Palin's bus tour a family trip, Park Service says
While tens of thousands of dollars were spent on Sarah Palin's bus tour by her political action committee, the head of the National Park Service said Thursday the tour was a "personal, family" event that did not place too much burden on the U.S. park system.
In a letter to Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Park Service Director John Jarvis said the former Alaska governor's tour did not require special staffing. The Oregon Democrat had earlier questioned whether federal resources were improperly used for Palin's "partisan, political tour."
Palin launched her bus tour in May, renewing speculation about her political ambitions and spurring the media to tail her to national parks like Gettysburg National Military Park.
Blumenauer said press accounts of the tour "suggest that National Park Service resources were made available to an extent beyond that which an average American family would receive."
Jarvis responded to Blumenauer on Thursday, explaining that Palin's staff told the Park Service the bus tour stops "were personal, family visits."
Jarvis said the Park Service treated Palin's tour as a "celebrity" visit, which is not uncommon at national parks. The Park Service is "quite adept at doing everything possible to ensure that these visits cause minimal disruption" to other visitors, he wrote.
"The governor was not looking to hold an event, give a speech, or conduct any other activity that would require a National Park Service permit," Jarvis wrote. "However, given the significant media attention, and the large 'branded' bus in which the family would be traveling, it was clear that these would not be the typical family visits that we see most days in most national parks."
All the parks Palin visited used on-duty staff to accommodate her, and no overtime was incurred or paid.
While the tour was billed as a "family" trip, Palin's political action committee SaraPAC spent tens of thousands of dollars on it, according to the PAC's Thursday filing with the Federal Election Commission. As much as $13,700 was spent just on wrapping the "One Nation" bus with images of the Constitution and the American flag. The PAC also spent thousands of dollars for hotels, flights and rental cars on dates surrounding the trip.
SarahPAC raised about $1.7 million during the first six months of the year, the FEC report shows, and ended June with $1.4 million on hand.
Derek Schlickeisen, a spokesperson for Blumenauer, said the congressman appreciated receiving the Park Service's reply and that his office would "leave it to others to decide whether they think a family vacation paid for by a federal PAC is appropriate."
The bus tour was put on hiatus a few weeks ago, in part because the former governor was called for jury duty.
