So, "maverick" Palin, who's claim to fame is that she stood up to the corruption of the entrenched politicians in her own party in Alaska, is now turning to that same entrenched political machine to seek a nakedly partisan suppression of an investigation into charges of corruption against her?

I see how this investigation is a political nightmare for McCain-Palin, but what are the next steps and legal ramifications if the investigators find out Palin did use her influence to get Wooten fired?

Can anyone with a law degree (or who knows the law) explain this to me? Is it criminal? Will it lead to impeachment of her as governor?

OT, but the Daily Show had a segment last night you need to see, Steve. A faux-biography of McCain called "Reformed Maverick," narrated by Ian McShane even. It highlighted his flipflops in brutal fashion.

The McCain campaign properly vetted her and realized the way to prove the soulmate did nothing wrong is to close down the investigation and give no comment.

i have friends who keep telling me what a "good" gamble palin was, and i keep saying, no, she was a "stupid" gamble given how little the mccain team knew about her.

and having been up close and personal with her for a week, they now know it too, which is why the team is busy strongarming people in alaksa to stfu.

It looks to me like the Republicans in Alaska trusted what Governor Palin, i.e. I have nothing to hide, and voted accordingly. Now, it appears that Governor Palin had something to hide and the Republicans are scrambling to cover up whatever it is. I can't get over the impression that she is in over her head.

We need to start a campaign to "Remove Palin from the Republican Ticket". She is a DISASTER.

Here is the basic thought: Obama won the democratic nomination by getting more votes. But Biden is a perfectly acceptable choice, and actually had thousands of votes.

Similarly, McCain won more votes than anyone else.

Can anyone ANYONE conceive of Palin running in a primary and winning many votes? Even a few? No possible way.

This simple test demonstrates how FAR FROM QUALIFIED she is.

So, "maverick" Palin, who's claim to fame is that she stood up to the corruption of the entrenched politicians in her own party in Alaska, is now turning to that same entrenched political machine to seek a nakedly partisan suppression of an investigation into charges of corruption against her?

The answer to your question cmdicely is, of course, yes. That is precisely what is happening. I doubt that this will come as any sort of surprise to me or anyone who has seen how corrupt politicians behave themselves. I am, however, curious whether they will actually be able to get away with such a blatant display. I realize the most fervent supporters in the right wing base will have all sorts of rationalizations but doesn't this sort of thing turn off so-called independents.

At this point, I'm just hoping we can get some obstruction of justice charges thrown at the McCain people for trying to block the investigation. I have no idea if it works that way, but it'd sure be nice.

Meanwhile, Sarah Palin just invented a new type of rocket fuel based on discarded mooseheads that really looks quite promising. They say three mooseheads would be enough to get you to the moon and back. She discovered it while giving birth to the new Einstein. His name is Puck and he won a snowmobile race on the way home from the hospital.

Her daughter can own up to a mistake; why can't she?

Bristol Palin has more character than her mother.

Bush/Cheney/Nixon/Agnew redux.

Dems can go and keep on f-ing themselves till they get rid of limpdik leaders.

Will it lead to impeachment of her as governor?

Now that she is the Republican nominee for VP, there is about zero chance that the Republican-controlled legislature of Alaska will impeach her, even if she is caught shooting people from a helicopter.

Behold, Republicans, the government your leaders have given you. Corruption, cover-ups, bad actions, naked abuse of power...can you really justify it all away? My libertarian-leaning boyfriend tells me that you're mostly decent people who don't agree with what your leaders are doing. Who don't think that people should get away with breaking the law just because they have an -R after their names. Who don't hold one group of politicians to a different standard of behavior than you do another.

Is he right or is he wrong? Or will you just respond why whatever a Republican does is ok because Clinton (insert action here).

I realize the most fervent supporters in the right wing base will have all sorts of rationalizations but doesn't this sort of thing turn off so-called independents.

They'll shout 'they all do it' so loud, so often, and so long that the independents will tune it right out.

