Quote of the Day (January 31, 2010)

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Sarah PAC treasurer Tim Crawford:

"We are excited as we feel that we've just begun to tap the Governor's support."

- JP

Silly leftists, "mandation" is indeed a real word

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Some leftist bloggers decided they would have themselves a field day over Sarah Palin's use of the term "mandation"...

Oliver Willis, who pounces on any opportunity he sees to bash Gov. Palin (usually without bothering to engage his brain first), put his idiotarianism (a Web word) on display for all to see:

"America’s Idiot and Fox News front woman Sarah Palin has made up a new word (at least not in our Jesus hating dictionaries) to attack President Obama." 

"Plus, isn’t mandation something that eventually leads to gay marriage?"

Oh, but Jeanne Devon at Palin'-hatin' Mudflatulence (My name for Devon's hate blog) managed to go Ollie one better. When presented with evidence that "mandation" is indeed a word, Devon dismissed it because the source offered was Wiki.answers, chortling:

"Anyone familiar with dictionaries, and wikis will know immediately why I got such a good chuckle over this one."

While Devon was chuckling, people who are familiar with real research (i.e., not limiting themselves to sources intended for dummies such as dictionary.com) were searching places where Sarah Palin, in her own research, would have been likely to find the word -- in medical and public health journals. They were not surprised to see "mandation" is used, and not uncommonly so, in the literature...

Exhibit A:

The Mandation of Insurance Coverage for In Vitro Fertilization
Author: Joan Retsinas a Affiliation: Executive Director, Rhode Island Health Policy & Planning Consortium, Providence, RI, 02906,

DOI: 10.1300/J045v03n02_03
Published in: Journal of Health & Social Policy, Volume 3, Issue 2 February 1992, pages 33 - 48
Formats available: PDF (English)
Now published as: Social Work in Public Health

Exhibit B:

Compens Benefits Rev. 1989 Nov-Dec;21(6):17-23.
Healthcare for the uninsured: is mandation the answer?

Beadle CE.

The 37 million people in the United States who have no healthcare insurance pose a major social problem, but is legislation that requires employers to provide a minimum amount of healthcare coverage for employees the solution?

PMID: 10296100 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Clearly as we had figured, Gov. Palin, in her research for her Facebook op-eds on ObamaCare, also found the term "mandation" used in the journals, and employed it herself. So perhaps Devon should go to her font-of-all-knowledge site, dictionary.com, and look up the word "hubris." 

The leftists' latest attempt to paint Sarah Palin as "stupid" backfired on them because of their ignorance (yet again), and they just proved that she is a heck of lot smarter than they are. It's the Wyle E. Coyote Effect -- they are such "geniuses"...

But the most delicious thing about it all is that the libs will keep on making fools of themselves in this manner. Leftists never learn from their mistakes because they lack the intellectual honesty to admit that they made them in the first place.

h/t Rich Crowther

- JP

Sarah Palin will appear on "FOX News Sunday"

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Sarah Palin will make her first appearance on a major Sunday network public affairs show when she sits down with Chris Wallace a week from today on "Fox News Sunday"

Host Chris Wallace said that Palin will be next Sunday's "special guest," mentioning that she's speaking at the upcoming tea party convention. From that description, it sounds like Palin will be on more in the role of political figure than pundit.

On his blog Wallace Watch, Chris Wallace is asking viewers to submit questions that they would like for him to ask Gov. Palin when she appears from Nashville on his program next week.

- JP

Sarah Palin and the GOP-Tea Party Merger

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Appearing on FOX News' "On the Record," January 28, Sarah Palin was asked by host Greta Van Susteren whether she thinks the Tea Party movement will lead to a third party or a merger with the GOP:

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, in terms of the tea party movement, is it likely to create the issue that happened in '92 with Ross Perot and President Bush, or will it merge with the Republican Party? And how do you see that happening?

PALIN: They need to merge. Definitely, they need to merge. I think those who are wanting the divisions and the divisiveness and the controversy -- those are the ones who don't believe in the message. And they're the ones, I think, stirring it up. We need to ignore that and we need to forge ahead with a cohesive message. It's a common sense message. It, again, is, Government, limit yourself so that the private sector, our families, free individuals can grow and thrive and prosper and enjoy America's freedom!

That merger is in progress right now, although it resembles not so much a merger as it does a hostile takeover.

Around the nation, Tea Partiers are getting involved in the Republican Party, starting at its most basic level -- in the precincts:

They are doing it here by the hundreds by filing as candidates in the May 4 primary election for the office of precinct executive, the lowest rung of the political party structure.

"It's the place where you can have the most impact,'' said Mike Wilson, the founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party. "It's one thing to talk to the party leaders about change. It's another thing to actually be the party leadership and make the change from within."

It is a strategy that has worked elsewhere - Tea Party activists essentially took over the Nevada Republican Party earlier this month; and, in Florida, they were successful in forcing out a state party chairman who was seen as too centrist.

This strategy by the Tea Partiers would make GOP county organizations more conservative, and they would be more likely to field candidates who are more fiscally conservative, at least, than what we have seen from the GOP in the post-Reagan era.

The battle between moderates and conservatives for the soul of the Republican Party will not be fought by the pundits or at the top of the party pyramid. It's being waged in the trenches at the local levels, where what Vichy GOPers David Frum and Colin Powell have to say is of little or no significance.

The Tea Partiers are good learners. Large demonstrations on the Captol Mall make for great political theater, but the Democrats and their captive media only seek to turn such expressions of the national temperament to their advantage, by characterizing those who petition their government for a redress of grievances -- as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution -- as "angry mobs," "raaaacists," and "hateful extremists."

So now the grassroots is mainstreaming itself right into the rank and file of the Grand Old Party, seeking to make it not only Grand again, but responsive to the will of We The People. The Tea Partiers have gone back to school:

"Our people are just learning how the parties work," said Gena Bell, who heads the Eastern Hills Tea Party in the Madeira-Kenwood area. "Until we started organizing this, I had never heard of a precinct executive. Not a clue."

Bell, like other Tea Party leaders, say they are encouraging members to run in both party primaries, but said most will end up choosing the Republican primary.

The National Tea Party Convention, an upcoming event which has been much maligned by not only the Left and its media attack dogs, has also taken more than its fair share of abuse from some bloggers on the right.

The event, which will take place in Nashville February 4th through the 6th, is intended not for the average Tea Party goer, but rather for those activists who are serious about organizing Tea Parties and learning how to make the organizations they help build more effective. The convention will include panel discussion topics such as "Precinct Organizing Best Practices" as well as breakout sessions on "How to Organize a TEA Party Group" and " "How to Unite State Tea Party Groups."

Sarah Palin realizes all this. And while a couple of other scheduled speakers who are member of the Democrat-controlled Congress have been intimidated into withdrawing from the Tennessee event, the Republican Party's 2008 vice presidential candidate has no intention of not being there to deliver her keynote address Saturday, Feb. 6 at 8:00 PM:

"Oh, you betcha I'm going to be there. I'm going to speak there because there are people traveling from many miles away to hear what that tea party movement is all about and what that message is that should be received by our politicians in Washington. I'm honored to get to be there."

"I won't personally gain from being there. The speaker's fee will go right back into the cause. I'll be able to donate it to people and to events, those things that I believe in that will help perpetuate the message, the message being, Government, you have constitutional limits. You better start abiding by them."

Gov. Palin understands that the best way to drag the GOP back to its Reagan roots is through the Tea Parties. It's the shortest path between where the Republican Party has strayed to and where it needs to be. This, of course scares the you-know-what out of the GOP establishment, but then, so does Sarah Palin.

You go, Guv!

- JP

Scott Brown: Sarah Palin is Presidential Material

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In Barbara Walters' interview with Senator-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) for ABC's 'This Week', she asked if he considered Sarah Palin to be presidential material:

Brown told Walters, “Well sure, I mean she’s been a mayor and a governor and has a national following… I know she’s very popular.”

