The Empire Strikes Out: NY Daily News Tries to Even the Score With Palin; Fails

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The lamestream media doesn't like it when Sarah Palin calls them out for their distortions, innuendo and what the governor calls "making things up" -- which is her rather polite way of saying that the media are liars. The latest example is Helen Thomas' recent comment regarding Israel, for which Gov. Palin scolded the reporter on Twitter, and Thomas promptly apologized.

But Sarah Palin let Thomas' colleagues have it with both barrels with another tweet for their failure to criticize the reporter for her remark:

Helen Thomas press pals condone racist rant?Heaven forbid"esteemed"press corps represent society's enlightened elite;Rest of us choose truth

That was simply too much for the left wing NY Daily news to abide, so it churned out this gratuitous hit piece:

WASHINGTON - A top adviser to GOP star Sarah Palin was once dispatched by ex-President Richard Nixon to sweep Jews out of government service, newly released tapes show.

Nixon aide Fred Malek's role as what Democrats call a "Jew counter" for the disgraced President was already well known, and he has spent decades apologizing for activities that later cost him a Republican National Committee job in the 1980s. But he remains a prominent GOP powerbroker.

This is so lame on so many levels.

First of all, Sarah Palin was five years old when the Nixon presidency began, and she was ten when it ended, so the attempt by the Daily News to paint Gov. Palin as an anti-Semite through her rather casual association with Fred Malek is laughable. But notice how the News ran a photo of Sarah Palin right next to one of Nixon with its story in its lame attempt to link the two. The photo of Malek is smaller and located below the other two. Subtle as a sledgehammer, and a swing and a miss for strike one.

Also, Malek has never been a paid staffer for Sarah Palin. He has offered her some free advice on how to get along with the Washington establishment, and he has introduced her to some of the beltway's major players, but that's about the extent of it. He has never endorsed her for any political office, and though he likes her, at the top of Malek's list of his preferred presidential candidates is Mitt Romney. Malek is also partial to other moderates such as George Pataki, Mark Kirk, Mike Castle and Jon Huntsman. Strike two.

Finally, this NY Daily News straw man isn't even new. It's simply a regurgitation of an older smear job notorious Palin-hater Geoffrey Dunn cooked up at nutroots leftist website Huffington Post a year and a half ago. So again we have the major media getting its material from the wackosphere. It was FAIL then and EPIC FAIL now. Strike three. They're out... of their minds if they think that they can brand Sarah Palin, one the the most vocal supporters of Israel today, as an anti-Semite.

It's not for nothing that Gov. Palin calls them the lamestream media.

- JP

Fred Malek: Sarah Palin is making a difference

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We found an interesting profile of Fred Malek by Samuel P. Jacobs at The Daily Beast, of all places. Here are some highlights:

Malek, who served as the national finance chair for John McCain's presidential campaign, is guarded about his role in the Palin circle. He's been called Palin's "leading defender" by The Washington Post, an "ally" by Congressional Quarterly. The New York Times describes him as a member of Palin's "kitchen cabinet." Palin herself, in her memoir, acknowledges Malek as someone "who deserve[s] credit for inspiring the fight to continue."

When asked this week if he's advising her now, Malek demurred. "I don't know if she would view me as her adviser," Malek said on the phone Wednesday from his home in snowy McLean, Virginia. "We are friends."

[...]

Will Palin run in 2012?

"I think you have to take her at her word. She has said that she would be crazy to rule anything out," Malek says.

And she's comfortable keeping her circle of advisers, counselors and "friends" a small one.

"She doesn't need a very large group of people around her," Malek says. "I don't believe she feels the need for a lot of staff support. She is doing pretty well. Who is doing any better than she is?"

[...]

The White House still obviously has Palin on the brain...

"The key spokesman of the President of the United States does not respond to someone who is not making a difference," Malek says. "They obviously think she is making a difference."

The unabridged original is here.

- JP

In Illinois, Mark Kirk Asks For Palin's Endorsement

Chris Cillizza, on the Washington Post blog The Fix:

Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk penned a memo to Republican poobah Fred Malek hoping to secure an endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for his Senate candidacy, according to a copy of the memo obtained by the Fix.

After noting that Palin will be in Chicago later this month to appear on "Oprah", Kirk writes that "the Chicago media will focus on one key issue: Does Gov[ernor] Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?"

