The Ugly Irony of Sarah Palin's Going Rogue
Going Rogue is the title of Sarah Palin's soon-to-be released memoir. It's cute, it's catchy and it will sell some books. The 400-page tome will hit the shelves on November 17th, with a massive first printing of 1.5 million copies. And each one of those book jackets is another jab at two of the many casualties of the Palin administration in Alaska.
Politico reports that the phrase has its roots in an Oct. 20 story by Slate's John Dickerson, with the lead: "Has Sarah Palin 'gone rogue'?"
But those of us who live in Alaska, and who have been following this story from the beginning, know the real root of that phrase, and will understand the ugly irony of Palin's title.
During the ethics investigation of Sarah Palin now known as "Troopergate," that phrase became seared into the collective consciousness of Alaskans. Palin's spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton used that word referring not to Palin, but to former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan. Palin had pressured Monegan to fire her ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten, whose nasty divorce from Palin's sister had left bitter feelings. Monegan refused to fire him, and was subsequently dismissed by the governor, leaving the Department of Public Safety without leadership and leaving many Alaskans with a bad taste in their mouths.
In a stinging press conference, Stapleton said that Monegan, a particularly well-liked and respected public servant, former police chief and ex-Marine had displayed "egregious rogue behavior." Stapleton, who had been a respected news anchor before her association with Palin, suffered withering criticism from Alaskans on both sides of the political spectrum. Alaska is a small town. Monegan was no "rogue," everyone knew it, and the use of the term disgraced her.
What had Monegan done, according to the governor, that earned him this brand? He had planned a trip to Washington D.C. to seek funding to help combat sexual assault in a state that leads the nation in that category. Rogue, indeed.
In September of 2008, Alaskans for Truth held a rally in downtown Anchorage. More than 1500 Alaskans showed up to protest the administration's handling of "Troopergate," the insinuation of the McCain campaign's attorneys into Alaska's Department of Law, and the outrageous behavior of Meg Stapleton, then Attorney General Talis Colberg, and Palin herself. One of the speakers at the rally was Betty Monegan, the mother of Walt Monegan, who carried a sign referencing the outrageous accusations made by the Palin administration.
But Monegan was not the only one to stand accused of being a "rogue." Mike Wooten, the infamous ex-brother-in-law was called a "rogue trooper" and Palin said he was a danger to her family and to the public. She made it clear that in no uncertain terms that being a "rogue" was not a good thing. These accusations were soundly refuted by Steven Branchflower, an independent investigator hired by the bipartisan Legislative Council to investigate Troopergate.
"I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palins' real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family reasons," Branchflower wrote.The Branchflower report states Todd Palin used his wife's office and its resources to press for Wooten's removal, and the governor "failed to act" to stop it. But because Todd Palin is not a state employee, the report makes no finding regarding his conduct.
The bipartisan Legislative Council, which commissioned the investigation after Monegan was fired, unanimously adopted the 263-page public report...
The Branchflower Report was to find Governor Palin guilty of abusing her power as governor under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Attorney General Talis Colberg would ultimately resign his position, and Todd Palin and several administration officials would be found guilty of contempt of the Legislature for ignoring subpoenas.
Trooper Mike Wooten ended up with a desk job because Palin's accusations that he was a "rogue" and a danger to the public had brought about threats that made it impossible for him to work out in the open as a trooper, despite the findings of the Branchflower Report.
Walt Monegan was denied a request for a due process hearing before the governor-appointed Alaska Personnel Board to address reputational harm because of the insults he endured from an administration who chose to call him a "rogue." That's the same board to which Palin filed a complaint against herself, and was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing.
And now Sarah Palin apparently hopes to make the term "rogue" impish and endearing, and hopes it will help her sell a lot of books. But that term is no such thing to many Alaskans. It wasn't "cute" when it was used as a finely sharpened tool in the Palin toolbox, used to malign the characters of those who stood in the way of her power scramble to become the Vice President of the United States.
