Palin LIED about selling jet on eBay (actually lost $ for the state)

Jason Linkins at Huffington Post:

Sarah Palin's Strange eBay Exaggeration:

-snip-

What is perplexing, however, are unnecessary lies. Silly falsehoods, said for no apparent reason, on topics that the world would have totally avoided had you not lied about it in the first place. One strange Sarah Palin falsehood, which she acclaimed as truth yesterday and the campaign reaffirmed tonight in video was that she successfully auctioned a private jet she deemed unnecessary for the State of Alaska to maintain on eBay. It's a strange falsehood because, in the first place, really, who cares? Moreover, it's bizarre because eBay founder Meg Whitman works for the McCain campaign! She's right there! In the building! And surely she can explain to Palin that she is getting that weird bit of biography wrong.

Via Radar, the facts are these:

After going unsold for months, the jet was put into the hands of Turbo North Aviation, an Anchorage aircraft broker, which put an asking price of $2.45 million on the nearly $2.7 million jet. It quickly sold to Alaska businessman Larry Reynolds for $2.1 million ($31,000 of which went to Turbo Aviation). Today the Westwind II jet spends its days ushering wealthy hunters around Alaska and Russia
.
So why on earth would Palin lie about this, knowing that it would bring scrutiny to this story, and knowing that the scrutiny would reveal that a) the auction wasn't successful, b) she lost the State of Alaska's money on the deal, and c) the state's valuable resource had basically become a luxury for wealthy elites? I have no idea! But whatever! It's definitely not the worst lie she's ever told.

More at link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/sarah-palins-strange-ebay_n_124097.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6944989&mesg_id=6944989

Your OP has more detail. :D

I would never buy from someone with a 93%!! :)

Especially not a 2.1-2.7 million dollar jet.

Apparently she also had no clue how to get the best price for the jet. Sounds like she was careless with state property.

She lost money for the state with that deal too.

Read post #3 here;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3472240&mesg_id=3472276

> What is perplexing, however, are unnecessary lies. Silly falsehoods, said for no apparent reason, on topics that the world would have totally avoided had you not lied about it in the first place.

This is what the wingnuts all do now, as if the desire to project a false reality and keep the truth hidden away has become an intrinsic part of their mentality.

Could this woman be any more like bush without resorting to surgery? Or doesn't she even need that?

Which doesn't mean she managed to sell it on ebay.

But spot on with the loss to AK people.

However, the GOP campaign ditto heads bringing this up as "experience" and "down to earth-ness" is just plain stupid because it suggests that anybody selling stuff on Ebay is qualified as the VP.

I have an eBay store.. and I "put" a lot of stuff on there, but it doesn't all sell.

I wonder if there is a way to confirm if an auction for the plane was ever set up?

Ehh.. with Meg Whitman on McCain's staff.. even if they didn't.. she can make one up and pretend it's old. Oh well.

What is perplexing, however, are unnecessary lies. Silly falsehoods, said for no apparent reason, on topics that the world would have totally avoided had you not lied about it in the first place. One strange Sarah Palin falsehood, which she acclaimed as truth yesterday and the campaign reaffirmed tonight in video was that she successfully auctioned a private jet she deemed unnecessary for the State of Alaska to maintain on eBay.

They have to do this. She's tissue paper thin on experience and data, they'll say anything to provide some semblance of substance. Sarah Palin is like biting into a Boston Creme donught that's been filled with whip creme. You're expecting tasty, weighty, dense custard, but you get air instead.

what i heard her say was that she "put" it on ebay- which is completely true. i haven't seen a quote where she says that it actually sold.

I didn't want to poison myself that much.

Can you find "sold on Ebay" in the transcript of her speech?

Video at this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x182743

It wasn't just the convention speech. She talked about this often before being selected. I'm sure I heard her say "SOLD" at least once. I can't remember where that was, but I'm sure plenty of video will surface shortly.

eom

When John Engler became governor of MI in the 1990's he made a big stink about driving around in his own Oldsmobile rather than travelling at the taxpayers expense. Meanwhile, he privatized whatever he could and sold the state to the highest bidders.

