Posted by
Ron Devito on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:00:14 AM
The actual complaint is here:
http://media.newsminer.com/docs/palin_pdfs/chatmancomplaint.pdf and also listed in the references.
The complainant makes a specious charge that Governor Palin, her family and select state employees associated with her can personally benefit from this fund. The Fund's FAQ page makes crystal clear, how this money is to be used:
9. Can the funds be used for personal purposes? (FAQ, 2009, ¶14)
No. Donations can only be used for legal expenses incurred by counsel on behalf of the Governor, her family, and staff as approved by the Trustee (FAQ, 2009, ¶15).
10. Where does the unspent money go?
Once the purposes of the Trust no longer exist, the Trustee, in her sole discretion, will donate unspent funds to qualified 501 (c)(3) organizations (FAQ, 2009, ¶16).
...
13. Why is this fund being created?
The Trust Fund is being created to assist the Governor, her family, and staff in paying legal expenses and costs incurred from previous investigations as well as future complaints filed. Her staff is similarly being targeted by these complaints and has also incurred and is incurring significant costs (FAQ, 2009, ¶19).
Commentary
The complainant has taken the asinine and indefensible position that Governor Palin should just accept these complaints and defend them with her own funds, even if it means going bankrupt.
Most if not all these complaints have roots to Governor Palin's political rivals -- usually but not always within the Democratic Party. The "TrooperGate" imbroglio resulted in a patronage job in the Obama administration for former State Senator Kim Elton. Linda Kellen Biegel, who goes by the moniker "Celtic Diva," who filed the Arctic Cat jacket complaint is a well-known Democrat operative.
Further, colleague and fellow supporter "Conservatives4Palin" published an entry by Videmus Omnia, which noted that Chapman violated the law by going public with this complaint (Omnia, 2009, ¶4). Chapman joined a frivolous lawsuit with Gregory Charles Royal, whose advances towards Sarah Palin in 1990 were spurned (Omnia, 2009, ¶5).
The ethics complaint process was not intended to be used as a political tool for destroying and bankrupting opponents -- but that is precisely how it is being used. The method comes straight out of "Rules for Radicals," this particular rule being to negate that which your opponent is known for. The ethics complaint process is being used to portray Governor Palin as being corrupt, despite the fact that she is clean. The intention is to raise doubts in voters' minds, because even if the complaint is ultimately dismissed, her being party to them gives the air of something amiss. And that is the goal behind it.
Governor Palin in this author's opinion needs to go far beyond this fund and sue every last one of these people for harassment. Further, she needs to consider doing some of what her colleagues in other states would do to people such as this. Using an ethics complaint process to try to destroy a governor would not fly in NY, or NJ -- it would lead to some very ugly consequences for the complainants in question.
"A [woman] who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary...to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.” – Niccolò Machiavelli.
References
Chatman complaint. (2009, April 27). Fairbanks News Miner. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from: http://media.newsminer.com/docs/palin_pdfs/chatmancomplaint.pdf
Frequently asked questions. (2009, April). Alaska Fund Trust. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from:
http://www.thealaskafundtrust.com/faq/
Omnia, V. (2009, April 27). "UPDATED: Game on: Anklebiters file frivolous ethics complaint against Governor for having a legal fund to defend against frivolous ethics complaints" Conservatives4Palin. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from: http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/04/game-on-anklebiters-file-frivolous.html