The 41st Senator added the caveat that he’s never met Palin, she’s never contacted him, and he hasn’t read her book, Going Rogue, though he says he hopes to.

A video of the interview is here.

- JP

Salina prepares for an evening with Sarah Palin

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Salina Area Chamber of Commerce staff and local police agencies are preparing for the chamber's annual dinner Friday, where Sarah Palin will be the keynote speaker:

More than 5,000 tickets have been sold for the event at the Bicentennial Center featuring the former Alaska governor and 2008 running mate of Republican John McCain. Palin is the first in a long line of impressive Salina chamber speakers to sell out the Bicentennial Center. In fact, organizers recently reconfigured the seating to make another 600 seats available.

Palin's appearance means more officers will be deployed that night to monitor security and help patrons as they enter and leave the event. Police spokesmen are being tight-lipped about how many extra officers will be on duty, as well as how much the extra security is estimated to cost, save to say that the chamber is picking up the tab.

No opportunities for the general public to get autographs, photographs, give gifts to or greet Gov. Palin in person have been scheduled.

Although the media are being allowed to attend the event, they are barred from recording her speech, and will be restricted to a section inside the arena cordoned off to accommodate reporters and photographers. Media passes will be required for legitimate member of the press to enter the arena. Television affiliates from Wichita, Manhattan, Topeka and Kansas City have all made arrangements to cover Palin's Salina appearance.

Gov. Palin will meet personally with about 400 people in "meet and greet" receptions which will be held for the sponsors of the dinner both before and after the event.

Meanwhile in Florida, another chamber of commerce is also preparing for a visit by the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate:

In Daytona Beach, Fla., where Palin is booked to speak at the annual Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce dinner on Feb. 15, ticket sales have been "very robust" despite prices of $100 for chamber members and $150 for nonmembers, said Jim Cameron, a lobbyist and spokesman for the group.

There are 1,400 seats available for Palin's appearance, and "we're approaching that number pretty quick," Cameron said.

Gov. Palin plans to arrive in Daytona a day early to attend NASCAR's Daytona 500 stock-car race at Daytona International Speedway.

- JP

Quote of the Day (January 30, 2010)

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Francis W. Porretto:

"Consider how passionately leftists hate the Catholic Church, one of the few staunchly pro-life faiths remaining. Consider how they treated Sarah Heath Palin for daring to bear a Down's Syndrome baby to live birth. Consider that they were even willing to defend a serial molester -- Bob Packwood -- and an admitted adulterer -- Bill Clinton -- rather than risk any threat to unlimited abortion rights."

- JP

SarahPAC raised $2.1 million in 2009, mostly from small donors

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Sarah Palin's political action committee raised about $2.1 million in 2009, $1.4 million of in the last six months of the year. SarahPAC has $900,000 cash on hand:

"We are thrilled. Common sense Americans know the direction we need to take this country and that Sarah Palin will be instrumental in taking us there this year. We look forward to the journey ahead!," said Meghan Stapleton, senior adviser and spokesperson.

They are solid fundraising numbers that show the Republican mega-star's organizational strength.

By comparison, fellow 2012 GOP nomination front runner Mitt Romney's PAC raised about $800,000 more for the year and Tim Pawlenty's PAC raised nearly $1.3 million in the last quarter of 2009.

Most of SarahPAC's money came in the form of small donations, as the former governor's PAC didn't hold large fundraisers:

SarahPAC officials feel they did the majority of this while Sarah was writing her book and raised most of the money with the help of the Internet and small events.

"We are excited as we feel that we've just begun to tap the governor's support. More than 14,000 everyday men and women contributed more than $2 million to SarahPAC last year with little effort on our part. The money came in through the Internet and a handful of fundraisers and we are grateful for everyone's support," said Tim Crawford, SarahPAC treasurer.

Political columnist Chris Cillizza says Sarah Palin's PAC raised money on a par with the political action committees of other Republicans considered to be top contenders for the party's 2012 presidential nomination:

While Palin's six-month total is roughly comparable to the $1.3 million Minnesota. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) raised in just the final three months of the year through his Freedom First PAC and approximately $800,000 less than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC collected in 2009, her aides suggested she did very little active fundraising.

Sarah PAC sent no direct mail -- a potential treasure trove of small-dollar donations for the former governor who is beloved by the grassroots of the party -- and raised the majority of her money via the Internet and small events. For the 11 months that Sarah PAC has existed, she has received contributions from more than 14,000 donors.

SarahPAC's disbursements in the last 6 months of the year, listed here, went to the campaigns of Doug Hoffman, John Kasich, Sen. Jim Demint, Sen. Tom Coburn, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Michele Bachmann and others.

The full set of reports SarahPAC filed with the FEC is here.

- JP

Sarah Palin: ObamaCare full of “stray dogs and cats”

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The latest Sarah Palin op-ed, posted about a half hour ago on her Facebook Notes page:

Obamacare = Stray Dog, So Says President

What am I missing, folks? We’re called obstructionists and made to feel uninformed in the Obamacare debate as we point out this is not a patient-driven, market-oriented approach to health care cost challenges. We’ve been saying for months that this is government takeover of our personal choices of insurers and doctors. We’re called liars when claiming that this is all about government mandates and control of up to a sixth of our economy.

And yet, shockingly, the president admitted yesterday exactly what we’ve been saying: that his Democrats and lobbyists have crafted bills that in fact will prevent us from keeping our current insurance and/or choosing our own doctor. He said:

"The last thing I will say, though -- let me say this about health care and the health care debate, because I think it also bears on a whole lot of other issues. If you look at the package that we’ve presented -- and there’s some stray cats and dogs that got in there that we were eliminating, we were in the process of eliminating. For example, we said from the start that it was going to be important for us to be consistent in saying to people if you can have your -- if you want to keep the health insurance you got, you can keep it, that you’re not going to have anybody getting in between you and your doctor in your decision making. And I think that some of the provisions that got snuck in might have violated that pledge." [emphasis added]

Thanks to Tom Bevan at RCP for spotting this. The president’s statement is shocking, enlightening, and in an odd and unfortunate way also encouraging. Folks, this admission tells us we’re not off-base and we need to stay vigilant so we’re not missing anything else in this scheme. This trillion-dollar government takeover of our health care system is full of “stray dogs and cats” (the president’s words, not mine), and that’s what we’ve been saying all along.

Commonsense conservatives have better ideas on how to start tackling rising health care costs. Reps. Paul Ryan, Mike Pence, Eric Cantor, John Boehner, and others have offered solutions. I commend their efforts to counter the White House’s attempt to ram Obamacare through as these Congressmen seek bipartisan, sensible solutions. I implore them to speak louder because we’re listening, and we’re counting on them!

- Sarah Palin

- JP

Tea Party Nation Sets The Record Straight

- by Sherry Phillips
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Judson and I have stayed silent in the face of intense media scrutiny and attacks by former members. As a wife and a mother, I have stood by my husband and family and stayed strong in the face of many baseless accusations and criticism. We have refrained from responding to many of the attacks that have been thrown at us from other "Tea Party" groups, in the belief we did not want to spread the divisions that are already hurting this movement even though that does not seem to be the consideration of some others involved in this movement. Because of the many TPN members' requests and encouragement, I have decided to provide comment about Tea Party Nation and the National Tea Party Convention. We will stay silent no longer. I hope my comments and the issues I deal with in this note will provide some clarity.

American Liberty Alliance - Eric Odom's American Liberty Alliance is a for profit company that takes donations. We agreed to a sponsorship exchange where ALA would be a gold sponsor of the convention and we would be a gold sponsor of the Tax Day Tea Party. Shortly after agreeing to this exchange, Eric emailed Judson and me privately saying he was supportive of us and this convention and did not want to pull out, because he thinks this convention is going to be a huge success; however, some his "influential supporters" were not happy about ALA's participation in the convention and asked Eric to withdraw.

