Sarah Palin is not a model Alaskan, say Wasilla indie rock native

Wasilla, Alaska, isn't exactly an indie-rock mecca, but one band of note does hail from the area -- the loud and dreamy rock combo with the odd name Portugal. the Man. Singer-guitarist John Baldwin Gourley and bassist Zachary Scott Carothers grew up and started playing music together near the isolated town and still spend considerable time there. (The band's MySpace page lists its home as "Wasilla/Willow/Portland/Seattle/World, Alaska.")

As a native, Gourley's been observing the rise of the town's former mayor, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, with increasing consternation. This morning he decided to act on it, posting a moving argument against her candidacy on the band's blog. Gourley's words of protest led me to investigate the matter, and I discovered that some of the group's anti-Palin sentiments stem from her allegedly standing in the way of a skate park's construction in Wasilla when the band members were teens.

Gourley's blog post is mostly philosophical. Under the heading "Sarah Palin, Because We Don't Need It," he writes of the first time his father took him hunting for moose, when he was about 6. The pair quickly spotted their quarry, but his father pulled back. They didn't kill the moose "because we don't need it," he explained to his son.

" 'Because we don't need it' was something that has been taught to me every day of my life through these amazing people," Gourley writes of his parents, who were Iditarod dog-sled mushers and continue to live an Alaskan life. "And to watch Sarah Palin get so much attention based on what? Two years as governor of the state of Alaska? Or is it based on her time as the mayor of Wasilla? The town of 5,000 at the time."

Gourley goes on to list the things "we don't need" that Palin supports, he says, including aerial hunting, censorship of libraries, "family feuds interfering with duties" and opposition to gay marriage.

It's a gutsy and poetic piece of liberal thinking, and it made me curious about Gourley and his life in Wasilla. So I called him up. He chatted with me while riding toward Portland, Oregon, with his bandmates, having slept in the car after a late-night jaunt from Wasilla to Sea-Tac airport.

"It's weird," he said of the feeling back home now that Palin's in the spotlight. "Obviously things are crazy in the town of Wasilla. The response is somewhat mixed. There are a lot of people who just want to support an Alaskan. Which is frustrating, but it's how Alaska works. It's such a sheltered place, people support their own."

Gourley, 27, was a teenager when Palin became Wasilla's mayor. "I just remember everybody saying, she's hot! Nobody had anything else to say," he said. "Even as a young kid, not knowing about politics, I was confused that that was all [people said] about her."

In Palin's public image, Gourley recognizes a kind of Alaskan he doesn't much admire. "I've grown up around the upper-middle-class families that have a total lack of respect for what they grow up in," he said. "They're going out in their $400 camouflage outfits; it's frustrating to watch them go out and hunt. As soon as the wolves were opened up to be hunted [after being taken off the endagered species list], they went out and hunted them."

Palin's religious views also worry Gourley, who grew up a churchgoer but no longer attends services. He grew up with peers who attended Palin's church in Wasilla. "We have, like, three churches," he said. "It's fairly well-connected. ... I went to dinner with these people because my friends were their kids. These were the ones talking about how awful faggots are, and reading the Book of Revelation to their kids. That's what really changed my mind about religion -- parents being taught fear."

Gourley says the Alaskans with whom he identifies are more free-spirited, like his dad, who'd only shoot a moose when he needed it. "They're just themselves when it comes down to it," he said. "They're up there for the  beauty and the escape more than anything. They just want to live and be themselves."

Portugal. the Man's new album, "Censored Colors," will be released Sept. 16 on its own label, Approaching AIRballoons. The new tracks I've heard are quite enchanting. Check out more music here.

-- Ann Powers

Portugal. The Man photo by Emily Dyan Ibarra

Comments

[John]

What? Are they scared that Obama diminished Palin's accomplishment by touting his campaign's success at destroying Hillary?

[Dave]

oh please,, give me a break. If your going to get your impression of Sara Palin and Alaska from some looser punk kid who once lived here then I think you should be brushing up your job hunting skills because your not going to make it long in the news industry and if you do keep a job in that field then the journalism has really sunk to new lows.

[Reality Hammer]

Someone whines on a website and it's "gutsy"?

Please!

What we "don't need" are more liberal programs that are bankrupting America and allowing untalented hacks to roam around the country playing awful music instead of getting real jobs.

[Uvor]

Who cares?

[Richard Rhodes]

What? Are they scared that Obama diminished Palin's accomplishment by touting his campaign's success at destroying Hillary?

