Almost every day of the week the bastions of the liberal media, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time and Newsweek Magazine, MSNBC, even the Huffington blog run feature stories about Sarah Palin. If they dislike her so much, why?
Because Palin draws reader interest more than any other politician in America. Palin is plastered in the liberal media to sell the liberal media, pure and simple. The same way one of the top and most sought after celebrities for TV talk shows is none other than Sarah Palin. Oprah, Letterman, Leno, even Saturday Night Live see huge increases in ratings whenever Palin or her clone Tina Fey appear and that means higher ad rates and that means lots more money for the liberal media.
Nothing wrong with that, on the conservative side Roger Ailes was well aware of her ratings impact when he signed her to the Fox News network. She has been a welcome addition to Fox Shows like O'Rielly, Hannity and Beck because their audience increases and the ad rates increase. It is why Fox News continues to clobber the cable competitors in the Nielsen ratings.
Today, because finding a positive article about Palin is so hard to do in the liberal media, I'm going to showcase the dreaded Washington Post and a recent Palin article that appeared. In addition, Sarah Palin should be allowed to speak for herself for a change. She issued, in her own words, her version of what happened inthe elections. You should watch the video and get her version of what she thinks.
The Washington Post
Five myths about Sarah Palin
By Matthew Continetti Sunday, October 17, 2010
Think you know Sarah Palin? The former Alaska governor has been in the spotlight ever since John McCain named her as his running mate on Aug. 29, 2008. Yet, while practically everybody has an opinion about Palin, not all of those opinions are grounded in reality. Many of them are based more on a "Saturday Night Live" caricature than on the living, breathing, 46-year-old mother of five. The real Sarah Palin is a complex woman who has risen in no time from obscurity to the stratosphere of American politics, fusing celebrity and populism in novel ways. Now that she's laying the foundation for a possible presidential run in 2012, it's worth taking a moment to separate the facts about Palin from the fables.
1. Palin cost McCain the 2008 election.
She didn't. CNN's 2008 national exit poll, for example, asked voters whether Palin was a factor when they stepped into the voting booth. Those who said yes broke for McCain 56 percent to 43 percent.
Before Palin's selection, remember, McCain suffered from an enthusiasm gap. Republicans were reluctant to vote for the senator from Arizona because of his reputation as a maverick who'd countered his party on taxes, immigration, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and "cap and trade" climate legislation. But Palin's conservative record in Alaska and antiabortion advocacy changed the Republican mood. With her by his side, McCain's fundraising and support from conservatives improved. It wasn't enough to beat Barack Obama -- but McCain probably would have lost the presidency by a greater margin if he had, say, selected independent Sen. Joe Lieberman as his running mate, further alienating the GOP base.
Yes, it's possible that Palin's conservatism and uneven performance on the campaign trail shifted some voters to Obama's column. But even if Obama picked up some anti-Palin votes, he surely didn't need them: The economy was in recession, Wall Street was in meltdown, and the incumbent Republican president was incredibly unpopular. In the end, it's impossible to know how McCain would have performed if he hadn't selected Palin -- politics does not allow for control experiments.
2. Resigning as governor was rash.
No one expected Palin's resignation on July 3, 2009, just 2 1/2 years into her term. Her hastily composed and clumsily delivered farewell address left many observers confused about her motives. Some of her critics were only too eager to fill in the gaps with conjecture and hearsay (She's being investigated by the FBI! Sarah and Todd must be headed for divorce!). If there was one thing everybody knew for sure, it was that Palin's career in politics was over.
But none of the rumored scandals ever broke. The Palins remain married. And as for Sarah Palin's career, it's taken off. She plays a far greater role in American public life than she did before she left office.
When Palin returned to Alaska after the 2008 campaign, she confronted three problems. The political coalition on which she had based her governorship -- a combination of Democrats and renegade "Palinista" Republicans -- had collapsed. Her critics were using Alaska's tough ethics laws to launch investigations into her behavior, sapping her finances and her energy. Finally, every time she traveled to the Lower 48, Alaskans criticized her for putting her political interests above the state's.
Palin's solution was to resign. Her agenda stood a better chance of passing if then-Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who shared Palin's goals, succeeded her as governor. As a private citizen, meanwhile, Palin could make enough money to pay her legal bills. And she would no longer be accused of neglecting her official duties.
Some might say that Palin's resignation was shortsighted and showed that she was not ready for the demands of executive office. But if Palin had remained governor, she would have been denied opportunities to rally the tea party and fight in the battle over the Obama agenda. She would have been stuck on a regional stage. Instead, she's back on the national one.
3. Palin and the tea party are destroying the GOP.
You've heard the spiel: The Republican Party is in the midst of a civil war between moderate incumbents and far-right challengers backed by Palin and the tea party. Driving Charlie Crist from the GOP and defeating establishment figures such as Robert Bennett, Lisa Murkowski and Mike Castle spells electoral doom for the party. The only chance Republicans have for long-term success is to move to the center in a bid to win over millennials and Latinos.
But demographics aren't destiny, and no one knows what the future holds. The reality, right now, is that Palin and the tea party are saving the GOP by dragging it back to its roots and mobilizing conservative voters.
Remember, by the time Palin arrived on the national scene, the Republican Party was depleted, exhausted and held in disrepute. An unpopular war in Iraq, an economy in recession and GOP corruption had driven away independents. Meanwhile, massive government spending and a liberal immigration policy had dispirited conservatives.
This is where Palin came in. In the wake of Obama's historic victory, she and countless other grass-roots activists could have abandoned the GOP and turned the tea party into a conservative third party. They didn't. They decided instead to refashion the Republican Party from the ground up, pressuring it to live up to its limited-government ideals. Now, two years after Obama's win, Republicans are poised to reap major gains in the midterm elections. Palin and the tea party haven't hurt the GOP one bit.
4. Palin is extreme.
On many of the most important issues of the day, Palin holds positions that are squarely in the center-right of American political discourse. And many of those positions, not incidentally, are held by a large segment or even a majority of the public. For instance, neither the public nor Palin believes the stimulus worked. And while most Americans may not share Palin's views regarding "death panels," many join her in opposing Obama's health-care overhaul.
