Ha! This gal is gonna kick some corrupt socialist butt.
The Messiah picked a man who got 9000 votes over a WOMAN who got over 18 million. Why? Apparently because his Dracula-looking wife (the $360,000 "diversity co-ordinator" for a Daley-machine controlled hospital) was jealous of her!
On a side note, everbody look at Newsmakers on 12 or 64 tommorow morning. Arlene Violet puts down NEA Commisar Pat Crowley in a major way.

Posted by: Mike at August 30, 2008 3:22 PM

Andrew, I think you will shortly get a version of this message from McCain-Palin headquarters.

Please avoid mentioning Walt Monegan in any connection with Gov. Sarah (Heath)Palin. Monegan is the career public safety officer she fired because he refused to fire her state trooper ex brother in law Mike Wooten. All the charges levied against Wooten by the Heath family at the time of his messy divorce from Sarah's sister Molly were investigated and he was sanctioned or reprimanded in connection with some of them, but they were not deemed sufficient for termination. Subsequently Sarah became Governor and then her husband Todd met with Monegan to pressure him into firing Wooten. When he said he couldn't and told the Palin's that their contact with him on the matter was inappropriate, Sarah fired him. The man she replaced him with as Commissioner of Public Safety also had to leave after one month when it was discovered that he had settled a sexual harassment claim in a previous position.

Posted by: observer at August 30, 2008 7:02 PM

Thanks for the tip, Observer.

The core issue is the conduct of Trooper Wooten. This Anchorage Daily News article casts some light on the matter.

"... Troopers eventually investigated 13 issues and found four in which Wooten violated policy or broke the law or both:

• Wooten used a Taser on his stepson.

• He illegally shot a moose.

• He drank beer in his patrol car on one occasion.

• He told others his father-in-law would "eat a f'ing lead bullet" if he helped his daughter get an attorney for the divorce.

Beyond the investigation sparked by the family, trooper commanders saw cause to discipline or give written instructions to correct Wooten seven times since he joined the force, according to Grimes' letter to Wooten."

Posted by: Monique at August 30, 2008 8:38 PM

Nobody can argue that Wooten's not a sleazeball. But wouldn't the prudent move on the governor's part have been to stay out of this (and keep her husband the attack dog chained)?
This screams conflict of interest, If she had been smart enough to stay out of this, we wouldn't be talking about it on the other end of the country right now.
She's not Dan Quayle with a beehive. She's Dick Nixon with a beehive.

Posted by: rhody at August 30, 2008 10:54 PM

I dunno, Rhody. It sounds like Mr. Wooten had to go and the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner was refusing to do so. The second question becomes: why was he refusing?

Governor Palin had the right to fire the Commissioner and it looks like she was right to do so. The real problem is that she is denying that this is the reason she fired him. She shouldn't; she had grounds; he was refusing to fire a public safety officer who appears to have been a potential danger to the public.

She now needs to come out and say:

"Yes, I fired Mr. Monegan because he was not giving sufficient priority to public safety. I was afraid at the time to provide the real reason because it involved my then brother-in-law and I didn't want to erroneously be seen as abusing my power. But I was wrong to put concern for my image ahead of public safety and of my obligation to be fully candid. From now on, I will continue to do what is right but will also fully disclose to you what I am doing and why it is in the best interest of the United States."

Posted by: Monique at August 31, 2008 6:48 AM

>>But wouldn't the prudent move on the governor's part have been to stay out of this

Just the opposite.

If this guy abused his wife, tasered an 11 year old, was getting drunk in his patrol car and threatened to kill people, Palin should never have had to intervened. The state police should have fired him from the get go.

But apparently the good ol' boy network tried to protect him.

Palin had every right, indeed, the moral obligation to intervene.

What type of person do you think stand a better chance of injecting positive change into Washington: a.) someone who is willing to say "No, this is wrong and it needs to be cleaned up"; or b.) "Sure, the guy is abusing people, but his fellow troopers gave him a reprimand, so we'll just have to let it ride."

Posted by: Anthony at August 31, 2008 9:16 AM

Mike-I watched Newsmakers at 5:30 AM.I wonder how many people actually watch that show.I wake up about 5AM to take an insulin shot,so I'm already conscious by the time it comes on :)
Aveson is leaving-boo-hoo.Now maybe we can enjoy Tim White moderating the show-he's a lot better.
Arlene really challenged Crowley on the work to rule effects on students and on union leadership intimidation of teachers.He was his usual pugnacious self,but not really convincing in his denial of her assertions.
Sean Daley surprisingly did more damage to Crowley's position during the back and forth on the Washington DC teacher pay/retention reform.There was less shouting but Crowley could not refute waht Daley was saying.He(Crowley)brought up the issue of increased costs,and that is about the first time I have heard such a concern from the NEA,unless I missed something.

