The Final Reason Not to Vote McCain/Palin Tomorrow

As if there weren't enough reasons not to vote for McCain/Palin here's another. Not for weak stomachs.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow. Too much is at stake to let this opportunity for hope to slip by.

How Do You Know When Sarah Palin is Lying?

Of the many endearing traits of Sarah Palin that have been revealed to us in the two months she's been in the public eye, none is less attractive than her penchant for lying. And I'm not just talking about little white lies. I'm talking about the kind of whoppers that deserve a whole bar of soap.

What's most unnerving is how good she is at it; the kind of good that says "red" is "yellow"so convincingly that people actually believe it. She's sure got a lot of Republicans fooled. They not only listen to her lies. They repeat them as though they came straight from the mouth of God.

Her biggest whopper was when she was confronted with this:

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 2952.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 2952.110(a) provides

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

to which she responded with this:

"Well, I'm very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."

Then, confronted with the evidence of her excessive expenditures on clothing and accessories to the tune of 150,000 which broke down like this:

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August."

she responds with this:

"It's kind of painful to be criticized for something when all the facts are not out there and are not reported," said Palin, saying the clothes are not worth $150,000 and were bought for the Republican National Convention.

She's also been telling some whoppers about Obama. True, they come mostly from her Republican handlers. But she says them with such relish that you know she's speaking from her heart.

There's the one about Obama being a Marxist (which was convincing enough that a dim-witted local TV reporter fed it back to Biden who was so astonished that he could only say: "Are you kidding?"). And, of course, the one she's been repeating over and over and over again: "He's paling around with terrorists!" (notice the plural). Even McCain found that whopper to be over the top. "Well, you know. Sometimes things get exaggerated in a campaign."

Politicians, we're told, do this kind of thing. They lie. But this is the big leagues; humongous, hit em out of the ballpark lies; all told with such a straight face that some commentators have wondered if she isn't pathological.

The richest part of all this is to hear lying Sarah Palin say that Obama can't be trusted. Not her. Obama. He can't be trusted.

Which for some reason brings to mind that old lawyer joke:



How do you know when Sarah Palin is lying?

Her lips are moving.

Sarah Palin's Fickle Fandango with the Press

According to an Associated Press article which appeared in the Anchorage Daily News this evening, Sarah Palin has not always distanced herself from the press. During her gubernatorial days (ah, the good old days) she couldn't get enough of them. Loved seeing her name in print and her face on the front page. Loved telling them what was on her mind. Back then she was an open book. So what's the deal now?

Apparently the Republican National Committee has been aware of her not-ready-for-prime-time status from the beginning. Which begs the question as to why McCain chose her in the first place. That question can only ultimately be determined by the maze which is the mind of John McCain. But an educated guess is that she has always been more symbol than substance. McCain knew she would whip up support from the right wing of the party. He hoped she would appeal to women, and maybe give a boost to his shaky candidacy. But he and his team knew this would only happen if she could be kept as far away from the press as possible given their tendency to ask uncomfortable questions, the kind that might actually expose her for the empty gesture she is.

What needs to be challenged here is less McCain's right to choose whomever he wishes, but the fact that this person, who may be a heartbeat away from the presidency, continues to play hard to get with the press. She has done no press conferences, taken no questions except in carefully staged venues (even the Katie Couric interview was at a time and with a person of her own choosing), she has not faced what ever other candidate in every other presidential campaign has been forced to face - an inquisitive press doing what they're supposed to do -- ferret out the truth.

Clearly the time has come for the press to demand that Palin step outside the Republican zone of silence. If she refuses, then the press should refuse to give her any air time whatsoever. Let Fox News be the only venue open to her. That should force her out into the open.

Come on, reporters. Show some mettle here! Make Sarah Palin deal with you like every other candidate is forced to deal with you! Don't let her freeze you out!

-----------

Here's the story from the Anchorage Daily News:

At One Time Sarah Palin Courted the Press

By RITA BEAMISH / The Associated Press

Published: October 13th, 2008 12:31 AM
Last Modified: October 13th, 2008 12:52 AM

GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is keeping reporters at arms' length in her campaign, but she had a very different approach as Alaska's new governor: She couldn't get enough of them.

Palin cultivated interviews with local and national journalists and welcomed them from as far away as London, earning time in the spotlight even before Republican presidential candidate John McCain selected her as his running mate.

