A letter surfaced Wednesday night in the state Senate Judiciary Committee, making allegations that Gov. Sarah Palin’s attorney general nominee, Wayne Anthony Ross, made offensive comments about women and domestic violence in 1991.The letter was written by Leah Burton, Cockerham says, who also wrote an anti-Palin book TheoPalinism – The Face of Failed Extremism. The Huffington Post and many other leftist websites have reproduced the Burton letter. Some state legislators have said that they were troubled by Burton's allegations.
According to Palin spokesperson Sharon Leighow, the governor asked Ross about the charges made by Burton, and he told her that the allegations are ”absolutely false.”
Meanwhile, Ross has responded to the charges made in the Burton letter by e-mail and with a letter of his own. Here are excerpts from the full text of Ross' response:
April 10, 2009My own thoughts: Make no mistake - the politics of personal destruction are alive but deadly in Alaska. Gov. Palin's political enemies will tell any lie and destroy anyone's reputation if they calculate that it will do harm to the governor. When challenged to provide hard evidence to back up their vile allegations, they are never able to produce anything of substance. These vicious cretins are more ravenous than the wolves who prey on the herd animals of the 49th state. They should be exposed for the human filth that they are.
By Email and Capitol Mailbox
Honorable Member of the Twenty-Sixth Alaska State Legislature
State Capitol
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Re: Letter Dated 7 April 2009 Purportedly From One Leah L. Burton
I am in receipt of a letter which purports to be from one Leah L. Burton. The letter is unsigned and I have been advised that it has been circulated to members of the Legislature...
Not content to discuss my record, someone has now chosen to circulate this unsigned memo which is replete with totally false statements...
I have never ever stated to anyone “If a guy can’t rape his wife… who’s he gonna rape?”
I don’t talk like that!
I don’t believe in that!
I totally abhor such a thought and I totally reject it!
Indeed, if I ever heard such a comment from anyone, that person would have faced a serious confrontation with me. Rape is a serious crime; it is not something to joke about; it is not something I joke about; and I have no sympathy with anyone who does. Indeed, as AG I intend to pursue rapists with the full power of my office and put them behind bars for as long a time as possible.
Nor have I ever stated “There wouldn’t be an issue with domestic violence if women would learn to keep their mouths shut!”
Such an allegation that I uttered those words is outrageous! Indeed, it is almost as outrageous as the words themselves!
I confess that I am a bit old fashioned when it comes to women...
The idea of “disciplining” a wife is outrageous! Wives are not children; they are partners (or at least should be). Any man who speaks to me about “disciplining his wife” deserves not to have one...
I have no patience or sympathy for any parent who fails to properly support his (or her) child...
As I said above, I am old-fashioned. I take my hat off inside if a lady is present. I try to rise as often as possible when a lady enters the room. I always try to treat women like I would like my wife to be treated. Call me a dinosaur, if you will, but that is how I was raised.
The Burton letter... crosses the line...
I am in receipt of a second memo dated 9 April 2009 referencing a lady who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 8 April 2009.
The lady referenced my attendance at a UAA Forum in October 2005. She alleged that she heard me “argue that DV victims are liars”...
I simply pointed out that men too could be victims of domestic violence. I also stated that on occasion people who sought domestic violence protective orders did so because they wanted to use the process “as a sword rather than as a shield”. I said that in my experience I had seen cases in which people lied to get such protective orders and that our domestic violence system was sometimes abused.
Quite obviously the lady who attended the UAA forum heard only what she wanted to hear.
My remarks that day were accurate and based on almost four decades of experience in the field. The lady’s recollection of the event, however, was not accurate.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Wayne Anthony Ross
Attorney General
cc:
Sarah Palin, Governor
Mike Nizich, Chief of Staff
Sharon Leighow, Deputy Press Secretary
And btw, the Huffington Post gives manure a bad name. But you probably already knew that.
- JP
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