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June 07, 2011 5:10 PM
ABC News? Sheila Marikar (@SheilaYM)reports:
Sarah Palin is set to tour national monuments around the country this summer, and one congressman wants to know how that will affect everyone else.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) sent a letter to the National Park Service today asking how federal resources were used for the northeast leg of Palin?s ?One Nation Tour,? which traveled from Washington, D.C. to New Hampshire last week. His concern: press accounts of the tour ?which provided personal and political benefits to former Gov. Palin, suggest that National Park Service resources were made available to an extent beyond that which an average American family would receive.?
?I opened my paper this morning to hear about cutbacks in state parks around this country,? Blumenauer told ABC News. ?We have a serious backlog of maintenance in the National Park Service. And it looks like Sarah Palin?s little political �cavalcade gets this amazing VIP treatment ? I?m scratching my head. If it?s a private family vacation, what in the world are we doing getting people in with preferential early admission and having an entourage of public employees? It looks like a political stunt, and Palin Inc. ought to pay for it.?�
Palin was surrounded by park rangers and, at times, police officers during her tour stops. Last Wednesday, she and her family were accompanied by approximately 10 authorities as they toured the Statue of Liberty.
David Barna, a Park Service spokesman, told ABC News that with the exception of the Statue of Liberty visit, it was business as usual at all the sites Palin saw. (With the exception, of course, of dozens of spectators and press following the former Alaska governor.)
?We recognize she is not a government official, she is not a candidate for public office, so we treated her as any other celebrity that might come in,? he said. He compared the Park Service?s treatment of Palin last week ? organizing private tours, opening specific monuments early ? to what they might do ?for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie."
?If there was any cost, it might have been for the park police at the Statue of Liberty,? he said. ?Right now, I don?t know the answer to that."
Barna is seeking answers to Rep. Blumenauer?s question about how much money went into hosting Palin. As far as planning for Palin?s potential visits to other national monuments ? she said she plans to visit the West Coast, Iowa and South Carolina this summer ? he said, ?We haven?t done anything, we?re not involved in anything. We?re just like everyone else, waiting to see what happens.?
While the congressman isn?t necessarily a fan of Palin ? he noted, ?This is the woman who called my bi-partisan end of life care ?death panels?? ? he said this inquiry ?isn?t a vendetta against her.?
?I want to find out what?s going on,? he said. ?It shouldn?t be the case with anyone, celebrity or otherwise, that we use resources needed to protect these jewels of the American outdoors and the employees who guard them to give special treatment to VIPs.?�
Aides for Palin declined ABC News? request for comment.
June 7, 2011 in 2012, Sarah Palin, Sheila Marikar | Permalink | Share | User Comments (71)
If you get lost in the woods and they have to rescue you, you can be billed the cost. If you accidentally start a forest fire, they will bill you the cost of suppression.
I say send her a bill.
She is wealthy enough to pay her own security. She could have contacted the park service prior and set up her own security.
I guess she is special...
Posted by: skoksvalley | Jun 7, 2011 5:53:05 PM
Palin's motto: If it's free it's ME! Just like she took advantage of Rolling Thunder. Pay for your own security Palin. Just like everyone else does. You're not like us - you have millions.
Posted by: sJohnson | Jun 7, 2011 5:58:42 PM
Then her aids told the "MSM that she went to her Arizona hideaway to take a vacation from her tour.
Posted by: John | Jun 7, 2011 6:02:16 PM
"It isn't a vendetta against her". Sure it isn't ....sure..
Posted by: allen | Jun 7, 2011 6:02:27 PM
America taxpayers are losing money becos of Palin's tour.
President Obama is right !!!
America needs to raise its debt ceiling to borrow more money to finance the Palin tour !
Better still, America need to remove its debt ceiling so that President Obama can have more money for his lavish dining, fine wining, extravagant vacations and exotic golfing.
Yes We Can !
Posted by: skponggol | Jun 7, 2011 6:03:09 PM
It's stuff like this that After 4 years of Democrats controlling congress America is in such bad shape.