American Majority - After stating in the beginning they wanted to co-sponsor the convention, they never answered repeated emails sent asking them for confirmation of their attendance. They did not promote the convention and did not put the convention on their calendar. In fact Ned Ryun spent 5 minutes in an interview on Fox News talking about the Tea Party movement and did not mention the convention at all. Meanwhile, another training organization contacted us asking if they could become a sponsor and if they could do a breakout session. We gladly accepted and gave them American Majority's spots. On January 6, Ned's assistant sent an email stating she was making travel arrangements for them to come and participate in the convention and asked when did we have their breakouts scheduled. I told her because of their non-response, we gave American Majority's slots to this other organization. They then requested that their logo be removed from the Convention website. We complied with their request.

Tea Party Express - This group has been very supportive of us. They intended to do a small tour, culminating in an event Saturday afternoon prior to the banquet. Because of their efforts in the Scott Brown race and their intent to go after Harry Reid in Nevada, they simply cannot make the trip. We received a very nice email from them explaining their actions and restating their invitation to join them when they kick off their next tour in March. We will be there. We fully support their endeavors as they open their next tour in Nevada this spring.

Campaign for Liberty - We actively sought out Campaign for Liberty as a sponsor of this convention. We were contacted several weeks ago by the TN Director for CFL who wanted to co-sponsor the convention and I put him in touch with our Sponsorship Chair. We have not heard anything from them since.

Former Tea Party Nation Members - Several former members were unanimously banned from our site for reasons running the gamut from antagonism to passing on confidential information. These members have been blogging, as well as discussing their association with liberal media outlets and conspiring with each other to, "Take TPN and this convention down".

In one of their more egregious statements a former member wrote that Judson stated, "I want to make a million dollars from this movement." Judson has never made this statement. He has stated on numerous occasions that he would like TPN to have a million members all fighting for the cause of conservatism!

Bill Hemrick - Mr. Hemrick made a business loan to Tea Party Nation at a commercial interest rate. This loan has been paid back in full. That is the full extent of any relationship we have had with Mr. Hemrick.

Congressmen Bachmann and Blackburn - Both Congresswomen have large targets on their backs and are rightfully concerned about backlash they will receive from the left-leaning Democrat controlled House Ethics Committee. Because of the complexity of the Ethics Code regarding House Representatives, we have no doubt the Democrats would have found something in that code to cause them problems once the convention was over. We were also informed by Rep. Bachmann that both were being told two different things by the House Ethics Committee in regard to their participation. This of course sent up red flags to everyone involved. We do not blame either Congressman for their decision to withdraw from the convention and maintain a strong relationship with them both.

Tea Party Nation - Last February after Judson held one of the first tea parties in the country in downtown Nashville, he came up with the idea for a social networking site for conservatives. Judson and I created Tea Party Nation. We formed the corporation. We financed the corporation. We bought the domain name teapartynation.com, we purchased the servers and we pay for the monthly expenses. We are a C-Corp and do not accept donations. Tea Party Nation charges nothing to be a member and is run entirely by volunteers. Recently, we have been able to start charging for advertising on the site to help defray the costs of running the site.

As TPN has stated since its formation, we are not a non-profit. We prefer to offer free membership to conservative patriots so they may participate in the political process of restoring this nation to its founding principles without financial burdens, hardships or roadblocks to prevent their participation. Members are then able to choose their own way to spend their money without any involvement from TPN.

PayPal Account - We are using a business PayPal account for the convention. An email address is required to notify a contact when payment is received and we are using my TPN email account at Sherry@teapartynation.com as that notification email address. All money in that account is transferred directly into the TPN business bank account.

We fully expect to break even during this event. We may even make a few thousand dollars to cover local operating costs of TPN. We have made the best of a tight budget and scaled back the price of attending this convention as much as we could without putting TPN into bankruptcy. The convention is sold out and we have a waiting list of over five hundred people. We never did this to make us rich or famous. Quite the contrary, we are patriots who love our country, our members and the people who are coming to Nashville to attend this great event.

For all of you who will be attending, we look forward to meeting you this upcoming week and we thank everyone for the support and patriotism in this fight against liberalism. God bless you all and I thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement.

Visit Tea Party Nation at: www.teapartynation.com

Editor's Note: We have posted this e-mail from Sherry in an effort to help Tea Party Nation get its side of the story out. As Sherry states, a few former TPN members with obvious axes to grind have been talking to liberal media outlets. What she is too gracious to say is that they have also talked to conservative bloggers, some of which have been only too happy to join their counterparts on the Left in piling on TPN. Some of these conservative bloggers, after having heard only one side of the story, rushed both to judgment and publication. Thus they are responsible for much of the negative spin that we have heard in the media about TPN and the National Tea Party Convention.

For Sarah Palin supporters, this is an all too familiar story. We have seen it before in the way the former governor has been treated by self-styled "conservative" pundits and again when some McCain campaign staffers leaked a series of outrageous lies and distortions concerning Gov. Palin to a media which is always happy to get free ammunition. When that ammo comes from across the aisle, they make as much hay from it as they can, thinking that it gives the crap they dish out some kind of special "credibility."

It's all so very strange. But when multiple agendas are at work, we see some strange bedfellows indeed.

- JP

Wasilla Bible Church Arson Cold Case, Part II

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Part II of Suzanne Eovaldi's remembrance of the arson attack on the Wasilla Bible Church is up at The Collins Report (We posted Friday about Part I here).

Excerpts from Part II:

The forgiving nature of Palin and the church’s pastor cries out for honor from a most dismissive mainstream media, a media that seemed satisfied to report this horrible event merely once if at all.

[...]

I am hard pressed to understand reporters who seem satisfied with yes, telling the public of a fire, yet no, not telling of the heinous details surrounding this horror. Can you imagine such reporters ignoring this fire had the name of the church been Trinity United Church of Christ and the pastor’s name having been Reverend Jeremiah Wright?

Read Parts I and II unabridged here.

Do more than always remember. Don't let them forget.

- JP

Ted Belman: Sarah's branding iron frames the debate

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Ted Belman at Israpundit makes a good point. Sarah Palin has been criticized for not getting into specifics in her television appearances like she does in her Facebook op-eds. There is a good reason why she doesn't. Her Facebook Notes are for policy details. They are the reference, the debating points. But her television face time frames the debate; it is for branding:

Tell a lie often enough and people will believe it. So much more so for the truth. When you want to sell anything, you must brand it as “the best”. It is immaterial whether it is or not. And while you are at it, brand your competition as “the worst”. Selling is not appealing to the intellect but to the emotions.

The same goes for winning elections. They are all about imaging and positioning.

[...]

Palin endeared herself to conservatives because she took on Obama in her acceptance speech. Unfortunately McCain didn’t have the fight in him and muzzled her instead. Now she is calling the shots.

By repeating her mantra in every speech or comment she makes, she is branding herself. She presents her policies as axiomatic, requiring no proof and the public is accepting them as such. She is negatively characterizing Obama and his policies.

[...]

She is framing the debate. “my common sense v your bullcrap”

Here in Texas, where the roundup is part of our state's rich and colorful traditions, the roundup is an easy metaphor for what Sarah Palin is up to. After all, it's the roundup where the branding takes place. Television may be Marshall McLuhan's cool medium, but it serves Sarah Palin well as a red-hot branding iron. 

Read Ted's full post here.

- JP

Quote of the Day (January 29, 2010)

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Lisa Graas:

"It would seem that the Paul campaign has just become the latest in a long list of those who have dropped the Palin name in an effort to improve the public's perception of their credibility. This is ironic since it actually reduces his already low credibility among Palin supporters here in Kentucky. Further, it comes on the heels of Paul's claim to speak for the Tea Party which reduced his credibility with that segment of the electorate."