Over the past two years, Pew and Gallup surveys have tracked the public as it has moved to the right -- not on just one or two issues but on a whole constellation of them. Even on the controversial topics of abortion, guns and same-sex marriage, Palin is not as far away from the center as some suppose. A May 2009 Gallup poll, for example, found that a majority of Americans identified as "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice." In October 2009, Gallup measured record-low support for gun control. The public is divided on same-sex marriage, with about half the country joining Palin's (and Obama's) opposition.
5. Palin is unelectable.
Without question, a Palin 2012 campaign would be an uphill battle. Palin is unpopular -- massively so among Democrats, decisively so among independents. Even many Republicans don't believe she's ready to be president.
But opinions can change. Look at the political resuscitations of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Hillary Rodham Clinton. If Palin works hard and runs an impressive campaign, wavering Republicans and skeptical independents may give her a second look.
To earn that second look, she may need to find a big idea. It's hard to become president without one. Reagan had supply-side economics and the end of detente with the Soviets. Bill Clinton had the third way. George W. Bush had compassionate conservatism and the freedom agenda. Obama had national unity and hope and change.
At the moment, however, Palin still expresses her agenda mainly in negative terms, focusing on her opposition to Obama and the Washington establishment. She hasn't defined her "common-sense conservatism" in positive language. And she hasn't found a unifying, exhilarating theme.
Then again, she just might get along without one. After all, a presidential contest is a choice. The public might not love Palin. But by 2012, Americans might absolutely despise Obama. Two more years of a bad economy and an unpopular Afghan war, and anything is possible. Yes, there's a ceiling to Palin's support. But in 2012, there also will be a ceiling to Obama's.
Whose will be higher?
Matthew Continetti is opinion editor of the Weekly Standard and the author of "The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star."
Love her or hate her Sarah Palin continues to defy the experts and embrace the people. Just look at what she helped the Tea Party accomplish yesterday in the midterm elections.
Tea Party House, Senate & Governor candidates - 129 Tea Party Winners November 2 vote - 113 Winning percentage for Tea Party - 87%
Perhaps the greatest achievement by the Tea Party yesterday was sweeping state legislatures all across the nation into the Republican ranks.
Of the 54 candidates across congressional, gubernatorial and other state races Palin personally supported who faced primaries, 42 won. Combined with the candidates she backed who did not face primaries, that left 49 candidates for the 2010 midterms. Of those, 28 candidates won, 15 lost and six races were still undecided by early Wednesday morning. Remember, many of these people were unknown until Palin endorsed them. .
Highly regarded for his principled, energetic and idea-driven leadership, Marco Rubio won a three way battle for U.S. Senate fighting off numerous trips by Obama and leading Democrats and efforts to split the GOP vote in 2010. His humble and honest acceptance speech after the victory was one of the highlights of all speeches by candidates. Take a moment to listen to this 39 year old rising star.
In 1971, Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover. When he was eight years old, Rubio and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where his father worked as a bartender at the Sams Town Hotel and his mother as a housekeeper at the Imperial Palace Hotel. In 1985, the family returned to Miami where his father continued working as a bartender at the Mayfair House Hotel until 1997. Thereafter he worked as a school crossing guard until his retirement in 2005. His mother worked as a Kmart stock clerk until she retired in 1995.
Rubio attended South Miami Senior High School, graduating in 1989. He attended Tarkio College in Missouri for one year on a football scholarship before transferring to Santa Fe Community College and then graduating in 1993 with a bachelor of science from the University of Florida. He continued his studies at the University of Miami where he earned his juris doctor, cum laude, in 1996.
From 2000-2008, Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives. During this period, he served as Majority Whip, Majority Leader and Speaker of the House, effectively promoting an agenda of lower taxes, better schools, a leaner and more efficient government and free market empowerment. Rubio also helped spearhead Florida’s congressional and legislative redistricting effort. He chaired the House Select Committee on Property Rights, which crafted national model legislation to protect private property rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London decision that opened the door for eminent domain abuse.
During the two years prior to assuming the speakership, Rubio traveled around the state hosting “Idearaisers” to solicit Floridians’ input on ways to strengthen Florida. The 100 best ideas were compiled into a book entitled “100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future” which served as the basis for his term. All 100 ideas were passed by the Florida House. Fifty-seven of these ideas ultimately became law, including measures to crack down on gangs and sexual predators, promote energy efficient buildings, appliances and vehicles, and help small businesses obtain affordable health coverage. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich hailed the effort as “a work of genius.”
In addition to these ideas, Rubio championed a major overhaul of the Florida tax system that would have eliminated all property taxes on primary residences in favor of a flat consumption tax. The effort garnered national attention, with Grover Norquist, president of the fiscally conservative Americans for Tax Reform, praising Rubio as “the most pro-taxpayer legislative leader in the country.”
During his legislative career, Rubio also promoted efforts to develop a world-class public school curriculum, increase performance-based accountability, enhance school choice and target the socio-economic factors affecting chronic academic underperformance. He is also widely credited for blocking the expansion of gambling in Florida and shepherding the passage of historic energy legislation based on market incentives rather than government-imposed mandates.
Since the end of his tenure as Speaker, Rubio has resumed his law practice as a sole practitioner. He has also served as a visiting professor at Florida International University’s Metropolitan Center, worked as Florida Chairman of GOPAC and as a political analyst for Univision during the 2008 election cycle.
He has also continued his community and civic involvement, serving on the boards of the Latin Builders Association and Alafit International, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting global literacy. He also remains engaged in the West Miami community where he served as a city commissioner prior to being elected to the state house.
Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, have been married since 1998. They are the parents of four children: Amanda, Daniella, Anthony, and Dominic. They currently live in the working class city of West Miami, just four blocks from the home his parents moved the family to in 1985. .
What is it about Sarah Palin, our favorite backwoods voice in the wilderness fighting the battles for the forgotten multitudes? How could a basketball playing, rifle toting, mom from the north country be a threat to the professional politicians and Lame Street media who control our once proud nation?
