales tax and total state revenues of $10 billion, double the previous year’s — that Palin gained legislative approval for $1,200 cash payments to every Alaskan.”
This, from the candidate who said Wednesday night that she “championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.”

Lesson Five: Palin has quickly learned how to be part of the Washington Republican Establishment that has given us Eight Years of terrible governance.