Palin Abused Her Power

This Friday, a report released that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as governor of Alaska to fire an official who was once married to her sister. This breaks the state ethics law, which prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain. The report also says that Sarah Palin allowed her husband, Todd Palin to use her resources as governor to pressure employees to fire Wooten.

The report was centered around the dismissal of Walter Monegen, Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner. This was because he had refused to fire Mike Wooten, the ex-husband of Palin's sister. Sarah Palin claimed that Walter Monegen was fired due to an arguement over a budget.

As much as the charges are serious, nowhere does it say in the 300 page report that sanctions or further investigation is necessary. Conservative Jonah Goldberg said,"it sounds to me that this was a political enterprise that came up with a compromise where they basically said, 'She broke no laws but they don't want to seem like a whitewash, because we have Obama supporters on the investigating parties.' So what we're going to do is say she did something wrong, even though she broke no law."

One the other hand, Democrat Lanny Davis said, "The abuse of power finding is very serious for an elected executive," said Davis. "The Constitution and precedent suggest that abusing governmental power are grounds for impeaching a president. I suspect they would be grounds in Alaska. So the abuse of governmental power is a serious offense for an elected official."

Whether Republicans or Democrats are talking, analysts will agree that this investigation is something that could hurt John McCain's campaign, one that is already behind in the race.

This investigation shows how Sarah Palin BROKE the law as governor of alaska. There should be some further penalties for her, as abusing governmental powers is a reason for impeachment. Although this is not the most serious of crimes, it is still breaking the state ethics law. She should not be left unpenalized just because she is running for the second highest office position of this country.

http://voanews.com/english/2008-10-11-voa3.cfm