Enough, already, on the non-issue of the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's unmarried 17-year-old daughter. There's nothing the Republicans would like more than to make this presidential race all about having babies. What they don't want us talking about is Palin's own checkered political past and very questionable political character.

While much of the mainstream media focuses on the pregnancy story, real investigative journalists on the internet have turned up some pretty disturbing details from Palin's tenure as mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska. Soon after her election as mayor in 1996, Palin moved to carry out a Stalinist purge of city officials who had supported the incumbent mayor she opposed in the election. As the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported on 10/28/96, the new mayor sent resignation requests to all of Wasilla's top managers, including the chief of police, public works director, finance director, and head librarian "in order to test their loyalty to her administration." An additional official had previously resigned after Palin eliminated his position. "Wasilla is moving forward in a positive direction," Palin unapologetically stated at the time, "This is the time for the department heads to let me know if they plan to move forward or if it's time for a change." Meanwhile, Palin prohibited Wasilla officials talking to news media on this or any other topic without her permission (see also Anchorage Daily News).

Among officials asked for their resignations, only librarian Mary Ellen Emmons was finally allowed to remain at work following public protest against Palin's attempt to force Emmons out and against moves by Palin to censor library books. According to a 12/18/96 report in the Frontiersman cited by Politico, Emmons said that Palin had asked her outright if she could live with censorship of library books. "This is different than a normal book-selection procedure or a book-challenge policy," Emmons told the Frontiersman, "She was asking me how I would deal with her saying a book can't be in the library." "Many issues were discussed," Palin said in response, "both rhetorical and realistic in nature."

Palin's efforts at purging city departments and censoring library books are detailed also in a scathing comment to the Washington Independent by Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny, who published her comment despite fear of retribution from Palin.

As details like these emerge, so emerges also an increasingly ugly picture of Palin herself.