When Earl Blumenaur, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and other democrats took over the house and senate in 2007 we had 4.6% unemployment, $169 Billion Deficit and $9 Trillion in debt.
After 4 years of democrats we have 9.1% unemployment, $1.6 Trillion deficit and $14 Trillion in debt. Earl Blumenaur should be on his knees apologizing to American citizens instead of following Palin around like a lost puppy.
Posted by: robtr | Jun 7, 2011 6:06:17 PM
How about an investigation into the cost of Michelle's vacations??
Posted by: Marvin | Jun 7, 2011 6:08:10 PM
Hay there Earl why don't you do something constructive like investigating how much Pelosi's cross country jaunts for her, her family and friends cost the taxpayer.
Oh wait we already know: $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period ? $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol.
Posted by: xroads | Jun 7, 2011 6:08:35 PM
Sarah Palin is giving free advertisement and promotion so that more people can visit these sites and they make more money.
Why are these Democrats always so stupid ?
Posted by: skponggol | Jun 7, 2011 6:08:44 PM
Attention all American and foreign tourists :
Please do not visit all these national parks and monuments. You are causing the American government to lose money ! Please tell your Congress to shut down all these parks to cut down wasteful spending.
Posted by: skponggol | Jun 7, 2011 6:11:23 PM
This guy looks like Pee Wee Herman. He and Anthony Weiner are the new face of the Democrat party.
Posted by: Jenny | Jun 7, 2011 6:14:29 PM
Alright congressman, you better leave the show girl alone. She is just having fun with her tour bus
Posted by: what667 | Jun 7, 2011 6:16:12 PM
Brothers, there's no need to worry so much......brothers, brothers.....
Just tell your Congress to raise and remove the debt ceiling, then you can have more money.
President Obama can then go to Asia to knee lower, bow deeper and beg harder. The Asians will surly give him their permissions and blessings to sniff through all their rubbish, garbage and sewerage so that he can scavenge some spare change to bring back for the good American people......brothers, relax....there'll always be money for you..... Just continue to spend, spend, spend...
"Of Thee I Sing"
Posted by: skponggol | Jun 7, 2011 6:17:25 PM
Sarah Palin continues to kick liberal butt...their impotence only makes them feel empty and frightened.
Posted by: Brandi | Jun 7, 2011 6:19:21 PM
Another democratic back bencher looking for media attention..knowing full well anything with Palin gets him front page news...
Posted by: JL | Jun 7, 2011 6:19:54 PM
Even though you and I are paying for all of this, she'll still claim it as a tax-deductible business expense.
Posted by: Juliannas_Uncle | Jun 7, 2011 6:22:30 PM
?We recognize she is not a government official, she is not a candidate for public office, so we treated her as any other celebrity that might come in.? He compared the Park Service?s treatment of Palin last week ? organizing private tours, opening specific monuments early ? to what they might do ?for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie."
Why the HE&% do celebrities get special treatment; aren't they just regular citizens? Can't they afford their own security? And we wonder why we have such a large deficit...waste, waste, waste!
Posted by: Tom W | Jun 7, 2011 6:23:56 PM
I think the Palin bus tour is a flagrant publicity stunt, but this guy is really grabbing for straws. Some of these politicians are getting to be too much.
Posted by: LongT | Jun 7, 2011 6:27:22 PM
Marvin asked "How about an investigation into the cost of Michelle's vacations??" Here's your answer: none required. Because, whether you like it or not, Mrs. Obama is the First Lady and, since time immemorial, there have been costs associated with that role, including security, wherever she goes. If you don't like it, write to your congressman and get it changed.
Posted by: puppyfeet217 | Jun 7, 2011 6:27:58 PM
Have you done an investigation on Pelosi? Or any of the others that have proven to have ethics problems? Does it matter to you? Or is Palin the attack of choice?
Posted by: debra | Jun 7, 2011 6:30:41 PM
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