I could understand if it was just Obama and the liberal elitist Democrats, but Sarah has seen the very beneficiaries of the Republican Party she resuscitated from life support two short years ago and led them to the brink of a historic victory today turn on her as well.
Well I have a theory. Palin, while coming from the Republican Party, realized that it was getting harder and harder to tell the professional Democrats from the professional Republicans. Though both parties claimed their own platform and agenda, once elected it was nearly impossible to tell the difference.
Our government is corrupted pure and simple. Money, in the form of campaign contributions, has corrupted our political process and our politicians to the point that preservation of the institution of the corrupt campaign laws dominates all other concerns of congress and the president.
The people be damned! The life blood of politicians is having their veins filled with precious campaign cash. The economy, energy independence, environment, health care cost, homes and mortgages, all are secondary to the flow of cash into campaign accounts.
The same corrupt dollars trickle through the politicians into the bank accounts of the money hungry media who suck up billions of dollars per election in campaign advertising. The very reporters who write about the politicians are dependent on the "corrupt" campaign dollars that feed the politicians to also keep them employed.
Is it any wonder that neither the politicians nor the news media ever talk about the need for campaign finance reform to cutoff the flow of dollars to the politicians and news media? No matter how much lip service politicians give to budget cuts, reducing the influence of special interests, or lowering the deficit, campaign finance reform is essential to making Washington work.
Sarah Palin has been in the vortex of campaign politics and been in the farthest outposts from the reaches of campaign money from special interests as she has crisscrossed in country in support of the more than 32 grassroots candidates she endorsed. Yet she has remained a political outsider, a grassroots advocate and a defender of principles.
After surviving the wrath of the liberal east from the political pundits to the liberal Democrats who made it a top priority to silence the voice from the wilderness, she now faces the money brokers from the other side of the political spectrum, the conservative king makers, and her threat to them is just as real as her threat to Obama and his liberal media.
Not surprisingly, they have moved to complete her destruction finishing the job started by Obama's Chicago gang and the liberal elitist media two years ago. Make no mistake, a true populist politician like Palin threatens all forms of professional corruption in our nation's capitol whether the good old boys are Democrats or Republicans.
Thus the money brokers who rode on the back of Palin to take back America from the disingenuous Obama agenda as seen from the Tea Party movement that is sweeping through local, state and federal elections today, have already initiated a strategy to discredit her role and minimize her impact on politics in America.
They must stop her before she can rally the public to support the one goal she has fought for her entire political career, shutting down the close alliance between special interests and politicians though unlimited campaign cash with meaningful campaign finance reform.
Just as Obama, the Democratic leadership and the liberal media totally underestimated her survival instinct and her connection to the people on Main Street, so do the GOP power brokers who never understood that it is the people, not the special interest brokers, who know what is best for America.
Palin began a long and lonely journey in Alaska to fight corruption and ethics violations in government. Due to circumstances beyond her control she was thrown into the national spotlight and never blinked. But her mission is far from over, and her commitment to the people is unbending.
The old political establishment from both Democrats and Republicans, both conservatives and liberals have only agreed on one thing these past two years and that is stopping Sarah Palin. She stands alone among all public figures in focusing the public spotlight on what is wrong with our system of politics and focusing pubic attention on the need for meaningful campaign finance reform if we are ever to take back America.
If the political parties don't come together and clean up the mess they have created, I suspect Sarah Palin will do what is best for the people and help start a third political party to bring about the end of special interests. Both parties need to remember the people like Palin are first patriotic Americans, then members of a political party. Think carefully before you push her out the door, for the people may already be on the other side.
If I were betting I would say Sarah Palin is a lot more concerned about helping guide the national agenda to change the political system than getting elected president. Maybe our politicians should consider working with her on the same goals rather than working to stop her.
After watching the evolution of the Tea Party over the past two years I often wonder if the Main street and Lame Street media who cover the Tea Party have listened to a word said by Tea Party participants. Since we know they condemned the Tea Party back in the beginning as dangerous radical fringe, and we know some in the media like Nora O'Donnell of NBC have been bitterly jealous or hateful of Tea Party leaders like Sarah Palin. Just yesterday O'Donnell said she was sick of hearing how Palin is "attractive and appealing".
So our first exposure to the Tea Party was the health care town hall fiascos of the Democrats when Nancy Pelosi said her congressmen were physically threatened by these radicals and her pit bull Steny Hoyer organized his own mercenaries to control the tea people, his being the SEIU thugs who claimed to put Obama in office.
Obama, Pelosi, Reid and all the liberal Democrats quickly joined the media trashing of the Tea Party people and apparently they thought the Tea people would just go away. Then along came the election to fill Teddy Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat and the radical Tea Party helped propel a Republican unknown named Scott Brown to a stunning capture of the Kennedy seat.
From that point on the Tea party treatment in the media changed, though not necessarily for the better. For the next year the media looked for every nut case, oddball sign and strange utterance from anyone even remotely connected to the Tea party in an effort to prove these were not ordinary citizens but were escaped mental patients.
But the scorn and disbelief by the media and politicians paled compared to the actions by the political parties as both joined in a holy war against the Tea party as both began to realize their old boy political network was threatened by these outsiders.
You see, the Tea party advocated a conservative platform aimed solely at the top issues of every citizen in America. Well, at least all the citizens except Obama and the Democrats who only seemed able to talk about health care, financial reform, and some stimulus that would keep unemployment under 8%. As the unemployment shot up to 9.7% it was obvious Obama and the Democrats had filed to see the light.
The Tea Party people wanted less government, a balanced budget and a reduced national deficit. Quite the radical agenda. There were no social issues. It didn't matter if you were Republican, Democrat or Independent, all were welcome to the Tea party movement.
It was about this time Sarah Palin and others took a very big chance and embraced the Tea Party movement and the grassroots candidates being fostered by the Tea party. The good old boys who controlled the GOP party had to be having fits and may even turned on Sarah to punish her for helping the enemy, outsiders that could not be controlled.