That contrasts with the restricted access the McCain team imposed after Palin joined the GOP ticket, and the tone of the campaign's current criticism of the media, which is feeding anger among her supporters. People at a Wisconsin rally last week glared at reporters, and one woman called them "a bunch of leftists." Another made an obscene gesture.

FULL ARTICLE

Sarah Palin, Master of Doublespeak

Our favorite Alaskan blogger, AKMuckraker, has just put up a post with the deliciously surreal transcript of a phone interview Palin did with Alaskan reporters giving her take on the Troopergate scandal. Here is political doublespeak at its best - the same kind of dissembling nonsense she tried to pass off in the Katie Couric interview which did more to advance Tina Fey's career than her own.

Be sure to read the whole post as AK's comments put it all in the right perspective.

What was it that John McCain said about nailing jello to the wall? Perhaps he had his running mate in mind. I mean, this is one slick politician, so slick that leeches would have trouble sticking to her.

THE INTERVIEW

Excerpted from Through the Looking Glass with Sarah Palin by AKMudraker.


Palin: Hey, thank you so, Meg. Thank you so much. Thank you also to our local reporters up there in Alaska. Even hearing your names make me feel like I’m right there with you at home. It’s good to get to speak with you. Let me talk a little bit about the Tasergate issue if you guys would let me and, Meg, you want me to just jump right on in there?

Stapleton: Sure governor, go ahead.

Palin: OK cool. Well, I’m very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing … any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that. Todd did what anyone would have done given this state trooper’s very, very troubling behavior and his dangerous threats against our family. Todd did what I think any Alaskan would do.

And he, Todd did what the state’s Department of Law Web site tells anyone to do if they have a concern about a state trooper. And that’s you go to the commissioner and you express your concern. And Todd did what our personal detail asked him to do. Bob Cockrell early on as I was elected and was asked are there any threats against ya, and Todd brought the concern as I did to Commissioner Monegan about the state trooper’s threats. He did what any – I think — any rational person would do so again, nothing to apologize there with Todd’s actions and again very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing.

(Stapleton invites the first question).

ADN: Governor, finding No.1 on the report was that you abused your power by violating state law. Do you think you did anything wrong at all in this Troopergate case?

Palin: Not at all and I’ll tell you, it, I think that you’re always going to ruffle feathers as you do what you believe is in the best interest of the people whom you are serving. In this case I knew that I had to have the right people in the right position at the right time in this cabinet to best serve Alaskans, and Walt Monegan was not the right person at the right time to meet the goals that we had set out in our administration. So no, not having done anything wrong, and again very much appreciating being cleared of any legal wrongdoing or unethical activity at all.

ADN: Have you read the whole report? (No response; Stapleton invites question from KTVA reporter).

KTVA-Channel 11: … The report that came out yesterday, do you think that the end result is partisan?

Palin: Yeah, I did think it did turn into a partisan circus to tell you the truth. Yes I did. You know from Day One it’s been the Personnel Board that clearly laid out in state statute there — Personnel Board deals with any issue of question regarding a governor, a lieutenant governor or an attorney general in the state of Alaska. What this legislative investigation — quote unquote — turned into was a political circus.
.
KTUU-Channel 2: Governor, so good to hear from you. Do you approve of the way that your campaign has handled themselves here in Alaska? We’ve had a lot of people voice concerns about what they call attacks of good people in our state while you are away.

Palin: Well I haven’t heard of any attacks on good people in Alaska from our campaign. If you have specifics there, maybe I could answer specifically. But no, in John McCain’s mission here, in taking the high road, as you’re going to see too with a lot of unfair shots he has taken in this campaign with some of his opponents’ supporters, McCain and I taking the high road, being positive. I wouldn’t support nor would I condone taking shots at any good Alaskans.

KTUU-Channel 2: Let me answer your question since you asked for specifics.

Palin: Sure.

KTUU-Channel 2: Walt Monegan was called “rogue.” How do you feel about that?

Palin: Rogue isn’t a negative term when you consider that in a cabinet you need a team effort going forward with a governor’s agenda. And our agenda has been to find efficiencies in every department and make sure that we are serving the people of Alaska to the best of our ability given the resources that we have. And remember I fought very hard to increase funding for state troopers so that we could fill positions there and goals not being met that included not being able to recruit and retain all the state troopers that I wanted to best serve Alaska. That could be characterized I think as a cabinet member who – it’s not a negative term I think — being rogue in terms of not meeting those goals.



