Governor Sarah Palin's Weekly Radio Address:
Good morning, this is Sarah Palin -- the governor of Alaska and candidate for vice president. When Senator John McCain asked me to join the ticket last week, he placed a lot of confidence in me, and I'm going to do my level best to be worthy of it. Senator McCain also asked me to fill in for him today in his weekly radio address -- he's putting me right to work.
In my speech to the convention last Wednesday, I wanted to share some basic convictions, and also to tell you a little about the path that shaped those convictions. I never really set out to be involved in public affairs, much less to run for vice president. My mom and dad both worked at the local elementary school, and my husband Todd and I, we both grew up working with our hands. I was pretty much your average hockey mom, raising kids, and joined the PTA. When I ran for city council of my hometown, and then for mayor, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and I knew their families, too. I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment, and I have no plans to join.
That was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network. Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve. But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up, and in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.
I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law. I came to office promising to control spending -- by request if possible and by veto if necessary. And today, our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.
Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest -- and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works. In a McCain-Palin administration, we'll pursue a pro-growth agenda focused on creating jobs and reducing the tax burden. And with a maverick in the White House, Republicans are going to reclaim our good name as the party of spending discipline.
Our opponent in this election supports plans to raise taxes on income, payroll, investment income, business income, and altogether would increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. But ask yourself: If you're trying to run a small business, or to keep your job at a plant, or keep a small farm in the family, how are you going to be better off if he adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?
In Alaska, we've also made some serious reforms in energy policy. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue right back where it belonged -- directly to the people of Alaska. And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people. I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
Energy security is one of the great issues in this presidential campaign, and I look forward to debating it. Our opponents keep saying that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems -- as if we didn't already know that. But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all. Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines and build more nuclear plants, create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.
John McCain is a man who has always served his country and not just his party, and that's exactly the spirit we need in Washington today. Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason to enter politics is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it. No one expects us to agree on everything. But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and a servant's heart. And I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as Vice President of the United States. Thank you for listening.