Palin Abused Power

[Guest American Woman]

Alaska panel finds Palin abused power in firing

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.

This is no surprise: The nearly 300-page report does not recommend sanctions or a criminal investigation, but at least the findings were released before the election.

[jdobbin]

This is no surprise: The nearly 300-page report does not recommend sanctions or a criminal investigation, but at least the findings were released before the election.

Of all the things that I thought McCain was dismissing too easily was the ongoing investigation into Palin.

[Shady]

This is the best part:

"Monegan's firing was lawful, the report found"

[BubberMiley]

This is the best part:

"Monegan's firing was lawful, the report found"

Yes, being governor, she has the power to fire anyone she wants who answers to her. That was never the question. But they found she abused her power because she brought her own personal family issues into the affairs of the state. I assume you don't have a problem with elected officials using their office to carry out personal vendettas. Please explain why that is in an extra-large font, please.

Edited October 11, 2008 by BubberMiley

[Guest American Woman]

Of all the things that I thought McCain was dismissing too easily was the ongoing investigation into Palin.

I honestly think he thought he could control the press/investigation-- at least until the election was over. I think he thought he had time, or rather lack of time, on his side regarding picking Palin as VP. He's finding out otherwise now, I presume, and I think he's been taking a lot of heat from his own party over his choice.

This is the best part:

"Monegan's firing was lawful, the report found"

The "best part" of your post is the absence of the sentence immediately following your quote, especially since that was what the investigation was about, not whether or not the firing was legal, as Bubbermiley pointed out. Since you're evidently fond of big, bold font, I'll indulge your preference in providing that sentence now:

Stephen Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired to conduct the investigation, said Monegan's firing was lawful. But the pressure Palin and her husband put on him, he said, was not.

I'm glad this came out before the election as it will show people before they vote that Palin isn't above using her position for personal vindication; that she's not above "abusing her power."

Edited October 11, 2008 by American Woman

[bush_cheney2004]

This is the best part:

"Monegan's firing was lawful, the report found"

Right.....lawful. I'd rather have lawful "abuse", than unlawful abuse (e.g. sexual abuse by Bill Clinton aided by troopers).

[BubberMiley]

Right.....lawful. I'd rather have lawful "abuse", than unlawful abuse (e.g. sexual abuse by Bill Clinton aided by troopers).

You're misunderstanding again. The abuse was unlawful, but the governor's office legally had the power to fire the guy. But bringing up Clinton was predictable. Perhaps there are some Canadian instances of unlawful abuse you might want to add?

[bush_cheney2004]

You're misunderstanding again. The abuse was unlawful, but the governor's office legally had the power to fire the guy. But bringing up Clinton was predictable. Perhaps there are some Canadian instances of unlawful abuse you might want to add?

Nope....I don't care if Canadians want to abuse themselves either!

[WIP]

I honestly think he thought he could control the press/investigation-- at least until the election was over. I think he thought he had time, or rather lack of time, on his side regarding picking Palin as VP. He's finding out otherwise now, I presume, and I think he's been taking a lot of heat from his own party over his choice.

The "best part" of your post is the absence of the sentence immediately following your quote, especially since that was what the investigation was about, not whether or not the firing was legal, as Bubbermiley pointed out. Since you're evidently fond of big, bold font, I'll indulge your preference in providing that sentence now:

Stephen Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired to conduct the investigation, said Monegan's firing was lawful. But the pressure Palin and her husband put on him, he said, was not.

Apparently the legislative panel does not have the authority to sanction the Governor, which I assume means impeachment, but it's noteworthy that they refused to be sidetracked till after the election because the panel has a Republican majority. Some of the pundits are theorizing that they allowed the report to land now because of growing resentment against her among Republicans outside of the Anchorage area (which she is heavily rewarding with State cash), or it could be that Palin's own people wanted the report out of the way in case she has to go back to her old job after the Election and wants this ugly mess behind her when she starts campaigning for re-election as governor.

I'm glad this came out before the election as it will show people before they vote that Palin isn't above using her position for personal vindication; that she's not above "abusing her power."

