Updated below with sources and a response letter by Ross to allegations where he signs letter as Attorney General although he has yet to be confirmed
I was reading some news feeds this evening and stumbled upon a Sarah Palin at odds with the Alaska legislature story. Apparently she took off to headline a pro-life event in Indiana over the weekend at the end of the Alaska legislative session.
Well what caught my attention was this line at the end of that article
And her controversial pick for attorney general — the outspoken Wayne Anthony Ross — has not yet been confirmed.
So of course being an inquisitive and investigative blogger, I immediately did my research on this Wayne Anthony Ross and found plenty to get upset about. The line listed in the subject is just one of the remarks from Ross that I found. Thank god, Ross has not yet been confirmed and we can stir up some sentiment.
Most recently in his confirmation hearing, Ross said Palin "was provocative and she looked really good didn't she?"
So I started to dig deeper and realized that this wasn't just this Ross spouting off at a confirmation hearing. This was as we say par for the course. Ross has a long history of insensitive remarks and I'm thinking he's what would be called an equal opportunity discriminator as he has made offensive remarks about homosexuals, women, Native Americans and African Americans. Here's a good diary by Colorado is the Shiznit from earlier today.
Here are a couple of the most appalling statements Ross was alleged to have made
- here's a
link to the letter provided by a Leah Burton (former child and domestic violence victim lobbyist/advocate) where these allegations were laid out very convincingly
Ross Signs response letter as Attorney General although he has yet to be confirmed (a little presumptuous)
On Domestic violence
"If a guy can't rape his wife...who's he gonna rape?"
"There wouldn't be an issue with domestic violence if women would learn to keep their mouths shut."
ON the Exxon Valdez spill (which I understand was an op-ed piece
We see almost every day, the same films of what appears to be the same oil-soaked duck pulled out of the water. The state claims to have a number of refrigerated vans filled with about 30,000 carcasses of waterfowl killed by oil. No doubt some of these birds were casualties of oil. But had several thousand people combed Prince William Sound for dead waterfowl any prior summer, as they did in the summer of 1988 [sic], there is no doubt that an equal number of dead birds could have been accumulated.
On homosexuality - link to source
"Immoral" "perversion" and "degenerates"
Here's what Ross said during his confirmation hearing about how he would view cases involving homosexuality
Representative Lindsey Holmes asked Ross how he would view cases involving homosexuality, you know...him thinking they’re "degenerates" and all, and writing it in the Alaska Bar Newsletter.
Ross responded, "Let me give you an analogy. I hate lima beans. I’ve never liked lima beans. But if I was hired to represent the United Vegetable Growers would you ask me if I liked lima beans? No. If I disliked lima beans? No. Because my job is to represent the United Vegetable Growers."
So what are the chances of this guy getting confirmed later this week? According to the articles I've read at Mudflats and other places it's about a 50-50 shot. Of course emails and letters and calls will put pressure on sensible Alaska legislators to oppose this nomination. Heck there's also an odd chance that Palin doesn't move this guy forward if there's enough pressure. I doubt that based on her past history though. We certainly don't want this guy as Attorney General and then using this as a stepping stone to Governor of Alaska in which turn he gets an even bigger platform.