"Lisa Murkowski is conceding the senate primary in Alaska to RedState and Sarah Palin endorsed Joe Miller... Conservatives, led by Jim DeMint and Sarah Palin, are potentially creating the most conservative Senate Republican Conference in the last thirty or so years: Sharron Angle, Ken Buck, Mike Lee, Joe Miller, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Pat Toomey will be joining Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn, and David Vitter."- JP
Speaking to reporters at her campaign headquarters in Anchorage, Murkowski said "based on where we are right now, I don't see a scenario where the primary will turn out in my favor."Miller will face Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams, a Democrat, in the November general election.
The concession came after a day of counting absentee ballots in which Murkowski gained little ground on Miller, the Fairbanks attorney backed by former Gov. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express.
Also: "For the good of the state of Alaska, I am conceding the race for senator."Updates:
"Do you believe in miracles?! http://u.nu/72z2f Congratulations, @JoeWMiller! Thank you for your service, Sen. Murkowski. On to November!"Followed by:
"Joe Miller's msg: Time for Alaskans to come together, reach out w/core message - take power from fed govt & bring it back home to the people"Tea Party Express:
The Tea Party Express (website: www.TeaPartyExpress.org) congratulates Joe Miller on winning the race for the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in Alaska.Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), via The Corner:
"Tonight Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded the race for U.S. Senate to Conservative Republican Joe Miller. We here at the Tea Party Express couldn't be more excited," said Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express.
"We congratulate Joe Miller on winning the political shocker of the year. Joe Miller's campaign based on a constitutional conservative platform resonated with the state's Republican primary voters and should serve as a wake up call to the political establishments of both parties.
"We also thank and congratulate Gov. Sarah Palin who first called our attention to this race. She was right in her proclamation that Joe Miller was a first-rate candidate who offered a vision for the future of this country and how to return America to the right track," said Amy Kremer.
“I want to congratulate Joe Miller on his remarkable victory tonight and offer him my full support,” said Senator DeMint. “He pulled off the upset victory of the year because he ran on principles and because Alaskans, like all Americans, want to stop to the massive spending, bailouts, and debt that are bankrupting our country.”I applaud Senator Murkowski for gracefully conceding this race and for doing her part to help Republicans in Alaska move forward.Statement by Joe Miller:
“Joe Miller’s victory should be a wake-up call to politicians who go to Washington to bring home the bacon. Voters are saying ‘We’re not willing to bankrupt the country to benefit ourselves.’”Now it’s time for Republicans to unite behind Joe Miller and help him win this important race in November. I’m proud to announce that the Senate Conservatives Fund will add Joe Miller to its list of endorsed candidates, and will immediately begin working to raise support for his campaign.”
Earlier this evening, I received a call from Senator Murkowski honorably conceding the race. I want to thank her for a hard fought contest.- JP
Tomorrow, the general election begins.
But tonight I'd like to reflect back on the amazing feat we accomplished together. We started from a handful of people knowing who we were and what we stood for to now being the Republican Party nominee.
I want to thank the many people that made it all possible. First the people of the Great State of Alaska. As I traveled throughout the state, I met and spoke with more and more people who shared the same concern that our nation has reached a critical point, and we needed to change course.
I would like to especially thank my wife and children who have sacrificed quite a bit during this primary campaign. I love you all, and you are the most important reason I decided to enter this race.
I need to thank others who provided vital support to this campaign including Governor Sarah Palin, Governor Mike Huckabee, and the Tea Party movement. I'd also like to thank current and former state officials including Lt. Governor Loren Leman, Senators Fred Dyson and John Coghill, and Representatives Wes Keller and Tammy Wilson. Additionally, I'd also like to thank national conservative leaders and our local voices here in Alaska, Dan Fagan, Glenn Biegel, and Michael Dukes. But without our incredible volunteer network, this victory could not have been possible. They worked day and night to ensure success in this race. Thank you!
Now is the time for all Alaskans to come together and reach out with our core message of taking power from the federal government and bringing it back home to the people. If we continue to allow the federal government to live beyond its means, we will all soon have to live below ours.
I look forward to the challenge of the general election ahead. I intend to continue to travel to every corner of Alaska talking to folks about the answers needed to get our nation back on track and keep the American dream alive for ourselves and our children.
Thank you once again to the great people of this wonderful state. I look forward to the campaign ahead. God bless you and God bless Alaska!
Sources in Alaska have informed Big Government that the trend in the count of absentee ballots makes it virtually impossible that Sen. Murkowski will overtake Joe Miller in the GOP Senate Primary. A trusted and well-placed operative told BG:Warner also revealed that the full Murkowski campaign team is meeting by conference call this afternoon (Alaska time) to discuss what they should do next. He advises to stay tuned for updates,because there there is additional information he hopes to be able to publish soon.It’s over.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski could concede the GOP Senate primary as early as Tuesday night after election officials in Alaska finish counting the day's absentee ballots.Back at Big Government, Warner reports that Sen. Murkowski tentatively announced a 9 PM (Texas Time) press conference.
In an interview with CNN, Murkowski campaign spokesman Steve Wackowski was emphatic that the vote could still swing their way. "We're being hopeful, we want to make sure that all the votes are counted," he said.
But Wackowski also addressed the harsh reality that Murkowski might fall to the once lesser known, Tea Party Express-endorsed Joe Miller.
"I think we should know ... by our calculus, we should know by tonight," Wackowski said.
Wackowski was asked if Murkowski might concede the race to Miller once Tuesday's ballot counting ends. "Unfortunately we've got all our options are on the table," he lamented.
RT @shushwalshe: Murkowski staffer: "She is calling her family now-It looks like she will come out/concede That's what we recommended to her"- JP
The Mama Grizzly from Alaska is certainly an American original, and her success in picking political winners against the odds has shown that she is no less a political phenomenon. And the policies she supports are similar - small government and low taxes, plus energy self-sufficiency and a balanced budget.James T. Hackett's full opinion piece can be read here.
Just as Reagan was denigrated as an ex-movie actor with limited education, Mrs. Palin is portrayed as an ex-model with limited education, which means she did not go to Harvard or Yale, like most recent presidents and much of the liberal elite. The fact that elites from those institutions have nearly destroyed the economy and bankrupted the country does not reduce their arrogance or diminish their efforts to hold onto power.
Mrs. Palin was roundly criticized when she left the office of governor of Alaska, but since then, she has been riding a populist wave accompanied by Tea Party activists who want a return to common sense and responsible spending.
[...]
Sarah Palin has become a political power by encouraging Republican women to run for office and by her amazing ability to pick winners - and often help them win - even against heavy opposition spending. With Mrs. Palin's support, Republican women are becoming politically successful in growing numbers.
