In an interview with the Juneau Empire, Governor Sarah Palin blamed the lies of the blogosphere and e-mails from members of the public (also known as constituent voices) for the defeat of Wayne Anthony Ross for Attorney General.
The vote was the first in state history to defeat an AG appointee and went down 35-23 last Thursday. Not only was Ross the first AG to not be confirmed, according to Legislative Research Services, it was the first time in state history a head of a state agency has failed to be confirmed by the Legislature. At the time of the vote, Palin was pandering, attending an anti-choice fundraiser in Indiana.
"A great problem was public lies were told about Mr. Ross," Palin told the Juneau Empire.
The one example she cited was "he being engaged in a machine gun shoot on somebody's property down in Seward, and there were witnesses to such a thing, and he'd never been there," she said. "That's just one example."
It is true the Alaska blogosphere was rabid about the nomination of Wayne Anthony Ross. The example she cited DOES NOT EXIST.
Palin was referring to a fundraiser held by Congressman Don Young last August in Seward, Alaska. It was the second such fundraiser that included machine guns, targets, dry bombs, turkey, potato salad and s'mores. A Seward resident mentioned the swans in the swamp not being quite the same. Wayne Anthony Ross's name was not mentioned. This allegation was never brought up during the judiciary process.
Feeling like an endangered species, Alaska progressives are tight. The Alaska Bloggers are tighter. Right after the nomination of Sarah Palin for VP, Wasilla blogger, musician, professor, and all around renaissance man, Phil Munger, threw a party at his home-the first of many. Secrecies were sworn; we were not alone in front of our computers-we had each other; Mudflats, Immoral Minority, Writing Raven, Celtic Diva, Progressive Alaska, Alaska Report, What Do I Know, and myself, Just a Girl From Homer. Documentary crews interviewed us and protected anonymous identities at the time.
What we were going up against was so much bigger than any one of us. We'd email or call each other daily. We'd comment on each other's blogs. We shared a community and a desire to make Alaska better. We told each other when we were wrong.
As a group, we're like herding cats. But Sarah Palin is right; we made a difference. As proud as I am of my fellow Alaskan activists, we didn't defeat her attorney general nomination. She did. Sarah Palin chose an unqualified candidate and then left him to sink his own ship.
The collective effort to defeat W.A.R. was fierce.
The Leah Burton letter went viral. Her testimony of Ross's statement "If you can't rape your wife, who are you gonna rape?" stood firm. It went into the record and she held up under cross examination by the legislators.
The Alaska Federation of Natives has considered Ross an enemy for decades. He had no defense.
His vile phobic reaction to the rights of gay and lesbian Alaskans, likening them to lima beans, demonstrated he was clearly not qualified for the job. When given the opportunity to repudiate unambiguous bigoted anti-gay statements, Ross refused.
Wayne Anthony Ross lied to the legislature in the last hours before his nomination and got caught. Sean Cockerham, reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, posted the tape of Ross which contradicted his written denial; we bloggers reported it, hardly making it our fault.
I was waiting to hear who would be faulted for the largest political defeat in Alaska history, short of an election. Who would Sarah blame? Mudflats, Diva and I speculated last Thursday at a "victory dinner." We knew it wouldn't be W.A.R. or herself.
When it comes to taking responsibility for her failures, Sarah Palin is George W. Bush with lipstick; nothing is ever her fault.
Troopergate was her brother-in-law's fault. Walt Monegan was a rogue commissioner. Her pro-Pebble Mine stance during a contentious election was the fault of a "Governor's hat" wardrobe malfunction. Her criticisms when her witch hunting, governor-anointing pastor, Pastor Muthee, was exposed, were the fault of people who hate Jesus. Her failed interviews were Katie Couric's and Charlie Gibson's fault. Her exorbitant wardrobe was the RNC's fault. Her charging the state per diem to sleep in her own bed and flying her family around the country at state expense weren't her fault. Her daughter's problems are Levi's fault. Her VP political loss was John McCain's fault. Her image problems are Tina Fey's fault. Turkeygate was the cameraman's fault. Her policy on aerial wolf hunting was Ashley Judd's and Outsiders' fault. The empty Juneau Senate seat wasn't on her, it was the Senate Democrats' fault.
Whose fault was it that W.A.R. was rejected?
Whose fault was it that your bills failed in Juneau?