- JP

Sarah Palin: Terrorists should be tried by military tribunal

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Another good opinion piece by Sarah Palin posted Today on her Facebook Notes page:

Stay Focused: Relocating Terrorists' Trial Doesn't Solve the Main Problem

People are celebrating the fact that the Obama Administration is considering relocating the terrorists’ trial from New York to another American city. Yet there’s still no talk of moving the trial out of our U.S. civilian courts to where it should take place – a military tribunal.

Now the administration is backtracking in order to fix its initially blundered decision to try these dangerous terrorists in New York City despite the great danger and cost to New Yorkers. This scenario is all too common in Washington. The tactic is to propose something so outrageous that the public will rise up and demand common sense, and then the White House “concedes” and changes its initial decision to give the impression of newfound reasonability and moderation. But the problem still isn’t solved! The trial location debate becomes a diversion so that we’ll take our eyes off the ball. The point missed is that our President still wants to give these terrorists U.S. constitutional protections in our civilian courts, allowing them to lawyer-up on our dime.

This tactic is in the same vein as another Washington game: creating the appearance of a “crisis” in order to push for a radical solution. (“The health care crisis must be fixed by government now or we’re all gonna die! The earth’s temperature is fluctuating; government must fix this crisis now or we’re all gonna die! Private businesses made poor decisions and bureaucrats claim they’re too big to fail, so government must fix this crisis now or we’re all gonna die!”) Politicians and lobbyists announce that there is a “crisis,” and never letting a good crisis go to waste, they propose a radical solution to fix it. The public listens intently, and in a sincere desire to help, an alternative to the politicians’ radical solution gets put forward. The politicians then “concede” and mellow out their radical solution. The public’s attention has been diverted to tinkering on the periphery, all the while ignoring the real problem at the heart of the “crisis” that started the whole debate.

The fact is our government has a choice as to where to try the terrorists. We don’t have to try them in our civilian courts. The peripheral debate regarding in which city to try these evil, dangerous haters-of-America is a diversion. Let’s get back to the heart of the matter: what choice will our government make – terrorist trials in civilian courts or military tribunals?

- Sarah Palin

- JP

Sarah Palin: Better Solutions

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Posted this afternoon on Sarah Palin's Facebook Notes page:

Letting You Know About Some "Better Solutions"

On Wednesday night, the president asked us to “let him know” if we had any better ideas, and today John Boehner handed him a compilation of the policy alternatives that have been advanced over the past year. These are ideas that deserve to be considered to turn down the volume on the rhetoric and use common sense. Please take a look at Solutions.GOP.gov. You can read the compilation of policy alternatives, called “Better Solutions,” here [PDF document]. 

- Sarah Palin

- JP

Palin and Perry Rally set for February 7 in Cypress

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 Gov. Rick Perry and Sarah Palin will appear at the Berry Center, 8877 Barker Cypress Road in Cypress, Texas February 7 for the "Super Sunday" rally. 

Will Call Tickets will be distributed beginning at 1:00 PM, and the doors will open a half hour later. The program gets under way at 2:00 PM.

Tickets for the event are free, and you can register for them here. Driving directions to the Berry Center are here.

h/t: The Cypress Times

- JP

Reloading: The American Spectator reviews 'Rogue'

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Daniel Oliver reviews Going Rogue in the February issue of The American Spectator. Here are a few choice excerpts:

Gov. Palin believes in God. So did the Founding Fathers, though not necessarily in precisely the way Gov. Palin does. Thomas Jefferson wrote: “God who gave us life gave us liberty.” And also: “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?” The U.S. has strayed far from that belief, or at least from the ability to express that belief in public, in no small part because of Supreme Court rulings so beloved by the liberal United Nations-hugging big-government socialist fascist gangster capitalist atheist God-hating running dogs. Gov. Palin’s belief in God is palpable—palpable being the operative word because periodically she holds her children’s hands and prays.

[...]

Why is a belief in God important? Because, as Chesterton is said to have expressed it, ”When men stop believing in God they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.” Including progress (by which they mean the perfectibility of man), the wisdom of the state, and the need for big government (as the means by which the wise state, guided by a multiplicity of advisers who went to Harvard and Yale, can bring about the perfection of man). Palin: “The role of government is not to perfect us, but to protect us.”

Protecting us is important for obvious reasons. And providing for the common defense is in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, along with establishing justice and ensuring domestic tranquility. Having a strong defense does not necessarily mean supporting the war in either Iraq or Afghanistan. But it does mean having a defense budget large enough to make our enemies quake. Palin: “America must remain the strongest nation in the world in order to remain free.” At the peak of the Reagan rearming in 1986 our expenditures on defense were 6.2 percent of GDP. They are now 4.8 percent, and are projected to go down to 3 percent by 2019. Where is Gov. Palin (the proud mother of a son who went off to serve his country in Iraq) when we need her?

The answer, of course, is that she's reloading...

- JP

Wasilla Bible Church Arson Still A Cold Case

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A reminder from Suzanne Eovaldi at The Collins Report -- It's been well over a year since the church Sarah Palin and her family attend in Wasilla, Alaska was torched, and not only has the crime not been solved, but investigators appear to have few, if any, good leads. And there's been precious little outrage on the Left over this unpunished hate crime:

Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright still insists, “It had nothing to do with Sarah Palin.” He discounts connection to a “homosexual healing conference” the church co-sponsored, but he admitted a state arson investigation has hit only dead end and is not working on any other leads. The heinous fire crime at the Christian Bible Church languishes in the cold case file. 

Wasilla PD investigator Ruth Josten didn’t return several calls. Last January the Collins Report posted an exclusive interview with WBC elder Tom Ryan that exposed many horrible facts still being ignored. The Report’s editor, a retired NYPD officer determined early on this crime was much more than simple arson, but instead was a six count attempted murder 1, apparently committed by an outside hired assassin.

These facts are still being ignored: 1. wires for phones, fire alarms, and water systems were slashed from INSIDE the building, near the control room 2. fire accelerant was spread across each church exit to prohibit escape of the five women and one teen girl trapped inside.

The attempt to prevent those inside the church from escaping failed, by the grace of God.

- JP

Sarah Palin: "What is NOW afraid of?" (Updated)

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Sarah Palin comments on the efforts by National Organization for Women and other pro-abortion groups to persuade CBS to pull a life-affirming ad featuring Tim Tebow which is scheduled to air during the Super Bowl. The former Governor of Alaska also answered questions from FOX News' Greta Van Susteren on the Tea Party movement and the National Tea Party Convention.



h/t: America's News Today

Update: Good analysis by Doctor Zero here 

- JP

Sarah Palin: Obama speech "so full of contradictions"

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Sarah Palin and Greta Van Susteren discuss President obama's State of the Union speech during the Thursday night edition of "On The Record" on FOX News:



- JP

Quote of the Day (January 28, 2010)

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Rush Limbaugh:

"One thing, did [President Obama] concede last night that Sarah Palin was right about more drilling and nuclear energy? 'Cause I think Obama just nominated Sarah Palin to be the next energy secretary. He said we needed more domestic drilling and we needed clean nuclear energy, as though we don't have clean nuclear energy now. And I think it was just a throwaway line for phony bipartisanship but he's now on the record: 'Drill, baby, drill,' that's what it made it sound like he is in favor of."

- JP

Sarah Palin: The Credibility Gap in Obama's SOTUS

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Sarah Palin has a new op-ed up on her Facebook Notes page. It deals with the credibility gap in President Obama's State of the Union Speech (SOTUS):

The Credibility Gap

While I don’t wish to speak too harshly about President Obama’s state of the union address, we live in challenging times that call for candor. I call them as I see them, and I hope my frank assessment will be taken as an honest effort to move this conversation forward.

