It's really hard to top Sarah Palin's lack of class.

[Blue_In_AK]

From The Mudflats http://www.themudflats.net/2009/03/02/oh-yell-take-the-high-road-and-ill-take-the-low-road-and-ill-see-governor-palin-afore-ye/

“Oh! Ye’ll Take the High Road and I’ll Take the Low Road, and I’ll See Governor Palin Afore Ye.”

Before that song starts running through your head and you learn to hate me, pleas stand.

(Hand on heart, clearing throat) I pledge allegiance to the Democratic Presidential Candidate of the United States of America…

In my humble opinion, pledging allegiance to a flag is a bit odd to begin with. I’d rather be pledging allegiance to the Constitution, or the Democratic Process, or Representative Democracy, or the Rule of Law, or a dozen other things. But I’m willing to stretch the metaphor a bit and think of “the flag” as being representational of those things.

But never would I “pledge my allegiance” to a person, be they a member of my own political party or not. And accusing someone of pledging allegiance to a person, seems snarky at best, and downright accusatory at worst. And yet, this is how Governor Palin reacted to the impressive appointment of Juneau Senator Kim Elton as the Director of Alaska Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior. It’s her “opening line” as a matter of fact. Here is the governor’s nastygram press release in its entirety.

“Senator Elton pledged his allegiance to President Obama last summer. We wish him well as he moves on and hope that he uses this job for Alaska’s benefit - to advance the state’s oil and gas issues, including the natural gas pipeline, and to work diligently to remove the barriers imposed upon all states that want to open up their shores to off-shore drilling. I hope he can represent Alaskans by opening ANWR, conveying the importance of responsible mining development, and building roads­ ­- all issues crucial to the future of our state.”

How very…..curt. Hardly a glowing press release, wishing a respected member of the Senate well, and sending him off to Washington D.C. with the support and pride of his governor. Why, you’d almost think that Governor Palin didn’t like Senator Elton….like she was harboring some kind of grudge, perhaps. Let’s think….why might that be?

Ohhh. That’s right, Senator Elton was the head of the Legislative Council this past fall; the very Legislative Council that hired Stephen Branchflower to investigate Palin’s role in the Troopergate ethics scandal! And now that I think of it, wasn’t Elton on the receiving end of a lawsuit to stonewall that investigation? And didn’t that report find that Palin did abuse her power under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act? Ahh. The pieces are falling into place.

So, according to Sarah Palin, ”pledging allegiance to Barack Obama” must be what you do when you head up the council that said she was guilty of abusing her power. So, does the governor, then, believe that everyone who has supported her on the other side of this investigation has pledged allegiance to her? Someone should ask.

But back to the subject at hand. Senator Elton has represented Alaskans for over two decades. He’s been in the Juneau Assembly, the House of Representatives, and the State Senate. And the governor “hopes” he can represent Alaskans? I wonder if the Governor actually knows that there IS, a “High Road” and that it’s not only navigable, but it can be taken at any time. Really. It’s quite convenient, and it often takes you beautiful scenic vistas where the low road doesn’t go. Here’s an example.

Let’s try Senator Begich’s response.

“As a former commercial fisherman, newspaperman and long-time state legislator, Kim Elton has a broad depth of experience as a result of his nearly 50 years as an Alaskan. He’ll need to rely on every bit of that knowledge as he helps the Obama administration and its Interior Department understand the unique needs of Alaskans as the Interior secretary’s right-hand man on Alaska.”

“I’ve known Kim for many years to be a knowledgeable, diplomatic and open-minded public policy maker who puts the interests of his state first. I look forward to working with him in Washington to advance Alaska issues, from a gas pipeline to subsistence management.”

Much nicer.

Now, it falls to Governor Palin to appoint another Juneau Democrat to fill Elton’s position. Rumor says that Rep. Beth Kerttula, the current House Minority Leader is under consideration. And if that happens, we’ll be looking for a new Minority Leader. Interested parties have until Wednesday to apply for the position. If I were a betting person, I’d also be scanning the Wasilla High School Yearbook to see if there are actually any alumnae who happen to be living in Juneau, and have become Democrats in the last week or so.

Either I’m just plain cynical, or it’s the Nyquil talking…