Posted by: joe bernstein at August 31, 2008 11:07 AM

The Shock Of Palin

by Andrew Sullivan

31 Aug 2008 10:22 am
Non-movement conservatives may well have this reaction:
I’ve voted a straight Republican ticket every year of my life since 1975, when I first came of voting age, but I was stunned and horrified by McCain’s choice of Palin. I simply cannot even consider voting for McCain after this choice, which speaks loudly of his own selfishness and fundamental frivolousness.
So I was shocked when I turned to the conservative blogs looking for others who shared my dismay and found a celebration going on. They really honestly believe that Palin’s “inexperience” and Obama’s “inexperience” are equivalent. I have had no luck at all in the past 24 hours trying to explain that Obama is quite obviously an impressive man (with whom I disagree on almost every major issue) with extraordinary qualities of organization, discipline and leadership. I see nothing in Palin’s record to suggest that she has any such qualities.
He is a man who has spent his adult life thinking serious thoughts about serious issues and having serious conversations about them with other serious, well-informed people; while Palin quite as clearly has done none of those things. He was the president of the Harvard Law Review; she was the point guard on her high school basketball team.
He has surrounded himself in his campaign with world-class people (with whom, again, I disagree on almost every issue); and though I am doubtless an elitist and snob for saying so, I doubt that she has even met a half-dozen world-class people in her lifetime.
While Obama might do a hundred things as President that I believe are bad for the country, I am confident that he would surround himself with experienced, informed, competent advisors and that he would make no world-destroying blunders. I cannot say the same about Palin and, in view of what this choice reveals about McCain’s character and judgement, I cannot say the same of him either.

The Palin pick says much more about McCain than it does about Palin (all it says about her is that she didn't have the good sense to turn it down). What it says about McCain is that he is more interested in politics than policy, more interested in campaigning than governing, tactical when he should be strategic, and reckless when he should be considered.
He is as big a gamble as president as Palin is as vice-president. This decision was about gut, about politics, about cynicism, and about vanity. It's Bushism metastasized.

- Andrew Sullivan

Posted by: Richard at August 31, 2008 12:05 PM

As an eBay seller and buyer for 5 years, I can tell you unreservedly (pun) that selling an expensive jet on eBay is stupid in several ways. Something like that can best maximize selling price in other ways. Poor choice, Palin.

Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1

Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2

She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3

Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4

She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5

She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.7
This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.

We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.

In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.

In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means.

Posted by: Richard at August 31, 2008 12:13 PM

Monique, here is the better, more recent article from today's ADN on the subject. It highlights the issue of abuse of power for personal or family reasons, not the question of Wooten's character which we both agree is wanting. It gets directly to the "experience" issue. An experienced person would not allow their personal hatred to override well established administrative and legal procedures. And they certainly wouldn't fire an innocent well respected career cop because his actions were governed by the adage that we are a nation of laws, not men. If Wooten had done anything to warrant dismissal as Grimes had warned about, since the investigation was closed, Monegan would've fired him, willingly, I believe. But even a governor has to abide by the law and procedures, not her personal animus.

http://www.adn.com/sarahpalin/story/510080.html

Posted by: observer at August 31, 2008 12:23 PM

Opposing McCain-Palin is NOT sexist, or elitest. McCain had the choice of many women to nominate as his VP. Here are three perfectly good examples: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas, all eminently qualified to be VP or President. There are 4 Republican female governors- M. Jodi Rell of CT has four years experience and is popular, Hawaii’s Linda Lingle is its first female & first Jewish governor, and has 4 more years of experience as a governor than Sarah Palin.

Susan Collins would have made great sense; she has Senate experience in foreign policy and intelligence oversight. And she is a maverick of sorts. But, hey, there’s a problem. She’s pro-choice! Ooops. Enter Palin.

If McCain wanted a maverick, he could have chosen Chuck Hagel (decorated military) but ooops! Hagel is against the Iraq war. Darn. Then there’s Colin Powell, maverick of sorts (maverick wannabe). But no.

No, the choice had to be anti-abortion. Therefore: MCcain’s brave maverick pick.
McCain panders to women & to the far right.

As a (woman) friend just wrote me:

“Not only does Palin have no experience, but she is ultra-conservative. Scary proposition.”

I repeat: ultra-conservative. More conservative than some of the regular columnists here at Anchor Rising. More conservative than most Republicans. Who did you support in 2000? Buchanan like Palin did? Time to get off the Palin bandwagon.

