Part I Obama's Watergates: The President is not above the law

Watergate, June 17, 1972-August 8, 1974. Watergate was a simple matter. On June 17, 1972, y five men where were caught during an attempted break-in at the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. What brought down President Richard Nixon’s presidency was the attempted cover-up of the events. The purpose of the break-in was to wiretap the Democratic National Headquarters. Eleven advisors and aides to then President Richard Nixon were indicted by a Grand Jury on various charges including burglary, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury.

John Mitchell, a former Attorney General was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury and fined $42,000. He was imprisoned for 19 months.

H.R. Halderman, White House Chief of Staff, was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice and fined $16,000. He was imprisoned for 18 months.

Charles Colson, former White House counsel, was convicted of obstruction of justice, he was fined $5,000 and was imprisoned for 7 months.

John Erlichman, Assistant to the President for political affairs, was convicted of perjury, and obstruction of justice and fined $40,000. He was imprisoned for 18 months.

Gordon Strachan, White House Aide to H. R. Halderman, had his charges dropped before trial. He had been facing up to 15 years in federal prison and $20,000 in fines.

Robert Mardian, aid to John Mitchell, was exonerated on appeal.

Kenneth Parkinson, counsel to the President’s reelection committee, faced 10 years in prison and $10,00 in fines, but was acquitted at trial.

Jeb Magruder, Deputy Director of the President’s reelection committee, was convicted of conspiracy and was imprisoned for 7 months.

Frederick LaRue, a Presidential Aide, was convicted of obstruction of justice and was imprisoned for four and half months.

Maurice Stans, finance chairman of the President’s reelection committee, was convicted of three counts of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act and two counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions. He was fined $5,000. Two earlier charges of perjury and obstruction of justice were dropped.

Egil Krogh, Jr., White House Advisor and counsel, was indicted for obstruction of justice and imprisoned for 4 months. He was part of the White House Plumbers unit under G. Gordon Liddy. Although he was convicted for a break-in regarding Daniel Ellsberg’s disclosures of the Pentagon Papers, his role was discovered as part of the Watergate investigation.

G. Gordon Liddy, counsel to President Nixon’s reelection campaign, a White House Aide, and a former FBI agent, served 52 months in federal prisons for burglary and refusing to testify before a Senate committee that was investigating Watergate.

Today, in some of America’s big cities, especially in high crime areas, the police would not even bother investigating the break-in. Yet, this non-violent act of breaking of the law destroyed a presidency.

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States. His presidency was brought to an end by the mere attempt at cover-up of an attempted break-in of the DNC to place wiretaps in those offices. The President lied, as did others in an attempt to cover-up the break-in. In many jurisdictions what was attempted that night in 1972 would have been a misdemeanor or class C felony at the worst. No Americans died, nor was anyone injured. No acts of illegal aiding and abetting an enemy were accomplished. Yet, a presidency was brought down, because of the attempted cover-up.

What was the lesson of Watergate? Don’t lie to the American people, and no one, including the President of the United States is above the law. No one.

Tomorrow: part II, Barack Hussein Obama’s Watergates.

The personnel at the Benghazi U.S. Mission were abandoned while under attack with military resources available and able to come to their aid in a timely manner, but left to die by this President for political reasons. At least one drone was overhead the entire time sending video to the DOD and State, and undoubtedly, with a feed to the WH Situation Room.

The U.S. Mission in Benghazi was running guns to Islamic jihadists, including Al Qaeda in Libya and Syria. Our President authorized arming our enemies. Americans were abandoned on the battlefield, American soil--that's what the Mission was--was violated by armed hostiles. President Barrack Hussein Obama, then SecState Hillary Clinton, and then SecDef Leon Panetta are all complicit in the failure to act to protect U.S. personnel under attack and complicit in their knowledge of aiding and abetting enemies of the United States, even going so far as to hire members of Ansar al-Sharia, a known Al Qaeda affiliated jihadist militia as . . . security personnel for the mission. A U.S. Ambassador was sodomized and killed in the attack, and another State Dept. employee was killed, along with two CIA ex-Navy Seals trying to defend against the attack.

Then, there is Fast and Furious, in which our government illegally ran guns into Mexico arming the drug cartels in a perverted attempt to undermine the Second Amendment through public backlash over the carnage these illegally smuggled weapons brought to the citizens of Mexico. A DEA agent was killed in Mexico and a Border Patrol officer was killed in the U.S. by these weapons. AG Eric Holder and President Barrack Hussein Obama are culpable for this intentional violation of Mexican national sovereignty and the arming of enemies of the United States and complicit in the deaths of two U.S. law enforcement officers as a result of their illegal acts.

