Poll: Palin GOP Favorite in 2012 – But Pollster Says Poll has No Value

A new CNN poll shows Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be the favorite for the Republican nomination in 2012. The pollster goes on to say the poll has no predictive value.

Well it looks like a Palin presidency is guaranteed. And with the Conservative Political Action Conference heating up in Washington, DC, this is sure to cause great excitement.

A new CNN poll looking at the 2012 presidential election is out (which makes sense because President Obama only has 47 months to go in this term).

Smooth sailing

The results show Sarah Palin is the favorite to receive the GOP presidential nomination. So all she’s got to do now is remain popular this year, and in 2010, and in 2011, and in 2012, raise a ton of money, win a bunch of primaries, and then get nominated.

You can’t dispute polls. Pollsters have proven there is no better industry to be in when it comes to economic catastrophes. They never get laid off.

Just last week, there was one that had President Obama beating Jesus in a “who’s your favorite hero” poll. (Not lying, here’s that story).

No Stimulus for AADC Despite Gov. Palin push

Kodiak Launch Complex

It does not appear that the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) will benefit from state stimulus money as was anticipated, Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation President Dale Nash told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly at a work session Thursday night.

It had been hoped that the KLC would get $35 million to fund planned expansion of the facility. In a Jan. 7 letter to Alaska’s congressional delegation, Gov. Sarah Palin named KLC among the state’s top five priorities for federal funding, calling it “important for the nation’s defense.”

“We are still hoping to get $7 million from the state,” Nash said.

Gov. Palin’s Negotiated Settlement Doesn’t Address Her Tax Issues

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Gov. Sarah Palin’s agreement to reimburse the state for trips her children took at government expense does not address potential tax problems she might face for charging Alaska thousands of dollars for their travel, lawyers handling the settlement said.

Palin already is drafting changes to her 2007 and 2008 tax returns, spokesman Bill McAllister said. This comes after learning that she is responsible for taxes on personal use of a state vehicle and nearly $18,000 she improperly collected as expenses from the state while staying at her Wasilla home about 40 minutes from Anchorage.

Palin now will show those benefits as income for tax purposes. Lawyers negotiating a settlement over state payments for her children’s travel said Thursday they did not consider whether Palin also should include that benefit as income in her taxes.

Gov. Palin Cuts Funding for State Veterans Cemetery

JUNEAU – Sen. Joe Thomas is upset that promised funding for a state veterans cemetery in the Interior was among cuts Gov. Sarah Palin made to her proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, which starts in July.

The Fairbanks Democrat sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which likely will scrutinize Palin’s budget amendments early next week.

“I’m a little concerned,” he said. “It’s an important project, and it’s floundered around a bit in the past couple of years. I thought we were finally moving forward with it.”

He acknowledged the state’s financial situation is driving cuts, but he was troubled to see funding still in place for warm storage buildings and other projects instead.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski cited the veterans cemetery as a worthy state effort in her annual address to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday.

Funds for Veterans Cemetery Among Budgets Cuts by Gov. Palin

FAIRBANKS – A Fairbanks lawmaker is upset after Gov. Sarah Palin cut promised funding for a veterans cemetery in the Interior.

Sen. Joe Thomas, a Democrat, said he thought the project was finally moving forward after floundering a few years. But then the promised $250,000 was among the cuts Palin made this week.

Thomas said he appreciates the financial situation the state is in, but didn’t understand some other projects – such as warm storage buildings – which weren’t cut.

Palin to Unveil Power Plan for Alaska Railbelt

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Gov. Sarah Palin has high hopes for a multibillion dollar natural gas pipeline. One of her other legacies could be shaping the systems that let most Alaskans flip on a light switch.

Palin by the end of the month will propose a bill taking the first steps toward forming a state corporation to oversee power generation in the Railbelt, home to 65 percent of Alaska’s population.

Projected population growth along Alaska's Southern Railbelt.

The Railbelt is named for areas touched by tracks of the Alaska Railroad: Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Mat-Su and the Kenai Peninsula. Six independent utilities now power the region. An $800,000 state study overseen by the Alaska Energy Authority suggests it’s time for a more efficient management model.

The best hope for future affordable rates, according to the study, is a centralized authority with the financial muscle to build efficient power plants, coordinate power generation between all facilities and send electricity over a reliable power grid.

“It isn’t really a new idea,” says Joe Balash, Palin’s energy adviser. “It’s just time.”

A transition would be complex. The six utilities – Golden Valley Electric Association in Fairbanks, Matanuska Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association, Anchorage Municipal Light & Power, the City of Seward and Homer Electric Association – operate under a variety of state and federal rules. They have long-term obligations for purchasing fuel and paying off debt. They operate with their own elected or appointed boards and their first allegiance is to their own customers.

Legislators Quibble with Palin’s Characterization of Budget Changes

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage

JUNEAU, Alaska — A revised revenue forecast for the 2010 fiscal year released by the Palin administration Wednesday is prompting legislators to speak out.

Gov. Sarah Palin announced a drop of more than $2 billion in revenue along with more than $445 million in spending cuts for the 2010 operating and capital budgets.

Legislators say some of the so-called spending reductions are simply deferred payments that shouldn’t be considered cuts.

Karen Rehfeld, director of the Alaska Office of Management and Budget

“You’ve got $100 million in oil investment credits that were not spent, so that’s not really a cut, that’s something we’ll expend in the future,” Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said. “You’ve got another $166 million paying down the unfunded liability in PERS/TRS, we’re essentially deferring that.”

Palin Campaign Manager: Palin ‘Cringed At The Idea’ Of Reading A Gay-Friendly Children’s Book

Last fall, media reports alleged that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) had tried to ban books from the local library while mayor of Wasilla. The McCain campaign countered that under Mayor Palin “not one book was banned, period,” while Palin insisted that her inquiries into removing books from the shelves were strictly “rhetorical.”

In a new biography of Palin released this week, Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin, her former campaign manager details Palin’s disgust at the idea of a gay-friendly book. During her 1996 mayoral campaign, Palin questioned the local library director about the “content and selection” of the library’s books. [p. 76]

Palin Could Battle Alaska State Supreme Court Picks

JUNEAU, Alaska (Legal Newsline) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has a month and a half to choose the next member of Alaska’s State Supreme Court.

The problem is the two choices she has to pick from are justices who don’t align with her conservative views.

Alaska’s judges are selected using the Missouri Plan, which combines election and appointment in choosing the judge. The Alaska Judicial Council selects the nominees from which the governor can then make an appointment. As one conservative Web site explained, “she’s boxed in tighter than Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.”

The Alaska Supreme Court has a vacancy to be filled by Governor Sarah Palin

Palin Defends Rule Allowing Loaded Weapons in National Parks

Gov. Sarah Palin is a National Rifle Assocation (NRA) Life Member

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote the Obama administration Tuesday to express her support for a last-minute Bush administration regulation that allows the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks.

Palin said the new measure provides Alaskans with a means of self-defense in a state with vast swaths of federally-protected wilderness.