Palin's Stand on Mining Initiative Leaves Many Feeling Burned

[williesgirl]

Source: Wash Post

For months, the confrontation mounted, a face-off that arguably held in the balance the fates of two of Alaska's biggest industries. On one side were companies hoping to open Pebble Mine at a huge gold and copper reserve adjacent to one of the world's largest salmon runs, Bristol Bay. On the other side were fishermen and environmentalists pushing a referendum that would make it harder for the mine to open.

The two sides spent more than $10 million -- unprecedented for such efforts in Alaska -- and throughout it all, the state's highly popular first-term governor, Sarah Palin, held back. Alaska law forbids state officials from using state resources to advocate on ballot initiatives.

Then, six days before the Aug. 26 vote, with the race looking close, Palin broke her silence. Asked about the initiative at a news conference, she invoked "personal privilege" to give an opinion. "Let me take my governor's hat off for just a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop. 4 -- I vote no on that," she said. "I have all the confidence in the world that and our have great, very stringent regulations and policies already in place. We're going to make sure that mines operate only safely, soundly."

Palin's comments rocked the contest. Within a day, the pro-mining coalition fighting the referendum had placed full-page ads with a picture of the governor and the word "NO." The initiative went down to defeat, with 57 percent of voters rejecting it.





Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702834.html?hpid=topnews

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A state ethics panel is investigating whether she broke the law by commenting on the ballot initiative.

This woman doesn't care about laws. She does whatever she feels like at the time. She must not have her hands and mind anywhere near our federal government.

Read entire article - then see the already 400 or so comments.

[Indenturedebtor]

1. Typical Bush Republican. Disgusting n/t

[harmonicon]

2. isn't this sort... oh... I don't know... really fucking important?!

She's just like Bush - breaks every law put in front of her.

[tclambert]

3. But she took her hat off!

How can you prosecute someone for taking her hat off? For that hatless minute, she was no longer governor, right? And the Assistant Governor took over. So laws limiting the activities of the governor wouldn't apply to her. Likewise, in the Troopergate scandal, you have to ask, was she wearing a hat when she fired the Director of Public Safety for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law? If there's no hat, then there's no guilt, and that's that.

I can make scholarly legal arguments like this because I can see a Law School from my back yard.

[Supersedeas]

4. ethics???