Because there's no article in the independent creed more deeply and fervently held than the one that states 'they're all the same and there is no difference between them'.

I would have commented about this earlier but I have been in St. Paul.

This is unfair criticism. The party officials I know on the ground there tell me there is no there, there.

Thank You and have a nice day.

McBOC

The investigation is being headed by a Democrat. 'Nuff said - the fix is in. Any result is politically motivated.

Wow, it's easy to be a Republican. You just make sh*t up as you go along. How fun!

See! She IS SO qualified! Suppressing investigations into their own wrongdoing has been a big part of the Bush administration. Looks like she'll be ready to take over on Day One!

Last night there was an interview with Palin's former brother in law, trooper Wooten, on Anderson Cooper 360. Wooten said it was the only interview he was going to do and he wanted to set the record straight about the allegations that Palin has made against him.

The taser charge is the most outrageous-- he admitted to tasering his 14-year old stepson. He said his stepson wanted to know how it felt, so he showed him. Poor parental judgement? Most certainly. But if it wasn't done as pubishment or out of anger then it changes the picture, doens't it?

He admitted to shooting a moose without a permit-- whatev.

He denies ever drinking on duty. No one actually caught him doing so, some witnesses claimed they saw him doing it after the fact.

So basically she more than likely used her office to try and have him fired and then fired the commissioner when he refused to fire him. Then she went public with some pretty ugly allegations so that no one would listen to him. First she agreed to an investigation and now suddenly they're trying to toss it out.

The whole thing really stinks to high heaven and positively screams cover-up. They're acting like she has something to hide, which is only going to draw more attention to the whole thing. We'll see if the MSM actually follows this in a meaningful way.

I think maybe there are more complicated storylines playing out here. Palin is not that popular with a certain segment of Alaska Republicans- were they willing to go along with the Dems to sandbag her? Or was she willing to take her chance with the locals, knowing that whatever shennanigans she'd be up to, they would all "understand" and write it off to being an overzealous sister? Or maybe the state people were genuinely interested in getting the facts on the situation and letting the chips fall, but the national Republicans aren't having any of THAT, now.

What a frikkin' soap opera.

Rick Davis said that this election was not about the issues, it was about personalities.

Well, even if we were to accept that as a basis for voting, keeping the information from the light of day and hiding the governor from the press indicates cowardly behavior. It's hard to believe that the most famous POW in the world is a coward when it comes to disclosing information that could sink his ticket. (He'd rather lose an election than lose a war? Riiiiight.) There is no doubt right now, after running a low-blow campaign through the summer, his now strong-arming the Alaska investigation has lost him whatever shreds of integrity he may have had left.

The personalities voters are getting to see that the personalities of McCain and Palin are much like cockroaches that run when the lights are turned on.

And my friends, that's not change you can believe in.

It seems unlikely that anything revealed by an investigation would shake the (largely fundie) base support for Palin. This is a base not looking for qualifications, or even basic ethics; as the past eight years have shown, this is the base of Godliness and Revenge (tm). Palin exhibits the characteristic traits in spades. Short of revelations that she regularly makes a smorgasbord out of stem-cell lab rejects, nothing forthcoming seems big enough to derail her. And McCain, with his Rove-imposed "choice," is trapped.

The fundie base is irrational, and no one expects their loyalty to waver.

But for any independents, conservative democrats, or any other swing vote demographic, this is nothing to dismiss lightly.

It is telling that McCain would rather take his chances with an obstruction of justice/ the appearance of obstruction of justice than allowing the truth to be disclosed publicly.

Keep in mind, she hasn't cried yet. I would say around mid-October we have that to look forward to.

The whole Troopergate issue and John McCain's attempts to derail the investigation depends on one thing: puplic interest, and I honestly don't think the public cares. I was driving home yesterday with NPR on. Their coverage of Palin was relentless and almost breathless. They mentioned Troopergate, but with a weird "how will our plucky Sarah survive this?" attitude.