Then, there is the IRS scandal which is incredible in of itself. Prior knowledge of the President, complicit in his allowing the supression of political opponents fund raising ability while fast tracking friendly organizations. This has never happened to this degree. 500 organizations were impacted negatively, with prejudicial delays openly admitted. All concerned at the IRS need to be fired. They all took an oath to serve. President Barrack Hussein Obama is complicit in his knowledge and his silence.

The AP scandal is another harbinger of things to come with the assault on the AP. Even if the press is hostile to the right, it should still be free to exercise its 1st Amendment rights. AG Eric Holder did not act without his President's approval. This was a politically motivated assault on the Fourth Estate.

All of the above serve as notice to we the people that the Constitution and our Constitutional Republic are in peril by a tyrannical, cynical, self-serving President and his appointees.

If we let this continue, we have only ourselves to blame.

Call and write your congressional delegation, call the governor and have that office stand up to the President. Then, in 2014 and 2016, end this liberal tyranny and assault upon our Constitution by voting for conservatives who will honor and obey the Constitution of the United States as the Supreme Law of the Land.

Sarah is a quitter . . .

Sarah Palin came upon Alaska’s state political stage with her run for Lt. Gov. in 2002. She proved an able opponent, much to the chagrin of Sen. Loren Leman, a well respected member of the Alaska Senate. Sarah came within a hairs breadth of defeating him for the Lt. Gov.’s seat.
Newly elected Governor Frank Murkowski gave justice to Sarah’s showing by giving Sarah a responsibility reserved for the political elite: a seat on the Oil and Gas Commission. A pricey salary of $105,000 per year went with it.
Randy Ruedrich was also appointed to that commission. Ruedrich, out of the people appointed at least had experience in the industry he was overseeing. However, as the Alaska Republican Party Chair, Ruedrich’s appointment raised some concern. This was an appointment fraught with potential conflict of interest.
What happened next, made Alaska political history, and created the Palin legend of standing for integrity and principle.
Palin and Ruedrich did not get along. Palin called Randy down for using State computers to conduct party business. Gov. Frank Murkowski initially chose to ignore the issue, and Palin resigned from the AOGC, setting the stage for the greatest political upset in Alaska history and an early end to the Murkowski Administration.
Ruedrich was fined $12,000 by the Alaska Public Offices Commission for his breach of ethics.
With her resignation, Sarah Palin established herself to Alaskans as a moral person of integrity and principle. Joan of Arc of Alaska is what I called her.
It was too bad that Frank Murkowski was demonized so heavily over the Ruedrich mess. Murkowski’s Administration was addressing some vital issues to Alaska, including the novel idea of actually building roads to gain access to Alaska’s potential mineral and potential oil wealth beyond the North Slope development.
From the beginning of the race against Murkowski for the governor’s mansion, the Palin campaign was belittled by the competition. “Little princess”, “cheerleader” and “little girl” were terms used liberally during the Primary. Demeaning, and denigrating rhetoric on the part of the pundits and the Murkowski faithful was the order of the day. This harsh and demeaning rhetoric was constant.
No one took Sarah seriously amongst the old guard in the Republican Party of Alaska . . . until her poll numbers starting going up.
The harsher the criticism, the higher the poll numbers went.
Ruedrich’s breach of ethics became a battle cry and a rallying point for the Palin faithful. Her resignation from the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission became the stuff of legend.
Murkowski was the ideal “straight man” to Sarah’s presence and “Alaska First!” theme. Big and usually polite, Murkowski rarely went where Palin’s critics went with their remarks.
I can remember only one demeaning comment on Murkowski’s part; otherwise he played the gentleman opponent to Palin’s Joan of Arc.
Then came the Primary election. This was an incredible rout for Murkowski and the Republican old corps Murkowski supporters.
These rubber stamp it as long as it is Republican, except Sarah Palin, party faithful were those whose blind faith enabled a breach of ethics on the part of elected representatives to Alaska’s Legislature unprecedented in Alaska history that comprised the reputation of the Republican Party in Alaska. This disaffection of integrity from the ranks of ‘conservative’ legislators led to gains in the Legislature, thereby eliminating a Republican majority that owned the House and Senate.
The General Election where Sarah ran against former Gov. Tony Knowles was more low key, in terms of attacks from the Democrats. The Democrat election machine had the Murkowski Republicans and alleged conservative pundits to do their dirty work. Even after the Primary election, these alleged conservatives continued the attacks against Palin, unabated by the fact that the benefactor was the Democrat opposition!
Former Gov. Tony Knowles, like Murkowski, kept to the high ground where criticism of Sarah was concerned. Unfortunately for Tony, Tony was just out of date and no match for Sarah’s increasing popularity. The Palin Revolution was well under way and Tony and the dems were blown away at the polls.
Sarah’s most critical naysayers were those who supported Murkowski. They just could not get over Sarah’s one ups-man-ship over their hero. Since, it has been more of the same.
Was that criticism justified?
Sarah campaigned on a fiscal conservatism, smaller government is better, pro-development, get rid of activist judges, pro-family, traditional value, pro-life largely conservative platform.
Once in office, she made up to Randy Ruedrich, and forgot what she sold us during the campaign for governor.
Her administration started off by reappointing most of Murkowski’s cabinet, along with a few retreads from past Democrat administrations. The end result was confusion, a lack of direction, and dissent within the governor’s office about who was in charge. Sarah fired her legislative liaison, John Bitney, one of the ardent insiders during the campaign. She eventually fired two of her Chief of Staffs, keeping the last.
Sarah’s record is one of contradictions.
Sarah campaigned on a platform of fiscal conservatism. She then promoted the largest budget in State history in the face of declining oil production. She added $200 to the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend check as a freebie for fuel costs. Sarah grew government, failing to address the bloated, horribly expensive State bureaucracy for which she criticized Murkowski and Knowles.