[...]
Mrs. Palin has shown she is a force to reckon with, which is why the left is attacking her so relentlessly.
The question is whether she can apply her keen political instincts and the grass-roots support she generates to become the next Ronald Reagan. The liberal powers clearly fear that she can.
At that rate, there may not be enough outstanding ballots to carry Murkowski to victory, even if the trend holds. It is not clear what ballots have yet to be counted, but in one batch counted Tuesday, Murkowski won 59.5 percent. Similar batches could close the gap substantially, if they exist. Of course, a run of Miller votes in a similar grouping could tip the scales further towards his nomination.Stacy McCain, live blogging from Anchorage, says most of the ballots counted today were from Anchorage, a Murkowski stronghold, and the early votes and questioned ballots from the Wasilla-Palmer area. The absentee ballots from the Mat-Su Valley, considered to be a Miller bastion, will not be counted until Wednesday:
Also yet to be counted are about 9,000 questioned ballots. Those are typically from voters casting ballots at the wrong polling place, and there has been little speculation whether those ballots will differ from the statewide totals in any meaningful way.
So today’s totals, with Lisa Murkowski gaining slightly, do not reflect the final outcome in those districts...- JP
“We’re thinking it will be a good day at the end of the day,” Joe Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto says in reaction to preliminary absentee ballot count from Anchorage.
Humility and Honesty About Iraq Can Inspire TrustEarlier Tuesday, the governor tweeted:
Later today, President Obama will speak to the American people about Iraq. No doubt he will laud the “end of major combat operations” by the date he randomly selected some 18 months ago. His press secretary Robert Gibbs also gave us a glimpse of what else he might say, telling the Today Show this morning that ”What is certainly not up for question is that President Obama, then-candidate Obama, said that adding those 20,000 troops into Iraq would, indeed, improve the security situation, and it did.”
Iraq in 2010 is indeed a very long way from Iraq in 2006, when violence and sectarian conflict threatened complete chaos. But then-candidate Obama did not support the course that brought us here as his press secretary now claims. On January 10, 2007, when President Bush announced the surge, Senator Obama insisted that the surge would actually increase sectarian violence: “I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq are going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse.” Barack Obama was clearly in opposition to the surge strategy.
Had we followed the course advocated by then-candidates Obama and Biden, the Iraq war would be remembered now as a crushing defeat for the United States and our allies. Al Qaeda in Iraq and Iranian supported extremists would have claimed victory over America – with grave implications for us throughout the region and the world. Iraq would have descended into full-scale civil war. Iraq’s neighbor would have likely been drawn into the conflict. Parts of Iraq would have been made a safe haven for terrorists to train and plan for attacks far beyond Iraqi borders.
Fortunately for all of us, these events did not occur. They did not occur because America changed strategy in Iraq. President Bush decided to increase our forces in Iraq and pursue a counterinsurgency strategy – a course long advocated by Republicans in Washington. This “surge” policy in 2007 was opposed by many – most notably and adamantly by Senators Obama and Biden. In October 2006, as the violence was spiraling out of control, Senator Obama actually advocated reducing our troop presence: “It is clear at this point that we cannot, through putting in more troops or maintaining the presence that we have, expect that somehow the situation is going to improve, and we have to do something significant to break the pattern that we’ve been in right now.”
In response to President Bush’s State of the Union address on January 23, 2007, Senator Obama said: “I don’t think the president’s strategy is going to work…My suggestion to the president has been that the only way we’re going to change the dynamic in Iraq and start seeing political commendation is actually if we create a system of phased redeployment. And, frankly, the president, I think, has not been willing to consider that option, not because it’s not militarily sound but because he continues to cling to the belief that somehow military solutions are going to lead to victory in Iraq.”
Senator Joe Biden, just before the surge was formally announced, actually declared: “If he surges another 20, 30 [thousand], or whatever number he’s going to, into Baghdad, it’ll be a tragic mistake.”
In May 2007, Senator Obama voted against funding our troops in Iraq. Reporters have insinuated that I haven’t been telling the truth on this fact, but consider the fact: he did not support additional troop funding. Had his position prevailed, our troops would have been forced to leave Iraq precipitously and chaos would have ensued. Goodness, even Senator Biden voted for the funding and had to admit this about Senator Obama and others who opposed it: “My colleagues voted against the funding to make a political point. There’s no political point worth my son’s life. There’s no political point worth anyone’s life.” As the mother of a soldier who spent his year in Iraq recently, I have to agree with Biden on that point.
As it became clear in the summer of 2007 that the surge strategy was working, Senator Obama was still stubbornly in denial about the success our American troops were having, saying: “My assessment is that the surge has not worked and we will not see a different report eight weeks from now.” What willful blindness he showed with that assessment.
And even in November 2007, when everyone could see the success of the surge in reducing violence and increasing political space in Iraq, Senator Obama said: “Finally, in 2006-2007, we started to see that, even after an election, George Bush continued to want to pursue a course that didn’t withdraw troops from Iraq but actually doubled them and initiated a surge and at that stage I said very clearly, not only have we not seen improvements, but we’re actually worsening, potentially, a situation there.”
As Americans tune in to watch President Obama, it is important to remember the facts. He opposed the surge. He predicted it would fail. He said it would make things worse even after it dramatically improved the situation. He voted to cut off funds for our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines fighting in Iraq. For months he refused to accept that the surge he fought was actually a spectacular success. As President Obama usually likes to look backwards and declare the state of everything to be “George Bush’s fault,” my hope is that tonight he stays consistent and looks backwards, and in this case acknowledges that credit should be given where credit is due.
Along with the points that Bill Kristol made yesterday, I too have some suggestions for the president. President Obama, please show grace, humility and some honesty before the American people tonight. Please don’t declare “Mission Accomplished” and then saunter away with an assumption that your opposition to the Iraq strategy was key to our troops’ success. Please end the political posturing. Admit you were wrong about the surge. Recognize what our brave armed forces have achieved. Admit that the strategy long advocated by Republicans, proposed by President Bush, led by Generals Petraeus and Odierno, and executed by thousands of America’s finest – our brave men and women in uniform – brought violence under control and made responsible withdrawals possible. The more honest you are about the past, the more likely it is you will gain the support of the American people for your Iraq policy in the future. We need to be able to trust the White House war strategy, as our children’s future depends on it. Being honest with us tonight is a good starting point in building trust.