Posted by: Richard at August 31, 2008 12:45 PM

"Their personal hatred to override well established administrative and legal procedures"? You're going to have to back that one up. The Public Safety Commissioner position that Walt Monegan held was a political appointment, so there's no question of "well-established adiministrative and legal procedures" involved. Palin says she was dissatisfied with Monegan's effectiveness on budgetary, recruiting and alcohol issues and offered him the position of head of the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board so he could focus on one of the problem-areas, but he chose to leave government service instead.

Rhode Island context I: Not every state is as tolerant of ineffectiveness in public officials as Rhode Island is.

Rhode Island context II: Is it fair to say that Steve Kass' transfer, for instance, from the Governor's office to EMA was motivated by "personal hatred"?

As to Palin's husband discussing the Wooten situation with Monegan, the head of the Governor's security detail -- who's been an Alaska state trooper since 1963 and with the Governor's office since 1983, in case you're wondering if he's someone Palin brought into government -- says he instructed Todd Palin to do so, as part of standard protocol...

I instructed the First Gentleman to contact the commissioner of Public Safety,” [Bob Cockrell] said. “It is standard protocol to ask every governor about any threats they perceive or have realized. I will not hesitate to set the record straight in answering these false allegations by former Commissioner Monegan.”

Given the past history, do you think it was illegitimate for Todd Palin to have brought the Wooten situation up, in accordance with Cockrell's instruction?

Posted by: Andrew at August 31, 2008 2:53 PM

"An experienced person would not allow their personal hatred to override well established administrative and legal procedures. And they certainly wouldn't fire an innocent well respected career cop because his actions were governed by the adage that we are a nation of laws, not men."

Observer, you yourself acknowledged that Mr. Wooten was not an "innocent well respected ... cop". And six years does not a career make.

In fact, what has been brought forth in a couple of investigations, much of it documented in two thick binders, warranted Mr. Wooten's termination.

Starting from that premise, then, and not that he was an innocent, well respected cop as you stated, Governor Palin did the right thing. It is, in fact, a little alarming that this man is still an active duty trooper.

Look, these determinations are difficult to make. No one wants to release a cop from duty. But based upon the evidence from the investigation about Mr. Wooten's conduct, Governor Palin was willing to make the decision to put public safety first. Former Public Safety Commissioner Monegan was not.

What do you do when someone on your staff (in this case - ahem - the Public Safety Commissioner) refuses to act in accordance with such a priority? Apparently, she even offered to lateral Mr. Monegan to another position in state government. (How's that for "hatred"?) He declined.

As Andrew pointed out, the Public Safety Commissioner is a political appointment. However, Governor Palin did not fire Mr. Monegan for political reasons, unlike, for example, Bill Clinton's firing of all 93 US Attorneys.

Governor Palin's only possible mistake in this matter was in not forthrightly stating her well grounded reasons for doing what she did.

Posted by: Monique at August 31, 2008 3:51 PM

Richard,

Your claim that Sarah Palin supported Pat Buchanan for President in 2000 is not accurate. She was a Steve Forbes campaign co-chair in 2000.

New Republic short item

David Bernstein, of the Volokh Conspiracy, with more detail

And your claim that the President should be chosen on the basis of Senate seniority is not backed up by history, or by the Democratic party for that matter, unless you want to tell us that it is unacceptable that the Dems chose Barack Obama over Christopher Dodd as their candidate, because it proves they are not serious about governing, because Dodd has more Senate experience.

Posted by: Andrew at August 31, 2008 4:21 PM

Andrew and Monique,

I guess I will give you the benefit of the doubt on your interpretation of my comment;

"An experienced person would not allow their personal hatred to override well established administrative and legal procedures. And they certainly wouldn't fire an innocent well respected career cop because his actions were governed by the adage that we are a nation of laws, not men."

I was refering to Sarah Palin's firing of Monegan. Monegan is the innocent, well respected career cop. Sarah fired Monegan because Monegan insisted on adhering to administrative and legal procedures rather than just caving in to the Palin's hatred of Wooten and firing Wooten.

Posted by: observer at August 31, 2008 5:48 PM

Thank you for the consideration, Observer. Yes, a slight miscommunication there.

My comments still stand. Mr. Monegan placed something (Anthony said, good ole boy-ism) ahead of public safety.

What would you do if you perceived that someone in your command (whether it be corporate, military or public service) had made public safety a secondary consideration?

Posted by: Monique at August 31, 2008 6:38 PM

Pat Buchanan or Steve Forbes, it doesn't matter. Neither is anywhere near the center of Republican Party politics nationally-- both were thoroughly rejected in past primaries. Some Republicans see them as mariginal and extremists, exactly what Palin is. I find it amusing how you are all struggling to make Palin look worthy of holding real power. This argument back and forth here where you are desperately trying to draw her as acting ethically re: her ex-brother in law? Pathetic. Face it: McCain made a huge mistake,

Posted by: Richard at August 31, 2008 7:14 PM

Observer and Monique,

If Monegan was dissmissed over Wooten, he wasn't sure of it at the time. This is from a July 19 report…

Monegan continues to say he is still not sure if the Wooten incident had anything to do with his firing.

