Palin's Rural Adviser Quits Over Native Record

JUNEAU, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin's rural adviser resigned Monday amid criticism of the governor's record on hiring Alaska Natives.

Rhonda McBride, who is not an Alaska Native, made the announcement in an e-mail to several Native leaders, saying there need to be more Native voices in Palin's administration.

"I definitely think it would help to have an Alaska Native in this position," McBride told The Associated Press.

Many Alaska Natives have said they felt neglected when Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, made appointments to her administration, including the rural adviser post.

State Sen. Al Kookesh, a Democrat, said Palin left the position unfilled her first year in office and ignored Native leaders' suggestions on the selection process.

"We were really disappointed when an Alaska Native wasn't appointed," said Kookesh, a Tlingit Indian who held the job in a previous administration.

Natives bristled early in Palin's administration when she named a white woman to a game board seat held by a Native for more than 25 years. An Athabascan Indian eventually was named to the post after protests.

Relations worsened after Palin didn't remove a game board chairman who once suggested that Alaska Natives missed a meeting because they were drinking beer, seen as insensitive since the Alaska Native community has high rates of alcohol abuse.

Alaska Natives make up about 20 percent of the population.

Palin's husband, Todd, is part Yup'ik Eskimo, and her 13-member cabinet includes two Alaska Natives.

"In all honesty, I have never felt authentic in my role," McBride wrote in her e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.

McBride, who covered rural issues as a reporter before becoming rural adviser last year, said she would return to journalism to help bring attention to Native issues.

She said her last day would be Oct. 23.

Comments

[PeepingTom]

If she and McCain are elected after allt his, I will be speechless for the next 4 years. I will be ashamed to be from this country. With people like this in charge, what is there to be proud of?

I think the very reason McCain hired her is so that she could bring out the racism in the American people, and rely solely on the hatred to get votes. I think he thought it through. He's not a dummy. McCain knew that choosing the whitest person on the planet would get him the votes of whites. He knew she had the ability to bring out the hidden bigotry in Americans, and exploited that.

Any honor he got for being a POW, means nothing compared to his and Palin's level of severe racism.

[Kay72403]

Yes. Vote, baby, Vote for Change

[goodtomeetyou]

MUST SEE.

Pa l in rally in OH.

Misconceptions of Obama fuel Republican campaign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqcfqiXCX0

.....just when you thought you'd seen it all...

[ebanks84]

That's what the republicans foster in those rural counties. They send out their trained people to make these folk believe their's a hidden agenda behind Obama to do them harm. I hate to say it, but those people are very ignorant if they believe all that stuff and all they need is education which they do not even try to obtain.

[elycee]

This type of rhetoric gives the closet racist, a "legitimate" reason to hate Obama. I grew up in Kentucky, the more forward thinking racists would feel guilty not voting for the best candidate just because he's black.

Now, in these rallies they are given a "real" reason. So, now they can righteously be angry and their hidden hate can come out in this environment that has legitimized distrust. In other words, "I always knew he was ________. I felt it in my gut."

It is very, very sad. But remember MLK and how far we have come in perfecting this nation. We will continue this process, but it does not come without some pain.

VOTE

[athenasword]

Thanks for that. I grew up in Ohio. I feel like I understand them. I at least know people just like them. My own grandfather would have said these exact things, I have no doubt. But, there are so many people who are getting beyond this. Moving past the prejudice they grew up with. I hear it every day... I watch my own parents stand up to it.

My father was just asked at a local cofee shop in Ohio "Hey are you gonna vote for that n*****?". He simply said "I most certainly am".

Gently challenging these ideas, asking people where they heard this or that. Grandchildren talking to their Grandparents. That is how we will win this election.

[bagfed]

Years ago, Rhonda McBride worked at the Public TV station in Anchorage. She was the moderator for the "Running" debates and hosted a show called "Consider This." She was removed by the right-leaning station manager who nearly hamhandedly sunk the public telecommunications network in Alaska, removed from moderating the debates when some right-wing nutjob candidates complained about her hard "gotcha" questions.

Please consider these facts before you pass judgment on McBride. She is well known in Alaska as a journalist who shed light on Alaska Native issues, having lived for years in village Alaska before moving to Anchorage. Her appointment by Palin was a surprise but an objective thinker like her must have been an obvious choice. I personally agree with her reasons for quitting and welcome her return to journalism.

Thanks.

[obamadeus]

Good for her. There should be more people like her willing to take a stand against Palin to bring this type of attention to her at this crucial time.

[gregjones]

Hello fellow Warriors...I am Greg Jones, National Director of Blacks4Barack....in harmony with millions of
Whites4Barack...Asians4Barack...Hispanics4Barack...Jews4Barack...Republicans4Barack...Men4Barack...Women4Barack....Students4Barack....and united we are all... AMERICANS4BARACK....Together, We WILL Make The Difference !

MUST HEAR ! Alaskan Independent Party Founder Joe Voegler speaks of his hatred for America...McCain = DRAFT...Mc's PNAC ties...Repubs turn on McPalin...... and More ! ! Listen to Obama Talk Radio.....Nothing But The Truth with Greg Jones. What MSM omits....you'll hear on NBTT !

