Sliming Palin
September 8, 2008
False Internet claims and rumors fly about McCain's running mate.
Summary
We've been flooded for the past few days with queries about dubious Internet
postings and mass e-mail messages making claims about McCain's running mate,
Gov. Palin. We find that many are completely false, or misleading.
- Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62
percent. She didn't cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding
over just three years.
- She did not demand that books be banned from the Wasilla library. Some
of the books on a widely circulated list were not even in print at the time.
The librarian has said Palin asked a "What if?" question, but the librarian
continued in her job through most of Palin's first term.
- She was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a group that
wants Alaskans to vote on whether they wish to secede from the United
States. She's been registered as a Republican since May 1982.
- Palin never endorsed or supported Pat Buchanan for president. She once
wore a Buchanan button as a "courtesy" when he visited Wasilla, but shortly
afterward she was appointed to co-chair of the campaign of Steve Forbes in
the state.
- Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She
has said that students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of the
evolution question, but she also said creationism "doesn't have to be part
of the curriculum."
We'll be looking into other charges in an e-mail by a woman named Anne
Kilkenny for a future story. For more explanation of the bullet points
above, please read the Analysis.
*Correction: In our original story, we incorrectly said that a few of the
claims we examine here were included in the e-mail by Kilkenny. Only one of
the claims – about the librarian's firing – was similar to an item in that
e-mail. We regret the error. *
Analysis
Since Republican presidential nominee John McCain tapped Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin to be his running mate, information about Palin's past has been
zipping around the Internet. Several claims are not true, and other rumors
are misleading.
No Cut for "Special Needs" Kids
It's not true, as widely reported in mass e-mails, Web postings and at least
one mainstream news source, that Palin slashed the special education budget
in Alaska by 62 percent. CNN's Soledad O'Brien made the
claim<http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0809/04/cnr.01.html>on
Sept. 4 in an interview with Nicolle Wallace, a senior adviser to the
McCain campaign:
*O'Brien, Sept. 4:* One are that has gotten certainly people sending to me a
lot of e-mails is the question about as governor what she did with the
special needs budget, which I'm sure you're aware, she cut significantly, 62
percent I think is the number from when she came into office. As a woman who
is now a mother to a special needs child, and I think she actually has a
nephew which is autistic as well. How much of a problem is this going to be
as she tries to navigate both sides of that issue?
Such a move might have made Palin look heartless or hypocritical in view of
her convention-speech pledge to be an advocate for special needs children
and their families. But in fact, she increased special needs funding so
dramatically that a representative of local school boards described the jump
as "historic."
According to an April 2008
article<http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/30/35recaps.h27.html>in
*Education Week*, Palin signed
legislation<http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=HB0273A&session=25>in
March 2008 that would increase public school funding considerably,
including special needs funding. It would increase spending on what Alaska
calls "intensive needs" students (students with high-cost special
requirements) from $26,900 per student in 2008 to $73,840 per student in
2011. That almost triples the per-student spending in three fiscal years.
Palin's original proposal, according to the *Anchorage Daily News*, would
have increased funds slightly more, giving intensive needs students a
$77,740 allotment by 2011.
*Education Week:* A second part of the measure raises spending for students
with special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per
student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of Education and
Early Development.
Unlike many other states, Alaska has relatively flush budget coffers, thanks
to a rise in oil and gas revenues. Funding for schools will remain fairly
level next year, however. Overall per-pupil funding across the state will
rise by $100, to $5,480, in fiscal 2009. ...*
*
Carl Rose, the executive director of the Association of Alaska School
Boards, praised the changes in funding for rural schools and students with
special needs as a "historic event," and said the finance overhaul would
bring more stability to district budgets.
According to Eddy Jeans at the Alaska Department of Education and Early
Development, funding for special needs and intensive needs students has
increased every year since Palin entered office, from a total of $203
million in 2006 to a projected $276 million in 2009.
Those who claim that Palin cut special needs funding by 62 percent are
looking in the wrong place and misinterpreting what they find there. They
point to an apparent drop in the Department of Education and Early
Development budget for special schools. But the special schools budget,
despite the similar name, isn't the special needs budget. "I don't even
consider the special schools component [part of] our special needs funding,"
Jeans told FactCheck.org. "The special needs funding is provided through our
public school funding formula. The special schools is simply a budget
component where we have funding set aside for special projects," such as the
Alaska School for the Deaf and the Alaska Military Youth Academy. A
different budget component, the Foundation Program, governs special needs
programs in the public school system.