That proves she had no idea that selling an airplane would be tougher than listing it on Ebay, and using an agent is how one gets maximum dollar for selling such an asset.

She lied similarly about her role in the bridge to nowhere. She didn't oppose it, she lobbied for it. She wanted the money. She got the money. Then she kept the money from the federal government, but denounced the bridge to nowhere.

She lies like BUSH.

that is exactly what she did. As a person who has sold a lot of items on ebay... I have PUT many more items on ebay than I have sold. Am I lieing to my family everytime I tell them "I put Stephen King's It on ebay last month"... just because it did not sell?

It's just used as a narrative. Just because the story doesn't add up doesn't mean it won't resonate with the kool-aid drinkers.

Was who is "Larry Reynolds" and does he have any connection to the Palins?

I do not trust R's. They lie, they steal and they do their damndest to turn public office into private cash. More than likely it is nothing, but I hope someone does some legwork on this in the coming days, just to make sure.

for the effect they want.

They know her speech got millions of viewers. The lies were seen as truth by millions of people. The corrections will be seen by less than 10% of that number of people.

So Republican Ends Justify the Means theory says "Go For It!" Tell the public whatever you want them to think, regardless of its veracity. You can do the "whoops, here's a correction" thing a couple of days later and you're covered.

They've been doing lots of their lying that way. Even when John Sidney McCain III, humble public servant with at least seven homes, lies about what he said five days ago and we have it on tape. The RNC has calculated-- how many people will be watching this speech vs. how many reading about the correction?

Ditto Lindsey Graham on Obama and Petraeus. We've got the photo and will circulate it a day later, but the impact on millions watching was made. The correction will reach thousands.

We used to have more independent reporters when media ownership was not consolidated into 6 right wing corporations who would make corrections while reviewing the speeches, and make any subsequent corrections into news items. Now they don't have to bother.

:hurts:

I hate this woman, and if she did lie I would jump on it in a heart beat, because I think she is a danger to our entire country. However, she did not lie. She very clearly stated that she put it on ebay... which she DID. It did not sell but she did put it on ebay... which is all that she ever said she did.

I have put many things on ebay as an ebay seller. Many of those things did not SELL on ebay but I still put them up for sale on ebay.

I took that to mean somebody had witnessed her saying that...
:shrug:

i've only heard her claim to have 'put' it on ebay, which is a true statement.

saying unequivocally that she "sold it on Ebay at a profit" which I think we all know now was wrong. Maybe he thought it was true when he said it but she was standing right there and apparently didn't think correcting him was a good idea. :shrug:

it'll just be picking nits.

unfortunately.

As in no consequences...as you say, unfortunately. crap.

It's out there on video. Sorry, but there's proof.

There are lies that can get you put in prison. Then there are other lies where a person clearly tried to deceive, but was perhaps able to use language that was just ambiguous enough to frustrate a prosecution.

I'm certain I've seen video where she said "I SOLD it on eBay". She has used this story a whole lot. It wasn't a new reference in St. Paul. This is a lie. Obviously it is not the sort of lie that is criminal. But it does tell a lot about the person's character when they can so easily say things, or even IMPLY things, that simply are not true.

"While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay."

"I got rid of a few things... I put it on eBay".

She clearly intended to deceive. She did not get rid of the plane by putting it on ebay. She lied. She lied in order to pump up her talents and abilities. She can sell jets on ebay!

She should be forced, on camera, to admit that she deceived and mislead the public by deliberately distorting her record when she spoke at the RNC. One more reason we won't see her in an uncontrolled situation anytime soon.

Even Sarah Palin occasionally makes statements that are true.

They won't believe us when we try to correct them.

Because the Ebay angle juices up the story and makes it more memorable. Also she's a liar.

Kelly O'Donnell and friends have a job to do -- and they get paid well to do it.