By the time the early primaries of this year came around the Tea party was knocking off Republican favorites and someone in the GOP machine woke up and realized if they embraced the Tea party primary winners, the Republican advantage in the off year election could be turned into a landslide.
Despite continuing efforts by a media appalled by the fact normal Tea party people thought they should be elected, and in spite of the media and Obama/Pelosi efforts to discredit and laugh off the Tea party, the outside radicals caught the attention of Main Street America and suddenly became a powerful political force Independent of the two old political parties.
Main Street Independents were first to embrace the ideals of the Tea party followed by disgruntled members of both the Democrat and Republican parties who were disgusted with the direction of both mainstream parties. Late last spring when the number of registered Independents in America surged past the registered Democrats and Republicans for the first time in over 100 years it struck a note of terror in even the old professional politicians.
Of course the media were the last to stop trashing the Tea party as the Lame Street media have never been known to catch on to popular opinion that conflicts with their own prejudices. Over 100 viable Tea party candidates got nominated to major offices and hundreds more are viable candidates for state legislatures and other local offices yet still the media focuses all attention on the political mistakes of a handful of Tea party candidates while ignoring the many legitimate candidates.
Just today the liberal mouth pieces of MSNBC were blaming the Republicans for letting "inferior" Tea party candidates run and win in primary elections when the GOP could have won the general election with traditional GOP candidates.
They still don't get it. The Tea party is not and never has been a Republican creation. Right now it is the only party in America that stands on it's principles. The Tea party would rather lose an election trying to get an outsider elected than back a candidate who will change positions to get elected. Such integrity no longer seems to exist with professional politicians or parties.
The Tea party winners will swell the GOP landslide because the GOP is opposed to the Obama agenda, pure and simple. It is the Obama agenda that has totally ignored the needs of the people. After the election, if the Tea party winners embrace campaign and campaign finance reform and force through, in order to stop special interests and the selling of America, long overdue changes, both political parties and the media will lose control of the national agenda and America will be returned to the People where it belongs.
By the way, the professional politicians might have pocketed more than TWO BILLION DOLLARS in campaign contributions, but the Main Street Lame Street media has pocketed over THREE BILLION DOLLARS in media buys from the same politicians and special interests. So just who do we think is owned by the billions in spending? .
Last Friday Morning Joe broadcast live from Tuscaloosa, Alabama as Joe Scarborough was receiving an award from the University. The broadcast was from the Rama Bama Cafe and for the most liberal network on TV it is a little odd and hypocritical that as you watched the show I could find no Blacks in the crowd of Cafe patrons but mostly Blacks in the kitchen preparing food.
How can that be politically correct for MSNBC? Just another example of the dual standards for the liberal media versus the Tea Party, Sarah Palin or anyone else on their hit list. They would have been condemned for not showing Black patrons. Let Mika show you the crowd for the record in the video until MSNBC jams the broadcast. .
As we finally head into the last 14 days of the election campaign Sarah Palin helped launch the final Tea Party Express cross country tour to help candidates as the election comes to a close. The New York Times says there are 129 Tea Party candidates running for the House and 9 running for the Senate. Of these, 33 House seats and 9 Senate seats have competitive Tea Party candidates, although less liberal groups believe far more seats may be in play. Beyond that there are a number of Tea Party candidates in the governor races, state legislatures, and even local offices.
Be that as it may, Palin and the Tea Party have written a new chapter in American political history with the first formidable launch of a movement that has a chance to evolve into a bona fide political third party. There has simply been nothing like it the past century in America.
It is true Ross Perot, who should be considered the Godfather of the Tea Party movement, did capture 19% of the vote in 1992 as a third party candidate but his efforts to form a defined political party did not succeed. Perot did, however, cost George Bush, Sr. his re-election as president. He also planted the seeds of discontent and provided a roadmap for future attempts to challenge the two party stranglehold on the American political process.
So far the Tea Party has organized as a series of independent groups, sort of a loose confederation, and has mastered much of the art of politics as seen by some stunning primary upsets. Within just a year they have demonstrated they are fearless, have weathered withering attacks by the left leaning media, the president and vice president, the congressional leadership, and the party spokespeople, while developing an ability to raise substantial money for campaigns.
In short, Sarah Palin and others give a face and a voice to the millions of disgruntled, disappointed, disgusted and determined citizens who have had enough government, deficit spending, increasing national debt and political double talk. Come November 3 we may find out just how much of an impact the silent voices of frustrated Americans might have earned.
It is clear in this election cycle the Republicans will be the primary beneficiary of the Tea Party movement because the GOP is the opposition to Obama and his left leaning agenda. But it is not clear that the Republicans can count on the long term support of the Tea Party, like into the 2012 elections. First and foremost, remember, they are Independents.
To the true Tea Party members neither political party offers much hope as they are equally responsible for being part of the old political establishment in our capitol. If the Tea Party stays with the Republicans it will only be because the GOP has changed for the better and is going to start practicing what they preach.
If they don't, look for the rise of a real third party challenge to our two party system.
There is one potential danger to the Tea Party solidarity should they decide to organize a challenge to the two party system. The only way the Tea Party could function as a national party is if they keep their platform and agenda focused on the priorities of limiting the size of government, eliminating pork barrel and deficit spending, and reducing the national debt.
Once you stray beyond the issues of economics or governmental powers, where the Tea Party members are united, and you get to the far more explosive social issues like abortion, prolife, gay rights, and many others, you begin to see the problem.
Many in the Tea Party want to adopt an expanded list of principles including social hot buttons, and then be uncompromising when pursuing them in congress and the White House. There are Tea Party members who are on both sides of most social issues. The passion for some of the causes is such they could never agree on a position. That is the long term dilemma facing Palin and the Tea Party.
They must find a way to unite as "outsiders" to fight the system while maintaining their own individual loyalty to certain causes not all will accept. If the GOP cannot find a way to accommodate these new advocates of the people, they will find another vehicle to mobilize around in the next election cycle, when Obama, the real threat to the Tea Party movement, is up for re-election. .
Yesterday I made note that I thought the CNN panel was unfair in how they coddled Chris Coons while not treating Christine O'Donnell the same. Apparently I was not the only one to notice the treatment. Here is what another website had to say about the coverage.
