Off With Her Head
2:44 PM
by Jeff Hall of Drawnlines Politics.
Interestingly enough, CNN ran yet another story on Alaska Governor Sara Palin today. As you might imagine, it wasn't to highlight a speaking event. No this story was about how Palin paid back $8,100.00 dollars to the state of Alaska for travel of her children in which it was deemed unnecessary for them to be present. That is all fine and well. She used state resources for private use and, well, ok yes she should pay them back, and she did. This of course initiated open season for the liberal nuts in the comment sections (that coincidentally enough only had negative comment posts and closed the ability to comment very quickly). This leads to the issue that "grinds my gears" if you will.
The first comment that caught my eye, from a reader named "Rudy"
This is Corruption by a Government Official. She should be Prosecuted.
She used Tax Money for Personal Use. She Stole Public Money. She is a Thief.
When She got Caught. She returned the Money.
Are all Thieves allowed to return Money, without being Prosecuted.
Can I also use Public Money for Travel of my Children? I will return it back later.
To which I would respond: "Yes Rudy, it does appear that all thieves that do not pay their bills or use money that isn't theirs ARE allowed to just return it and not be prosecuted, so long as you are a politician. Examples you ask? The Secretary of Health and Human Services, The Secretary of the Treasury and former contender for Secretary of Health and Human Services Mr. Daschel.
This was followed by another comment from someone who posted as "Concerned Liberal For America"
Typical GOP member. Don't care who they take the money from or where it came from so long as it is lining their pockets and going toward bettering their name. Disgusting!
Typical GOP member you say??? If we are on the topic of taking money and not caring where it is going to come from, lets take a look at your new and improved expanded federal budget. Let's not stop there, how about that omnibus package that extends runways for airports that are never used and sends money ALLLLLL over the country to members of the DNC and their pet projects. So is she a typical GOP member or a typical politician. This comment also brought on a serious of other comments to the effect of "oh just another republican in an ethics scandal"... Really? The Democratic party seems to have selective amnesia. Again I will cite examples.... Eliot Spitzer, Rod Blagojevich, Bill Clinton... you get the point.
Where as I am not entirely surprised anymore by all the venom, it does sometimes, in my opinion, get a little old. The word hypocritical comes to mind. I have no issue with Republicans being called out by the media and the public about their short comings and their dishonesty. I do take issue with the fact that in our "New Era of Accountability", it is ONLY the Republicans and their party that are being drug through the mud and mocked. However to some degree I am starting to realize that maybe I should thank the left and their verbal brow beatings. If they keep demonizing the GOP and the bar keeps getting lower from what is expected when you think of a Republican there isn't anywhere to go but up! It is far easier to jump over a lowly placed bar of expectations than it is to stand high upon a golden pedestal while those who put you there slowly whack at your heals. Give it time ladies and gentleman. It will all make sense in 3 years.
Interestingly enough, CNN ran yet another story on Alaska Governor Sara Palin today. As you might imagine, it wasn't to highlight a speaking event. No this story was about how Palin paid back $8,100.00 dollars to the state of Alaska for travel of her children in which it was deemed unnecessary for them to be present. That is all fine and well. She used state resources for private use and, well, ok yes she should pay them back, and she did. This of course initiated open season for the liberal nuts in the comment sections (that coincidentally enough only had negative comment posts and closed the ability to comment very quickly). This leads to the issue that "grinds my gears" if you will.
The first comment that caught my eye, from a reader named "Rudy"
This is Corruption by a Government Official. She should be Prosecuted.
She used Tax Money for Personal Use. She Stole Public Money. She is a Thief.
When She got Caught. She returned the Money.
Are all Thieves allowed to return Money, without being Prosecuted.
Can I also use Public Money for Travel of my Children? I will return it back later.
To which I would respond: "Yes Rudy, it does appear that all thieves that do not pay their bills or use money that isn't theirs ARE allowed to just return it and not be prosecuted, so long as you are a politician. Examples you ask? The Secretary of Health and Human Services, The Secretary of the Treasury and former contender for Secretary of Health and Human Services Mr. Daschel.
This was followed by another comment from someone who posted as "Concerned Liberal For America"
Typical GOP member. Don't care who they take the money from or where it came from so long as it is lining their pockets and going toward bettering their name. Disgusting!
