By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
The Sarah Palin bump is over in the polls for GOP running mate John McCain. Now husband Todd Palin has decided he's above the law. This is not good news for Republicans fighting to attract independent votes in November's presidential race.
Todd Palin says he will refuse to obey a subpoena from an independent investigator for the state legislature in Alaska. The reason: Palin claims he's too busy out on the campaign trail. What a limp excuse.
The investigation centers on whether Sarah Palin or her staff abused their powers when Palin, as governor, fired her public safety commissioner.
Critics say it was because he failed to get rid of a state trooper who was involved in a nasty divorce from Palin's sister.
Investigators want to know how much involvement Todd Palin had in pressuring for the firing of either the commissioner or, before that, the trooper.
If Todd Palin continues to thumb his nose at the law, he can be found in contempt of the proceeedings.
But he may win the battle obviously being waged now by the Palins and McCain's handlers. They hope to keep the independent investigation from reaching a conclusion before Nov. 4.
Problem is, the longer this matter stays in the public view -- and the Palins not cooperating with it -- the worse it looks for McCain's image as a law-abiding do-gooder.
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Finally
someone stands up to one of these left wing witch hunts. Tell them to got to hell Todd. Fascist pigs.
Mainstream Media goes 'round the bend
FASCIST pigs?
Call (202) 456-1414
Ask for "Temporary"
EVIDENCE: Palin Lied In Troopergate Probe
Gov. Sarah Palin's chief of staff authorized ex-Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to travel to Washington, although the governor has cited that trip as a primary example of the insubordination that led to Monegan's firing.
Monegan is the central figure in the investigation into whether Palin abused her power when she fired him. Monegan alleges he was fired because he…
A legislative committee voted July 24 to investigate the dispute, and Palin initially welcomed it. But after she was picked as Sen. John McCain's running mate on the GOP presidential ticket, she reversed herself.
Guilty as charged
It is a disgrace that they thumb their noses at this inquiry. Either way, whether they co-operate or not, the truth will be clear - guilty as charged.
Clearly, Palin decided to be judge and jury and take the law into her own hands where her brother in law was concerned. Like in the wild wild west.
This is Bushonian, or Cheneyesque I suppose. Who needs rights and freedoms if you have power. In fact, their purpose with power is to grow it and to limit others'. And so it goes with Palin. Definitely cut from the same cloth.
Palin's character and morals. Her instincts and judgment are becoming clear. I don't see how this is VP material, never mind a likely P.
A fervent prayer to a loving Creator
I believe at this moment I would trade a news story of one more silver-haired Republican legislator getting caught doing something awful with a household pet for a video clip of Sarah Palin uttering the words, "executive privilege."
Please, dear Lord, grant me this one request, and I'll stop stealing paper clips from work.
Call (202) 456-1414
Ask for "Temporary"
New info contradicts Palin's story
You all see this yet?
But the governor's staff authorized the trip, according to an internal travel document from the Department of Public Safety, released Friday in response to an open records request.
The document, a state travel authorization form, shows that Palin's chief of staff, Mike Nizich, approved Monegan's trip to Washington D.C. "to attend meeting with Senator Murkowski." The date next to Nizich's signature reads June 18.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5844710&page=1
"Law?"
This is truly the strangest presidential campaign I have ever witnessed. The candidates break new ground on a daily basis. They claim that "up" is "down" and "down" is "up" with regularity. Furthermore, they do it with a straight face and even get testy when anybody expresses doubt about their claims. Most candidates running for public office at least pretend that they, and their families, are purer than the driven snow - good, law abiding, citizens. The Palins, on the other hand, are almost refreshing in their candor. They have chosen to ignore a legal document as though Alaska state law was a mere inconvenience. They are in the big time now and under the aegis of Senator McCain. ("Subpoena? We don' heed no stinkin' subpoena") I can hardly wait for the next chapter.
Palin's skirts the law
Oh, boy, change we can believe in ,,, corrupt officials unwilling to obey the law, elected officials who refuse to testify, government employees not allowed to testify, now spouses not willing to testify or honor supeonas.
Great, we gaining ground now.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife's alleged abuse of power, effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day.
Ignoring a legislative subpoena is punishable by a fine up to $500 and up to six months in jail under Alaska law. But courts are reluctant to intervene and the Legislature is not scheduled to convene until January.
