Congrats to Teflon Dad: Rush Mentions “Tasergate” Line
From Teflon Dad’s lips to Rush’s ears, in less than 2 weeks.
On September 4, Teflon Dad (father of Teflon Don) wrote me to say:
Why not call it “Tasergate”? Gives a better idea of the details?
Within the half hour, his suggestion was embodied in this post. Five minutes later, an e-mail went out to some top conservative bloggers with the suggestion. And so, within an hour of Teflon Dad’s hitting the send button on his e-mail, a seed was planted.
Beldar, by e-mail, signed on right away. Three days later, Instapundit (one of the bloggers I had e-mailed) used the term. Five days after that, SEK e-mailed to say he had heard Carl Cameron use the term on Fox News.
Via Another Drew, I heard that Rush Limbaugh had used the term today on his radio program. And via Lord Nazh comes the link to Rush’s remarks:
In fact, it’s not even Troopergate. We ought to call it Tasergate. It’s Tasergate.
And so it is.
K-Lo credits Rush (for whatever reason, the people at National Review have never seemed to care for my blog, and almost never link it or refer to it). I’m sure others are saying: no, true credit goes to Carl Cameron, or maybe Instapundit. Others, regular readers here, credit me.
But of course, the real credit goes to Teflon Dad. And I think he should flaunt it. If Bill Quick can make such a big honking deal out of “naming the blogosphere,” then I think Teflon Dad can do a little victory dance over this.
The beauty of it is that it expresses the real outrage so well. How does a man remain a peace officer after tasering a 10-year-old? That is the true scandal, and Tasergate is the perfect way to express it.
Good going, Teflon Dad. Your true reward will be when you hear it come out of one of the candidates’ mouths in a debate.
And it might happen.
K-Lo credits Rush (for whatever reason, the people at National Review have never seemed to care for my blog, and almost never link it or refer to it).
Oh come now, Patterico, I don’t think that is the case. I have seen your blog mentioned on NRO on more than one occasion. Perhaps this has something to do with National Review being on the East Coast and therefore three hours ahead of us West Coasters. Don’t take it personally.
JVW (6c4300) — 9/16/2008 @ 8:54 pmDo blogs take requests? When you get a chance, let’s see coverage of the Los Angeles Times employees’ new lawsuit against Sam Zell.
Official internet Data Office (f11f24) — 9/16/2008 @ 9:16 pmHow about another one, considering what happened at the rodeo arena in Pueblo, Colorado:
“Teleprompter for President”
Mike O (764b0e) — 9/16/2008 @ 9:17 pmI’m looking forward to Annenberggate, Rezkogate, Ayersgate, and ACORNgate myself.
daleyrocks (d9ec17) — 9/16/2008 @ 9:32 pmProves WHERE to send ideas in the first place!
Thanks, Patterico!
Teflon Dad (b9958c) — 9/16/2008 @ 9:38 pmI have been reading this blog for a long time, always good, but I have seen you up there on NRO once and a while. I have my own blog now that is gaining visitors but this is still where it began!
Thx
http://www.trunkreport.com
London Locke (f38c20) — 9/16/2008 @ 10:01 pmI was assured by a retired Oregon State Trooper that such a one as Wooten would’ve been fired here for ANY ONE of the documented transgressions.
http://media.adn.com/smedia/2008/07/21/16/Wooten_suspend_letter.source.prod_affiliate.7.pdf
Teflon Dad (b9958c) — 9/16/2008 @ 10:11 pmBut, but, but the kid asked to be tasered!
Doesn’t that make it ok?
Oh, I’m so confused…
/snerk
Casey (9ee427) — 9/16/2008 @ 10:21 pmThe Alaska Peace Officers Union thinks that using a taser on a 10 year old boy because he asked for it is an appropriate use of state property? I would try to get that guy fired ASAP.
Maybe Alaska has no tort lawyers.
tyree (7a25f8) — 9/16/2008 @ 10:43 pmSo can someone explain why Todd Palin was involved in this routine personnel matter that had absolutely nothing to do with the custody dispute?
Josh (86f13d) — 9/16/2008 @ 11:06 pmPerhaps Todd Palin was involved, as was his wife (before she was elected AK’s Governor) as an interested private citizen who didn’t appreciate the fact that his nephew had been ‘tazed’?
But then, that probably only happens in a family-centric culture unlike what one finds in major, urban, sophisticated and cosmopolitan areas of the Lower-48?
Right!
Another Drew (1b62fd) — 9/16/2008 @ 11:21 pmSo can someone explain why Todd Palin was involved in this routine personnel matter that had absolutely nothing to do with the custody dispute?