Typical GOP member you say??? If we are on the topic of taking money and not caring where it is going to come from, lets take a look at your new and improved expanded federal budget. Let's not stop there, how about that omnibus package that extends runways for airports that are never used and sends money ALLLLLL over the country to members of the DNC and their pet projects. So is she a typical GOP member or a typical politician. This comment also brought on a serious of other comments to the effect of "oh just another republican in an ethics scandal"... Really? The Democratic party seems to have selective amnesia. Again I will cite examples.... Eliot Spitzer, Rod Blagojevich, Bill Clinton... you get the point.
Where as I am not entirely surprised anymore by all the venom, it does sometimes, in my opinion, get a little old. The word hypocritical comes to mind. I have no issue with Republicans being called out by the media and the public about their short comings and their dishonesty. I do take issue with the fact that in our "New Era of Accountability", it is ONLY the Republicans and their party that are being drug through the mud and mocked. However to some degree I am starting to realize that maybe I should thank the left and their verbal brow beatings. If they keep demonizing the GOP and the bar keeps getting lower from what is expected when you think of a Republican there isn't anywhere to go but up! It is far easier to jump over a lowly placed bar of expectations than it is to stand high upon a golden pedestal while those who put you there slowly whack at your heals. Give it time ladies and gentleman. It will all make sense in 3 years.
Posted by Jeff
on 2:44 PM.
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Your examples and comparisons are not comparable whatsoever. You list Elliot Spitzer and Bill Clinton, who were never accused of misappropriating government funds for their personal use. They might have slept around, but this isn't a crime.
If I were an executive with a company and paid for my kids to come with me on trips, via my corporate card. You can bet I'd be made to pay it back and probably fired.
Really, anonymous? The bailout banks got to keep their jets and use them however they wanted. It's more corporate greed at the public's expense.
I'm not disagreeing with you that the banks did some pretty bad things as well. However, what they did is not against any law, federal or state. Companies use private jets. It's a fact of life. Their greed knows no bounds. But many CEOs have a deal in their contract which allows private jet use, for personal trips. It's greedy and unfortunate, but not against the law.
However what they did doesn't really translate to what Sarah Palin did. She used state funds to pay for her children to take vacations. That's clearly against the law. She should be held to the same standard as anybody else.
((Buzzer!)) I gotta stop you right there. The kids did NOT go on vacation, they went to events to stump with Governor Palin.
According to The Times:
"There is no state law prohibiting the governor’s family from traveling with her and the personnel board found no wrongdoing on the part of the governor. But the investigator, Timothy Petumenos, interpreted the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act to require that the state only pay if the first family serves an important state interest.
Petumenos said «some of the travel raised by the Complaint does not meet this standard,” according to the agreement.
Van Flein said 72 travel authorizations were studied, with nine found to be of questionable state interest.
Those include airfare and one meal for her daughter Bristol Palin, who accompanied the governor to New York for Newsweek’s Third Annual Women and Leadership Conference in October 2007."
Ethical or not, let's not act like they were windsurfing in Hawaii (unlike the president that used his campaign jet to visit his grandmother and to campaign in Hawaii as if a Democrat could possibly have lost Hawaii in any election).
Anonymous... my comparisons to Spitzer and Clinton were in reference to the assumption that only Republicans are capable of envolving themselves in scandals. Do you not think these two Democrats were involved in a scandal?????
Of course they go on vacation, Drawlines, but that doesn't fit in the smear campaign.
Of course it's illegal for corporations to use private jets for that purpose mentioned, at least when the money is coming from the public trough. I know that my name is not on their contract yet my money is being used to fund their activities. I'm willing to bet that none of you signed that contract either. There's no legal basis for giving them the money that they then used to shuttle themselves around.
Sarah should be held to the same standard. Unless I missed something, she already paid the money. How is that being held to a different standard? The only different standard I see is the media coverage of her.
During the campaign, Obama said that the earmarks worth billions that McCain wanted to eliminate were a pittance. How times have changed! Remember the scalpel? We were going to trim the budget, remember? Now it's about going out Saturday night to run up big bills and coming home Sunday morning and attend PAYGO church. I have little respect for anyone abusing public funds, including unnecessarily adding to public funds; however, I have even less respect for those who abuse public funds while preaching fiscal responsibility with their mouths and robbing us and future generations with their hands and feet. Put your money where your mouth is and leave ours where it is!
again, that sounds about right Kevin.