Find the best excuse made by a right-wing blog for Sarah Palin’s abuse of power. That should keep you all busy. I would suggest NRO might be a solid place to start.
Throw ’em in the comments and we will wrap ’em all up in one big tidy post later on. Here is a pic to tide you all over:
gbear
I blame Obama.
calipygian
K-Lo is terrified of an Obama presidency. But its not because he’s black or anything, its because of his inexperience for the serious times ahead and his reliance on radical advisors like Robert Rubin and Zbigniew Brzezinski.
Seriously.
John D
Roger’s Rules:
Please understand this, if you take nothing else away from reading this post: The Branchflower Report is a series of guess and insupportable conclusions drawn by exactly one guy, and it hasn’t been approved or adopted or endorsed by so much as a single sub-committee of the Alaska Legislature, much less any kind of commission, court, jury, or other proper adjudicatory body.
I adore how they ignore over 200 pages of the report where the evidence for the findings is laid out.
The Doughy one:
Second, while I am sure that there are plenty of people who are honestly and deeply disturbed by the Palin’s "abuse of power," I doubt there are too many of them. And, those who are seriously upset about how this reflects on Palin, might ponder that this sort of ethical violation doesn’t even move the ethics-o-meter needle in Obama’s Chicago.
The rebound to Obama is a nice touch. Ignorant, poorly aimed, and desperate, but nice.
Starburst Pantload
Whatev. McCain should just dump Darth Mader and bring back
Representative Ta-TasKathleen Harris. Now, that was one classy broad.Cute pup! Puddles…?
Tim Fuller
The ethics-o-meter. LOL.
We aren’t at all ‘honestly and deeply disturbed’ by Palin’s crock of hooey because we’re not all brain dead or paid to pretend to be and we see it as more of the same. Who is Trig’s mommy?
Enjoy.
Dennis - SGMM
McCain was criticized by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising "poor judgment" in the Keating 5 matter.
Palin was found to have abused power.
This might be the first presidential ticket ever where both members have ethics violations.
McCain/Palin are a fitting coda to the Permanent Republican Majority.
Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)
I’ll be back later with my entry, knowing that I can depend on my wife’s relatives in rural Alabama to start emailing some choice nuggets.
calipygian
I win.
Andy McCarthy kind of sort of in a passive agressive way speculates about Ayres ghostwriting about Obama.
I in turn will wonder about Andy McCarthy’s goat fucking.
demimondian
@calipygian: Wow. I hadn’t heard anything about McCarthy’s goat-fucking frequency. Has it doubled again?
garyb50
RW blogs just haven’t gotten to this one yet but I predict the excuse will be GOD.
Oct 11, 2008 11:12 AM (1 hr 8 mins ago) By GARANCE BURKE, AP
"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."
boonagain
Something to think about:
Some Guy
KLO gives us this incisive rebuttal to the Troopergate report:
"So, catching up on the Alaska report here: She did nothing wrong, but the Democratic investigator, who is friends with the fired commissioner who doesn’t like in retrospect that Todd made a few phone calls."
To which I say: it helps to read before one responds. "Making a few" phone calls is illegal when you not a state official, using the governor’s office, and pressuring a state official to make a political decision.
Jason F
Not really an excuse per se, but when I explained the results of the report to a friend ("Governor Palin acted within her authority when she fired Commissioner Monegan, but because she did so in part for personal benefit, she abused her power") his response was "Oh, so it’s like Travelgate."
When in doubt, the right-winger can always turn to "Clinton did it too/first/worse."
PaulB
I’d be willing to bet that they will fixate on Monegan only ("See? She had every right to fire him! Case closed!") and ignore the abuse of power issue with respect to Wooten. We’re already seeing that on quite a few blogs and comment boards, with most asserting that, contrary to the findings and evidence presented in the report, "Palin broke no laws!"
Some Guy
Jay Timmons at Politico:
"The report states the Governor did not break the law. To say that she abused her power is subjective. She has complete authority to dismiss a member of her Cabinet for any reason whatsoever. He served at her pleasure."
Again: reading is such a good basic skill. She broke the law not by firing him but by allowing her husband to intimidate him on behalf of the governor’s office. Expect a lot of this misdirection, eerily reminiscent of defense of the Federal attorney purge.
Some Guy
Jay Timmons at Politico:
"The report states the Governor did not break the law. To say that she abused her power is subjective. She has complete authority to dismiss a member of her Cabinet for any reason whatsoever. He served at her pleasure."
Again: reading is such a good basic skill. She broke the law not by firing him but by allowing her husband to intimidate him on behalf of the governor’s office. Expect a lot of this misdirection, eerily reminiscent of defense of the Federal attorney purge.
charlotte
Sarah, wearing a red white and blue crown: I LOVE America too much to follow the rules!
mel
I heard on FNC that as long as it only hurts hooligans, terrorists and people who suck you can abuse all the power you want.
Some Guy
Steve Steckler resorts to fabricated rightwing talking points to paint a secret, hypothetical narrative of Obama engineering the report:
"Shortly after her nomination, an Obama campaign team hastily bought snowshoes, the Inuit version of Rosetta Stone and a plane ticket north in a coordinated spelunking of the governor’s past. Now, it is certainly possible that these folks and Democratic state senator Hollis French, the chairman of the state legislative committee that issued the report, never ran into each other at the Juneau Wal-Mart. It is also possible that French was just shopping for a new deer stand or a spotting scope instead of the ‘October surprise’ he had previously said the report could be for the McCain campaign. "
I have here the names of hundreds of terrorist sympathizers who have infiltrated the French Hollis investigation. His name IS French, after all.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
After that Townhall incident in MN yesterday where McCain tried to tell the cat lady that Obama is not an Ayrab, I think it is time for the GOP leadership to face some hard facts: McCain just isn’t up to it. He’s gotten too old. He doesn’t have the guts or the energy to engage in the sort of ruthless abuse of power that being President demands. Palin on the other hand has shown that she has what it takes to be the Deciderer in Chief.
It is time to replace McCain, and put Palin at the top of the ticket:
Palin/Giuliani ’08
CaseyL
Awww, what an adorable pup! Is s/he a Boston Terrier?
I went to RedState, hoping for a profound take on Abuse of Power from Monica Goodling’s hubby, but there’s not a single mumblin’ word about the report there.
What there is, though, is comedy gold. Folks, I give you Swamp Yankee (from Wednesday):
… which line continues with this non-sequitor:
Huh?
As much as RedState loves Bill Ayers, what it’s really focused on, with as much laser-like intensity as it can muster, is ACORN. There must be, like, a dozen ACORN-related front page posts and diaries.
Speaking of wingnut sites, does anyone know what happened to Tom Mcguire’s JOM? I go there for a chuckle every now and then (his commenters are among the creme de la creme of crazies), but it’s been unloadable for the last few days.
Len
This from a comment left on my blog just a few minutes ago:
"I would have fired the guy also. She had plenty of other reasons. Like failure to cut his budget. This is nothing compared to having Jim Johnson on your staff."
Abusing your power as governor is nothing compared to having Jim Johnson briefly work for you. There you have it. Cut and dried.
CaseyL
Oops. Don’t know what happened: those poll numbers, and the comment about how the Ayers attacks are working, should be part of the blockquote.
Some Guy
Hugh Hewitt resorts to the "move along, nothing to see here" defense with a spicy dash of ad hominem (if you read the whole post, Branchflower is an Obama-lovin’ Palin-hater):
"Please understand this, if you take nothing else away from reading this post: The Branchflower Report is a series of guess and insupportable conclusions drawn by exactly one guy, and it hasn’t been approved or adopted or endorsed by so much as a single sub-committee of the Alaska Legislature, much less any kind of commission, court, jury, or other proper adjudicatory body."
Uh-huh. The report is contradictory (Hewitt’s killer point IHHO – in Hewitt’s humble opinion) only if you purposely choose to misunderstand the distinction between a governor’s power to hire and fire and ethics regulations on the conduct of office. I also enjoy the fact that Mr. Hewitt, super-lawyer extraordinaire, says the report is invalid because it has not been approved by other bodies that have no jurisdiction for such a report. Where is the Alaskan Bar Association? Without their approval, clearly the special committee appointed to adjudicate the problem has no proper authority to adjudicate it. That is just crazy talk.
SamFromUtah
@Dennis – SGMM: McCain/Palin are a fitting coda to the Permanent Republican Majority.
Maybe the Republicans will start setting more modest goals, like the Thousand-Year Reich.
gbear
I’m going to go off-Palin and link to some sleaze from Norm Coleman trying to make Al Franken look like an angry raving maniac. It’s actually kind of funny. Coleman is such a douchenozzle.
Starburst Pantload
From Some Guy’s Politico link:
Not a "300" style defense of Darth Mader, but, rather, the telling difficulty for the McCain camp:
If, as the McCain campaign suggests, the Alaska legislature’s report is an unfair, partisan-led inquiry that proves nothing, then the obvious response is for Gov. Palin to call a press conference and vigorously present her side of the story.
Truly, this is where they’re boxed in. The candidate cannot defend herself, because to allow her to do so would be to risk her opening her mouth off-script.
Oh, they’ll create some lines for her to regurgitate before a friendly Hannity or what-not. But Fox News and its ilk are – thank the FSM – still basically a niche outfit, there to mollify the faithful rather than to persuade the skeptical.
But she cannot acquit herself to an audience beyond those who soil themselves when the hear the words "A-rab" or "Mu-slim."
Oh, and Tina Fey’s on, tonight. Fork, meet cooked moose.
gocart mozart
Hey everyone, newsflash. I just learned that Andy McCarthy likes to fuck goats. I read it on a blog called balloon Juice or some such so it must be true. Personally, I thought he was more of a sheep guy myself. Go figure.
nabalzbbfr
That report is pathetic. This was a very botched smear job by her partisan enemies both within the Obamacrats and the Alaska GOP, who were pissed off at her wildly popular anticorruption campaign. Despite their best efforts they were forced to conclude she did NOTHING illegal and wimped out with some lame unsubtantiated ethics allegations of no consequence.
jbarntt
Seems to me the salient part of the report is on page 8, the findings 1 and 2.
Finding one is that Palin violated the Alaska executive branch ethics act, which states:
The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.
Finding two speaks for itself:
I find that though, Walt Monegan’s refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Gov. Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commisioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Gov. Palin’s firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.
Finding one has no teeth, except politically. Could be used as an argument for recall or impeachment, depending on how they deal with such issues in Alaska. Given Palin’s popularity in her state, that looks like a dead moose.
Finding two states that Palin had other reasons to fire Monegan, unrelated to Wooten. It further only speculates that Wooten had anything to do with her decision to fire Monegan. Lastly, it notes that she could fire anyone holding the position for any or no reason whatsoever.
Bottom line, much ado about nothing, other than her political opponents in Alaska going after her and this getting picked up and carried by her opponents in the press in the lower 48.
calipygian
Norm Coleman isn;t a douchenozzle, he’s a blo-n-go.
Some Guy
Sorry, I inverted Hollis French’s name in a previous comment.
gopher2b
I’ve been looking for "she was possessed by demons that have since been exorcised by an African witch doctor" but I haven’t found it yet.
SamFromUtah
@nabalzbbfr: That is a shoo-in for winning the competition, but you forgot to attribute it.
Ned R.
@jbarntt: Bottom line, much ado about nothing, other than her political opponents in Alaska going after her and this getting picked up and carried by her opponents in the press in the lower 48.
Ain’t it great?
gbear
@calipygian:
I am defeated. I need to go lie down after reading that.
Some Guy
RE: Ned R. @ 36
"@jbarntt: Bottom line, much ado about nothing, other than her political opponents in Alaska going after her and this getting picked up and carried by her opponents in the press in the lower 48.
Ain’t it great?"
Indeed. An ethic violation that could lead to impeachment. Piffle, I tell you, piffle. After all, ethical conduct is simply about gaming the political system.
D. Mason
The beautiful part of all this is that ethics statues are pretty much just a tool for publicly shaming crooked politicians. The more she flails against this finding the more effective it becomes.
gocart mozart
How can you people talk about troopergate when Obama . . . Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ayers!, Ayers! Run for your lives!
gbear
I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to find a link to my entry into the Palin excuse-a-thon. My favorite has to be the excuse that the McCain campaign used before the report came out saying that the report couldn’t possibly be accurate because they never even attempted to interview Sarah herself. It was a classic bit of pretzel logic, but attempting to find anything by googling ‘palin’ ‘interview’ ‘report’ or ‘troopergate’ today is completely hopeless (for me, at any rate).
gocart mozart
Dear John,
With all due respect, there were supposed to be triple exclamation points after Ayers, Ayers, and "run for you lives" but your new system would not allow it. I understand your intent was to limit raving lunatics from posting, but how can I be expected to convey the full extent of my emotions with respect to the beforementioned issue without full use of explanation point privileges?
Respectfully,
gocart mozart
Comrade Incertus
I think I have a winner. Agent Flowbee, from a post titled "The Hit on Palin":
gbear
Best to go with two excamation points, an eleventy and then two more excamation points.
I think I agree. wow.
Some Guy
@calipygian:
I think we will soon find out that not only did Ayers write Obama’s "Dreams of My Father" but that he is in fact, Barack Obama. We have no images of Obama and Ayers in the same place, do we? And even if we did, there is no proof Ayers did not devour Obama and assume his identity through transgenic metamorphosis. Terrorists are cunning, you know. And hungry.
jbarntt
some guy at 38 said:
Indeed. An ethic violation that could lead to impeachment. Piffle, I tell you, piffle. After all, ethical conduct is simply about gaming the political system.
Impeachment is a political act not a legal or moral one. Palin is very popular in her state, so it won’t happen. You might also note that she had every right to fire Monegan.
Sorry you don’t like Gov. Palin, but thems the breaks
gocart mozart
Thanks gbear. You have completed me. !!eleventy!! :)
Update!/retraction: The eleventy thing didn’t work.
Martin
Well, I don’t know about troopergate, but I don’t know how any of the wingnuts still have their heads intact now that Paulson is going to start nationalizing banks and that Bush has taken North Korea off the terrror list.
Bush is sooooo in the tank for Obama.
Oh, and word is that the RNC is going to stop running ads for McCain and try and save some senate seats instead.
The GOP acronym needs to be changed to FAIL.
comrade Hussein elf
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin today denied any abuse of her powers as governor, as a state legislative inquiry into her firing of the state’s public safety commissioner has found.
"If you read the report, you will see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member," Palin said as boarded her campaign bus in Pittsburgh, Pa., today. "You got to read the report."
Wow, I am impressed she can read!
Comrade Incertus
That, I believe, is the definition of cutting one’s losses. Nate’s got the chances of the Dems controlling 60 seats (if you include Lieberman) at 25% now, which is up from 10% only a few weeks ago. Republicans have to be shitting themselves about that right now.
gocart mozart
My theory is that agent Flowbee is a double agent engaging in the disinformation arts. How else can he be explained. Thoughts anyone?
Darkness
I learned this from lolcats (pathetic, I realize). Let’s see if it works…
Gods!!1!!1!! won’t January 20th eva arrive!!1!!1!!1!!
scarshapedstar
Best excuse:
"She’s a maverick!"
Okay, so I just made that one up, but I’m sure it’s Out There. I think I still win.
Comrade Nixon Hailfire Palin
Hell, it’s the motto of the Republican party.
Darkness
Huh, this system be-eth a bit of a conversation nanny.
Or just really confused. Bang One puts in an image tag. Okaaaay.
Some Guy
@jbarntt: Impeachment is a political act that can be grounded in unethical behavior. Ethics matter. For instance, if a president lies about his or her actions, it might not be illegal but it is surely the potential basis for impeachment depending on what is lied about. It is a political issue as to whether an executive is ethically suited to exercise power. She had he right to fire, not the right to let her husband bully Monegan into a personnel decision stemming from a family dispute, as I have indicated in a couple other comments. Executives, nor their family membes, are not to use the authority of their office to pursue personal vendettas. That is not about electoral politics in and of itself, although obviously the electoral context is the only reason we are debating it.
Trying to sequester the ethical indictment from the politics is making a precious distinction. They cannot be severed as if the ethics of this is an irrelevancy.
r€nato
remember the hysterical cries of, "RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW!" because Clinton lied about a blow job?
I’ll never tire of reminding rat-wingers of their hypocrisy and fucked-up sense of priorities and predilection for putting party before country. That insane Clinton witch-hunt shit scarred me for life. While the GOP was pursuing their constitutional coup, Osama bin Laden was planning 9/11. When Clinton tried to get OBL, Republicans shrieked that he was trying to distract from the REAL threat to the Republic, the Clenis.
These people are a cancer. The more middle America is reminded how utterly wrong the hysterical right has been about pretty much everything for at least the last 10 years, the greater chance we have of marginalizing these malicious assholes and actually moving forward with a positive agenda.
When we were fat, dumb and happy in the 90s we could afford to indulge in that kind of silliness. No longer.
AkaDad
Government runs more efficiently when you’re unethical.
Comrade Jake
The damage to Palin is likely only to be political, but that matters since she’s, you know, running on a Presidential ticket. Not only that, but one that claims to be strong on ethics. Turns out, not so much.
ThymeZone
I would be surprised if the Ayers Attack Week was not, at least in part, a way to deflect attention from the expected report on Palin.
The timing is a little too smooth. The attacks, the churn, the ugly mob scenes, the stepping back and the "decent man" routine ….. and of course, now the bounceback to "Oh yeah, well what about Chicago politics?"
Sure, it could all just be coincidence. Absolutely could. But McCain’s problem in my view is that he’s thrown away the benefit of the doubt he’d normally get, and as far as I am concerned, this is all just a mindfuck until proven otherwise.
McCain’s people in Alaska knew this was coming. A week ago today, the Ayers smear started. You do the math.
ThymeZone
I would be surprised if the Ayers Attack Week was not, at least in part, a way to deflect attention from the expected report on Palin.
The timing is a little too smooth. The attacks, the churn, the ugly mob scenes, the stepping back and the "decent man" routine ….. and of course, now the bounceback to "Oh yeah, well what about Chicago politics?"
Sure, it could all just be coincidence. Absolutely could. But McCain’s problem in my view is that he’s thrown away the benefit of the doubt he’d normally get, and as far as I am concerned, this is all just a mindfuck until proven otherwise.
McCain’s manipulators in Alaska knew this was coming. A week ago today, the Ayers smear started. You do the math.
update: duplicate post? Fix the damn website. I wouldnt have to post it twice if the thing worked.
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Comrade Jake
Time magazine points out the real damage in the report: how it indicates the extent to which the Palin administration resembled amateur hour:
The right-wing fucktards can suck it.
ThymeZone
Yeah, Jake, but we are dealing with 41% who think "amateurish" is "new energy" and "change we can believe in."
These are sophisticated concepts to these people.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
Some Guy: Good effort, but you’re wasting your time. I can sum up jbarntt in seven simple letters:
Same tired old politics. Yawn.
Comrade Nixon Hailfire Palin
Apparently, in a state with a small population where you can suck money out of the ground, amateurs can keep things running long enough to get noticed by the crime syndicate scouts.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
From Hilzoy:
Somewhere, Dick Cheney is sharing a toast with the ghost of Dick Nixon.
Some Guy
@Comrade Jake: Thanks for the quote, that is nice characterization.
The defense Monegan served at her pleasure is identical to the rationalizations of the Federal attorney purge scandal. The right to hire and fire at discretion does not mean that power is beyond ethical inspection. Without ethical stipulations, such power allows for tyrannical actions. Executive conduct is subject to review by the legislature and, if found to be egregious, to warrant removal from office, regardless of whether such actions are within the legal authority of the executive.
Those defending Bush then, and Palin now, on the basis of their executive rights are conveniently ignoring their executive responsibilities. It is unacceptable and destructive to democracy to pretend that because an executive can fire at will any indictments of their motives are either pointless or cheap power moves.
Gravenstone
@jbarntt
Sooooo, you’re admitting that the Republican witch hunt that lead to Clinton’s impeachment was entirely a political act?
And all this time people just like you have been righteously clamoring that it was driven solely by concern for the legal proprieties (with a liberal sprinkling of morals tossed in for flavor).
Consistency in an argument? From a Republican?!? Perish the thought.
ThymeZone
Answer: They have Indian Gaming Casinos there?
Comrade Jake
So how does one prevent the boldface in a blockquote?
Jay C
@SamFromUtah:
@r€nato:
Hey, nabalzbbfr* is back! Yo, dude! Where ya been keepin’?
Anyway, I think this quote is an original from nabalz, it has that perfect blend of whiny indignation and sneering disdain with which n. usually seasons his bilious blogcomments. As well as the use of declarative talking-points in place of "argument". It would be interesting, though, to hear his take on the various Clinton investigations of the late 90’s: since his dismissive description of the Palin report strikes me as being fitting to a tee the nonsense that Congressional Republicans put this country thorough for years. Well, minus the sex obsessions, of course, and the costing the taxpayers $70M, and the quasi-pornographic nature of the report, and stuff like that…
*pronounced "no balls beefer", IIRC.
ThymeZone
Nice. Now it’s not just a WordPress error, but moderation.
This is such a fun site.
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jakester
It’s remarkable to me that everyone defending Palin on this seems to be fine with the notion that only *she* comes out looking good in this, while basically the ENTIRE Alaska legislature – not just the Democrats and a few Republicans but EVERY SINGLE LEGISLATOR – is a bunch of crooks and haters (because Palin is teh reformin’-est ever!).
Occam’s razor would seem to suggest that the best way around this would be for them to admit that she may indeed have gone too far but that she did so because she was sincerely afraid that Wooten was a bad dude (she feared for her sister’s and nephew’s real safety) and that it was Monegan who showed contemptible judgment. In retrospect, they should say, it’s clear that Palin went about it the wrong way, but she still acted within what she honestly believed were the best interests of the state *and* her family.
But apparently, this Palin character can do no wrong, so EVERYONE ELSE must be the guilty parties. Amazing.
Ned R.
Here’s something I’ve been turning over a bit in my head — there was that one article a few weeks back where her Wasilla campaign manager remembers her ambition in the mid-nineties to be president one day. I’ve no reason to believe she didn’t think or say that at the time, so let’s say she’s been trying, however fitfully, to move to a point where she could go for it.
So, she becomes mayor, then governor. Troopergate happens and she has to deal with it, and the investigation is set up and has to take some time. While all this is going on, a randomly tentative idea from the McCain campaign suddenly becomes reality and she is offered the vice-presidential role.
If she had declined, for any number of potential reasons, then Troopergate and in fact nearly everything about her would have been utterly lost in the larger election coverage, even in the YouTube age. Alaskans and attentive political wonks in general (like, of course, our good selves here) would be the only ones interested. The investigation’s conclusions would have been a blip of news in the wide world, and there’s enough exculpatory information in the report to allow Palin to have said something about how she had erred in office and learned her lessons or whatever. She moves on, aims for a reelection in 2010 and starts thinking seriously about the connections she needs to make for a presidential run at some point, along with how to minimize the Troopergate conclusion in the inevitable primary battles.
That’s good politics, showing a truly clever political brain at work, and furthermore would have shown that she was willing to get in there in her own right, building on past successes.
Instead she grabs for a brass ring and we all know the results now. The worst possible exposure, at the worst possible time. That the economy would suddenly become *the* issue was beyond her guess or most anyone else’s, that McCain’s appeal would rapidly go south as a result similarly so, but everything else was within her possible control, and she proved that no matter how (relatively) disciplined she was otherwise, she completely and, very stupidly, succumbed to a tempation, where she could have simply been the person who said to Kudlow in midsummer that she wasn’t too sure at all about the VP role and left it at that. That about says it all.
Bubblegum Tate
Blogs for Victory doesn’t have a post on this matter up yet (imagine that!), but in various comments, the prevailing defense is…
…wait for it…
…liberal media bias.
Some Guy
@Ned R.: Interesting take. Also, at the point she accepted, McCain had pulled close to Obama and the RNConvention was about to happen. It was hardly clear who would win at that point despite the structural advantage Obama has. She might also have been influenced by Obama’s slow slide in the polls in August and thought, "its premature and risky but the odds are not too bad."
Matthew B.
Man oh man. I read through that Larry Johnson post and poked around through the other stuff on their front page, and hell’s teeth, they’ve gone completely Lysol-gargling insane. Check out this post on how Zbigniew Brzezinski and his fellow Illuminati are plotting with Obama to bring about the New World Order of one-world government.
Comrade Stuck
The ethics STATUTE the report says she broke is a LAW that happens to deal with Ethics violations. They are saying she broke that law and it wasn’t because she fired Monegan but that she involved state resources to get Monegan to fire him. If she would have canned Monegan after his first refusal to fire the Trooper, then there would have likely not been a problem.
This isn’t just a per se violation of some vague ethics standard only good for political benefit by dems, so JBarnett, you’re just wrong as usual.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Ned R.: Interesting, but you’re missing one vital point. In today’s GOP, you can only fall upwards as long as you win elections. Just wait for Palin’s re-election campaign to get buried in dough from out-of-state contributors.
Kali's Little Sister
A Saturday Scavenger Hunt! Hurray!
I got slightly distracted on Free Republic, however. They are insanely concerned…it turns out Obama and ACORN are stealing the election in battleground states!!!
I can understand what it could mean to register voters improperly; I can see an issue with voters who cast multiple ballots; it is evident that forms of disenfranchisement would impact election outcomes.
Only problem…how exacty are ACORN and Obama stealing the current polls by virtually every polling organization in battleground states? That seems an impressive feat; I would love to understand the mechanism that would make such a thing possible…
If Obama is well ahead in these battleground states according to independent polling organizations, how is it that stealing comes into play?
Ned R.
@Some Guy: "its premature and risky but the odds are not too bad."
Entirely possible — still, in the midst of an ethics investigation, one where she’d already had to back off from earlier claims?
The game plan that they were hoping for, however haphazardly, was clearly this:
* Kill the investigation outright, or:
* Successfully delay the investigation to the point where it wouldn’t be relevant to the election, at which point:
* Brush off any results from said post-election investigation in light of the fact that she would be on to bigger and better things.
In late August, that might have seemed possible, but everything ended up breaking *against* that — by immediately pirouetting from a ‘transparent’ investigation to kill/delay/shut down mode, she undercut a lot of her support, then her hand-appointed AG commits political suicide by saying subpoenas should be resisted, then the courts completely crush the hired help from outside’s arguments, then the legislative council says everything should go public.
I’d argue that neither she nor the McCain campaign ever seriously considered this worst-case scenario, or even something close to it.
Ned R.
Wow, that was some STRANGE formatting there. Didn’t plan that, sorry!
Ned R.
@Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more): True but I might have been unclear — I was positing a path forward for her if she had refused the candidacy, not accepted. In which case the reelection campaign of 2010 would have strictly been local news, and which she might well have easily triumphed. Now, who knows? If she does run again, it’ll be an interesting bell-wether.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
@Kali’s Little Sister:
It’s all part of the International Liberal Conspiracy, dontcha know.
The Grand Panjandrum
I don’t know if this counts as an excuse but the Brain Dcientists and Rocket Surgeons over at Flopping Aces have boiled it down to a SATSQ quip from something a commenter left:
The
legal briefpost that came from is stunning. Barbie Spice couldn’t keep her Ken Doll in check.God bless America! Freedom of speech wins again. (OK its more like we win and get a few yucks because these geniuses have decided to exercise that Right.)
SamFromUtah
@Jay C: Anyway, I think this quote is an original from nabalz…
I thought so. I was trying to make a joke. :)
Comrade Stuck
This is a problem in the way ACORN does business by paying it’s workers by the registration they collect, thereby giving these people incentive to cheat. It is voter registration fraud, but there is no evidence that it’s for the purpose to conduct voter fraud as there hasn’t been persons actually show up and vote under these bogus registrations. I think ACORN is trying to motivate it’s workers by paying per reg. but it is causing a huge PR problem for democrats, due to giving the GOP an excuse to demagogue it by misrepresenting it’s real impact. ACORN needs to do this different IMO, or institute greater oversight on the Registrations they file.
Ed in NJ
On townhall.com, someone named Bill Dwyer, or Beldar, posted this nugget:
Gov. Palin’s so-called "firing" of Monegan (it wasn’t a firing, it was a re-assignment to other government duties that he resigned rather than accept) can’t simultaneously be a violation of the Ethics Act and "a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority.
His own right wing commenters are pointing out the stupidity of claiming that you can’t simultaneously commit an ethics violation while adhering to the letter of the law.
patrick
Powerlinenewsforum never disappoints.
DooshNozle named John Florida is so mad he is incoherent with rage:
It’s bunk to start with. And with all this being said they can take the report and stuff it where the sun don’t shine.Cause they can’t do a damn thing with it.This like firing lawyers so what.
And then he says:
Why would I read something only fit to be used as ORGANIC FERTILIZER. I need 263 pages of it like i need carbon credits.
Also:
You Libs must think she’s viable you’re all over her like a cheap suit. IDIOTS!!
I’d say he’s heading for an aneurysm.
Comrade Stuck
From the Certifiable Confederate Spanky.
BUGS! BUGS! BUGS Indeed!
Kali's Little Sister
I hear you. My point is, how on earth could any of that influence current polling by independent organizations? And the preponderance of polling shows Obama kicking McCain’s ass across most, if not all, battleground states. The implication from Freepers seems to be that ACORN is creating the polling margin for Obama (he’s ahead and that is not possible without cheating!)…which as far as I can see is simply not possible.
Ned R.
Bugs? What, is Confederate S. in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or something?
Comrade Jake
I’m going to suggest that we’re looking at the wrong competition.
Game over man. Game over.
Tim (The Other One)
Ned R. gets a WIN !
and I hate when the trolls go away . Come back, you missed your spanking(s) eleventyinfinity
Comrade Stuck
You are right.
It’s what they always do. Making excuses for their own failures because their ideas are so brilliant, the only way they can’t succeed is by the actions of liberal foils. It’s how they manage to look at themselves in the mirror every morning. The ugliness they see is always someone else at fault.
Paul in Boca
OT? I hope someone has a video camera tonight in Philly when Palin hits the ice to drop the puck to start the Flyer’s season. I would think it’s somewhat of a risk to send her out to the Wachovia Center without being able to assure that every person in the facility is a Palin supporter.
nabalzbbfr
Ha-ha! The so-called Palin "troopergate" nonscandal is about to be completely eclipsed by a real Obama-Rezko scandal.
Liberals dreams of a "Merry Fitzmass" are just about to turn into a nightmarish reality for them:
rezko_spilling_the_beans
Talk about karma coming around!
Martin
I don’t think her prior conduct was a factor in her decision at all. Either she doesn’t think that what she did was wrong, doesn’t think that it matters, or thinks that she can wave it away with the swipe of her hand. This is a bit of a caricature, but I’ve met these religious types before and there’s a ‘you must, because you can’ sense that they have that most people don’t – or at least don’t have on that scale. I might have an impulsive instinct about an open beer being handed to me, but not much more than that. The religious fundamentalists that I’ve met pretty much have it full-spectrum. I think it’s why they get in so deep with sexual issues, spending issues, and I think in Palin’s case, political ambition.
She had to go after Wooten and Monegan because God put her in the position to do so. She had to, because she could. She had to accept the VP slot because God handed it to her. See, most people see opportunity as some part luck and some part earned. If I’m offered a promotion, I might ascribe it more to having been earned, but I’ll also admit some bit of random chance. For someone I just met, it’d be more random chance than earned and in this case I’d have to spend more effort self-analyzing whether I was really right for the position than if my boss of 5 years offered it to me. But for these fundamentalists, there is no chance. It’s some part earned and some part God’s will, and neither part requires self-reflection or self-doubt. She would automatically assume that McCain knew her record and whatever blemishes were there, God took care of in order for the opportunity to arise.
Further, I’ve never met a religious fundamentalist that wasn’t a pathological liar. They are so adept at lying to themselves to fill in the gaps of their worldview that they equally easily lie to those around them to fill in the same gaps.
So, I don’t think she hesitated at all in the decision. I don’t think she did it as part of a 2010 Senate run or a 2012 Presidential run or any political consideration at all, I think she did it because she felt the offer was part of the plan for her.
I should add that I don’t think this applies to most religious people, only the few at the fringes, and I think Sarah is in the fringes.
Comrade Incertus
@Comrade Jake: Comrade Jake, no one is more surprised by those polls than I am, but I’m loving it all the same.
The assumption from many in the Bible-thumping brigade is that she’s not the one in charge anyway–girlie parts make her suitable only for pumping out babies, you know, not for real-man work like governing. She’s just the face on the ticket to them, so this makes perfect sense.
McMillan
I think it may be tough to top this:
Apparently you can do whatever you want as long as you don’t make money off the deal.
cyntax
ZOMG! That was teh awesome! I haven’t been back to NOiQ since before Hillary conceded. I had no idea what sort of intellectual cannibalism had been happening on their tiny ideological island.
What’s funny is that so many of the posters have views that while pathologically anti-Obama are in no way compatible with your commenter at RedState. Obama really is the exotic other for these people. They’re just projecting all their paranoia onto him… wow.
Napoleon
I suspect her opponent will also be buried in out-of-state dough.
Comrade Incertus
You know what my favorite moment in that article is? This one:
I’m sure Obama is wetting himself in fear over this, No Ballz.
kuvasz
Her neighbor’s dog Sam told her to do it.
Comrade Jake
Reading comprehension is not a strength of the right-wing fucktards.
Martin
Clap harder! Clap harder!
PaulB
The last time I checked, ACORN paid by the hour, not by the registration. From their website:
Fact: Our canvassers are paid by the hour, not by the card . ACORN has a zero-tolerance policy for deliberately falsifying registrations, and in the cases where our internal quality controls have identified this happening we have fired the workers involved and turned them in to election officials and law-enforcement.
Cruel Jest
Why is Palin innocent of all charges?
Shut Up! That’s why.
It’s really the only response they need.
cain
They were so crazy that even TCP/IP packets carrying their shit filled data died? It’s like a jelly donut machine but all the donuts go into a trash can!
cain
Cassidy
From CNN
Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)
Emperor Misha grabs for the brass ring:
IOW, if the mob sez it’s OK, then it’s OK. Pure democracy, bitchez! Rules and due process are for losers.
nabalzbbfr
@dear comrades
Famous last words!
You might want to read a little further
cain
Two dicks and toast? This is kind of like two girls and a cup? right?
cain
Comrade Stuck
It seems ACORN does both. Pays by the hour and requires a quota for each shift a worker completes,
From the Cleveland Plains Dealer
jbarntt
Some Guy #56
Palin will be impeached or recalled if the legislature or people of Alaska wish it. The ethics violation was minor, Wooten wasn’t fired. Maybe he shouldn’t have been using his Tazer on a boy and drinking on the job. Sounds like he should have been fired. Union rules prevented that, I gather.
How does the @name thing work ? I am unfamiliar with it. Is it some HTML tag ?
TIA
jbarntt
The Moar You Know
Please God let them keep doing this. Let them keep on tossing out Rezko and Ayres, while the stock market and economy burns and Americans shiver in terror at what is happening to their 401k’s, their retirements, their world.
Let them keep thinking this is a working strategy – just a little bit longer, Lord, that’s all I ask.
cain
I was watching "Cobra" last night on Netflix (I love Netflix). The above quote would fit right in that movie. If I recall the 80s was full of these kind of movies where the rule of law and rights of criminals were considered bullshit and really the system is tying our hands and we need to get out there and kick some ass. Anybody who doesn’t believe that is a DFH. Fast forward 10 years, and now it’s all changed because rule of law is important to put away Clinton. Morons.
cain
ps don’t ask me why I was watching Cobra. It was a comedy. Especially with Stallone walking around with a matchstick in his mouth. haha
Ned R.
The thing about that Corner post is that from the looks of it Alexi Giannoulias is enough of a potential problem in and of itself that you don’t need Rezko at all. So if that’s the case why isn’t that being pushed at all, in favor of Rezko, Ayers et al?
Comrade Jake
I suspect the invocation given at McCain’s Event in Davenport today might win some sort of award:
Just Some Fuckhead
You might want to familiarize yourself with the story before opining.
littlesky
The little arrow in the upper right of a numbered comment is "reply to this comment."
jbarntt
Hi ThymeZone, (msg 61)
I would be surprised if the Ayers Attack Week was not, at least in part, a way to deflect attention from the expected report on Palin.
Yep, the Palin thing is horrible, she fired someone she had the authority to fire, i.e., Monegan. Ayers and his wife are fine people, of course. Why would anyone disapprove of bombing and murder in the name of liberalism ? Obama doesn’t, and neither does the state of Illinois, as Ayers is a prof at a state univ. Mayor Richard Daley finds nothing wrong Obama and Ayers being friends, so why should it bother anyone else ?
I wouldn’t want to suggest that Ayers and Obama are unamerican because it depends on your definition of "American". To some Americans, like Ayers and his wife, Charles Manson is a great hero, to others the likes of Manson should have been hanged long ago.
But I’m just a dumb conservative, so what do I know about patriotism ?
Comrade Stuck
I think maybe this wingnut gossip rag ( i deleted link, don’t want to further this crap) is trying to start another vicious rumor , surprise! It is beyond fantasy and into psychosis territory. I don’t know why Memerandum posts shit like this.
It is now listed on the bottom of the Meme. site
w vincentz
Excuse, huh?
OK, how about…
Since I’ve already declared my innocence, this entire matter is only a distraction from my intent to focus on those that wish to kill babies. Ya know, like Obama. He’s in favor of ABORTIONS and is responsible for ALL of them.
I’m not. Nor is my knocked-up unwed 17 yo daughter.
Even Maverick John believes that life begins at conception.
Troopergate only distracts us from the real issue, killing babies. Obama likes to kill babies. John and I don’t.
If you’re for killing little cuddly babies, vote for "that one".
If you’re in favor of protecting the sweet little bundles of joy, vote for MAVERICKS like John and me.
Did John kill any babies when he was being tortured in that prison in Hanoi? NO!
He LOVES babies and so do I!
Thank you for your vote to save lives. God will bless ya, you betcha.
Just Some Fuckhead
Yer gold, nigga. It’s the rest of the world that’s all fucked up.
jbarntt
Hi some guy, (msg 67)
The defense Monegan served at her pleasure is identical to the rationalizations of the Federal attorney purge scandal. The right to hire and fire at discretion does not mean that power is beyond ethical inspection. Without ethical stipulations, such power allows for tyrannical actions. Executive conduct is subject to review by the legislature and, if found to be egregious, to warrant removal from office, regardless of whether such actions are within the legal authority of the executive.
You are quite right, the people, or legislature, depending on the constitution referred to can remove an executive officer. Why do you think that this is not an issue in Alaska ? I can answer that question, can you ?
Comrade Stuck
The first step to recovery is admitting the problem. We have weekly therapy groups at the Funhouse for "dumb conservatives" wishing for a better life, and deliverance from Wingnut Active Cognizance Disorder (WACD). Think about it.
Cassidy
@jbarntt
The crazy doesn’t stop apparently. But what would I know about patriotism, I’m only an active duty Iraq vet getting ready to go back.
Seriously’ if you can’t see how much of a non-story this Ayer’s thing is, then your voter card should be pulled and your bloodline sterilized.
The Moar You Know
More than me, that’s a fact.
The Moar You Know
Dude, shhh! You’ll tip him off!
