That's Not A Taxpayer Ripoff You Can Believe In

I think this one's going to cause a stir. A1 of the Washington Post:

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.

This comes from the lady who put the luxury plane on eBay (and then sold it at a loss). The one who is jes folks, the reg'lar ol' hockey mom from moose country. Who makes six figures and sticks the taxpayers with her travel bills. Not just for events around the state, but for trips to her house.

That's a serious shock to the narrative system.

I love this spin:

Gubernatorial spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said Monday that Palin's expenses are not unusual and that, under state policy, the first family could have claimed per diem expenses for each child taken on official business but has not done so.

Yeah, aren't you happy she didn't charge more? What's the matter with you people?

I think Josh Marshall is right: the only response to this message of Sarah Palin as a reformer is derision.



...in her defense, Palin did generously allocate a hundred dollars to educate doctors about traumatic brain injuries.