Palin guilty of 'abuse of power'

[cinyc]

I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread.  But can someone just answer this question: Is Palin going to be sanctioned in any way as a result of this finding?

No.

[Verily]

I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread.  But can someone just answer this question: Is Palin going to be sanctioned in any way as a result of this finding.

It's an independent investigator, so not as a direct result, but my inclination is that the legislature may press for an ethical sanction if possible.  They don't like her.

The Senate certainly will. I'm not sure on what the Alaska House is like. (The Senate, while it technically has an 11-9 Republican majority, is actually a 15-5 anti-Palin coalition (6R+9D) majority.)

[Lunar]

Sarah Palin - the gift that keps on giving

Amusing way of phrasing it.

What's interesting is that this is THE story that the McCain campaign undoubtedly knew about and was considered one of her chief negatives.  They thought they could properly deal with this and I don't see anything particularly genius about their responses thus far - it's just an accusation against Obama's people for starting it all and declaring her innocence.  You think with two months they could do better.

It's possible that they knew about Bristol's baby.  It's extremely unlikely they knew about her other mini-scandals (librarian-firing, censorship-inquiries, hiring-a-bit-too-many-friends, witch-protection, etc).

So this is it.

I expected something wittier, a response more catchy than flat denial and attacking the GOP legislature.  This was a highly public investigation and you think, without the Obama campaign being involved and a predetermined outcome, they could have had a trick, turn, or captivating response prepared.

I'm not entirely sure they're trying anymore.

[SPQR]

This is almost becoming as funny as an Italian election.

[Lunar]

This is almost becoming as funny as an Italian election.

nah

[SPQR]

This is almost becoming as funny as an Italian election.

nah

A vice-presidential candidate who believes that humans and dinosaurs coexisted,who is guilty of abuse of power,while the presidential candidate of her party keeps on concentrating on states where he is down by double digits?Yeah,come on.All this election needs,now,it's claims that Obama's socialist friends are trying to rig it.

[daboese]

Yeah, tasering a child and drinking while on duty is acceptable.

How do you know that these stories are proven true?
The tasering child story is just on a website, not even in a newspaper.
Go ahead and believe all stories which are being written about Palin, then. Great stuff in there...

And it is becoming more and more like an italian election, true.

[J. J.]

Yeah, tasering a child and drinking while on duty is acceptable.

How do you know that these stories are proven true?
The tasering child story is just on a website, not even in a newspaper.
Go ahead and believe all stories which are being written about Palin, then. Great stuff in there...

And it is becoming more and more like an italian election, true.

The tasering was admitted to by Wooten in an interview, which was broadcast.  Sorry, but that is good enough.

[Mr.Jones]

I won't comment and make the reader make their own mind:

Source: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/10/panel-palin-abused-power-firing-commissioner/

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[??????????]

Yeah, tasering a child and drinking while on duty is acceptable.

How do you know that these stories are proven true?
The tasering child story is just on a website, not even in a newspaper.
Go ahead and believe all stories which are being written about Palin, then. Great stuff in there...

And it is becoming more and more like an italian election, true.

HE ADMITTED TO IT HIMSELF, I'VE POSTED THE LINK TO THE CONFESSION.

[daboese]

Though I lived in your country, you guys are getting really strange.
World-famous terrorists obviously don't get convicted, a trooper is running around tasering childs is not getting sued (nor is such an incident surveyed, although he is pretty much hated by the really powerful in his next neighborhood), I really wonder in what country you guys live in. Your judical system must be pretty awful, I guess.

[J. J.]

Though I lived in your country, you guys are getting really strange.
World-famous terrorists obviously don't get convicted, a trooper is running around tasering childs is not getting sued (nor is such an incident surveyed, although he is pretty much hated by the really powerful in his next neighborhood), I really wonder in what country you guys live in. Your judical system must be pretty awful, I guess.

It's called civil liberties.  I'm so glad Germany has had so many advances on the US in the last century. 

[Lunar]

Another rainbow update from Muckraker:

Palin "Failed To Act"
Here's a key excerpt from the Trooper-Gate report about the nature of Sarah Palin's abuse of power, in regard to her failure to rein in her husband's efforts to pressure state employees to fire Mike Wooten:

    [Sarah Palin] had the authority and power to require Mr. Palin to cease contacting subordinates, but she failed to act.

    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.

Monegan's "Ominous Feeling" After Meeting With Todd

Walt Monegan told Steve Branchflower about what he was thinking directly after a meeting with Todd Palin, in which the "First Gentleman" had given him a stack of files about Mike Wooten's record, and had asked Monegan to look into whether Wooten had been appropriately disciplined:

    Well, on the drive back as i was reflecting on the meeting -- drive back to the office, I was thinking that in essence they certainly didn't like the idea that Wooten was still employed. And they wanted severe discipline, probably termination, and that -- and if this was going to build, I had this kind of ominous feeling that I may not be long for this job if I -- if I didn't somehow respond accordingly.

