Well Why Then Did Sarah Palin Try to Fire the Small Town Librarian?

(Laura Bush: Librarian and Teacher)

I sometimes don't understand the media. Why don't they ask the right follow up questions?

Although banning and burning books worked for Emperor Qin and a few other colorful figures in human history, Sarah Palin and the McCain camp are denying that she tried to get any books banned from the Wasilla Public Library.

Denials are tricky things -- but let's for a moment accept Sarah Palin at her word.

The natural question is then on what grounds did she pursue the firing of the local village librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons.

Is firing the local librarian a normal thing in small towns? After Laura Bush herself has helped resurrect the honor and dignity of librarians nationwide, is it not an odd un-Bush like thing to do to enrage a town by trying to dump someone who checks books in and out and promotes literacy?

Why? Why? Why? Why did Sarah Palin try to fire the Wasilla librarian? That is the question that anyone with the chance to pose a question to Sarah Palin should ask.

Maybe Laura Bush can email her for us?

-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note

Comments

[bdaved]

We are told that Governor Palin's library inquiries were merely rhetorical questions. Tonight, when your head is resting on your own pillow, think of some provocative, merely rhetorical question and ask it of your spouse or sweetheart. Then see how well that "It's just a rhetorical question" thing works out for you...swee­t dreams...

[OlderBudWeiser]

One easy solution on banning, relilgion and all the rest. Vote for Obama. Palin will snow shoe back to the tundra from whence she came and get on with "life happens." Simple. Don't like where you are in life and for the last 8 uears? Simple. Vote Obama/ Biden and all this dissolves. Simple!

[Cramus]

Palin is not qualified, but in reality you don't have to be qualified to get voted into office. Democrates are desparate. The stuff the democrats come up with gainst her is lame. Whoever gets the most electorial votes wins. We have the right to elect unqualified people into office. The Republicans have mastered that. When the Republicans do put qualified honest people on the the ticket, that will be the day that they lose

[guntotinganglion]

Well, I must admit, that any ignoramus can be President, unless they're poor. Only wealthy ignoramus's need apply, or at least ones who have backers who are filthy rich (emphasis on the filthy). Just look at Bush, he's an ignoramus, and he got elected twice...so I can see that the concept actually works...an­d incompetence is it's own reward (along with war profits).

The entire discussion of competence started with McCain challenging Obama on his level of experience. All of the challenges of Palin have come as a result of that. To claim foul, when you started it...well, let's just say there's a word for people like that...HYP­OCRITES!

[IowaCali]

Why doesn't our illustrious press contact the citizens who rallied around the librarian and ask them what happened? Come on, how difficult is it to get information on this woman?

[hunglikejesus]

It's like this:
1.It comes to light that, as mayor, Sarah Palin tried to strong-arm the town librarian into banning books.
2.This revelation is pure blogosphere gold, and spreads fast.
3.Within days, a bogus list of books-to-be-banned appears (I hadn't seen it). This list is immediately and easily exposed as a fraud through the major corporate media outlets. The lasting impression the slackjawed general public is left with, is "book banning + sarah palin = fraud", because almost no one bothers to read beneath the headlines.
4.Another straw man victory for the Rove team.

[BluesDogLefty]

exactly

exactly

[loria]

From factcheck.org:

Moreover, although Palin fired Emmons as part of a "loyalty" purge, she rehired Emmons the next day, and Emmons remained at her job for two-and-a-half more years. Actually, Palin initially requested Emmons’ resignation in October 1996, four days before the public discussion of censorship. That was at the same time she requested that all four of Wasilla’s department heads resign. Palin described the requests as a loyalty test and allowed all four department heads to retain their positions. But on Jan. 30, 1997, three months after the censorship discussion, Palin informed Emmons and Wasilla’s police chief, Irv Stambaugh, that they would be fired. According to the Chicago Tribune, Palin did not list censorship as a reason for Emmons’ firing. Palin rehired Emmons the following day. Emmons continued to serve as librarian until August 1999, when the Chicago Tribune reports that she resigned.

WHAT THE HELL IS A LOYALTY PLEDGE?

[kjdwyer]

Factcheck.org fails to point out that the only reason Palin re-instated Emmons was that there was a huge outcry from the community in support of the librarian and it was only then that Palin relented.