As usual a stupid inane brainless comment from a stupid liberal. Amazing how liberals just have to always change the subject because they are incapable of comprehending anything they read. Palin has executive experience. Obama has no experience. Another Obama lover that can not name one thing that he has ever done since being elected to any office.

[Dave]

What we need, Dave and Reality Hammer, are more opinions of Palin from people who actually know who the heck she is.

[MzLeen]

All the man did was present a different point of view. It goes to show with the conservatives that if you are not for them then you must be against them. No in between.

Haven't you ever heard of free speech? Next the conservatives will be trying to take away that right too!

[Stan Cooper]

I don't know this band or Gourley but a town as small as Wasilla has few voices and fewer still that have the guts to stand up and express an alternative view of Palin's persona and fitness to lead.

Just because this young man has a differing view does not make him a bad guy. We thrive on the marketplace of ideas! (a cornerstone of Democracy)

My kid was a skateboarder and we fought for our little town in California ( Cambria - 7,000 people) to get a skate park. It's just across from the Vet's Hall and kids have a place to go, nothing evil about it. Everyone gets along.

Not everyone want to be competative. I hear my kid in Gourley's complaint. (My kid is also an Indi-Rocker, his band is the Passionistas of San Francisco. I'm glad that the community supported the kids in their desire to skate safely on quality equipment.

[Emily Booth]

your vs you're

Huh? Liberal programs? What liberal programs are you talking about? The 1st amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Freedom of speech? That liberal program?

Most immigrants know more about the U.S. Constitution than the Alaskan governor because they took a constitution class to become citizens.

Sarah Palin is a dodo bird.

[brownout]

Well I for one care what a guy who lived in her city says a hell of a lot more than some loser on cable news who has no idea.

Or maybe Brit Hume can tell us all what a brilliantl leader she is and we can all just trust him ad leave it at that.

[judy tabor]

Give me a break!! Who in the world cares what these guys think about Sarah Palin - what a waste of time interviewing them.

[Jerry/Orlando]

I get it. Palin is a poser. It's frightening to watch a woman whose political career began because "she is hot" being considered for the vice presidency.

Two words: "Being There". A hint to the meaning of that- Peter Sellers. Look it up.

[Carrie longpine]

What we don't need is another right-wing new age christian who uses power to support personal agenda. She scares the hell out of me and is a slap in the face to women.

[Jerry/Orlando]

Someone wrote, at 7:00PM on 9/5/08,
"What we "don't need" are more liberal programs that are bankrupting America and allowing untalented hacks to roam around the country playing awful music instead of getting real jobs."

Ah, so what we need is an untalented hack as vice president? Yeah that will fix Bush's mess. After all, "she's hot".

[Bill Branson]

Reality Hammer, is "Get off my lawn, you lousy kids!" something you find yourself saying often?

I disagree with the sentiments expressed above - this musician's opinion is no more or less valuable or important than anyone else's - regardless of whether he's a CEO, landscaper, or an "untalented hack" musician, as expertly rated by the all-knowing Reality Hammer.

I believe we should start encouraging open conversations on politics, which means we have a more open-mind when hearing others' opinions. I think the fact that conversations on politics and religion is so frowned-upon in our country goes a long way toward explaining why anyone could possibly continue to support the Republican party or creationism, for that matter. Ignorance.

And, the criticism of the journalist is off-the-mark: this is a blog about MUSIC. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that a music band has been interviewed on their thoughts on politics or any other subject.

[OsamaObama]

Wow, what a hard hitting expose! You really went all out here in your deep research. She's got an 80% statewide approval rate... when was the last time you heard of that?

attention liberal media... Your double standards are overwhelming! You guys are more hypocritical than ANYBODY your goober musicians can point to!

[AMuhs]

With her penchant for firing those with whom she doesn't agree she may be "hot" but he's evidently got the "guts" to tell it like it is. Maybe it's because he knows she can't fire him.

[Sonia Kermaz]

The young man is correct about Sarah Palin. The town of Wasilla didn't need a $22 million dollar bill and an unsettled lawsuit for a hockey Sports complex, it needed a sewage and drainage system.

Palin's money-management skills are on par with those of a teenage hockey honey with a credit card and lipstick.