FULL POST HERE

Sarah Barracuda: A Pattern of Guilt

Those who have followed the career of Sarah Palin in Alaska, particularly Alaskans themselves, were not at all surprised by the findings of the investigative committee determining Palin's guilt. She has been engaging in this same kind of vindictive behavior ever since she got into the mayor's office in Wasila.

Here it's good to recall the letter written by a fellow Waslilian who has watched Sarah Palin's career unfold from the beginning. Not only her career, but her life. It hasn't been a pretty sight.

Below are excerpts from a letter by Anne Kilkenny which should have indicated to the McCain staff to proceed with caution with Palin. Or were they looking for someone with a record of petty-minded vindictiveness? If so they found the right person.

The main question here is why would anyone consider this woman suitable for national office.

What were you thinking, John McCain?
----------------

From a letter by Wasila, Alaska, resident, Anne Kilkenny:

• While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed.

• Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited.

• At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal

• As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press.

• She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

• Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness.

Full text on thepresidentialcandidates.us

New Video: Sarah Palin and the Rape Kit Controversy

If you haven't seen this, you should. It's a short professionally-made film on the rape kit controversy. The group (http://www.wasillaproject.com/) who made it plan to make three more films on Sarah Palin before the election.

Who knows, the truth about Sarah Palin may still come out before the election. Before it's too late.

Here's what the project is about. The video follows.

Mayor Sarah Palin and the Rape Kit Controversy Video

Why did we produce this video?

Our initial reason for starting the Wasilla Project was to learn about who Sarah Palin is from the people who know her best, folks from Wasilla, Alaska, Palin’s hometown. A group of 7 filmmaker friends got together, organized the plans, raised money for flights and soon we were off to Wasilla, to interview real people there about the Sarah Palin they know, and make a series of films that hopefully give a thoughtful, authentic view of who she is.

While the team’s political beliefs tend toward left of center, we hope that the films we produce will reach people no matter where they fall in the political spectrum.

FULL ARTICLE

Countdown: Sarah Palin is Unfit to be . . . Governor (facts from 2006)

hours and counting . . . . . .





Fact Check for the Debate


Our favorite Alaskan blogger, AKMuckraker, published a fact sheet about Sarah Palin back in 2006 when she was running for governor of Alaska which may be good to have in front of you while you watch the debates tonight. The value of this is that it underscores the anomolies in Palin's story before she got enmeshed in national politics. This, you might say, is the unvarnished truth.

Note particularly the last point in light of the partisan White House-led firings of lawyers. This is one vindictive lady!

FACTS ABOUT SARAH PALIN
(from http://mudflats.wordpress.com in 2006)

Palin Says She’s a Change from The Scandal-Plagued Republicans, But She’s More of

the Same.

Palin built her reputation on criticizing state Republicans for ethics questions, but Palin has
questions of her own, as she used city resources when she campaigned for Lt. Governor; Palin chaired the campaign of another candidate in a race dominated by resource issues when she was on the oil and gas commission and said that she saw no conflict of interest. For years, Palin supported Murkowski, campaigning for him across the state, and he supported her campaigns as well.

Palin Touts Fiscal Conservatism, But She Increased Spending Tremendously and
Supported Tax Increases.

Palin constantly reminds us that she is a fiscal conservative. But during her time as mayor, she increased the city’s budget at a rate far outpacing the city’s growth with spending on large projects. She supported sales tax increases and left the city with thousands in per-capita debt, where none had existed when she came in. Palin brags about eliminating the personal property tax, butcwith the same legislation, the city increased motor vehicle fees that almost matched the lost income of the personal property taxes.

Palin Is Too Socially Conservative for Libertarian Alaska.

Palin is a strong conservative—something she repeated throughout her primary campaign but now seems to try to back off from. She is not only pro-life but is involved with—and even steered tax money toward—organizations that give misleading information on abortion. She called herself a “hard-core fiscal conservative” who wanted government to get to the bare bones. The Anchorage Daily News asked whether her “socially conservative positions square with Alaska's generally libertarian approach to those issues.” Palin also supported a flat tax, an idea even Bob Dole thought was absurd.

Palin’s Management Style is to Bully and Demand Political Loyalty.

Palin’s tenure as mayor of Wasilla was marred by tremendous staff turnover, first when she fired most of the top staff—including the city’s librarian—because she questioned their loyalty, and then later when staff quit because of her micromanaging style. Wasilla even lost the opportunity to hire a police chief because he said the job seemed too political.

