Jedediah Bila: Palin record takes center stage in ‘The Undefeated’

Setting the record straight
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Reviewing "The Undefeated" in her latest Daily Caller column, Jedediah Bila says Stephen Bannon’s documentary reveals Sarah Palin to be that rare public servant who practices what she preaches:

Via a montage of media criticism of Palin from the mouths of Matt Damon, Bill Maher, David Letterman, Howard Stern, Ed Koch, Sharon Osbourne, and others, Bannon quickly establishes a contrast between the fictional character of Palin that has been presented by the media and the real-life woman who shook up business as usual through policies grounded in free-market principles and putting government back on the side of the people.

A good portion of “The Undefeated” focuses on setting the record straight on Palin’s record, featuring commentary from key players in Alaska such as former Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton, Palin attorney Tom Van Flein, former Wasilla Deputy Mayor Judy Patrick, former state Sen. Gene Therriault, former pipeline adviser Marty Rutherford, and others. Via a blend of their commentary and segments plucked from Sarah Palin’s audio book of Going Rogue, viewers experience an up-close look at Palin’s years of public service, beginning with her focus on fiscal responsibility, infrastructure development, and tax reductions as city council member and mayor.

Bannon illuminates some of Palin’s major policy achievements as governor, including the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA), Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share (ACES), a strong ethics reform bill, and seeing to it that drilling began at Pt. Thomson after over 25 years of ExxonMobil sitting on its contracts without action. Most importantly, Bannon links it all together through shared themes — a distaste for closed-door negotiations, a belief in the power of free-market competition to yield the best results, and a desire to uphold the Alaska Constitution and to protect the rights and interests of hard-working Alaskans.

“The Undefeated” also chronicles Palin’s entry onto the national stage via the Republican National Convention, the McCain/Palin campaign, and beyond. Bannon intersperses segments of Palin’s speeches with commentary from Mark R. Levin, Tammy Bruce, Kate Obenshain, Andrew Breitbart, and other charismatic contributors. Levin provides fantastic parallels between the TEA Party movement and the Reagan Revolution, as well as highlights the similar manner in which many in the GOP establishment have gone after both Reagan and Palin. Tammy Bruce pulls no punches in presenting Palin as a woman led by authenticity of purpose and commitment to principle right from the start.

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"The Undefeated," focused as it is on Sarah Palin's accomplishments, shows the former governor to be competent, ambitious, and principled. here is a woman who got into politics, Jedediah Bila says, "for the right reasons and has consistently cut through the nonsense to get things done." The review concludes that his film is a portrait of an everyday American who has never been afraid to shake up the establishment in order to do what she believes is right.

Follow "The Undefeated" on Twitter here and on Facebook here. A website is in the works and will be launched soon.

- JP