The Real Story Behind the “Rogue” in Sarah Palin’s New Book.
28 09 2009[This story is cross-posted at The Huffington Post]
“Going Rogue,” is the title of Sarah Palin’s soon-to-be released memoir. It’s cute, it’s catchy and it will sell some books. The 400-page tome will hit the shelves on November 17th, with a massive first printing of 1.5 million copies. And each one of those book jackets is another jab at two of the many casualties of the Palin administration in Alaska.
Politico reports that the phrase has its roots in an Oct. 20 story by Slate’s John Dickerson, with the lead: “Has Sarah Palin “gone rogue”?”
But those of us who live in Alaska, and who have been following this story from the beginning know the real root of that phrase, and will understand the ugly irony of Palin’s title.
During the ethics investigation of Sarah Palin now known as “Troopergate,” that phrase became seared into the collective consciousness of Alaskans. Palin’s spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton used that word referring not to Palin, but to the former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan. Palin had pressured Monegan to fire her ex-brother in law Trooper Mike Wooten whose nasty divorce from Palin’s sister had left bitter feelings. Monegan refused to fire him, and was subsequently dismissed by the governor, leaving the Department of Public Safety without leadership, and leaving many Alaskans with a bad taste in their mouths.
In a stinging press conference, Stapleton said that Monegan, a particularly well-liked and respected public servant, former police chief and ex-Marine had displayed “egregious rogue behavior.” Stapleton, who had been a respected news anchor before her association with Palin, suffered withering criticism from Alaskans on both sides of the political spectrum. Alaska is a small town. Monegan was no “rogue,” everyone knew it, and the use of the term disgraced her.
What had Monegan done, according to the governor, that earned him this brand? He had planned a trip to Washington D.C. to seek funding to help combat sexual assault in a state that leads the nation in that category. Rogue, indeed.
In September of 2008, Alaskans for Truth held a rally in downtown Anchorage. More than 1500 Alaskans showed up to protest the administration’s handling of “Troopergate,” the insinuation of the McCain campaign’s attorneys into Alaska’s Department of Law, and the outrageous behavior of Meg Stapleton, then Attorney General Talis Colberg, and Palin herself. One of the speakers at the rally was Betty Monegan, the mother of Walt Monegan, who carried a sign referencing the outrageous accusations made by the Palin administration.
But Monegan was not the only one to stand accused of being a “rogue.” Mike Wooten, the infamous ex-brother-in-law was called a “rogue trooper” and Palin said he was a danger to her family and to the public. She made it clear that in no uncertain terms that being a “rogue” was not a good thing. These accusations were soundly refuted by Steven Branchflower, an independent investigator hired by the bipartisan Legislative Council to investigate Troopergate.
“I conclude that such claims of fear were not bona fide and were offered to provide cover for the Palins’ real motivation: to get Trooper Wooten fired for personal family reasons,” Branchflower wrote.
The Branchflower report states Todd Palin used his wife’s office and its resources to press for Wooten’s removal, and the governor “failed to act” to stop it. But because Todd Palin is not a state employee, the report makes no finding regarding his conduct.
The bipartisan Legislative Council, which commissioned the investigation after Monegan was fired, unanimously adopted the 263-page public report…
The Branchflower Report was to find Governor Palin guilty of abusing her power as governor under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Attorney General Talis Colberg would ultimately resign his position, and Todd Palin and several administration officials would be found guilty of contempt of the Legislature for ignoring subpoenas.
Trooper Mike Wooten ended up with a desk job because Palin’s accusations that he was a “rogue” and a danger to the public had brought about threats that made it impossible for him to work out in the open as a trooper, despite the findings of the Branchflower Report.
Walt Monegan was denied a request for a due process hearing before the governor-appointed Alaska Personnel Board to address reputational harm because of the insults he endured from an administration who chose to call him a “rogue.” That’s the same board to which Palin filed a complaint against herself, and was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing.
And now Sarah Palin apparently hopes to make the term “rogue” impish and endearing, and hopes it will help her sell a lot of books. But that term is no such thing to many Alaskans. It wasn’t “cute” when it was used as a finely sharpened tool in the Palin toolbox, used to malign the characters of those who stood in the way of her power scramble to become the Vice President of the United States.
She may have fooled her ghost writer, and the folks at Harper-Collins, and she may fool many of those in the Lower 48 who will wait on line for their copy of “Going Rogue,” but she will not fool Alaskans.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Saw this at HP and just wanted to add here, swallow any liquid before reading.
Going Vogue: The Lies and Tweets of a Nieman Marxist
September 29th, 2009 at 2:13 AM
the hypocrisy takes my breath away. i would never buy or even read her book. too many lies. i’ll have to rely on the mudflats blog to keep me up-to-date. best ever blog.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:49 AM
400 pages? I’m wondering how many sentences there will be? Probably one/page.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:42 AM
Is she really THAT stupid? Did she not bother to pick up a dictionary before insisting that she title this book?
rogue (rg)
n.
