The Crow You Eat Is Called Repentance

You gotta love the McCain campaign’s statement – she did nothing wrong as the investigation proves and this is just the doings of Obama operatives and a witch hunt.

Well, I guess she would know about witchcraft with Pastor Muthee and all, but how can they even think that ANYONE will buy that crap when the investigation was a bipartisan effort started by REPUBLICANS months before she was picked as a running mate?

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Game over, man! Game over!

He’s going to have to get rid of her. He was at a town meeting today, and he did defend Obama. I’m not excusing the guy, but he at least seems to be acting human (for now). I think Schmidt should be strung up. He’s Rove on Crack.I’m still having a tough time understanding my republican, but intelligent, friends and their ability to defend this.

I’m not a lawyer, but the ruling I’ve just read quickly in the newly released .pdf report is complex. On the one hand, Branchflower finds that while Sarah Palin “abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act,” the firing (of Walt Monegan) itself was nonetheless “a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads” (pg. 8). So isn’t he saying that what she did was clearly unethical but not criminal by narrow standards? There’s a distinction between violating the public trust and committing a crime, so we should be careful to observe it, if my reading is correct. Please correct me if I’m wrong. (The judgments appear again on page 68 in greater detail, I believe, but I don’t see any real difference.) Anyhow, the upshot is, “so much for the ‘mavericky maverick’ honest reformer narrative” that the McCain campaign has been spinning for Sarah Palin. At the very least, this is what the military would call “conduct unbecoming”–she was given a public trust, and abused it for self-centered reasons. There go a few more points in the polls….

Allosaurus:What Branchflower is saying is that the hiring and firing of Commssioners, like Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monagan, is certainly one of the Governor’s powers.What was a violation of the Executive Branch Ethics Act is that she used her position (and her staff) to pressure Commissioner Monagan to fire State Trooper Mike Wooten, her sister’s ex-husband. Canning a State Trooper just isn’t one of the Governor’s enumerated powers.The executive branch ethics law states, in part, that for a member of the executive branch, “any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation…”The “personal interest” was punishing Wooten, whom they feel deserved it.Maybe he did, but you can’t use the power of the Governor’s office to carry out personal vendettas.You think Dick Cheney is a petty, vindictive asshole? If Sarah becomes VP, you ain’t seen nuttin yet!By the way… I’m an Alaskan.

PackyJ,Thanks for the clarification — would violation of this ethics statute likely be treated as a straight-up criminal matter, or is it something that would be matter for, say, censure by the legislature? I get the sense that these things (unless it’s something like “taking a bribe” or viciously obstructing justice as Nixon did) are treated by political means rather than referred to the courts. I mean, what we have here is a governor irresponsibly pursuing, as you say, a personal vendetta against a chap she can’t stand. This is going to be a hell of an embarrassment for her, to say the least. We’ll see how it plays out in the context of her v.p. candidacy. McCain must be livid!

Allosaurus,If anything, it might be a fine (max. $5000)… but it would be levied by the State Personnel Board that Palin appointed, so we can be pretty sure THAT ain’t gonna happen.Unless they call themselves into special session (they don’t reconvene until January), the full legislature probably won’t do anything. Even in January, since there is a fragile coalition majority in the Senate, I doubt they can round up the votes to take any action like censure, although I expect bills will be filed to do so.Hopefully, the report will further nationally undermine Palin’s ridiculous claim of being a “maverick reformer, you betcha. And also.”It might also make the Alaska legislature take a lot closer look in the future at what’s going on in the executive branchIf I were Walt Monagan, I’d think seriously about a civil suit against Palin and the McCain campaign for slander and libel.

Allo, it’s an ethics violation – a civil, not a criminal matter – so a censure would be a more likely outcome, except that the majority in the Alaskan legislature is Republican.McCain was aware that the investigation was going on when he picked Palin. He may be livid, but it would be directed towards the people who dared to find fault with Sarah Lou’s conduct rather than at the conduct itself.They will try to make it a partisan attack, even though the panel was bipartisan, with more Republicans than Democrats, and will concentrate on the “she did nothing illegal in firing Monegan” part.

Exactly, Ceu.This all started well before Palin was picked as the VP candidate, but that little fact doesn’t seem to deter Meghan Stapleton ( a former KTUU Anchorage News anchor and now a McCain hit person) and the McCain “Truth Squad” from branding the whole thing a dirty trick by the Obama Campaign.The Alaska State Senate is a fragile coalition majority of Democrats and a few Republicans (they call themselves the “Alaska Senate Bipartisan Working Group). The House is a pretty solid Republican majority(although that MIGHT weaken a little in this next election). I really think nothing will happen there.Frankly, I expect a further dip in Palin’s positive ratings, and that’s about all.

Got it, thanks to above commenters all. So it’s a civil matter rather than a criminal one. I think McCain can complain all he wants (until the rain in Spain falls mainly on his pate), but his lame excuses will please only the wingnuts. The independent/undecided voters will probably look at this and see just one more reason to believe McCain-Palin are full of hot air.

Apropos of nothing – I just noticed on KO that Palin’s little daughter (moonbat?) has HER OWN PAIR of matching glasses just like mom. Isn’t that a touching sentiment. A mother helping to teach her daughter all the joys of style over substance. I’m certain the kids glasses aren’t prescription…and for that matter neither are Mom’s.When can we get off this nightmare-go-round?

Look, this bitch praised Cheney!There’ll be no repentance.She believes that “the god” makes this her destiny!I think her destiny should be a psycho ward!

I’d like to amend this:”I think her destiny should be a psycho ward!”She should go to federal prison for inciting violence against a presidential candidate!

Repent is a pretty familiar word to those super-Christy jackasses. They just think everyone ELSE needs to repent, never them. Everything they do is A-OK, as long as they are doing it for Jesus.

To quote some poster on Huffington:Jesus called.He wants His religion back.

Troopergate = milquetoast shenanigans unworthy of serious or extended attention.It’s a distraction. A trap not dissimilar from her nomination.Best ignored. There are bigger fish to be caught, filleted and fried to pay any but scant attention to this trifling podunk backwater soap opera.http://cousinavi.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/palin-troopergate/

“She should go to federal prison for inciting violence against a presidential candidate!”Yes she should. I am worried about Obama’s safety. But I also think many of those conservative talk show hosts play a part in this, too, and they should also be put in jail.Can you get in trouble for inciting violence?

Cupcake – yes.

She’s pouting this morning because Cheney only gave her a B for Trooper-Gate. She’s thinking about shooting MCCain in the face to bring her grade up to an A.

Jumpy she doesn’t understand “exceptionalism” although I’m sure she thinks she does. Repentance will be a stretch for her “also”. Concepts are difficult when your mind is a “bridge to nowhere”. I would say the campaign is smelling like burned toast.