And in any case, the decrease in funding for special schools is illusory.
Palin moved the Alaska Military Youth Academy's ChalleNGe
program<http://www.ngycp.org/>,
a residential military school program that teaches job and life skills to
students under 20, out of the budget line for "special schools" and into its
own line. This resulted in an apparent drop of more than $5 million in the
special schools budget with no actual decrease in funding for the programs.
*
*Not a Book Burner
One accusation claims then-Mayor Palin threatened to fire Wasilla's
librarian for refusing to ban books from the town library. Some versions of
the rumor come complete with a list of the books that Palin allegedly
attempted to ban. Actually, Palin never asked that books be banned; no books
were actually banned; and many of the books on the list that Palin
supposedly wanted to censor weren't even in print at the time, proving that
the list is a fabrication. The librarian was fired, but was told only that
Palin felt she didn't support her. She was re-hired the next day. The
librarian never claimed that Palin threatened outright to fire her for
refusing to ban books.
It's true that Palin did raise the issue with Mary Ellen Emmons, Wasilla's
librarian, on at least two occasions, three in some versions. Emmons flatly
stated her opposition each time. But, as the *Mat-Su Valley
Frontiersman*(Wasilla's local paper) reported at the time, Palin
asked general
questions<http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/05/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt>about
what Emmons would say if Palin requested that a book be banned.
According to Emmons, Palin "was asking me how I would deal with her saying a
book can't be in the library." Emmons reported that Palin pressed the issue,
asking whether Emmons' position would change if residents were picketing the
library. Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny, who was at the meeting,
corroborates Emmons' story,
telling<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-palin-book_bdsep07,0,3537053.story>the
*Chicago Tribune* that "Sarah said to Mary Ellen, 'What would your response
be if I asked you to remove some books from the collection?' "
Palin characterized the exchange differently, initially volunteering the
episode as an example of discussions with city employees about following her
administration's agenda. Palin described her questions to Emmons as
"rhetorical," noting that her questions "were asked in the context of
professionalism regarding the library policy that is in place in our city."
Actually, true rhetorical questions have implied answers (e.g., "Who do you
think you are?"), so Palin probably meant to describe her questions as
hypothetical or theoretical. We can't read minds, so it is impossible for us
to know whether or not Palin may actually have wanted to ban books from the
library or whether she simply wanted to know how her new employees would
respond to an instruction from their boss. It is worth noting that, in an
update, the *Frontiersman* points out that no book was ever banned from the
library's shelves.
Palin initially requested Emmons' resignation, along with those of Wasilla's
other department heads, in October 1996. Palin described the requests as a
loyalty test and allowed all of them (except one, whose department she was
eliminating) to retain their positions. But in January 1997, Palin fired
Emmons, along with the police chief. According to the *Chicago
Tribune*<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-palin-book_bdsep07,0,3537053.story>,
Palin did not list censorship as a reason for Emmons' firing, but said she
didn't feel she had Emmons' support. The decision caused "a stir" in the
small town, according to a newspaper account at the
time<http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/510219.html>.
According to a widely circulated e-mail from Kilkenny, "city residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at
out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination
letter."
As we've noted, Palin did not attempt to ban any library books. We don't
know if Emmons' resistance to Palin's questions about possible censorship
had anything to do with Emmons' firing. And we have no idea if the protests
had any impact on Palin at all. There simply isn't any evidence that we can
find either way. Palin did re-hire
Emmons<http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/510219.html>the following
day, saying that she now felt she had the librarian's backing.
Emmons continued to serve as librarian until August 1999, when the *Chicago
Tribune* reports that she resigned.
So what about that list of books targeted for banning, which according to
one widely e-mailed version was taken "from the official minutes of the
Wasilla Library Board"? If it was, the library board should take up fortune
telling. The list includes the first four Harry Potter books, none of which
had been published at the time of the Palin-Emmons conversations. The first
wasn't published until 1998. In fact, the list is a simple cut-and-paste
job, snatched (complete with typos and the occasional incorrect title) from
the Florida Institute of Technology library Web
page,<http://www.lib.fit.edu/pubs/librarydisplays/bannedbooks/website.htm>which
presents the list as "Books banned at one time or another in the
United States."
