Palin Promotions

The last few days have been busy at the Alaska Statehouse. While we have been focusing much on SB-21 – the bill that is intended to abolish Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share (ACES), not all the news coming out of the legislature is bad.

Federal Gun Control Nullification

The Tenth Amendment Center reported two days ago that both the AK House and Senate approved HB69, which would nullify any federal gun control laws passed by the Obama administration. Wyoming, Texas, and several other other states have passed or are working on similar legislation. Alaska Governor Sean Parnell will more than likely sign it.

Among other things, SB69 says:

“a statute, regulation, rule, or order that has the purpose, intent, or effect of confiscating any firearm, banning any firearm, limiting the size of a magazine for any firearm, imposing any limit on the ammunition that may be purchased for any firearm, or requiring the registration of any firearm or its ammunition infringes on an Alaskan’s right to bear arms in violation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and, therefore, is not made in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, is not authorized by the Constitution of the United States, is not the supreme law of the land, and, consequently, is invalid in this state and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this state…”

The legislation requires the state to stand down and not enforce unconstitutional federal gun control laws. It also requires the state’s Attorney General to defend any Alaskan who is charged under any such “laws” that may be passed. The entire premise of this legislation is that the gun laws being proposed are not valid laws.

Alaskans are urged to call Gov. Parnell at (907) 465-3500 and ask for him to sign SB69 into law.

H/T O.P. Ditch, Vets4Sarah for story lead.

HB 4, which will provide $400 million to build an in-state gasline has been approved, Pat Forgey of the Alaska Dispatch reported yesterday. Judging by the headline, Forgey believes this pipeline will be little more than a pipe dream. Hopefully, the pipeline will materialize and become reality – otherwise it would be a nearly half-billion dollar boondoggle. As previously reported, a new state agency would be created to oversee construction of the pipeline which would bring North Slope natural gas to the state’s population centers. It could possibly connect to the larger pipeline being built under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA), one of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s core accomplishments.

“Alaska’s constitution contains an explicit provision which requires that Alaska’s resources are for the maximum benefit of Alaskans, not corporate interests no matter how powerful. The Alaska Constitution is threatened by SB21’s resource giveaway. It must be recognized that the corporate goals of Big Oil are not the same as Alaska’s,” Joe Paskavan wrote for the Alaska Dispatch on April 10.

Paskavan wrote that the state Constitutional Constitution had two fears: that Big Oil would exploit the resource under the “thin guise of development,” or acquire oil rich lands and warehouse the resource to prevent competition with activities in other locations – specifically foreign countries. “It is a myth and manufactured crisis that oil throughput decline is caused by Alaska’s production tax,” he wrote saying that the decline is due to both treatment facility constraints and “limitations on capacity to get oil out of the facilities, which were designed, engineered and intended by Big Oil decades ago.”

Oil decline started in 1989, long before Gov. Palin entered politics and long before ACES, as previously reported. The big three companies had a near monopoly less than a decade ago. Under ACES, small independent companies are thriving. SB-21 could return the Big Three to near monopoly status again.

“Alaska’s constitution should not be trampled and our resources should not be exploited. The economic goals of corporate interests, especially those with near monopoly powers and a history of corruption of the public process, are not similar to Alaska’s goals. The SB21 tax giveaway with:

1. no benchmarks to legitimately measure real increased production,
2. no sunset to provide Alaskans with an opportunity for realistic reassessment, and
3. no established reinstatement of the current tax structure when the giveaway tax bill fails…

…is a trampling of Alaska’s constitution and an exploitation of our resources,” Paskavan concluded.

Alaskans are encouraged to keep up the fight against SB-21.

H/T Lynda Armstrong, “The Teacher’s Daughter: a Tribute to Sarah Palin” Facebook Group for story lead.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell continues his assault on Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, the oil revenue tax system that is one of his predecessor – Sarah Palin’s – key accomplishments, Alex DeMarban, of the Alaska Dispatch reported March 13. Gov. Parnell “says the state must eliminate billions of dollars in tax credits paid to oil companies because the incentives aren’t leading to new production, yet his administration has provided little evidence to support his claim,” DeMarban wrote in his lead.

