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Ethics investigation finds Palin abused power

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by JamieinNH, Oct 10, 2008.

  1. JamieinNH

    JamieinNH New Member

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    ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

    Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

    The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.
    The panel found that Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed. "I feel vindicated," Monegan said. "It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field."

    Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

    STORY LINK
     
  2. JustChristian

    JustChristian New Member

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    Perhaps worse that this bipartisan finding against Palin is the fact that the McCain campaign tried to cover it up until after the election, exactly the issue that Richard Nixen and Bill Clinton had to deal with.

    Will McCain dump Gov. Palin?
     
  3. LadyEagle

    LadyEagle <b>Moderator</b> <img src =/israel.gif>

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    Not a chance. And neither will her supporters. :)
     
  4. YOUTUBECANBESAVED

    YOUTUBECANBESAVED New Member

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    See how it plays out, goes back to John McCains judgement

    See how it plays out, goes back to John McCains judgement, they clearly tried to get ahead of this story with a preemptive one of their own, which tells me he is going to keep her.

    If she does not handle this well, her political career is over and at least half of her right wing religious base is deflated or pretend they never knew her.

    What I would do, so she has a chance at 2012

    Make an emotional appeal, stating she was trying to protect her family from this man and that she was over zealous, she apologizes for the abuse of power, and promises to make amends to Monegan, should end it , but I do not know what the Alaskan constitution has to say about it, like I said , it is early on this story,see how it plays out.

    Bad day for McCain even his own supporters booed him.

    Plus Sarah Palin is taken up the news cycle in a negative way, I told her from the very beginning to answer this problem and now she must apologize and ask for mercy.
     
  5. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    Is this is the best they can come up with against Palin?
     
  6. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Can you imagine if this news came out against any other candidate?
     
  7. targus

    targus New Member

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    I find this to be a curious statement.

    So apparently there were legitimate reasons for dimissing Monegan...

    but also having personal feelings makes it an abuse of power?
     
  8. LeBuick

    LeBuick New Member

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    I see it slightly different, like Pastor Larry has been saying, getting rid of him was within her power as Gov. That is why she broke no laws per se. I have to publicly apologize to Pastor Larry and admit he was right all along. Sorry Pastor, you were right.

    However the abuse of power is an ethical (not legal) violation. The problem was she didn't put her husband in check which meant she approved by not stopping his vigilante hunt. I think this is now in the hands of Alaskans since I don't see why the rest of American should care if their Gov is unethical or how she runs their state Government.

    It does lend itself to the weakness that a self-proclaimed hockey mom/lipstick wearing pit bull may not be able to put things in check at home so it is bringing in question how effective she would be in DC. It also questions her position as reformer since Alaska sounds like politics as usual.

    As for political future, like what's happening today, she has huge support from the conservative base and always will. Unfortunately, like today, you can't get elected with only conservative support so they need to work on her appeal to non-conservatives (people who look for more than pro-life in a candidate). She will also have a tough time on the top of the ticket since there is much negativity for her opponent to attack her with to include the bridge, her budgets and a "run a muck" administration.
     
  9. LeBuick

    LeBuick New Member

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    Elaborate please, what would be different if this was another candidate?
     
  10. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
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    Liikely? Sounds like they're on real firm factual footing here. :rolleyes:


    End of story.
     
  11. LeBuick

    LeBuick New Member

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    I don't know, "likely" in the face of evidence carries a lot of weight. It' like proving murder without a body which can/has been done. You are correct if this is an unsupported likely but with this high profile case I trust he had plenty of support to use that word.
     
  12. Gold Dragon

    Gold Dragon Well-Known Member

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    The pdf of the actual report can be found here under "Legislative Council Investigation Report".

    The report makes for some pretty interesting reading.

    The reason the firing was lawful is because the governor does not need any reason to fire the Commissioner of Public Safety. There is some evidence that other heads of department were not getting along with Monegan but no evidence of any actions that would normally getting one fired.

    Regarding her abuse, it was in allowing Todd Palin to act unofficially on her behalf to place pressure on public servants under her authority (Monegan) to advance a personal agenda of getting Michael Wooten fired.