It is illegal in the State of Alaska to fail to comply with legislative subpoenas. But Todd Palin has announced he will do exactly that which the law prohibits for one simple reason -- because nothing can be done about it until after the election, and even then, it's unlikely much will be done to punish him for breaking the law. Sarah Palin has similarly ordered all of her aides to refuse to comply with these subpoenas even though doing so is illegal, because she, too, doubts there will be consequences for this illegal behavior.
There is no doubt that the Legislature has the right to investigate and that these Subpoenaas are lawfully issued. Before Palin was selected as McCain's running mate, virtually everyone in Alaska agreed that the Legislature could and should investigate these allegations.
From The Anchorage Daily News, July 29, 2008:
"The governor has said all along that she will fully cooperate with an investigation and her staff will cooperate as well," [Palin spokeswoman Sharon] Leighow said. . . .
Supporters as well as detractors of the Republican governor generally agreed the legislative investigation is needed into the circumstances leading up to Monegan's dismissal.
Sen. Gene Therriault of North Pole, leader of the small Republican Senate minority that generally has backed Palin's policies, said he expects the governor will cooperate, and if she's cleared, the investigation could strengthen her. . . . Senate President Lyda Green, a Wasilla Republican and member of the Legislative Council, said the investigation is "absolutely" needed.
In August, Palin even praised herself for only suspending, rather than firing, one of her top aides who demanded -- in a recorded telephone call -- that the Police Commissioner fire her ex-brother-in-law by making this argument: "'While he is a state employee the governor can direct him to cooperate with [the Legislature's investigator], fulfilling her pledge that the administration will cooperate fully with the investigation,' [Palin spokesman] McAllister said."
But now, Gov. Palin has embraced core GOP "principles" -- political officials can unilaterally exempt themselves from the rule of law and the people, who are powerless to learn what their political leaders have done. That, of course, has been the guiding principle of the Bush administration -- as one Bush official after the next has simply refused to comply with Congressional subpoenas as part of investigations into serious allegations of lawbreaking and other wrongdoing -- and the McCain campaign and the Palins are leaving no doubt that they are full-fledged believers in these corrupt and lawless prerogatives.
This sort of lawless arrogance doesn't merely insulate political officials from any accountability, though it does do that. It also destroys the crux of representative democracy. The ability of a legislature to investigate what the Executive Branch is doing isn't some ancillary Congressional function, but is as important -- arguably more so -- than the legislative power to enact laws. It's how the people ensure that Executive Branch officials are accountable and are required to adhere to the law.
The informing function of Congress should be preferred even to its legislative function.
That compliance by political officials with legislative subpoenas is a linchpin of how our government was designed to function was explained quite clearly long ago by the Supreme Court in its 1927 decision in McGrain v. Daugherty:
We are of opinion that the power of inquiry -- with process to enforce it -- is an essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative function. It was so regarded and employed in American Legislatures before the Constitution was framed and ratified. All this was true before and when the Constitution was framed and adopted. In that period the power of inquiry, with enforcing process, was regarded and employed as a necessary and appropriate attribute of the power to legislate-indeed, was treated as inhering in it.
These are the vital safeguards, the core democratic functions, which the Bush administration and now the McCain/Palin campaign are flagrantly subverting.
more
Palin fired Monegan in July. It later emerged that Palin, her husband and several high-level staffers had contacted Monegan about state trooper Mike Wooten. Palin maintains she fired Monegan over budget disagreements.
Wooten had gone through a nasty divorce from Palin's sister before Palin became governor. Monegan has said no one from the administration ever told him directly to fire Wooten, but he said their repeated contacts made it clear they wanted Wooten gone.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080919/ap_on_el_pr/palin_troopergate
validation?
Well, since with fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan is claiming in part that Todd Palin tried to pressure him to fire a state trooper, it would seem that his testimony gets right to the heart of the matter.
and try this on for size:
http://community.adn.com/node/127769
It's not uncommon for Gov. Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, to be included on governor's office e-mails, a fact raising questions about how much influence the "First Dude" has in state government.
Palin critics recently put in a public records request for the state e-mails that Palin special assistant Ivy Frye and Frank Bailey, the governor's director of boards and commissions, sent this spring. They were trying to find proof the staffers had worked on state time to try and get Randy Ruedrich replaced as chair of the state Republican Party. They hadn't found any, last I spoke to them, but were still going through the boxes of e-mails.