[Pastor Jeff]

I enjoyed reading the article. I don't agree with his perspective, but you learn a lot by listening. This kid grew up on high doses of liberal media, Al Gore spewage, America-is-bad, diet produced by our educational system. As I read the article I found it interesting to observe what our culture is creating. Did you catch how anyone who reads the book of Revelation is "parents being taught fear." I have read the book of Revelation too many times to count and I have read numerous commentaries on it from various perspectives... I do not feel fear, nor do I teach from it to produce fear. And what amazes me as I watch videos of Sarah Palin I do not see a person who quotes Revelation to intimidate and frighten. That is why the left hate her so much, because she has hope and peace that is incomprehensibe, no matter the diagnosis or how bad the news, she has hope (not fear) that good will win. And that is how many interpret the message of Revelation. How funny is it that when people quote Brother Wright and want to discuss his theology, that should not mnatter. But because "some people" in the rocker's home town say frightening stuff about Revelation, that makes Palin unqualified? How can liberal tolerate their own double standards? When you really listen and look at Sarah Palin's life, you see a person whose heart if to serve people, to bless people, to help people. Yes, her values will determine her policies, but her policies aren't going to hurt this punk rocker-wanna-be. If he wants to marry his boyfriend so he can get his benefits without earning them himself, then he probably won't like Sarah Palin's values and the policies she endorses - but I can tell you from personal experience from serving on corporate boards, that there is not a corporation that can provide health benefits to everyone who lives with their employees. More and more corporations who have done that in the past are reversing their policies. Why? It is not economically sustainable. Our government financial system is broken. Continued deficit spending cannot be sustained. It was justified in the past because of surpluses in Social Security. That is quickly coming to an end as Baby Boomer's retire and will need social security to fulfill those obligations, and there is going to be revelational hell to pay. That is the revelation that scares me. I don't trust a democrat to have the fiscal discipline to fix it. I do trust Sarah Palin because she has a track record of getting rid of pork barrel spending and saying "no" to pork barrel projects. I think she will do that on a national scale. I want to vote for someone who believes they are accountable for how they serve and treat other people, including future generations, and yes, people who have not been born yet. As I counsel numerous couples who are infertile and would love to adopt a child of their own, I think "unwanted child" is an oxymoron. Why don't we say, "unwanted inconvenience" so that your own selfishness can be spotlighted. Then we can go back to talking about your own failures rooted in selfishness as a human being instead of someone elses. As far as censorship of libraries, the last time I checked there would be no libraries without tax dollars. Why would I want my tax dollars being used to provide resources that are blatantly counter-productive to a healthy society? I don't even know that Sarah Palin has censored a library book, but you know what, since Al Gore invented the internet you can find any information you want to find. Sarah Palin isn't going to keep information from getting into your hands grunge rocker boy. Internet is available at truck stops, your neighbors' house, restaurants, almost everywhere. You can download information to your cell phone from the web. If you don't have a computer, trade in some of your guitars at a pawn shop and buy one. One of the things I find most interesting is that the libs are comparing Sarah Palin to B. Hussein Obama when the last time I checked, Palin was running for Vice President, not against Barry Hussein for president. I think McCain is a great example of a liberal conservative who has one of the best records of any politiician in my lifetime of reaching across the aisle and working with the other party. I remember when Ronald Reagan was running for president and the liberals dogged him for lack of experience, even if your liberal, you're not even being intellectually honest if you won't give Reagan his due. I hope my vote for Palin gets her elected because I believe that the country needs a politician who has integrity, a bonafide love for her fellow man, a willingness and ability to make the hard decision (even if it goes against their own party), and someone who believes America is not perfect but that it is still the land of the free and the home of the brave and who wants to keep it that way. McCain & Palin come much closer to fitting that description than the alternatives.

[jaded]

RR...we can't name accomplishments? Hmmmmmm...here:

Below I summarize Senator Obama’s legislative record in the US Senate. First I list the bills he sponsored that have become law. Next I summarize the bills that he has sponsored or cosponsored since he became a US Senator in 2005.

I have only included major pieces of legislation and have not summarized continuing resolutions or naming post offices, for example.

His record suggests several priorities and the bills he supports address many of our most pressing problems.

Of the 15 bills Senator Obama sponsored or co-sponsored in 2005-7 that became law:

Two addressed foreign policy:

* Promote relief, security and democracy in the Congo (2125)
* Develop democratic institutions in areas under Palestinian control (2370).

Three addressed public health:

* Improve mine safety (2803)
* Increased breast cancer funding (597)
* Reduce preterm delivery and complications, reduce infant mortality (707).

Two addressed openness and accountability in government:

* Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (2488 )
* Full disclosure of all entities receiving federal funds (2590)

Two addressed national security

* Extend Terrorist Risk Insurance (467)
* Amend the Patriot Act (2167)

One addressed the needs of the Armed Forces

* Wave passport fees to visit graves, attend memorials/funerals of veterans abroad (1184).