American Thinker
October 14, 2010
Delaware debate moderator tells Coons, 'Go for it' Mark J. Fitzgibbons
Nancy Karibjanian, member of the Delaware media and a University of Delaware supplemental faculty member, was co-moderator of the O'Donnell-Coons debate on CNN.
Not long into the debate, Karibjanian zeroed in on O'Donnell's financial and education controversies.
KARIBJANIAN: Let's open the discussion on correcting some of the financial issues here by talking about some of your own personal financial problems. And most people know about it by now, including an IRS lien that was for about $12,000 in taxes and penalties from '05. There was the '08 mortgage default judgment on your home. You just received your bachelors degree, as you said, because it took a decade to pay off the tuition.
Despite Karibjanian's factual inaccuracies, that's fair game for a U.S. Senate candidate. But then comes the impropriety.
KARIBJANIAN: The question, then is, how can voters rely upon your thoughts on how to manage the deficit if you're having such personal financial issues of your own?
O'DONNELL: Well, first of all, that IRS tax lien, the IRS already admitted that it was a computer error and my opponent should not be bringing that up, because as I've gone up and down the campaign trail, I've discovered there are thousands of Delawareans who have faced the same thing. An IRS mistake has caused them greatly, which is all the more reason why we need to reform the IRS, not put them in control of our health care.
Second of all, you mentioned education. I don't have a trust fund. I didn't come from a privileged, sheltered background as my opponent says he did...
KARIBJANIAN: Let's stay to the issue of paying bills...
ODONNELL: I am. I paid for my own college education. I also have a graduate fellowship in constitutional government from the Claremont Institute. I know how hard it is to earn and keep a dollar. And one of the reasons why the Delawareans should be able to trust me is because when I did in this economy, I worked for nonprofit groups. Nonprofit groups were the first to have been hurt. When I fell upon difficult times, I made the sacrifices needed to set things right. I sold my house. And I sold a lot of my possessions in order to pay of my personal debt and to become in a stronger position.
I have worked hard in order to get to the position that I am. So I can relate to the thousands of Delaware families that are suffering right now. And I'm stronger for it. I made it through to the other side. And that's where -- leadership doesn't count in whether or not you fall, it counts in whether or not you've gotten up and that's what I've done.
Karibjanian then turned to Coons like a lawyer to her own witness.
KARIBJANIAN: Let's just remember we're in the discussion portion so if you have anything you want to address on things that have been said on this topic thus far, go for it.
COONS: Well Nancy, I frankly think . . .
I suspect most people outside Delware, as I, had never heard of Nancy Karibjanian before last night. She may be a lovely person. My first impression, though, is that she's a ruling class troll who should never moderate another debate. .
Perhaps the commander in chief should have learned the danger of granting interviews to Rolling Stone magazine as it cost the General his job and Obama should know, he fired him. But content in his knowledge that the media is too liberal and too enamored of him and he is in command of all things, he faced the Stone people and made some rather odd comments, even for an Ivy League educated President.
Here are the highlights which should give everyone cause for concern as this is the president of all the people talking. At least Bob Dylan, subject of the last quote, refused to play the political game when Obama invited him to perform at the White House fully expecting a photo op with him. Go Bob!!!
On the Tea Party: “There are strains in the tea party that are troubled by what they saw as a series of instances in which the middle-class and working-class people have been abused or hurt by special interests in Washington, but their anger is misdirected. And then there are probably some aspects of the Tea Party that are a little darker, that have to do with anti-immigrant sentiment or are troubled by what I represent as the president. So I think it’s hard to characterize the Tea Party as a whole, and I think it’s still defining itself.”
On Fox News: “The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part of that tradition — it is part of the tradition that has a very clear, undeniable point of view. It’s a point of view that I disagree with. It’s a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world.”
On the Democratic Party Mindset: “Some of it, also, has to do with — and I joke about it — that there’s a turn of mind among Democrats and progressives where a lot of times we see the glass as half-empty. It’s like, ‘Well, gosh, we’ve got this historic health care legislation that we’ve been trying to pass for 100 years, but it didn’t have every bell and whistle that we wanted right now, so let’s focus on what we didn’t get instead of what we got.”
On Firing Gen. McChrystal: “…it pained me to have to make the decision I did. Having said that, he showed bad judgment. When I put somebody in charge of the lives of 100,000 young men and women in a very hazardous situation, they’ve got to conduct themselves at the highest standards, and he didn’t meet those standards.”
On Bob Dylan Playing the White House: “Here’s what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you’d expect he would be. He wouldn’t come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn’t want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn’t show up to that. He came in and played “The Times They Are A-Changin.” A beautiful rendition.”
The two year preoccupation of the liberal media in trashing Sarah Palin leaves little room for ouside opinions on her from people not interested in protecting the Democrartic majority in America but it is refreshing to see that not eveone in the world thinks she is bad. In fact some unlikely people also think the Palin coverage has misled the American electorate like the story below.
Why I support Sarah Palin
Ted Belman. I was half way through writing Sarah Palin is electable when I came across this fabulous well researched ode to Sarah Palin. I have left out the attacks on her particularly by the GOP trying to shut her out and focused on her outstanding qualities. Don’t miss the part on Israel and Iran at the end.
Vetting Sarah Palin—The Assignment of a Lifetime
By Christopher Massie, Canada Free Press
There is a wave now clearly rising. There is a movement very definable now fully exposing itself to America. The Tea Party now has more successful wins to its credit within a condensed timeframe than any other American political movement can rightfully claim. This movement is alive, palpable, real, not to be ignored and poised to return America to its position as that Shining City Upon the Hill. And one individual is responsible for this momentum.
That person is Sarah Louise Palin—and this is her vetting.
