This may not be what the McCain/Palin campaign meant by carrying on the Bush legacy, but Gov. Sarah Palin has refused to comply with subpoenas in the investigation of her firing of Alaska’s former public safety commissioner. Now, her Attorney General has refused to comply with the lawful legislative subpoenas. That sounds vaguely familiar.
In a Mukasey moment, Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg seemed to disregard any independent judgment or responsibility: “As state employees, our clients have taken an oath to uphold the Alaska Constitution, and for that reason, they respect the Legislature’s desire to carry out an investigation in support of its lawmaking powers. However, our clients are also loyal employees subject to the supervision of the governor.”
“Loyal employees”? To whom. They do not work for Gov. Palin. They work for the state of Alaska and there is no question that these are lawful subpoenas issued by a legislative committee. It is an astonishing suggestion that the highest law enforcement official is bound by the loyalty to a politician rather than the law. It is a good thing Sir Thomas More is not living in Alaska. He’d be shampooing the Malamutes and parking snowmobiles for a living.
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I too detect a pattern here. Has Karl Rove been spotted in Alaska lately? This moose huntress is as dirty as Bush and Cheney and McCain. If the main stream media would go after her on her trouble in Alaska and go after McCain for picking someone as dirty as here, this race would not be close. How the Alaskan AG can refuse these subpoenas is a tragedy. This is one state example of how the Republicans treat illegality on the national level. Itisn’t illegal if we do it! I am glad that Obama has finally begun to hammer McCain on his lies.
Ironically, after Bill Clinton left offce I saw a number of articles that claimed many people, particularly college aged, adopted Clinton’s assertion that some acts are “sexual relations” and some weren’t. The pundts decried this as the legacy of Clinton’s indiscretions.
Government officials deliberatly ignoring a lawful subpeona, among other damages to our country, will no doubt be one Bush’s lasting contributions to our society. Once top Bush officials and now Alaskan state officials are done setting this example for us all, can I as a private now ignore a subpeona, a court order, a jury summons, a trial date?
Bush makes Clinton look like a choir boy.
Did Monica Goodling interview these employees? Will America get our own queen? Is Palin Dick Cheney’s love child?
cheneybush have almost dismantled the rule of law, at least for those with power, money and connections. This while simultaneously creating prison planet and the surrveillance state for every one else. What this most reminds me of is the Soviet Union, with a special nod to East Germany.
Voters should not ignore this important information. This country has been brought to near ruin by people who break the law and their enablers who won’t enforce it. It is clear that Palin operates from the “some animals are more equal than others” paradigm. This is clear from her religious speak as well as her actions as governor. Time to stop tolerating this madness.
As long as there is no penalty for this sort of behavior, they will continue to act this way. I mean seriously, the legislature in AK and the Congressin DC look like powerless old men yelling at kids to get off their lawn, and everyone is like “yeah whatever.”
If i were a judge at all associated with this or the myriad of subpoenas issued and ignored by the Bush admin, id issue bench warrants and have the balif’s arrest those mofos so gd fast their heads would spin.
I would bet that their desire to answer questions would increase once they knew it was sit in a jail cell or answer the questions…
I think Palin’s “people” are on another thread trying to divert attention from this story. I commend them for their quick response time. Lesson learned from mentor cheney–very touching.
There’s a point during the openning credits , right before the banjo kicks-in in high gear, where the announcer gleefully yells, “The Beveryly Hill-Billys”. In my mind I hear that, looped over and over, every time I read some new revelation about the Palin clan.
“Palin has denied wrongdoing.”
Isn’t that enough for you people? Quit persecuting her like she’s some kind of witch or something. The executive branch is first among equals as long as the correct people occupy the executive position. Otherwise the justice dept will direct it’s people to take action. Then it’s not the theme from Beverly Hillbillies you’re hearing, it’s from “Deliverance”.
Palin is as dirty as they come. She is a small town political hack that has little or no experience and some of the same qualities(?)as Dick Cheney. How stupid are you when you try to show your knowledge of foreign policy by stating “you can see Russia from places in Alaska”.(paraphrased) Only the Republicans could try to get away with someone as inept as Palin. But if Alaskan authorities do not hold her accountable for her refusal to honor subpoena’s, then things will not change. The Alaskan AG should be impeached for his illegal refusal to honor a legal subpoena.
rafflaw,
All joking on my part aside I do find this scary. So far it seems that anyone under the blessing of cheney is absolutely free to ignore the law. On the off chance they actually show up they suffer from extraordinarily poor memory or flat out won’t answer the questions. This is scary. I see the judiciary try to right things, but they can make rulings all they want to no effect. As long as the justice dept. refuses to enforce the law, we have a lawless state. Meanwhile the govt. power against its citizens only increases.
Jill,
You are correct about your statement that we have a “lawless” state since the Mukasey Justice department refuses to do its sworn duty. I can only hope that an Obama victory will bring a Justice Department that is not afraid to tell the President(or Vice President) NO when the law requires a no answer.
I’d like an AG who would go after the GOP on RICO. That’s the pattern. The party of my grandfather has become the party of criminals.
And for the record, Mukasey is far scarier than ‘Berto of the Waterboards. He’s complicit AND competent.
