The Palin family's 16-year friends and sole supporters on the Alaskan airwaves - Bob and Mark - this morning devoted over a half hour of their show to Gov. Parnell's repeated naked attempts to undermine and undo Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share (ACES), which is one of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's signature accomplishments.

Gov. Parnell tried to scuttle ACES via HB 110 in this year's legislative session, after failing to do it in last year's session, where it died in the State Senate. The former lobbyist for ConocoPhillips and lawyer for Exxon-Mobil, however, will not take "no" for an answer. After two successive years of legislative session failures, he called a special legislative session for the sole purpose of destroying ACES. On April 7, 2011 Gov. Parnell bizarrely and infamously asked, “Really, how much [money] is enough?” referring to the money going into Alaska’s state surplus from taxes on oil and gas revenues derived from ACES.

Yes, unlike most other states in the union, thanks to Gov. Parnell's predecessor - Sarah Palin - Alaska has a surplus. In Bizarre: AK Gov. Parnell asks "How much $ is Enough" for Surplus, I wrote:

He operates on the fanciful notion that by doing away with ACES, the top three oil companies will drill and explore in Alaska. Those shilling for the oil companies rail about what a “horrible” place Alaska is to do business, yet Alaska has some of the lowest taxes and much better working conditions than most of the nations these companies find preferable. Since ACES became law in 2007, Alaska has seen an increase in the amount of energy industry jobs...."ACES works, it's been working, and will continue to work," Bob and Mark said.

Gov. Parnell, along with the special interest group, "Make Alaska Competitive" (MAC) is doing the oil companies' bidding. "He's not evil," said the talk show duo about Gov. Parnell, "just dead wrong with the give-aways. Others including his biggest supporters are looking at his plan and going '[REDACTED]?' Even those against ACES are saying, 'dude, your plan [REDACTED]!'"

Bob and Mark continued, "You're talking about billions of dollars being shifted from our account to theirs with no promise they'll do anything for Alaska."

$4.2 Billion in Profits in 27 Months...and AK is not Competitive?

MAC and Gov. Parnell are lying. Oil companies are drilling and staying in Alaska - under ACES - and crying all the way to the bank. Bob and Mark said that ConocoPhillips posted $616 million for their first quarter profits - all of it earned in Alaska, which got $13 million in taxes and royalties. Their first quarter profits for the Lower 48 states were $248 million - less than half that for Alaska. On average, ConocoPhillips earns $7 million in profit per day, all of it in Alaska. They posted $1.9 billion in Alaskan profits for 2011 and $1.7 billion for 2010.

For two and one quarter years, ConocoPhillips earned $4.2 billion in profits in Alaska, which Gov. Parnell and MAC rail about being "non-competitive and a bad place to conduct business" for the oil companies.

"Numbers don't lie. People are being hired. Up on the Slope, there's lots of work," Bob and Mark said. They predicted that "the special legislative session tax breaks for oil companies are due to fail. Gov. Parnell in effect wants to pay the companies to do their job they're already being paid for. That's called double-dipping. It's getting to triple and quintuple-dipping."

AK Rep. Lesil McGuire said Parnell's plan is "half-baked." AK Senator Bert Stedman said it is "dysfunctional." And AK Senator, Hollis French said "ConocoPhillips earns $167,000 per hour. That's enough money to build a high school in four days."

Bob and Mark said prior to ACES, companies paid nothing in taxes in some cases and production still declined. "Parnell doesn't like the 'senators' aggression' but has been trying to stuff his bill down our throats for two years. You tend to lose a little bit of integrity when billions of dollars are involved. You can scream the sky is green 100 times a day, but that doesn't mean it is."

Further, representatives from the oil companies have brazenly said they would wait for elected officials to do their bidding. "To openly say they'll wait for elected officials who will do what they want is scary," Bob and Mark said.

Alaskans Own the Oil and Gas

"We own the oil! When the price of oil goes up, we get more money for it. Duh!"

ACES is a graduated tax system, whereby taxes on oil and gas revenues increase as the value of the resource increases - in the case of oil above $52 per barrel. A portion of this money goes into state savings and another portion is distributed to all Alaskans via the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). Another point often missed when discussing ACES is that it contains a built-in incentive to explore and drill new fields by levying little or no tax when these operations are being conducted. Tax credits are given to develop new infrastructure and reinvest in existing infrastructure.