[08politicaljunkie]

I read somewhere, and I'm sorry I don't remember the source, that they contributed to her opponent's election campaign -- therefore, she felt they would undermine her

[BMS]

A loyalty pledge is what Joe McCarthy advocated for. Although if I'm not mistaken they called it a loyalty "oath." It's a way to separate the real americans (those who support Sarah the Tyrant) from the rest of us fake americans.

[JennyJay]

You may think that Laura Bush tried to "resurrect the honor and dignity of librarians nationwide",
yeah, but at the same time her ignorant husband cut all the funding for libraries.
Laua's time would have been better spent if she had resurrected her husbands attitude.

[BluesDogLefty]

“This is categorically false. The fact is that as Mayor, Palin never asked anyone to ban a book and not one book was ever banned, period,”

He's correct. She never banned books nor did she actually ask to ban books.

She just asked what specifically what the procedure was for banning books and then asked if the librarian would object.

She needs to asked directly in this specific context what she intended. Why ask about the procedure to ban books? Why ask if the librarian would mind banning books.

I am sure they will have some spin even if these actual questions get asked.

But, of course, it is obvious; the religious right would love to ban books. What are we children? Of course, we know what she wanted to do. And then the librarian said "no"--and Palin let it go.

[qwr]

Why ask three times? The first answer wasn't good enough for her?

[cheferic]

If you want someone to order a pizza ,just keep saying the word pizza and show them pictures of pizza.
pizza ,pizza,pizza .pizza,piz­za.Palin,P­alin,Palin­,Palin,Pal­in understand?
So tonight when we eat pizza,perhaps we can contemplate Barack Obama ,remember him? Here's an idea ;why don't we talk about ' him ' and get ' him ' elected! Do we have a picture of Michelle O'bama reading to children to show how Democrats will help children?In juxtaposition to the Republicans who are taking up all of our time and the entire Huffington Post ;where 15 pages of Sarah Palin articles are swamping the ENTIRE political debate?Oh and lets not forget the IMPORTANT issue -who almost fired the damn librarian -in Alaska no less.

[08politicaljunkie]

Good point.

[MrMopar]

Palin never fired the librarian. The librarian was sent a letter of intent to terminate that was later rescinded. She ultimately resigned her position several months later.

[MaryfromMontcoPA]

No, Palin didn't fire the librarian. But Palin most likely knew perfectly well that the library had in place an effective method for citizens to challenge keeping any book in the library's collection.

Any supervisor who repeatedly confronts a subordinate with a question like how would you react to banning books, is pushing hard on that subordinate. The librarian, the former head of the state's librarian association and no slouch, replied clearly that there are procedures and standards in place for the books in the local libraries, and that the librarian would insist on following these, and not cooperate with any attempt at "book banning".

Palin's flippant personnel firings about "loyalty" to her (I read "obedience") and her determination to fire those city employees who supported her opponent show her innate authoritarian leanings and anti-bipar­tisanship.­.

"My way or the highway" ? Eight years is way more than enough of that!

[StarThrower]

Palin tried to fire the librarian for giving the wrong answer when Palin asked if she'd censor books when she asked her to do so. The shocked librarian said NO. Shortly afterward, the librarian received a letter telling her that she would be fired, but due to public support for the librarian, Palin had to let her keep her job. Palin's statement for wanting the librarian fired was that she didn't fully support her and had to go. The following is from the "Anchorage Daily News" (Sep. 4):

WASILLA -- Back in 1996, when she first became mayor, Sarah Palin asked the city librarian if she would be all right with censoring library books should she be asked to do so.

According to news coverage at the time, the librarian said she would definitely not be all right with it. A few months later, the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, got a letter from Palin telling her she was going to be fired. The censorship issue was not mentioned as a reason for the firing. The letter just said the new mayor felt Emmons didn't fully support her and had to go.

Emmons had been city librarian for seven years and was well liked. After a wave of public support for her, Palin relented and let Emmons keep her job. . . .

(More of this article follows with more details)

[nicciaugust]

Then why did she intend to terminate the librarian?