For Palin, A Picture of Wooten Is Worth A Thousand Words

Here's a funny note from the report that brings home the depths of Sarah Palin's antipathy toward Mike Wooten:

    Shortly before the annual celebration of Police Memorial Day on May 15, 2008, Commissioner Monegan had dropped off a color photograph at Governor Palin's Anchorage office with a request that she sign and present it at the ceremony. The photograph was of an Alaska State Trooper who was dressed in a formal uniform, saluting. He was standing in front of the police memorial located in front of the crime lab at AST headquarters in Anchorage, partially obscured by a flagpole. The picture to be signed by the Governor was to be used as a poster to be displayed in various Trooper Detachments around the state.

    Shortly after he returned to his office from dropping off the photograph, he received a call from Kris Perry, Governor Palin's Director of her Anchorage office who asked [according to Walt Monegan's testimony] "Why did you send a poster over here that has a picture of Mike Wooten on it?" Until that moment, Commissioner Monegan never realized it was indeed a photograph of Trooper Wooten. Governor Palin cancelled her appearance and sent Lieutenant Governor Parnell in her place.

Monegan's eventual replacement as Public Safety Commissioner, Charles Kopp, testified that Palin aide Frank Bailey later called him and told him the administration was thinking about replacing Monegan as commissioner. When Kopp asked why, Bailey cited the incident with the Wooten photograph as one reason, among several, for the governor's displeasure with Monegan.

Palin Never Interviewed Monegan's Replacement

Here's some evidence from the Trooper-Gate report about just how eager Sarah Palin was to get rid of Walt Monegan as public safety commissioner.

Steve Branchflower found that Palin never interviewed Monegan's replacement, the appropriately named Chuck Kopp, for the job of top law enforcement officer in the state. Rather, she left the task to deputies, who conducted just one 30-minute interview.

Writes Branchflower: "Governor Palin did not speak to Mr. Kopp before he was appointed to his new job."

And as we already knew, Kopp served just two weeks in the job, before resigning after news reports surfaced showing that he had been reprimanded in connection with a past sexual harassment complaint.

Of course, the report found that Palin was within her rights to fire Monegan, since, as a legal matter, the governor can fire state officials for any reason, or none at all.

But that doesn't mean that, as a question of governance, it wasn't a rash, poorly thought-out move, done for reasons of personal pique rather than a concern for the public interest.

Report: Firing Wooten Wouldn't Have Made Palins Safer

As we noted last night, the Trooper-Gate report found that Sarah Palin's claims that she feared Mike Wooten were unfounded. But the subject of Palin's alleged concern for her own and her family's safety deserves more attention.

The McCain-Palin campaign has argued that the Palins were acting merely to "protect their family" in going after Wooten.

But in the report, Branchflower disposes of that argument:

    Assuming that Trooper Wooten was ever inclined to attack Governor Palin or a family member, logic dictates that getting him fired would accomplish nothing to eliminate the potential for harm to her or her family. On the contrary, it might just precipitate some retaliatory conduct on his part. Causing Wooten to loose (sic) his job would not have de-escalated the situation, or provided her or her family with greater security.

[J. J.]

Did it every occur to you, Lunar, that Palin may not have wanted Wooten to be on the street with a badge?  It's not just about her family, but everyone else's families.

[Lunar]

These aren't my opinions, simply a liberal site digging through the report.  And it seems to be mostly Todd that wanted it.

[J. J.]

These aren't my opinions, simply a liberal site digging through the report.  And it seems to be mostly Todd that wanted it.

I'm sorry, but I share the opinion that Wooten should have been removed. 

[War on Want]

Hackery all around on both sides, but most of it on the Right...

[J. J.]

Hackery all around on both sides, but most of it on the Right...

No, Wooten had some serious and documented problems.

[Thomas Jackson]

Conclusion

“The framers of Alaska’s Constitution vested the office of the governor with very broad discretion to fire the head of any department, for virtually any reason, without preapproval or review by the legislative branch of government.

Governor Palin has not submitted to an interview with me, or provided any written explanation of the reasons’ she fired Commissioner Monegan. There are indications in the record that there was not universal support for Commissioner Monegan among other department heads. Comments in the press linked the governor suggest there was a feeling within the governor’s office that he was not a team player, and there is evidence that Governor Palin had lost confidence in Mr. Monegan.

Given the entire record, I find that, although Walt Monegan’s refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin’s firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.”

[Thomas Jackson]

Alaska Constitution

Article III § 25. Department Heads

The head of each principal department shall be a single executive unless otherwise provided by law. He shall be appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by a majority of the members of the legislature in joint session, and shall serve at the pleasure of the governor, except as otherwise provided in this article with respect to the secretary of state. The heads of all principal departments shall be citizens of the United States.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Why the fuck is Ghostmonkey back?  He said he was leaving

[J. J.]

Why the fuck is Ghostmonkey back?  He said he was leaving

He should really stay.  Good post.

[daboese]

Like the civil liberties in the US.
You can harass children, bomb buildings, and won't be convicted at all. The only downside is that you might be used for one or the other political campaign, but besides that, everything is fine.

[J. J.]

Like the civil liberties in the US.
You can harass children, bomb buildings, and won't be convicted at all. The only downside is that you might be used for one or the other political campaign, but besides that, everything is fine.

Well, he need a higher standard of proof than to convict someone who, oh, say, was claimed to have set fire to the Reichstag.  Wouldn't behead him either.

[Brittain33]

Ghostmonkey, it's not the firing, it was Todd Palin's campaign of intimidation to drive Monegan out of office that raised ethics flags from here to Kotzebue.