Calling Bullshit

I don’t know how many times this bears repeating, but Sarah Palin is an abject liar. Not only did she repeat the howling falsehood that she opposed The Bridge to Nowhere, but she also claimed that her administration brought about “the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.” Which it didn’t. What it did is offer a Canadian company half a billion dollars of Alaskan taxpayer money to seek permits to build a pipeline. TransCanada, however, doesn’t actually own the rights to develop a cubic inch of natural gas; the companies that do possess the leases have made it very clear that the deal between TC and Alaska is unacceptable, and they won’t work within the framework that Palin and the legislature created. Indeed, none of the big producers even bothered submitting applications to build the pipeline. They argue that Palin’s administration — which raised taxes on oil companies — has created an inhospitable business climate, and they’ve refused to participate.

Personally, I have no problem with raising taxes on oil producers. The higher, the better. And I couldn’t care less about the fact that a natural gas pipeline won’t ever be developed under the framework created by the state. I’d prefer the pipes never be laid at all. But Sarah Palin shouldn’t be allowed to get away with celebrating her achievements at promoting “competition” when, in fact, she’s done the sorts of things — raising taxes and “burdening” business with regulations — that would be red meat for the Republicans if they’d been instituted anywhere by a Democratic governor. And Palin shouldn’t be congratulated for pissing away $500 million that could have been invested in researching and developing alternative energy sources in Alaska.