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/HeadingLeft/The-Greg-Jones-Show/2008/10/13/NOTHING-BUT-THE-TRUTH-with-Greg-Jones

[emmaspeaks]

won.t matter. She won.t be reelected.

[all4peace]

But, she will be part of the Best of SNL for the rest of eterinty!
Kinda cool!

[k6007]

Neglected? I'd say THAT is an understatement.

http://community.freespeech.org/palin_opposes_alaska_native_life%2C_tribal_sovereignty_and_voting_rights

Try downright, hostile.

[PAposter]

Some native Alaskans don't even know who Sarah Palin is, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgCS8OYqu2s

[mistlesuede]

I wonder what the final votes will look like in Alaaaska on Nov. 4th. I think the polling just might be wrong.

[timberdoodle]

Kathleen Parker the conservative pundit was on the Colbert Report last night and almost admitted she would be voting for Obama. She has said and still maintains Palin should be dropped from the ticket and has gotten over 12,000 hate emails over her position from the wacky GOP base.

[PAposter]

I saw that, and I found it shocking that that many McCain supporters actually read. LMAO!

[LanguagePolice]

Why drop Palin from the ticket with three weeks to go? Have you looked at maps like Real Clear Politics yet today? It's getting to be all nonsense. Palin will just get in deeper and deeper- I actually feel badly for McCain. It's going to be really embarassing for him.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/

[emmaspeaks]

This morning (on MSNBC?) they said that McCain is trying to save his senate career. Its over for him, and dropping Palin wouldn.t help. It would have , maybe, before the debate, but it s too late.

[diamondgirl9]

She's a republican-it won't get very much MSM coverage-just like her involvement with the AIP is a non story.If he were forced to drop her-which I doubt he will-it would show his lack of judgement in picking this hateful shrew in the first place.

[iPolitics]

InsiderAdvantage: Obama Leads in Key Bush Counties

Washoe County, NV: Obama 46%, McCain 45%

Wake County, NC: Obama 50%, McCain 44%

Hillsborough County, FL: Obama 47%, McCain 41%

Jefferson County, CO: McCain 45%, Obama 43%

[phae100]

Yesterday on Democracy Now, Max Blumenthal's reporting on Palin's tenure in Alaska was featured. She's more of a maniac than we thought - she's a trojan horse for the AIP to get into power, which was their strategy. I believe they said that Blumenthal is posting an article about it on Salon.com.

[suekzoo]

She's a trojan moose.

[springsm]

She is a woman with a smart mouth that appeals to the men, she is a woman with a nice face and figure, which appeals to the men, she is a cheerleader which buffaloed (moosed?) HER people in Alaska and she is one with an empty and shallow mind. imo

[ymuttley]

Ya Know phae100,
I think you are on to something to,I thought about this AIP thing to,The tape says"First infiltrate the republican party" All her rallies seem to coincide with their ways of thinking,And Todd Palin being so close to her all the time,makes me believe he is indeed still involved with them,I don't care if he says he isn't, doesn't mean anything to me.I mean what better way to rise up,than with Palin, use the women they like,and no one seems to realize this,I mean come on,the residents there don't want to say anything for fear of retaliation from her. Something is just not right here!
I bet 5 bucks there are people who are already investigating these theories,Only we won't know until they get the dirt they need. It so reminds me of that guy in Utah,that didn't pay taxes,I can't remember his name,and the whole town was afraid of him.

[athenasword]

So McBride is was appointed by the Gov? I wonder what her background is and whether she and Sara were buddies. To me it sounds like someone leaving a sinking ship. Anyone associated with her may perhaps be reviewing where they stand...

[bagfed]

please see my post above.

[suvbaby]

a Must Read. Makes me that much more outraged.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/11/sarah_palin_alaska/

[nellie]

Great article. Alaska is a vast, wild, and beautiful state. Palin would turn it into a giant Walmart.

[bliss0027]

WOW MUST READ ARTICLE!!!

I wish more alaskans would speak out about palin

[shelobo]

I forgot about Palins QUESTIONABLE Tax returns ,$17,000 in state-issued per diems for evenings spent in her own home in Wasilla. The Washington Post recently reported that the per diems and associated travel costs from the state capital in Juneau for Palin’s family could mean a tax liability of more than $60,000 for Palin’s first year and a half as governor.

The address listed on the 1040’s is Palin's family home in Wasilla, which would seem to suggest Palin considers that, not the governor’s mansion in Juneau, her "tax home." However the McCain-Palin campaign maintains that her “tax home” is technically the governor's mansion in Juneau.

The point is potentially significant because any per diems and travel reimbursements received in connection with someone’s “tax home” would likely be taxable as income. According to IRS regulations: "If you (and your family) do not live at your tax home (defined earlier), you cannot deduct the cost of traveling between your tax home and your family home. You also cannot deduct the cost of meals and lodging while at your tax home."Ironic that Alaskan news sources's have been kept 'mute' since Palins rise to power in their state,now they are coming out to the public concerning this ,Christian' womans dictatorship control of http://community.adn.com/adn/node/132206/132206 http://www.divasblueoasis.com/userDiary.do.do;jsessionid=6D1409D81EE93E87247A033C82A6FAE5?personId=2