Going Rogue: An American Life by Lynn Vincent, Sarah Palin Page B
Authors: Lynn Vincent, Sarah Palin
Tags: General, science, Contemporary, History, Personal Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography, Political, Biography, USA, Non-Fiction, Political Science, Politics, Women, Autobiography, alaska, History of the Americas, Memoirs, Biography And Autobiography, Women Politicians, Sarah, Vice-Presidential candidates - United States, Women governors, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, Autobiography: General, Women politicians - United States, Palin, Vice-Presidential candidates, Central government, Republican Party (U.S.: 1854- ), Governors - Alaska, Alaska - Politics and government, Conservatives - Women - United States, U.S. - Contemporary Politics
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involved keeping predators and pests away as detectives searched through evidence and remains transported to the nearby Fresh Kills landfill.
By the time I was thirty-eight, my second term was winding down and I was about to be term-limited out of office. Meanwhile, several people approached me saying they hoped 1’d stay in public service. Not politicos, just ordinary people. As president of the Conference of Mayors, I saw so needs around the state, places where I felt I could help. But I had no interest in running for the state legislature. I did nor think I would do well in a place where you had to scratch disagreeable backs in order to secure a nameplate in the caucus.
About that time, candidates started lining up for the lieutenant governor’s tace, the bottom half of the ticket led by the popular and powetful U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski, who was coming home to run for governor.
•
81
•
SARAH
PALIN
Alaska was just coming off eight years of a Democrat governor, Tony Knowles. Knowles was quite liberal-he was later considered by President Barack Obama for a cabinet position-but also very much supported by Big Oil. Polls showed Alaskans were ready for a change. Many looked at Murkowski’s candidacy as a welcome-home to a public servant who had represented us in D.C. for more than twO decades and was now returning to serve us more personally.
Like most Alaskans, I viewed Murkowski as a respected elder statesman, a bigwig pol on the national level. By then, he’d served twenty-two years in Washington, where he’d chaired powerful committees, like the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and helped usher Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) legislation thtough to President Bill Clinton’s desk-hefOre Clinton vetoed it. Murkowski was our junior senator; the senior was Ted Stevens, who served for four decades in the Senate and even chaired the coveted Appropriations Committee. Alaska’s only representative, Don Young, has served for over three decades, chairing influential committees like Transportation. This created what was arguably the most powerful congressional delegation in the nation, and they did bring home the bacon: more federal money per capita than any other state. I would eventually argue with them against the notion that Alaskans should be known as “takers;’ when we were finally becoming able to contribute more to our nation instead.
Meanwhile, family life swirled. Todd was building a new house fot us on Lake Lucille, and we had to pack up and sell the one we were living in on Wasilla Lake. He was still fulltime on the Slope, plus commercial fishing. He and his parmer had recently sold our business, Valley Polaris; we were both busy shuttling around three kids with a full slate of homework and sporrs; and we’d just had our fourth baby. I was also coaching youth basket • 82
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Going Rogue
ball, helping with hockey, and counting down to the big lton Dog snowmachine race. This meant that Todd, when he wasn’t on the Slope, would be in full ttaining mode, cutting hundteds of miles into the snow in the middle of wintet nights and working on his machines in between. And I was still the mayor-working fulltime for the fastest-growing city in Alaska.
Still, the lieutenant governor’s spot seemed like a good next step for me. It was an administrative position where I could put my executive experience to good use.
During that time, I was reading Willow a book called The Flyaway
The metaphor of this book worked its way into my
spiritual life and my whole way of thinking. I wrote a contemplative prayer in my journal that summer that I recently came across. I had written: “Let me not become disconnected from You, Lord. Like that red kite, let there be a connecting string between You and me, so that I can fly high and safe as You’ve created all people to do. With that stting, I will go where You want me to go. I’ll be what You want me to be. Thank You fot Your grace:’
Somehow I
By the time I was thirty-eight, my second term was winding down and I was about to be term-limited out of office. Meanwhile, several people approached me saying they hoped 1’d stay in public service. Not politicos, just ordinary people. As president of the Conference of Mayors, I saw so needs around the state, places where I felt I could help. But I had no interest in running for the state legislature. I did nor think I would do well in a place where you had to scratch disagreeable backs in order to secure a nameplate in the caucus.
About that time, candidates started lining up for the lieutenant governor’s tace, the bottom half of the ticket led by the popular and powetful U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski, who was coming home to run for governor.
•
81
•
SARAH
PALIN
Alaska was just coming off eight years of a Democrat governor, Tony Knowles. Knowles was quite liberal-he was later considered by President Barack Obama for a cabinet position-but also very much supported by Big Oil. Polls showed Alaskans were ready for a change. Many looked at Murkowski’s candidacy as a welcome-home to a public servant who had represented us in D.C. for more than twO decades and was now returning to serve us more personally.
Like most Alaskans, I viewed Murkowski as a respected elder statesman, a bigwig pol on the national level. By then, he’d served twenty-two years in Washington, where he’d chaired powerful committees, like the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and helped usher Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) legislation thtough to President Bill Clinton’s desk-hefOre Clinton vetoed it. Murkowski was our junior senator; the senior was Ted Stevens, who served for four decades in the Senate and even chaired the coveted Appropriations Committee. Alaska’s only representative, Don Young, has served for over three decades, chairing influential committees like Transportation. This created what was arguably the most powerful congressional delegation in the nation, and they did bring home the bacon: more federal money per capita than any other state. I would eventually argue with them against the notion that Alaskans should be known as “takers;’ when we were finally becoming able to contribute more to our nation instead.
Meanwhile, family life swirled. Todd was building a new house fot us on Lake Lucille, and we had to pack up and sell the one we were living in on Wasilla Lake. He was still fulltime on the Slope, plus commercial fishing. He and his parmer had recently sold our business, Valley Polaris; we were both busy shuttling around three kids with a full slate of homework and sporrs; and we’d just had our fourth baby. I was also coaching youth basket • 82
.
Going Rogue
ball, helping with hockey, and counting down to the big lton Dog snowmachine race. This meant that Todd, when he wasn’t on the Slope, would be in full ttaining mode, cutting hundteds of miles into the snow in the middle of wintet nights and working on his machines in between. And I was still the mayor-working fulltime for the fastest-growing city in Alaska.
Still, the lieutenant governor’s spot seemed like a good next step for me. It was an administrative position where I could put my executive experience to good use.
During that time, I was reading Willow a book called The Flyaway
The metaphor of this book worked its way into my
spiritual life and my whole way of thinking. I wrote a contemplative prayer in my journal that summer that I recently came across. I had written: “Let me not become disconnected from You, Lord. Like that red kite, let there be a connecting string between You and me, so that I can fly high and safe as You’ve created all people to do. With that stting, I will go where You want me to go. I’ll be what You want me to be. Thank You fot Your grace:’
Somehow I
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