Palin's Expense Accounts Under Scrutiny: More shit in the sewer system

[maseman]

Palin's expense reports under scrutiny
Officials defend reimbursements, but trips with children raise questions
By James V. Grimaldi and Karl Vick
The Washington Post
updated 12:02 a.m. ET, Tues., Sept. 9, 2008
ANCHORAGE - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.

The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel and many of the trips were to and from their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26616212

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. This story certainly has LEGS!

[maseman]

3. I don't think any one story

will doom her but the collective whole of all the crap she has done (or hasn't done) can certainly paint her as an incompetent boob.

[Fluffdaddy]

36. Agree. We have to stop looking for the one punch knockout blow

[nc4bo]

2. Has legs!!? This sucker is a freaking millipede - good lawd! nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. LOL! Didn't Tom Delay get indicted for something like this?

[nc4bo]

12. Ha! Had all sorts of goodies packed on his house he did. the dirty turd. nt

[Quixote1818]

5. But, but, but!!! She fired the chef! nt

[BlueIdaho]

8. Oh no she didn't... nt.

[Quixote1818]

9. Oh yeah, thats another lie. My bad!

:rofl:

[NotThisTime]

6. Let me get this straight, she wants to charge the state because she doesn't want to live in the

Governor's home? For real?

[Quixote1818]

7. K and R

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. That todd guy is a real piece of work. "official business" my ass.

They would be in jail anyplace else.

[maseman]

11. I have a great job

with a nice expense account. But the last thing I would do is abuse it or they would nail my arse to a wall. Not worth it. She should have an inquiry into this as well in Alaska.

[Colobo]

13. She's corrupt.

[rufus dog]

14. Only one question

Why would they need a per diem for meals? Thought they hunted for their meals.

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. 312 billed for 19 months = 10 months of 19 months billed at home. THIEF!

She billed the taxpayers for 1/2 of her total time in office.

[Colobo]

16. I would love to see the Obama campaign pound her mercilessly with this.

[Prefer]

18. Tax Fraud - I know all about Per Diem

I used it for years. It is a great deal because you can get around $20 of your pay tax free.

The thing is, you can't use it for over a year. After 1 year, you are considered permanent resident of where ever you were commuting to.

Now, she may have been going different places and that would be OK, but if she was going between, say, home and another work place, (has to be over 50 miles), then your eligibility expires after one year. Period.

[GoesTo11]

34. Weekends don't count. So it's 80% of workdays billed at home.

You know what they say about a person who cheats at golf.

[TwilightGardener]

17. Why didn't the whole damn family just move to Juneau? As a military wife, if

I decided to remain at our old base with my kids while my husband PCS'd to a different base, the government sure as HELL isn't going to fund our meals and trips back and forth. Why are the taxpayers responsible for the tab for their inconvenient living arrangement?

[Elidor]

19. People like the Palins view elective office as a fiefdom to plunder

License to steal.

[AkFemDem]

20. This just earned a really loud "Your fucking kidding" from my indy husband

He's a moderate who has voted both parties in the past and has been leaning toward McCain/Pain, he's cussing up a storm as I type and I'm just smiling at him dotingly saying "yes dear, that sure is messed up!".

He probably thinks I'm writing recipes... little does he know I'm cheering on the revolution he's gonna vote for in November.

Sarah Palin and family- BUSTED!!!!

[Lochloosa]

31. Welcom to DU AkFemDem

And tell your husband: "Welcome to the Revolution":toast:

[americanstranger]

21. For someone who claims to have stood up to the 'good ol' boys'...

she sure has no problem acting just like them.

She learned at the knee of Ted Stevens, no doubt.

- as

[nc4bo]

22. Wadaminute - Todd.

And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

WHAT official business???!! I thought official business was for a public official, in this case the Gov. of Alaska?

[smoochpooch]

23. So, when she travel as VP, we have to pay for her whole GD family so she can be a mom?

It's hard to imagine Gore or Biden demanding that their kids go with them everywhere. Just because a group suggests that you bring your family on a business trip doesn't mean you do it, especially at taxpayer expense. I doubt Joe Biden charges his state for train fare every day.

[AkFemDem]

24. We need to kick this like mad, the indy husband is now

googling and angrily reading articles out loud.

I'm telling ya, this is going to be the revelation that will damn Palin (and McCain). I never felt anything like this for babygate, the bridge lie, or the whole speaking in tongues thing. This is something that will offend the biggest demographic group of all- taxpayers. It's not all that difficult to understand either, you don't need to be an economist to see how she abused the system. She's toast.

[Marsala]

25. It certainly should

As long as she can't spin this as being necessary for her family or something. Which I doubt, but you never know.

[FatDave]

26. Holy...fucking...shit...

This is the one people. This is the one that finishes her. Thoroughly reprehensible, amazingly illegal, and easy enough for even the dumbest voter to understand.

She's toast.

[me b zola]

27. K&R

[Botany]

28. But she fired her driver.

Hubby going to Alberta is state business?

Billing the state for lodging when she was @ home?

Billing the state for her daughter's trip to go to some Christian center?
(And getting the Christian center $25,000 from the state.)

She is 100% dirty using State funds as her private piggy bank.

[and-justice-for-all]

29. Is that fraud? nt

[terrya]

30. The woman is a ethical cesspool.

I can't come up with any words to describe this woman. How she got elected Governor is completely beyond me. Hell, and I thought MY Governor, Rod Blagojevich, had ethical problems. He's a freaking Boy Scout compared to her.

[midnight armadillo]

32. it's a small state, people-wise

I can't come up with any words to describe this woman. How she got elected Governor is completely beyond me.

It's a small state - the talent pool is shallow. It's also clearly corrupted by oil & gas money.

[Cosmocat]

37. The "barracuda" ...

She was simply the meanest fish in a small pond. And, as someone else noted, Alaska is a WHOLE NOTHER world. As much as they want to paint her as the quisisential "hockey mom" she is VERY MUCH out of the "mainstream" of the lower 48.

IF, IF, IF the media simply plays it CLOSE to straight, there is a NEVER ending stream of "bad news" that should just turn away anyone other than the rabid 40% base for this trainwreck.

[Minnesota Raindog]

33. This kind of per diem billing got MN Sen. Dave Durenberger an ethics violation and censure in 1990

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?hpid=topnews

Sarah Palin bills the state of Alaska per diem for staying in her own home. Yet when Minnesota Sen. Dave Durenberger did the same thing in the 1980s--billing Congress for staying in a condo he owned in Minneapolis--he got hit with an ethics violation, was denounced by the Senate and served one year of probation for misuse of public funds:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,970360-1,00.html

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=d000566

I guess they have different ethics in Alaska.

[davidpdx]

35. Digg it

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Palin_Billed_State_for_Nights_Spent_at_Home_2

[viking11]

38. trash talk

The more you try to trash her the higher they go in the polls.

[Virginia Dare]

39. You wish...n/t

[Botany]

42. So her husband billing the State for his trip to Alberta isn't true?

Palin staying @ home and billing the state for lodging isn't true?

Her daughter going to a fundy church program and she billed the state
isn't true? And then Palin then gave that church $25,000.

This is called stealing and it will not help her in the polls .... except for
neo cons, freepers, and rush listeners who think those actions are neat.

BTW enjoy your stay

[Virginia Dare]

40. She even billed them for the infant's travel...

real "reformer" you are there Barracuda....:eyes:

[Gin]

41. that's how she "went back to work 3 days after giving birth"

Home and work are the same thing...so...she probably made a phone call or read a document for 30 minutes....billed the state for the whole day....she is a piece of work. It probably irritated her to wait 3 days.