SARAH PALIN—THE EARLY YEARS:
Sarah Palin, a 46 year old, self-described “Bible-believing Christian”, born in Sandpoint, Idaho, the United States of America, has represented Conservative Constitutionalism, small business entrepreneurs, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, non-partisanship, pro-life advocacy, the Amendments (as a staunch Constitutionalist), but in particular the 2nd, and political term limits (among her most prominent platforms) her entire political career. She abhors wasteful government spending—a cause Palin is so deeply passionate towards it would launch her Mayoral career in 1995—and Palin considers the current administration the bane of current as well as future generations to come.
Governmental corruption goes against every core belief inherent to Palin’s persona—her programs to vet those within her administration are well documented. Inter-departmental deceit and immorality have been dealt with through patience and diplomacy, but dealt with they have been. In Palin’s nearly 20 year political career, she has positioned herself as a fresh and rejuvenating force for positive upward mobility in the Republican Party, and her current influence is instantly perceptible.
At the age of 18, when most American teenagers were deciding on far less important issues, Sarah Palin officially registered as a Republican, a decision no doubt based on values deeply entrenched within Palin throughout her upbringing. By the age of 28, that decision would prompt Sarah to enter politics for the first time, pitting her against a local telephone company worker. That election would mirror many in Palin’s future political career; voters in Wasilla questioned her ability to defeat a man, much less her ability to have a serious affect on the City Council.
She would win that election to the City Council of Wasilla, Alaska—an election she was encouraged to enter by fellow classmates of hers at a local step aerobics center. Also members of this class were two gentlemen who would later play a central role in Palin’s advancing career. Three years later, after shocking voters by not allowing her personal religious convictions to interfere with her role on the Council—as it related to small business owner’s rights—she would be elected again; this time by an overwhelming majority.
Upon completion of her first term on the City Council, midway through satisfying her second, Palin would set her sights on higher office, electing to run for Mayor of Wasilla. Her bold decision to seek the office of Mayor was based on her fears that the local government was wastefully spending revenues generated by a new sales tax increase. The city’s coffers were expanding, the then-current administration had drawn up plans requiring unnecessary, frivolous spending, and Palin—reflecting her classic Conservative ideals—announced her campaign.
This would be the first real test of Sarah Palin’s mettle as a Conservative politician—and as a woman running against the good old boys. That race would match Palin against her one time aerobics class partner—one of the men pivotal to her ascension into politics—then-Mayor of Wasilla John Stein.
Then-Mayor Stein never knew what hit him. Then 32 year old Sarah Palin was a formidable foe. Exposing Stein’s proposed spending and record of high taxes, as well as sharing her other campaign platforms with the voters of Wasilla—a voting majority comprised, by the time of Palin’s rise, of Conservative Christians—that included her pro-life and pro gun-rights stances, Sarah defeated Mayor Stein handily. Her platforms, campaign strategies and overall ideology caught the attention of the state GOP as well. The Party would endorse Palin over the three-term incumbent Stein, running television ads on her behalf—cementing a political relationship for better or worse. By the conclusion of the campaign, Palin’s political reputation had begun to take shape.
MAYOR PALIN:
Once in office, Palin’s inaugural actions included the lowering of her personal salary by 10%—a move most voters (while appreciating the gesture) probably doubted would come to fruition. From there, the internal vetting of the previous administration would begin. Palin required updated resumes from every official, going so far as to demand resignation letters from particular department leaders most loyal to the former Mayor. Her moves, while unconventional, proved beneficial towards ferreting out true team players from those whose personal goals and biases would prove to undermine the role of government—that role, for Palin, being a small unified body working to effectively service the voting community. Palin’s successful process to unify or dismiss resulted in a first term staff turnover of nearly 100%—but the voters remained quite pleased. Palin listened to her constituency; and the voters elected her again—by a landslide!
Palin’s second term would witness her contributions to this once sleepy little town of Wasilla resulting in an expansion that brought business revenue and improvements to the city as never before. And while growth most certainly has the potential to come at a price (Wasilla’s long term debt would increase to $25 million as a result of expansion under Palin, leading her to secure the first of $10 million in earmarks for the government before her term would expire), today, Wasilla is a thriving community.
The current mayor attributes Wasilla’s 50,000 daily shoppers directly to Palin’s 75% reduction in property taxes and infrastructure improvements. “This is no longer a little strip town you can blow through in a heartbeat”. Wasilla, strong, proud, and now home to more than 6,000 people, remembers well the ways in which Sarah Palin heard their voice, listened to their demands, and bettered their lives. The old boys’ club was forever changed in Wasilla, and the GOP took notice.
SARAH PALIN GETS A TASTE OF THE WHITE HOUSE EXPERIENCE:
Sarah Palin’s next move, at the age of 38 (in 2002), was a bid for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska—running against 4 other Republicans in a primary in which she came in second. This loss would expose Sarah to what was possibly the most extreme case of political nepotism she had yet witnessed in her career. After her defeat for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, Palin campaigned intensely throughout the state of Alaska for Frank Murkowski and Loren Leman—the team running for Governor-Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. Sarah Palin would spend countless hours rallying for Frank Murkowski, befriending the man, cheering him on—hoping his win would secure for her his vacated seat in the Senate. Murkowski won. Palin was on the short list for his vacated Senate seat—everyone said she was a shoe in.
In what continues to this day to be called one of the most flagrant displays of unwarranted nepotism, Frank Murkowski—in typical old boys’ school demeanor—selected his daughter, State Representative Lisa Murkowski, to be his successor in the Senate. Palin would instead be offered and accept an appointment to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she would expose myriad ethics violations. The old boys’ networks would continue to be served notice, and Murkowski and Palin would be set on an inevitable collision course that would collide just a few years later.
In 2006, at the age of 42, against all odds, first facing down Murkowski’s formidable war chest of funds, and later defeating Democrat Knowles by a margin of 48 to 40 percent, Sarah Palin became the youngest Governor of Alaska in history—as well as the State’s first female to ever hold the position.
Understanding the voice of the voters, she ran on a platform of education first, followed by public safety and transportation. Her long-standing role as a pro-life proponent gained her the endorsement of the Alaska Right to Life group while her concerns with the environment combined with her continued advocacy for Alaska’s oil industry garnered her support from former Alaska Governor Walker Hickel. An additional endorsement, based on Palin’s recognized position on second amendment rights, would come from the Alaska Correctional Officers Association; indeed, through endorsements, Palin would succeed in winning the Governorship even while being outspent throughout the campaign.