Kirk goes on to write that he is hoping for something "quick and decisive" from Palin about the race, perhaps to the effect of: "Voters in Illinois have a key opportunity to take Barack Obama's Senate seat. Congressman Kirk is the lead candidate to do that."

Malek confirmed the authenticity of the memo in an e-mail exchange with the Fix

Update: Commentary from Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. As for our own opinion, we think Sarah would indeed have to have a lot of forgiveness in her heart to endorse a Vichy Republican like Kirk who didn't think that she was the right choice to be John McCain's running mate. 

Beg, Kirk, beg. Now lie down. Roll over, boy. Now sit. Sit, Kirk, sit. Good dog! Someone give him a bone... 

- JP

Malek's List

Inspired by Chris Cillizza's recent Top Ten List of the most influential Republican leaders, heavyweight GOP insider Fred Malek made a list of his own.

Malek's list -- titled "10 Republican Leaders Who Could Be President" -- differs from Cillizza's in that the former Deputy Director of OMB in the Nixon White House wanted to identify "those less visible figures who will emerge over the next five to ten years as leaders in the House, Senate, state capitols, and Presidential primaries." Malek's list grew from ten to thirteen, and most of the people on it are under age 50, though a few are just page that age.

Only two names appear on both lists -- Bob McDonnell and Sarah Palin. Of former Governor Palin, Malek had this to say:

"Charismatic, effective, and beloved by so many in the Republican Party. Since I know her reasonably well and like her a lot, people always ask me about her future plans. The answer is I have no idea, and my sense is she hasn’t ruled anything out and is truly undecided. Maybe her book next month will provide some clues."

Palin, along with Marco Rubio and Jon Huntsman, are on Malek's list, but they are not ranked, he says, because "I’m not sure where or how to place them."

- JP

Frum shows why Vichy Republicans will kill the GOP

David Frum has done conservatives a great favor, and we should be thankful. The favor is not that he has written another negative piece about Gov. Palin. No, that's nothing new for Frum, who has been bashing the governor since she stepped up onto the national stage. Frum's gift to conservatives is that in the article, he clearly demonstrates why Vichy Republicans cannot be trusted to act in the GOP's best interests.

Referencing Todd Purdum's VF hit piece which has caused such a stir, Frum itemizes Purdum's anti-Palin talking points from the VF smear job, and then he makes this eye-opening statement:

"If true, the leaks constitute an urgent warning and public service. I believe they are true."

And there you have it. Vichy Republicans of Frum's ilk prefer to believe liberal Democrat media hacks and anonymous leakers rather than thoughtful and honest GOP moderates such as Fred Malek. Admittedly, thoughtful and intellectually honest moderate Republicans like Malek are all too rare these days.

Here's what Malek wrote about Purdum's anonymous sources today:

"I am not sure who the unnamed Vanity Fair sources are, but without question they lack chivalry and have acted in a craven manner. They also lack the facts. I am ashamed of my former campaign colleagues, whoever they are."

Of Purdum, Malek had this to say:

"The writer clearly had an unshakable point of view from the start and talked only to those who would criticize."

About Gov. Palin, Malek wrote:

"I have known many political leaders over four decades including all Republican presidents and VPs. I have come to know Sarah Palin over the past year and can state unequivocally that she is smart, curious, hard working, charming, and effective. She also has something her detractors clearly lack – a sense of honor and loyalty."

[...]

"I have seen Sarah up close with leading heavyweights, and have seen her hold her own and then some. At the dinner at my home referenced in the article, she engaged comfortably and deeply with people ranging from Alan Greenspan to Madeleine Albright to Mitch McConnell. She asked for a foreign policy discussion on her June 7 trip to Washington, and I saw her engage in an informed and spirited manner with Frank Carlucci."

We know that Vichy Republicans dismiss out of hand any argument made by conservatives. But one thinks they would at least consider what Fred Malek says. After all, he is no right-wing idealogue. Far from it, Malek is a moderate. Frum, however, totally ignores Malek, who knows Gov. Palin and has watched her closely, yet he believes Purdum, a leftist who acts as a Democrat operative. And he believes Purdum's hearsay  about what McCain staffers with a common agenda (saving their careers after running a presidential campaign into the ground) whispered into  Purdam's ear.

