Posted by
Always To The Right on Saturday, October 11, 2008 2:02:17 PM
I’ve read through the Troopergate report
and some of the commentary arising from it, and the McCain/Palin ticket
appears to have a mixed bag. The report acknowledges the obvious:
Governor Sarah Palin has the right to fire political appointees for
whatever reason she desires. The termination of Walt Monegan was
completely within her purview and her authority. However, we hold
politicians to higher standards, or at least we should, and the
report’s conclusion that she abused her power in light of her husband’s
actions in attempting to get Trooper Mike Wooten fired will stick in
voters’ minds in the final days of the election.
The investigation started at the request of another Republican — Sarah Palin.
The allegations of a “partisan witch hunt” began when the legislative
master of the investigation, Democratic state Senator Hollis French,
started promising an “October Surprise” and embarrassment for John
McCain before one witness had even been deposed. French
further clouded the investigation by interfering with subpoenas,
blocking one for a witness to a meeting in which all other attendees
had been subpoenaed … and that witness had run the meeting,
and was also Palin’s chief of staff. There is plenty of evidence that
French wanted a partisan outcome and not justice.
But still, if Todd Palin was bullying people to fire a
non-political appointee for personal reasons, using the implied
authority of his wife, and Sarah Palin knew about it and didn’t stop
it, that would be a breach of ethics. Most people would agree that a
police officer who drank alcohol in his patrol car, tasered his
10-year-old stepson, and threatened to murder his estranged wife’s
father should not be working in law enforcement. All of those
allegations were confirmed by Alaska in an investigation. However, the
job of trooper is not a political appointment, and if Todd
Palin acted in a manner reported by this investigation, it would be
improper and subject to some sort of censure from the Legislature.
That’s a big if, though, and the matter is far from closed. Beldar,
speaking for the defense, notes that the report reflects the opinion of
one man hired by French, and has not yet been accepted by the
Legislature
That brings us to the main point of this exercise. It will produce
no certainty whatsoever, thanks to the Legislative Council’s inaction
in the face of Hollis French’s efforts to turn this investigation into
a present for Barack Obama. The LC should have bounced both French and
Branchflower after the “October Surprise” comment and replaced them
with people of less partisan temperament. Instead, we have a report
that both clears the Governor and indicts her spouse in a
contradictory, confusing judgment that appears to have been looking for
some self-justification for all of the time and money spent on it.
Palin runs almost zero risk of any sort of rebuke on the basis of
this report in Alaska, but the election may be a different matter. The
phrase “abuse of power” resonates with voters, even when it’s applied
to the candidate’s spouse. Had the report come out two months ago,
when no one paid any attention, it would probably be a nothingburger.
Now, with three weeks left in the campaign, it’s going to dent the
reform message of John McCain, which was the main reason he asked Palin
to be his running mate. It won’t convince current supporters to reject
McCain, but it will make it a little more difficult to convince
undecideds.