Last night, the president spoke of the “credibility gap” between the public’s expectations of their leaders and what those leaders actually deliver. “Credibility gap” is a good way to describe the chasm between rhetoric and reality in the president’s address. The contradictions seemed endless.

He called for Democrats and Republicans to “work through our differences,” but last year he dismissed any notion of bipartisanship when he smugly told Republicans, “I won.”

He talked like a Washington “outsider,” but he runs Washington! He’s had everything any president could ask for – an overwhelming majority in Congress and a fawning press corps that feels tingles every time he speaks. There was nothing preventing him from pursuing “common sense” solutions all along. He didn’t pursue them because they weren’t his priorities, and he spent his speech blaming Republicans for the problems caused by his own policies.

He dared us to “let him know” if we have a better health care plan, but he refused to allow Republicans in on the negotiations or consider any ideas for real free market and patient-centered reforms. We’ve been “letting him know” our ideas for months from the town halls to the tea parties, but he isn’t interested in listening. Instead he keeps making the nonsensical claim that his massive trillion-dollar health care bill won’t increase the deficit.

Americans are suffering from job losses and lower wages, yet the president practically demanded applause when he mentioned tax cuts, as if allowing people to keep more of their own hard-earned money is an act of noblesse oblige. He claims that he cut taxes, but I must have missed that. I see his policies as paving the way for massive tax increases and inflation, which is the “hidden tax” that most hurts the poor and the elderly living on fixed incomes.

He condemned lobbyists, but his White House is filled with former lobbyists, and this has been a banner year for K Street with his stimulus bill, aka the Lobbyist’s Full Employment Act. He talked about a “deficit of trust” and the need to “do our work in the open,” but he chased away the C-SPAN cameras and cut deals with insurance industry lobbyists behind closed doors.

He spoke of doing what’s best for the next generation and not leaving our children with a “mountain of debt,” but under his watch this year, government spending is up by 22%, and his budget will triple our national debt.

He spoke of a spending freeze, but doesn’t he realize that each new program he’s proposing comes with a new price tag? A spending freeze is a nice idea, but it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. We need a comprehensive examination of the role of government spending. The president’s deficit commission is little more than a bipartisan tax hike committee, lending political cover to raise taxes without seriously addressing the problem of spending.

He condemned bailouts, but he voted for them and then expanded and extended them. He praised the House’s financial reform bill, but where was Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in that bill? He still hasn’t told us when we’ll be getting out of the auto and the mortgage industries. He praised small businesses, but he’s spent the past year as a friend to big corporations and their lobbyists, who always find a way to make government regulations work in their favor at the expense of their mom & pop competitors.

He praised the effectiveness of his stimulus bill, but then he called for another one – this time cleverly renamed a “jobs bill.” The first stimulus was sold to us as a jobs bill that would keep unemployment under 8%. We now have double digit unemployment with no end in sight. Why should we trust this new “jobs bill”?

He talked about “making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development,” but apparently it’s still too tough for his Interior Secretary to move ahead with Virginia’s offshore oil and gas leases. If they’re dragging their feet on leases, how long will it take them to build “safe, clean nuclear power plants”? Meanwhile, he continued to emphasize “green jobs,” which require massive government subsidies for inefficient technologies that can’t survive on their own in the real world of the free market.

He spoke of supporting young girls in Afghanistan who want to go to school and young women in Iran who courageously protest in the streets, but where were his words of encouragement to the young girls of Afghanistan in his West Point speech? And where was his support for the young women of Iran when they were being gunned down in the streets of Tehran?

Despite speaking for over an hour, the president only spent 10% of his speech on foreign policy, and he left us with many unanswered questions. Does he still think trying the 9/11 terrorists in New York is a good idea? Does he still think closing Gitmo is a good idea? Does he still believe in Mirandizing terrorists after the Christmas bomber fiasco? Does he believe we’re in a war against terrorists, or does he think this is just a global crime spree? Does he understand that the first priority of our government is to keep our country safe?

In his address last night, the president once again revealed that there’s a fundamental disconnect between what the American people expect from their government, and what he wants to deliver. He’s still proposing failed top-down big government solutions to our problems. Instead of smaller, smarter government, he’s taken a government that was already too big and supersized it.

Real private sector jobs are created when taxes are low, investment is high, and people are free to go about their business without the heavy hand of government. The president thinks innovation comes from government subsidies. Common sense conservatives know innovation comes from unleashing the creative energy of American entrepreneurs.

Everything seems to be “unexpected” to this administration: unexpected job losses; unexpected housing numbers; unexpected political losses in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey. True leaders lead best when confronted with the unexpected. But instead of leading us, the president lectured us. He lectured Wall Street; he lectured Main Street; he lectured Congress; he even lectured our Supreme Court Justices.

He criticized politicians who “wage a perpetual campaign,” but he gave a campaign speech instead of a state of the union address. The campaign is over, and President Obama now has something that candidate Obama never had: an actual track record in office. We now can see the failed policies behind the flowery words. If Americans feel as cynical as the president suggests, perhaps it’s because the audacity of his recycled rhetoric no longer inspires hope.

Real leadership requires results. Real hope lies in the ingenuity, generosity, and boundless courage of the American people whose voices are still not being heard in Washington.

- Sarah Palin

- JP

Meghan McCain: Sarah Palin has the "panache" to win in 2012

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Progressive Republican Meghan McCain, fielding questions from the audience at a speaking engagement at the University of Florida last night, remarked that she "liked" her father's former running mate Sarah Palin despite the differences in the two women's respective politics:

“I liked Sarah,” McCain said, “To me she represents a lot of feminist ideals. Our politics differ.”

She added, “I can’t stand here and say I hate her…I think anybody that underestimates her at any point is very foolish.”

McCain said she couldn’t comment any further because she plans to go into great detail about her experiences and conversations with Palin in her new book, Dirty Sexy Politics: A True Story, due to be released in August. The book is about life on her father’s campaign.

When asked if she thought former Gov. Palin could win the presidential election if she decides to run in 2012...

“Oh sure,” McCain answered, “I honestly haven’t seen another candidate so far that I believe has the panache.”

- JP

RWN Poll: Right of Center Bloggers Prefer Palin

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Right Wing News recently polled more than 250 right-of-center bloggers to see which candidate they'd support if the 2012 Republican primaries were today. RWN Editor John Hawkins reports that Sarah Palin was their top choice, receiving twice as many votes as the runner-up. Here's how the top five vote-getters finished:

5) Tim Pawlenty: 9% (6 votes)
4) Mitch Daniels: 10% (7 votes)
3) Mitt Romney: 12% (8 votes)
2) Mike Pence: 14% (10 votes)
1) Sarah Palin: 29% (20 votes)

To see how the rest of the field shook out and for a list of the bloggers who voted, visit Right Wing News.

- JP

Zogby Poll: Sarah Palin is GOP's top choice for president

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The results of a new Zogby Poll commissioned by Newsmax indicate that Sarah Palin now leads her prospective GOP rivals as the Republican Party's preferred candidate for president:

The exclusive Newsmax Media-Zogby poll released Thursday asked likely GOP voters: "If the Republican primary for president of the United States were held today... for whom would you vote?"

The poll gave voters a selection of top tier potential candidates as well as some dark horses, the list included Scott Brown, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, David Petraeus, Tim Pawlenty, and Mitt Romney.

Despite the size and diversity of the field, Palin grabbed a solid 22.2 percent to take the lead with former Massachusetts Gov. Romney close behind with 19.4 percent.

Also making a strong showing was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich with 12 percent, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 11 percent.

A survey taken in early December by Opinion Research for CNN found Huckabee leading the Republican field of likely presidential candidates, with gov. Palin in second place.

Newsmax's David Patten attributes Sarah Palin's strong showing in the Zogby poll to her success at year's end with her book Going Rogue and her new job as a Fox News contributer as factors which are having a positive impact on her political standing. 