Whose fault was it that you didn't sign SB89 supporting WWII troops?
Whose fault was it rural Alaska was damn near starving this winter?
The Alaska bloggers?
No, Governor Palin, your losses are your fault.
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Palin favors spiritual warrior types and caricatures who appeal to her evangelical base. The public favors government types with at least some semblance of humanity and credibility. WAR is a spiritual warrior centuries behind our times and not the kind destined for sainthood. This nomination irreversibly damaged her credibility and the bipartisan defeat sent a strong message to future Governors of the state. Whether Palin understands that message or not remains to be seen.
Decrepit in respect for the public's interest, Palin's choice highlighted the need for an Attorney General elected by the public not selected by the Governor. Her previous AG, Talis Colberg was another disaster who resigned in disgrace for mishandling Palin's Troopergate.
I believe another need surfaced. The state government should have its own Solicitor General selected by the Governor. Without an SG, conflicts of interest exist when the AG represents both the public and the state government. Troopergate is one example.
The AG and SG function in the interest of the public and the state government, respectively. Palin won't be the last Governor of ill repute and all Governors at some point will need legal representation or advice. Let that be provided by the SG. The AG can function for the public with minimal conflict of interest. The Department of Law will have to be restructured to accommodate both the AG and the SG but that shouldn't be an impediment.
Maybe bloggers can help make that happen.
Palin is more comfortable with media members in tabloid publications, FoxNews, and a freelancer named John Ziegler. She prefers to be interviewed as a celebrity, not a politician or a statesperson. Columnist Bill Kristol at FoxNews supported Palin at a cost to his integrity or what remained of it. Some think he lost his NY Times column by defying contractual obligations when he advised and consulted Palin.
Her accusatory clustering of bloggers as anonymous liars wearing jammies and blogging from basements is clearly a demonization intended to arouse sympathy from her supporters. Neglecting that she is a mocked caricature in her own right, she depicts opponents as caricatures for her base to condemn. Her base doesn't appreciate what Gibson, Couric and Williams discovered. Instead, they are regarded as evil doers for making Palin look bad.
Unfortunately for Palin, she underestimates her negative impact on the voting majority that's fed up with evangelical intrusion into our government and society. The only way she will enter the White House is when wearing a visitor's badge.
Palin's outlook on the media involves more than rumors. She divides media members, bloggers, etc. into two types. Those for her and those against her. Her Lilliputian spiritual mind demonizes opponents and blesses supporters. Whether someone interviews, reports or opines in a column, her critierion is her public standing. Whoever makes Sarah look good, supports her points of view without confirmation or checks, doesn't ask any hard or tricky questions, and doesn't oppose her spiritual warriorism is her type. Truth is not essential. Upholding her image is paramount.
Obviously Gibson, Couric, Williams and a few others in the traditional media who generally practiced more rigorous journalism during last year's election are not suitable for Sarah but they gave the public valuable insight into her background and scant qualifications. She disregarded her ignorance in national and international matters and blamed them. Palin's message to the traditional media is this. A strong background in professional journalism handicaps or disqualifies anyone wanting to interview her.
Columnist Kathleen Parker told Palin to step down from last year's presidential campaign. Columnists Peggy Noonan and David Brooks threw her under the bus in private and praised her in public. If her treatment of Beth Kertulla is one indication of Palin's vengeance, these columnists won't interview Palin.
Given this, what chance do bloggers have for interviews? Like it or not, the blogosphere is part of the press and Palin defies the Constitution by opposing freedom of the press.
Most egregious of WAR's recent faux-pas was his pronouncement that it didn't matter whether the process Palin was using to select a Democrat for the state senate was legal or illegal; they all just needed to get on with it. This is the kind of thinking one wants in a state AG? Ross was confused, as is Palin. He was not being asked to be her personal lawyer. He is supposed to uphold the state constitution and state laws. Palin too needs a primer in what an AG is.
What a pair of bozos. May AK keep her as their own. The rest of us are wiping our brows when we consider how close we came to having her in D.C. SCARY.
Palin's personal image is burdened by her character flaws and those among some of her family. No one's character is perfect and reasonable minds don't condemn the Palins for their character flaws. They condemn Sarah's hypocritical portrayal of her family as a 50s TV family, the dissonance between values touted and practiced lifestyle, the gap between her Godly image and sinful life, the demand for privacy when she flaunts her kids to the tabloids, her lip service to special needs children while axing their programs, etc.