And that's why Vichy Republicans are such a threat to the party of Lincoln and Reagan. They trust liberal Democrats implicitly and refuse to entertain the ideas and advice of conservatives and even intellectually honest moderates. Ronald Reagan knew better than to trust liberals unconditionally. He dealt with them in the same manner he did with the Soviets,  i.e., "Trust, but verify." Vichy Republicans want to turn the Grand Old Party into a virtual clone of the Democrat Party. The American people want real choices between the political parties, not between Democrat and Ersatz Democrat.

Frum's timing was terrible. Rather than back off on the Palin attacks for a while, he instead showed his solidarity with those who are so desperately engaged in trying to destroy her. This comes at a time when many Americans have grown tired of the constant dissing of the governor, and also at a time when her favorability ratings among independents and even Democrats are on the rise.

So conservatives owe David Frum a debt of gratitude. He has demonstrated that Vichy Republicans have more in common with liberal Democrats than with center-right Republicans. Now we have a clear example to cite in the arguments we make in the battle for the heart and soul of the Reublican Party. Had it not been for Sarah Palin, who unhinges the Vichy Republicans as much as she does the liberal Democrats, Frum and others of his ilk might have kept their cool and not made this critical error.

Thank you, Mr. Frum. Keep up the good work.

- JP

Malek: VF never talked to McCain, Rick Davis or me

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Fred Malek's latest diary posted at RedState.com sheds a little more light on just how selective Todd Purdum was in gathering quotes for his Vainly Unfair (Vanity Fair) hit piece on Sarah Palin. Malek, the consummate GOP moderate and Beltway insider (but don't hold that against him. He's one of the good guys), said that Purdum had personally asked him if he would talk to the author about Gov. Palin, but never got back in touch with Malek before launching his Palin smear job. Malek says he knows that Purdum didn't contact Rick Davis or John McCain prior to writing the hit piece.

That tells us that Purdum was only interest in getting negative quotes about the governor for his attack article, and all of those quotes came from cowards who wanted to remain anonymous. Unfortunately for their political careers, their anonymity will prove to be fleeting. We are finding out who they are.

In his RS diary, Malek had more words of praise for Gov. Palin:

"I have known many political leaders over four decades including all Republican presidents and VPs. I have come to know Sarah Palin over the past year and can state unequivocally that she is smart, curious, hard working, charming, and effective. She also has something her detractors clearly lack – a sense of honor and loyalty."

Almost goes without saying that this is a must-read. Fred Malek is a gentleman and a stand-up guy.

- JP

Quote of the Day (May 15, 2009)

Fred Malek, chairman of the Executive Roundtable for the Republican Governor’s Association, in a guest post on RedState.com:

"Sarah Palin — She is vastly underestimated by the press, has an enormous grasp of issues and a strong devotion to what is important to Alaska, where she will be re-elected easily, and will be the most powerful money and mobilization magnet in GOP for some time."

Malek's RS diary is essentially a list of those Republicans he thinks "might both lead our party back and who might be our nominee in 2012." Curiously, Malek's list includes former vice president Dick Cheney (who is a cinch bet not to run), yet it omits Louisiana's Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sen Jim Demint, Rep. Mike Pence, Rep. Michelle Bachmann... well, you get the picture.

- JP

Malek: Arlen abandoned allies for another team

Republican Party heavyweight Fred Malek, perhaps Gov. Sarah Palin's most important admirer inside the GOP establishment, guest-posted today at RedState.com on the occasion of his old friend Arlen Specter's switch back to the Democrat party. Excerpts:

I have always viewed the GOP as a Big Tent Party, and appreciate the inclusion of moderates like Arlen.

However, in leaving the Republican Party, Arlen has abandoned people who have been his allies for another team. He has thrown in with people who have a fundamentally different vision for America, and one that I profoundly disagree with.

-snip-

I will be supporting Pat Toomey for US Senate against my friend Arlen Specter. Right now, Barack Obama and the Democratic Party are taking America in the wrong direction. And we need a strong voice in the Senate fighting for our party’s perspective against them.

I normally have very little use for moderates. Fred Malek is a rare exception to my rule of "Don't trust moderates; they will stab you in the back and walk all over your corpse." He is, first and foremost, a party guy, and his loyalty to and passion for the GOP are without peer. I'm not a party guy (I'm for conservative principles first), but I can appreciate that. And I will always appreciate him for his kindness to Gov. Sarah Palin, his admiration of her, recognition of her political potential and support of her, always talking up the governor to the Republican Party's other movers and shakers.

- JP