- Sarah Palin
"Obama speech tonite may make u dig out ur old Orwell books so rewritten history can be deciphered, depending on who gets credit 4 Iraq surge"- JP
"For a high-profile speaker, Sarah Palin got one of the more difficult jobs one can get at a rally: warming up the early morning crowd. That said, when the crowd is thousands of Tea Party-affiliated Americans enthusiastic about restoring their nation’s honor, it’s not so difficult to get them fired up. Palin dedicated her speech to the troops, honored several American soldiers, and thanked the greatest Americans, both large and small in legacy, for their contributions."Breitbart.tv:
"The... speech delivered by the former Vice Presidential nominee... brought many in the throng to tears."Daniel Halper at The Weekly Standard Blog:
"Palin heartily thanked 'America’s finest, our men and women in the military.' She called the military 'a force for good' in this world. 'And that is nothing to apologize for,' Palin said, in what was probably the most political moment of her speech, as it was presumably a veiled shot at Obama for what many perceive as a worldwide apology tour taken by the president."Constitution Club:
"Hard on the heels of Sarah Palin’s stellar speech... at [Saturday’s] D.C. rally, Feministas [are] bemoaning the left’s lack of a similar charismatic female leader."Waking America Up Blog:
"Any attempts to lie and downplay this event are not attacks on Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin. These are attacks on each and every one of us. The press is telling us that honor doesn’t matter. Community doesn’t matter. Your belief in God doesn’t matter. Your voice doesn’t matter. Erasing the numbers is the press telling us that we don’t matter. We do matter. Wake up."Jillian Bandes at Townhall.com:
"Sarah Palin was a headlining speaker, and Beck played up her credentials as a mother instead of as a conservative political force... Palin, along with a host of other speakers, largely upheld Beck's initial mantra of faith, hope, and honor."A Shot and a Beer:
"Sarah Palin introduced members of the Military, who had sacrificed friends, comrades, shipmates, and limbs, to point out those who put Honor above their own needs, or even their own survival. All day, it was the same story; we are Americans, we are one Family, we should work together, trust in God (with no demand on whose God we should trust in), and help to bring us all up. No hate, absolutely zero so-called 'racism,' and no politics. And, by the way, absolutely no trash left laying on the National Mall when it was over."Nile Gardiner at the Telegraph:
"Boosted by the presence of charismatic former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the 'Restoring Honor' event organised by talk show host Glenn Beck was a huge success, and a tremendous demonstration of the power of conservatism in America today."andysully at Blue Collar Corner:
"Glenn Beck’s rally was not a race issue or a political playground where rhetoric was thrown around like childish insults. This rally was a genuine attempt to bridge the gap on all differences. The Liberal Media’s attempt to prevent that is almost as oppressive as supporting segregation 47 years earlier. MSNBC reported 'Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed Saturday to a vast, predominately white crowd.' I’m sorry, wasn’t there something mentioned about all of God’s children? But, who knows more than God besides the Liberal Media?"The Washington Post:
"The crowd erupted when Beck introduced Palin, a tea party heroine and a former Republican vice presidential candidate."Jason A. Vigorito at The Ridgewood Blog:
"Sarah Palin — speaking as a soldier’s mother — best stated... every... rallier’s reason for attending the Restoring Honor Rally: we don’t want to fundamentally transform America, we want to RESTORE America... Have you ever cheered alongside 300,000+ people? Have you ever sung with 300,000+ people?? Have you ever prayed with 300,000+ people??? Have you ever even been in a crowd that large?! To hear that many people say the Pledge of Allegiance, led by a Boy Scout, together; to sing the National Anthem in unison; to hold hands with strangers and sing 'Amazing Grace' to bagpipes. You’re struck with awe."Idiots For Obama:
"It appears that Al Sharpton's 'Reclaiming the Dream' rally focussed more on Sarah Palin and Glenn beck than it [did] on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King."Hugh Hewitt at the Washington Examiner:
"Minimum estimate of Saturday's crowd on the Mall: 300,000 Maximum estimate: One million people. Meaning of the crowd: An enormous upheaval in the emotions of average Americans is coursing through the country, with a certain significance for November's elections. It will have a lasting, profound impact on America's political direction. Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin provided an occasion to glimpse this undeniable phenomenon... The people on the Mall and the millions more who watched the gathering with satisfaction rather than fear are quite simply sick of the left, and of its vast sneer toward the traditions, values and, yes, faith of the American middle class."The Daily Beast:
"Sarah Palin was met by a roaring crowd as she spoke at Glenn Beck’s 'Restoring Honor' rally on the National Mall Saturday."Jeannie DeAngelis at American Thinker blog:
"Americans gathering to peacefully pray, exercise freedom of speech and laud the greatness of our nation [were] depicted by Chris Matthews as 'Little right-wing boys and little right-wing girls joining hands and singing praise for Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.' Matthews' tingly hero worship [of Obama] explains the MSNBC commentator projecting juvenile idolatry on hundreds of thousands of peacefully assembled Americans who were doing anything but worshiping Beck and Palin... The left cultivates division and then complains about a racial divide. Liberals stir up strife and then claim that minorities avoid gatherings like the 'Restoring Honor' event, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people who, regardless of race, treasure the values Martin Luther King espoused."- JP
Fully 57% say they want a GOPer to provide a check and balance over Pres. Obama, while only 33% want a Dem to help pass the WH agenda. Obama's job approval ratings clock in at just 40%, while 53% disapprove.Basswood Research's Jon Lerner, who has also done polling the Parnell campaign, conducted the survey of 400 likely voters August 28 and 29. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
The top of the ticket will benefit GOPers as well. Gov. Sean Parnell (R) has a wide lead over ex-state House Min. Leader Ethan Berkowitz (D), besting the Dem by a 54%-40% margin.
Palin also is expected to make other yet-announced political stops that day, with the Ronald Reagan dinner, a marquee event for the 2012 presidential prospect’s Iowa coming-out, that evening.Fifty eight percent of Iowa Republican primary voters said in June they had a favorable opinion of Gov. Palin, according to The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll. That was slightly behind Romney, at 62 percent, and slightly ahead of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, at 56 percent. The differences are within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
“A few months ago, Gov. Palin and her people reached out to us expressing interest in coming to our state,” Strawn told the Register this morning. “We’ve been working through those details for the past couple months.”
The state GOP and other conservative organizations in Iowa have been trying to land Palin, a huge draw for the party, since she stepped down as governor in July, 2009. Twice, Iowa officials thought they were close to inking visits, as recently as this summer.
The news comes on the heels of Palin’s appearance at Glenn Beck’s rally in Washington, D.C., Sunday. Palin, a star at the rally of conservatives, rated second in the field of prospective Republican presidential candidates in an August CNN poll, behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Palin has also maintained popularity among Republicans in Iowa without making a campaign appearance here in almost two years.