The head of the governor’s security detail told him to discuss it with Monegan because the matter was a danger to her and needed to be resolved.
Taltos (4dc0e8) — 9/17/2008 @ 2:41 amMonegan was being incredibly stubborn, and I wonder if he protected this dangerous cop simply because he had a terrible relationship with his superior. Of course, I am probably placing malice where incompetence fits more neatly.
It’s not a surprise that everyone outside Monegan’s circle expressed surprise that the cop was still employed (I haven’t heard much that even Palin herself did beyond express surprise). I know it would surprise the hell out of me that a would-be killer gets to wear a badge.
I do not have the power to fire cops in my jurisdiction (I don’t work for the government). But if a cop was threatening to kill my dad, tasering his kid, drinking on duty, and all that, you can damn well bet I would call his boss and talk about why he still has a job. Why is anyone acting like that isn’t sane and legal? Palin did not actually fire him, but rather asked her subordinate to do a good job, which by definition involed firing this guy. The law can be contradictory, but I don’t think it’s hard to figure out that this was OK.
Juan (4cdfb7) — 9/17/2008 @ 2:49 amWooten sounds like a loser cop…but I wonder how many loser cops that Patterico, in any other situation, would be in favor of supporting the due process set by their respective agencies? It seems like there are many bad cops who get a pass because of the reluctance of LEOs (and their unions) to crack down on them.
Shodo (dbfcb4) — 9/17/2008 @ 5:25 amNot to speak for the man, but I suspect that if Patterico knew of a cop like this he would VERY much prefer he never come within 3 miles of a case he was trying. A cop like Wooten is a “reasonable doubt machine”, since he’s SUCH scum by his record, nothing he would say would be taken as true.
And that in no way means that the bad ones that we the public find out about shouldn’t have the book thrown at them, just because the ones still being hidden aren’t getting shit-canned too.
Scott Jacobs (a1c284) — 9/17/2008 @ 6:11 amI was listening to a talk radio station on the way home yesterday. The AK lt. Gov was the guest.
The show host asked about “troopergate” and the Lt. Gov said they preferred to call it “tasergate”
The new label is certainly taking hold.
akm (ee680a) — 9/17/2008 @ 6:20 amTeflon Dad, you REALLY should have trade-marked the term…
Scott Jacobs (a1c284) — 9/17/2008 @ 6:22 amIt’s “taser-quiddick”.
Viktor Nehring (6c107f) — 9/17/2008 @ 6:54 amDon’t get any ideas in his head… next he’ll be emailing out speeches. š
Teflon Don (0d1e49) — 9/17/2008 @ 8:55 amCheck out the photos in the Juneau Empire (our own Crabapple Cove Courier)
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/091708/sta_333380277.shtml
Teflon Dad can dance.
John (89e111) — 9/17/2008 @ 9:49 amMaybe he should blog…
Since his son doesn’t. š
Sorry. Couldn’t help myself… š
Scott Jacobs (a1c284) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:02 amAnother Drew and Taltos,
So it is a routine matter for the spouses of government officials to involve themselves in official business? To Another Drew specifically, is it normal for any old Alaska citizen to have direct and repeated contact with the Public Safety Commissioner? I would think you’d have to go through some underlings first. Having an unelected un-appointed non-employee spouse carrying out official business is kind of strange.
Josh (86f13d) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:22 amJOsh…
Another Drew (8a6fd1) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:41 amIf you’ll recall, the questions to Monegan were extended even before Sarah Palin became Governor.
If I had a relative who was a State Trooper, and who had done what this trooper had done, I would be writing, emailing, and calling the head of his agency at the State Capitol every week until the matter had been resolved – but then, I can be a little compulsive (plus I would be CCing everything to the relevant media).
Also, the culture of a small (in population) state is a bit different than if you were in NY, or some such. If you will recall, it is nothing for Gov. Palin to be approached on the street with questions from her constituents. This is why small government has attractions to many people.
It was under the Clinton Administration, or is Travelgate and the whole Universal Healthcare thing something you had a problem with as well? š
Not necessarily… If they WANTED it to be an un-official “Look, dude, this guy needs to GO or you’re going to get chucked” kind of friendly warning, I don’t think it is all that wrong. God knows all sorts of people get all sorts of “friendly advice” in politics to try and keep them from doing something that will require them get chucked under a bus…
Scott Jacobs (a1c284) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:43 amSo it is a routine matter for the spouses of government officials to involve themselves in official business?
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1370&type=1
Seeing as he’s been doing this for 25 years I assume he knows what he’s doing.
