Posted on 09/16/2008 6:23:26 AM PDT by pissant
Sarah Palin issued a response to the Troopergate investigation yesterday by releasing internal memoranda that show Walt Monegan got fired for insubordination on budget matters and not because of his refusal to fire Palin’s former brother-in-law. Monegan went behind Palin’s back to attempt to revive a project Palin had vetoed, which “stunned” the Office of Management and Budget Director. On another occasion, Monegan held a press conference with Hollis French to dissent from Palin’s budget priorities — the same Hollis French pushing the ethics complaint against Palin:
Walt Monegan lost his job as public safety director because he resisted Gov. Sarah Palin’s budget policies and showed “outright insubordination,” say papers the governor’s lawyer filed Monday with the state Personnel Board.
It was Palin’s strongest effort yet to snuff allegations she sacked Monegan because he refused to fire a state trooper involved in an ugly divorce with the governor’s sister.
Along with the papers filed Monday were a slew of e-mails from the governor’s office purporting to show Monegan’s “rogue mentality” as a member of Palin’s Cabinet.
In one message, the governor’s budget director, Karen Rehfeld, wrote that she was “stunned and amazed” that Monegan appeared to be working with a powerful state legislator, Anchorage Republican Rep. Kevin Meyer, to seek funding for a project Palin previously had vetoed.
According to the papers filed by Palin’s legal team, that was not the only instance of insubordination from Monegan:
* 12/9/07: Monegan holds a press conference with Hollis French to push his own budget plan.
* 1/29/08: Palin’s staffers have to rework their procedures to keep Monegan from bypassing normal channels for budget requests.
* February 2008: Monegan publicly releases a letter he wrote to Palin supporting a project she vetoed.
* June 26, 2008: Monegan bypassed the governor’s office entirely and contacted Alaska’s Congressional delegation to gain funding for a project.
From this presentation, it looks like Monegan had decided from the start to be a loose cannon in the Palin administration. The wonder of this isn’t that he got fired — it’s how he managed to hang onto his job as long as he did. The response calls Monegan’s trip to Washington the “final straw”, and it’s not difficult to see why. Monegan even admitted it in his valedictory e-mail to his colleagues, saying that he “had waited too long outside her door for her to believe that I supported her.” Nor did Monegan file an ethics complaint, as the law would have required him to do, if he felt his termination violated state ethics laws. (Palin filed the complaint herself to argue the case.)
As the filing states, Monegan served as a political appointee, at the pleasure of the Governor. Obviously, Monegan didn’t act to support Palin’s budget initiatives, often acting in opposition to them. In anyone’s administration, that will result in dismissal. Monegan kicked himself out of the job through his own acts.
The msm will not give up it’s fiction. They’re determined to channel Dan Rather to the bitter end.
And a punch in the face to boot.
THis is the sort of thing WE should copy and paste into emails . . . to all of the newspapers in battleground states, big and small.
Let’s do like Iraq, the American people own the oil and we all get a cut, I’m just saying ..... /sarc
dang, wrong thread
That’s non-helpful slander of Monegan. Best if you either backed it up, or marked it as an unfounded opinion.
Looks to me like Governor Palin took firm control of the reigns as Governor, WITHOUT being meanspirited and vindictive.
A mayor, a governor, a president, ALL have the right to pick who will work for them and further their agenda.
Governor Palin gave Monegan EVERY chance to come around and support what she wanted to do. He refused and fought her. She had the right to fire him outright. Instead, she offered him a job doing something else, rather than the embarrasment of just firing him after a long stint with the Department of Public Safety.
Sarah Palin already knows the lessons that George Bush didn’t learn - Install people loyal to your agenda, get rid of those who aren’t.
My prediction is that with these revelations, the MSM will not talk about this anymore, UNLESS, they can convince someone to come up with a monstrous lie and blatantly try to take Palin down on this issue. I don’t think there is enough “there” there to make this work for them.
Why am I not surprised at CNN’s interpretation of today’s “Troopergate” developments?: “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will not cooperate with a legislative investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner, the McCain-Palin presidential campaign announced Monday, accusing supporters of rival Barack Obama of manipulating the inquiry for political motivations. Obama’s campaign described the charge as ‘complete paranoia.’”
The Media is afraid of a Strong Woman.
interesting oil is below 98 (every penny cut is a billion dollar tax cut) but nooooooooooooooooooo CNN has to cover this non scandal
“Install people loyal to your agenda, get rid of those who aren’t.”
I agree with that! However, the media is already spinning that as her “hiring her friends”. Of course, they’re completely ignoring the fact that Alaska is all about “small town politics” and that when you have people who are loyal to you and are supportive of you, they’re going to naturally BE YOUR FRIENDS. Like Democrats are known for hiring their political enemies??????
. . . But nothing on CNN’s front page about Obama’s misadventures in Iraq, even though both campaigns have issued strong statements.
Team McCain-Palin is crazy like a fox. I like how they sat on the e-mails waiting for just the right time to release them. Monegan speaking to the drive-bys last night was exactly the right time.
Has anyone investigated the relationship between Branchflowers wife and Walt Monegan a little deeper?
The questions I have is what role did Monegan play in the investigation of Linda Branchflowers questionable shooting of a man while working for the Anchorage Police Department (APD)?
Why did the Alaska State Troopers hire a retired Anchorage Police Detective (Branchflower) for a cold case detective when outside hires by the Alaska State Troopers are almost none existent? Two that were hired were APD detective under Monegan.
These are questions I would like answered before I could be sure of Stephen Branchflower’s impartiality
Wow.
I agree 100%! I thought that was hilarious how Monegan came out speaking to the media and next thing out was the emails!
Crazy like a fox is right! :)
So NBC is now fighting for the future of domestic violence. It doesn't any more bizarre than this.
I’m told he hates being called “Gunny” French.
This gets better and better! How radical would it be to have an admn. in DC that fires people for not doing their jobs and attempting to undercut their elected boss.
I hope the Rats keep pushing this garbage. Somehow I don't think firing a guy who defends an employee that tasered a 10 yoa step son and threatened to kill people is going to get a lot of sympathy.
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