Much of the Frye/Bailey e-mail traffic, though, was either blacked out or denied altogether by the state on the basis of "deliberative process" or "privacy/personnel." (UPDATE: Andrew Halcro, on his blog, has posted the whole spreadsheet listing the e-mails that were denied, with subject lines, recipients and dates.)
That includes many e-mails Todd Palin exchanged with members of the governor's staff - e-mails with subject lines like "re: PSEA (Public Safety Employees of Alaska) Ads", "re: PR campaign" and "re: Parental consent abortion bill." It's impossible to know what they are about, since the state refuses to say.
Those who made the requests plan to appeal the denial, arguing among other things that e-mails can't be kept from the public because of executive "deliberative process" if Todd Palin, who is not a state employee, is being copied on them.
Give me a break
The subpoena is clearly politcally motivated.
What would your response be if they subpoenaed Charlie Rangel's wife to testify against him since he is under ethics investigation in the Senate? Or what if they subpoenaed Hillary in Bill's purgory investigation?
What possible validation do you give for subpoenaing the spouse?
Enquiring Minds Want to Know!
It's always good to find out who is a crook before the election.
Good for Todd
The public safety commissioner in AK serves as part of the governor's cabinet and as such may be fired with no cause. The fact that he undermined the governor on a couple of issues probably had nothing to do with his firing, right.
Lets call this what it is, a democratic ploy to discredit Gov. Palin. If we were really interested in justice we would investigate how a state trooper keeps his job after abusing his powers, but we all know that is not the issue.
Reality smacking right wingers in the face
The problem with the "democratic ploy" argument is that the facts don't support it. It's a bipartisan investigation.
"The Legislative Council, made up of four Democrats and eight Republicans, voted unanimously to investigate the circumstances of Monegan's dismissal."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/ap_on_el_pr/palin_troopergate
Gee, eight Republicans and four Democrats? Doesn't sound like a "partisan witch hunt" to me -- it sounds like a bipartisan investigation into serious allegations of abuse of power by the Alaska governor by the leglislature.
In other words, checks and balances. That's the way government is supposed to work.
Democratic Ploy
This investigation only occured because Gov Palin was selected as the VP running mate. The state had a process, which was under way to, solve this issue. Once she became a VP nominee the legislature decided to get involved.
Now ask yourself, who are the members of this panel both dem and rep. Might they be the same people Palin upset with her reforms. I am sure their motives are purely for the justice of poor old Monegan.
It is not checks and balances, this is a case of getting even disguised as a check and balance. The AK law gives the Gov the right to fire the public safety commissoner, if the legislature does not like that change the law.
bringing out the truth
You couldn't be further from the truth. The Palin investigation was ongoing prior to her nomination. The problem is McCain didn't do his homework. These items become public once she is nominated so that people can make an informed decision. To blame the democrats for Palins action is typical of a republican. You state the Alaska law gives the right to the Governor to fire people. Although that may be true it is important to the public that she fires people based on her own family and her own agenda. That is a big deal in this election as we have already had 8 years of that kind of attitude. This is an emotional, and historical election. Any information given to the voters as to a nominees past work history is important so that when we go to the polls in November we can make a decision based on all the truths.
Once again, reality smacks right-wing in the balls
"Once she became a VP nominee the legislature decided to get involved."
Um, she was nominated August 29, 2008.
The Republican-controlled Alaska legislature voted to launch an investigation into Palin on July 29. July 29, in most years, occurs prior to August 29.
Alaska legislators on Monday voted to spend up to $100,000 to investigate Gov. Sarah Palin's controversial firing of former state Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.
The decision came from the Legislative Council, a bipartisan panel of state senators and representatives.
The committee itself will not conduct the probe. Rather, it will hire an independent investigator to explore whether Palin, her family or members of her administration pressured Monegan to fire an Alaska state trooper involved in a rough divorce from Palin's sister.
and more
Sen. Gene Therriault of North Pole, leader of the small Republican Senate minority that generally has backed Palin's policies, said he expects the governor will cooperate, and if she's cleared, the investigation could strengthen her.
"Unfortunately, with partisan politics and talk shows and bloggers, there's probably just as much noise as substance," he said. "Hopefully, what the investigator can do is sift through it and see if there's any legitimacy."