ACES was developed with strong bi-partisan support to supplant the Petroleum Profits Tax. Governor Palin signed ACES into law on December 19, 2007.

GO ACES! (both the tax system and Alaska's hockey team)

LaDonna Hale Curzon, Executive Producer, Sarah Palin Radio this week interviewed Jesse Kelly, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War who won the GOP nomination to run in a special election for Gabby Giffords' former AZ-8 seat. When asked why his is running, Kelly said, "because this country is amazing! I have two sons. They're three- and one-year-olds, and one day, they're going to ask me what I did about it when America was in trouble." He said the most critical issues in his district as everywhere are the economy, jobs, and gas prices. "We have millions of Americans without a job, and those who have one can't afford the gas to get to work. It is all about the economy right now." When asked what would be the first thing he'd do if sworn in, Kelly answered, "get the EPA out of the way, so we can get our energy in this nation. We talk about our deficit, debt, and unemployment. These are all problems that energy can solve. Get the government out of the way. We can start drilling, we use our natural gas, uranium, clean coal. We have everything we need not just to be energy independent but to be wealthy." Kelly's views on energy and the economy align 100% with those of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Kelly had run for the seat before, which is now in the hands of a Giffords aide. Curzon said since this is a special election and that Obama could carry Arizona this year, both Democrats and Republicans are watching the AZ-8 race very closely. Kelly's campaign website is: http://votejessekelly.com/.  

Audio Transcript of Interview with Jesse Kelly, AZ-8 Congressional Candidate

Conservatives4Palin editor Stacy Drake yesterday wrote about a re-treaded meme that has been making its away around media reports for weeks on end: that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was not properly vetted prior to being chosen as McCain's running mate during the 2008 POTUS campaign. She documented how the GOP establishment has latched on to this meme. The bottom line is that Gov. Palin absolutely was properly vetted. She described the experience in media reports and in Going Rogue. She was also stuck with the bill for the cost of her own vetting - to the tune of $50,000. Nothing untoward was found. Frank Aquila, who played a role in the selection of Gov. Palin describes some of the vetting in Sarah Palin out of Nowhere. Quite the contrary, Gov. Palin is arguably the most vetted woman in history and she has proven that she can withstand the scrutiny. Why is it that both the GOP establishment and the Obama administration have an interest in spreading this lie about someone who neither holds office nor is running for one? Since Romney is "the nominee" - because that's what Romney and the GOP establishment are telling the world - what exactly are they afraid of? It's not like Romney is going to offer Gov. Palin the VP slot on his ticket - he's so much as said that a "Palin-like" person is off the table for him. Even if he offered it, that does not necessarily mean Gov. Palin would accept the position. Perhaps this vetting meme is "inevitability insurance."

Bristol Palin today posted on Bristol's Blog:

You know the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for the rest of his life.” Well, my son Tripp hasn’t caught his first fish yet, but we’re trying our hardest to make sure he enjoys the Palin family tradition of [...]

Retrieved from: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bristolpalin/2012/04/teaching-a-boy-to-fish/.

Governor Palin today posted on Facebook:

The Obama Administration is working on regulations that would prevent children from working on our own family farms. This is more overreach of the federal government with many negative consequences. And if you think the government’s new regs will stop at family farms, think again.

My family is a commercial fishing family, and commercial fishing in Alaska is much like the family farm (but the year 'round farmers no doubt work harder than we do!). I guarantee fishing families wouldn’t stand for this nonsensical intrusion into our lives and livelihoods, and, as a former 4-H member, I don’t believe farm families will either. Our kids learn to work and to help feed America on our nation’s farms, and out on the water.

Federal government: get your own house in order and stop interfering in ours.

- Sarah Palin

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150708641923435.

The purpose of a primary or a caucus is for members of a political party to select their nominee for a particular office. Two or more candidates vie for the nomination and out of this process, the “cream rises to the top” – that is the strongest candidate gets the nomination. Once a candidate is nominated, party leaders, power brokers, pundits, and rank-and-file voters are then supposed to unite behind the nominee. Once a candidate is nominated all vets and bets are off. If something about a candidate - either known or unknown – is problematic - the party and its members are stuck, because the decision was already made. This is true for both Democrats and Republicans.

Our Republican primary here in New York came down to three candidates, though four were on the ballot.

Decisions, Decisions

As the months passed, I vetted the candidates’ records, but the best vetting tool was the ticking clock. I remember when today’s primary was over half a year away. Now, mere hours ago, I donned my red shirt, set my American and Gadsden flags on my house, and went with pen in hand to my polling place….

