Former Palin aide irked by portrayal in book
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"I'm just pilloried right and left and turned into the big bad wolf here for stuff I didn't do," said Bitney, who is now an aide to Valdez Republican Rep. John Harris. "It's like I'm this fictional character that she's decided to make me out to be this sort of incompetent slob."
He told The Anchorage Daily News he's unfairly blamed for Palin's poor relationship with lawmakers.
After her first legislative session in 2007, legislators complained that Palin blindsided them with the scope of her budget vetoes and she rubbed it in by saying there had to be an "adult in the house."
Palin doesn't use Bitney's name but said it was her legislative director who failed to advise lawmakers the vetoes were coming and advised her to tell lawmakers that they were in need of adult supervision.
Bitney said in an interview that he joked with Palin in her office about how there needs to be an adult in the room when it comes to the state budget, but he said he never advised her to say it to anyone.
Bitney said he has tried to be fair to Palin in media interviews over the past year but "Going Rogue" is too much.
"I've had it. Enough. Just enough; leave me alone," he said.
Bitney was a high school classmate of Palin's from Wasilla who helped her win the 2006 campaign for governor. He was fired in July 2007 for poor job performance.
Palin's lawyer, Tom Van Flein, said in an e-mail to The Anchorage Daily News that Bitney and others have been talking about "their perceptions of, and distortions about" Palin for more than a year, since after she was chosen as Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate.
"'Going Rogue' is Sarah Palin's book to set the record straight. It is her right to speak about the events that occurred in her administration and neither Mr. Bitney nor anyone else has the right to stifle that speech," Van Flein said. "The statements in 'Going Rogue' speak for themselves, and it is Sarah Palin's turn to get the truth out there after a year of misrepresentations, half-truths and dissembling by her critics."
Maybe when she can start credibly talking about the issues such as foreign policy then the discussion can shift that way. Right now as far as I know she is not a candidate for any office, and thus is not really a politician at this time. She WAS a politician until she quit that job mid term to publish her popular and profitable book which is from what I have been hearing is mostly all about herself. So as of right now, until she tosses her hat into the ring for senator, or president, I don't feel the need to talk about her "political issues". I notice how you yourself and most of the right wing commentators here are not talking about her political issues either! What I am hearing is a lot of talk about how she is the victim of this, victim of that. That seems to be the discussion that I hear from her also, and that victimization is now coming straight out of her book. Maybe if she wrote a book about domestic policy, or foreign policy, or economic strategy for America's future she would become more credible in the eyes of most mainstream Americans. But she can't really do that, can she? Doesn't seem to have the smarts. So we will keep on talking about the real issues instead, which is her incompetence, and your side will keep trying to defend her lack of political savvy as a virtue.
Half-truths? lol That is about all Sarah has is half-truths.
When Sarah says, "running for president isn't on the schedule",...lol, does she think we're stupid?
Sarah wants attention, attention, attention. Give her a movie script pleeeez. She'll do better on a Hollywood set, then in WASH D.C.
Sorry John, you outdid your purpose for Sarah.
Bitney grew up with the governor, often telling the story of being in the same band class. He served as her Issues Coordinator during her successful gubernatorial campaign in 2006, spokesman for her transition team after the election and on December 1, 2006 he was named her Legislative Liaison.
Bitney was respected as a hard worker by people who knew him and worked with him. In six months, Bitney guided the governor's policies through the legislature, including her hallmark legislation; AGIA.
But John Bitney made the fatal employment mistake; he got on the bad side of Todd Palin.
In June of 2007, it became known that Bitney was dating the soon to be ex-wife of Todd Palin's good friend. Palin reportedly began demanding that Bitney be fired.
After a short time, Bitney realized that he couldn't remain in the governor's office due to the constant pressure and he worked out a deal with Chief of Staff Mike Tibbles to take a transfer to another department.
On July 3, Bitney was in the process of driving his vehicle back to Juneau when he couldn't get his state issued Blackberry to work. When he arrived in Tok he called his office and was told that his Blackberry had been turned off and that his name had been removed from the state employee directory.
His call was then transferred into Tibbles who told him the proposal they talked about was a no deal and the governor ordered him fired immediately. John Bitney was never given a reason why he was fired and never given a chance to make a graceful exit.