I'm beginning to worry. The Republicans have found the silver bullet for Obama. He's been relegated to last year's model. With only 60 days until the election, the Republicans can ride Palin-mania right to the end. Obama's getting zero coverage at this point. Its ironic that they attacked Obama as as "celebrity" and in the end they're riding a wave of celebrity in the final push.

As much as we hate to admit it, this election will come down to personality. It always does. Obama had it won on the issues AND personality, but his star has dimmed in light of this new fascination. Unless there is a real bombshell to be revealed in Troopergate (and I doubt it will be anything the public will much understand or care about) its not a major concern for the Republicans.

When McCain threatened to sue the NATIONAL ENQUIRER about the accusation of Palin's having had an affair, I came up with a theory. It is admittedly a 'crazy' one, but things like this and keeping her away from the press seem to confirm it. Can anyone come up with a better one that fits the facts? (Bear with the build-up, it is part of it.)

First, I never thought Palin was a 'head-fake.' I find it much closer to the Hagee story. McCain made an impulsive judgment to reach out to someone without checking the person out, and suddenly realized the mistake he had made. Only he could just tell Hagee to 'go away.' Once Palin was nominated, he can't do that any more -- and he would be crucified by her supporters now. (In fact, she is probably more popular than he is now among Republicans.)

Second, I've never accepted that the MSM was 'in the tank' for McCain. Many of them -- and many Democrats -- have been 'soft' on him because of his personal story, and because they believe McCain 'used to be' a maverick. (Another thing I never bought into. His 'maverickness' was the only available 'open slot' for him, and it gave him a way of keeping the Keating 5 scandal at bay. As I've said, for the most part, McCain has no principles, not even bad ones.)

McCain knows -- as we too often forget -- that there is a difference between reporters and 'talking heads.' And the one thing that will make a reporter dig harder is to be told a story is off limits, is the scent of a cover-up. And this holds true whether the reporter works for the WaPo or for the ENQUIRER.

Okay, so what does McCain do about the 'affair' story? He threatens the ENQUIRER with a suit, which is doubly ridiculous if he's trying to silence the story.

In the first place, the 'threat' is toothless -- as far as i know, no one can sue someone for libeling someone else. More importantly, the ENQUIRER is used to suits, they know how to fight them, and they will only work harder on the story, finding as many details as possible. (At one time, the ENQUIRER was a total rag that could be ignored, but it has actually started doing serious reporting, as John Edwards found out.)

That fueled my original theory, but the 'emergency request to close the divorce papers' only added to it. It's like there is a red flag waving "Look here, look here." And reporters will go after this, particularly the less scrupulous ones on the ENQUIRER staff.

Then we have the 'keep Palin away from the media' bit. If she went in front of reporters with some memorized talking points, even if she seemed dumber than Quayle, it wouldn't hurt her that much -- since most of the commentators who have already called her the idiot she is already have, but keeping her away fires them up to go after her.

The same with 'covering up the investigation.' If it had come out, she could have just kept on saying 'but he tasered an 11-year old kid' and gotten away with it.

I think McCain is hoping things will come out that will give him an excuse to get rid of Palin -- especially after those fund-raising numbers ($1 million for him, $10 million for Obama) after her speech.

Got a better explanation? Please!

McCain, empty vessell and a shell of a man. The strings hanging from his appendages and mouth are broken and worn. He's a fabricated myth based on some lame idea that we could still win in Vietnam. Palin is the perfect pair for him and no wonder they are soulmates as she too is simulacrum.

I've bee interacting with Republican dead enders on this and they're going down with the plane. Everyone else is screaming for them to pull up, pull up but they are content to point the nose to the ground and step on the throttle.

After concentrating power in the presidency they then nominate a man close to death's door step who is good at taking orders but a loose cannon. They put a number two in charge that has the wires and batteries sticking out of her back.

This is their endgame attempt to destroy the Republic. Any Independent should see what is going on.

