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Palin Unlawfully Abused Power

by TerranceDC
Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 09:51:02 PM EST

Damn. It's 9:21 p.m. on a Friday night. Nobody's reading blogs right now, but I gotta run with this.

Not just abuse of power, but unlawful abuse of power. Well, what can I say?

A legislative committee investigating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has found she unlawfully abused her authority in firing the state's public safety commissioner.

The investigative report concludes that a family grudge wasn't the sole reason for firing Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan but says it likely was a contributing factor.

The Republican vice presidential nominee has been accused of firing the commissioner to settle a family dispute. Palin supporters have called the investigation politically motivated.

Monegan says he was dismissed as retribution for resisting pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

The legislative panel met for six hours before making a unanimous decision to release the so-called "Troopergate" report. The vote was 12-0 to release the report, except for certain parts they consider confidential.

So, for your reading pleasure, here is the full report.

Branch Flower Report to the Legislative Council - Upload a Document to Scribd

I don't know, but I'm guessing this nudges Connecticut out of the headlines. Granted, it's released on a Friday night before a holiday weekend. Normally that's a great way to bury a story. But this is an election year, and the report concerns a VP candidate readiness for the job is in question, and who's sharing the ticket with a running mate of questionable physical and mental health.

So, we're talking about someone who could very likely end up being president.

We've already had a president whose favorite pastime is abuse of power. We've already had a president who embodies two of the worst qualities possible qualities in a leader: ignorance and vindictiveness.

Dare we risk another?

Think about what a Palin administration could do with the PATRIOT Act, NSA, Plamegate, Attorneygate, and just about any other scandal you can think of.

It's also troubling that this investigation began before McCain picked her as his VP. So, the campaign had to at least know an investigation was underway. But they say she was vetted, and he was likely pissed because he couldn't have Lieberman.

We've already had a president whose rash, uninformed decisions have cost Americans dearly.

And, finally, this would almost be funny if it weren't so sad.

In an effort to head off the report, McCain campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin released the campaign's own version of events. That report, which Griffin said was written by campaign staffers, says the Legislature has taken a legitimate policy dispute between a governor and one of her commissioners, and portrayed it as something inappropriate.

Palin Unlawfully Abused Power | 32 comments (32 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 4)

I'm reading blogs on a Friday night. I have no life.

by Brad on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 10:10:14 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 3)

We're all kicking back after a hard week.

by Heart of the Rockies on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 10:23:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 3)

Palin + McCain = unbelievably pathetic. This is becoming the worst run campaign in American History and we still have three and a half weeks left until election day. I don't even want to think, "What Next?"

All members of the frog pond are special.

by Daredevil Don on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 10:12:30 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 2)

A story like this provides a good example why the blogosphere is so important. Given that it broke late on a Friday evening, the corporate media would likely let it slide under the radar-- but the bloggers will stir the pot and keep this sucker simmering.

by eagleye on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:24:19 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 4)

This brings a tear to my eye. McSame and Bible Spice drill these moronic thoughts into their supporters' heads, and when they are repeated back to them using plain language McSame is forced to correct them:

Seriously. To say the wheels have come off is the understatement of the year! The McSame bus has no wheels, no transmission, and no engine left!

"We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." - Richard Dawkins

by halo0 (philiott at gmail dotcom) on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:05:18 AM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 2)

Oh, no! He is NOT an Arab, he is a decent family man.

My god!

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 02:25:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

Come on, Hurria. It's either/or. (Sorry for the snark.)

I guess it's too much for McCain to explain that people who are all sorts of different ethnicities or religions can be decent. It would destroy the us v. them paradigm.

by Bob In Pacifica on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 09:35:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

WTF? I'm surprised he didn't fire Palin on the spot and hire that woman as his running mate. I guess McCain still has his lucid moments. But has he started a fire that he can no longer control?

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; now we know that it is bad economics;" - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

by Salunga on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:25:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

Same analogy, different take: McCain started this five-alarm fire, and now we're supposed to give him credit for running back to the scene with a bucket of water?

by Geov Parrish on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:40:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (4.00 / 2)

From TPM:

"The report details the extraordinary lengths that Gov. Palin, largely through her husband Todd, went to get her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired because of personal family reasons (namely, his nasty divorce from Palin's sister). It was this effort, which led to pressure being improperly brought to bear on numerous state employees, that constituted an abuse of power by Palin. As it should be. State employees should not be subject to personal vendettas from elected officials."

and from the report:

" Such impermissible and repeated contacts create conflicts of interests for subordinate employees who must choose to either please a superior or run the risk of facing that superior's displeasure and the possible consequences of such displeasure. This was one of the very reasons the Ethics Act was promulgated by the Legislature."