The oil companies meanwhile contradict Gov. Parnell’s claims saying the tax credits are essential to inducing them to explore in the state. One smaller explorer has larger operations in Texas and says that state requires far less headaches, time and money to explore. Alaska’s remote spaces, unique geography and short seasons with Arctic winters mean it can take up to seven years to get oil flowing from a well versus one year in Texas. The oil companies, however, support Gov. Parnell’s efforts to abolish production taxes, which are a core component of ACES. “As always, state lawmakers are being asked to make multibillion-dollar decisions with little information due to confidentiality rules surrounding Alaska tax policy and agreements with oil companies,” DeMarban wrote.

The combination of foreign imports and shale exploration in the Lower 48 states have conspired to reduce Alaska’s oil output by 75% from over 2 million barrels per day to 500,000. Parnell thinks abolishing ACES will return Alaska to its prior heyday. ACES has brought in over $1.5 billion per year in revenue in the seven years it has been in force. Alaska is one of the few states that has a surplus and has avoided a recession. Abolishing the progressive feature of ACES would severely reduce state income and possibly trigger deficits in the long term. Gov. Parnell’s move to eliminate the tax credits is intended to stanch the revenue bleed that would result from his proposed abolition of ACES.

The Parnell administration claims the capital expenditure “tax credits are too broad — they’re paid out for items that aren’t directly tied to production, things such as trucks or runway improvements or emergency response facilities.” The credits are worth 20 cents on the dollar. But oil company executives say the tax credits pay for infrastructure that helps production. The large companies take $3 billion in capital expenditures tax credits which helps them offset the production taxes. The smaller ones take $1.2 billion, deMarban wrote. The smaller companies tend to be more aggressive about exploring, a point also frequently made on the Bob and Mark show. DeMarban cited the work of Brooks Range, which has drilled 10 out of 36 penetrations on the North Slope using $31 million in capital expenditure tax credits. The state of Alaska stands to receive $1 billion in tax revenue over the the 44 million-barrel life of the field.

The claims about ConocoPhillips getting paved runways and snack rooms are murky and with the confidentiality agreements surrounding them, the truth will never known.

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.

For further background, see: Alaska Dispatch Myth Busts Parnell, MAC and others on ACES.

Alaskan readers are urged to call their representatives and state senators and tell them to say NO to SB-21.

H/T Lynda Armstrong, “I Stand With Sarah: a Tribute” Facebook Group

According to a poll by Harper Polling, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is competitive in a potential race for Senator Mark Begich’s seat which comes up for election in 2014. Overall, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell leads Gov. Palin 32% to 27%, while Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell and 2010 Senate candidate Joe Miller lag far behind at 14% and 12% respectively. Gov. Palin leads Gov. Parnell by one point among very conservative voters (26% – 25%), while Gov. Parnell leads the somewhat conservative voters by 14% (39% – 25%).

Favorable / Likeability Numbers

Gov. Palin’s favorable rating among Republicans in this poll was 56% favorable, 38% not favorable; while Parnell’s was 74% and 16% respectively. All candidates’ favorable ratings dropped when considered against a sample of the entire electorate (Republicans, Democrats, and Independents). Parnell’s numbers were 50% favorable, 38% unfavorable, while Gov. Palin’s favorable rating was 34% and her unfavorable rating was 60%.

Name Recognition: 99.31%

Gov. Palin’s name recognition is 99.31% among the 1,157 likely voters sampled with a margin of error of +/- 2.88% and a confidence level of 95%.

Palin for Senate 2014?

Gov. Palin is a solid conservative, so her leading Parnell among the “very conservative” voters is not surprising. We don’t know if Gov. Palin will run for this Senate seat, but these numbers do suggest that a Palin campaign for any elective office would need a prior program to improve her favorable / likeability numbers among likely voters. Gov. Palin has gotten a bum rap in the mainstream media and likely voters right now believe the distorted version of her record. Complicating matters, Gov. Parnell’s repeated bids to scuttle Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share (ACES) and to monkeywrench the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) are gaining traction now that he has a contingent of like-minded Republicans on his side.

Gov. Palin, in a hypothetical Senatorial campaign, however, could compellingly argue that Gov. Parnell is bent on causing Alaska to lose its state savings and once again be governed by corrupt-o-crats. If she chose to run for Senate, Gov. Palin would be well-served to avoid the “earmarks” third rail. Joe Miller ran as the “anti-earmarks” candidate and that position did not serve him well. Earmarks queen Lisa Murkowski easily defeated him on a write-in campaign with the help of over $1.5 million in financing by Native corporations which live and die by the earmarks Miller was campaigning to shut off. One day after re-taking office, Murkowski repaid her benefactors with over $26 million in earmarks.