Senate President Lyda Green, a Wasilla Republican and member of the Legislative Council, said the investigation is "absolutely" needed.
http://www.adn.com/monegan/story/478090.html
Today from the Alaskan Frontiersman
This summer, Alaska legislators were concerned enough that a Palin family matter may have influenced the governor’s use of her powers they decided to investigate. Lawmakers charged the state’s Legislative Council Committee with getting answers that would tell us if Governor Palin abused her power when she fired former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan or if she simply exercised her right to terminate an at-will employee for not doing the job as she saw it.
That was in July, when someone dubbed the controversy “Troopergate” and lawmakers approved $100,000 for the probe.
But since Aug. 29, everything’s changed.
We no longer have a bipartisan group of state legislators using its power of checks and balances to make sure Alaska is being led responsibly. We have state legislators who are aligning themselves fully behind their party stances. We have all the power of the national Republican and Democratic committees brought to bear on what had been first a family dispute and then a relatively small state issue.
The fact has always been Monegan was an at-will employee appointed by Palin, and her right to dismiss him has never been questioned, only her motivation and its appropriateness. No matter how the evidence shapes up, the issue would have been just a blip on the screen.
But that was before Alaska mattered in worldwide politics. That was before every bed Sarah Palin has slept in during her 44 years was shaken for fleas.
Sen. Hollis French, a Democrat who heads the Troopergate investigation, recently suggested the inquiry would provide an “October surprise” for the McCain-Palin campaign. He later apologized. This week, five GOP legislators, including Wes Keller of Wasilla, filed a lawsuit to halt the investigation citing partisan politics.
At the state level, Palin first said she’d welcome the Legislature’s investigation, yet now “First Dude” Todd Palin has said he won’t answer a subpoena to testify to the committee and Palin’s administration says state employees also won’t respond to subpoenas.
There’s no question Troopergate’s moved from the backyard to the national stage, and it has become politically charged. The only question now is what good option is there?
Does the investigation go forward not only under the glare of media lights but with the muscle of the two major political parties distorting the process? Should the investigation be stopped as being too tainted to go on? Should the investigation be postponed as if the outcome should have no bearing on the presidential election?
It’s disappointing to see the leadership of a state that cherishes its reputation as The Last Frontier and a haven for independent spirits so easily swayed by a national spotlight and pressure from national party officials and presidential campaigns. We know that, no matter what the outcome of the investigation, Democrats will paint Palin as a petty power monger; Republicans will nominate her for sainthood.
And no one’s minds will have changed.
In an election where huge issues loom — economy, global security, health care, education — Troopergate has become a no-see-um buzzing around our heads, not only as Alaskans, but as Americans. Should Palin be exonerated, the process will be labeled a Republican cover-up; if wrongdoing is found, the governor will be painted a victim of a Democratic hatchet job attempting to derail her candidacy.
If this Troopergate probe cannot give the people of Alaska what they deserve — an untainted explanation and conclusion — then somebody needs to just squash it.
Yael you are full of ..........
Palin appointed the guy she later fired for working agains her and the policies she developed. She has released all the e-mails and relative correspondence to the matter.
This "independent" investigation is being handled by a democrat and her political opponents. Your squealing about it, and Denise providing an echo chamber simply won't fly with any thinking person.
Nice try alphabet, but no cigar!
Todd and Gloria--two of a kind?
Denise Tiller, Midwest Voices 2008 Panelist
I'm sorry, a political candidate is not above the Law. Nixon and Agnew tried to put themselves above the law and look what happened. And if a political candidate is not above the law, neither is that candidate's spouse.
If Palins didn't do anything wrong, they would be trying to wrap this up before the election, not drag their feet. It makes them look guilty to me. It needs to be resolved in an open, honest way. The last thing we need is another Agnew scandal.
Todd and Sarah remind me a bit of Gloria and Funk. They seem really dependent on each other and I'm not sure they are good influences.
Denise Tiller, Midwest Voices 2008 Panelist
Todd Palin thumbs nose at the law
It seems that many of the Liberals only want to whine, whine, whine. Get off it guys! It is so obvious that there is nothing valid about all these ridiculous accusations about "Troopergate".
Liberals are so incredibly eaten up with frustration because their "messiah" has been put on the back burner over a smart, savvy female who is making liberalism look idiotic. It is much ado about nothing, and the left is looking downright uninteligent. popupgenie