One
of our good friends, Eddie Spalten from San Antonio, fishes at the
Wildman Lodge on the Alaskan Peninsula. The lodge is ow ned by Butch
and Kathy Wildman. The Wildmans spend their winters in Texas and their
summers in Alaska. Kathy's father and former husband served in the
Alaskan legislature for around 30 years so Butch and Kathy know Alaska
politics.
Eddie
emailed Butch and asks Butch what the Wildmans think of Gov. Sarah
Palin. Butch's unedited email is attached below. Please read it and
forward it to your friends. This is what the citizens of Alaska think
of Sarah Palin!
Thanks, Gene Powell
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fishing is good here at Wildman and I rarely have time for politics, but many of our friends are asking us 'Who is Sarah Palin?' Of course, as Alaskans, Kathy and I are extremely proud of her. We just want to let you know that
Sarah 'Barracuda' Palin is a straight shooting, hard charging, get it
done gal. She knows when to listen, how to analyze the facts and how
to make a decision, then implement the plan. She doesn't do a poll
before jumping in with both feet like too many of the Washington
types. She has little legislative experience because she has always
held the EXECUTIVE position; in private life, as mayor of Anchorage's
largest bedroom community or more recently as Governor of our State.
She is a smart, attractive home grown Alaska girl with excellent moral
and family values.
She can see what needs to be done and does not hesitate to get it done.
One
of our State's major problems is that its Capital is in Juneau, 500
miles from the nearest road and 800 air miles from the population base
which is Anchorage, Wasilla and Fairbanks. Our legislature and most of
the State government is in Juneau and they ALL behave like a bunch of
freshmen in a college town. It has been this way since Statehood in
1959. When Sarah moved to Juneau, so did accountability and
responsibility When the oil revenue started flown and a barrel of
North Slope Crude hit $23.00, these people began spending money like
drunken sailors. You can only imagine what was happenings when oil hit
$100.00 a barrel, about the time Sarah took command. My wife Kathy has
first-hand experience with this fiasco, as her father and also her
ex-husband were Alaska Legislators who served in Juneau as Senators,
Senate President, or members of the State House for a combined period
spanning nearly three decades.
About the
time Sarah took the HELM as Governor of Alaska, about half of the State
legislature was in the pocket of big oil companies or contractors doing
big projects for Native Cor porations around Alaska, all funded by
State oil revenue. Alaska government was nothing but a good old boys
club riding the perpetual wave of prosperity. This filtered down from
the legislature, through the Department of Natural Resources,
Department of Labor and even spilled in to the Public Safety who are
supposed to 'preserve and protect'.
When
Sarah walked into the Governor's Mansion, she promptly dismissed the
State Trooper detachment assigned to Governor and had her and her
husband's gun case brought in from Wasilla. Then, she got rid of the
former Governor's STATE Jet and told legislators that there were no
more free rides, they would have to fly Alaska Airlines, just like her
and her family if they wanted to travel. Next came the nut cutting
(the Barracuda part) the heads that rolled were too numerous to name,
but when Sarah finished cleaning house, a number of our legislators
ended up in jail for on corruption charges, or tendered their
resignations along with numerous department heads and those who have
been riding the gravy train for way too long, AND THEN SHE HAD LUNCH.
By the end of the day, Sarah Palin had saved the people of Alaska
millions and has not yet slowed down.
She has
truly brought CHANGE to Juneau. I personally know several persons in
the private sector in Alaska, that hold her in high esteem. She
surrounds herself with smart people, many from my hometown of
Anchorage, she listens to them but makes her own decisions. Sarah
Palin is a no B.S. politician. It is refreshing that there is such a
thing anymore. You want to talk about CHANGE? You should see a before
and after picture of the State government in Alaska. That's CHANGE!
Sarah will bring a number of things to the election. I am sure she
will appeal many voters who my otherwise could have gone the other
direction on election day. The conservative block will not be for
Barack. We have their vote. We need what Sarah will bring, first to
the election and second, what she will bring to Washington D.C. McCain
has been advised well, Let's just hope the American people can get the
straight scoop on her in the weeks ahead. This is just the opinion of
one Alaska Bush Pilot and Guide, who pays attention to national
politics, watches the news and is deathly afraid of the direction our
nation is headed. I guarantee that if Sarah gets a chance to dig her
spurs into the flanks of the liberal Washington types, they will know
that she is in the saddle
Butch King
Pilot/Guide
Butch & Kathy King
Proprietors
Wildman Lake Lodge