"I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor in that her conduct violated AS 39.52.11 D(a) of the Ethics Act."

The problem for Palin is not the Monegan issue but the abuse of state employees. This was a central reason to establish the ethics committee. Palin's action was unlawful. This could get Palin impeached after she loses the national election.

by AustinSax on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:15:20 AM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

It may get her impeached but it's likely to get her some street cred with the loonier reaches of the GOP who seem to find the willing to abuse to be a qualification for high office.

by Brad on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:36:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

Pity the Bush administration is coming to an end. They promote people for things like this.

by Geov Parrish on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:45:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

from the alaska constitution:

Section 2.20 - Impeachment.
All civil officers of the State are subject to impeachment by the legislature. Impeachment shall originate in the senate and must be approved by a two-thirds vote of its members. The motion for impeachment shall list fully the basis for the proceeding. Trial on impeachment shall be conducted by the house of representatives. A supreme court justice designated by the court shall preside at the trial. Concurrence of two-thirds of the members of the house is required for a judgment of impeachment. The judgment may not extend beyond removal from office, but shall not prevent proceedings in the courts on the same or related charges.

unlike the u.s. constitution, it doesn't specify that the crimes have to rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors"...iamnal, but it would seem to me that this:

"I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor in that her conduct violated AS 39.52.11 D(a) of the Ethics Act."

might well qualify as a "reason", if the 2/3 senate agreed.

since the committee was weighted 2 : 1, Ratpublican : demoRAT, that may not be much of a stretch. she's obviously alienated a lot of people on both sides of thee aisle in her short tenure as gov.

the revolution will not be televised...Peace

by dada on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 01:03:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Precipice before, Wolves behind (4.00 / 2)

Of course, we are reading blogs!

The Republicans are in an awful place. If they vetted the Palins, they KNEW about the book banning, the firings, the speeches and support for the terrorists and secessionists and racists, and the woo-woo witch doctor anointing Mrs. Palin with Jesus Juice. They KNEW that Mrs. Palin was preggers when she married and that Trig almost certainly is not her child (insurance fraud is a family value) and that Bristol was a wild partying girl and that Track had to enlist or face jail time (for doing and dealing drugs, underage drinking, theft, and vandalizing those school buses). They KNEW about the affairs and business deals gone bad. They KNEW about the tax cheating (if there is anything the Republicans do know, it is that money always leaves a trail). They KNEW and didn't care.

OTOH, if they didn't vet the Palins, for what will be the highest and toughest job in the country given McCain's health, they are guilty of malfeasance and negligence and stupidity. These are supposed to be businessmen. Would you hire a pageant queen who jiggles her hooters to run a company? Even a receptionist job requires office skills!

The quotation I want is this fine old statement:

a fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi: a precipice before (me), wolves behind (me) (ie, caught between death and dismemberment)

Can they save their Party?

I doubt it.

After what they've done to my country, the sooner they dismember themselves, the better.

by hauksdottir on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 01:50:53 AM EST

Genie In A Bottle (none / 1)

.
Once let out tough to get back in.

IMO the worst is yet to come ... watch the election results and aftermath. The racial divide will become frontpage nieuws in November. Even on CNN the public in interviews admit using the phrase "he is a Muslim" truly means "but he is black". No wonder Bush took his eyes off Afghanistan, it reminded him of a backward country with inequality and prejudices.

American Evangelicals and binary thinking

Sarah Palin comes along, however, and she is a white, pretty, working-class, hockey mom whose son is a soldier and whose church is evangelical. I understand her appeal-but it's the appeal of a one-page c.v. with photo. Evangelical leaders especially should know far better by now that they need to wait for more digging to expose more of the candidate to light before endorsing someone, and especially before embracing someone as "one of us."

...
Now what about the reports of her awarding contracts and positions to childhood friends and punishing anyone who disagrees with her? Politicians are often criticized in just this way, so perhaps Governor Palin is no worse than most others and better than many. But abuse of power is something the Bible speaks to quite a bit. Did evangelicals check that out before cheering for "our Sarah"?

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

by Oui on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 03:22:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Genie In A Bottle (none / 1)

"she is a white, pretty, working-class, hockey mom"

Working class hockey mom? Really? How many working class hockey moms have a net worth well in excess of $1 million? How many working class hockey moms have a lakeside home with a float plane at the dock, two vacation homes, an income of around a quarter million a year?

