Palin Found to Have Abused Her Power...

[VictimOfScience]

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) abused her executive power when she fired her public safety commissioner this year in the midst of an intense effort to oust her former brother-in-law from the state police force, a special prosecutor has concluded.

Source.

Awesome. Music to my ears. I seriously hope this makes all of her supporters extremely unhappy and uneasy. The whole thing seemed pretty darn obvious anyway, but it is good to see that an official result is in. Does anyone think this will have much effect on the race for the White House??

 

[Raziaar]

I hope it'll sway more independents away from her. But the conservative republican base will obviously still cling to her even if she shot a guy in the face with intent to kill. Hell, even if she was a domestic terrorist herself by bombing an abortion clinic they'd still adore her, because she speaks to their desires.

 

[Krynn72]

Does anyone think this will have much effect on the race for the White House??

Not an ounce. The only people who support her now anyways are ultraconservative idiots, and they cant be swayed.

 

[Laivasse]

You guys should read the report. It's huge but makes interesting reading for sure, I'm in the middle of it now.

What's frustrating is that it finds Palin to have 'abused her power', but it still says that her dismissal of Monegan was 'lawful' - because from reading the report it seems like the dismissal was very wrongful and she completely screwed this guy over, just that they don't want to cause a national scandal in saying so. You know, one of those pussified verdicts where they want to deliver a reproachful conclusion but not cause too much of a fuss - bit like the IPCC's investigation of the de Menezes shooting in London, which discovered that 'mistakes were made' but also that no one had made any mistakes.

Nevertheless I think if there is any justice in the world it SHOULD be hugely damaging to Palin and McCain because she comes across as a totally corrupt bitch.

Some of the stuff that happened is just unbelievable. Apparently there was a memorial ceremony for fallen officers which Palin had agreed to attend, and so Monegan delivered a promotional poster for this ceremony to Palin's office. What he didn't know was that the trooper who appeared saluting on the poster was the VERY same guy Palin had been harrassing Monegan to fire for months. You couldn't make that shit up. It was the one thing they didn't want to happen.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUxeKtcVU7w

 

[MJ12]

But wasn't this for the case where she fired the guy because he wouldn't take care of that incedent when those two cops over tazed someone? Wasn't it actually the one where the cop pushed the kid over the bridge and then tazed him? If this is the case, then it would obviously be a good thing she fired the bastard..

I am pretty sure this is really old news.

 

[Raziaar]

But wasn't this for the case where she fired the guy because he wouldn't take care of that incedent when those two cops over tazed someone? Wasn't it actually the one where the cop pushed the kid over the bridge and then tazed him? If this is the case, then it would obviously be a good thing she fired the bastard..

I am pretty sure this is really old news.

I think you're getting your news stories mixed.

 

[Jintor]

That was unrelated to Palin, and I believe the man who authorised the use of the tazer in that case later suicided.

 

[MJ12]

Well I have part of it correct, the guy did unlawfully use his tazor, to electrocute his 10 year old step son.

What has surfaced, however, is Wooten's very questionable record as a trooper. Wooten has admitted guilt to electrocuting his 10-year-old step-son with a taser "to teach him a lesson"

Unfortunately that's from a conservative source, so I'll have to find a better link. They also claim that he threatened to kill Palin's mom or something, which sounds pretty crazy, but who knows.

 

[Laivasse]

I still think you're a bit confused. Palin did indeed want that guy (trooper Wooten) fired. However, that guy's boss/whatever, the commissioner (Monegan), was unable to fire him or indeed do anything with regard to him, because the trooper had already been investigated and disciplined.

Palin then repeatedly pressured the commissioner to do something about it (when he couldn't), and then eventually fired the commissioner on extremely short notice. The report that has just come out deals with her conduct in doing so. And it's been found that she abused her power, hooray! Although she only abused her power in trying to have Wooten fired, not firing Monegan - pussy conclusion if you ask me. Doesn't go far enough.

Also, re the supposed death threats that Wooten (the trooper) made: the report found that there is no credible evidence that suggests Palin or her family feared for their safety. In fact she reduced her security detail over the same period - and how would having him fired make her or her family safer anyway? The report basically says it thinks those claims are a load of shite.