Strawn noted that while the former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential nominee is popular among Iowans, the current economy is challenging for many Iowa families who may wish to attend. That is why the Iowa GOP is offering Iowans an opportunity to volunteer through any of its ten statewide Victory Centers in exchange for a ticket to the Ronald Reagan “Salute to Freedom” Dinner. For additional details regarding volunteer opportunities, Iowans should contact their local Iowa GOP Victory Center in: Ames, Cedar Falls, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Iowa City, Marion, Mason City, Ottumwa, Sioux City and Urbandale.The time and location of the event will be announced by the Republican Party of Iowa at a later date.
Tickets can be reserved by emailing RSVP@IowaGOP.org or by calling 515-282-8105.
Media requesting credentials should email Danielle Plogmann at dplogmann@iowagop.org.
"Sarah Palin is attractive partly because she lives such a dangerous life -- flying solo, taking fire. Female liberals can't ever live dangerous lives like this in their cushy think-tanks and nicely taken care of by the still-mostly-male establishment that will see to it they always have a job, somewhere... The establishment -- both wings of it -- attacked Palin ferociously and drove her as far as possible out of any sort of safe career trajectory. Ironically, though, this now puts Palin in the position of an Amelia Earhart... someone living the vigorous, dangerous life. Which makes her all the more attractive to a public which can't help but notice that most of the vitality, most of the blood seems drained from public life and public ambition."
"Jennifer Rubin coins a great phrase to describe feminists' trouble dealing with Sarah Palin... Palin envy"Jimmie Bise at The Sundries Shack:
"Sarah Palin is more accomplished, happier, and more popular than [Anna Holmes and Rebecca Traister] combined. She chose her own route, made the best use of her own abilities, built a family to whom she is fiercely devoted, and, worst of all, has a vibrant and loving partnership with her husband, whom she considers indispensable. She’s the girl next door who is just at home in heels as she is mud boots, who can go out off-roading all day with her family and show up that night as a fancy dinner and wow everyone she meets. And she does this all without an expensive liberal girls’ college education or years marinating in the poisonous stew that is modern feminism. It’s a shame that the authors can’t say what they really feel: for all they say they hate Sarah Palin, deep in their heart of hearts they want to be her."Anna Belle at Peacocks and Lilies:
"It’s ironic that Holmes and Traister would call Sarah Palin a 'dim, opportunistic, mean-girl prom-queen' when they are the ones to simultaneously attack the older women in their party and smear Palin with their ignorant caricature of her person and achievements. Mean girls, indeed."Erick Erickson at RedState.com:
"Remember just a few months ago when every leftist in America screamed whenever anyone on the right accused Obama and the Democrats of being socialists? You’d think we’d just called them something profane other than describing who they actually are. Now, here we have two lefty feminists convinced one of Sarah Palin’s worst traits is that she bashes socialism. Voters delivered themselves into the hands of San Francisco Democrats without realizing it and are now desperately trying to extricate themselves. Meanwhile, the socialists finally feel comfortable enough to call themselves that. How much longer before they start bashing tea partiers for bashing communism?"Tabitha Hale:
"For all the talk of their support for women, there is no one on a national level doing for liberals what Sarah Palin is doing for conservatives in this election."Sister Toldjah:
"Palin... put the face of a very powerful staunchly conservative female politico on every TV in America for the first time. And, to the shock of some, I’m sure, she wasn’t the scary caricature that the hard left had painted of the typical conservative woman for decades. She was young, successful, married, a mother of four, a governor, and she came across as 'one of us.' And she denounced liberal feminist pet issues like abortion on demand and mandatory sex ed in schools, and, unlike many liberal women in government, she was a strong supporter of the US military which meant – gasp – she didn’t hate men, nor did she blame them for all that was wrong with the world. Needless to say, this made her a Priority 1 Target for the radical feminists on the left..."Freedom Fighter at Joshuapundit:
"Part of Sarah Palin's appeal is that she lives dangerously and has had no problem taking on the GOP establishment. That would simply be impossible for anyone mired in the Church of Progressive orthodoxy."Laura Brod at Hot air's Green Room:
"Liz Cheney and Sarah Palin... do not easily fall in line with the social agenda of the left — or the establishment on the right– for that matter. Women’s groups have attacked these high profile women, and others like them, who are not [staying] within the little glass box of issues pre-packaged up for them by the left. These women will shatter that little glass box and the step beyond the typical toward the possible."Northern Exposer at Conservative Jedi:
"She was one of the most popular and successful governors in Alaskan history, she's an independent, smart, classy woman with a good family and she's raising a special-needs child... So why do so-called 'feminists' hate Sarah Palin and not the oppressive way of life for women who live under Sharia law?"Scott Whitlock at Newsbusters:
"A day after highlighting Sarah Palin's political 'losing streak,' Good Morning America's Jon Karl on Wednesday acknowledged the stunning turn in Alaska's Senatorial primary race: 'But Joe Miller is a Tea Party candidate who had Sarah Palin's support. He, now, is ahead.' Karl on Wednesday didn't mention anything about the former governor's 'losing streak' ending. Instead, co-host Robin Roberts spun the results as a 'GOP family feud.'"John Dickerson at Slate:
"Sarah Palin has special medicine... Whether Miller wins or not, Palin has already won."Avik Roy at National Review Online:
"The attack on Sarah Palin has been: 'Palin is lying. There is nothing in this bill that is a death panel' (death panel being defined as a panel of bureaucrats who decides whether or not you can continue receiving care). But this is exactly what happens in Britain. Those who are in their last years of lives are expected to do their part for the national budget, which is to die inexpensively."John Phillips via Twitter:
"I think it's now obvious: @SarahPalinUSA has the best political instincts in the country"Ari Fine at Strictly Right:
"Sarah Palin has been the most effective voice of the conservative alternative to the Democrats’ European style socialism. Through her Facebook posts, Twitter messages, television appearances and public speeches, the former Governor of Alaska has been a one woman wrecking crew, taking on Obama and his party at every turn. Sarah Palin is an articulate and fearless voice for modern, common-sense conservatism. The Left has predictably deployed its calumny tactics, trying to slime the Palin family. They have not quieted her."Chris Good at The Atlantic:
"There is power in Palin's argument. A lot of working-class people, union members included, are socially conservative and probably oppose part, or a lot, of Obama's agenda."- JP
*Meeting Sarah Palin turns out to be not the kind of celebrity thrill one experiences by meeting, say, a member of the Rolling Stones. My wife and I found her unpretentious and gracious both, with an un-politician-like sincerity. She expressed gratitude for the work of Jews for Sarah. We brought a small gift for Mrs. Palin’s family, a video disc of "Praying with Lior," the film about the bar mitzvah of a Jewish child with Down's Syndrome.Read Benyamin's full NY Sun article here.
