Palin’s Ethics to Nowhere
Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 5:00 pm
- 2 Comments
I’ll have a longer piece soon about the Branchflower report. Released yesterday evening, the “Troopergate” investigation concluded with the widely-expected judgment that while Gov. Sarah Palin did not violate any law in dismissing Commissioner Walt Monegan three months ago, she abused her executive power by pressuring — and allowing her husband and various staffers to exert pressure against — numerous public officials (including Monegan) to take further punitive action against State Trooper Mike Wooten. Palin’s defense so far has been to focus narrowly on the act of firing Monegan, which she correctly argues is permitted under the state’s constitution. She’s argued as well that the state’s Executive Ethics Act — which the report concludes she violated — only covers actions that are intended to bring financial gain. Ergo, from her vantage point, there’s no foul.
Her defense is predictable but wrong on both counts. The report concludes that while Palin was entitled to fire Walt Monegan without cause, she was nevertheless not free to use her public office to further a private grudge against a state employee whose conduct had already been investigated and reprimanded. And as the report clearly points out, the ethics statute — which her own administration amended and strengthened in 2007 — insists that employees of the executive branch cannot use their office to “benefit a personal or financial interest.” The legislation clearly defines “benefit” as including “anything that is to a person’s advantage or self-interest, or from which a person profits, regardless of the financial gain” (emphasis added). As the report enumerates in creepy detail, the Palins — especially the “First Dude” — clearly took a personal interest in the professional fate of Mike Wooten. And in spite of being advised on numerous occasions that their various queries were not only illegal but made the state vulnerable to civil action if Wooten were indeed fired during Palin’s term in office, the Governor and her staffers did not relent.
The full report is available here in .pdf form.
2 Comments
Comment posted October 12, 2008 @ 11:53 am
Open and Transparent… When has a Neo Con Republican ever been open and transparent?? Treason comes in all shapes and forms. It came with Benedict Arnold, with the Tories.
It now comes with Gutting, Usurping and Cr–ping on the same United States Constitution the Founding Fathers fought and died for.
Treason is the Neo Con Parasites foisting a up to 53-54 trillion American Taxpayer dollar deficit on us while the Neo Con owned Conglomerates and their enablers and Cronies are stashing those same monies in their offshore accounts in countries with no extradition treaties with us.
Treason is being another King George with his many signing statements putting hisself above the law and accountable to no one, with his Neo Con Cronies Mercenary Armies masquerading as “Contractors”.. And the 11-21% of Americans comprised of fellow Neo Con Parasites, the Republican Mushrooms who are kept in the dark, and fed feces by the Neo Con owned News Media Conglmoerates… And the Religious Idiots who are ramming their bast—ized version of Christianity down our throats.. One which supports the yanking of hundreds of billions of American Taxpayer dollars from programs benefitting the vast majority of Americans and instead giving the same monies to their Corporate Pimps, thmselves, the rich and super rich.. Taxation Without Representation~~
Revolution Anyone??
Comment posted October 12, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
Sarah Palin and me.
I wish to share my views on Sarah Palin with you; she and I have a lot of things in common.
My education matches hers it took years for me to earn my degree taking a few courses at a time here and there. So I guess I have that in common with her.
I was president of my PTA and an officer in my woman’s club we have that in common.
I was a soccer, baseball, and basketball mom, so we have that in common.
I own a small business where I make out budgets, so you could call me an executive that is another thing we have in common.
I am married to a Joe six-pack, but he says he is a Joe 12 pack, I wish we did not have that in common!
I have three children and five grand children, she’s catching up to me.
I am a catholic and have never had an abortion. I used birth control when I was too old to safely have a healthy child.
I will be voting for Obama. Why? Because I would never presume that I have the intellect and education to be 1/2 a breath away from being the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. It takes more then charm and snappy remarks to have a finger on the nuclear button. That is something that speechwriters and pundits can’t teach a candidate in a few weeks. Sorry I want intelligence running this nation. So this white, Catholic 61 year old, Republican grandmother will be voting for Barack Obama.
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