I had the television on tonight and heard Fox News teasing a "developing story" regarding Sarah Palin. So, despite knowing better, I left the channel unchanged.
And the developing story? Well, they report that Sarah Palin is under investigation for her ethics in firing the states top law enforcement officer, Walt Mongean.
Ahh... has the Fox News team been out of the country over the last several weeks? Could be me but I am fairly sure I have heard about this before. I think, yes, maybe - it was covered by every major news market as early as September 2?
You know what I thought was actually "breaking news"? The Record yesterday reported that the GOP declared Palin "innocent" ahead of the Alaska ethics report. Hmmm...
Matt Apuzzo of the Associated Press writes:
see: http://www.northjersey.com/news/nationalpolitics/30733479.html
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Trying to head off a potentially embarrassing state ethics report on GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, campaign officials released their own report Thursday that clears her of any wrongdoing.
Sen. John McCain's running mate is the subject of a legislative investigation into whether she abused her power as governor by firing her public safety commissioner. The commissioner, Walter Monegan, says he was fired in July for resisting pressure from Palin's husband, Todd Palin, and top aides to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's former brother-in-law.
Lawmakers are expected to release their own findings today. Campaign officials have yet to see that report — the result of an investigation that began before she was tapped as McCain's running mate — but said the investigation has falsely portrayed a legitimate policy dispute between a governor and her commissioner as something inappropriate.
"The following document will prove Walt Monegan's dismissal was a result of his insubordination and budgetary clashes with Governor Palin and her administration," campaign officials wrote. "Trooper Wooten is a separate issue."
Monegan said Thursday that he doesn't know what to expect from the legislative panel's own report.
"I just hope that the truth is figured out," Monegan told The Associated Press on Thursday. "That the governor did want me to fire him, and I chose to not."
Palin's critics say that shows she used her office to settle family affairs.
"When you're the governor, you leave your household hat at home and you become governor," said state Senate President Lyda Green, a Republican who has frequently clashed with Palin.
The campaign's report blames a former campaign opponent, Andrew Halcro, who has a blog, of conspiring with Wooten to pin Monegan's dismissal on the family's dispute with Wooten. Three days after Monegan was fired, they say, Wooten told his ex-wife, Palin's sister: "You guys are going down. Get ready for the show."
Two days after that confrontation, they say, Halcro and Wooten met at a hotel bar in Anchorage for more than three hours — and that evening, Halcro posted the first accusations on his blog that Monegan had been fired because of a Palin family vendetta against Wooten.
Did the McCain machine have or use any solid evidence in creating this report of innocence? Or, more likely, are they just making it up as they go along?
I think to myself, with a chuckle, perhaps they should have properly vetted Sarah Palin -- or at least-- shouldn't they have gotten to know the women? It's been reported that McCain will occasionally rush headlong into something and "deal with the consequences later". Well, that's a comfort. Considering the blunder of his choice in a VP running mate, just exactly what might he "rush into" as president? Leaving us to deal with the consequences.
Where does the GOP get off releasing a report that Palin is innocent before the official report is released from Alaska?
To quote a pretty smart guy I know very well... "Isn't that sort of like Nixon pardoning himself?"
1 comment:
Eileen,
Wow -- this is such a damning article. I hadn't seen this. But I can't say it surprises me. Remember before the second debate, an astute Wall St. Journal reader caught an online ad from the McCain campaign that said: "McCain Wins Debate!" The problem: the ad, from the campaign camp, was running about 10 hours before the debate started.
It's incredible to me just how low their standards are; what level they will stoop to, to win. I hope -- hope against hope -- that this time, people are on to them, but when I see things like this national robocall blitz, which I just posted a blog about ... it makes me very, very worried.
I guess that's why I'm the neurotic dem.
Keep up the great writing -- and keen political points!
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