[...]
Although 65 years have passed since the Holocaust, the threat of genocide still hangs over the Jewish people — and again from Persia. Iran openly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Hamas, with its charter calling for the extermination of the Jewish State, fires rockets at Israeli schoolchildren. Syria races to build chemical and biological weapons to use against Israel. Mrs. Palin makes it clear that she recognizes these threats to America’s ally, Israel, and wants to end them. She minced no words in her remarks to the Pennsylvania Family Institute, criticizing the Obama administration for “coddling our enemies while abandoning our treasured ally, Israel.”
On her lapel, she wore a pin showing the American and Israeli flags intertwined.
As we enjoyed our Shabbat meal, we listened to Mrs. Palin’s references to "Judeo-Christian values" — a concept well understood by the deeply religious Christian audience with whom we shared the evening, including more than a few Amish ladies wearing their traditional bonnets. Mrs. Palin spoke of how the family is the building block of society and how strong families mean a strong nation. She did not suggest that Democrats do not share the attachment to family. But she warned that the most immediate threat to American families is the administration’s economic policies, which will burden our children’s generation with crushing, inescapable debt.
[...]
But for the most part, our Shabbat with Sarah Palin transcended politics. It was a Salute to the American Family, an occasion for connection between conservative Christians and conservative Jews. It offered a chance to exchange a knowing look with the Hockey Mom from Wasilla, about our beloved special needs kids. And then she was gone, off with her “bodyguard Piper” to speak the next day before 300,000 at the Lincoln Memorial. For us it was a memorable and moving shabbat, full of songs and prayers, hearty food, and our plans and dreams for bringing back home the message of our American Esther.
The visit would be Palin’s first visit to Iowa since making a brief stop in the state in December of 2009 for a book signing. The visit to the First-In-The-Nation Caucus state is certain to create buzz about a potential run for president in 2012.The IR says the Iowa GOP will release more details about the event Tuesday.
Palin’s visit comes on the heels of her appearance at Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor rally in Washington D.C. It also comes a week after TheIowaRepublican.com released polling results that showed Palin trailing Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich in a 2012 caucus poll.
Bringing Palin to the state is a big deal for the Republican Party of Iowa. Most people have strong opinions of Palin following the 2008 presidential campaign, and she is sure to be a tremendous draw for the state party.
*The headline of the day at CNN is TRENDING: Clear majority says Palin not qualified to be president...Read Prof. Jacobson's full debunking of the ersatz 60 Minutes/VF poll here.
This description of the poll is an outright fabrication. The actual poll question had nothing to do with credentials, qualifications, or even electability. Here was the actual question: "Do you think SARAH PALIN would have the ability to be an EFFECTIVE PRESIDENT?"
Similarly distorted versions are all over the internet, in which the authors misread the actual question asked, and use it to opine on Palin's qualifications or election prospects.
[...]
Again, there is no truth to the characterization that the poll concerned qualifications or election prospects.
(added) Whether someone would be an "effective" president could turn on a number of factors, including the strength of opposition.
[...]
These Vanity Fair polls are a joke; there are few choices given to the interviewees, there is no depth of questioning, and they mix pop culture questions... in with political questions.
That said, at least accurately report the question and the context.
Which is what HuffPo did, by also noting other polls on Palin's prospects:While the 2012 election is a long way off and poll numbers are difficult to interpret, in one recent poll of potential 2012 matchups, conducted Aug. 6-9 by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, 43% of registered voters said they would support Palin to 49% for Obama.HuffPo more fair than CNN and Time Magazine. It has come to this.
Joe Miller, the Republican candidate poised to knock off Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) in a primary contest, said Monday he has received assurances the GOP's Senate campaign committee is removing its operatives from the state and will remain neutral.State election officials will resume counting ballots Tuesday. Over 25,000 ballots remain to be processed, including absentee ballots, ballots pending under review for validity and 663 early ballots.
But he maintains there is still an effort to "skew" the results in Murkowski's favor.
After emerging from Tuesday's primary with a narrow lead over Murkowski, Miller expressed concern about a potential legal battle over the election and accused the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) of "meddling" in the contest. His comments came after the NRSC's chief counsel traveled to Alaska to assist Murkowski.
The Sarah Palin-backed candidate told ABC's "Topline" webcast Monday that he spoke with NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) over the weekend, and that he "gave me his word that he is pulling his team out."
NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh affirmed that the committee would support whoever the nominee is after the winner is decided, even though its lawyer was assisting Murkowski.
The Executive Committee of the Alaska Libertarian Party held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the contested primary results in the Republican Senate primary. All 5 board members met in an undisclosed location in northeast Anchorage to hammer out a decision as to how to move forward.The Alaska Libertarian Party will host a press conference this afternoon.
Friends of Lisa Murkowski approached the ALP early Wednesday morning immediately after the Tuesday primaries, feeling out if there was any possibility that the Senator could appear on the Libertarian line for the fall election, as a third party candidate. Other supporters of the Senator, including at least two longstanding members of the Libertarian Party, also called to lobby ALP Chair Scott Kohlhaas to keep an "open mind," on the issue.
Kohlhaas was immediately innundated with Alaska and national media over the matter.
On Sunday morning, over coffee and donuts, the ExComm voted unanimously, 5 to 0 to deny the Senator the ballot line. There was no malice intended. ALP Chair Kohlhaas has repeatedly stated that she is a nice lady, and the ALP was flattered by the offer.
I'm seeing two strains of criticism from some new and usual suspects on the Right aimed at Miller, ones that make absolutely no sense.- JP
1. He can't win the general
2. He and his team are dumb, they're amateurs...
So, how about a little reality check.
Everyone knew a month ago that Murkowski was esily going to walk right back into the seat her daddy gave her. Miller wasn't even on the radar, let alone with a chance to win. Now, here we are headed to the ballot counting with Murkowski fighting for her political life.
But suddenly, the Miller camp doesn't know what it's doing?
Murkowski's campaign is "bringing in the big shots," Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto said in a telephone interview late Sunday. Meanwhile, voters who cast absentee ballots were reporting that they had gotten calls asking how they'd voted -- the names of absentee voters are a matter of public record in Alaska -- and when Miller's campaign suggested this was evidence of mischief by the senator's team, Murkowski accused Miller of being "paranoid."If the Alaska LP wants nothing to do with Murkowski, then her only way of retaining power would be manipulating the count of the 23,472 remaining uncounted ballots. Joe Miller's conservative and small-l libertarian supporters see Murkowski as a RINO, a political animal which has been added to the endangered list, along with the liberal Democrats in Congress who have driven the country into the ground in just four short years.