Simple process of elimination: Romney, Paul, and Santorum are off the table for me right from the start. Romney may very well become the nominee, but not by my vote. I don’t appreciate insincere “evolving positions,” and out-of-touch plutocracy. I don’t consider Ron Paul to be a serious candidate. Santorum is out of the race, but his self-righteousness and inability to manage his behavior on the stump were big turn-offs for me anyway.

That leaves Gingrich. He is a Reagan-era conservative who actually balanced budgets. For Gov. Palin, voting for Gingrich was her only logical choice. She chose not to run, therefore, she could not write herself in. Being a Reagan Conservative herself, Gingrich is the only candidate whose views come closest to hers. He is also the only one of the three who has consistently defended Gov. Palin and has had positive things to say about her. I did not have to ask “what would Sarah do?” because I already know as a matter of public record what she did do.

New York Write-Ins: In Name Only

Though write-ins are supposedly permitted in the State and City of New York, the candidate who wants to be written in must fill out paperwork to become a write-in choice on the ballot. New York’s vision of a write-in is self-contradictory. If a candidate is listed on the ballot, the candidate is declared and not a write-in. A write-in is supposed to be a section on the ballot that consists of an oval and a blank line where the voter starts tabula rasa, because the voter is not satisfied with the declared choices. As a voter, I could try a “write-in” at the scanner without using the ballot, the inspector told me, but I risked having my vote invalidated and not counted. For practical purposes, write-in does not exist anywhere in the State of New York. You pick from the listed choices or stay home.

Having already eliminated three out of the four candidates as being anyone I’d vote for, Gingrich was the last one standing. To be kind, Gingrich’s campaign is in its death throes, and not what I would deem worthy of rewarding with a vote. If I was going to squander a vote, I wanted to at least squander it on someone I believe in. My options were: vote against my values by selecting Romney or Paul; try to force a write-in that would not be counted – tantamount to voting for Romney; disenfranchise myself and go home…or follow in Gov. Palin’s footsteps….

...I filled in the oval next to Gingrich’s name and walked to the scanner, and set the ballot in the feeder. The scanner registered it, and the cardstock ballot dropped to the bottom of the bin. My vote had been cast and counted.

No Pale Pastels, but Bold Colors….

"Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?," then Gov. Reagan said 37 years ago at the 1975 CPAC meeting.

In 1976 Reagan described the Democratic Party platform as, “nothing but a revamp and a reissue and a running of a late, late show of the thing that we have been hearing from them for the last 40 years.”

Our presumptive nominee – “presumptive” is the operative word here - only offers pale pastels. The late, late show has now been running for over 76 years. Now, our party establishment wants to offer the same late, late show, just with a different host.

Today's Bold Colors

What I want is an open convention. On the next ballot, this is what I want to see: someone with executive experience who leads by example. I want someone who has commanded troops, elevated ranks, and has been present at deployment and home-coming ceremonies. I want someone who has experience managing major crises and disasters at the state and city level. I want someone who has experience working with world trade, foreign consuls and diplomats. I want someone with a solid understanding of energy production, generation, transmission and distribution. I want someone who has managed large budgets and has run a surplus. I want someone who has a long track record of accomplishments great and small. I want someone who has a proven ability to withstand media scrutiny. I want someone who resonates, who feels like a close friend, who has an impeccable character that inspires confidence and commands respect. I want someone with an absolute sense of justice and empathy. I want someone who has lived life and has a discerning sense of judgment. I want a strong leader who is not afraid to say it as it is and not afflicted with the cancer of political correctness. There are probably a few things I forgot, but this is a solidly comprehensive list.

Our Greatest Danger

Yes, Gov. Palin has said multiple times, “there is no perfect candidate.” True enough. But, excellence that resides in the realm of the extraordinary does exist. You can see, hear, and touch its embodiment in all areas of human endeavor. In politics, extraordinary excellence is rare, but it does get embodied once, maybe twice every century.

My state with its motto of "Excelsior" (Latin: "Ever Upward") would not let me write in extraordinary excellence today, but I followed in her footsteps.

Romney may or may not be as "inevitable" as he and his supporters crack him up to be. We will not know for sure until the convention. If any readers are delegates, just remember: when you choose pale pastels and mediocrity, the outcome is also predictable and inevitable.

“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

—Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
1475 -1564, Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer