TrooperGate Heats Up

[Bunz]

So much for "welcoming the investigation". Since Palin has been under the thumb and utter control to the national GOP machine, she has totally abandoned her ideas of accountable, honest and transparent government.

All of the witnesses called to testify in the investigation of her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, are refusing to do so at the direction of the McCain campaign because they dont want the truth coming out about Sarah and her vindictive actions concerning her ex-brother in law before the election.

After initially praising Monegan and saying she left on his own terms after he didnt want a different position in her cabinet, she has since gone on a smear campaign of him when it has become politcally necessary.

As an Alaskan who has supported her as Governor, I am flat out disgusted.
For her sake, I hope she wins the VP spot, because I am very skeptical if she will win re-election in 2010.

Folks, her interviews and speeches have had zero substance, because she is in way over her head on. She is repeating the same worn out mantra over and over because she has nothing else to go on.

Throw in her flip flops in the Trooper Gate issue and it makes me question the judgement of McCain for picking her, and Sarah for accepting.

 

[Bunz]

This is a column from the Alaska equivalent of Rush Limbaugh. An ultra right radio show host who has been squarely in the Palin camp since she took the Governors office.

No one is above the truth, even Palin

DAN FAGAN
COMMENT

Published: September 16th, 2008 10:52 PM
Last Modified: September 16th, 2008 11:45 AM

You really can't experience the full effect of Monday's news conference featuring Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton unless you hear it for yourself. Stapleton passionately attacked former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan. Her rhetoric was plain, desperate, and obvious. Her tone, pure shrill.

With intensity, urgency, and alarm in her voice, Stapleton described Monegan's behavior as commissioner as egregious insubordination, full of obstructionist conduct and a brazen refusal to follow instructions.

Did Walt Monegan, former Marine, and lifetime crime fighter deserve this? Of course not.

But history has proven, get in the way of Sarah Barracuda's political ambition, and you won't know what hit you.

If anyone should be on the hot seat, it's not Monegan, but Palin for her inconsistencies.

The governor has given so many different reasons for firing Monegan I've lost count. From the "we need new direction" and "new energy" to "he wasn't hiring enough cops," to "he wasn't doing enough about alcohol in the bush" to "he lobbied for budget increases" to the latest version, which is a doozy; Monegan displayed "egregious rogue behavior."

The governor also originally said that neither she, Todd nor anyone from her administration pressured Monegan regarding Trooper Wooten. Palin then was forced to admit there was serial contact once the Frank Bailey tape surfaced. But she insisted she was just learning of it. But e-mails have surfaced detailing Palin complaining to Monegan about Wooten.

The governor also originally said an investigation was needed and promised to cooperate. Then she instructed her employees not to talk to the investigator and has herself refused to be interviewed.

Palin can't constantly change her story and expect us to believe her each time she does.

Meanwhile, this Palin VP thing has Alaskans all stirred up? Much like Palin divided the Republican party, she has managed to divide the state over her national candidacy.

Clearly most Alaskans choose to ignore the facts of the Troopergate scandal. They want Palin to make it to the national stage.

Republicans scold me all the time, "You don't want Obama to win do you? Stop criticizing Palin!"

My question to my conservative friends is simple. Does the truth still matter?

Truth is at the very heart of the conservative movement. Isn't it true that smaller government, self empowerment, and personal responsibility are worth fighting for? Isn't it true that promoting a culture of life and defending marriage will keep us strong as a nation?

But some Republican leaders are abandoning truth and closing ranks to help Palin cover up her scandal by attacking the investigation.

Representative John Coghill has been especially disappointing on this.

And so has Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. He called the investigation a "complete farce."? Parnell said, "I'm disappointed by the complete hijacking of what should be a fair and objective process,"

Parnell knows eight Republicans along with four Democrats voted to launch this independent investigation.

Contrast Sean "Captain Zero" Parnell with Republican Senator Charlie Huggins. Palin would have gotten away with shutting down the investigation if it were not for Huggins.

His swing vote allowed for subpoenas. Huggins put the quest for truth above his party. He said, "Let's just get the facts on the table, the sooner the better,"

But too many in my party are not interested in the facts. They want Palin to win -- at all cost.

I want McCain and Palin to win too. But with Palin's refusal to cooperate with the independent investigator and her transparent delay tactics, Americans deserve to know what Palin is trying to hide before we vote her a heartbeat away from the leader of the free world.

My fellow conservatives, remember how frustrating it was when Bill Clinton committed perjury and liberals looked the other way.

As conservatives, we are no better unless we demand full disclosure from our governor when it comes to Troopergate.

No politician is so popular and charismatic that they should be above accountability and telling the truth. Not even Sarah Palin.

 

[lipmonkey]

I find the situation with Palin and the investigation evolving into a cover up. If she didn't have something incriminating to hide I think she would be more forthcoming, especially when she was for the investigation before being against it.

I think it's important to get to the bottom of exactly what took place, especially before the election. Voters need to know the facts in order to make an informed decision about how Palin executes her administrative duties.IMO.

 

[GenSeneca]

I think it's important to get to the bottom of exactly what took place, especially before the election. Voters need to know the facts in order to make an informed decision about how Palin executes her administrative duties.IMO.

But Obama is exempt from such scrutiny.... and thats just fine with you?

 

[Dawkinsrocks]

If voters were making informed choices the republicans would be at zero in the polls.

 

[Bunz]

But Obama is exempt from such scrutiny.... and thats just fine with you?

Your joking me right? The amount of stuff I have read on this site alone about Obama and the nitpicking scrutiny the right brings out, I find this laughable.

But either way, we are talking about Palin in this thread. Please keep it on topic. The issue here is possible abuse of power by the VP Candidate during her time as Alaska Governor. It is about her initial welcoming of the investigation, and then stone walling it for nothing but political purposes, or to evade politically damaging and embarrassing information coming out, especially before the November election. When it was agreed before she was named to the GOP ticket that October would be the target date for the indpendent investigators report.

 

[PLC1]

Why couldn't Monegan fire a trooper who tasered a 10 year old, shot a moose illegally, and was caught drinking beer in a patrol car?

Is that kind of think acceptable in Alaska? Any one of the three could have gotten a state trooper fired here, at least I think it could.

Todd Palin, the governor's husband, had brought Monegan a dossier of information on Wooten compiled by Todd and a private investigator. Monegan looked at the information and determined that, "There was no new evidence, no new complaints." In 2005, when Gov. Palin's sister filed for divorce, her father had lodged several complaints with state police against Wooten: using a Taser on his 10-year-old stepson, shooting a moose without a permit and drinking beer while driving a patrol car.

An investigation sustained the allegations regarding the moose hunt and the Taser, and later also sustained the drinking charge after at first finding it unsupported. Documents say Wooten was reprimanded and suspended.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wa...s/2008/08/monegan_to_palin_maam_i_need_t.html

 

[GenSeneca]

Your joking me right? The amount of stuff I have read on this site alone about Obama and the nitpicking scrutiny the right brings out, I find this laughable.

I'm not complaining about the time spent going over such issues on websites and forums, its air time in the MEDIA that bothers me... Its all "Pound on Palin with any unsubstantiated rumor we can find" and "Ignore the Messiah's Scandalous connections and deeds, which are easily substantiated but 'above our pay grade'"

But either way, we are talking about Palin in this thread. Please keep it on topic.

Please, be consistent and use such lines as this when Popeye and Top Gun come in throwing firebombs about McCain and Palin in Obama threads... Maybe even limiting their attack threads to one-per-subject since they tend to repeat themselves and open multiple threads covering the same topic. Thanks.

Also... you closed a thread that Calidem posted about Palins email being hacked - saying it was a duplicate and to post elsewhere.... There is also this thread:

Palin's Troopergate worsens with tape

Just so I don't get too far "off topic", let me share this:

Obama Operative Fires off another Bogus Scandal against Palin
by Sher Zieve (9/18/08)

The left-wing’s faked rumors about Republican Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin are still continuing at a fever pitch. These Obama supporters and surrogates are continuing in their vowed quest to destroy Governor Palin. Obama’s Chicago-style thug politics are still firmly in place this election season. Alaskan State Senator Hollis French - a Democrat Obama surrogate - seems to be working overtime these latest days and nights. He has decided to manipulate the Alaskan investigation - if not any and all evidence - into Governor Palin’s firing of Alaska Public Safety Officer Walt Monegan.

Hollis says Monegan was fired by Palin because he would not fire Palin’s former brother-in-law - State Trooper Mike Wooten - who had, then, been accused of tasering his young stepson, drinking alcohol in his patrol car, illegally shooting a Moose and threatening to kill Palin’s father. Of note, Wooten was subsequently convicted and in the true Alaskan old boy network style - which Palin ran against in her bid for Governor - Wooten was given only a 10 day suspension! Hollis, other Democrats and a handful of the good ol’ boy Alaskan Republicans decided they would investigate the Governor for Monegan’s firing. The problem was and is that Governor Palin has emails showing that Monegan - an at-will employee appointed by the Governor - had repeatedly attempted to oppose and undermine his boss on a number of issues. One of these was a Monegan pet project that Governor Palin had vetoed. Monegan made several unauthorized trips to Washington D.C., in an attempt to bypass the Governor and have the Democrat-run US Congress fund his project. Due to his many attempts to both challenge and undermine Gov. Palin’s decisions, Monegan was fired.

Note: Monegan served at the pleasure of the Governor. But, increasingly, the “serves at the pleasure of” phrase only applies to Democrats - not Republican leaders.

Although Monegan had previously stated: “For the record, no one ever said fire Wooten [Palin brother-in-law]. Not the Governor. Not Todd [Palin’s husband]. Not anyone of the staff …”, Monegan joined with his friend and Obama operative Hollis French and - at the apparent urging of French - decided to fight his firing and charge Palin’s staff with misconduct. Another apparent friend of French’s - Special Prosecutor Steven Branchflower - allowed the state senator to interfere with the witness subpoena list. Of course, this is illegal. But, bear in mind these are Democrats - who appear to be immune from any and all laws they don’t like. The facts are that this is a bogus and partisan “investigation” into nothing. But, the Obama adherents are apparently allowed to do and say anything they like. Stalin is alive and well in Alaska.

These are the facts, folks. If nothing else, this one incident proves Governor Palin truly DID fight against the Alaska good ol’ boy network and they don’t like it. They don’t like it one bit! So far, everything the left-wing has thrown at her has been proven false. But, that doesn’t stop them from continuing to attempt to manufacture scandals where none exist. The more ethical people are, the harder the unscrupulous and dishonorable entities attempt to destroy them. Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin must surely be as principled as anyone who ever lived.

TrooperGate has been extinguished.... Did Palin's dog just fart? Front page newstory there!

 

[Pandora]

So much for "welcoming the investigation". Since Palin has been under the thumb and utter control to the national GOP machine, she has totally abandoned her ideas of accountable, honest and transparent government.

All of the witnesses called to testify in the investigation of her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, are refusing to do so at the direction of the McCain campaign because they dont want the truth coming out about Sarah and her vindictive actions concerning her ex-brother in law before the election.

After initially praising Monegan and saying she left on his own terms after he didnt want a different position in her cabinet, she has since gone on a smear campaign of him when it has become politcally necessary.

As an Alaskan who has supported her as Governor, I am flat out disgusted.
For her sake, I hope she wins the VP spot, because I am very skeptical if she will win re-election in 2010.

Folks, her interviews and speeches have had zero substance, because she is in way over her head on. She is repeating the same worn out mantra over and over because she has nothing else to go on.

Throw in her flip flops in the Trooper Gate issue and it makes me question the judgement of McCain for picking her, and Sarah for accepting.

Hmmm

I am confused Bunz First paragraph says this

"she has totally abandoned her ideas of accountable, honest and transparent government."

That sounds like you think she had honesty at one time but doesn’t now, was ethical but not now, was transparent but not now was accountable but not now. She abandoned those ideas.

Then after that you wrote

" don’t want the truth coming out about Sarah and her vindictive actions concerning her ex-brother in law before the election. "

" she has since gone on a smear campaign of him when it has become politically necessary

These things you are complaining about all happened before she was tapped. Trooper gate and what ever else you wish to complain bout.
You are saying she had ethics, was honest and transparent till McCain tapped her, yet all of these things happened during a time you said she had those good qualities.

Just say I don’t like the fact she is running against my messiah damn it! And get it over with. That would be far less confusing to understand.

 

[Popeye]

Document contradicts Palin's Troopergate claims

This is the woman that when first picked promised full transparency and to cooperate fully with the investigation. Instead, the McCain/Palin campaign has been doing everything possible to stonewall, including having Palin's husband and others ignore subpoenas and refuse to testify. It's looking more and more like Palin has a great deal to hide.

An internal government document obtained by ABC News appears to contradict Sarah Palin's most recent explanation for why she fired her public safety chief, the move which prompted the now-contested state probe into "Troopergate."

Fighting back against allegations she may have fired her then-Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, for refusing to go along with a personal vendetta, Palin on Monday argued in a legal filing that she fired Monegan because he had a "rogue mentality" and was bucking her administration's directives.

"The last straw," her lawyer argued, came when he planned a trip to Washington, D.C., to seek federal funds for an aggressive anti-sexual-violence program. The project, expected to cost from $10 million to $20 million a year for five years, would have been the first of its kind in Alaska, which leads the nation in reported forcible rape.

The McCain-Palin campaign echoed the charge in a press release it distributed Monday, concurrent with Palin's legal filing. "Mr. Monegan persisted in planning to make the unauthorized lobbying trip to D.C.," the release stated.

But the governor's staff authorized the trip, according to an internal travel document from the Department of Public Safety, released Friday in response to an open records request.

The document, a state travel authorization form, shows that Palin's chief of staff, Mike Nizich, approved Monegan's trip to Washington D.C. "to attend meeting with Senator Murkowski." The date next to Nizich's signature reads June 18.

Last week a legislative panel approved a subpoena for Nizich to be interviewed by Stephen Branchflower, the prosecutor hired to conduct the Alaska Legislature's inquiry into Troopergate. The Attorney General informed the Legislature earlier this week that Nizich and other state employees subpoenaed in the matter would not submit to interviews.