Palin’s Not Ready for Primetime.

Palin argues that she was the mayor of the fastest growing city in Alaska. While that may be true, Wasilla’s population is still 1 percent of the rest of the state of Alaska. The last budget Palin approved, $12.5 million, is .2 percent of the $7.3 billion budget Tony Knowles approved.

Palin’s Not Tough Enough to Be A Strong Negotiator for Alaska.

As mayor, Palin fired someone because she said he intimidated her with his size and because he gave her a “stern look.” She asked her department heads to give her only good news and once complained because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.”

Countdown: Video Highlighting Palin's Debating Skills

More Day Till the Palin-Biden Debate




Want to know what to expect from Sarah Palin tomorrow night? Check out this video compilation put together by Jed Lewison from Huffington Post under the headline:

Why Sarah Palin is a Better Debater Than You Think.

Countdown: Smoking Gun Found in Troopergate!

More Day till the Palin-Biden Debate!



Mudflats: Smoking Gun Found in Troopergate Investigation

Hold onto your britches, boys and girls, the crap is about to hit the fan. According to AKMuckraker, whose site went down yesterday*, a witness has come forth with what appears to be proof that the Palins did, in fact, act improperly in the Troopergate affair. It's serious enough that AKMuckraker predicts it will put an end to Palin's political career.

* - The site is still down, but the old Mudflats site is still up: www.mudflats.wordpress.com. The article is found there

From Mudflats:

I've been waiting for this one. One of the witnesses called by Stephen Branchflower (independent investigator of the legitimate Troopergate investigation) put herself in a tricky spot.

Murlene Wilkes, owner of Harbor Adjusting Services, and holder of a $1.2 million/yr. contract with the State of Alaska to handle workers compensation claims, apparently told a big fat fib. When Branchflower asked her if the governor's office had ever asked her to deny a workers compensation claim for Palin's ex-brother-in-law Trooper Mike Wooten (the trooper in "Troopergate"), she said no. Never. Really.

Mike Wooten, of course, is involved in a bitter custody dispute with Palin's sister Molly. The Palins do not like him. Some say they have made a vengeful and personal sport out of ruining his career.

Problem is, that there are actually honest people in the world....and one of them works for Murlene Wilkes at Harbor Investments. This unnamed worker made a little phone call to the tip line that Branchflower set up at the beginning of the investigation. According to the tipster, yes indeed, the governor's office DID put pressure to deny the claim.

Hard evidence contradicting sworn testimony has a certain effect on people. Murlene Wilkes, faced with this situation, decided to change her testimony according to a report in The Public Record <http://www.pubrecord.org/>. Now, with the little extra incentive of avoiding perjury charges, she has admitted that she *was* asked to deny the claim - *at the direct request of Sarah and Todd Palin.*

*chin hitting desk* (a moment of stunned silence)

Full Article

Sarah Says: Bring it on!

More Days Till the Palin-Biden Debate



from the Christian Science Monitor

Countdown: Women Who Hate Sarah

More Days till the Palin-Biden Debate





While we wait for the debate it may be good to ponder a few interesting developments in the Palin saga. One is the almost visceral hatred certain women have for Governor Palin. And, according to columnist, Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune, it is only tangentially related to her conservative political bent. More to the point is what she symbolizes. Here's what Schmich says:

From: "Tracing Source of Women's Hate for Palin"

I relate to the betrayal, insult and worry the choice of Palin as John McCain's running mate stirs in many women. Do the guys who picked Palin in the hopes of nabbing Hillary Clinton supporters really think one size fits all? We've waited so long for a woman to make it to the White House and the closest we can come is one who can't volley with Katie Couric? And what if Palin's deficiencies make it easier to claim that women aren't fit for high public office? At its most logical, the hatred many women profess for Palin is rooted in the feeling that she has ascended to power she hasn't earned and that she could turn that power against the beliefs and best interests of most women. But the way some women talk about her risks making us look like the very thing she is sometimes accused of being: mean girls. Palin is an ambitious, smart, energetic woman, who through work, luck, pluck and, yes, a ruthless streak common to politicians, has invented an uncommonly full life, which includes being governor of Alaska. There's a lot to admire. If she'd also been wise and humble, she would have said, "Not yet," when she was asked to play in the big leagues. But what gutsy woman would have said no? By the end of last week, even a couple of Palin haters I know had softened, slightly. It hurt to watch her fumble through her interview with Katie Couric and pose nervously with Henry Kissinger. Her weak week was enough to make at least a few people recognize that the real bad guys were the folks who seduced her for their political gain into thinking she was ready.