Ms. Transparency’s husband just successioned from the union. He ain’t testifying (unless it’s for Jesus). At least some people in AK are fighting back.
Clearly the Alaskan legislature controlled by Republicans will allow this travesty to pass. The fear held by Republican legislators goes two ways: 1. If McCain/Palin wins payback will be a bitch. 2. If the ticket loses payback will be a bitch. Hence they will choose no action to preserve their own necks. The problem here goes far beyond partisan politics. Our politicians, for the most part, no longer feel that ethical and constitutional considerations trump personal interest.
While the argument can well be made that this has always been the case, we have seen instances in the past (i.e. Watergate, Republican support for The voting rights Act)where the interests of the Rule of Law and ethical considerations, have taken precedence over personal interest. In my view, admittedly stated simplistically, the timeline for this failure is as follows:
1.”The Beats” railed against the conformity of the 50′s, with very limited success.
2. Civil Right activists, Anti-War Movement and Hippies had some victories in the 60′s, but scared the hell out of the rest of the country.
3. The Corporatocracy reasserted its control in the 70′s by
successfully selling the “Me Generation” and co-opting anti-establishment “coolness.”
4. Reaganism built on the 70′s foundation and truly ennobled the
“greed is good” philosophy.
5. Clinton threw in the progressive towel in the 90′s essentially embracing and therefore legitimizing a more acceptable form of conservative logic.
6. Bush, utilizing the shock of 9/11 scared people enough that they were willing to give up their rights to be supplied a safety that is only illusory.
The lawlessness has become so pervasive that even as the media reports the Dude’s refusal, it becomes an acceptable option, rather that a cause for national, or even Alaskan clamor.
Mike,
I really agree with you on this and the religious laws anaylsis in your next post. There was a time when “the rule of law and ethical considerations” did trump mindless ambition in an emergency for many more of our politicians than is now the case. This is an emergency–complacent press, complient politicians, terrified public–we need to snap out of it. We did before, I hope it happens this time.
“How stupid are you when you try to show your knowledge of foreign policy by stating “you can see Russia from places in Alaska”.(paraphrased) Only the Republicans could try to get away with someone as inept as Palin.”
******
Not that stupid when alluding to oil and gas production – about which she and her ‘first dude’, who works for BP, do know a smidge.
Again, I do not support McCain AND Democrats WILL lose another election if our loudest message rests, once again, on what idiots the other candidates are. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s pretty evenly split!
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/georgia/oil-politics.htm
Georgia – Oil & Gas Politics
Development of Caspian oil and gas resources and export routes has been slowed by regional conflict, political instability, and lack of regional cooperation. Many of the proposed export routes pass through areas where conflicts remain unresolved. Most of these are in the Transcaucasus part of the Caspian region, where conflicts in Georgia, the Chechnya portion of Russia, and between Armenia and Azerbaijan, hinder the development of export routes westward from the Caspian…
“It is a good thing Sir Thomas More is not living in Alaska. He’d be shampooing the Malamutes and parking snowmobiles for a living.”
***********************
(Richard Rich, who would later accuse More of High Treason, has just left the room after being rejected by Sir Thomas)
Wife: Arrest him!
More: For what?
Wife: He’s dangerous!
Roper: For all we know he’s a spy!
Daughter: Father, that man’s bad!
More: There’s no law against that!
Roper: There is, God’s law!
More: Then let God arrest him!
Wife: While you talk he’s gone!
More: And go he should, if he were the Devil himself, until he broke the law!
Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
Roper: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!
More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?
This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down (and you’re just the man to do it!), do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?
Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!
(Robert Bolt, “A Man For All Season”)
The awfulness of Palin is truly amazing, and the similarities with the Bush administration are frightening. How many other states have administrations like Alaska’s?
I have to agree with Obama-sama. At least ‘Bertie-Baby was too dumb to do an excessive amount of damage, although he did enough. Mukasey’s relatively intelligent. Now that’s scary.
For the same reason, I always thought Jeb Bush would be even scarier than W. as president.
Well, hell yeah, they won’t cooperate with subpoenas. Auntie Sarah will have your head on a platter and your job in tomorrow’s want ads if you don’t “support her office.” She’s fired more administrative officers than a Russian Kalashnikov rifle.
Nothing these people do shocks me anymore. What shocks me is all the nimwits who turn out to cheer Palin/McCain on the campaign trail. All the idiots who still say things like “Well, [fill in the blank] is still the Democrats fault.” All the %*/$heads who still listen to Rush Limbaugh. FauxNews Network. Give me a frickin’ break.
‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’, such quaint terms. Howard Dean’s right, this is much worse than Watergate. The expectation of people in office conforming to any standard of civil decency, much less being held up as good examples, has been so eroded that now it’s questionable whether even the law exists for those in power. They are doing anything they want, like the tin pot dictators and banana republics that we supposedly want to ‘democratize’. How can we have any credibility in the world if we allow our politicians to just ignore the Constitution and the law? I believe that it’s vitally important that we charge and punish this lawlessness, not just ‘move on’, and ‘get past it’, when the new administration comes in. American justice used to mean something, I hope we have the good sense and intestinal fortitude to make it so again.
And I love the idea of the GOP up on a RICO beef, priceless!