No wonder they are ignoring the subpoenas.


http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=5844710

 

[XCALIDEM]

They're making a big deal out of nothing.... The dude, her brother in law came out on CNN and told on national tv how he tased his kid and did a bunch of other stupid things, like being drunk while wearing his cop uniform.

 

[Bunz]

Why couldn't Monegan fire a trooper who tasered a 10 year old, shot a moose illegally, and was caught drinking beer in a patrol car?

Let me clarify things a bit here. Firstly, shooting the moose "illegally" was dealt with. But it is fair to note that his ex wife (Sarah's sister) is the one who had the permit. She for some reason didnt shoot the moose in question(I have heard she was gun shy, but that is besides the point). So her husband did. It was not made an issue of until there was a nasty divorce and political gameswomanship involved. Either way, Wooten readily admitted to it, and was punished including a 5 day suspension without pay that will never leave his personnel record.
As for tasering the kid, there was no electricty involved. It was set on the training mode, it was done at the repeated requests of the 10 year old. Now dont get me wrong, it was a bone headed thing to do, and I dont condone it a bit. That issue was also dealt with.
Lastly, the drinking on the job, that has never been proven and is at this point a baseless accusation.

There are already policies and regulations concerning dealing with state employees and especially Troopers. Wooten was dealt with according to those long standing regulations.

Is that kind of think acceptable in Alaska? Any one of the three could have gotten a state trooper fired here, at least I think it could.

Generally no. I am close personal friends with 3 State Troopers and the far majority of very professional and hard working law enforcement agents who work in very demanding and unique situations. It would be horribly unfair to lump them together in this regard. But again, there are means of dealing with this, and they were. The reasons for the various personnel boards and such is to cut through the fat when it comes to political and or personal/domestic differences.

 

[XCALIDEM]

Here's the CNN's interview of Mike Wooten, Sarah Palin's ex brother in law:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXj_xxRr50E

 

[Bunz]

I'm not complaining about the time spent going over such issues on websites and forums, its air time in the MEDIA that bothers me... Its all "Pound on Palin with any unsubstantiated rumor we can find" and "Ignore the Messiah's Scandalous connections and deeds, which are easily substantiated but 'above our pay grade'"

Well again, it goes both ways. Honestly, I am getting to the point where I cant stomach cable news much anymore at all.

Please, be consistent and use such lines as this when Popeye and Top Gun come in throwing firebombs about McCain and Palin in Obama threads... Maybe even limiting their attack threads to one-per-subject since they tend to repeat themselves and open multiple threads covering the same topic. Thanks.

Firstly, I apologize if it appears I am inconsistent in this regards. I do my best to remain fair and consistent. I have done a fair amount of chiding of both of the other members you mentioned.

Also... you closed a thread that Calidem posted about Palins email being hacked - saying it was a duplicate and to post elsewhere.... There is also this thread:

Palin's Troopergate worsens with tape

That extra thread about troopergate will be closed as well. It came in after I was outside for the day.

Just so I don't get too far "off topic", let me share this:



TrooperGate has been extinguished.... Did Palin's dog just fart? Front page newstory there![/QUOTE]

Thanks for sharing. I find it frackin hillarious that little Hollis French is being made the focal point of this whole thing. Firstly, the committee in question is made up of 8 GOPs, and 4 Dems, and French has quite often been in Palin's corner on most issues. He had some comments taken out of context and we find ourselves in the current situation.

 

[Bunz]

Hmmm

I am confused Bunz First paragraph says this

"she has totally abandoned her ideas of accountable, honest and transparent government."

That sounds like you think she had honesty at one time but doesn’t now, was ethical but not now, was transparent but not now was accountable but not now. She abandoned those ideas.

Yeah that is what I am getting at. She is under the very direct and heavy thumb of the McCain campaign.

Then after that you wrote

" don’t want the truth coming out about Sarah and her vindictive actions concerning her ex-brother in law before the election. "

" she has since gone on a smear campaign of him when it has become politically necessary

The first quote I was referring to the McCain campaign.

These things you are complaining about all happened before she was tapped. Trooper gate and what ever else you wish to complain bout.
You are saying she had ethics, was honest and transparent till McCain tapped her, yet all of these things happened during a time you said she had those good qualities.

Let me make some things clear. Before she was tapped, she welcomed the investigation and had generally nice things to say about Monegan.
Then after she became involved in a national campaign, she has refused to cooperate and has smeared Monegan. She did a total 180 since her nomination.

Just say I don’t like the fact she is running against my messiah damn it! And get it over with. That would be far less confusing to understand.

My Messiah? Give that a break Obamanation . We have been through this before. In a very personal sense, I have much more to gain from Palin being the VP rather than Biden.