*Update, Sept. 9: We have revised this section dealing with accusations that
Palin wanted to ban books from Wasilla's library to include more detail
about what transpired at the time.*
Closet Secessionist?
Palin was never a member of the Alaskan Independence Party – which calls for
a vote on whether Alaska should secede from the union or remain a
state –despite mistaken reports to the contrary. But her husband was a
member for
years, and she attended at least one party convention, as mayor of the town
in which it was held.
The party's chair originally told reporters that Palin had been a member,
but the official later retracted that statement. Chairwoman Lynette Clark told
the *New York
Times*<http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/alaska-party-official-says-palin-was-not-a-member/?scp=2&sq=palin%20independence%20party&st=cse>that
false information had been given to her by another member of the party
after she first told the *Times* and others that Palin joined the AIP in
1994. Clark issued an apology <http://www.akip.org/090308.html> on the AIP
Web site.
The director of Alaska's Division of Elections, Gail Fenumiai, confirms that
Palin registered to vote in the state for the first time in May 1982 as a
Republican and hasn't changed her party affiliation since. She also told
FactCheck.org that Palin's husband, Todd, was registered with AIP from
October 1995 to July 2000, and again from September 2000 until July 2002.
(He has since been registered as undeclared.) However, the AIP says Todd
Palin "never participated <http://www.akip.org/index.html> in any party
activities aside from attending a convention in Wasilla at one time."
There is still some dispute as to whether Sarah Palin also attended the
AIP's 1994 convention, held in Wasilla. Clark and another AIP official
<http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/another-aip-off.html>told
ABC News' Jake Tapper that both Palins were there. Palin was elected mayor
of Wasilla two years later. The McCain campaign says Sarah Palin went to the
2000 AIP convention, also held in Wasilla, "as a courtesy since she was
mayor." As governor, Palin sent a video
message<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvPNXYrIyI>to the 2008
convention, which is available on YouTube, and the AIP says she
attended in 2006 when she was campaigning.
Didn't Endorse Pat Buchanan
Claims that Palin endorsed conservative Republican Pat Buchanan for
president in the 2000 campaign are false. She worked for conservative
Republican Steve Forbes.
The incorrect reports stem from an *Associated Press* story on July 17,
1999, that said Palin was "among those sporting Buchanan buttons" at a lunch
for Buchanan attended by about 85 people, during a swing he took through
Fairbanks and Wasilla. Buchanan didn't help
matters<http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/350730/sarah_palin_buchananite>when
he told a reporter for the liberal publication
*The Nation* on Aug. 29: "I'm pretty sure she's a Buchananite." But in fact,
she wasn't.
Soon after The AP story appeared, Palin wrote in a letter to the editor of
the *Anchorage Daily News* that she had merely worn a Buchanan button as a
courtesy to her visitor and was not endorsing him. The letter, published
July 26, 1999, said:
*Palin, July 26, 1999:* As mayor of Wasilla, I am proud to welcome all
presidential candidates to our city. This is true regardless of their party,
or the latest odds of their winning. When presidential candidates visit our
community, I am always happy to meet them. I'll even put on their button
when handed one as a polite gesture of respect.
Though no reporter interviewed me for the Associated Press article on the
recent visit by a presidential candidate (Metro, July 17), the article may
have left your readers with the perception that I am endorsing this
candidate, as opposed to welcoming his visit to Wasilla. As mayor, I will
welcome all the candidates in Wasilla.
Palin actually worked for Forbes. Less than a month after being spotted
wearing the "courtesy" button for Buchanan, she was named to the state
leadership committee of the Forbes effort. *The* *Associated Press* reported
on Aug. 7, 1999:
*The Associated Press, Aug. 7 1999:* State Sen. Mike Miller of Fairbanks
will head the Alaska campaign chairman for Republican presidential candidate
Steve Forbes, campaign officials said. Joining the Fairbanks Republican on
the leadership committee will be Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin, and former state
GOP chairman Pete Hallgren, who will serve as co-chairs.
Still, after nine years, the truth has yet to catch up completely.
No Creationism in Schools
On Aug. 29, the *Boston Globe* reported that Palin was open to teaching
creationism in public schools. That's true. She supports teaching
creationism alongside evolution, though she has not actively pursued such a
policy as governor.