Of course, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you, and Miller's supporters already had solid reasons to suspect that Murkowski would stop at nothing to retain her Senate seat. Chief among these reasons was the fact that Anchorage political consultant Andrew Halcro placed a call first thing Wednesday morning to Scott Kohlhaas, chairman of the Alaska Libertarian Party. Halcro was asking whether the Libertarians would be open to having Murkowski replace their Senate nominee, Dave Haase. Halcro is a former Republican state legislator best known for his boundless hatred of Sarah Palin. After Palin won the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2006, Halcro waged a third-party campaign aimed principally at attacking the Republican and earned him the nickname Mr. Nine Percent, that being his share of the vote. Since being chosen as John McCain's running mate two years ago, of course, Palin has become world-famous and Halcro's bitterness toward her has only increased.
It was Palin's early endorsement of Joe Miller that was widely credited with launching the underdog to victory, and thus the intrusion of ex-Republican Halcro into the post-primary phase of the Senate campaign is scarcely surprising. Certainly Miller's supporters could be forgiven for wondering if Halcro would be reaching out to the Libertarians on Murkowski's behalf without the senator's permission, especially after he disclosed to the Anchorage Daily News that he had spoken by phone with Murkowski.
For their part, Alaska LP officials initially said they were receptive to Murkowski's interest and seemed dazzled by their newfound status as potential kingmakers (or at least, senator-makers) in what had suddenly become the hottest political story of the summer. Yet Halcro's attempts to play matchmaker were clearly hampered by the vast difference between Murkowski's big-government Republicanism and the anti-statist ideology of the Libertarians. Harley Brown, vice chairman of the Alaska LP, told me Saturday that his feeling was "99 percent… no way" that his party would replace Haase with Murkowski. The top leadership of the LP held a two-hour meeting Sunday to discuss the idea and have scheduled a press conference for today. If, as seems likely, the Libertarians say they won't take Murkowski as their nominee, that will end all talk of the senator seeking re-election as a third-party candidate.
"Frankly, I was planning to go later, but got an e-mail Sunday from a source who suggested I didn’t want to miss the action Tuesday and so I did something crazy: Booked a one-way flight on short notice, because (a) I wasn’t sure I had enough money yet to buy a round-trip; (b) it isn’t clear how soon they’ll have an official decision; and (c) maybe I can drop by and see the neighborhood where, uh, Joe McGinniss lives."- JP
"On August 29, 2008, John McCain managed to give the nation a gift that, unlike most gifts, has grown in value rather than depreciated... While overcoming incredible odds, Governor Palin has managed to be an inspiration to people who had never been inspired previously to get involved. She's lifted candidates out of anonymity into the forefront. She has battled for the respectful treatment of those with special needs. She has stood in the gap for the most vulnerable of us all--the unborn. She's been an advocate for those who selflessly serve our country. She has lifted her voice for fiscal sanity, limited government, and protecting our freedoms, our faith, and our Constitution. She has become a symbol for common sense, common decency, and the common man and woman. And most of this has transpired in the last two years."- JP
"They are not clones of Sarah Palin, but they have far more in common with her than with Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi or Barbara Boxer," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B Anthony List, which supports anti-abortion female candidates, referring to the Democratic Party's three leading female liberals.Spillius says the GOP hierarchy has finally realized that it needs to recruit and elect female candidates. Where Sarah Palin leads, eventually the Republican establishment will have to follow.
"They tend to come from traditional backgrounds. They have had kids, maybe gone back to work and are now in a third act of life running for office," said Mrs Dannenfelser, who paid tribute to the feminist movement of the 70s and 80s for breaking down barriers that conservative women have taken much longer to traverse.
Republicans have traditionally lagged far behind the Democrats in attracting female candidates and voters. Of the 73 female representatives currently sitting in the House of Representatives, only 17 are Republicans, while the party has only four out of the 17 women senators.
The closest the United States has come to a female president - a feat accomplished by Pakistan 22 years ago - was Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the Democratic nomination when she was narrowly defeated by Barack Obama.
Issuing a clarion call, Mrs Palin has argued that commonsense female values are needed at a time the US is heavily in debt. She has dubbed her conservative female followers "mama grizzlies", for their determination to defend the futures of their young.
That particular moniker may not have quite stuck as planned, but conservative and anti-abortion activists have no doubt that the former Alaska governor's example as a working mother has persuaded many others to get involved, as well as making female candidates more popular in conservative constituencies.
"There's an unsettling of the political apple cart," Mrs Dannenfelser said. "Sarah Palin kicked the door open and a lot of women started going through."
The rise of the Tea Party movement, which treats Mrs Palin as a spiritual leader, and its anger with President Barack Obama's heavy-spending agenda, has also encouraged more conservative women to run for office, activists say.
The Alaska LP executive committee meeting lasted more than two hours, but the committee members were sworn to secrecy about the result. A press conference is scheduled Monday in Anchorage — I’ll update with details later — and Alaska LP chairman Scott Kohlhaas could be making an appearance on Fox News.Pointing to the recently released PPP Poll, Stacy says longtime Sarah Palin foe Andrew Halcro, who ran as an independent and was defeated by Gov. Palin in the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary, is behind the talk about Murkowski supposedly running in the general election as the LP candidate. Such talk, says Stacy, is just that:
As for Andrew Halcro’s scheme, remember that the No. 2 official in the Alaska LP said it’s “99% ... no way” that the Libertarians would take Murkowski.The Miller campaign, meanwhile, says someone is calling absentee voters in the 49th state and asking them who they voted for in the primary. Miller's team says they are not the ones making the calls, but one of the voters who was contacted claims that the caller identified himself as being with the NRSC. Both the NRSC and the Murkowski campaign deny making the calls. If it can be proven that the NRSC is making the calls, Dan Riehl says there will be hell to pay.