New Palin-Biden Poll: Alaskans Don't Trust Her Either

First of all, be sure you change the address for our favorite blogger in Alaska - AKMuckraker - who has a new site at a new address. When you go to the old site this is what you'll see:
Same good stuff. New address.

Second, on this new site is another brilliant post about an interesting new poll that has been done in Palin's Alaska and Biden's Delaware. Those who continue to support Palin's ill-begotten candidacy will speak about her off the chart poll numbers in Alaska. Someone that popular has to be good, right? Well, compare her numbers in Alaska to Biden's numbers in Delaware related to confidence in their ability to handle an international crisis (which is a fairly important ability for a VP to have these days) and a different picture emerges. Turns out Alaskans aren't sure about her qualifications either.

Below is a pie-graph showing the numbers. The story about the chart on the Mud Flats site.

Palanisms: One More

Here's another to add to the list:

Comparing the Russian leader, Putin, to a horse (from the Katie Couric interview):

It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where - where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border.

Palinisms!

I just realized why the McCain camp is desperate to keep Sarah Palin away from awkward unscripted encounters with the press. It hit me while I was watching a clip from the Katie Couric interview where Palin was struggling to justify earlier statements she had made about Alaska's proximity to Russia giving her good foreign policy experience. It was painful viewing, kind of like watching one of the less talented performers on American Idol, the kind that get booted in the first go. I mean, what came out of her mouth was nearly incomprehensible.

Here's the reason for sequestering Sarah: Palinisms; which would be the Alaskan version of Bushisms, those comic-ly entertaining malaproprisms that flow so freely from our beloved leader's mouth. I have a feeling, in fact, that stand up comedians are drooling over a Palin vice-presidency. I figure Jon Stewart may even vote for McCain to get her in office given the kind of material he'll have handed him on a platter with Palin's ascendancy.

I intend to start a collection. Hopefully others will, as well. Who knows, this could get to be a new cottage industry. PALINISMS!

Seen on an Alaskan Cruise Ship (from Mudflats)

No comment needed. Story here.

The Latest from Alaskan News Sources

Given how little we continental 48 staters know about the unique perspective of the most surreal state in America (that would be Alaska), it's important that we take the time to read what Alaskans themselves are saying about the phenomenon which is Sarah Palin. Here are a few recent pieces from Alaskan news sources:


From the Juneau Empire:

Lawmakers: Politics 'hijacked' Alaska



From the Anchorage Daily News:

Pale Shade of Green (Palin's poor record on environmental issues)

Abdictation by Palin: When Did McCain Take Over the Governor's Office?

Palin: Fiscal Conservative?




Partisan Diversion (op-ed on Palin's stonewalling)

The Silly Season has Begun: The Latest in the Trooper Gate Scandal

Our friend the AKMuckraker with the Alaska-based blog, Mudflats, has just put up the latest in the increasingly surreal comi-tragedy which is Trooper Gate. This entry is by an Alaskan state senator who, like most Alaskans, is getting a taste of the hard ball politics played by the Republican National Committee who are not only attempting to put a stop to the investigation, but are doing their best to discredit anyone who wishes it to continue.

The best excerpt from this piece , which AK has sub-texted: "Part Karl Rove, Part Laurel and Hardy," and which demands a full reading, is what this senator says about the audacious move made by Palin to investigate herself only to declare herself innocent. Imagine if our judicial system followed the same pattern - letting criminals investigate themselves. It would certainly ease the crowding in our jails . . .

It just gets interestingner and interestingner . .

Here's what he says:

"Last week the Attorney general’s office promised state witnesses would comply with subpoenas issued by the Legislature. On Tuesday the Governor’s Attorney General flip flopped, and announced that state witnesses wouldn’t comply because, well, and I’m paraphrasing here - he’s changed his mind. And in what has to be an idea hatched after a 4th Martini at Chilkoot Charlie’s, Governor Palin’s attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the ethics claim she filed against herself two weeks ago. Yup. She really filed a complaint against herself. Tuesday she said she’s discovered, after a thorough investigation of herself, that she’s done nothing wrong.

Does anyone know how to get a hold of Jon Stewart and Tina Fey?"