Gov. Palin would never countenance this type of corruption, yet a Joe Miller-style anti-earmarks platform would be suicidal for a “Palin 2014 Senate” campaign in a state addicted to earmarks. But, Gov. Palin has 20 years of experience and the professional judgement and wisdom in handling precisely this issue, while Miller was a rank amateur. Further, Gov. Palin’s entire political career was dedicated to rooting out corruption, waste and fraud.

Would Gov. Palin run for Senate? Doing so would likely scuttle any Palin 2016 Presidential run, if she were to run and win. Running for Senate and serving two out of the six years would not likely go over very well, though other Senators have done just that. They got away with it, but there is a double-standard where Gov. Palin is concerned and that would spawn a whole new “quitter” meme. But, running for and winning the Senate seat would line Gov. Palin up perfectly for a 2020 Presidential run, and she would be going into it having experience in a federal office. But, running for the office would restrict the freedom Gov. Palin has now and she would be in the middle of the establishment she is trying so hard to defeat.

Whether Gov. Palin runs for Begich’s seat, or President in 2016, or neither remains to be seen, but this polling data shows that with improvement on her favorable / likeability numbers, Gov. Palin could win this race if she chose to run.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell yesterday abandoned his own effort to destroy ACES in a Special Legislative Session he called for the purpose, Alaskan talk show hosts Bob and Mark reported this morning as they opened their broadcast. Alaska Senator Hollis French was “stunned that Parnell quit on his proposal so soon.” Other legislators shared French’s surprise – and relief – the talk show hosts reported. Gov. Parnell assigned blame to the Alaska Senate for the failure of his attempt to provide give-aways to the oil companies and said he “would not rule another Special Legislative Session later this year.”

“Parnell is a sneaky SOB. He’s not dumb, but he knows who he works for,” Bob and Mark said. “Don’t get too happy. They’ll be back. They plan to wait for people who will do their bidding for them.”

Corrupt Bastards Club Version 2.0

Bob and Mark warned their listeners that legislative district lines are being re-drawn and voters should know where their candidates are getting money from. “Re-districting is very complicated, but voters need to know for the August primaries and the November general. The oil companies are going to throw the bank at the candidates they know they can control. It will be the Corrupt Bastards Club Version 2.0. They’re re-grouping. They’ll try [to] dupe you and scare you.”

Gov. Palin wrote about the original Corrupt Bastards Club in Going Rogue:

we promised to shine a bright spotlight on ethics reform and to clean up the favor factory known as the Capitol Building. An undercover FBI investigation of the Alaska State Legislature was bubbling to the surface at the offices of state legislators–five Republicans & one Democrat. It turned out that the feds had been investigating links between some lawmakers and VECO Corporation, the oil field services giant. The warrants authorized agents to search computer filed personal communications, and official reports, as well as any items emblazoned with the phrase “Corrupt Bastards Club,” or “CBC.”

The CBC had started as a barroom joke. The name stuck–and some of the lawmakers thought it was so funny they had hats printed up that said “CBC.” It wasn’t so funny after the feds showed up (Palin, 2009, p. 112).

“Pay attention to who’s got all the money,” Bob and Mark said. “[AK Representative] Pete Peterson is being redistricted and has to run against Lance Pruitt. The Republican running in my district is wonderful, but I have that little thing that tells me something is going on.”

Though ACES went unscathed through two years of attempts on it, Bob and Mark warned that its enemies are “waiting. They’re in no hurry.”

The 16 to 20 independent companies are the ones most eager to drill, the duo noted. The big three oil companies have tended toward warehousing the resource.

“Don’t drop your guard. They’re going to strategize during the summer – in the fall election season, it will hit like a ton of bricks. The lobbyists are the point men. Follow the money!”

“Parnell decided to take his ball and go home. Right on! It’s good – for now,” they concluded.

ACES is one of Gov. Palin’s signature accomplishments, along with the ethics reform she brought to Alaska’s Executive Branch in the wake of the CBC scandal, and the Randy Ruederich era of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

References:

Palin, S. L. H. (2009). Going Rogue: An American Life. (New York: Harper). p. 113.