1. An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal.
2. One who is playfully mischievous; a scamp.
3. A wandering beggar; a vagrant.
4. A vicious and solitary animal, especially an elephant that has separated itself from its herd.
5. An organism, especially a plant, that shows an undesirable variation from a standard.
adj.
1. Vicious and solitary. Used of an animal, especially an elephant.
2. Large, destructive, and anomalous or unpredictable: a rogue wave; a rogue tornado.
3. Operating outside normal or desirable controls: “How could a single rogue trader bring down an otherwise profitable and well-regarded institution?” (Saul Hansell).
v. rogued, rogu·ing, rogues
v.tr.
1. To defraud.
2. To remove (diseased or abnormal specimens) from a group of plants of the same variety.
v.intr.
To remove diseased or abnormal plants.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:43 AM
Good point. I don’t think she’ll really fool all that many people. I think the people who buy it will be fans of hers already and would have bought anything she put out there. I think the book will come out, excerpts will get out and the “best” parts (for lack of a better term) will be written up and people will have access without having to buy the book. I’ll bet lots of copies will be sold to her fans right off the bat, and it will end up in the sale bin in a couple months. I couldn’t resist writing and poking fun with titles myself; that she used “Going Rogue” because “Goin’ All Mavericky” was probably taken (McCain?) A shame that perfectly good trees were wasted for this “memoir.” Look forward to the fact check!
September 29th, 2009 at 4:02 AM
AKM – dead on. The Huff Po article will circulate quickly because it resonates. You put in to words what many of us had garbling in the back of our throats or stuck in an acid reflux pool as we fumed. Thanks for that. It helped release some of the pressure and direct it somewhere useful.
Marnie @9 – How in the world did her editor and publicist manage to miss the Webster’s definition for “rogue” I’m quite sure that will be trotted out more than a few times once the book is launched. Really, REALLY poor choice of words. (but then again, when it comes to Palin, that’s par for the course) Guaranteed that writers and talk show hosts are already making notes for articles, comedy bits and cartoons to have ready after the book’s debut.
Tina @16 & Emily Horton @52 re: “rouge cou” – An anchor on one of the morning news shows announced the title of Palin’s upcoming book as ” Going Rouge”. Took a moment or two before getting the correction but he decided that “going rouge” was a better title, afterall.
@92 Norwegian Blue and HIG @96 – Thanks for the Hitler/Palin video! Lifted my morning!
September 29th, 2009 at 4:02 AM
I’m just so disgusted that this is coming out on my birthday. yuck.
Sadly I seem to know all the 20% who are totally in love with Queen Quitter.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:17 AM
Good post, but just to clarify the true meaning of things, Walt Monegan is NOT
an “ex-Marine,” he’s a “former Marine.” There is a difference, eh ??
September 29th, 2009 at 5:26 AM
[...] the title is that those in Alaska know how the word rogue entered Palin’s vocabulary. Palin first used the word to attack Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan during the whole trooper…. RSS – PostsRSS – [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 5:36 AM
I think intellectual inconsistency is one of her hallmarks, so it’s no surprise.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:45 AM
Can’t wait for the dingbat book tour.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:24 AM
She’s rabid. gah
September 29th, 2009 at 6:30 AM
[...] there must be good rouges and bad rouges. Mudflats reports on how the label was thrown around by Palin herself, and not in a nice way. Possibly [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 6:56 AM
I glanced at some pro palin blogs, after reading that she is as wildly popular as ever to the republican and fundy base. They love her in Florida. Though so far I haven’t heard of her going to any other republicans aid.
She looked very strange in her Hong Kong airport video. Skin all stretched, greased and shiny. Pulled tight. Must have had a strong chemical peel.
Seems they think she is persecuted. (But anything or anyone who trashes Obama is dead right.) One woman says Sarah would be sitting in the White House taking care of our problems, and not flying off to Denmark like Obama.
The very thought of this woman sitting in the White House in any capacity makes my flesh crawl.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:01 AM
Oh in my tour through sites I stopped at Celtic Divas. She has a great cartoon of a smiling, wrinkle faced Murdoch with a lipstick in his left hand, holding a pit bull with Sarahs lipsticked head on the pit bull carcass, on a leash, saying “Good Girl!.”
September 29th, 2009 at 7:22 AM
[...] The Mudflats: But those of us who live in Alaska, and who have been following this story from the beginning know the real root of that phrase, and will understand the ugly irony of Palin’s title. [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 7:28 AM
We can look forward to an interview and book plug (review) in the Faux Street Urinal, I betcha. Also,too.
Even a rotten apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:35 AM
Good work Mudflats. Like a bad case of acne you’ll get rid of Palin soon enough. This neighbour still loves Alaskans despite Palin.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:50 AM
I’ve been out of town for a while… does Levi’s counterpoint come out now?