Democrat pollster Doug Schoen says the findings by Zogby contradict claims made by many analysts that Gov. Palin had killed her political career by resigning as Alaska's governor nearly six months ago:

"It suggests to me that reports of her political death are exaggerated," political strategist and Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen tells Newsmax. "In American political life, politicians have not only second and third lives, they have nine lives. And Sarah Palin is on her third or fourth life."

Patten says that the poll shows that, among members of her own party, Sarah Palin has overcome the many media attacks against her and continues to be a powerful political force. U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Newsmax that he's not surprised by Gov. Palin's strength in the new poll, but he can understand that "a few networks" might find the results surprising:

McCarthy says Palin has become the voice of an electorate increasingly frustrated with federal governance.

"She has the common sense to go out, to listen, to talk, to tell exactly how she feels from the heart," McCarthy tells Newsmax. "They can try to go out there and say whatever they want about her but she's really the voice of the people. She raises a family, she understands those challenges. … I think that's what America is looking for.

"America is not looking for a party," McCarthy says. "They're looking for a leader and those who will help change Washington."

Read the full Newsmax report here.

- JP

Sarah Palin: Obama's SOTU Speech Was A "Lecture"

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In her analysis of President Obama's State of the Union address on FOX News' "On The Record" with Greta Van Susteren Wednesday night, Sarah Palin described President Obama's State of the Union speech as "lecturing":



h/t: PalinTV

- JP

Sarah Palin: Obama embarrassed the Supreme Court

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Sean Hannity and FOX News contributor Sarah Palin discussed President Obama's diss of the Supreme Court during his State of the Union Address Wednesday night. After viewing a clip of Justice Alito shaking his head and mouthing "Not true" when Obama criticized the high court's decision which struck down the McCain Feingold legislation, Gov. Palin described Obama's behavior as "embarrassing the court" and said he was not "respecting the Separation of Powers."

Palin also said that either Alito or Obama was being disingenuous, and she left no doubt that she believes it was President Obama. Finally, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential candidate said that she thinks that this is going to be a "huge takeaway moment from the speech."



h/t: Freedom's Lighthouse

- JP

Quote of the Day (January 27, 2010)

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Association & Non-Profit BisNow:

"Sarah Palin is shaping up to be one of the most talked about convention speakers of the year."

- JP

Sarah Palin: It's never anyone's "turn" to be president

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Asked by La Donna Hale Curzon this week on Sarah Palin Radio about Glenn Beck's remark that it's Mitt Romney's turn to be the GOP presidential nominee, Gov. Palin answered:

"Well, I don't think it's anybody's turn ever." 

"We've got to really, really work hard to build up that trust in the people for the people to elect you in a primary and general." 

"But Romney's a great guy. Glenn Beck's a really great guy, and I appreciate the diverse views and opinions that these fellows are going to be sharing with the rest of America through these next few years before a candidate does rise to the top of the GOP."

You can listen to the full Sarah Palin Radio interview here.

h/t: C4P

- JP

Sarah Palin declines offer to model for Weatherproof

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Sarah Palin has said, "No, thanks" to an offer made by outdoor clothing brand Weatherproof to be the new high-profile face for its "A leader in style" advertising campaign, according to the CNN Political Ticker. The clothier acquired the rights to an AP photo of President Obama wearing a Weatherproof jacket, but never asked permission from the White House to use the image. When it appeared on a billboard in New York last month Obama aides demanded that it be removed.

Weatherproof, in hopes of replacing Obama's image with that of Governor Palin, who has also been photographed in a Weatherproof jacket, asked the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate to be its model, but the governor's attorney told CNN that she is not interested. 

- JP

Quote of the Day (January 26, 2010)

The Aged P:

"Why not now just wait and see what happens at this Convention and how Palin is received? If the whole thing is a mess and she ends up with egg on her face then those three can have a really good laugh with the CPAC crowd… but somehow they know in their bones that she is more likely to be the star and the story on this whereas CPAC might well be treated as a hobbyists get-together."

- JP

Jennifer Harper: Tea Party Pile On

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Jennifer Harper, in Wednesday morning's "Inside the Beltway" column in the Washington Times:

There's a media pile-on afoot. Led primarily by the New York Times, a variety of news organizations are attacking the National Tea Party Convention, scheduled to begin Feb. 4 in Nashville, Tenn., with Sarah Palin as the keynote speaker. The Times claims the event is a "profiteering" enterprise, suggesting that the convention violates the grass-roots nature of the "tea party" movement. "Fractiousness," territorial disputes and suspiscions have cast a shadow over the effort, the paper says.

Yet the event is sold out. There's a waiting list, even among those seeking entrance to Mrs. Palin's speech alone. Eight sponsors include Judicial Watch, the Eagle Forum and the National Taxpayers Union. The convention center is ready, the surf and turf waiting.

"It is going to be a great event. We have a lot of people who are coming who are very excited about the event, and I think they are going to leave inspired and with some great new tools to take back to their groups," organizer Judson Phillips tells Inside the Beltway.

He adds that few journalists "have bothered" to get his side of the story, which has been ramped up in the last 48 hours by the Los Angeles Times, Politico, CBS News, MSNBC, the Atlantic, Media Matters for America and other sources.

It's a classic — and convenient — media frenzy.

"A lot of individuals want to get involved in the political process, in the organization of the tea party movement. And now we find that the news media is seizing on this, and extrapolating that the tea party is in trouble or divided," John O'Hara tells The Beltway.

He is the author of the new book "A New American Tea Party," and contends that tea party believers, while representing a spectrum of ideas, are united by the same motivation: the well-being of the nation.

"The press has tried to marginalize the tea party movement from the beginning. They recognize it as a potent political force, and they want to do it in. A little less than a year ago, these same journalists were dismissing the tea party as a 'fringe' phenomenon, not even worth their time," Mr. O'Hara says.

"Now they smell blood," he adds.

If only it were just the lamestream media piling on...

- JP

Sarah Palin: NOW is looking at the pro-life issue backwards

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On her Facebook Notes page Tuesday night, Sarah Palin called out NOW and other women's groups for their protest of a pro-life ad that is scheduled to air during the Super Bowl game:

Women's Rights Groups: Your Double Standard is Showing

Women’s Rights groups, like NOW, commendably call out advertisers and networks for airing sexist and demeaning portrayals of women that lead to young women’s diminished self-esteem and acceptance of roles as mere sexed-up objects.

What a ridiculous situation they’re getting themselves into now with their protest of CBS airing a pro-life ad during the upcoming Super Bowl game. The ad will feature Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mom, and they’ll speak to the sanctity of life and the beautiful potential within every innocent child as Mrs. Tebow acknowledges her choice to give Tim life, despite less than ideal circumstances. Messages like this empower women! This speaks to the strength and commitment and nurturing spirit within women. The message says everything positive and nothing negative about the power of women – and life. Evidently, some women’s rights groups like NOW do not like that message.

NOW is looking at the pro-life issue backwards. Women should be reminded that they are strong enough and smart enough to make decisions that allow for career and educational opportunities while still giving their babies a chance at life. In my own home, my daughter Bristol has also been challenged by pro-abortion “women’s rights” groups who don’t agree with her decision to have her baby, nor do they like the abstinence message which she articulated as her personal commitment. NOW could gain ground and credibility with everyday Americans, thus allowing their pro-women message to be heard by more than just their ardent supporters, if they made wiser decisions regarding which battles to pick. They should call attention to and embrace the Tebow’s message, instead of covertly and overtly disrespecting what Mrs. Tebow, Bristol, and millions of other women have chosen to do (in less than ideal circumstances).

My message to these groups who are inexplicably offended by a pro-woman, pro-child, pro-life message airing during the Super Bowl: please concentrate on empowering women, help with efforts to prevent unexpected pregnancies, stay consistent with your message that for too long women have been made to feel like sex objects in our “modern” culture and that we can expect better in 2010. But don’t let your double standard glare so vividly as to undo some of the good to which you could contribute.

