You betcha she's a maverick...a travellin' maverick. And it looks like her kids came along for the ride:
Oct 21st, 2008 | ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.
It gets better. Join me over the fold, won't you?
Digg it!
Digg it again!
(ht kissmygrits)
Highlights:
In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006.
After Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin his running mate and reporters asked for the records, Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for her daughters' travel.
When Palin released her family's tax records as part of her vice presidential campaign, some tax experts questioned why she did not report the children's state travel reimbursements as income.
Remember this DKos Diary on Palin's taxes. What's that line about getting a newspaper 3 weeks early? But if Joe the Plumber taught us anything , it's that Real Americans don't pay taxes.
In October 2007, Palin brought daughter Bristol along on a trip to New York for a women's leadership conference. Plane tickets from Anchorage to La Guardia Airport for $1,385.11 were billed to the state, records show, and mother and daughter shared a room for four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House hotel, which overlooks Central Park.
The AP reports that Palin attended the conference for five hours, but stayed in the Essex for five days and four nights. You think they ordered lobster and Iranian caviar from room service?
But there's more:
In July, the governor charged the state $2,741.26 to take Bristol and Piper to Philadelphia for a meeting of the National Governors Association. The girls had their own room for five nights at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for $215.46 a night, expense records show.
Expense forms describe the girls' official purpose as "NGA Governor's Youth Programs and family activities." But those programs were activities designed to keep children busy, a service provided by the NGA to accommodate governors and their families, NGA spokeswoman Jodi Omear said.
The Ritz-Carleton? That's not even a Real American Hotel!!!! It's for Elitists, right?
The state is already reviewing nearly $17,000 in per diem payments to Palin for more than 300 nights she slept at her own home, 40 miles from her satellite office in Anchorage.
Delicious!
The Palins began charging the state for commercial flights after the governor kept a 2006 campaign promise to sell a jet bought by her predecessor.
Ha ha. So after selling the jet at a loss, through a broker, and NOT on eBay, Palin started charging the state for her kids to travel commercially. But that's a mavericky way to save the state money, right?
Nope...she still takes them on the state plane:
In addition to the commercial flights, the children have traveled dozens of times with Palin on a state plane. For these flights, the total cost of operating the plane, at $971 an hour, was about $55,000, according to state flight logs. The cost of operating the state plane does not increase when the children join their mother.
[Deleted Joke]
UPDATE: First time on the Rec list!! (well...first time since the Buffy Orpington fiasco...which I deleted) This is much better. Thanks. xo
UPDATE #2:
For more on the tax implication of all this, here's a piece from ABC back when we were talking about per diems. Choice quote here:
The IRS also strictly forbids deductions for expenses incurred bringing a spouse and kids along on a business trip. Tax authorities say any reimbursement for travel costs for family members would likely incur income taxes.
So, yeah...she's a tax cheat, and she and Joe the Plumber owe back taxes.
UPDATE #3:
Alaskans, please take note! If all goes well on Nov. 4th, Sarah's all yours again, and you'll have the chance to take her out in 2010. A potential Orange to Blue record candidate? Per bobscofield
UPDATE #4: (the 'Just for Kicks Edition)
h/t to xrepub for this:
RNC appears to shell out $150K for Palin fashion
Ironically, SNL has shelled out only $2500 for Tina Fey.
UPDATE #5: Upon reflection, and thanks to the comments of some on this thread, I've deleted my joke, which was made before I thought I'd be rec'd, and which is admittedly on, or beyond the pale.
UPDATE #6: REAL AMERICANS DON'T APOLOGIZE
"We are always proud to be Americans, and we don't apologize for being Americans," Palin added later.
oops
Palin also apologized Tuesday for any misunderstanding caused when she referred last week to the patriotic values of "the real America" and "pro-America areas of this great nation." Democrats and others criticized Palin for seeming to imply that some parts of the country are more patriotic than others. Palin denied that was her intention in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. "I don't want that misunderstood," Palin said. "If that's the way it came across, I apologize."
FINAL UPDATE: Palin Just Keeps on Giving
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin, already found by one investigation to have abused her power, will take time from her campaign for vice president Friday to give a deposition in a second inquiry into her firing of the state's top public safety official.