"Glenn Beck has a dream. Sarah Palin, too. And Alveda King... And all the American people as well. We all have a dream. No one owns it. Just like no one owns the National Mall."Borepatch:
"Remember the original definition of Bolshevik was 'majority', and the term was adopted when they were in the minority. The Media says 'thousands' turned out, rather than the 'hundreds of thousands' who were there. They want you to think that you're Mensheviks. This is why they hate Sarah Palin, who speaks - simply and plainly - the Truths That Must Not Be Spoken. They nitpick, because they won't address the important stuff."Paul Mirengoff at Power Line:
"Sarah Palin spoke early in the event. She drew the most enthusiastic applause I heard all day, including Beck's."Noel Sheppard at Newsbusters:
"The hatred for Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Americans that don't agree with the current direction of this nation was dripping from Chris Matthews' lips Friday evening. In a show filled with falsehoods and anti-Conservative rants that should even embarrass folks at MSNBC, the 'Hardball' host concluded... 'I have a nightmare that one day... Little right-wing boys and little right-wing girls joining hands and singing their praise for Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. I have a nightmare.' Offering opinions about political figures and competitors on rival networks is one thing, but this constant invective aimed at Republicans and Fox News personalities coming from Matthews and virtually all the on air talent at MSNBC is getting totally out of control... Journalism be damned, I guess."Randy-g at Randy's Roundtable:
"Looks like Glen Beck and Sarah Palin had a few patriots show up... I can hardly wait for the media spin of this 'small' crowd."Erick Erickson at RedState.com:
"The same people who have been saying for weeks it is a sign of tolerance to build a mosque at Ground Zero are screaming how intolerant it is for Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin to go to the Lincoln Memorial and give a speech... The convenient constitutionalists who laud the first amendment out of one side of their mouth want nothing to do with the first amendment out of the other side of their mouth."Michael Zak at Publius' Forum:
"{The] Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial has the Democrats in a panic. They’re afraid of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin speaking Truth to Power."Sue Cirba at Pro-Life PA:
"Sarah Palin told the stories of and introduced several Medal of Honor winners including Colonel Thomas Kirk, a Vietnam Veteran who endured years of imprisonment at the Hanoi Hilton along with John McCain and many others. One critic posted on Facebook, that she had said nothing. It just shows you what we are up against on the left, people who have no appreciation for the sacrifices of those who have defended this country."Van Helsing at Moonbattery:
"Good thing Saracuda wasn't relying on Google to find her way to Glenn Beck's massively attended rally at the Lincoln Memorial..."Sissy Willis at Liberty Pundits:
"Meanwhile, in the wake of two years — and counting! — of unrelenting persecution by [the] commentariat, Mama Grizzly Sarah... Palin has emerged stronger than ever, the President’s most persistent and effectual gadfly, first among equals of our Tea Party rabble in arms disintermediating the powers that be and their allies in the legacy media via the internet, Fox News and on-the-ground appearances. Everything she says or does goes viral online and in the gateway media, who can’t resist documenting her every move, if only to snark... Palin celebrated with Glenn Beck and a multitude of 'God’s almost chosen people' — as Lincoln called this nation of believers in America’s exceptionalism — for Beck’s 'Restoring Honor' rally at the Lincoln Memorial [Saturday] morning in a salute to 'the good things in America...' 'We must not fundamentally transform America as some would want. We must fundamentally restore her honor,' a luminous Sarah Palin told the... hundreds of thousands of devotees at [the] gathering."Doug Powers at MichelleMalkin.com:
"Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa are there, but it was Palin who just hit it out of the park."J.E. Dyer at Hot Air's Green Room:
"Even many on the right are at pains to repudiate him, as they do other popular conservative mega-figures like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. But as I have written about Sarah Palin before, I see in Beck a quality that conservatives despise at their peril. That quality is the willingness to stand up and answer the call, no matter what: to say what he knows he has been appointed to say, and not tack or trim to catch the winds of MSM approval... The point is this: people like Beck, Palin, and Limbaugh are as much a test of our character as anything else. Are we so dedicated to a set idea of decorum and credentials that we will close our ears to people who are telling us the truth, because of their social attributes, communication style, and demeanor?"Stacy McCain at The Other McCain:
"Read the [full text of Sarah Palin's speech] — a welcome antidote to that SEIU thug who said the thousands of peaceful citizens who turned out for Beck’s rally 'represent hate-mongering and angry white people.'"Craig Howie at Top of the Ticket:
"Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin lit up the newly launched Google Realtime instant search engine before, during and after their joint rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial... 'Glenn Beck rally' and 'Sarah Palin' also were top or near the top of Google's 'hot searches' category throughout the day. Beck is a conservative radio and TV show host while Palin is the former governor of Alaska and one-time Republican VP candidate widely believed to be exploring a run for president in 2012."Richard at Hyscience.com:
"Love her or hate her, you have to admit that this lady gives one hell of a good speech..."- JP
Palin clearly has the left in a tizzy. They have finally gotten it: she is redefining feminism. In the New York Times, two liberal feminists exhibit more than a little anxiety over the Palin juggernaut. To put it bluntly, they have Palin envy...Read the unabridged original Rubin op-ed here.
[...]
You betcha. You see, Palin has proved by example that a woman politician need not spout the pro-big government, pro-abortion, pro-welfare-state line. “Ms. Palin has spent much of 2010 burnishing her political bona fides and extending her influence by way of the Mama Grizzlies, a gang of Sarah-approved, maverick-y female politicians looking to ‘take back’ America with ‘common-sense’ solutions.” She sure did, and she proved herself to be the most effective female politician in the country. Sorry, Hillary — while you have been playing errand girl for the Obama foreign-policy train wreck, Palin has ascended to the throne. (Nancy Pelosi’s days are numbered.) The left is waving the white flag of surrender:"It’s easy of course, for liberals to laugh off Ms. Palin’s 'you go, girl!' ethos and increasingly aggressive co-optation of feminist symbols. We progressives discount her references to the women’s movement — not to mention her validity as a candidate — by looking down on her as a dim, opportunistic, mean-girl prom queen, all spunk and no policy muscle.'Wow.
...
"If Sarah Palin and her acolytes successfully redefine what it means to be a groundbreaking political woman, it will be because progressives let it happen — and in doing so, ensured that when it comes to making history, there will be no one but Mama Grizzlies to do the job."
And it’s really worse than the New York Times worriers admit. Palin not only trumped the left on style but she also managed to connect on nearly every issue — ObamaCare, bailouts, Israel, taxes, American exceptionalism, and the stimulus plan — in a way the president and his liberal supporters could not. For all of her supposed lack of “policy muscle,” it was she who defined the debate on ObamaCare and she who synced up with the Tea Party’s small-government, personal-responsibility, anti-tax-hike message. Who’s short on policy muscle — the White House or Palin?
These have been the Palin Primaries, a fact rammed home deliciously by Alaska’s Republican voters in their “refudiation,” as of this writing, of Lisa Murkowski. What a potent, irrepressible woman Palin is...Read the full Varadarajan opinion piece here.
The question facing the Republicans is how best to deploy Palin’s energy for November—in effect, how best to channel the vim of the Tea Party. Midterm elections, as a rule, are base-versus-base battles: Both parties will spare no quarter or trick to get their faithful to turn out. For this task, Palin is as close to an indispensable figure as the Republicans have.