Prup consider the last 8yrs. Do the words incompetant,inept, arrogant, criminal neglect, greedy, uncaring and downright evil mean anything to you.

This pseudo-scandal is going to be an embarrassment before it's done. To you, not her. Just make sure everyone hears about the trooper tasering his 11-year-old stepson. The Alaska Democrats are doing what they can to smear her; Green, the legislative leader, even tried to move the state of the state speech date so Sarah could not attend her son's high school graduation. The trooper-ex brother-in-law should never have had a badge. Just don't get your hopes too high. For god's sake, use Google !

::We'll see if the MSM actually follows this in a meaningful way. ::

I wouldn't fucking hold my breath. Remember, this is the crew that still holds Kneepads Judy in the highest regard.

::Unless there is a real bombshell to be revealed in Troopergate (and I doubt it will be anything the public will much understand or care about) its not a major concern for the Republicans.::

I'd say that scandal-hounds will get far more mileage out of what's in those divorce records they tried to suppress than the inquiry they're trying to stonewall.

Can anyone ANYONE conceive of Palin running in a primary and winning many votes? -POed Lib

Well, no.

I mean you are talking about someone who only got 114,000 votes for her current job.

And 600 and 900 for her job before this one.

Hey Mike K. Take your own advice. Green is a Republican. I found that on Google. Just like I used it to find out Palin never actually rejected the money for the bridge, she never actually sold off the jet on Ebay, let alone at a profit, she left her hometown millions in debt, and she misled if not outright lied about her and her family's role in troopergate.
For God's sake, use Google!

Hey Mike K. Take your own advice. Green is a Republican. I found that on Google. Just like I used it to find out Palin never actually rejected the money for the bridge, she never actually sold off the jet on Ebay, let alone at a profit, she left her hometown millions in debt, and she misled if not outright lied about her and her family's role in troopergate.
For God's sake, use Google!

Does anyone think that if the shoe was on the other foot "if this were a Democratic Governor" that the Republicans would not be up in Alaska PUSHING to get this story out ahead of the election?

Obstructing justice is an impeachable offense and these people haven't even won the election yet.

Of course, apparently, we don't impeach anybody anymore...

Mike K is just one of those weak-minded, ignorant, Bush-bootlicking mental slaves of right-wing propaganda who is going down with the bad ship Sarah Rove. Sorry, I meant Karl Palin.

The McCain campaign may succeed in suppressing this particular investigation, but they cannot suppress Sarah Palin's career of mismanagement, corruption and vindictive abuse of power; or her bizarre, extremist, hateful, anti-science and anti-human religious views; or her public displays of despicable bigotry.

Hey Mike K. Take your own advice. Green is a Republican. I found that on Google.

They're going to stop the investigation and the press will do nothing.

We have to win in spite of this.

Sounds like Palin and the Alaskan Republicans have been getting advice from Alberto Gonzales and his ilk. It never surprises me that these hacks will lie and cheat. What disappoints (but no longer surprises) me is that there are substantial numbers of Americans who never question the lies.

Interesting that my post has been deleted but not the snarky replies. The only part your minders allow you to see is my quote of the other comment but my reply is deleted. OK. Stay in the bubble.

You might consider reading this, if your minders will allow you to do so.

[I have not deleted anything you posted today, or for quite some time for that matter. At least not intentionally. In case you haven't noticed, our blog platform is experiencing some problems. --Mod]

Well if dishonest Republican operatives with no credibility don't believer it. . . It must be true. It is a Rove thing. He is opposite man, king of hypocrisy.

Palin has abused power everywhere she has ever been. At each of the five or so colleges she attended, she alienated her peers by the end of the first grading period.

She has a dysfunctional world-view, family, ego, and sense of propriety. Still want to see those medical records--if nothing else to see if she is on anti-psychotic meds.

We should boycott the media. If McCain does not want Governor Palin to answer any questions, McCain and is campaign should not get any media coverage, except where they are campaigning.

Your thoughts anyone?