And CBS: just do the right thing. Don’t cave. Have the backbone to run the ad.

To the Tebows: thank you. America is listening. We appreciate you.

- Sarah Palin

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mentions, Part 23

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Taste My Night Stick Edition...

Dennis Miller:

"Is Steve Schmidt, her big detractor over there on the McCain campaign, is he a genius? Was that a great campaign? How has Barack Obama's first year been working out for everybody? He's a genius. Everybody happy with that? I think Sarah Palin is about as smart as she needs to be for that gig."

Stella Paul:

"Sarah Palin will become the people’s president this year, the leader most Americans turn to for emotional comfort, moral guidance and national unity when crises strike."

Gary P. Jackson:

"Sarah Palin slapped Barack Obama down just about as hard as one can metaphorically slap someone down over his complete and total failure to do his job of keeping America safe... Sarah’s latest hits that sweet spot just as well as Reagan used to. And she’s had Obama’s number since day one."

Media Absurdity:

"Matthews bashes her consistently and has for the last year and a half, but as of the end of December, he was averaging, oh, about 58,000 viewers and his numbers seem to be steadily declining... Palin appeared on Glenn Beck’s show... that coincidentally attracted over three million viewers; how many times does 58,000 go into three million?"

Dan Fogarty:

"Sarah Palin made her debut on Mediate’s Power Grid this week, and not surprisingly, immediately claimed the number one spot among TV Pundits. Ms. Palin dominated the category, placing number one among in TV mentions, web buzz, news buzz, and blog buzz."

Dan Gillmor:

"And suddenly we're supposed to believe [the McCain Campaign] because they're saying something terrible about Sarah Palin? I don't think so! And especially when they're doing it anonymously. She's right that these people are cowards. She's absolutely right about that. It doesn't mean what they're saying is false, but I don't believe it. I refuse to believe it, because these people don't have enough courage to say... who they are. I would not trust these people for a second. So I'm absolutely with her on this issue."

Rodger the Real King of France:

"The only way the GOP can regain it's vitality IMO, is to give Sarah Palin (sorry, but I can't think of anyone else I'd trust) the job of restructuring the party from the top down. Restructuring means replacing the apparat with Tea Party veterans. Axe-chop-whack."

Steven Ertelt:

"Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has a message for the mainstream media and abortion advocates. In a new note encouraging pro-life advocates at the March for Life, the former Alaska governor says pro-life people won't "get over" abortion because abortions hurt women."

Big Hollywood:

"Lopez is looking for her comeback and there’s no trashier, cheaper, faster or more effective way to impress the Hollywood Frat House crowd than to call the mother of five children a 'b!#@h' on a nationwide cable channel."

Jonathan Curiel:

"In San Francisco, I haven’t seen too many bumper stickers saying 'Palin for Prez in 2012,' but if you’re looking for a gauge of America’s current political temperature, look no farther than liberal San Francisco, where Sarah Palin – yes, that Sarah Palin – has a widespread fan base. In the city that begat the Summer of Love and jump-started the counter-culture movement, the conservative ex-governor of Alaska has become a much-admired figure – among both women and men."

Jennifer Rubin:

"The press went to the mat for Obama, yet now we learn that even during the campaign, there were signals that he lacked some important presidential qualities... This is as much an indictment of Obama as of the sycophantic press that raised nary a critical word during the campaign and instead spent its investigative energies and venom on Sarah Palin (who turned out to be more in sync with the electorate on health-care reform, climate change, and anti-terrorism policy than the suave sophisticate whom the press raved about)."

Tim Blair:

"One reason Democrats keep getting hammered at state level is because voters don't trust Obama's plans to reshape the US healthcare system. Some credit here must go to Alaskan grandmother and prominent Facebook identity Sarah Palin, who coined a phrase that perfectly summarised fears of a state-run health service - 'death panels'. It's curious that Palin, alleged word-mangling dope, should have come up with one of the year's more memorable (and politically alert) lines. Meanwhile, nobody can recall anything super orator Obama ever says, despite him hauling those teleprompters of his all over the planet for speech after speech after speech."

Another Black Conservative:

"Well, Ms. Dobson, apology not accepted... You knock Sarah Palin as being a dumb soccer mom, but had you had three functioning brain cells, you would have noticed that Sarah Palin predicted exactly what Obama was going to be all about during her convention speech. How is it a supposed mental giant like you could not plainly see what poor rube Sarah Palin figured out in 5 seconds flat?"

Hillbuzz:

"We haven’t talked to her in person since the last time we saw her in Lakewood, Ohio right before the 2008 election. Essentially, we want to encourage her to run for President, and will look her in the eye and swear to her that we’ll do everything in our power to make sure she’s the next occupant of the Oval Office in 2013. We also want to thank her for being awesome, and for tossing so many ninja throwing stars at Dr. Utopia. Honestly, we love this woman."

Pundette:

"[Christopher] Buckley probably cringes at the sound of their names, but Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber read Obama like a book. They were exactly right and Buckley was as wrong as he could be. Writing some mediocre satire will not make things right. It's just... annoying."

Patrick S. Adams:

"First of all, everyone that knows Adrienne knows that she stands for nothing but good, and a comment about putting a dog down is simply a rhetorical statement, not a threat or advocacy of violence. Bree Palin and Palingates are just loons looking for any reason to start trouble. They may be reconsidering that now that they hear the sound of an unexpectedly high number of rhetorical swords being unsheathed across the blogosphere. The Palin army is bigger than they are and bigger than they think. If they want to bring down Palin, they will have to go through us. And as in Adrienne's case, we got each others' backs."

Ani Ai:

"Sarah Palin has a habit of getting to the heart of the matter, deflating the b.s. balloon, or going for the jugular, depending on your perspective. This is her latest message to President Obama, posted on her Facebook page tonight. It upsets the apple cart of the denial-type spin that Obama’s surrogates have been spouting on the Sunday morning talk shows."

Hyscience:

"Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama: A tale of the tape... I'll sum up the highlights for you: Palin's smokin' hot, is pro-life, has more executive experience, her political affiliation matters less to her than cleaning up corruption and eliminating earmarks (unlike Obama), she's far more honest, she didn't attend a radical Black church for 20 years and claim she didn't hear anything controversial, and actually does support the troops as opposed to Barack Obama who almost visited wounded troops in Germany, but decided to go shopping in Berlin instead."

Mark Steyn:

"The Barack Obama who showed up last Sunday to help out Martha Coakley was a sad and diminished figure from the colossus of a year ago. He had nothing to say, but he said it anyway... The most striking aspect of his performance was how unhappy he looked, as if he doesn’t enjoy the job. You can understand why. He ran as something he’s not, and never has been: a post-partisan, centrist, transformative healer. That’d be a difficult trick to pull off even for somebody with any prior executive experience, someone who’d actually run something, like a state, or even a town, or even a commercial fishing operation, like that poor chillbilly boob Sarah Palin. At one point late in the 2008 campaign, when someone suggested that if Governor Palin was “unqualified” then surely he was too, Obama pointed out as evidence to the contrary his ability to run such an effective campaign. In other words, running for president was his main qualification for being president."

Gary P. Jackson:

"Sarah Palin Delivers The Real State Of The Union Address"

- JP

Gov. Palin joins Fox News coverage of SOTU address

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Media bistro's TV Newser reports that Sarah Palin will be one of the Fox News contributors providing analysis of President Obama's State of the Union address Wednesday evening:

"O'Reilly Factor" will end at 8:55pmET and Bret Baier will anchor the address, the Republican response, and analysis live until 10:30pmET. Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, Joe Trippi, and Bob Beckel will contribute. Carl Cameron and Major Garrett will report. Greta Van Susteren will be live for "On the Record" until 11pmET. Sean Hannity will be live from 11pmET until midnight.