Sooner or later, Bristol Palin will have to explain why she doesn't obey the state's laws on parental rights and denies Levi his full visitation rights. The governor is witnessing her daughter break state law and isn't doing anything about it. Could this be another ethics violation for Sarah?
Sarah Palin has serious obstacles to overcome. If she can't resolve a minor visitation rights dispute in her own family, how can she convince the country she can resolve a dispute between two countries? Hint, bombs and tabloids aren't the answer.
Imagine someone with a sophomoric mind and the temper tantrums of a mean girl sitting in the Oval Office. Alas, it's a dream she will not realize and a nightmare we will avoid with the help from bloggers.
Palin ruthlessly threw friends and supporters under the bus for higher ambitions. Her first Attorney General Talis Colberg got burned and resigned in disgrace. Her next AG nominee Wayne Anthony Ross (WAR), was prematurely and illegally assigned as the state's AG before the Legislature voted on his nomination. Ross is disliked by many for his bigotry, belligerence and sexism. During the eleventh hour, he placed a straw on the camel that broke its back. He told the Legislators to ignore legalities and illegalities of this nomination and appoint him per the governor's wishes. The Legislature said thanks but no thanks.
Last year we saw Sarah's shocking ignorance in foreign affairs. We must diffuse our enemies with diplomacy, not aggravate them with more neocon Bush hegemony. Last year, Palin didn't rule out newkewlar weapons for the Middle East or war with IRAN. Recently, she condemned North Korea's missile launch and complained about proposed cuts in our missile defense. She can hardly wait to get her hands on the "Nuclear Football" (google it) and the country's money for more weapons. All in the name of God's will but she won't admit that in public.
Since last year's general election, her popularity and credibility plunged. Instead of achievements, she racked up failures, resentment, disappointment, and ethics violations. She upset enough Republicans in and out of government to compromise her gubernatorial standing. Instead of governing with wisdom and responsibility, she governs with immaturity and impunity.
First she was for this then she was for that. Her mind sways to political winds. She supported the bridge to nowhere then rejected it. She supported Ted Stevens, rejected him then pulled him out from under her bus and treated him to lunch. She refused to accept a legislative compromise to her parental consent bill for underage pregnant girls. She said she won't accept a bill that permits notification only. Days before the vote, she informed the Legislature she will accept a notification only bill. She got neither, the bill stalled.
She rejected stimulus funds intended for education and special needs children then asked without adequate explanation for $9 million towards one of her dream projects, the bullet gas line. She prefers bridges and roads to nowhere be built instead of sending kids to their future with no education. Good education creates far more many jobs than construction but the mother whose two oldest kids dropped out of high school doesn't understand that concept.
She fiercely opposed candidates nominated by the Democratic State Senators to fill Kim Elton's empty Senate seat. After weeks of her childish petulant behavior, she gave in just hours before the Legislature adjourned this year's session.
Many in the Lower 48 think Palin led the construction of a pipeline. How will she explain to them that no new pipeline was built because of her? That's it's all on paper and cyber space?
Excellent piece Shannyn. Many thanks to you and the bloggers who exercise their freedom of speech and uphold democracy by participating in public affairs. While we need professional journalists, bloggers are welcomed participants. Before internet blogging, communication between government and the public was basically one way. Some readers or viewers wrote letters or called the media and government but they were few in number. Voters had the greatest power during elections. That's still true today but blogging supplemented the public's power by making it better informed. No wonder why so many politicians misunderstand or oppose this new democratization.
Sarah Palin is one such politician. She opposes bloggers because she abhors transparency. She relies on rhetoric over substance for popularity. Sarah faces an uphill climb on two fronts, professional and personal. The one most harmful to her image is Sarah herself.
Thanks to more thorough vetting by the national media, more was discovered about Palin during last year's presidential general election. By Election Day, she failed to obtain the confidence of the majority of voters.
Elected politicians carry the burden of living in a fish bowl. More and more, the public demands solid character in addition to good professional qualifications. Generally, the public is generous with privacy and gives politicians leeway till they mess up. Who has messed up more in the state than Sarah?
Sarah Palin-Tonya Harding 2012, ALL THE WAY!