As many know by now, John McSame has tapped Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice-President. What fewer know is that her administration in Juneau is currently embroiled in an investigation into alleged pressure on the Alaska State Troopers to fire her former brother-in-law - a trooper - during a time in which he and the governor's sister, Molly McCann, were embroiled in a heated custody battle.

While that's fairly big news in and of itself, what should be even more concerning to Teamsters and union members in general is that the tapes which have "surfaced" showing an aid to Palin pressuring an AST lieutenant to fire the trooper also begin with an explicit request by the aid, Frank Bailey, for the lieutenant to forward him the internal and confidential bargaining position of the trooper's union, the Public Safety Employees Association (PSEA). Bailey - whom no one ever accused of genius - apparently wasn't aware that Lt. Rodney Dial, being a lieutenant and thus a supervisor, was no longer a member of the trooper's union - a fact Lt. Dial made clear to Bailey but Bailey seemed to shrug off as he continued to ask for information about what "they're doing."

PSEA has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the governor's office emails to perhaps file suit in the matter.

Here are the relevant parts of the conversation in transcript form; here's the actual audiotape ( http://community.adn.com/plain/node/129005?gallery ). Mr. Bailey sounds like a guy who just finished smoking about 10 pounds of marijuana so I've had to clean up some of the stammering and nonsensical rambling so this makes sense. Therefore, this transcript is not 100% accurate in terms of the flow of the conversation. If you want to listen for yourselves please click on the link I've provided above.

Bailey: "Hey, I've got a question that's a little bit awkward to ask, umm, and so I wanna be real respectful. I mean if this is something you're not comfortable with, that ... just tell me straight up and I respect that fully. But uhh, as you know things are really rampin' up with the contract negotiations right now ... and we hear that there's going to be quite a bit of communications going around on the PSEA side, say, coming from John Cyr [PSEA Executive Director].

Do you feel comfortable keeping us in the loop on that ... if any of that does come through in writing?

Lt. Dial: Umm, you mean if I learn what they're asking for or what?

Bailey: Yeah. Yeah ... We saw this happen [in other negotiations] where [materials get sent out to members] that really doesn't have all the facts quite right but it'll just get forwarded to God and everybody. It's things like that that we, you know, we'd like to know if something comes out like that.

Dial: You mean anything that would be forwarded to legislators or something like that?

Bailey: Well, even to members [of PSEA] ... what typically [unintelligible] kind of an effort to get members rising up to talk to legislators. And that's fine, that's good, but we want to see if that information is accurate or not

Dial: Oh sure. Umm, normally I'm not in the loop on that. I'm not in PSEA. You know that, right?

Bailey: Oh, no I didn't know that.

[Later in the conversation]

I can certainly keep names out, you know that's no problem, you know I don't wanna, you know, get some onus or focus on you at all there

Dial: Oh I'm not worried about it ... because by the time I get it it's generally public knowledge anyway. I don't attend any of their meetings.

[Later in the conversation]

Dial: Are you kinda expecting to get sorta back-doored on the negotiations?

Bailey: ... I'm on the governor's side [of the government], and we hear of some PSEA ads are comin' out. And there has been some misrepresentation, I think John Cyr recently ... made some charges which were completely false ... Cyr was, he was horrible to the governor during the campaign, and I know we're not supposed to hold grudges, and I don't think the governor does but those of us around her certainly remember it.

One thing I guess she can not put on the resume...Labor friendly.

BUT?????John McLame introduced her as a "Union member" married to a Union member......but then both Ronald Reagan and Charleton Heston were Union members at one time.
You don't imagine that scabbby cancerous, high blood pressure, lying, PTSD sufferer John McLame wasn't being "straight" do you?

Well, even the "straightest" of "expresses" must detour from time to time. McSame's, however, seems stuck on a zig-zag course through Bullshitville.

Sarah Palin is a "union member" in every bit the same way as Brit Hume (or anyone else at Fixed News) is a "journalist."

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hmmmmmmmm

Wow. How terrifically cowardly to attempt some nebulous smear without having the fortitude to mount anything resembling an argument. It shows all of the "bravery" of a drive-by shooting without the "panache." Not to mention the fact that Obama has absolutely nothing to do with this thread inasmuch as Governor Palin's union busting is her own cross to bear, not Obama's.

One can only hope this is the "best" Republicans and their champions can muster. Months' worth of this same silliness has Obama up in the polls and pulling away. 'Course I know Republicans aren't particularly gifted with numbers (witness our economy, McSame's inability to count to 7, etc.), so perhaps by their lights his being up in the polls is somehow a sign that the "fundamentals of this [election] are strong" for McSame. Who knows. What I do know, though, is this kind of thing benefits no one and merely makes the purveyor look rather dim.