Of the 570 bills Senator Obama introduced into the Senate during the 109th and 110th Congress (Senate Bill numbers are in parentheses), they can be summarized as follows:

25 addressed Energy Efficiency and Climate Change

* Suspend royalty relief for oil and gas (115)
* Reduce dependence on oil; use of alternative energy sources (133)
* Increase fuel economy standards for cars (767, 768 )
* Auto industry incentives for fuel efficient vehicles (1151)
* Reduce green house gas emissions (1324)
* Establish at NSF a climate change education program (1389)
* Increase renewable content of gasoline (2202)
* Energy emergency relief for small businesses and farms (269)
* Strategic gasoline and fuel reserves (1794)
* Alternative diesel standards (3554)
* Coal to liquid fuel promotion (3623)
* Renewable diesel standards (1920)
* Reducing global warming pollution from vehicles (2555)
* Fuel security and consumer choice (1994, 2025)
* Alternative energy refueling system (2614)
* Climate change education (1389)
* Low income energy assistance (2405)
* Oil savings targets (339)
* Fuel economy reform (3694)
* Plug-in electric drive vehicles (1617)
* Nuclear release notice (2348 )
* Passenger rail investment (294)
* Energy relief for low income families (2405)

21 addressed Health Care

* Drug re-importation (334)
* Health information technology (1262, 1418 )
* Discount drug prices (2347)
* Health care associated infections (2278 )
* Hospital quality report cards (692, 1824)
* Medical error disclosure and compensation (1784)
* Emergency medical care and response (1873)
* Stem cell research (5)
* Medical Malpractice insurance (1525)
* Health centers renewal (901, 3771)
* Children’s health insurance (401)
* Home health care (2061)
* Medicare independent living (2103)
* Microbicides for HIV/AIDS (823)
* Ovarian cancer biomarker research (2569)
* Gynological cancers (1172)
* Access to personalized medicine through use of human genome (976)
* Paralysis research and care (1183)

20 addressed Public Health:

* Violence against women (1197)
* Biodefense and pandemic preparedness and response (1821, 1880)
* Viral influenza control (969)
* End homelessness (1518 )
* Reduce STDs/unintended pregnancy (1790)
* Smoking prevention and tobacco control (625)
* Minority health improvement and disparity elimination (4024)
* Nutrition and physical education in schools (2066)
* Health impact assessments (1067, 2506)
* Healthy communities (1068 )
* Combat methamphetamines (2071)
* Paid sick leave (910)
* Prohibit mercury sales (833, 1818 )
* Prohibit sale of lead products (1306, 2132)
* Lead exposure in children (1811, 2132)

14 address Consumer Protection/Labor

* Stop unfair labor practices (842)
* Fair minimum wage (2, 1062, 2725, 3829)
* Internet freedom (2917)
* Credit card safety (2411)
* Media ownership (2332)
* Protecting taxpayer privacy (2484)
* Working family child assistance (218 )
* Habeus Corpus Restoration (185)
* Bankruptcy protection for employees and retirees (2092)
* FAA fair labor management dispute resolution (2201)
* Working families flexibility (2419).

13 addressed the Needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces:

* Improve Benefits (117)
* Suicide prevention (479)
* Needs of homeless veterans (1180)
* Homes for veterans (1084)
* GI Bill enhancement (43)
* Military job protection
* Dignity in care for wounded vets (713)
* Housing assistance for low income veterans (1084)
* Military children in public schools (2151)
* Military eye injury research and care (1999)
* Research physical/mental health needs from Iraq War (1271)
* Proper administration of discharge for personality disorder (1817, 1885)
* Security of personal data of veterans (3592)

12 addressed Congressional Ethics and Accountability

* Lobbying and ethics reform (230)
* Stop fraud (2280)
* Legislative transparency and accountability (525)
* Open government (2180, 2488 )
* Restoring fiscal discipline (10)
* Transparency and integrity in earmarks (2261)
* Accountability of conference committee deliberations and reports (2179)
* Federal funding accountability and transparency (2590)
* Accountability and oversight for private security functions under Federal
* contract (674)
* Accountability for contractors and personnel under federal contracts
* (2147) Restrictions awarding government contracts (2519)

10 addressed Foreign Policy:

* Iraq war de-escalation (313)
* US policy for Iraq (433),
* Divestiture from Iran (1430)
* Sudan divestment authorization (831)
* Millennium Development Goals (2433)
* Multilateral debt relief (1320)
* Development bank reform (1129)
* Nuclear nonproliferation (3131,977,2224).

