You all recall me blogging back in March about the Alberto Gonzales-installed U.S. Attorney in Minneapolis right? Indian American Rachel Paulose, at only 33 years of age, was one of the loyal “Bushies” picked to replace the apparently disloyal outgoing attorney (Tom Heffelfinger) from that region. Right away news began to surface that Paulose’s staff couldn’t stand her reportedly imperious ways. Well now it seems that the largely ignored Office of Special Counsel is investigating formal complaints against Ms. Paulose [via Eric Black Ink]:
The federal Office of Special Counsel is investigating allegations that Rachel Paulose, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee.
Paulose did not return phone calls seeking her comment. Black Ink will publish any response that she makes.
The investigation has been under way since June. The Office of Special Counsel, which handles complaints about retaliation against whistleblowers and prohibited personnel practices by political appointees such as Paulose (that’s her at the podium in the photo at right), appears to be taking the allegations seriously. Investigators from two of its regional offices have been to Minnesota to interview witnesses and may be back for more. I could not find out when the OSC, an independent executive branch agency that is not part of the Justice Department, might complete the investigation. [Link]
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p>It should be noted that this is an on-going investigation that is little more than he-said she-said right now. Here are a couple of the specific allegations being made, however:
*Paulose committed large and small acts of retaliation against others in the office whom she accused of disloyalty to her. In one instance, after changing the job assignment of one employee, Paulose allegedly said that she would make the woman so miserable that she would want to quit. In some instances, Paulose allegedly ordered those in charge of performing job evaluations to downgrade the reviews of those she considered disloyal, or turned down requests that they be allowed to perform work outside the office. The allegation is that Paulose took these actions against employees for reasons other than the quality of their work, but rather for offenses like advising her that some actions she was contemplating would exceed her legal authority.
*Paulose allegedly denigrated one employee of the office, using the terms “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass…” [Link]
I don’t think using the four words above necessarily means you said anything wrong or that you are racist (as the allegations seem to imply). For example, I think it is perfectly acceptable to criticize a subordinate like this:
“When you sit in that black chair eating non-fat yogurt when you should be working as hard as a four-legged ass it makes me think you are a bit lazy.“
Can anyone else come up with a possible non-controversial sentence that Paulose might have uttered using those four words?
The outlook may not be favorable for Paulose. With Alberto out the knives will be coming out and Democrats will be applying some pressure to clean-up what they see as a crony-filled Justice Department.
Amitabh, my interest into politics was through my passion for food. Many years ago (early 1990s I think), Congress tried to pass a bill to lower the standards of organic food to include sewage as fertilizer (Toxic Sludge is Good For You), which thankfully, failed. So, that was my starting point and since then, I’ve kept myself aware of what’s happening at the national as well as state/local level. Actually, I’m more interested in activities at the local and state level because it does tend to have a greater impact on my day-to-day life. Being active and involved with the local groups in the area helps. Lucky to live in Jamaica Plain which is a thriving community of activists who care about myriad issues. I keep an eye on the voting records of Senators and Congressmen who represent me, and send emails to them on issues that affect me. Of course, it’s not possible to evaluate what outcome my actions have had, but I do what I can given the time I have without going crazy about it.
SCORE. I was hoping one of you would hit that one out of the park, in under two hours. I love how I can count on all of you. 😉
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I love it.
On Paulose, and the main thrusts of this thread (if not the actual post):
Paulose is no doubt smart, but as others have pointed out, she holds office thanks to her ideology, not her brains. And she’s already made a few blunders, not the least of which was her grodily self-congratulatory welcome-to-office party. We’ve all heard about her three staffers who resigned (have you ever seen a government employee willingly take a demotion? Freakin’ WEIRD, man), and they have their allegations about her Bible-quotin’ Alberto-Gonzales-loves-us ways, too. Odd, possibly illegal in a civil servant job (you’d think a Yale Law student would maybe get that) but not really hate-worthy.
My problems with Ms. Paulose don’t stem from the fact that she’s a Republican, either. We NEED Republicans in the government, just like we need Democrats. No, my issues are much more about her bizarre ideology, and that she holds office and affects national politics thanks to that ideology, which is an outcome of this administration’s perverse insistence on loyalty above all other considerations.*
Does anyone else think that politics in this country has become far too polarized to work well anymore? Forget for the moment the whole cynical dimissal of everyone in politics as corrupted by their love of power, which I definitely disagree with. I mean, it says something that a sitting President has to indoctrinate his staff, or at least surround himself with yes-people, like this.
This country’s swinging further to the right, and the to the left again, and I can’t help but feel like these “natural” political oscillations are getting amplified. And something’s going to give soon. Watergate was almost a dampening effect, in a certain sense, but now here we go again.
Wheee!
*As evidence, I offer Susan Powers refusing to answer questions before the House because “she took an oath to the President,” only to have Leahy set her straight that her oath was to uphold the Constitution…AND NO ONE THOUGHT THIS WAS REMOTELY WEIRD. WTF?
pravin
I’m a big fan of Ron Paul too despite not agreeing with his politics. My favorite story about him is how he votes AGAINST everyone (including Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa) for a medal of honor. He proposed that all member of congress pay for it by chipping in $100 each. It never works…
“It’s easier to be generous with other people’s money.” -Ron Paul http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ron_Paul
Sorry, Susan TAYLOR. It’s late.