And by they way, even her hockey mom claim is bogus it seems. Apparently her oldest son only played hockey for a couple of years in grade school, which was quite a few years ago.

Oh, and I don't find her all that pretty, but maybe that's just me.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 03:38:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Striking (none / 1)

.
These words and implied criticism were uttered bij one of her "supporters" from the evangelical base. Over beauty I won't argue, I have enough trouble making the political argument.

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

by Oui on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 04:13:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Striking (none / 1)

Well, beauty - and apparently working class hockey-momhood - are in the eye of the beholder. Objectively, I can see that she has well-formed, well-proportioned features and all that, but there is something about her that I found very off-putting right from the beginning. Maybe it is because it was so obvious right away that she is all facade (and she has multiple facades), no structure.

The whole working-class hockey mom shtick is part of the facade. In reality she is nothing of the sort. That was my point.

by Hurria (Muslawia@gmail.com) on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:52:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

The McSame camp is already dismissing the report as a partisan witch hunt (led by 11 Republicans.)

Too little, too late.

More at Zandar vs. The Stupid.

by Zandar1 on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 10:03:49 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

She didn't push a toddler down a flight of stairs, live on TV. This will pass quietly.

by steve duncan on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:05:29 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

I just don't think it's quite as dead out there as you might think. People are nervous, scared that the economy will shrink precipitously, that they won't have a job in 6 months. People are paying attention, and if the blogosphere keeps this alive, people will see it. I work with a diverse population of people every week, I don't work with the same 8-10 people, and these clients are all reporting the same things, and they are paying attention.

Let's hope that translates to sinking Palin/McCain even faster.

Share. Share resources, share delight, share burdens, share the healing. Sharing will bring us back from mass suicide. www.share-international.org

by Isis on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:45:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

I get home from work around 10 or 11 every night, so here I am!

McCain-Palin have been fielding lots of heavy stones, but this might prove to be the anvil that sinks them once and for all.

If the polling numbers stay high for Obama for the next 3 weeks, they'll never be able to steal the election. I don't think the "I secretly won't vote for a Black man, but tell the pollsters I will" vote would be a decisive 5-7%. I just doubt that there are that many people who would lie in an anonymously gathered poll.

Share. Share resources, share delight, share burdens, share the healing. Sharing will bring us back from mass suicide. www.share-international.org

by Isis on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:40:51 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

I wonder how many "I can't tell anybody but in secret I'll vote for the black guy" voters there are.

by lauramp on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:45:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

Excellent point! Love that positive thinking.

Share. Share resources, share delight, share burdens, share the healing. Sharing will bring us back from mass suicide. www.share-international.org

by Isis on Fri Oct 10th, 2008 at 11:46:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 1)

I read blogs on a friday night!

I'm pretty sure this report puts the First Dude up for a perjury charge or unlawful access to confidential personnel files. The ADN "live-blog" while waiting for the report had a quote from one of the Dem legislators. One of the journalists asked what the headline would be, and he replied "Page 97, Appendix B". Well page 97 describes seeing the First Dude with a stack of personnel files.

by The Electric Messiah on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:03:45 AM EST

Gotcha (none / 1)

.
at last!

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

by Oui on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:07:49 AM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

With her ego, she won't skip a beat over this.

by judiper on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 09:39:31 AM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

What I noticed was that sports talk radio, which is a bastion of conservatism, seems to be tilting towards Obama in some areas. I heard one guy, a self-described conservative Republican from Indiana who was saying that Palin is dangerous and that with the economic mess it was time to get rid of the bums (i.e., Republicans). This was so abrupt and so out of character that I think it announced a demographic shift.

Just saying.

by Bob In Pacifica on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 09:47:55 AM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

I just noticed the word count on this story is 666!

Heh...

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." Dorothy Thompson, Journalist

by Indianadem on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 12:58:50 PM EST

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

I noticed that too and thought it was kinda funny.

The Underground Railroad

by Oscar In Louisville on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 07:47:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

Besides, nobody ever said that the false prophet was a he...

The Underground Railroad

by Oscar In Louisville on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 07:53:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Palin Unlawfully Abused Power (none / 0)

I decided quite some time ago that if there was an anti-christ, it had to be Dubya.

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live." Dorothy Thompson, Journalist

by Indianadem on Sat Oct 11th, 2008 at 10:15:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Palin Unlawfully Abused Power | 32 comments (32 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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