Is there a betting pool for how long it will take Gov. Palin to make Beckel's head explode?

- JP

My, that didn't take long...

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The Peoria Journal Star's Steve Stein reports:

Want to buy a ticket to hear Sarah Palin’s speech April 17 at Five Points Washington? Sorry. The event is sold out.

Five Points Special Events Manager Brian Garnant said all 400 banquet/speech tickets were gone by 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Palin’s appearance was announced.

About 560 speech-only tickets went on sale at noon Tuesday; all were sold by 2:10 p.m.

No wonder the unofficial Sarah Palin Events Calendar is filling up so quickly...

- JP

Look who's polarizing now

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It's the rare lamestream media report concerning Sarah Palin in which the former governor is not described as "polarizing." But results from a recent Gallup Poll reveal that the media dogs have been barking up the wrong tree. Barack Obama has, lo and behold, the most polarized approval ratings for any first-year president since Gallup began tracking approval numbers during the Eisenhower administration:

The 65 percentage-point gap between Democrats' (88%) and Republicans' (23%) average job approval ratings for Barack Obama is easily the largest for any president in his first year in office, greatly exceeding the prior high of 52 points for Bill Clinton.

Overall, Obama averaged 57% job approval among all Americans from his inauguration to the end of his first full year on Jan. 19. He came into office seeking to unite the country, and his initial approval ratings ranked among the best for post-World War II presidents, including an average of 41% approval from Republicans in his first week in office. But he quickly lost most of his Republican support, with his approval rating among Republicans dropping below 30% in mid-February and below 20% in August. Throughout the year, his approval rating among Democrats exceeded 80%, and it showed little decline even as his overall approval rating fell from the mid-60s to roughly 50%.

[...]

Thus, the extraordinary level of polarization in Obama's first year in office is a combination of declining support from Republicans coupled with high and sustained approval from Democrats. In fact, his 88% average approval rating from his own party's supporters is exceeded only by George W. Bush's 92% during Bush's first year in office. Obama's 23% approval among supporters of the opposition party matches Bill Clinton's for the lowest for a first-year president. But Clinton was less popular among Democrats than Obama has been to date, making Obama's ratings more polarized.

Since Gallup defines the degree of polarization of a politician as the percentage-point gap between his or her average approval rating from members of his or her own political party and the average job approval ratings he or she receives from members of the opposing poilitical party, our curiosity led us to look up the most recent Gallup survey which tracked those parameters for former Governor Sarah Palin. On December 17, 2009, the premier pollster reported that she was viewed favorably by 79% of Republicans and 21% of Democrats, a gap of 58 percentage points. So President Obama is more polarizing a political figure than Gov. Palin by a full 6 point margin.

The Parable of the Prompter...

The president possesses a wonderful teleprompter which can answer him when he stands before it. So he faced his magic Teleprompter and inquired:  

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
It's surely THAT WOMAN against whom I'm railin'
It must be that horrible Sarah Palin

But his wonderful Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
The Lady Palin is not as divisive as you."

The president was horrified, and inquired of his Teleprompter again:

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
It's surely one who grates Republicans raw
It must be Bill Clinton of Arkansas

But the magic Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
Even Ol' Bubba doesn't polarize like you."

Becoming angered, the president again queried his Teleprompter:

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
It's surely the one I always blame first
It must be George Bush who divides us the worst

But the magic Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
Even Dubya's not at divisive as you."

Frustrated, the president asked his Teleprompter one last time:

Teleprompter, Telepromter, standing tall
Who's the most polarizing pol of all?
There must be someone in this great nation
Who's worse than me at polarization

But the magic Teleprompter answered:

"O Mr. President, I'll tell you true
Not another in this land is as divisive as you."

It is said that a great crashing sound then echoed throughout the White House. And a new Teleprompter was ordered to replace the shattered one. To this date, the president hasn't been overheard in conversation with it. 

- JP

Quote of the Day (January 25, 2010)

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Moe Lane:

My takeaway from the Jill Dorson piece in which she regrets her Obama vote...

You admit that your first impression of George W Bush was incorrect. You admit that your first impression of Barack Obama was incorrect. You admit that your first impression of what an Obama administration would entail is incorrect. And then you spend an amazing amount of precious apology time revisiting your unfavorable first impression of THAT WOMAN. Have you considered following the trend line, there?

While we’re on the subject: you are aware that THAT WOMAN made many of the same objections about Obama’s experience and future plans, yes? I mean, really: there was no reason for anybody to be surprised at what happened.

- JP

Sarah Palin: Instead of leadership, Obama delivers broken promises, backroom deals

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Sarah Palin's latest post on her Facebook Notes page is an eviscerating indictment of Barack Obama's first year in the White House:

Mr. President: Please Try, "I'm Listening, People," Instead of "Listen Up, People!"

We’ve now seen three landslide Republican victories in three states that President Obama carried in 2008. From the tea parties to the town halls to the Massachusetts Miracle, Americans have tried to make their opposition to Washington’s big government agenda loud and clear. But the President has decided that this current discontent isn’t his fault, it’s ours. He seems to think we just don’t understand what’s going on because he hasn’t had the chance – in his 411 speeches and 158 interviews last year – to adequately explain his policies to us.

Instead of sensibly telling the American people, “I’m listening,” the president is saying, “Listen up, people!” This approach is precisely the reason people are upset with Washington. Americans understand the president’s policies. We just don’t agree with them. But the president has refused to shift focus and come around to the center from the far left. Instead he and his old campaign advisers are regrouping to put a new spin on the same old agenda for 2010.

Americans aren’t looking for more political strategists. We’re looking for real leadership that listens and delivers results. The president’s former campaign adviser is now calling on supporters to “get on the same page,” but what’s on that page? He claims that the president is “resolved” to “keep fighting for” his agenda, but we’ve already seen what that government-growth agenda involves, and frankly the hype doesn’t give us much hope. Real health care reform requires a free market approach; real job creation involves incentivizing, not punishing, the job-creators; reining in the “big banks” means ending bailouts; and stopping “the undue influence of lobbyists” means not cutting deals with them behind closed doors.

Instead of real leadership, though, we’ve had broken promises and backroom deals. One of the worst: candidate Obama promised to go through the federal budget “with a scalpel,” but President Obama spent four times more than his predecessor. Want more? Candidate Obama promised that lobbyists “won’t find a job in my White House,” but President Obama gave at least a dozen former lobbyists top administration jobs. Candidate Obama promised us that we could view his health care deliberations openly and honestly on C-SPAN, but President Obama cut deals behind closed doors with industry lobbyists. Candidate Obama promised us that we would have at least five days to read all major legislation, but President Obama rushed through bills before members of Congress could even read them.

Candidate Obama promised us that his economic stimulus package would be targeted and pork-free, but President Obama signed a stimulus bill loaded with pork and goodies for corporate cronies. Candidate Obama railed against Wall Street greed, but President Obama cozied up to bankers as he extended and expanded their bailouts. Candidate Obama promised us that for “Every dollar that I’ve proposed [in spending], I’ve proposed an additional cut so that it matches.” We’re still waiting to see how President Obama will cut spending to match the trillion he’s spent.

More than anything, Americans were promised jobs, but the president’s stimulus package has failed to stem our rising unemployment rate. Maybe it was unfair to expect that an administration with so little private sector experience would understand something about job creation. How many Obama Administration officials have ever had to make a payroll or craft a business plan in the private sector? How many have had to worry about not having the resources to invest and expand? The president’s big government policies have made hiring a new employee a difficult commitment for employers to make. Ask yourself if the Obama Administration has done anything to make it easier for employers to hire. Have they given us any reassurance that the president will keep taxes low and not impose expensive new regulations?

Candidate Obama over-promised; President Obama has under-delivered. We understand you, Mr. President. We’ve listened to you again and again. We ask that you now listen to the American people.

- Sarah Palin

- JP