I thought this post was to be about Ms.Paulose and not about if desi can be a republican.
The funny thing is this website and many of the other posters here have played a part in me moving from the left of center to the right of center when it comes to my political views, but I’m more of Libertarian then conservative.
This may be off topic, but on the sepia mutiny facebook site, I think I’m the only one that let everybody know who I am.
Woot, woot! Welcome to the club!
which shows why we uncles want our kids to be doctors. cuz the alternative is to be wingnuts like jindal or paulose.
Honestly, many ordinary people use those ordinary words (fat, black etc.) in everyday speech. Since this issue involves a politician, someone (or some people) probably wants to mess with her reputation, etc.
However there is one issue that is baffling me. (If someone can give a reasonable answer, it will be appreciated!) Why did she mention her grandparents had to flee Kerala in the 1960’s from communism? (According to this link at http://www.sajaforum.org/2007/04/law_rachel_paul.html she this in a speech.) Was or is Kerala really in such a dire situation? Of course, living under communist or facist rule is no picnic. How many people here or that you may know have escaped Kerala due to a political reason? Or did she say this to endear herself to the right wing and to be politically correct?
My own parents left India back in the mid 1950’s for the US for better economic opportunities. (Of course, they left Bangalore behind so they did not escape any political situations. To this day, they will still visit India. They do worry about the air pollution from which everyone should have a chance to escape, but that’s another story…..)
What’s that phrase? “Good riddance to bad..”
😉
I held back a little until now in judging her. But reading that SAJA link, she pretty much sounds like a right wing nut, not the reasonable conservative which tend to come to this blog. Her grandparent fled Kerala due to communism????? What the hell? Either her grandparents lied to her(Which I highly doubt) or she knew she could use the facts to misrepresent her past or she is an ignorant twit. Kerala had a communist government but they still abided by the constitution over there. It was pretty much like the socialist parties you see in Europe. Like them or not, they did not use persecution tactics they used in Russia and other communist countries. If anything, communist parties in India are not hostile to Christianity at all. And then she makes a reference to how her grandmother held the bible like she is holding it(not that there is anything wrong in the act, but the opportunistic reference of hers makes me extrapolate). So we got an opportunistic liar and a bible thumper. Great.
And the people who resigned – they are probably republican, right? Makes me wonder if her driven personality makes her not so much of a people person(unless she kisses ass to the person in power).
considering the fact that her actual sentence has mysteriously been withheld and the prevalence of racial mccarthyism is our culture, ie false charges of racism for personal/political gain, there’s reason to be skeptical.
?
i’m sure it was no picnic either, after all the commies opened fire on students and protesters, but i’m also sure the amount of people who fled kerala b/c of the commies is about the same as those who fled the US b/c of racism. call this a form of regular mccarthyism.
If it was, it had nothing to do with the party being communist. The Communist parties in india used to shamelessly idolise Commie leaders from China and Russia and like to trot out anti capitalistic slogans. But they were limited in what they could do because they had no power to change their state to a communist state. They pretty much had the same power as the other parties in India and were limited inwhat they could do. They just like to use a lot of slogans about capitalists. It is a joke to say that people fled to the U.S. because they lived in a state oppressed by the communists who got elected.
I do not know what you base your comments on. I knew a lot of communists in India. We had friendly debates. When they would rib me for being a US citizen, I would get them back by pointing out they would send their kids to the US instead of Russia or China. They were pretty much socialists.
Rachel flat out lied to score a political point.
er pravin, could you explain what you think i was saying?
Amitabh, my interest in politics comes from a few places, I think: 1. When I was really young (like middle school) I realized there was a HUGE disconnect between what I learned in the classroom re: American values and what I saw in my own community or backyard. Oftentimes it felt like “important people” were making big decisions without even asking if that’s what we (my community) wanted. Then I moved to a very affluent, politically active community and realized that it’s not that the system is so big and unwieldy that you can’t make a difference.
Salil, what depresses me is not the polarization but the new ways in which wing-nuts (on both sides) are using legislation to undermine democratic participation. I’m continually amazed by how much politicians get away with today that they would never survive (scandal-wise) 20-30 years ago.
What concerns me about Rachel Paulose is not what her qualifications were, or her age, or her gender/race, or her ideology. It just sounds like she is doing what Bush has wanted his appointees do — politicize the bureaucracy of the federal government to the point where personal agendas outweigh laws, the Constitution, and the spirit of the institution. It sounds like her office is very unprofessionally managed, and perhaps she’s inexperienced in that respect, but it sounds like she took her management cues straight out of the GW’s playbook. Her alleged behavior (retaliation, hostile work environment, etc.) is pretty much what the Office of the President has been doing for years.
