(I "borrowed" this picture from my pal Celtic Diva.)Alaska Native leaders are giving Gov. Sarah Palin’s pick for attorney general – Anchorage lawyer Wayne Anthony Ross -- a thumbs down this week.
“It almost looked like she was rubbing our face in (Ross’s) appointment. Like rubbing our face on the ground, saying 'Here, take this,” said Tim Towarak, vice chairman of the Alaska Federation of Natives and president of the Bering Straits Native Corp.
Ross has been an outspoken opponent of giving rural communities first dibs on subsistence hunting and fishing, which would require amending the state constitution. AFN board members had been talking about resurrecting that idea, Towarak said, but Ross’s appointment could put it on hold.
“To me the governor is sending a message that she’s shutting the door on any question on subsistence as long as Wayne Anthony Ross is her attorney general, I don’t even think we’ll have the chance to talk to him about it,” Towarak said.
But Ross – who spent his first day on the job today in Juneau -- says he does wants to talk to his critics. He sees the criticism as divisive and premature, and said he thought talk of urban-versus-rural hunting rights had died down in recent years.
"Died down"? Does that mean that WAR has not been reading the papers and is not aware of the recent kerfuffle with the Board of Fish and Game concerning the fact that the board favors out of state big game hunters over subsistence hunters?
Remember this quote? John W. Andrew is from the Kuskokwim village of Kwethluk, a Yup'ik community of 700 about 12 miles from Bethel. Moose hunting has been on hold in the region for the past five years.
But I guess if Wayne Anthony Ross has not been thinking about it in recent years then it must be a dead issue. So sayeth WAR!
So how does the Governor defend choosing a man that is so disliked by the Alaska native community?
Gov. Sarah Palin
-- “Obviously I am not anti-Native and would never appoint anyone who is. (Unless of course I do and then I don't want to be confronted with it by the "Gotcha" media.)It's unfortunate that a few vocal critics view anyone who may have a different opinion as they do as being unfit for public service for all Alaskans," via an email sent out today by her spokeswoman. (Just because my pick for Attorney General has a history of treating the native people of Alaska like second class citizens does not mean that all of the white folks should dislike him as well. I am totally doing my sexy wink at the white people.)
And what does WAR have to say for himself?
Wayne Anthony Ross:-- Ross doesn’t like it when people say he’s against rural preference. “Quit saying I was ‘opposed to’ … “I was in favor of the constitution. There’s a difference. The constitution says the assets belong to all the people of the state of Alaska.” (See? I am not the one that is racist. It is the Constitution that is racist.)
This guy is a complete asswipe and the fact that Governor Palin picked him is a fair indication that she has no further political aspirations here in Alaska. She is shamelessly pandering to her national Republican base at the expense of the Alaska people.
She is on the defensive and feels that this big tub of guts is somehow going to run interference between her and her detractors.
You know, like me. Oooh I am shaking in my PJ's!
Oh but look; it's all working out...
ReplyDelete**The Attorney General of South Carolina has issued a formal opinion that the legislature cannot bypass the governor for the stimulus funds.**
http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/734314.html
April 1 McMaster sides with Sanford - Legislators lack power to bypass governor and tap funds, attorney general rules, foreseeing a court battle
State lawmakers have no ability to circumvent Gov. Mark Sanford’s refusal of $700 million in federal stimulus money, according to an opinion issued Tuesday by Attorney General Henry McMaster.
“This is a classic constitutional standoff,” McMaster said. “The governor cannot be completely bypassed.”
[snip]
Under the federal bill and state law, McMaster wrote, only the governor can certify the funding and the Legislature has no power to compel him to spend the money.
Past legal analysis raised the issue of whether the federal bill violated the U.S. Constitution, but Crocker [University of South Carolina law profession] called the Tenth Amendment questions a “red herring.” McMaster’s opinion, he said, resolved the venue issue.
“It’s entirely a state court issue,” Crocker said. “We were chasing the wrong thing.”
OT: are the oil storage tanks still in danger from the volcano? The 20th anniversary of the Exxon spill (March 23) makes me wonder.
ReplyDeleteGreg Palast has a good interview about the Exxon spill and a good article at Suicide Girls.
Why is he "on the job"? I thought he still has to be confirmed by the legislature.
ReplyDeleteOBAMA LETTER TO SANFORD: IF YOU DO NOT APPLY FOR FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS, MONEY WILL NOT BE THERE
ReplyDeleteAmong the numerous rumors swirling around Columbia is a report that President Barack Obama has told Gov. Mark Sanford that if he does not apply for federal stimulus funds, the money will not be available for South Carolina.
And The Palmetto Scoop has now confirmed that Obama has, in fact, sent Sanford a very blunt, personal letter saying just that.
The correspondence reportedly states that roughly $700 million in discretionary stimulus money allocated for South Carolina will be revoked on Friday if Sanford declines to accept the funds and that, by law, no alternative options can be accepted.
Take it or lose it
http://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/03/31/take-it-or-lose-it/
As a retired attorney with some experience with WAR, I think his appointment has an extremely high "blow up in your face" potential for Palin. I disagree with almost every one of WAR's political views, and he does take pride in his "bull in the china shop" image. However, my experience with WAR is that he sincerely does believe in the rule of law and takes seriously his role as an officer of the court. Colberg blew it because he thought he represented Palin, not Alaska. I don't think WAR will make the same mistake. My impression of WAR is that if Palin tries to use him to run political games for her advantage, she might be very surprised at the results.
ReplyDelete