Taltos (4dc0e8) — 9/17/2008 @ 11:36 amI suspect that it is. That’s who he ultimately works for. It seems quite obvious that as a public official running a public agency, he’s going to hear from the public.
Does that strike you as anything other than obvious?
Pablo (99243e) — 9/17/2008 @ 11:42 amJosh [and others]: “So it is a routine matter for the spouses of government officials to involve themselves in official business? … [I]s it normal for any old Alaska citizen to have direct and repeated contact with the Public Safety Commissioner?”
People need to consider how small Alaska is in terms of population, only about 670,000 people. This is the size of some our smaller cities in the lower 48, e.g., Memphis, Baltimore, or Austin. The political class in these cities is small and people know each other, and that’s going to be true in Alaska also. So, I think it would probably not raise anybody’s eyebrows in Anchorage that Todd Palin gave the guy a call, just as the mayor’s spouse calling a department head in Baltimore wouldn’t mean much.
Peccator Dubius (0a6237) — 9/17/2008 @ 11:48 amAll this talk of ‘impropriety’ regarding Palin, along with the never-ending search for any support of such impropriety, and yet the repeated obfuscation of the actual criminal acts of the trooper in question.
Politically motivated dishonesty makes regular dishonesty seem honest by comparison.
Apogee (366e8b) — 9/17/2008 @ 11:50 amOkay, Pablo. You try to get a direct line to the public safety commissioner in your state and let me know how it goes.
Taltos, that looks like some after-the fact rationalization to me. Why not send someone who is, you know, actually working for the state to carry out state business?
Anyway, you guys are a bit behind the curve. The latest excuse is that Monegan was going rogue on the budget. Because you know, you wouldn’t want more resources to fight sexual assault in the per-capita rape capital of the country. Not when it would interfere with Saint Sarah’s earmark drive, at least.
Josh (86f13d) — 9/17/2008 @ 12:27 pmJosh…one more time…
The initial contact with Monegan re “TazerGate” was prior to Sarah Palin’s election as Governor, and perhaps prior to her winning the Primary.
The Palin’s were private citizens, petitioning their government for redress of grievances; ie, the actions of a state employee with the power to use deadly force who had ‘tazed’ his step-son (their nephew), and had – in front of witnesses – threatened the life of the boy’s grandfather.
Personally, I think this trooper should be prosecuted by the USA for a civil-rights violation, since it is obvious that local authorities are reluctant to buck the power of the trooper’s union.
Another Drew (8a6fd1) — 9/17/2008 @ 12:51 pmGod forbid an underling stick to the schedule. What unmittigated gall for Palin to expect her appropriations to go through in a certain order!!
Thank god that state employee took it upon himself to do whatever he wanted!!
Scott Jacobs (a1c284) — 9/17/2008 @ 12:54 pmSure Drew. But what does the initial contact have to do with all the pressure after she was elected? Just ordinary citizens doing their normal business the whole time I guess. Anyway, the latest talking points don’t talk about the tasing, it’s about the budget.
You’re right Scott. We wouldn’t want something inconsequential like rape to interfere with that sweet sweet seal DNA money. You think Palin will ever go on the record as to whether she supports Stevens in his re-election bid? Reform and change are definitely coming to Washington!
Josh (86f13d) — 9/17/2008 @ 1:24 pmMonegan has no defense. He would not do his job, part of which was to ensure that the State of Alaska did not employ officers who put the State in threat of litigation, or broke the law.
Another Drew (8a6fd1) — 9/17/2008 @ 1:31 pmSince he was a political hire, like USA’s, he serves at-will, and the Governor can can his sorry ass for any, or no reason, at any time, and he knows it.
Unless the people of AK want to revert back to the previous regime of corruption, he should quietly slink away and do some serious fishing to occupy his time.
Josh, Todd was involved because Monegan told the Governor that any concern she had about Wooten should be conveyed through her husband.
Milhouse (89df7f) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:47 pmJosh again:
Um, excuse me? That’s not a new “excuse”, that’s been Palin’s story from day one. She has always maintained that Monegan’s firing had nothing to do with the whole Wooten affair.
Yes, that’s exactly right. It doesn’t matter what resources Monegan thought were appropriate, or what you think were appropriate, once the Governor had made a decision it was his job to support her, and any commissioner who defies his boss like that deserves to be fired. If he disagreed with her decision he could make his case to her privately and try to change her mind, but he had no right to undermine her in public, or to work against her policies. If he felt he couldn’t do that, he had the duty to resign, not wait to be fired.
Milhouse (89df7f) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:55 pmOops… There goes THAT scandle…
Scott Jacobs (d3a6ec) — 9/17/2008 @ 10:58 pm