[...]
Palin and the Tea Party now command a right to dictate terms, and having been sidelined once already (in 2008, with disastrous consequences for the party), she is unlikely to be so easily governed again. After all, she secured for John McCain his Senate primary in Arizona, by endorsing him over the more Tea Party-friendly J.D. Hayworth. After that, and after Alaska in particular, she has acquired a quite daunting aura.
[...]
But what about “independents” — won’t Palin make the GOP much less attractive to them? I put the question to John Zogby, the pollster, who told me: “It is important to be reminded just who the ‘independents’ are. Almost half of them describe themselves as politically moderate and lean heavily toward President Obama and the Democrats.” So this group, it would seem, would spurn the GOP in November, with or without a Palin thrust.
“Of the remaining 52 percent,” Zogby continued, “two in three describe themselves as politically ‘conservative’ but weary of Republicans on issues like spending, civil liberties, and the war in Iraq during the Bush and Republican congressional years. So a conservative message can win their support except they don’t trust the Republicans.”
That would, of course, be the Republican Establishment; and here, precisely, is where Palin can make a difference: I am prepared to wager that many of these “conservative independents” have some inclination toward the Tea Party and its small-government message. So staying “on message” — especially on the need for fiscal conservatism — is more likely to win their vote than a Republican lurch to the center. And since any such lurch will have the inevitable effect of driving the base to distraction, I see the GOP embracing a version of the Palin-Tea Party message.
"The patriotic crowd that had already gathered at the Lincoln Memorial today in our nation’s capital stood and sang “God Bless America” at 6:30 AM during a sound check. No wonder the left hates these guys... Freedom’s Lighthouse has lovely Sarah Palin’s speech at the rally. What an awesome speech!"- JP
*"On CNN I suggested that Palin’s endorsements only matter in some cases like Nikki Haley’s, but overall were no more impactful than other endorsements. Glad to say I was wrong. She’s five for five [Tuesday] night it seems... And there are a number of state legislative races in Alaska where her support was critical. Well done, Governor! Now let’s get Joe to Washington."Mark Byron:
"They went RINO-hunting in Alaska and they bagged Sen. Lisa Murkowski..."Peter Andrew at ConservativeAmerican.org:
"Presumed 2012 Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, we were told in July of 2009, is finished. Her political career is over, they said. She had no future the pundits said on liberal TV for weeks on end. As we said then, they were wrong. Palin proved in elections [Tuesday] she is a political force to be reckoned with. If Joe Miller wins in Alaska, then all of her endorsed candidates were winners [this week]. The libs don’t like it. Some in the GOP, especially RINO’s, don’t like it either. Too bad for them."Neo-Neocon:
"Sarah Palin can really pick em."Dan Riehl at Riehl World View:
"In a surprising, and for some, hilarious bit of irony concerning the Alaska GOP primary, it seems as though if Senator Lisa Murkowski had read and paid attention to Sarah Palin's Going Rogue, she may not have found herself now fighting for her political life... Hey, Murkowski, who you gonna believe, now - Palin's book, or your own eyes? Or, you know, maybe she tried to warn you, but you opted for GOP establishment cronyism over competence? That doesn't sound like the kind of Senator Alaska needs to me."Operation Liberty at Operation Liberty USA:
"Rumors of the Sarah Palin-endorsed candidate's demise have been greatly exaggerated."JEQQ:
"Though liberals and the media are quick to call the Tea Party over with any loss for their candidates, Sarah Palin’s endorsement record is more wins than losses... There’s new blood and new life in the GOP. Take a look at Lt. Col (Ret.) Allen West, the new Republican nominee for Florida House District 22 endorsed by Palin. West is a dynamo, a fearsome warrior who quotes classic Greek with a warm, Southern charm. Put this guy on the watch list for future stars of the GOP."Christina Bellantoni at liberal website Talking Points Memo:
"This may make Palin the breakout kingmaker for the GOP, with all the weight that could carry come 2012..."Holly on the Hill:
"Last week, almost no one knew the name of Senator Lisa Murkowski’s challenger for the GOP nomination in Alaska – and no one really cared. [As of Wednesday] morning they all do – it’s Joe Miller – and it looks like he will be the next Senator from Alaska. Less than a week ago, national pundits were saying that a Murkowski loss was 'extremely unlikely'. Miller – with little notice – announced his candidacy in April. Todd Palin held a fundraiser for him in May and Sarah Palin endorsed him the beginning of June."Marco at Live Journal:
"Future president Sarah Palin had a great night..."Ross Kaminsky at The American Spectator:
"On Tuesday, with all local ballots counted, attorney Joe Miller looked set to pull the season's biggest upset, knocking off incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska's Senate primary. By Thursday morning, the lead was down to 1,668 votes with up to 8,000 absentee ballots still to be received and counted. Even if Murkowski pulls out a victory -- but especially if she doesn't -- the result reinforces the power of Sarah Palin; she endorsed Miller, who spent a mere $200,000 on his campaign, less than one-seventh of the $1.4 million plus spent by Murkowski, who had the fourth-lowest ranking among Republican Senators in the 2009 American Conservative Union ratings."The Orange County Register:
"Palin looks prescient in primaries..."Jerry at Goldfish and Clowns:
"Sarah Palin remains the barracuda to everyone else’s guppy. Her endorsement of Joe Miller in the Alaska GOP Senate race was crucial in his upset win over incumbent Lisa Murkowski despite her heavily outspending, plus enjoying far greater public recognition than, Miller... Palin is seldom given credit for her political savvy. Or much of anything else, even by more than a few of her most ardent supporters who have become so enraptured by her aura they fail to see the person behind them. Palin is not addicted to pleasing those who measure everything by their aforementioned private political litmus tests. She pays little attention to pundits, professional or amateur, on either side of the aisle. Instead, time and again she has demonstrated pragmatism without sacrificing [principle]."Civic Forum PAC:
"Poking the largest proverbial bear, it seems that the Murkowski family decided to participate in good old-fashioned nepotism by passing up the queen of the Mama Grizzlies herself for that very [Senate] seat."Marc Ambinder at left-leaning The Atlantic:
"How much influence did Sarah Palin really have? A significant amount... she endorsed Joe Miller, did radio ads for him, identified with him, brought together all the strands of Tea Party elements that were supporting him. Merely by bringing attention to him, she significantly increased his visibility. So is she a force to be reckoned with? She doesn't win every race she plays in, but absolutely. Her endorsement doesn't always sway voters in every race, but it draws significant attention and extends her brand. And she still has a loyal following in Alaska."- JP
