FYI: my CONDE NAST PORTFOLIO piece about Sarah and failed gas pipeline
July 18, 2011
I’ve gotten some queries about this, so for those of you who haven’t found it elsewhere on my website or on the internet, this is my March, 2009, cover story about Sarah and her failed attempt (which at the GOP convention in 2008 she claimed as a success) to create an Alaskan natural gas pipeline:
I think I recall that Sarah called it “yellow journalism,” or something equally felicitous.
I know I recall that when Todd and I had our face-to-face encounter in my back yard on Lake Lucille, on Monday, May 24, 2010, he called the story a “bunch of crap,” “a bunch of lies,” and “a bunch of bullshit.”
Those Palins sure have a way with words, don’t they?
By the way, Sarah, how’s that AGIA stuff workin’ for you now?
Posted in Joe McGinniss, Sarah Palin, The Rogue, Todd Palin | 
Tags: AGIA, alaska gas pipeline, palin lies
31 Responses to “FYI: my CONDE NAST PORTFOLIO piece about Sarah and failed gas pipeline”
CONNECT
~ lifts hand to mouth and echos to Toad across Lake Lucille ~
“Oh Toad, try explainin how Ah-Gee-Ya is workin out, instead of displayin those crude-n-rude ‘family values’ language skills.”
Joe, you are so brave poking those rabid dogs with a stick! However, I’m enjoying it IMMENSELY! You really are making me almost giddy with excitement waiting for September 20! 🙂
AGIA is touted as a great victory in the Palin movie.. also the “privatization” of Mat-Maid, which I am very surprise they even mentioned, as that subject might blow up in their face any day, whereas AGIA may grind to a slow halt.
She doesn’t look very pregnant in that picture for it being Winter 2008.
Kristen Cole, the President of the Creamery Corporation, said she dissolved it three years ago but has yet to file the documentation with the State of Alaska.
When she does file, she will have to account for millions of dollars of assets of the Mat-Maid Dairy business (state owned) that she gave away to friends of Sarah Palin and herself.
A artist friend of mine did this for me, but it’s too funny not to share:
http://m.flickr.com/photos/expd/5949740770/
We see the pipeline of bullshit from Wasilla, Grifter Granny LouLou and her eunuch Todd.
I LOVED your article in Conde Nast Portfolio; I wish they hadn’t ceased publishing. I refer to it often when explaining to others what AGIA is, how an idea is NOT an accomplishment, and how burning bridges without alternate routes in place just leaves a person stranded.
She was not pregnant when Vogue did the photo shoot. Period.
Why isn’t this being researched….amazing what Sarah has gotten away w/in Alaska…but, it probably all goes back to the current gov (Parnell) whom she orignally appointed as her ‘second in command’. Sarah and Todd need to be put on trial for so many things they did and didn’t do in Alaska.
Joe, I have this magazine saved and have read it several (many) times. GREAT article and it was due to this article that I was SO excited that you were writing a book about Palin. I didn’t read Fatal Vision (I’d like to but not sure I can – too sad) I remember when there was a TV mini-series version when I was a kid – just the commercials scared the crap out of me. Anyway, I greatly enjoyed the Portfolio article. Can’t wait for The Rogue!
All I can say is that whatever Sarah and Bristol said in their ghostwritten books is a “bunch of crap” and a “bunch of bullshit”…and that goes for the movie also, too!
If ever there was an article that begs for a reprinting for national consumption, it is this one! While $P clings to her fictional story of political success to court her minions, this tight narrative lays out the depth and breadth of her deceitful repackaging of her qualifications for the lower 48. I used to think she refused to do legitmate interviews because her lack of general, unscripted knowledge would be so obvious. Now, I believe she fears more the truth of what she does know. She knows she was unqualified to be Governor, she knows she was flying by the seat of her pants at best. She knows she gained all her positions thru different levels of favoritism, much from the good ol’ boys she claims to despise. She knows that a wavy, winky PR position is the only position she aspires to or is capable of giving. She knows she was a puppet and has deceived herself that she can repeat this silly act if elected President. I almost pity her for the pain of humiliation she will feel when she learns that she should have really ‘quit’ while she was ahead.
Well said, and I completely agree.
This and dairygate will be the 2 things that will hurt sarah.
She lied about the pipeline. Andrew Halco had an article yesterday about the pipeline. It was the 1 year anniversary date of the close of the bidding, not one single company has signed on.
Her real record will highlighted this time if she runs because A) they only had two months in 2008 to “vet” her and they didn’t because they were enamored of her “story”.
That Story is old news now, America is no longer charmed by Moose Chile.
Now, there is only her record to discuss and that is BAD.
Go Joe!
I am almost glad you didn’t get much on the Trig story because it is her basic incompetence and unethical governing that should be the focus of taking her down completely. I trust YOU will be forcing the media to look at the REAL record, the actual FACTS of her failed governance.
There is something about Fatal Vision that gives you hope. I don’t know how he does it. May be it is just all his hard work to bring out the truth and hold evil to account. It’s a terrible thing that happened, but we already know that. This is the story of the murderers’ “comeuppance,” and the people who made sure that happened.
I think this was one of the most definitive pieces that actually tipped the scales for Sarah on her decision to just quit already.