September 29th, 2009 at 8:16 AM
This is a hilarious “excerpt” from SP book. I am sure this is what her notes to her ghost writer looked like before they cleaned her up and tried to make her words look all pretty.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-wyskida/exclusive-the-first-excer_b_302442.html
September 29th, 2009 at 10:14 AM
#104 @NIN – yes, my dear mudflatter, Palin IS that stupid!
Thank you for the definition post! I think it’s poetic justice that the title of her memoir describes her so well.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Going…Going…GONE!
Icky poo spit.
Obamanos!
September 29th, 2009 at 10:22 AM
#114 @ lilly: You know, isn’t it crazy to hear people trash the President when he is flying to Denmark to promote CHICAGO – a US city, last I checked? Their hypocrisy really is astonishing. And you are right – ANYTHING President Obama does is wrong to them.
They make it seem like it’s the ONLY thing President Obama does. Yet – when he appeared on the Sunday talkshows to explain his healthcare reform, the whole kit and kaboodle of them threw back their heads and howled. I believe Peggy Noonan described it as “boorish”.
There is no truth in some people. None at all. No truth, no honour, no dignity and certainly, no intellectual consistency. Therefore – that is why they are Palin Super Fans. You HAVE to be this way to endure the never ending torrent of lies and detestable vitriol pouring forth from this odious woman.
(I’ve clearly been reading my thesaurus today! hahahahha)
September 29th, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Do you think she was thinking of this when the title was concieved?
http://www.cityofheroes.com/goingrogue/en/about.html
September 29th, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Going Rogue
A male that allows a transexual man to fck him hard in the ass, yet still claims to be straight.
Chris: dude, why is Hobbes walking funny?
Ted: I think he got too drunk last night and ended up going rogue.
Chris: oh no, not with that tranny!!!
September 29th, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Just read this – apologies if it has already been mentioned here – it is one of those where you will be ROFLYAO !
——————————————
Best Bill Maher line of the week: ”
Asked about her favorite part of Hong Kong, Palin said it was when he climbed the Empire State building.”
September 29th, 2009 at 1:27 PM
I’m in the lower 48 and I know what rogue means and I know what she did and I hope her books sell to few.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:10 PM
Friends the base of the republican party will buy this book. The only problem can her base read.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
I see a carshow spokesmodel gig for SP!
Here’s the CNET review of the 2009 Nissan Rogue SL :
“The word “rogue” is usually applied to people and things that break from convention and do the unexpected. Rogues catch you off guard with their speed and stealth. However, the vehicle that Nissan calls “rogue”–the 2009 Nissan Rogue SL FWD, to be exact–is a decidedly average, small, crossover SUV. No surprises here.
The Rogue’s tall SUV stance, mushy suspension, and all-season tires respond to corners with a good deal of understeer and body roll. However, if you keep the CUV well within its small performance envelope, the Rogue is a pretty good cruiser.
In sum
Although the Nissan Rogue’s name implies that we should be surprised by it in some way, the reality is that it just barely manages to meet our expectations for a small SUV in its price range.”
Just had to laugh.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:58 PM
The question: “What magazines and newspapers do you read?” is NOT “gotcha journalism”.
Katy Couric is, like Larry King, is NOT a “journalist”. They both serve up “softball questions”. The very fact that her innocent question caused Palin so much discomfort speaks volumes.
Any normal person would tell the truth (or lie a little to sound smart): “I read the NY Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, etc, etc,.”
Palin (deer in headlights look): “Uhhhhhhh, I read ALL of them.”
Couric: “Which ones specifically?”
Palin: “Uhhhhhhmmmmmmm, ANY of the ones THEY put in front of me.”
Anybody with an IQ over 50 can tell that Sarah Palin is a lying idiot.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
that Palin woman (”the Quitter”) is a moron and her so-called supporters…………………………………pathetic.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Maybe the title is a misprint.Maybe she meant “Rouge”.You betcha.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:17 PM
Nice article, tell’s what to expect from “Going Rogue”. When I first saw the title I thought she had just spelled Rouge incorrectly.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:52 PM
[...] almost used the ‘C’ word, but I remembered Sarhoid like Dr. Pepper, not Coca-Cola; During the ethics investigation of Sarah Palin now known as “Troopergate,” that phrase [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 5:56 PM
RE: post #114 – I’d also wondered about that picture of Palin in HK. It looks like Palin has gotten a new face indeed. All waxy and shiny and non-wrinkled in a strange plastic way. Over-zealous Botox or face lift? You be the judge.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Way to point out the irony of it all, AKM. Bravo.
September 30th, 2009 at 6:18 AM
Don’t they shoot rogue elephants?
September 30th, 2009 at 8:12 AM
Urban dictionary is even more disrepectful of Rogues. Look it up.
By the way the NYPost reports that the lecture circuit is not interested in booking the woman at 100,000. Too divisive, plus they quote someone in that field as calling her a “blithering idiot” with nothing to say of interest.
Google it up. LOL.