Once in office, Sarah forgot the all Alaska pipeline route that even she admitted she had voted for and supported during the campaign, through AGIA and a Trans-Canada pipeline.
Sarah raised taxes on the oil companies, resulting in a regulatory morass that has all but eliminated oil and gas exploration Alaska. In Alberta, 10,000 wells drilled last year is considered a bad year. In Alaska, one can count the number of new wells drilled last year on two hands.
Sarah’s cabinet included the addition of a climate change sub-cabinet comprised of those whose job was to promote a fallacy upon Alaskans. There is nothing this cabinet has done that has resulted in any plan or direction that benefits Alaskans. Worse, is the fact that Miss 10th Amendment State’s Rights to the death Sarah put a FED in charge of the cabinet. An EPA employee runs a State of Alaska cabinet department.
Sarah appointed a liberal minded judge to the Alaska Supreme Court that was on the board of directors for Planned Parenthood! So much for her rhetoric about activist judges.
Yet, during the campaign for Governor, pro-life, anti-abortion Sarah Palin decried activist judges and the attack upon parental rights.
Sarah Palin supported the creation by a previous referendum, the same referendum that she supported with her vote, of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority. Earlier this year, she cut funding for ANGDA and appointed a natural gas pipeline czar with no experience in natural gas anything. That’s our Sarah.
Sarah Palin entered office with a greater than 80% majority vote in the general election. She massacred the competition. Instead of going to the Legislature with the power of that mandate, she waffled, commiserated, and failed to get her agenda put into effect. Unfortunately, that agenda was not what we who worked, contributed, and supported her during the campaigns thought it was.
We believed her conservative, pro-life, pro-family, fiscal conservative, and ‘Alaska First!’ rhetoric.
Sarah Palin failed as a leader to carry the day. Her few months in office were marked by an ongoing soap opera that was embarrassing to watch while she seemingly ignored the mandate that she had going into office.
Then came the Presidential campaign.
McCain picking Sarah Palin was brilliant, and immediately put his lackluster campaign back into the running. That pick was so “off the wall”, and so out of the political mainstream of rehashed hacks, that McCain’s campaign took on a new life. Unfortunately, his choice for VP became the VP from hell.
Ascendency to national notoriety showed us a Sarah that we all knew.
In September, 2008, I attended a rally in Cedar Rapids, IA, while working a job near there. Sarah’s acceptance was incredible. A very conservative message was given by Sarah Palin and those folks loved it. Sarah received louder cheers and louder calls for her than did McCain. McCain stood there next to the podium and smiled, but he had to wonder whether or not in the form of Sarah Palin he had created a monster that would eclipse him.
I will say this for John McCain. For a man who had the living daylights beat out of him every day for five years in the Hanoi Hilton, he had a very good military bearing. He stood with a straight back.
The campaign soon degenerated into a bash Sarah assault on the part of the media that almost worked to the detriment of those bashing her. Her poll numbers rose instead of falling. Had it not been for the revelations regarding the economy, McCain would have won and Sarah Palin would be in the V.P.’s office.
The assault on Sarah’s family was the most disgusting and insulting attempt to discredit, defame, and destroy a candidate for high office since the attack on Barry Goldwater when he ran against Lyndon Johnson. There, the press lied, but did not attack his family. What happened with Palin was a travesty and has sullied the press for ever more.
Since returning to office from the VP run, Sarah has not been able to gain any traction. She has been continually hounded by irrelevant and specious ethics complaints. Had she used her mandate, she could have made the Legislature change the law to eliminate many of types of specious and outrageous allegations made against her that were found to be baseless. Sarah took the office of the Governor to new lows in her continued focus on those complaints instead of Alaska’s business.
Sarah Palin plainly spoke at her handover of power that she was resigning to avoid the “lame duck” disadvantage and stigma upon her administration. With 15 months to go in her first term, she was a “lame duck”?
Granted she was rendered ineffectual, but ineffectual by her own conduct and failure to act as would a leader. Murkowski endured many criticisms during his tenure, many from Palin herself. Yet, he did not put his family on public display or put them in the line of fire time and again.
Meg Stapelton told the Anchorage Daily News that Sarah had no plans, nor any designs in place for further political activity after leaving office. Yet the same paper also reported that Sarah was to speak at an event in California on 8 August. Prior to that, Sarah admitted that she is also going to speak in support of other like minded candidates—both Republican and Democrat.
How’s that for not having a position?
Sarah Palin will do whatever she intends to do. She is ambitious and will spin a track on anyone or anything that gets in her way.
Unfortunately for her ambitions, what Sarah says on the public stage is not supported by her record. Sooner or later, people will begin to question the rhetoric and why she quit her job as Governor.
The disgusting soap opera that Sarah Palin’s detractors put her family through, of which no small part belongs to her ego and penchant for mucking it out with her detractors, was disappointing and sad to see.
Sarah Palin is a conservative sound bite, but an all too typical politician. ‘Sarah First’ is her war cry. Those who supported Sarah Palin found out that the self-described ‘pit bull with lipstick’, otherwise known as ‘Sarah Barracuda’, was all hype.
Fame and fortune are Sarah’s bent. Once cannot blame her for going for the gold ring. One can blame her for forsaking her sacred duty to Alaska and Alaskans. She ran for governor, made promises, and, now she quits?
By her resignation as the Governor of the Great State of Alaska, Sarah Palin no longer has the standing to speak for Alaska or Alaskans. To step down as governor, after what she sold us, was an insult of the highest order. She rejected Alaska and Alaskans for ego and money.
Evidently, just being Alaska’s Governor was not “good” enough for Sarah Palin.
Sarah is a quitter and undeserving of any further attention.