But it's really Palin's husband who is all over the place in this report, more than Palin herself (although I don't doubt for a minute that he's acting on her behalf). He seems like a ****ing turbonazi. I get the feeling that if McCain were elected it would actually be Todd Palin running America, pulling the strings from behind the scenes somehow. The report details how he constantly harangued Commissioner Monegan to 'do something' about this trooper when he couldn't do shit anyway, and there is the implication that Monegan lost his job because 'Todd was very unhappy with him.'

And the interesting thing? As far as I can tell, Palin's husband Todd had no authority in these affairs whatsoever, other than being the husband of the Governor. In the report there's talk of him sitting in on loads of board meetings that he shouldn't have been a part of. It also states that it can make no finding as regards Todd Palin, because the report has been commissioned to deal with possible misconduct of the executive branch - and Todd isn't part of it.

This isn't old news btw, it's out JUST now. Get ready for the long haul because this should be all over the news for ages, while the GOP will try to make their usual claims of liberal bias, conspiracies, misreading the report, whatever...

 

[Laivasse]

Republicans have issued their first statement:

"Today's report shows that the Governor acted within her proper and lawful authority in the reassignment of Walt Monegan," said Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapelton. "The report also illustrates what we've known all along: this was a partisan led inquiry run by Obama supporters and the Palins were completely justified in their concern regarding Trooper Wooten given his violent and rogue behavior. Lacking evidence to support the original Monegan allegation, the Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact. The Governor is looking forward to cooperating with the Personnel Board and continuing her conversation with the American people regarding the important issues facing the country."

Liberal bias? Check. Claiming the report doesn't say what it actually says? Check. I totally called it. These ****ing swine are so predictable. Not even in Britain would politicians be so crass.

 

[Jintor]

Last I heard they're claiming that the Commissioner was fired for 'continued insubordination' over some sort of budgetary thing.

 

[Laivasse]

That's what they were claiming in the news. The commissioner says he never heard any complaints about anything like that until long after he'd been fired. The report kind of pussies out on this issue. It says that Palin has 'very broad authority' as Governor to dismiss heads of department for almost any reason. So it can't find fault with her for sacking Monegan because apparently she could basically sack him for whatever reason she wanted anyway...! Sounds like a bizarre and cowardly conclusion to me, only chucked in to avoid this becoming a huge scandal with a dozen lawsuits flying back and forth.

What it does say, though, is that the investigator thinks that the Wooten issue was definitely a 'contributary factor' in Palin sacking Monegan. It makes a final concession that it thinks some legit reasons were mixed in, and devotes a piddling amount of space to covering some rumours that there was some slight dissatisfaction with Monegan from some parts of the department... It seems to me like a poorly supported afterthought though, almost like the investigator wanted (either consciously or unconsciously) to spare himself some heat from the GOP by holding back a little in his judgement.

 

[Operational]

So it can't find fault with her for sacking Monegan because apparently she could basically sack him for whatever reason she wanted anyway...! Sounds like a bizarre and cowardly conclusion to me, only chucked in to avoid this becoming a huge scandal with a dozen lawsuits flying back and forth.

I don't think that is fair.

The report continues, "In light of this constitutional and statutory authority, it is clear that Governor Palin could fire Commissioner Walt Monegan at will, for almost any reason, or no reason at all."

Were they supposed to lie? She had the power and authority that was given to her.

 

[Laivasse]

I just find it difficult to believe that that's an accurate interpretation of the letter of the law as regards the powers vested in her. Perhaps it is accurate and she could have sacked him for absolutely whatever she liked. In which case: why even investigate the sacking of Monegan in the first place? Why spend hours interviewing about it if the answer is written in Palin's constitutional authority, before the investigation has even started?

The sacking of Monegan is kind of what the whole controversy has hinged on. I get the feeling that if it was just as simple as 'the Governor can do what she likes when it comes to sackings', the Republicans would have been citing chapter and verse on this long ago.

 

[nurizeko]

If McCain and Pallin get elected, **** you America, your on your own.