Naturally, as with any position of such great importance and responsibility, attacks upon the one in office are inevitable—and Sarah Palin was no exception. For the record, Troopergate was finally concluded in 2008 with a final report from Tim Petumenos: “There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters.”
While ethics issues certainly weigh heavy in every politician’s career, other more important issues have been, and continue to be, placed center stage by Palin’s opponents. Since her days as Governor, Sarah Palin has strongly pleaded the case for America’s independence from its reliance on foreign oil suppliers. To that end, Palin supports drilling for oil and natural gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). And while this controversy has been one of deep concern that continues to provide contentious discourse between conservationists and economists, Palin remains firmly planted on the side of job creation, revenue procurement, and American energy independence.
Palin remains a committed environmentalist, as evidenced by her establishing of the gubernatorial executive order number 238 which, among several other key provisions, calls for “developing recommendations on the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Alaska sources, including the expanded use of alternative fuels, energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, land use management, and transportation planning.” Palin’s ANWR stance, combined with this order, clearly demonstrates Palin’s ability to balance a fiscal need for energy independence against a respect for “green” initiatives—truly a rare trait in today’s old boys’ networks.
PALIN THE GALVANIZER:
Throughout her career, Sarah Palin has witnessed and battled cronyism, nepotism, old boys’ networks, corruption, and political deceit of every size, shape and description. Her wars raged have been born from Conservative ideals, Christian values, the fundamentals found in the words of America’s Founding Fathers as written in the Constitution, and a plain old sense of knowing right from wrong. These ideals, shockingly—not surprisingly—have rendered her the target of great condemnation from socialists, Liberals, Democrats and even certain members from within the GOP—that party once so eager to embrace her in the days of Wasilla.
As the GOP has ungraciously turned its back on Sarah Palin—as particularly evidenced through the actions of one of the most glaring examples of the old boys’ network, John McCain—she has continued along the path of adhering to the voters; ever cognizant of the true Conservatives requiring support. She has been the driving force unifying the Tea Party movement in America—a once loose knit group of a few hundred people that now counts hundreds of thousands of well organized members in practically every state of the union. This movement draws inspiration from a unified mission: lower taxes; smaller government that interferes less with the population’s private lives; state’s rights; and an overall belief in American Exceptionalism. These are core, fundamental issues Sarah Palin has stood for her entire career.
Sarah Palin—through her support of and involvement with the Tea Party in general—has in one way or another had a positive effect on the campaigns of several Tea Party-backed Conservatives this election cycle. Some of the candidates who have included Palin in their projects or discussed her influence as having a positive upshot on their drives this year include Pat Toomey, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, and others. And those candidates who have succeeded in their bids for office as a direct result of Palin’s endorsements include Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, Joe Miller, and, of course, Christine O’Donnell. Sarah Palin’s clout is more than influential—for many in the truly Conservative camp, it is the most powerful weapon in politics since that witnessed by Ronald Reagan’s allies in the days of the Gipper’s reign.
The ability to galvanize on Palin’s part—the ability to bring together the voice of the voters and the electable candidates proven to answer the call of those voters—is a powerful magnet in a politician. It is also a fantastically rare commodity. One truly believes Palin’s honesty; her words—humble and forever unassuming—consistently come from the heart. When she speaks to a crowd, it’s as if she is talking to her family; never scripted, oft-times with a slip or a twist of the tongue, and genuinely caring.
Remembering speeches given by Ronald Reagan—when he would pause, almost coming to tears contemplating the severity of his words—one cannot help but catch glimpses of these mannerisms in moments of Palin on stage. She is captivating in her simplicity, powerful in her convictions, Reagan-esque in her Conservatism, Constitutionalism and belief in American Exceptionalism.
THE GOP TAKES A PAGE FROM THE DEMS PLAYBOOK:
As this nation heads towards November, a crucial turning point in American history, Palin’s foes are making hay. Political strategists the likes of Karl Rove and Charles Krauthammer have emerged from the old boys’ network closet. The most infamous, nepotistically-influenced, former Palin competitor Lisa Murkowski has announced she will run again this November—as a write in. In these days, it is wise to recall the actions of Harry Reid in 2006 when he summoned then-Senator Obama, instructing Barack it was the Party’s intentions to have him run for the Presidency (even though it would not be until the summer of 2008 that Reid would publicly endorse the Senator from Illinois).
The Democrats (led by Reid) would have done anything to defeat Hillary—and they did it stealthily. The GOP is taking a page from that book. There is an all too familiar episode re-playing itself for voters to witness this season. The GOP loathes Sarah Palin. And the Party is now setting about to deeply unsettle those successful candidates she has promoted. The evidence is glaringly obvious. Murkowski has been unleashed; Rove and Krauthammer are doing their bidding. The events unfolding are towards one goal: the destruction of Palin’s bid for the Presidency.
Beginning with Sarah Palin’s first mayoral bid in Wasilla, and her refusal to kowtow to the GOP in the aftermath of her ascension to city office—a position she rightly earned regardless of Party politics being played out on the local airwaves—to her days as Governor of Alaska and her patriotic decision to place more emphasis on the needs of the voters of her state than the bureaucratic strong-arming of the Bush administration and its political blackmail as it related to the Alaska pipeline contracts, Palin has steadfastly remained a true person of character—and a life-long politician representing “We the People”. Now, in what has become America’s deadliest fight against tyranny since its founding, this nation’s leader in waiting listens for her constituency’s demands once more.
PALIN—THE VITAL POINTS:
There can be no doubting Sarah Palin’s longstanding, steadfast commitment to a strong, stable, secure and Exceptional America at home. Also without question is the importance of America’s safety abroad and its allegiance to our allies. Since the days of this nation’s founding, freedom has come at great costs; never has security from tyranny been free.
