Sarah Palin's Accomplishments

One of the most oft-repeated criticisms of Sarah Palin is that she doesn't have any "accomplishments". The usual line of attack, borrowed from the Lamestream Media, is that she couldn't hack it as governor for more than two years, resigning in tears when confronted with the evidence of her unethical dealings (somehow she simultaneously gets blamed for the ethics laws themselves), and fleeing the state of Alaska in order to rake in the cash from her rabid cult following in the lower 48. Or something. Nary a mention of the Vice Presidential campaign, the long knives of the media and the Chicago mob machine, the dismissal of all ethics complaints, the crushing financial burden of defending herself from these charges, or her desire to serve her country at the national level. The fraudulent allegations of these cynical bystanders deserve a rebuttal.

Governor Palin has "accomplished" many things not only as governor, but also as a city councilwoman, mayor, and oil and gas commissioner. During  her time in Wasilla, she cut property taxes, opposed unnecessary government regulations, prioritized infrastructure development, and attracted jobs and businesses to the city. Under her leadership, the town grew and prospered. Her terms as city councilwoman and mayor are chronicled here and here. As a governor, Palin cut spending. She had two major legislative accomplishments: AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act), which restarted a stalled project to build a pipeline to deliver Alaska's oil and natural gas to the lower 48, and ACES (Alaskans' Clear and Equitable Share), which restructured a disastrous system of taxing oil comapnies to one that worked better for both the people of Alaska and the oil companies. Some of Palin's opponents (such as members of the CBC that were abusing the tax system) have criticized this plan as "redistributing wealth" since it taxes oil companies and gives individual Alaskans a check from oil revenues. However, the Alaskan Constitution specifies that the resources of Alaska belong to the people (not the state, which would be socialist), oil companies were already taxed (but corruption flourished under Murkowski), and in reality a shareholder model would be the more appropriate analogy. Instead of the state wasting the money, citizens are given back their tax dollars (more on this later). More information about her actions in office can be found here and here.

All this is great. But none of it gets to the heart of Palin's true accomplishments. Her true legacy lies in her steel spine, her faith and values, her unwavering dedication to standing up and speaking out for the little guy against those who would seek to take advantage of him (or her), and her unrelenting commitment to always doing the right thing, no matter the personal or political cost.

Finally, someone has chronicled these intangible attributes, as well as some of her more concrete achievements, in one succinct article. Whitney Pitcher of C4P articulates better than I ever could 47 reasons why Governor Palin is preeminently qualified to be President, in honor of Palin's 47th birthday. I highly recommend that you read through the list, and I challenge you to name one other candidate whose accomplishments measure up to Palin's. It is increasingly clear that she is the only person for the job.