Besides her personal vindictiveness, many of the stories being gathered about her abuse of power involve deliberately blurring the lines between church and state to reward churches and preachers that support her:

What she didn't tell worshippers gathered at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in her hometown was that her appearance that day came courtesy of Alaskan taxpayers, who picked up the $639.50 tab for her airplane tickets and per diem fees.

An Associated Press review of the Republican vice presidential candidate's record as mayor and governor reveals her use of elected office to promote religious causes, sometimes at taxpayer expense and in ways that blur the line between church and state.

Since she took state office in late 2006, the governor and her family have spent more than $13,000 in taxpayer funds to attend at least 10 religious events and meetings with Christian pastors, including Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical preacher Billy Graham, records show.

........................Palin and her family billed the state $3,022 for the cost of attending Christian gatherings exclusively, including visits to the Assembly of God here and to the congregation they attend in Juneau, according to expense reports reviewed by the AP.

......................."Politicians are entitled to freely exercise their religion while in office, but ethically if not legally that part of her trip ought to not be charged to taxpayers," said Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. "It's still fundamentally a religious and spiritual experience she is having."

..........................In response to an AP request, Comella provided a list showing that since January 2007 the governor had attended 25 "faith-based events," including funerals and community meetings held at churches. Many did not appear on the governor's schedule or her travel records.

Palin has said publicly her personal opinions don't "bleed on over into policies."

Still, after the AP reported the governor had accepted tainted donations during her 2006 campaign, she announced she would donate the $2,100 to three charities, including an Anchorage nonprofit aimed at "sharing God's love" to dissuade young women from having abortions.

An AP review of her time as mayor, from late 1996 to 2002, also reveals a commingling of church and state.

Records of her mayoral correspondence show that Palin worked arduously to organize a day of prayer at city hall. She said that with local ministers' help, Wasilla _ a city of 7,000 an hour's drive north of Anchorage _ could become "a light, or a refuge for others in Alaska and America."

"What a blessing that the Lord has already put into place the Christian leaders, even though I know it's all through the grace of God," she wrote in March 2000 to her former pastor. She thanked him for the loan of a video featuring a Kenyan preacher who later would pray for her protection from witchcraft as she sought higher office.

In that same period, she also joined a grass-roots, faith-based movement to stop the local hospital from performing abortions, a fight that ultimately lost before the Alaska Supreme Court.

Palin's former church and other evangelical denominations were instrumental in ousting members of Valley Hospital's board who supported abortion rights _ including the governor's mother-in-law, Faye Palin.

....................Ties among those active at the time still run deep: In November, Palin was a keynote speaker at Lewis' "Proudly Pro-Life Dinner" in Anchorage, and the governor billed taxpayers a $60 per diem fee for her work that day.

Palin also is one of just two governors who channeled federal money to support religious groups through a state agency, Alaska's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Palin has made it a priority to unite faith communities, local nonprofits and government to serve the needy, bringing her high marks _ and $500,000 _ from the Bush administration.

In fiscal year 2008, Alaska was one of only four states to receive $500,000 in federal grant money from the national initiative.

Several Catholic and Christian charities received funding, including $20,000 for a Fairbanks homeless shelter that views itself as a "stable door of evangelism and Christian service" and $36,000 for a drop-in center at an Anchorage mall that seeks to demonstrate "the unconditional love of Jesus to teenagers."

The state ensures all faith-based groups keep a strict separation between their work in the community and their prayer services to ensure recipients don't feel coerced, said Tara Horton, a special assistant to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Though staffers reached out to nonprofits and religious groups of many faiths, mostly Christian organizations applied for funding, she said.

Still, a state worker who directs an Anchorage-based group that advocates for church-state separation, Lloyd Eggan, said Palin's administration hasn't done enough to assure voters that government money doesn't support ministry.

