Priorities

by hilzoy

Justin Rood at ABC News:

"Evangelicals and social conservatives have embraced McCain's vice presidential pick for what they call her "pro-family," "pro-woman" values. But in Alaska, critics say Gov. Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children.

Alaska leads the nation in reported forcible rapes per capita, according to the FBI, with a rate two and a half times the national average  a ranking it has held for many years. Children are no safer: Public safety experts believe that the prevalence of rape and sexual assault of minors in Alaska makes the state's record one of the worst in the U.S. And while solid statistics on domestic violence are hard to come by, most  including Gov. Palin  agree it is an "epidemic."

Despite the governor's pro-family image, public safety experts and advocates for women and children struggled when asked to explain how Palin's leadership has helped address the crisis. And current and former officials from Palin's administration confirmed that an ambitious plan to tackle the crisis has apparently sunk into doldrums after arriving at the governor's office.

"She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when it comes to violence against women and children. . . we haven't been on her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. (...)

Some members of Palin's administration were focused on the issue of sexual violence. Officials in the Department of Public Safety were devising an ambitious, multi-million-dollar initiative to seriously tackle sex crimes in the state, but Palin's office put the plan on hold in July.

Days later, Palin fired its chief proponent, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, after he declined to dismiss a state trooper Palin accused of threatening her own family members. Palin has said she fired Monegan because she wanted to move his department in a "new direction," and he was not being "a team player on budgeting issues." The dismissal is now at the center of a hotly-contested investigation by the state legislature.

The status of the plan, which would have "fast-tracked" sex crime cases via a dedicated group that included specially-trained investigators, judges and prosecutors, is unknown. "I'd ask the governor," said one official with knowledge of the plan. Numerous inquiries to Palin's campaign spokeswoman went unreturned."

Unlike most states, Alaska gets most of its revenues from oil. For this reason, as the Boston Globe reports, "in her 20 months in office, Palin's toughest financial decisions involved dickering with the Legislature on creative ways to spend and salt away the billions of dollars in oil revenues pouring into the state treasury." With the price of oil skyrocketing, she has been able to send every Alaskan thousands of dollars. It's safe to assume, therefore, that the reason for not pursuing the new sex crimes initiative was not lack of funds; it was lack of interest, plus the need to punish the guy who wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law.

On behalf of victims of sexual violence everywhere, I'd like to congratulate Sarah Palin on her clear grasp of what truly matters: personal vendettas, not preventing sex crimes and domestic violence.

Comments

[Tony P.]

Sarah Palin, petro-governor, ought to be encouraged to bring her energy expertise to all the states where the "drill here, drill now" battle-cry is meeting any resistance. If Floridians could get the same deal Alaskans get (essentially, a 90% royalty on every barrel of oil pumped out of their waters) they would invite Exxon to drill in their swimming pools. Not clear that Exxon would go for it, though.

Sarah Palin, champion of and for women, is not even a bad joke. At the risk of sounding sexist, there are stupid women in this country, as well as stupid men. McCain is definitely trying for the stupid woman vote.

--TP

[Jiminy Jilliker]

At least while mayor of Wasilla she did what she could to make sure that those rapes are harder to prosecute by requiring victims to pay for the privilege of having forensic evidence gathered. So she's got that going for her...
But the myriad awful problems with Palin are not (for those of us in the other 49 states) chiefly about Palin. They are about the man at the top of the ticket being so ham-handed and impulsive that he attempted to inflict her upon us without checking any of this out.

[Jiminy Jilliker]

At least while mayor of Wasilla she did what she could to make sure that those rapes are harder to prosecute by requiring victims to pay for the privilege of having forensic evidence gathered. So she's got that going for her...
But the myriad awful problems with Palin are not (for those of us in the other 49 states) chiefly about Palin. They are about the man at the top of the ticket being so ham-handed and impulsive that he attempted to inflict her upon us without checking any of this out.

[Jiminy Jilliker]

At least while mayor of Wasilla she did what she could to make sure that those rapes are harder to prosecute by requiring victims to pay for the privilege of having forensic evidence gathered. So she's got that going for her...
But the myriad awful problems with Palin are not (for those of us in the other 49 states) chiefly about Palin. They are about the man at the top of the ticket being so ham-handed and impulsive that he attempted to inflict her upon us without checking any of this out.