She may have fooled her ghost writer, and the folks at Harper-Collins, and she may fool many of those in the Lower 48 who will wait on line for their copy of Going Rogue, but she will not fool Alaskans.
Follow Jeanne Devon ("AKMuckraker") on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Mudflats
Palin's 'going rogue,' McCain aide says - CNN.com
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Funny how there is so much worry about Sarah Palin and her book and her political thinking and career. Why is this the case? Because she has something that about 46% of the voting population likes and apparently likes a lot. She is not stupid, she is actually very savvy and because she exudes authenticity that other politicians seem to be devoid of, she is dangerous to the politicos who are currently in power. Sarah Palin has something that is more than dangerous, because she is real and if real means rogue, then so be it.
Not even 46 percent of the Alaska voting public likes her anymore. She is absolutely despised by the Alaska business community. They consider her an economic nightmare.
This is something the Lower 48 Palinbots don't seem to understand. Her appeal in Alaska is limited to rednecks and yahoos -- a significant portion of the population, yes, but generally the stupid and uneducated portion. Go to any chamber of commerce meeting anywhere in Alaska and you'll see how most community and business leaders feel about her. Hint: They're not admirers.
Sarah has 7 million dollars in her pocket. Now who is the stupid one?
Money can't fix stupid.
She is an idiot. And there are millions who are just as stupid. And they buy ghost-written books by idiots. Palin is still stupid. Money can't fix that.
By your reasoning, Britney Spears must be a lot smarter than Palin.
Wealth does not equal intelligence. All she has going for her is timing, and the Idiocracy - who were looking for a voice - thanks to the Karl Rove playbook, now have one, as she seems to be the emerging leader of his Idiocracy party, as far as I can tell...because who else would cheer and back a quitter, who quit because she was being called to the table for the abuses of her power, except those whose characters mirror her own? I'll bet she was the kind of kid who had all the coolest toys, but took their toys back and went home when the rest of the kids didn't want to play the games by her rules(her toys, her rules - everyone knew that kid, growing up)...she just strikes me as that type...not a quality I would want to see in someone who wants to run this country.
This is entertainment for the unwashed masses, like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars or Wheel of Fortune.
She and her ghostwriter wrote and proofed over 400 pages in 4 months? Give me a break. I write novels and non-fiction, and that kind of production is very difficult, especially if you are making public appearances and wondering where all of the Chachekos and Sourdoughs and dead fish floating down stream are.
I would surmise that if we take a close look at that book, we will see some not too original stuff being carefully passed off as "original" and "creative."
An annotated edition would be very interesting.
I think she meant to say "Going Rouge", part of her "Lipstick on a Pitbull" theme, but did not understand that Rogue and Rouge are two unrelated words.
During the last presidential election campaign, Sarah pointed out that each citizen of Alaska gets royalties from Oil companies operating there.
Obviously she is not opposed to ordinary people sharing in the nation's wealth.
When have you heard other polticians speak like that ?
Yet she accused then-Presidential candidate Obama of being a Socialist and Communist, right?
This Alaskan oil revenue giveaway has been in existence for a long time, Palin didn't create it, if that is what you might be hinting at.
If you are talking about how the state gets royalties from oil produced on state lands, that's a system that was established a long time before Sarah Palin was born. Owners of mineral rights get mineral royalties. That's long-established U.S. law. Under the Alaska statehood act, the state was guaranteed land and mineral rights because it was the intention of Congress to ensure that Alaska state government would be funded at least in part with oil royalties.
If you are talking about the Alaska Permanent Fund, it was created in 1976, when Palin was 12. The dividends began in 1982.
Lower 48 Palinbots somehow credit Palin for things that she did not do, just as they credit her for the morning sunrise. That's because Palin claims credit for other people's accomplishments.
Poetrylark's comment displays loads of ignorance. EVERY Alaska politician talks about how Alaska's publicly owned resources should be managed and how the benefits should be distributed. It's the major subject of political debate, and has been so sincebefore statehood.
