After all, if Jon Stewart proves anything, it’s that politics are far more palatable when viewed as comedy as opposed to tragedy.

First, the surprise nomination of Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin (hilarious YouTube alert) for the Republican VP spot could vault the Measure 4 issue into the national political spotlight; she’s been accused of violating state guidelines for taking sides on the Measure 4 fight.

Then there are the other elements of great drama: the shadowy, behind-the-scenes rich guys with an unclear agenda; the government regulatory agency parroting industry talking points (and getting blasted for it by another government agency); and some muttering among proponents that the whole thing was a waste of time.

Simple? Clear? Not for a second.

Meet the New Boss (Nominated)

Alaska’s governor has gone from political nobody to media superstar in a matter of days – a reality sure to focus a little light on her actions surrounding Ballot Measure 4.

Palin – who’s been touted as a “reformer” and anti-corruption candidate – doesn’t fare quite so well in this KTUU-TV Web site report:

Gov. Sarah Palin spoke out against it [ed: Measure 4] earlier this week, drawing sharp criticism from a group that supports Ballot Measure 4.

It is against the law for the governor to officially advocate for or against a ballot measure; however, Palin took what she calls “personal privelege” to discuss one of this year’s most contentious initiatives, which voters will decide Tuesday.

“Let me take my governor’s hat off just for a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop 4 — I vote no on that. I have all the confidence in the world that (the Department of Environmental Conservation) and our (Department of Natural Resources) have great, very stringent regulations and policies already in place,” Palin said. “We’re going to make sure that mines operate only safely, soundly.”

The State of Confusion Department

Then there’s the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), who foisted a misleading Web site on the public (apparently it even used graphics from the mining company’s presentation) which was promptly ordered offline by that zany crew of legal nitpickers at the State Department of Public Offices:

The state’s website on Ballot Measure 4, the so-called Clean Water initiative has been ordered to be shut down at least until Friday at 2 p.m.

After hours of testimony and deliberations Thursday, commissioners say the website was not fair and neutral in certain areas and that unless both sides can come up with a new website in which they agree is balanced, the website may be offline forever.

Measure 4 supporter Bruce Switzer said the intent of Measure 4 opponents was always to confuse, not inform:

We didn’t think it [ed: Palin's comments] was appropriate coming out this late, but similarly the DNR came out with the web page at the very end of the day that was essentially identical to the mining presentations that have been made around the state for the last few months. So it wasn’t surprising.

Exit polls indicate many voters grew confused by the contradictory advertising and simply threw up their hands (which pretty much describes the Modern American political process).

Then There Are The Other Guys

If all that wasn’t fodder enough for a cheesy political thriller movie (I’m thinking straight to DVD, and I want a percentage of the gross, not the net), then there’s source of much of the pro-initiative funding – a bazillionaire/Bristol Bay lodge owner and a shadowy Washington DC lobbying group.

Pebble foes, including Anchorage millionaire
Bob Gillam and the Americans for Job Security — a secretive,
Republican-oriented group in Virginia that doesn’t identify its members
– contributed nearly $3 million to back Measure 4.

Gillam
disclosed giving $570,000. The Americans for Job Security disclosed
giving $1.2 million to the “Yes” campaign, but it also funded “issue”
ads in the form of mailers and radio spots. The cost of those ads was
not disclosed.

Some proponents can’t quite seem to get over the source of the funding. Others have suggested the whole Measure 4 thing was a waste of time and resources.

As always, we turn to the Undergrounders for Universal Truth and Clarity. Of course, such things aren’t possible in today’s political environment, so rather than waste our time, we’ll ask the only question left to us:

Where did everybody go fishing over Labor Day?

UPDATE: Murdock of Flyfishmagazine.com reports from the front lines.

sarah palin, measure 4, pebble mine, americans for job security,