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Trooper Gate: the Plot Thickens

Here's a contrast worth noting. First is an excerpt from a piece from Reuters News Service announcing the (surprise, surprise) attempt on the part of Republicans to stop the "trooper gate" investigation of Sarah Palin . Immediately following is an excerpt from a piece written by an Alaskan politician ruminating on how the insertion of national politics into the investigation (by the Republicans) introduced a brand of politics Alaskans are unused to.

Make note of the fact that up to this point Palin has only known Alaskan politics.

First the piece from Reuters:

Alaska Republicans sue to stop Palin trooper probe

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Five Republican state legislators filed a lawsuit in Alaska state court on Tuesday seeking to block Democrats from investigating whether vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power in firing a state trooper feuding with her family. (full story)

* * *

Karl Rove Comes to Alaska

Now an excerpt the piece from the Alaskan politician named Les Gara (from Mudflats), filed under the headline: "Karl Rove Comes to Alaska" last week (before the Republicans invented their fiction about Democratic control of the process):

To get their way, and prevent sworn testimony from leaking out on what I suspect was probably a minor breach by Governor Palin, McCain’s operatives have come to Alaska to add invective in a state where people generally get along. They’ve chosen to vilify: 1) one of the state’s most respected public officials, Senator Hollis French; 2) the state’s most respected law enforcement official, Walt Monegan; and 3) a highly respected former DA and Victims Rights advocate a legislative committee voted 12 - 0 to hire to conduct the investigation, Steve Branchflower.

It’s the ghost of Karl Rove. Say something untrue enough times - like that Al Qaida is training with Saddam

Hussein’s help - and people will believe it. Not this time. I’m not sure if I mentioned a few important facts.

Did I mention that no one ever attacked the Troopergate investigation by Alaska’s Legislature - started long before Governor Palin was placed on McCain’s ticket - until August 29? That was the day Governor Palin joined the McCain bid for the White House.

Did I mention that before the McCain camp got involved, the Governor stated

of the Legislative investigation: “That being the route they choose, so be it. I’m happy to comply, to cooperate.” (KTUU.com, July 24, 2008). She repeatedly stated she’d comply, and that it was the right thing to do.

Did I mention the personal attacks against our local public officials only started after Sen. McCain sent his flacks up to our small state on August 29? They came with a mission to make America believe a Republican-initiated investigation, started with a unanimous committee vote of 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats, was a “partisan” plot. That’s only a tough sell if people know the facts.

Did I mention they now claim the Legislature cannot legally proceed with an investigation into government misconduct (I thought Republicans didn’t like attorneys who made frivolous arguments), and that they are threatening to to go to court to stop it? The Governor’s attorneys started writing those letters on - you guessed it - August 29. Before then they agreed the investigation was proper.

Oh, and what about this. Last week the McCain camp put our Governor in a bizarre position. They told her to file an ethics complaint against herself! Yup, again after her VP nomination. Too weird? What’s behind this move? You guessed it. Lawyers. (FULL STORY)

* * *

And now, as Paul Harvey says, here's the rest of the story. (the latest from AKMuckraker at Mudflats):

Blizzard Warning. Palin Halts Traffic.

16 09 2008

STORM WARNING! The legal paperwork blizzard has arrived. Today we are expecting accumulations of 10-12″ of legal stall tactics, creating hazardous conditions for those trying to navigate through the Palin scandal we have come to know as “Troopergate”. So, before proceeding, make sure you’ve got your studded tires on, and a good shovel. Ready?

Today, five Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit against not only Democratic Sen. Hollis French, who is overseeing the investigation; not only Juneau Democratic Sen. Kim Elton, who heads the Legislative Council, and not only independent investigator Steve Branchflower, but the bipartisan Legislative Council itself. The suit seeks to delay the infamous ethics investigation until after the election on November 4, or to remove French and Elton.

FULL STORY HERE

Bush in a Skirt

It didn't get on the news, but should have. According to AKMuckraker, our favorite Alaskan blogger, the largest political rally Alaska has ever seen took place when Governor Palin left the state this past weekend. It wasn't the rally covered by the national news networks. It was the one that wasn't. It was the "Alaska Women Reject Palin" rally.

Below is the video of the rally. Here's what AK had to say about it:

"Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here."

Videos the Governor Doesn't Want You to See

And now for your viewing pleasure, here are a few videos (including two from Alaskan TV stations) the governor probably would prefer you didn't see.

Make sure you check out the Karl Rove video to hear him make the case against the Sarah Palin choice for VP. Unwittingly, of course.