Halcro's Charges Against Palin over Monegan Firing

Andrew Halcro is a smart guy in a left brain sort of way, he writes well, and he knows a lot of people. But over the last year or two I've grown to wonder about his judgment or maybe his motivation. He seems to totally dismiss factors related to human feelings as irrelevant and seems not to care a whit about what people think about him. That can be ok if you just like making noise or have unchecked power (hear Jane Meyer on Dick Cheney) . But if you want to change people's minds, you need to show some respect for the the people with whom you disagree.

So, where I used to read his columns with care and give what he said serious weight, I'm much more skeptical nowadays. For instance, the gas pipeline decisions have unknowns that no one can answer with certainty. We can make predictions about what might happen, but there are so many variables, so many future decisions by different people all of which will be influenced by what the others do, that no one can predict with certainty what the outcomes will be. But Halcro has taken a strong stance against the Governor and against AGIA with a tone of omniscience and almost contempt for people who disagree, that I wonder whether he is just completely enamored by his own brilliance or whether he might have some ties with the oil producers. Or he has God's on his speed dial.

Since we know that he's been on a crusade against the governor for all sorts of reasons, when he lights into her over anything we have to get out the salt shaker. You might want to shake some white grains into your palm before reading on.

Today Halcro is offering his explanation of the firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. You can look at Halcro's blog post for yourself.

Basically, Halcro is saying that Monegan was fired because:

• He has not fired the trooper who divorced Gov. Palin's sister
• He has fought hard NOT to reduce the troopers' budget opposing the Governor's office
  

Halcro's alleging that the Palin family has been filing frivolous complaints against the ex-inlaw trooper trying to get him fired.

I've done grievance work in one of my lives and I know that no matter how compelling someone's story is, there is almost always another take on things. Even if Halcro put a call into the Governor's office, I suspect she probably didn't call back. But I'm sure we'll hear more about this.

Governor Palin has enjoyed a level of public image and popularity that we all know is partially earned and partially wishful thinking. As she has to decide more and more issues where interests and values are in conflict her shine is going to dim. The backbone that it took to stand up against the corruption she saw on the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and stand up to the oil producers, could, on a bad day turn into a counterproductive stubbornness. Standing firm until you get what you want, tied in with family loyalty, could turn into the kind of vendetta Halcro portrays. And Palin's silence on the firing and her not telling the Commissioner the news herself only add fuel make Halcro's fire. Maybe we'll soon find out why Lyda Green disliked the Governor so much.

Or maybe this is part of the oil producers' campaign to discredit the Governor so that they can gain back their control over what happens with Alaska's oil. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile for some other thoughts on the issue, here is a thread from a law enforcement officer forum.

Thanks to AW for pointing out Halcro's post.