It's nice to be totally vindicated...almost one year later...

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 01:39:19 AM AKDT

Back in August 2008, the evening after Sarah Palin was chosen as McCain's runningmate, I was still in Denver after the Democratic Convention.  That evening, I got a call telling me something interesting...that McHugh Pierre, acting spokesperson (at that time) for the Alaska Republican Party, had inadvertantly revealed that the McCain people were coming in tomorrow to do their " investigations".

This was AFTER she was selected for McCain's runningmate, making all those stories about the "lack of vetting" accurate, right?

Well, the McCain camp came up with an obfuscation that was just the beginning of a pattern that followed through their campaign and into Sarah Palin's own Gubernatorial career.  They claimed that Obama "air-dropped" an army of lawyers to Alaska to research Palin themselves.

Riiiiiiight...

Well WE KNEW that it was false at the time, however it took Vanity Fair in June 2009 to prove it.

In Todd S. Purdum's August 2009 article, he gives us some assurances in the beginning:

As John McCain's top campaign officials talk more candidly than ever before about the meltdown of his vice-presidential pick, the author tracks the signs-political and personal-that Palin was big trouble, and checks the forecast for her future.

A little farther into the article, we get this:

After she was picked, the campaign belatedly sent a dozen lawyers and researchers, led by a veteran Bush aide, Taylor Griffin, to Alaska, in a desperate race against the national reporters descending on the state.

So there it is.  There was no "airdrop" of lawyers from the Democratic Party, they didn't even come in with the primary goal to do a Troopergate cover-up, as a collegue and I surmised.  The lawyers WERE sent by the Republicans and for exactly the reason I originally posted...to vette her after the fact.

I guess "better late than never" applies here.

Here is the latest "CALL TO ACTION" from the Alaskans for Truth website

by: Celtic Diva

Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 16:33:15 PM AKDT

Alaskans for Truth Supporters:

Two prominent Alaskan politicians have demanded an apology from the McCain Campaign for their libelous/slanderous smears of former Marine and long-time Alaska Public Safety leader, Walt Monegan.

Gail Phillips, Former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives and Chancy Croft, Former President of the Alaska State Senate make a clear and respectful request to John McCain and his Campaign to undo the damage the misnamed "Truth Squad" did to Walt Monegan's reputation, his employability, and his emotional well-being as well as the well-being of his family and friends.

We are asking all of you to help in this endeavor.

Please email this to your lists and send respectful letters (Gail Phillips has given us all permission to copy any part of their letter we may wish) to the address below, asking for an apology for Walt Monegan:

Honorable Senator John McCain
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215

(CC is discussing this on her show "Cutting Edge" today (3:00 - 6:00 pm Alaska time) http://www.kudo.com.)

The letter is below:

Sarah Palin's Supreme Court Stumble (With note from Celtic)

by: Elstun

Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 23:20:02 PM AKDT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

I wish I would have had 5 minutes with her. I would have reminded her that her beloved 'Federalist' Court F****d Alaskans with their decision on the Exxon V. Baker case in which SHE FILED AN AMICUS BRIEF!

The fact that she could only recall Roe V Wade tells us volumns about where her head is at with respect to the Supreme Court. The fact that she couldn't remember her own brush with the Court tells me that she has already moved on and forgotten about us.

Oh boo-hoo....

***NOTE FROM CD***

A prominent Alaskan and reader of the blog sent an email that tied into the same discussion my husband and I had about this:

Re Palin's Supreme Court case comments (in which she was asked to state cases with which she disagreed??):

She mentioned Roe v Wade.

She failed to mention the Exxon valdez case.

Not only does that have potential huge implications in Alaska- I'm wondering if it might elsewhere that she failed to mention that a "Big Oil" company was let off the hook by the Supreme Court in a major environmental case and she didn't comment.

Figuring out the best way to spread the word

by: Celtic Diva

Sun Sep 21, 2008 at 08:54:42 AM AKDT

Last week's AK Women Reject Palin Rally

Last week, a group of organizers put together a great show of support for women and women's issues around the state in the "Alaska Women Reject Palin Rally."

This week a number of people have said they are not done, they want more ways to get involved.

A group of us are getting together tonight to discuss this.  While another possible rally is on the list of possibilities, we will also be exploring the best ways to get the information out and raise awareness of the truly heinous issues which have come to light as a result of the Palin Candidacy.  Most important, something must be done about the McCain Campaign takeover of the Alaska Department of Law as well as the horrible smear campaign against our fellow Alaskans like Walt Monegan.

Any input you may have that I can bring to this meeting is VERY WELCOME.  Please feel free to leave comments or write diaries.  The meeting is this evening.

Troopergate Question 2: What did Sarah Palin claim to "veto" in the budget and why be vague?

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 18:14:00 PM AKDT

Several hours later, I got a call.  At that time, Walt Monegan wasn't talking to anyone.

He wouldn't really discuss much.  I wasn't allowed to take it on the record.  He made it clear to me how important the sexual assault issue was to him.  In response to my question about what was going to happen now that he was gone, he stated he "would hope" Governor Palin would continue to work towards a solution to the problem.

The way he said it wasn't very convincing.

As ABC reported yesterday (they've got 8 people up here in Alaska right now, by the way):

"She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children. . . we haven't been on her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Juneau-based group is an umbrella organization for shelters and anti-violence programs around the state.

State troopers respond to most domestic violence calls outside of Alaska's major cities, but they're too short-staffed and under-funded to do it well, according to Robert Claus, a recently retired trooper.

"The training says you always respond to domestic violence with two people, [but] for most of my career that hasn't been possible," said Claus, who lives on the remote island he patrolled for 15 years. "So how do you go down the list and do what you're supposed to do  separate the people, transport one person while taking care of the kids and victim? You have to pick and choose. We haven't seen the money to do that."

Troopergate Question 1: So where did Meghan Stapleton get that big binder?

by: Celtic Diva

Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 17:01:15 PM AKDT

So the question posed to me earlier:  how did they get all that information so quickly?

Well, it wasn't as fast as folks may think.  

August 29th--the day Sarah Palin was announced as the VP Candidate:  Riding in Kaerick's car in Denver, I got a call from a friend that blew my socks off...McHugh Pierre told her the McCain people were coming to Alaska the next day to deal with Troopergate!  That told me very clearly that they had NOT vetted her beforehand but I never realized it meant anything more.

August 30th--McHugh Pierre actually posts in the comments calling me a liar and claiming the folks coming were Obama people (sound familiar?).  

September 9th-11th--The huge pack-'O-media has decended on Alaska...rumors swirl about a number of suited non-media folks doing the same research in the same places.  The McCain Campaign accused the Obama Campaign of "air-dropping" lawyers into Alaska, which the Obama Campaign definitively denies.  McHugh's comment finally makes sense.

So, the McCain people have been doing their backwards vetting/smearing campaign since August 30th, since I have no reason to doubt the word of a Republican spokesperson.

That's long enough to make a big binder.