[Jiminy Jilliker]

dunno what happened there. sorry for the comment-splosion.

[mdl]

If Alaska has held this unhappy distinction "for many years", I don't see how you pin it on Sarah Palin. Why is she more at fault for not solving the problem than Murkowski was?

[iain]

mdl,

It's not so much that she failed to solve the problem, more that she took no interest in it and made no attempt to improve the situation. In firing Monegan she may have made it worse. Put together with the charging-rape-victims-for-evidence-gathering she presided over as mayor of Wasilla, and it adds up to someone who doesn't care about preventing or prosecuting rape.

[Alex Z.]

mdl,

Read what Jiminy Jilliker wrote - Palin not only didn't improve the situation, but as mayor she actively made it much worse (at least for the women of her town).
But even if Palin didn't have her horrible Wasilla record and merely continued her predecessor's bad policies, she would still be a bad governor because her predecessor was considered a bad governor. Being "just as bad" is hardly a defense, particularly because rape is such an important issue.

However, you're ignoring the most important point of this post - a plan was already being prepared to deal with this problem, but first she put it on hold and then killed the plan by firing Monegan! This is why hilzoy "pins it on" Palin: Murkowski didn't fire Monegan and he didn't force rape victims to pay for their own medical exams - Palin did.

[libarbarian]

At least while mayor of Wasilla she did what she could to make sure that those rapes are harder to prosecute by requiring victims to pay for the privilege of having forensic evidence gathered.

What small-town Alaskan woman doesn't have an extra $1000 lying around to prove they were raped?

[/snark]

[hilzoy]

mdl: I am not focussed on Murkowski's record just now, since he is not running for Vice President. I'd also have to check and see whether he tried to fix it.

In general, I'm not wild about arguments of the form: X has been a problem forever, so the fact that someone not only didn't succeed in fixing it, but seems not to have tried, is not a valid criticism.

[MeDrewNotYou]

I've heard about women in Wasilla having to pay for their own rape kits, but I'd really like a source to back me up on it before I stoke some outrage with the family/friends fence-sitters. Any links?

Tony- I think that it would be more correct to say McCain is going after the stupid person vote. Not that I think you were originally sexist. ^.^

[cleek]

Any links?

here

[liberal japonicus]

With the 4 link limit, I tried to put up some links at TiO for you, MeDrew

[MandyW]

Kere's the link that MeDrewNotYou asked for (backup details about women in Wasilla having to pay for their own rape kits), an article by Jacob Alperin in the HuffingtonPost "New Evidence: Palin Had Direct Role In Charging Rape Victims For Exams":

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-alperinsheriff/sarah-palin-instituted-ra_b_125833.html

This goes further than the original charges, which assumed she'd simply left in place a longstanding policy. However, Wasilla City budget records show that the policy changed under the regime of the police chief Palin appointed (after she fired the previous incumbent when she was first elected in 1996), and that it's clear from the budget documents that Palin signed off on that she would have known about it.

You can probably also find some info from the National Organization for Women, which will be endorsing Barack Obama today. On NPR, a spokesman cited Palin's attitude about rape kits as one of the things that made them decide to make an endorsement, rather than remain neutral.

[Anne E]

She not only made women pay for their own rape kits, she opposes abortion even in the case of rape. The contradiction is HUGE. It shows unbelievable recklessness with other women's lives. If you think abortion should be unavailable to rape survivors, you have a tremendous responsibility to drive down the incidence of rape to the absolute minimum.

If I were Obama, I'd be making an ad putting those two facts together.

If I were Obama, I would ALSO send an oppo researcher to Wasilla to find out if she opposed giving the morning after pill to rape survivors.

This has me so mad that I'm spitting nails, despite the fact that I'm pro-life myself.

PS Unless Mayor Palin made people whose homes had been burgled pay for the police investigation, there's something creepily hateful about this. We charge practitioners of extreme sports for the cost of rescuing them, because they are responsible for the situation they have to be rescued from. We don't charge crime victims. Singling out women who have been raped strongly suggests a presumption that raped women bring it on themselves.

[Incertus]

She not only made women pay for their own rape kits, she opposes abortion even in the case of rape. The contradiction is HUGE. It shows unbelievable recklessness with other women's lives. If you think abortion should be unavailable to rape survivors, you have a tremendous responsibility to drive down the incidence of rape to the absolute minimum.

