On Oct 10, 2008, the independent legislative
Branchflower investigation concluded that Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin violated ethics laws and abused her power as governor. Patti Higgins, Alaska's state Democratic Party chairwoman probably expressed the sentiments of many when in reference to the report's findings she remarked, "Gov.
Palin has violated Alaskans' trust" and "I hope that in light of this finding, Gov.
Palin will stop playing partisan politics to the detriment of Alaska's future" (as quoted by
Charles Piller and Kim Murphy in the Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2008).
What does
Palin say about the findings? On Oct 12, 2008, in a conference call with
Meg Stapleton of the Anchorage Daily News, and local TV stations
KTVA, and
KTUU, and without being prompted or 'set up' by these journalists,
Palin herself asked to address this issue and said, "Well, I’m very very pleased to be
cleared of any legal wrongdoing …
any hint of any kind of unethical activity there." (emphasis added).
(?!Sorry?!)
Stapleton then asked
Palin her first question, "Governor, finding No.1 on the report was that you abused your power by violating state law. Do you think you did anything wrong at all in this
Troopergate case?
To which Palin replied, "Not at all and I’ll tell you, it, I think that you’re always going to ruffle feathers as you do what you believe is in the best interest of the people whom you are serving."
According to Sen. Kim Elton, the Juneau Democrat chairs the Legislative Council, which authorized the
investigation (one that began prior to becoming McCain's running mate),
Palin's characterization of the report is wrong. "Finding No. 1 says she violated the ethics law," Elton said, adding that "Anybody who suggests that the report does not say she broke the law, they just need to read the report. They don't even need to read all 300 pages of it, just page seven or eight" (see
LISA DEMER's story for the ADN on October 12
th, 2008)
At this point, it does not matter if
Palin was within her legal right to fire
Monegan and it does not matter it she thinks the legislative investigation had turned into "a political circus" (
Palin, in the
10/12 phone interview). Even the FIRST finding that she HAD breached the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act might not matter that much in and of itself. And, that she did not do so for money does NOT matter, because there are infinite types of personal gain. In this case, she seems to have done it to indulge and abet an unethical and illegal personal vendetta.
Palin's acts demonstrate that she is unethical and vindictive. That is bad enough, yet she might have been able to get away with such character flaws because of her popularity.
Instead,
Palin's Orwellian response to the findings takes the Alice-in-Wonderland cake. Now we know once and for all - even without being set up by the 'gotcha' media - that in addition to being unethical and vindictive, she is a
compulsive liar. Her latest distortion is not
poli-spin. It is such an obvious and self-defeating falsehood that it crosses over the line to pathology. A competent
politician would not have so freely offered such an abnormal and unnecessary lie.
It demonstrates abject CONTEMPT for the Legislature and the American people.This is nothing new. Time and time
again,
Palin has indulged in a
LaLaLandish total disregard for the truth - so much so as to incite violence against a US Presidential candidate. This time her venture from reality is not even directed at her opponent. All the same, like many of her other lies, it undermines the rule of law and the commonweal. The Alaskan Legislature could charge her with contempt; some Alaskans are preparing to file a recall and others are discussing impeachment; Trooper Wooten intends to sue Gov.
Palin (
et al) for defamation of character and civil rights violations (see
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com). New and unusual
Palin Problems surface every day. What is next?
Primetime - why not? Sanctioning by the GOP? I should hope so (and maybe even poor McCain for selecting such a disgraceful
character). VP? Clearly
Palin is unworthy of the
position.
What about all the hard working folks who have lost everything and cost the US economy billions (billions that w/preventative healthcare would have been saved), EVERYTHING they had saved for over decades because in the ‘free market’ they were not ‘free’ to buy health coverage? Not 'free' to buy insurance b/c no 'for-money-only-profit' company would sell it to them b/c they had "pre-existing" medical conditions, conditions that could have been managed had they adequate care, and b/c their Joe the Plumber employer (a small business that makes $250k/year for its owner) did not offer group insurance for its employees b/c his and his family are covered by his wife's insurance (supplied by her employer, Jamba Juice) b/c he firmly believes the ‘free market’ takes care of this sort of thing?
No market is FREE when such huge & unfair costs are passed onto 3rd parties the way in the USA health care costs are passed on to tax payers, to health insurance premium payers and to folks who contributer to "non-monatery-profit" organizations (and the folks who work for them) the way they are now! Such a gross externality THREATENS capitalism.
If you are reading this and you value People, the Planet AND Profits, VOTE for Obama/Biden on or before 11/04/08!