Sarah Palin the Reformer? Not So Much.

Today, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has told the nation that she refuses to cooperate with the abuse of power investigation underway in her home state.

While vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin claims the mantle of a reformer, she is subverting the investigation into her unethical conduct authorized unanimously by a bipartisan committee of Alaska state legislators. While bragging about her efforts to clean up Alaska politics and end corruption, behind the scenes Governor Palin is using every possible tactic to stymie the inquiry into her own corrupt conduct, including demonizing and refusing to meet with investigators. While Sarah Palin purports to be a reformer who will change Washington, her behavior is vintage D.C.

Simply put, the more things change, the more things stay the same. From the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal to the U.S. Attorney firings by Bush administration officials, we've seen this same scenario play out time after time here in the nation's capitol.

In fact, Palin's behavior is eerily similar to the Bush administration's approach to transparency.

* When confronted with a Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request for documents from the White House Office of Administration ("OA") that relate to the White House's discovery of millions of missing emails, the Bush administration abruptly took the new position that the OA is not an agency subject to the FOIA.

* When confronted with requests for White House visitor records created and maintained by the Secret Service, the Bush administration took the novel position that the records are actually presidential records and are not available to the public under the FOIA.

* Bush White House staff had RNC email accounts on their blackberries to avoid creating public records of their actions.

Governor Palin is using the same diversionary tactics to thwart the investigation into her actions. She even has a similar email scandal brewing. Gov. Palin is using the classic Washington playbook created by elected officials who feign cooperation while doing everything possible to prevent the facts from being gathered.

If, as she asserts, she has done nothing wrong, Governor Palin should have nothing to fear from respected former Assistant District Attorney Steven Branchflower's probe. In fact she, her husband and those subpoenaed should welcome the chance to explain why she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

We are all still waiting for Sarah Palin to do the right thing.

Comments

[TheSamples]

McCain/ Palin 2008 America's Road to Nowhere.

Eight Republicans & four Democrats vote unanimously to investigate and suddenly, after she's chosen as a VP candidate, it's partisan. Her using the government to punish enemies is right out Rove's playbook. The only change she will bring to Washington will be more corruption, she's learning from the best. We'll have to wait and see if the judge is in their pocket.

I don't know about you, but most small towns I have lived in had a good old-boy network. Her supposed fight against corruption, was her way of getting rid of the old boys, and replacing them with her own good old boys and girls. The corruption goes on.