Slightly unrelated to Amitabh’s question, I just wanted to say that I really don’t think it’s helpful to label Republicans as one amorphous group of crazies, nor is it fair to do the same for “liberals/Dems.” My grandparents are Ohio Republicans — they vote solidly moderate and are very decent, caring, people. Even among the very rich there’s variety. Some are Republicans, some are Democrats. There is a lot of internal party politics BS, but I think we often forget that the good thing about being in a democracy is that ideally you can leverage your voting power and resources.
Why did she mention her grandparents had to flee Kerala in the 1960’s from communism?
Naxalite anarchists were prevalent from the mid-60s to early 70s in Kerala. Beheading was the most favored tactic to terrify and intimidate.
Were you being sarcastic in your original comment and I missed it? If so, I take back my last comment directed at you.
Just wanted to add my thoughts. I’ve known Rachel since grade school, since I was good friends with her younger sister. Although she is a bit quiet in social settings, she is extremely intelligent, sincere and pleasant to be around. She may be a little more conservative than most of my friends and colleagues, but her heart is truly good. Her mother is friendly with my mother, so I often hear about the drama that her family has to endure, so people…please give them a break!
In response to the comment about “Why did she mention her grandparents had to flee Kerala in the 1960’s from communism.” Well, the communist party is alive and well in Kerala, see http://www.kerala.gov.in/knowkerala/political.htm
Sam, thanks for speaking up. It must be strange, seeing old family friends in the news like this. Eeek.
“Her alleged behavior (retaliation, hostile work environment, etc.) is pretty much what the Office of the President has been doing for years.” It may seem that way, but a while ago I was in a supervisory position against my better judgment, and often found myself doing and saying exactly the kind of things I would have SWORN I’d NEVER do or say. Not in same vein or for the same reasons as Ms. Paulose, but nevertheless… This happens especially to younger people in such positions for the first time. Even if it does turn out she was insulting, this should certainly not be a career destroyer. It’s the older, long time career politicians whose behavior is inexcusable.
i wasn’t being sarcstic at all. i thought i was being clear in calling BS on Paulose, though i left her some wiggle room since i don’t know her families personal story. i mean, i called her statement mccartyistic, which can’t be good, unless you are a revisionist who believes mccarthy was right.
Sam, I do not know what your background is. But you do not seem to understand the nature of Indian politics. I just explained the nature of the communist parties in india in a couple of detailed comments. I could go into more detail, but that would make for a separate blog entry of its own . You just respond with “the communist party is alive and well in Kerala”. No shit. It has been alive and well for decades. But it is a political party. The state government is not a communist government. The link you provided talks about a coalition government of many parties – two of which were communist parties. It is your typical coalition politics in India. There is nothing in there where it said the Communist parties in power were persecuting citizens ala Eastern Bloc commie countries. The difference between the communist parties and the congress parties were that the Communist parties talked more socialistic fantasy compared to the Congress. Both adopted similar socialist measures regardless of the state they controlled in those days. Land ownership ceilings were imposed by the Congress. If you knew about politics in India, and politics internationally, you would know that it was a joke. And I certainly doubt it had anything to do with religious persecution.
Now if Rachel’s grandparent got into a political grudge match on an individual basis with some politician, and he feared that he was being blacklisted out of jobs, then I can buy it as a reason why he left india. But it had nothing to do with the party in power being communist.
pravin, i more or less agree with you but i left paulose some wiggle room since her family left in the late 60’s and 70’s. there were reports of commies targeting roman caholics and opening fire on students and protestors in one incident at least. nehru stepped in to take over but i understand his reasons are much deeper than this.
anyway, her family could’ve just went to another part of india, so i don’t buy her fleeing arguemnt either, but i don’t now the details.
I agree, and in this spirit, thought I’d link to this wonderful and moving statement from the Republican Mayor of San Diego re: gay marriage. Transcript here.
i don’t know about back then, but aren’t naxalites clamped down on by police in much of southern india?
They are quite strong in Andhra, they don’t seem to be very active in TN or Karnataka. Kerala is already the Worker’s Paradise so I guess they stay away
“Laughing my fat ass off whith my black coworker we talked about the laziness of the administration.”
“She taught the English as a second language class that the words fat, black, lazy and ass all have the vowel ‘a’… “
Yes, I realize this is the most pathetic entry 😐
125 – very cool
Fleeing from Communism in Kerala? Communism had a pretty heavy hand in the mostly successful Kerala state.
Her grandparents fled from Kerala because of communism – Hmmm a blatant lie.
The only people who had a hard time were the bourgeios landlords who refused to pay a decent wage to the ‘kudiyeddapu’. Kerala in in the 50’s till the 80’s was a very volatile place with highly vocal and aggressive political parties. Many people left Kerala during those years but that was due to economic reasons. The history of Kerala from post WorldWar II to the end of 80s is rather fascinating.
I would recommend ‘Lal Salaam’ to get a brief understanding of the ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ period . In fact it is pretty much a must see for any NRM ( non resident mallu). Kerala’s social prosperity is directly linked to the reforms brought about by the communist parties.
‘Lal Salaam’ literally means Red Salute. ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ is a hindi translation of an original slogan used in Russian Revolution which said – Long Live Revolution.