It was easy to see that Sarah realized her lack of political capital was exposed and that she was going to lose any record building of ‘accomplishment’ (she could take credit for) in the rest of her term. It was easier to quit and cash in without those debilitating accountability and transparency laws.
This woman is a fraud and a sham, and though it is commonplace to boast about the most infinitesimal associations as your own accomplishment, she and the GOP turned her pathetic resume into the most fantastical pieces of literature in the annals of political history.
As for AGIA, I am mystified that though she ostensibly ‘quit’ to serve the State, she did NOTHING to defend her legacies (ethics reform, AGIA and ACES) in the State since she sacrificed her “title” to ‘progress’ our issues. She has some nerve ‘desiring’ to continue to ring that broken bell that has no notoriety like the Liberty Bell.
If I were a conspiracy theorist it would be my nature to imagine a scenario where Palin met with Big Oil and they ‘conspired’ to go through the motions already knowing the final outcome and Palin having a Swiss account setup for some percentage of the $500,000,000, to be accessed at a much later date.
works for me
On Sarah Palin’s Alaska, Todd said you wrote “a hit piece on my wife.” Apparently he was referring to Pipe Dreams. I guess it can be construed as a hit piece–it hit too close to the mark. I should post a link on Gretawire, where numbers of people seem to think the natural gas pipeline has been built, or is at least under construction.
It’s amazing how deluded her fan base is.
In April I asked on Gretawire a list of all of $Palin’s activities to help the special needs children, a “subject close to my heart,” she said.
I received two links, one to 2008 and one to 2009, plus a reference to the planned talk in May 2011.
I also received at least 100 vituperative comments telling me that I was a butcher for aborting my child with special needs (I didn’t, she’s 21 now) and more along that flavor. Then I was banned from the site, although I had been entirely polite the whole time. Apparently you are not allowed to point out the Empress Wears No Clothes.
As I said, deluded, rabidly deluded.
David Brooks slams Palin:
“Show Horses” (Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann) LOL
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/opinion/19brooks.html?ref=opinion
You are quite right. Last night GW commenters were ecstatic over the possibility of Sarah Palin and Herman Cain together in the White House, a prospect which would chill the blood of anyone with a working brain. Of course, such a scenario is likely only in the bizarro world of C4P or GW.
The was THE best piece I had seen on Palin! It was also the piece the got the Toad mad and got you on the Palin “shit” list 🙂
It will NEVER CEASE to AMAZE me how all the Palins & bots call Fact based articles “hit pieces”! And then offer up so Bullshitting, crap like this “movie/infomercial” which is totally lacking in factual info, a FACT! I hope polifact shreds this POS movie.
And your right…at the RNC she claimed this pipleline was built when in fact not even shovel ready or ever would be! Pipe-dreams was the PERFECT Title for this Fact filled article.
Now I’m gonna read it again and tweet it out 🙂
You know what is the worst thing about re-reading this article?
Realizing that Sarah Palin is the worst thing to happen to feminism in the last hundred years.
Last eve. on Colbert Report: Epic Blockbuster
The final “Harry Potter” and Sarah Palin’s documentary would make a great double feature because both movies are about outsiders plucked from obscurity by an old wizard.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/392259/july-18-2011/epic-blockbuster
When Sarah was first mentioned as a VP pick, I recall researching and reading this article made me want to find out more of her record/accomplishments/and where she stood on the issues. Not knowing anything about Alaska life and politics, this article filled in the blanks for me. When the McCain camp decided to keep her out of the media after an abyssmal first attempt and “coach” her, I found and read this article, watched her open her mouth and lie about AGIA, I knew she didn’t have any governing prowess whatsoever. Thanks for revisiting this gem of an article.
If Todd and Sarah call something “yellow journalism”, “crap”, “untrue” or “bullshit”, then I know it’s the unvarnished truth, and they can’t handle the truth.
On a sidenote, I read one of your appearances was cancelled due to health issues, I wish you a speedy recovery, and hope you’re doing well!
This article came out in March 2009 but Sarah Palin was picked for McCain’s running mate in August 2008 so your comment that you used this article to find out more about her during the campaign doesn’t make sense to me.
Perhaps it was a different article?
I had similar thoughts at the time since Todd Palin was working for a company with ties to TransCanada at the time – I thought, there must be a kickback in there somewhere.
And that was long before we found out what proficient grifters the Palins are.
You’re right, what first sparked my interest was a Salon article and another I can’t recall the source, after I read something on a blog about her energy policies while in alaska, this Salon article
http://www.salon.com/news/environment/feature/2008/09/24/sarah_palin_energy
led me to dig deeper, and it was then I read the article, not realizing at the time it was Joe who wrote it.
Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for pointing it out.
Good one, and still true: she is still the Fungible Candidate and still rates four Pinnochios.
Mister Joe,
Would you PLEASE address the issue that keeps popping up on other blogs about you being the one who leaked frank bailey’s manuscript to blogs/online papers ???
Personally I really don’t like reading that others find you “every bit as sleazy” as the palins because of the alleged leak by you of the manuscript. I am thinking your first response is that it doesn’t dignify a response and I would agree with that wholeheartedly. After that initial reaction though, I wouldn’t want your book to be less than enthusiastically received by all because of a misunderstanding and/or miscommunication of facts.
If you find it in your time to just clarify this issue in print for everyone to read it would be SO appreciated!!
Thank you.