Ode to Sarah . . . well, kind of sort of, anyway

Sarah Palin came upon Alaska’s state political stage with her run for Lt. Gov. She proved an able opponent, much to the chagrin of Sen. Loren Leman. Sarah came within a hairs breadth of defeating him for soon to be Governor Frank Murkowski’s Lt. Gov. seat. Murkowski gave justice to Sarah’s showing by giving Sarah a responsibility reserved for the political elite: a seat on the Oil and Gas Commission. A pricey salary of $105,000 per year went with it.

Randy Ruedrich was also appointed to that commission. Ruedrich, out of the people appointed at least had experience in the industry he was overseeing. However, as the Republican Party Chair, it is beyond me how Governor Murkowski could not see the conflict of interest on Ruedrich’s part in taking the position. That was an appointment that should never have been made.

Palin was a former Mayor of Wasilla with a journalism degree.

What happened next made Alaska political history.

Palin and Ruedrich did not get along. Palin called Randy down for using State computers to conduct party business. Murkowski initially chose to ignore the issue, and Palin resigned, setting the stage for the greatest political upset in Alaska history.

The Palin campaign was belittled by the competition from the beginning. “Little princess”, “cheerleader” and “little girl” were terms used liberally during the Primary. Demeaning, and denigrating rhetoric on the part of the pundits and the Murkowski faithful was the order of the day.

No one took Sarah seriously . . . until her poll numbers starting going up.

The harsher the criticism, the higher the poll numbers went.

Ruedrich’s breach of ethics became a battle cry and a rallying point for the Palin faithful. Her resignation from the Oil and Gas Commission became the stuff of legend.

Murkowski was the ideal “straight man” to Sarah’s presence and “Alaska First!” theme. Big and usually polite, Murkowski rarely went where Palin’s critics went with their remarks.

I can remember only one comment on Murkowski’s part; otherwise he played the gentleman opponent to Palin’s Joan of Arc.

Then came the Primary. An incredible rout for Murkowski and the Republican old corps Murkowski supporters. These party faithful were those whose blind faith fed and condoned a breach of ethics on the part of elected officials unprecedented in Alaska history that has comprised the reputation of the Republican Party in Alaska.