Allowing for the rise of injustice, murder, torture, attack or any other form of degradation to another nation, be that persecution in the name of political gain, religious dominance and expansion, or sheer bigotry and ideology, it is the moral responsibility of the nation of the United States to stand up for the rights of the less fortunate and oppressed. Never in the history of man has the allowed suffering of another nation, creed, race or religion resulted in anything other than millions of deaths and suffering; likewise neither has the ignored spread of hatred, socialism, Marxism, Nazism, Trotskyism or other form of sociopathic ideology or sociological theory left any positive remains in its wake.
Sarah Palin has vowed, in her own words, that there will be: “no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel,” further swearing, “Israel is our strongest and best ally in the Middle East. We have got to assure them that we will never allow a second Holocaust, despite, again, warnings from Iran and any other country that would seek to destroy Israel that that is what they would like to see. We will support Israel. A two-state solution, building our embassy, also, in Jerusalem, those things that we look forward to being able to accomplish, with this peace-seeking nation, and they have a track record of being able to forge these peace agreements.” Palin will immediately look to mend the relations so quickly crushed and thrown to the wind by the current administration.
Palin also will not allow for an unchecked, nuclear Iran. Considering the flaccidity of the current administration as it pertains to the Bushehr reactor debacle, in fact, Palin should have been in control of that issue from the beginning: “A leader like Ahmadinejad, who is not sane or stable when he says things like that, is not one whom we can allow to acquire nuclear energy, nuclear weapons… is downright dangerous because leaders like , who would seek to acquire nuclear weapons and wipe off the face of the Earth an ally like we have in Israel, should not be met with without preconditions and diplomatic efforts being undertaken first.” (WIKIPEDIA)
In closing it is fantastically imperative to reiterate one fundamental element of Sarah Palin’s political and personal persona: she is first and foremost a Christian. Second, and equally as important, she is a Constitutionalist. Defining those terms in the context of how she will lead a country requires one simple review of the Founding Fathers. She has never allowed religion to interfere with her duties as a servant to the people—ever. She has forever listened to the voice of the people—always. She has in all public duties eschewed obfuscation—consistently. She is the one true voice of the people—and so too have her soldiers, her armies, always been.
This city on the hill has grown dim. Sarah Louise Palin is the lantern to light that torch for the world to once again turn towards.
From someone who knew someone who worked with her over the years:
CO. Hoosier, I’m not even sure that I can be classified as a “Palin fan”, but I am kind of an observer. An old school buddy of mine has worked within the Alaska legislature for the last twenty years or so. He’s a registered Democrat and has worked on projects that allowed him to cross paths with her going back when she was a city commissioner, as the mayor, and as the governor.
He told me that the picture painted of her as a mindless ideologue is about 180 degrees off base. He said that over the years, he’d probably dealt with her a couple of dozen times and that her input and/or decisions were always supported by law and not by personal beliefs.
The thing he told me about her that really peaked my interest of her was her ability to process information and then to quickly forge a plan with the information she was given. He said she was a living, breathing CPM chart. He said he had seen her on multiple occasions on a variety of subjects instantly absorb input from others and then respond with cogent solutions to problems. He said if you put her in a room with a bunch of people, the chances would be great that she’d be the smartest one in the room.
He told me that when he saw her debacle with Katie Couric, his first thought was, “who is that Sarah Palin imposter?” He said that was not the Sarah Palin he had worked with for years. He was sure that the interview was highly edited. It came out later that there was almost six hours of the interview that people didn’t see.
He told me that if I really wanted to get a feel of who she is and how she dealt with powerful people, I should read the book, “Sarah Takes On Big Oil”. It was released in October, 2008 and written by two of the state’s top oil & gas editors. The lady they described had no fear to stand toe-to-toe with heavyweights and leave them slinking away with their tales between their legs. She told them that she was the advocate of the citizens of Alaska and there would be no deal making that would adversely affect them. The big boys at Exxon-Mobile and BP folded like a cheap suit.
One other thing he told me that still amazes him was how she managed to get people to work together. According to him, she could take two people with opposing opinions, sit down with them, listen to them, offer her solutions, and both guys would leave happy and not feeling that they had compromised their position at all.
He laughed at the “she doesn’t read” meme. He said it is well known in the capitol that she was a voracious reader. She truly did read most of the national mags and newspapers, mostly on line, as well as a dozen or so energy trade magazines. According to him, there were stories about how she would take home stacks of papers and reports to prepare for a next-morning meeting and it was as if every word of those reports were stamped into her brain when she sat down at the meeting.
He told me not to be fooled by her syntax or her colloquialisms because they were not a fair barometer of her smarts. He said if people would just listen and not try to read between the lines, she was easy to understand. He said he’d love to see her and Obama in a debate about energy or even healthcare. He said she’d clean his clock. He even said that if she were given a day or two to prepare for a debate on foreign affairs, his money would still be on her.
He said she was the epitome of a leader. She assembled her staff, listened to their advice, allowed opposing ideas to be heard, and then acted accordingly. As a manager, she advocated making a plan based on the best info available, budgeting the plan, working the plan, measuring results, and quickly adjusting the plan if it was determined it wasn’t working as expected. She believed in the First Law of Holes.
He thought her biggest struggles in the 2008 campaign were the product of trying to endorse McCain’s positions on issues. She was able to voice her dissenting opinion on ANWR because her views were known, but on everything else she was expected to toe the McCain line. He said that she lacked the ability to shovel crap and sell it as perfume.
He reminded me that anyone who denies the accuracy of her “death panel” metaphor should go back and read her exact words, both her initial FB post and her rebuttal of Obama’s attack on her words. He said “read what she wrote, not what someone wrote or said what she wrote”. Her words in those posts have already been proven to be true.
He said that “divisive” is not a word that should be used to describe her. He said that was just a simple use of Alinsky’s rule #13. He said, “look at all the issues. Her position is in line with the majority on virtually all of them”.
He told me she wasn’t perfect, but if I read something or heard something that was negative, I should check it out a little closer. He shared a lot more, but I’m afraid I’ve already rambled on for too long.
Should she run in 2012? I really don’t know. Would I vote for her? It depends who she’s running against. Will she drive the agenda if she doesn’t run? Yes, for a long time.