I suggest Poetrylark consult the works of Jay Hammond and Wally Hickel, former Alaska governors who have written entire books on the subject.
Note to the world: Alaska has had some intelligent governors, but Palin was not one of them.
I work in a library, so once in awhile I go around and hide those kinds of books around on other shelves. They show up again eventually, but any time lost in the stacks is a gift to mankind.
I thing I love most about Sarah is that she makes liberals foam at the mouth and hide library books. If she was such a dimwit why does she have 7 million dollars in her pocket? Not bad for an idiot. :)
I will state the same thing others keep stating:
Having money can't make you intelligent.
Imagine her dismay when her ghostwriter told her that there was no logical way to type "winks cleverly" into every other sentence.
It's good to know that the subtleties of the former Governor don't go unnoticed and unreported. She is a macabre character in a Grimms fairy tale, not acceptable to readership.
Ew. This is one person in the lower 48 that will NOT be standing in line for her book. And if I see them on the shelves, I will do like I do with Coulter's and Beck's books ... I will hide them.
I wish I had an award to give you for at least taking some action and providing an example. I wonder how many books you can hide by a few authors in a Barns and Nobel? The more I think about it, the more I like it. Thank you!
I can do that too if I wish to.
The best thing anyone can do is to not buy this book.
http://thefunpie.wordpress.com/
I can do that too if I wish to...and will.
But...I thought she'd had the devil cast out of her by good, equally crazy friend from the country of Africa? I don't understand how this could happen!
rogue
–noun
1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.
2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues.
3. a tramp or vagabond.
4. a rogue elephant or other animal of similar disposition.
5. Biology. a usually inferior organism, esp. a plant, varying markedly from the normal.
–verb (used without object)
6. to live or act as a rogue.
–verb (used with object)
7. to cheat.
8. to uproot or destroy (plants, etc., that do not conform to a desired standard).
9. to perform this operation upon: to rogue a field.
From dictionary.com
rogue /roʊg/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [rohg] Show IPA noun, verb, rogued, ro⋅guing, adjective
Use rogue in a Sentence
See web results for rogue
See images of rogue
–noun 1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.
2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues.
3. a tramp or vagabond.
4. a rogue elephant or other animal of similar disposition.
5. Biology. a usually inferior organism, esp. a plant, varying markedly from the normal.
–verb (used without object) 6. to live or act as a rogue.
–verb (used with object) 7. to cheat.
8. to uproot or destroy (plants, etc., that do not conform to a desired standard).
9. to perform this operation upon: to rogue a field.
–adjective 10. (of an animal) having an abnormally savage or unpredictable disposition, as a rogue elephant.
11. no longer obedient, belonging, or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable; deviating, renegade: a rogue cop; a rogue union local.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1555–65; appar. short for obs. roger begging vagabond, orig. cant word
Synonyms:
1. villain, trickster, swindler, cheat, mountebank, quack. See knave.
I like Palin more than McCain, but that is not saying much. The Republican party has long since lost its way so the more politicians that splinter from it the better. I can't imagine filling 400-pages with this topic much less paying to read it. Hopefully by time of the 2010/2012 elections the American voters have 'gone rogue' and voted libertarian because we can't take too much more of the Republocrats.
Libertarians are even more "I got mine, so F you" than the Repubes are. Dems aren't so bad, as they are generally so disorganized that they can't do much damage.
When you stop and think that she produced this book over two months early one has to wonder what she had to say. What she had to say wasn't very much and her life seems pretty empty to produce 400 pages earlier than expected. Most writers usually deliver their manuscripts late. Lots of the book will be commentary and opinion. I don't think there will be much there as often said "there is no there there". Alaska is really a small town and she will hope to not give all the facts but her belief in herself and whatever she did was good and right. I suspect most of the tome will be about the campaign. A lot will be disected but her side will be out there and the discection will occur mostly on TV and radio. What will people hope to learn is part of this amazing story. Very little that they don't already know. A real great part could surprise like a relationship with a moose or something along those lines.
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