[JeanPaulSatire]

MrMoper (and you *do* have lots to mope about), you are wrong on the facts and wrong in your implied conclusion.

First, the "letter of intent to terminate" was a hollow bluff and evidenced bad faith on Palin's part in that she was seeking to fire a civil servant for not supporting her politically. Clearly, the letter actually was intended to encourage Emmons to resign or it would have been a termination letter. Emmons, knowing she was on solid ground, essentially told Palin to pound sand, she was staying. The letter was never rescinded, Palin simply caved.

Second, your time-line is ridiculously truncated and incorrectly gives the impression Emmons was quick to leave. The letter was sent a few months after Palin became mayor in 1996 and Emmons left in the last half of 1999, NOT "several months later."

The implied conclusion that you reach, that Palin's actions were harmless simply is ludicrous. Palin attempted to demand political loyalty from Emmons, a civil servant, and threatened her job if she didn't agree to showing it.

The country would be better off if we had more civil servants like Emmons and fewer (as in 'zero') politicians like Palin.

[loria]

From factcheck.org bout the resignation of the librarian and three other town officials. They were asked to resign their positions as a sign of loyalty to Palin, the mayor of a very small town. Included in the four is the Chief of Police, who she later fired. Does this sound to you like she was politicizing these positions? What is a loyalty pledge? This sounds like Monica Gooding who politicized the federal judges.

Factcheck.org - Moreover, although Palin fired Emmons as part of a "loyalty" purge, she rehired Emmons the next day, and Emmons remained at her job for two-and-a-half more years. Actually, Palin initially requested Emmons’ resignation in October 1996, four days before the public discussion of censorship. That was at the same time she requested that all four of Wasilla’s department heads resign. Palin described the requests as a loyalty test and allowed all four department heads to retain their positions. But on Jan. 30, 1997, three months after the censorship discussion, Palin informed Emmons and Wasilla’s police chief, Irv Stambaugh, that they would be fired. According to the Chicago Tribune, Palin did not list censorship as a reason for Emmons’ firing. Palin rehired Emmons the following day. Emmons continued to serve as librarian until August 1999, when the Chicago Tribune reports that she resigned

[JestMe]

Face it. Palin is a self designed egocentric terror on wheels. She is constantly showing who is boss and I bet her hubby is right by her side,..and two steps behind her, picking up the scraps like a ramora following a shark. When he's not breast feeding, he's just trying to stay on her good side. I feel bad for him. She has to go.
Lets get to the real issues of the poor shape our country is in. The Republicans caused it. Obama and Biden care enough to fix it.
Obama/Biden '08

[JScott]

She wanted to stop that pro librarian agenda.

[ellocoliberal]

The Librarian's Union is crushing this country. Nearly drove Wasilla out of business completely.
Palin will continue to stand up to the "old boy's" Librarian Union, like the maverick she is currently pushing along on tour.

[ErikW65]

Why did Palin fire the Librarian? My understanding is that the Librarian was deemed to be disloyal to Sarah for objecting to the idea of banning any books that the Library had. This fits in with her management style: overbearing and not working for the public's good; using government as a tool to aid industry and big business, or else to bleed government dry in order to destroy it or leave it ineffective at regulation.

[redsongia]

And a totally too-favorable story on CNN how the "book banning" was a hoax, glossed over this by pointing out a list of actual books circulating on the internet was a "hoax" banned book list...but the story about the librarian is NOT a hoax, and the report did not make that clear.

Anyway, GOP is probably in favor of book banning, so proving this story would only be one more thing that would "electrify the base" right up there with destroying the environment and banning all forms of contraception and education. She's a beautiful example of a true "dark - ages" candidate.

[vincealy]

As the real candidate Rick Davis said Palin does not have to answer questions.

[Mike789]

Incredible. Palin's up there at the GOP Convention snidely besmirching the Dem.(s) with a supercilous and condescending manner. It's all right for her to dish it out, but she's can't take it. What kind of flippin" ( and I do not mean flippin') crock of hocum is this? The audacity of the priviledged class?

[Tom Joad]

one wonders what books, if any, Sarah Palin reads.

[readytsf]

You need to change the name of this site to "The Palin Post".....­..........­...Smells a lot like......­..........­..fear....­..........­.