Umm, yeah, goddamn, as an America-hating liberal I sure do hope those conservative fellers don’t keep digging into this Ayers thing. Boy, what a fiasco it would be for Obama if they discover the terrible secret underlying the allegations! And let’s not even talk about Rezko, my oh my what conservative paydirt that is!
nabalzbbfr
@The Moar You Know
As I pointed out in an earlier thread, there is a perfectly straightforward way out of the current financial crisis, and only a McCain/Palin administration would have the courage to face down the entrenched political interests that stand in the way of its implementation.
LanceThruster
No excuses needed (She could be the new jeans spokeshole!) as no actual ‘laws’ were broken (heard this spin on FOX Noise).
jcricket
I love the argument being made regarding the whole "she can fire him for no reason, so any firing is fine". It’s such a laughable misunderstanding of the law, that catches fucktards (usually conservatives) all the time.
Let me give you a tiny example: I had an apartment where we went without heat for 2 weeks (dead of winter, Philly). We had promptly notified the landlord, and did everything in our power (ha) to get him to fix it. He failed (for 2 weeks). So we deducted 2 weeks from our next rent payment (i.e. paid half our rent) with a note about that, including all the times we tried to call him, the days without heat, the space heaters we had to buy, etc.
He demanded we pay the rent in full, and took us to small claims court, noting the lease said "rent must be paid in full by the beginning of the month". That was the totality of his argument.
The judge actually laughed at him. Explained the concept of "implied rights" (e.g. you have an implied right of habitability, and an unheated apartment is not habitable in freezing weather) that you can’t sign away. And because we were not trying to sue him, but merely not paying for a time when we were not really receiving our apartment, tossed the case out of court.
Just because someone is "at will" does not mean you can fire them for any circumstance. There are federal and state anti-discrimination laws that you must follow, for example. And if your firing is in retaliation for legally protected whistle-blowing, a violation of the FMLA, etc. you’ll be found guilty.
Let’s put it this way – Lawyers win million-dollar wrongful termination suits for people on far scantier evidence than our resident revenge-jockeys up in AK have left.
The Moar You Know
No Fear, y’all. George W. Bush is on the job.
The Moar You Know
McCain/Palin are the entrenched interests standing in the way of any meaningful reform or regulation. McCain has fought regulation and financial market reform for his entire Senate career, all in the name of the holy free market.
Oh yeah – your "point" – privitzing Social Security. Really? That’s your idea? After the last two weeks? Ain’t gonna happen. Anyone who tries to ramrod that outdated brand of idiocy through will be slaughtered at the hands of blood-crazed AARP lynch mobs, and many others.
ThymeZone
Beats me.
What do you know about tracking polls? Because the Ayers bullshit is sealing the election for Obama.
Keep it up, whatever you guys are doing. Just keep it up.
conumbdrum
"A series of guess…?"
This phrase needs to become a staple of the blogosphere, along with "I am aware of all internet traditions," and "full of win."
Let’s face it: what describes the mental dribblings of a Jonah Goldberg more succinctly than "A series of guess?"
Comrade Stuck
Meeze too, especially now that they have Starz flicks. Like a kid in a candy shop.
ThymeZone
My definition of "American" is a government that preaches deregulation until the banking system collapses, and then asks the taxpayers for billions to bail out the system, and suggests government owenership of banks when things get really out of control.
How many dollars worth of damage did William Ayers do to the United States, compared to, say, Phil Gramm or Bill Frist?
Hey, don’t strain your brain, I’m just fucking with ya. You know, like you were with us.
Make7
Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ayers!, Ayers!!! Run for your lives!!!
cain
good luck, dude. come back safe.
cain
cain
No kidding! So much love in there. Time to a watch a LOT of crappy 80s movies. I thought we were crazy then.. boy was I wrong.
cain
Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)
@jbarntt:
And here, of course, is the red herring that the GOP has been pitching for the last few months.
jbarntt, if you can point to one thing, just one example of Obama’s behavior or philosophy that would indicate he was influenced by Ayers, then that’s worth talking about. Show us any evidence that Obama approves of "bombing and murder in the name of liberalism". But, of course, you can’t.
If your answer is "because he knew the dude", then you fail. If all you got is "he knew Ayers", then you’ve got nothing. Knowing ≠ approval.
Soylent Green
Is that so? Then why is this the second paragraph of the story you linked to?
Idiot.
Jim Pharo
I can’t read all 148 to be certain I’m not piling on, but it’s obvious: the Clenis! Secondary reason: Nancy Pelosi and her SF values (i.e., gay S&M).
dr. luba
@Ned R.:
Here’s something I’ve been turning over a bit in my head—there was that one article a few weeks back where her Wasilla campaign manager remembers her ambition in the mid-nineties to be president one day.
My impression was that she wanted to be president of Alaska some day.
Ned R.
You know, you might be onto something!
fuyura
I’m a little unsettled by all the talk lately concerning the danger from ayers. What is an ayer, and where can I find one?
WestVirginiaRebel
Jonah Goldberg says most people don’t care about that abuse of power stuff.
Meanwhile, there’s this wackiness to ponder.
Freemark
About ACORN:
Just to let everyone know ACORN pays people by the hour and not by the registration.
.
And according to the law in most states they must turn in all registration forms, even ones they believe to be fraudulent.
.
If this has been stated upthread, and I missed it, I apologize for the repeat.
Myrthe
@Comrade Stuck:
"ACORN needs to… institute greater oversight on the Registrations they file."
ACORN already has all the needed oversight. What Republicans aren’t telling you is that these ‘questionable’ registrations come from the stack that ACORN themselves marked "Suspicious" when they were submitted. (So why even submit ‘suspicious’ registrations? Because ACORN are *required* to submit every registration they get, and rightly so).
Republicans aren’t telling you this, of course, cos it makes it clear how ridiculous this whole fuss is.