Friday, October 03, 2008

Palin Lies About Darfur

Of all the "misstatements" and lies VP candidate Palin told or repeated in last night's debate, there is one that is truly immoral.

Palin made a big point of saying she supported a measure in Alaska for that state to divest its portfolio of investments in Sudan, because of that nation's sponsorship of those committing genocide in Darfur. She made it sound as if she backed it, it passed and was now being carried out in Alaska.

It's all lies. Her administration opposed it. Her lack of support--says a co-sponsor--caused the measure to fail.

It's all in this report from ABC News, supported by fact-checking from the Washington Post.

Her revenue commissioner testified against the bill in the legislature, even though it had bipartisan sponsorship. The Democratic co-sponsor was Les Garra, and he told ABC News: "I walked out of that hearing livid," Gara recalled of the February meeting. Because of the Palin administration's opposition to the bill, "We could not get a vote in that committee," he explained. At no point did Palin come out in support of the effort, Gara said.

There was some softening of total opposition later, when the move proved controversial. But the fact is that nothing has yet been done, and right now Alaska holds $22 million in Sudan-linked investment.

Sarah Palin's Alaska is investing in genocide. And before some 70 million Americans, she lied about it.

Update: Two other Palin matters before we forget her for awhile. First, Bill Clinton pointed out in his speech in Florida last week that the next President will need to concentrate on the economy and other domestic crises for at least his first two years, and it will be up to the vice-president to mend fences with world leaders. Think about that for a minute...

Second but not least, Jonathan Turley pointed out Friday evening on Rachel Maddow that VP candidate Palin is the first candidate for president or vice-president who is refusing to honor a lawful subpoena during the campaign. Why is this not a major issue?

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