 

[Eejit]

"Today's report shows that the Governor acted within her proper and lawful authority in the reassignment of Walt Monegan," said Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapelton. "The report also illustrates what we've known all along: this was a partisan led inquiry run by Obama supporters and the Palins were completely justified in their concern regarding Trooper Wooten given his violent and rogue behavior. Lacking evidence to support the original Monegan allegation, the Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact. The Governor is looking forward to cooperating with the Personnel Board and continuing her conversation with the American people regarding the important issues facing the country."

Wait. Rogue? Not Maverick?

 

[Laivasse]

What's with the shoddy reporting on this issue? The huge implications of this story mean it should be covered with absolute professionalism. Yet on the BBC's news page there is this bullet point breakdown:

REPORT'S FINDINGS

• Sarah Palin abused her power
• Monegan's refusal to fire Wooten was not sole reason for his dismissal, but a contributing factor
• Sarah Palin's acted within her rights as Governor of Alaska

Where did that last point come from?! Not only does it contradict the first point, it's been typed as if by a 6 year old. Palin may have acted within her rights to sack Monegan - which still seems outrageous and dubious to me, but enough on that - but that still doesn't qualify the blanket statement that 'she acted within her rights,' full stop, because her conduct violated their ethics code!

Many more sites are failing to report that the investigator found the Palins' claims about fears for their safety from Wooten were bogus - a deliberate fabrication to excuse the pressure that was being exerted. In their news piece about the report, MSNBC have even rehashed Palin's statement about Wooten being a danger to her family without including this new information. Edit: CNN is one of the few major news sites that are prominently featuring this aspect of the story:

Palin and her husband, Todd, have consistently denied wrongdoing, describing Wooten as a "rogue trooper" who had threatened their family -- allegations Branchflower discounted.

"I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palins' real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family reasons," Branchflower wrote.

How can the media excuse this kind of incompetence at a time when public access to information is arguably the most important thing in the world?

 

[repiV]

I hope it'll sway more independents away from her. But the conservative republican base will obviously still cling to her even if she shot a guy in the face with intent to kill. Hell, even if she was a domestic terrorist herself by bombing an abortion clinic they'd still adore her, because she speaks to their desires.

So you can't be conservative or republican and dislike Sarah Palin? Stereotype much?

Hard as it is for some people to believe, it is possible to believe that Sarah Palin is an extremist nutjob and also to believe that Obama is a total douchebag.

I always find it amusing that those who talk about "conservative bigotry" (a bigoted sentiment in the first place) and blind faith are usually the same people who feed at the trough of Obamamania and can't understand why anyone would hold a differing opinion.

For what it's worth, I would much prefer to see Obama the naive authoritarian socialist/Tony Blair clone cockbag win the election than McCain, but it really is the lesser of two evils. And the distinctly left-wing centralisation of government power and control freakery we've witnessed across the borders in this last decade or two has done infinitely more damage to Western civilisation than genuine conservativism ever has.

 

[Laivasse]

I believe he meant 'base' as in 'the people who will always vote Republican no matter what,' not just 'any republican.' The same 'base' being the sole group (of Xian fundies, basically) that Palin has energised.

And you can't find this forum too amusing then, since Obamamania isn't particularly in evidence here - merely disdain for the fallacies of the GOP campaign. Your 'lesser of two evils' attitude is very much the vogue.

 

[Operational]

Where did that last point come from?! Not only does it contradict the first point, it's been typed as if by a 6 year old. Palin may have acted within her rights to sack Monegan - which still seems outrageous and dubious to me, but enough on that - but that still doesn't qualify the blanket statement that 'she acted within her rights,' full stop, because her conduct violated their ethics code!

Ethically wrong != Legally wrong.

 

[Laivasse]

An ethics code is still enforceable with penalties. To say she 'acted within her rights' is different to saying 'she acted legally' - particularly within a news piece digest - because the logical extrapolation of the first is that she has the right to abuse her power.

 

[Jintor]

Legally speaking, she did have a right to abuse her power, or at least to take the action which the report described as 'an abuse of power'.