9 address Voting/Elections

* Prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections (453)
* Voter access to polls and services in Federal elections (737)
* Voter intimidation and deceptive practices (1975)
* Senate campaign disclosure parity (185)
* Require reporting for bundled campaign contributions (2030)
* Election jamming prevention (4102)
* Campaign disclosure parity (223)
* Presidential funding (2412)
* Integrity of electronic voting systems (1487)

11 addressed Education

* Increase access of low income African Americans to higher education (1513)
* Establish teaching residency programs (1574)
* Increase early intervention services (2111)
* Middle school curriculum improvements (2227)
* Public database of scholarships, fellowships and financial aid (2428 )
* Summer learning programs (116)
* TANF financial education promotion (924)
* Higher education (1642)
* Build capacity at community colleges (379)
* Campus law enforcement in emergencies (1228 )
* Support for teachers (2060).

6 addressed Hurricane Katrina

* Hurricane Katrina recovery (2319)
* Emergency relief (1637)
* Bankruptcy relief and community protection (1647)
* Working family tax relief (2257)
* Fair wages for recovery workers (1749)
* Gulf coast infrastructure redevelopment (1836)

5 addressed the Environment

* Drinking water security (218, 1426)
* Water resources development (728 )
* Waste water treatment (1995)
* Combat illegal logging (1930)
* Spent nuclear fuel tracking and accountability (1194)
* Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (Introduced in Senate)[S.726.IS ]

4 addressed Discrimination

* Claims for civil class action based on discrimination (1989)
* Domestic partnership benefits (2521)
* Unresolved civil rights crimes (535)
* Equality or two parent families (2286)

4 addressed Homeland Security

* Judicial review of FISA orders (2369)
* National emergency family locator (1630)
* Amend US Patriot Act (2167)
* Chemical security and safety (2486)

Is this enough?

[C]

I'm perplexed that a man would take his son hunting for moose and, upon finding a moose, tell his son "we don't need it." If I were the son, I might be a little circumspect about the wisdom of the father who dispensed this life lesson.

[PEG]

SARAH PALIN IS A RED-NECK CONSERVATIVE'S PIN-UP GIRL. HEY YA'LL...LET'S GO OUT AND SHOOT SOMETHIN !!!!
SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A V.P. EVEN DOES! FACE IT-SHE'S MCSAME'S HOT LITTLE CHEERLEADER (IN LINE FOR THE OLD GEEZER'S POSSIBLE POSITION AS THE MOST POWERFUL PERSON ON EARTH) GOD SAVE US FROM THE GOP.

[Leesa Hedgecorth]

Come on people. Sarah is not going to be a hottie forever. Beauty does fade and then you will all know that she is kick butt. She is what this country needs and if you don't like it well move to Russia or China or even Iran I am sure they would love to have you.

[brownout]

Regarding "Pastor Jeff"'s comments.

I just wanted to thank you for the laughs this weekend.

You said:

"I don't trust a democrat to have the fiscal discipline to fix it." Check your history and turn off Fox News for a change?

Look at the National Debt, and look who has been presidenrt for 8 years. Ditto for the Regan years.

Bill Clinton, a Democrat, left us with a massive SURPLUS. Check the numbers yourself.

Charts and graphs here:

http://www.academycomputerservice.com/economics/charts.htm

The only folks who can get us OUT of this mess is the Demiocrats, not the GOP. And this is not just triue in recent history...dems have done better than republicans for most Americans since the 1940s.

[Duard Farquard]

No one says that Mr. Ambergeis can't express an opinion. The fact that this unwashed, loser punk rocker has a right to state his opinion --- and be given a forum to do so like he, y'know, really knows anything besides how to form a G chord --- doesn't change the fact that he's an unwashed, loser punk rocker. No wonder newspapers are losing circulation. It's the same journalistic mindset that makes a Virginia bartender named Dave Mathews an expert on nuclear power. Dave Mathews causes more environmental damage dumping sewage off of his tour bus than most nuclear plants cause in a decade.

Note to the above: co-sponsoring or introducing a bill in the Senate is no big deal. A trained seal can do it. It's getting them passed that it the real work, and Obama can't do it. Voting "Present" on the controversial ones, on the other hand, IS a big deal.

If the country makes a mistake, I don't want it punished with a Neighborhood Organizer who, in a Chauncey Gardener-like moment, finds himself in the U.S. Senate and making a futile run for the White House. Given that water eventually finds its own level, by this time next year B. Hussein Obama will be the door greeter at Dr. Teller's Kansas aboritorium.