Palin's spokespeople says Monegan was removed for trying to undermine her budget policy, by seeking additional spending from the legislature, while not filling trooper positions with the Alaska State Police for which funding was already available. Here's two different views, one pro-Monegan…

One difference Palin had with Monegan was on public safety spending, said John Cyr, executive director of the Public Safety Employees Association. He said Palin suggested cuts in the department budget.

"My understanding is that the commissioner had a long-range plan that called for a lot more troopers on the ground, that called for increased training, that called for up-to-date technology, that looked to change the direction of the department," Cyr said. "And that the governor basically was content with the status quo."

Leighow, the governor's spokeswoman, said Palin has asked all departments to find ways to trim spending. But the governor is not looking to cut public safety positions and wants to fill the 56 existing vacant state trooper positions already in the budget, Leighow said.

…and one pro-Palin…

Palin's acting chief of staff, Mike Nizich, said Monegan asked legislators for spending that hadn't been authorized by the governor.

"The response he got was don't come to us and ask for more money when you cannot fill the 56 or 58 trooper positions that were vacant," Nizich said. "So he was making a pitch for additional funding when he couldn't even fill what he currently had available to him."

Monegan questioned that but declined to comment further, saying he's already started talking to the special investigator hired by the Legislature to look into his firing.

…that agree on the basic fact: Monegan didn't want to carry out the policies set by the Governor. That's why Palin says she dismissed Monegan.

Posted by: Andrew at August 31, 2008 8:08 PM

Interesting. Thanks, Andrew. So the differences between Palin and Monegan extended to more than just Wooten.

Posted by: Monique at August 31, 2008 10:44 PM

I'm becoming increasingly enamored with Palin as I hear the overwhelming positive response from indepedents (as measured by my local barbershop) and the overwhelming negative response from activist left-wingers!

I particularly like Richard's comments. Palin has an 80% approval rating from Democrats and Republicans in Alaska, so Richard provides quotes from MoveOn.org in Alaska. Classic!

I think ESPN should hire Richard. They could send Richard to Fenway Park and get impartial reactions to Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Just think about it:

"We asked people what we should know about Rodriguez and Jeter. The results were striking!"

"Jee-tah is a jerk. He shouldn't be on the All-Star team."
Seamus O. from Southie

"A-Rod is inexperienced in the play-offs and plays ball like my grandmother."
Tony M. from the North End

"I don't like the way A-Rod puts dollar bills in my g-string. He should be giving me 20's. Moe Vaughn was better."
Angel S. from the Foxy Lady

What do you say, Richard? Up to the task of getting such impartial reactions?

Posted by: Anthony at August 31, 2008 11:44 PM

I'm becoming increasingly enamored with Palin as I hear the overwhelming positive response from independents (as measured by my local barbershop) and the overwhelming negative response from activist left-wingers!

I particularly like Richard's comments. Palin has an 80% approval rating from Democrats and Republicans in Alaska, so Richard provides quotes from MoveOn.org in Alaska. Classic!

I think ESPN should hire Richard. They could send Richard to Fenway Park and get impartial reactions to Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Just think about it:

"We asked people what we should know about Rodriguez and Jeter. The results were striking!"

"Jee-tah is a jerk. He shouldn't be on the All-Star team."
Seamus O. from Southie

"A-Rod is inexperienced in the play-offs and plays ball like my grandmother."
Tony M. from the North End

"I don't like the way A-Rod puts dollar bills in my g-string. He should be giving me 20's. Moe Vaughn was better."
Angel S. from the Foxy Lady

What do you say, Richard? Up to the task of getting such impartial reactions?

Posted by: Anthony at August 31, 2008 11:45 PM

Ironically, the ex-police chief she hired to replace Monegan had to leave office two weeks later after admitting he'd been reprimanded in a 2005 sexual harassment case (which she knew about).
Questioning her judgment is certainly not unreasonable.

Posted by: rhody at September 1, 2008 9:10 PM

Rhody,
I'd be far more concerned about her judgement if you had said the ex-police chief hired to replace Monegan admitted to committing sexual harassment and Palin had kept him around or tried to cover it up. It sounds like the guy was shown the door as soon as his sexual harassment came to light.

Posted by: Anthony at September 1, 2008 11:04 PM

Rhody,
I'd be far more concerned about her judgement if you had said the ex-police chief hired to replace Monegan admitted to committing sexual harassment and Palin had kept him around or tried to cover it up. It sounds like the guy was shown the door as soon as his sexual harassment came to light.

Posted by: Anthony at September 1, 2008 11:05 PM