If I were Obama, I'd be making an ad putting those two facts together.

If she were at the top of the ticket, I'd agree with you. As it is, I think it's the perfect thing Biden should hit her on during the VP debate.

[MeDrewNotYou]

Thanks all.

Anne- I didn't really connect the two, but the combination is way worse than the opposition to abortion or the rape kit thing.

Singling out women who have been raped strongly suggests a presumption that raped women bring it on themselves.
I was discussing this with my sister, trying to think of a reason for her position, but this was honestly all we could come up with. If there's a side in this election being sexist, I get the feeling that it ain't the Dems.

[Prup (aka Jim Benton)]

Two comments about this. First, looking at the budget numbers listed in the HuffPo piece confirms there were a lot of rapes in such a small town. (Unfortunately, the exact amount expended is only listed for two years, any way of checking this out for the other years?)

Second, on a related topic, I have read a couple of comments that she either closed or severly cut funding for a battered women's shelter in Wasilla, but haven't seen this confirmed or seen details. Does anyone know about this? (Significant if true, but it is vitally important in attacking a reflexive liar like Palin that we have every claim solidly backed up. You don't beat liars with anything but the strict truth.)

[LFC]

Look at her priorities as mayor of Wasilla. Her priority was to build that hockey rink. No matter that she left the small town with $20 million in long-term debt. No matter that she started construction on land the town didn't yet own, incurring an additional $1.3 million (so far) in expenses. No matter that the property ownership issue is still in litigation, hence is STILL costing the town money.

Nope, she's a "can do" kinda' gal.

[John Thullen]

Look at it this way:

When the Alaskan pipeline was being built, I remember reading that women from all over the country headed for Alaska for the big-money prostitution trade.

It's the history of America.

First came the men to work. Then came the women to work. Then the men came repeatedly, but that's another story. Then came the holy rollers so the hookers had even more business. Then came the EPA to clean up the mess. Then came the Republican Party, on behalf of the men and the hookers and the holy rollers, to cut the effing budget of the EPA and abolish the condom landfill by abolishing condoms.

Then came sex at the MMS, which may just be another coincidence.

[John Thullen]

Given the nature of incentives and disincentives, Palin would have been better advised to charge women $1000 bucks for being raped in the first place.

Nip it in the bud.

[MeDrewNotYou]

John- First came the men to work. Then came the women to work. Then the men came repeatedly, but that's another story.

I'd groan, but it would be taken totally out of context.

[JanieM]

I almost don't dare to ask, but what's the MMS? I google it and I get Minerals Management Service, M&Ms, etc. etc. .....

??

[Hartmut]

Some from that MMS had sex and drugs parties with energy company employees
http://www.truthout.org/article/tawdry-tale-oil-drillers-and-mms-chicks>link

[liberal japonicus]

Speaking of prostitution, well, there's this.

[MeDrewNotYou]

OT- re: the link LJ posted at 2:40- What the hell does a $1500 cell phone look like? Is it gold plated and diamond encrusted or something?

[John Thullen]

God, LJ, I wanna see Schwartz's mug in every Democratic ad from now until November and for good measure in every Homeland Security alert for the next eight years.

Of course, I have a skeleton in my closet. I've played for and batted leadoff for the MMS softball team in Denver for the past 15 years. I don't work for them and the folks I know are wonderful, honest folks.

Clearly, mine is the bigger scandal. Or it would be if the McCain campaign got hold of video of me rounding first.

Given the way things work these days in what used to be America before brain cancer spared Lee Atwater long enough to allow him to spew sewage into the body politic's water supply.

In Republican eyes, I would be the corrupt one (Thullen hit a triple that drove in an MMS employee who worked down the hall from an individual who submitted to anal sex by Chevron geologists), while Schwartz would become an icon of sexual abstinence, falling asleep limply and underendowed while his luggage is rifled and his bling removed.

Now, I'm going to look up Schwartz in the phone book and see where he lives and works.

His plight requires that he suffer.

[liberal japonicus]

I've played for and batted leadoff for the MMS softball team

Thank god you aren't batting cleanup...

[iain]

More on Palin, Monegan and (lack of) effort to address the high numbers of rapes:
http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2008/09/whoa.html
Seems Monegan was fired because he was trying to improve the situation...