The General Election was more low key, in terms of attacks from the Democrats. The Democrat election machine had the Murkowski Republicans and alleged conservative pundits to do their dirty work. Former Gov. Tony Knowles, like Murkowski, kept to the high ground where criticism of Sarah was concerned. Unfortunately for Tony, Tony was just out of date and no match for Sarah’s increasing popularity. The Palin Revolution was well under way and Tony and the dems were blown away at the polls.

Sarah’s most critical naysayers were those who supported Murkowski. They just could not get over Sarah’s one ups-man-ship over their hero. Since, it has been more of the same.
Was that criticism justified?

Sarah campaigned on a fiscal conservatism, smaller government is better, pro-development, get rid of activist judges, pro-family, traditional value, pro-life largely conservative platform.

Once in office, she made up to Randy Ruedrich, and forgot what she sold us.

Does her record demonstrate her campaign rhetoric as the foundation of her legislative and policy initiatives?

No.

Ascendency to national notoriety showed us a Sarah that we all knew. McCain picking Sarah Palin was brilliant, and immediately put his lackluster campaign back into the running.

I attended a rally in Cedar Rapids, IA, while working a job near there. Sarah’s acceptance was incredible. A very conservative message was given by Sarah Palin and those folks loved it.

Unfortunately, what Sarah says on the public stage is not supported by her record.

The sad soap opera that Sarah Palin’s detractors put her family through, of which no small part belongs to her ego and penchant for mucking it out with her detractors, was disappointing and sad to see.

By her resignation as the Governor of the Great State of Alaska, Sarah Palin no longer has the standing to speak for Alaska. To step down as governor, after what she sold us, was an insult of the highest order. She rejected Alaska and Alaskans for ego and money.

Evidently, just being our Governor was not “good” enough for Sarah Palin.

Sarah resigns, Campbell new Lt. Gov

Sarah Palin stepped down as Alaska’s governor. An incredible act, just 2.5 years into her first term. However, she has national ambitions, a chance to make a killing on the speaking circuit and a fat book deal to execute next year. Why not? Her life.
In the mean time, she leaves the State of Alaska in the lurch to a degree, but how much will depend upon Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, soon to be Governor Parnell. Parnell is a former legislator who was fairly conservative during his tenure in the legislature. What will be interesting is what he will continue and what he will leave intact of Palin’s cabinet and structure.
My hope is that he will get rid of the Climate Change Sub-Cabinet, a do nothing, money absorbing placebo for the global warming crowd. Poor science paid for by the State.
Parnell was supportive of the all-Alaska Valdez TAPS route for a natural gas pipeline during the campaign. Hopefully, he will encourage TransCanada and Exxon to continue in the direction of that option for AGIA.
Yes, Governor Sarah Palin raised taxes on the oil companies, but she also managed to bring oil and gas development in the State to an almost virtual halt. Parnell needs to redress this shortsightedness.
Huffington Post surmises that there is more to the stepping down of Sarah Palin than meets the eye. There are those who believe we are about to hear about a brewing scandal. Were this so, the media would have had a field day as they looked long and hard for anything to scandalize Palin.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090704/us-palin-analysis/
Palin’s conduct seems to be about money and ambition. Nothing new there
A very interesting development is the appointment of LTG Craig Campbell, TAG/Commissioner Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) to the office of Lt. Governor. That one surprised everyone. Apparently, the Kosovo trip had more on the agenda than just visiting the troops. Too many people were surprised by Campbell’s appointment, just as they were about Sarah’s resignation.
Campbell has been a fairly lackluster Commissioner DMVA and TAG. It was his fortune to be in place when 9-11 hit. Sarah did not change the top position at DMVA, as she has a long association with Campbell politically. There was a controversy during the Presidential election regarding his promotion to Lt. General (LTG), something a few States do with their Adjutant General position. LTG is a State rank, and not federal, meaning paid only on State Active Duty and otherwise meaningless. The federal rank remains the same at Major General (MG). However, his promotion was a first for an Alaska TAG. A promotion which came 3 days after his changing his story about Palin’s contributions and leadership where the Alaska National Guard was concerned.
http://madwombat.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/general-campbell-changes-tune-about-palins-role-in-national-guard-palin-promotes-him-3-days-later/
The LTG Craig Campbell that I know will do a good job as Lt. Governor. He will keep his mouth shut, avoid controversy, and screw the troops. Nothing new there.
I am certain there are many at DMVA who will not miss him.
Unexpected events. Interesting times.