Did Palin Resign Because Of Wasilla Building Scandal?
By Glenn Church | Related entries in Palin(Editor’s Update: The L.A. Times talked to the FBI and they aren’t investigating Palin. So the following is moot.)
Sarah Palin’s sudden resignation as Alaska’s governor may be the result of a soon to break scandal involving the building of a sports complex while she was Mayor of Wasilla.
It is rumored that federal indictments are pending involving construction projects in Wasilla dating back to 2002. The indictments may involve corruption and embezzlement.
Spenard Building Supplies (SBS) was awarded the $13 million contract that created a long-term debt obligation for Wasilla. SBS is the largest building supply company in Alaska.
At the same time, the Palins built a 3,500 sq. ft., two-story home on the shores of Lake Lucille. Todd Palin said that he built the home with the help of “buddies.†It is reported that the material used for the construction of the home appears to be the same as that used in the Wasilla Sports Complex, including the windows and the wood. SBS supplied the material for the Palin home.
SBS filed a contractor’s lien on the property for labor and materials, stating that the Palin home and sports complex had the “same windows, same wood, same products.â€
That leads to speculation that excess material from the sports complex was transferred from SBS to the Palin home in a quid pro quo arrangement.
At the time of the Palin house building, Palin blocked a new requirement involving the public filing of building permits in Wasilla. This act successfully kept many of the details of the Palin home secret until now.
SBS is a major Palin campaign contributor and sponsor of Todd Palin’s snow machine racing.
Palin’s resignation may be an attempt to avert a major political scandal, but it is unlikely that the feds will back off because she is now an ex-governor. An August Vanity Fair article is said to have riled the thin-skinned Palin as well. Coupled with an ongoing presence of negative media coverage, Palin may have decided she has had it with politics. There are reports that she is telling her political backers they are free to select another candidate for 2012.
Palin said that she is tired of the “superficial, wasteful political blood sport.â€
By resigning, Palin has probably ended her future political career. Quitting is not usually associated with leadership. However, massive legal bills threaten to engulf her as she fights a possible future indictiment. She has already had to fend off 15 state investigations that have led to half a million in legal fees. By quitting, Palin has the opportunity to make considerable money through a book, speaking tours or a news show.
(from Foolocracy.com)
Note from Justin:
I have more on this over at True/Slant, including a couple looks at the Wasilla Sports Complex and a closer shot of Palin’s house.
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 and is filed under Palin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 4th, 2009 at 3:54 am
A news show? After that farewell speech it is easy enough to see where her career path is heading…straight to Saturday Night Live…why use Tina Fey when you can have the real thing…lots of laughs n giggles there.
July 4th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Sarah Palin is resigning because of this very scandal which is why she is raising money for her legal defense just in cast she and her husband are indicted. For the past 2 year she has been investigated on various charges such as troopgate which she was voted by both parties to have abuse her power as Governor which makes her the Rob Blogovich of the Republican Party.
July 4th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Quick Simon! We need 7 paragraphs of legalese peppered with Latin to defend our way out of this one!! Only you can help! Where are you?
July 4th, 2009 at 11:09 am
[...] From Donklephant: Spenard Building Supplies (SBS) was awarded the $13 million contract that created a long-term debt obligation for Wasilla. SBS is the largest building supply company in Alaska. [...]
July 4th, 2009 at 11:26 am
“superficial, wasteful political blood sport.â€
What a perfectly chosen quote!
It’s so aptly describes her political behavior since she stepped onto the national scene.
Oh wait, was she talking about other people? My bad.
–Kyle
July 4th, 2009 at 11:38 am
The problem with trying to understand what she’s up to is that she’s such an amateur.
No one with any sense, or any experience, or even any native wit would deliver a rushed and panting speech in front of a hastily-assembled audience consisting of her family and some guy in a Superman t-shirt. On July 3d. Days after another gubernatorial implosion. With her spokesman in New York. With none of her allies briefed in advance. With an entire handful of contradictory explanations.
My immediate gut reaction is that she looked like someone who’d gotten a really bad phone call minutes before. She looked panicked. She looked like someone who was going to pack her bags and jump on a plane to some place without extradition treaties.
But Palin’s thin-skinned, mean, arrogant, profoundly ignorant, narrow-minded, impetuous and not only inexperienced but indifferent to experience. Unteachable. So who knows what’s rattling around in her brain?
July 4th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
popurls.com // popular today…
story has entered the popular today section on popurls.com…
July 4th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Dont know, dont care, all I know is the sooner she exits, the better. Adios and good riddance!
July 4th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
She probably has a 7 figure contract waiting for her at Faux Noise.
July 4th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Good blog post, but i’m too busy laughing at fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/04/options-abound-palin-alaska-governorship/
“…but she certainly won’t suffer from a lack of options.”
Like… …? AARP sports wear model? That’s pretty much all I can think of.
July 4th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
She can see Russia from her house….I think she’s taking the no-longer-first-dude, the kids, and a satchel of money in a dingy to former soviet union. Upon arrival, she wag her finger at the Capitalist Pigs!
July 4th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I don’t yet have te remotest idea why Palin resigned, but the most likely explanation is that she’s decided she can make a lot of money for a while without holding office (which actually would preclude it); she can continue to leverage her celebrity better that way and perhaps get into the national political sweepstakes again either in 2012 or more likely 2016 (or not); and the latest couple of rounds of having to defend herself pushed her to a decision.