In an Oct. 25, 2006, debate, when asked about teaching alternatives to
evolution, Palin replied:
*Palin, Oct. 25, 2006:* Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of
information. Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our
schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as
the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and
blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject –
creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't
be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides.
A couple of days later, Palin amended that statement in an interview with
the *Anchorage Daily News*, saying:
*Palin, Oct. 2006:* I don't think there should be a prohibition against
debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the
curriculum.
After her election, Palin let the matter drop. *The Associated
Press*reported Sept 3: "Palin's children attend public schools and
Palin has made
no push to have creationism taught in them. ... It reflects a hands-off
attitude toward mixing government and religion by most Alaskans." The
article was headlined, "Palin has not pushed creation science as
governor<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_creationism>."
It was written by Dan Joling, who reports from Anchorage and has covered
Alaska for 30 years.
That E-mail Author
Switching gears: Almost 100 readers have written to ask us if the many
claims made about Palin in an e-mail written by someone named Anne Kilkenny
are true. We can tell you that Kilkenny is a real person. (She was quoted by
the *Chicago Tribune*, as we said above.) According to the *New York Times*,
she's a Democrat. According to Kilkenny herself, Palin "has hated me since
back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support
the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship."
We're still analyzing Kilkenny's claims, and we will be posting something on
this soon.
*—by Brooks Jackson, Jessica Henig, **Emi Kolawole, Joe Miller and Lori
Robertson**
*
Sources
Sutton, Anne. "Governor signs revamped education package into law."
Anchorage Daily News, 28 Mar. 2008.
Holland, Megan. "Intensive needs funding examined." Anchorage Daily News, 12
Jan. 2008.
Cavanagh, Sean. "Alaska Legislators Overhaul
Funding<http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/30/35recaps.h27.html>."
Education Week, 29 Apr. 2008.
Joling, Dan. "Palin has not pushed creation science as governor." The
Associated Press, 3 Sept. 2008.
Hayes, Christopher. "Sarah Palin,
Buchananite.<http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/350730/sarah_palin_buchananite>"
The Nation "Capitolism" Web site, 29 Aug. 2008.
Palin, Sarah. "Letters from the People." Anchorage Daily News. 26 July 1999;
5B.
The Associated Press: "Forbes sets Alaska leadership team," 7 Aug 1999.
Kizzia, Tom. "'Creation science' enters the race." Anchorage Daily News, 27
Oct. 2006.
Paulson, Michael. "Sarah Palin on faith, life and creation." The Boston
Globe, 29 Aug. 2008.
Tapper, Jake. "Another AIP Official Says Palin Was at 1994
Convention<http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/another-aip-off.html>."
ABCNews.com, 2 Sept. 2008.
Tapper, Jake. "Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Incorrectly
Say Palin Was a Member in
90s<http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html>."
ABCNews.Com, 1Sept. 2008.
Komarnitsky, S.J. "Wasilla Keeps Librarian, But Police Chief Is
Out<http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/510219.html>."
1 February 1997. The Anchorage Daily News, 8 Sept. 2008.
Stuart, Paul. "FROM THE ARCHIVE: Palin: Library Censorship Inquiries
'Rhetorical'<http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/05/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt>."
18 December 1996. Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, 8 Sept. 2008.
White, Rindi. "Palin Asked City Librarian Whether She'd Ban
Books<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-palin-book_bdsep07,0,3537053.story>."
7 September 2008. The Chicago Tribune, 8 Sept. 2008.
Related Articles
FactChecking
McCain<http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_mccain.html>
He made some flubs in accepting the nomination.
GOP Convention Spin, Part
II<http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_convention_spin_part_ii.html>
Palin trips up on her facts, and Giuliani and Huckabee have their own
stumbles on Night 3 of the Republican confab.
Hit the Brakes <http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/hit_the_brakes.html>
An Obama ad running in Michigan claims McCain didn't support loan guarantees
for the auto industry. In fact, he does support them.
FactChecking
Obama<http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html>
He stuck to the facts, except when he stretched them.
Sliming Obama <http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_obama.html>
Dueling chain e-mails claim he's a radical Muslim or a 'racist' Christian.
Both can't be right. We find both are false.
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