    Sarah Palin's direct involvement included a phone call to Monegan's predecessor who conducted the initial investigation, an e-mail to Monegan and a short hallway conversation with Monegan.
     
  13. ajg1959

    ajg1959 New Member

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    If the reports about Wooten are true, and he actually did

    1. Use his stun gun on a 10 year old boy.

    2. Kill game out of season simply because sometimes abusive law enforcement people think that they are above the law.

    3. Physically threaten folks, or use his status as a state trooper to intimidate people.

    If he actually did any of these things above, and Palin was aware of them, then she should used her authority to have him removed from the force, regardless of whether her family was involved or anyone elses.

    The left wing media make it sound as if Palin should have no right to pursue his removal because of her personal involvement. I think that if she had ignored Wooten and this situation, after having first hand facts, then she would have shown poor judgement and weakness.

    AJ
     
  14. StefanM

    StefanM Well-Known Member
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    It's irrelevant for most of the country anyway. Barack Obama is going to defeat John McCain soundly next month, so this issue will only be important for the citizens of Alaska. It's too late for the GOP this fall.
     
  15. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    Sad thing is that you are probably right. People are going to ignorantly vote their pocket book. Funny thing is the the dem's aren't going to do us any better than the Republicans. And, on top of that with dem's firmly in control of both houses well get plenty of left wing ideology crammed down our collective throats. Be on the look out for upcoming laws supporting the environmental wacko movement and further wrecking our economy (If you think Bush's policies are bad wait until the environmentalists get a hold of it), making it a hate crime to even suggest that homosexuality might be a sin (wouldn't want to hurt anyone's precious feelings), plus plenty of activist judges to prop up all these unconstitutional and capitalist destroying laws that are on the agenda.
     
  16. JustChristian

    JustChristian New Member

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    The way I understand it this is a judgment by a bi-partisan Alaska legislative panel on Ethics. This isn't a smear by the Democratic campaign.

    The report stands on its own. Nobody has to comment on it. Just read it.

    As far as other candidates in a similar position can you imagine the heyday the Republicans would have had if something like this had come up in the 1992 election? What is a similar report had come out against Obama or Biden? Come on, when a candidate for VP of the US is found guilty of misuse of her power as governor, it means something.
     
  17. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Not is that candidate is from God's Own Party. They can do whatever they want and still get the votes of the religious right.
     
  18. Pastor Larry

    Pastor Larry <b>Moderator</b>
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    She wasn't found guilty of the misuse of her power. The report says (from what I understand) that what she did was within her rights to do. The allegation is that she abused her power, an allegation which has not been substantiated, and is irrelevant quite frankly. I don't care for this ticket, and think that there are far better choices than Palin, but this is a manufactured story.
     
  19. dcorbett

    dcorbett Active Member
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    Hmmm....If I were boss, and I told an employee to do something, and they didn't do it, would that be grounds for dismissal?

    I think so.
     
  20. JustChristian

    JustChristian New Member

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    I don't see how you can interpret it that way. If you mean that there isn't a criminal charge associated with this, you're right. But it is serious and it isn't only about "Troopergate."
    http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/10/alaska-lawmakers-discuss-palin-ethics-report-secret/


    The Republican vice presidential nominee has been accused of firing a state commissioner to settle a family dispute. But the report, to be released Friday afternoon, is also expected to touch on whether Palin's husband meddled in state affairs and whether her administration inappropriately accessed employee medical records.



    Ethics report Palin abused authority

    Legislative committee releases investigation into firing of public official
    Fri., Oct. 10, 2008
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27105917/


    ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

    Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

    The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

    The panel found that Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed. "I feel vindicated," Monegan said. "It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field."

    Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.


    Palin and McCain's supporters had hoped the inquiry's finding would be delayed until after the presidential election to spare her any embarrassment and to put aside an enduring distraction as she campaigns as McCain's running mate in an uphill contest against Democrat Barack Obama.
     
    #20 JustChristian, Oct 11, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 11, 2008
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