So let me get this straight, they needed a pipeline, and she just got elected because she was fighting the big evil oil companies and so she excluded them from bidding because it would have led to a monopoly by the big evil oil companies and so some people that she knew who worked back in the day at some oil company’s subsidiary now
blah blah blah blah blah
There is nothing there that suggests any impropriety other than the words AP INVESTIGATION PALIN.
Lame.
Here's the story in a nut shell: Accusation in the article: "Despite Palin's boast of a smart and fair bidding process, the AP found that her team crafted terms that favored only a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited the winner, TransCanada Corp."
What actually happened: Palin said she saw problems if the firms that own the gas also owned the pipeline. They could manipulate the market or charge prohibitive fees to smaller exploration firms, discouraging competition.
Several important requirements in the legislation were unpalatable to the big oil companies. In the talks under Murkowski, the firms asked that the rates for the gas production tax and royalties be fixed for 45 years; Palin refused to consider setting rates for that long.
Under the Palin process, the pipeline firms had an advantage because they simply pass along taxes paid by oil and gas producers.
Oil company officials warned lawmakers they wouldn't participate under those terms.
And, by their own choice, they didn't. So what the hell is AP sqwauking about?