"That sort of thing is exactly what courts have said is barred by the First Amendment," Eggan said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/11/palin-blurs-line-between_n_133863.html

[WIP]

You're misunderstanding again. The abuse was unlawful, but the governor's office legally had the power to fire the guy. But bringing up Clinton was predictable. Perhaps there are some Canadian instances of unlawful abuse you might want to add?

He misunderstands nothing! Instructions from Republican High Command to all of the candidates, pundits, talk show hosts, and assorted drones who do the legwork for the Republican Party at the grassroots level, are that they must change the subject whenever someone brings up the stories of corruption, abuse of power, their own scandalous personal associations, the crippling national debt, disastrous wars and the financial meltdown that is sending the entire world into another Great Depression.

Rather than engage on the subject being discussed, they must immediately shift attention to: the Clintons, Democrat congressmen that collaborated with their policy of deregulation, and use the word "terrorist" to describe former 60's radical Bill Ayers combined with reminding everyone still unaware that Barack Obama's middle name is "Hussein" to lead the average uneducated Republican voter that they will be voting for an Arab Muslim terrorist if they vote for Barack Obama.

And that sums up Republican campaign strategy in a nutshell.

[bush_cheney2004]

...Rather than engage on the subject being discussed, they must immediately shift attention to: the Clintons, Democrat congressmen that collaborated with their policy of deregulation, and use the word "terrorist" to describe former 60's radical Bill Ayers combined with reminding everyone still unaware that Barack Obama's middle name is "Hussein" to lead the average uneducated Republican voter that they will be voting for an Arab Muslim terrorist if they vote for Barack Obama.

Sure don't want no "Arab Muslim terrorist" for president, but it's OK if he forces state employees to provide oral sex in a hotel suite while troopers guard the door....just sayin...

Make up your mind....is President Barrack Hussein Obama black or not?

[Topaz]

Sure don't want no "Arab Muslim terrorist" for president, but it's OK if he forces state employees to provide oral sex in a hotel suite while troopers guard the door....just sayin...

Make up your mind....is President Barrack Hussein Obama black or not?

BC, why oh why does it matter what colour a person skin is??? Obama is an American Christian, running for president. I don`t see an Arab, a Muslim or a terrorist BUT if you want to talk about the Bush `crime`family that`s a different matter.

[Oleg Bach]

Palin did not abuse power - if she had a family problem with a jerk that may have offended a family member - and she had the power to punish them- that is normal and natural...for instance if you ran a huge corporation and you had a bother inlaw that beat the crap out of your sister - He would have to be punished and jettisoned - that is not the abuse of power - that is the use of power!

[BubberMiley]

I think there's a big difference between power earned in private business and power entrusted in public administration.

[peter_puck]

Sure don't want no "Arab Muslim terrorist" for president, but it's OK if he forces state employees to provide oral sex in a hotel suite while troopers guard the door....just sayin...

There is a huge difference between your story and the Palin thing. There is actualy EVIDENCE for the Palin thing.

[peter_puck]

Palin did not abuse power - if she had a family problem with a jerk that may have offended a family member - and she had the power to punish them- that is normal and natural...for instance if you ran a huge corporation and you had a bother inlaw that beat the crap out of your sister - He would have to be punished and jettisoned - that is not the abuse of power - that is the use of power!

No, it is gross abuse of power. If this guy should be punished, it should be by the courts or his direct supperiors. If this guy threatened the family then that is a matter for the courts. If he "beat the crap out of her sister", that is a matter for the courts. Has he been convicted of anything ? NO.

Did his behavior warrent his dismissal ? Internal police investigations said no.

Should he have been convicted or fired ? I don't know, but there is such a concept as innocent until proven gulity, not innocent until your ex-sister in law gets into office. Besides, this is basic ethics. If a judge has ties to a case, he is not the judge.

[WIP]

There is a huge difference between your story and the Palin thing. There is actualy EVIDENCE for the Palin thing.

The Republican Party has gone so are down the road to authoritarian fascism that most of the people who remain in the Party have a tin ear to stories about abuse of power. It's all ends justify the means and might makes right.............and they should all be swept out with the tide three weeks from now before they can do any more damage!