This scandal story seems to be a perfect exanple of an internet rumor running wild. As far as I can see, it’s based on one blogger resurrecting an old story by a Village Voice reporter (naturally hostile to Palin) and running it alongside the outpouring of blogger stories on the resignation, prompting it to be picked up in a hundred places (like Donklephant).
If we in the blogosphere are to keep harping on how we’re as good or better than the MSM, we need to exercise a bit of caution, prudence and fairness every so often. Maybe Sarah or Todd are about to be indicted — but I doubt it. The feds would by now have leaked something about it to the NYT or somebody else, if it were true. At the very least, the leading MSM publications would be rattling every fed cage for morsels of info — and there is no sign of that.
July 4th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
[...] 2: A possible reason? A new scandal brewing. Close Bookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser Favorites / [...]
July 4th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
JB-
Interesting post. in Paragraph 1 you engage in speculation as to why she quit. Which could be summarized as she’s leaving for personal gain, abandoning her responsibilities fueled in part by the fact that she isn’t up to public scrutiny. Some would say that is the most cynical speculation possible if you had really thought she had anything to offer as a leader.
In paragraph 2, you trash the MSM or minor stream media because you think they aren’t trustworthy.
In paragraph 3, you go after blogging and speculation which is often all out discussion is. (even after you yourself do it in the first and third paragraph) and for good measure trash the feds and the MSM one more time for good measure. At this point, you have trashed us for doing what you are doing, trashed the MSM and then blogging for thinking it is up to the MSMs level and then gone full circle to close it out. (My guess is that if anyone came out with a story not totally vetted that you would then again start the circle again.)
You are right, we don’t know all the facts, we do know Palin is an empty skirt. She’s proven it once again.
July 4th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Celebrate July 4 in Alaska and the rest of Palin-free USA!
July 4th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Good stuff. I’m too busy laughing at all these other articles –
http://thebunyon.com/politics/101-palin-resigns-one-ups-sanford-in-battle-of-bat-shit-crazy-republican-presidential-hopefuls.html
Talk about satire.
July 4th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
If I was going to steal a house, I’d at least steal one that didn’t look like a glorified double-wide.
July 4th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Lol, I just wanted to comment that this article has been checked by google and they are showing keywords matching Palin….. thus advertising her PAC group. It is just one of those funny things that happen with Google by accident.
July 4th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
> the Palin’s built a 3,500 sq. ft., two-story home
Please note: the plural of “Palin” is “Palins”, not “Palin’s”.
July 4th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
ombud, great catch.
Fixed!
July 4th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Looks like the Democrat Media Propaganda Machine won again.
For all of those people celebrating the downfall of Good People,
HOW’S THAT HOPE AND CHANGE GOING FOR YOU?
What do you plan to do when they come after you?
July 4th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
the Word Says:
Really, I “trashed” no one — not Palin, not her detractors, certainly not the MSM. The worst thing I said about bloggers is that “we need to exercise a bit of caution, prudence and fairness.” Some trashing!
Generally, we used to know “fighting words” when we saw or heard them. These days, it seems that people take anything they disagree with — no, anything they don’t agree with entirely — as fighting words to be immediately riposted.
July 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Sorry JB I didn’t think your comments were fighting words just very inconsistent.
July 4th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Jake, exactly what I just said to my wife when I saw the picture. I’m like man, that’d be a crappy house to go to jail over lol.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:17 am
[...] been some speculation on this blog and elsewhere that a potential reason for Palin stepping down was a federal probe into her time as [...]
July 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Love her or loathe her you can help but be impressed by her arrival in national politics. I’m no fan yet she does have some irresitable charm that most politicans would sell their soul to possess. Yet she also is thin-skinned, egotistical and a natural victime. All that aside my two theories on her abrupt resignation are:
1. She tired of being a punching bag falling her semi-disasterous arrival on the national political stage. She had erected a personal narrative of her as a heroic figure that was elected governor of Alaska shortly before the price of oil skyrocketed and she had approval ratings of over 80%. After being named McCain’s VP, everything went downhill and she became a laughing stock for many. She just snapped and decided to resign.
2. Something fishy took place in the construction of her house. When I read the article in the Village Voice back in October 08 the situation didn’t make sense.
Of the two I lean toward No. 1 but No. 2 is something that would take a while to boil to the surface.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:01 am
[...] Fox News, once the Kristol/Krauthammer central of Palin cheerleading, is angry at the self-centered idiocy that has become Sarah Palin (which makes on think they are all too aware of coming scandals involving Ms. Palin): [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
If SBS did not give the Palins the house why don’t the Palins simply show the facts. By not doing so the suspicion will always be there.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
[...] Palin, who is not actually dead, appeared unable to understand what the word “memorial” actually meant. Still, that did not keep her from laying out plans for the event to be held today at 3 p.m. at the Wasilla Sports Complex. [...]
August 1st, 2009 at 8:08 pm
[...] not liking her sudden rise to the top of national politics, or being involved in seemingly minor scandals. The most recent rumor suggests extramarital affairs committed by both her and her husband are [...]