"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."
At the moment, I'm wishing my four kids would just get along a little better as I sit here now with a hot cup of mint tea trying to relax after a rough day with them. They do pretty well, but some days are just very.................loud. When we have snow days and school is out, as was the case today, the schedule is disrupted and that makes it all the more likely that we'll have a hellish time......with fussing and whining and complaining that seems to never end........over petty things. Mommies rise above this, though, if they are worth their stuff. They sigh and roll their eyes and tell the kids they'll learn how the real world is someday. Someone has to be the grown-up, after all.
Ummmmm, no. That's actually a mistake some mommies make, and it's a mistake I made today with my kids. You see, the reason the kids were so troublesome today was only partly because the schedule was disrupted. The other reason was that I failed to provide sufficient discipline. I engaged in too much eye-rolling and complaining right back to them. That's not discipline. That's joining in........and it was the mistake I made today with my kids.
This reality sunk into me tonight, finally, so I sat the kids down for a family meeting and told them that I had made a mistake (which they loved hearing) and that it was that I hadn't provided enough discipline (which they hated hearing).
And now, here I am with my tea, considering the very "different" (or is it?) world of politics. I see that Sarah Palin is yet again being pointed out as the mean girl in the schoolyard who doesn't play with some kids, and the onesshe does play with aren't really good enough, and I'm told that it's because she thinks she's better than others..........or maybe it's because of a communication problem and she needs better staff..........or maybe it's got something to do with a stipend or the lack of one.........or whatever. And then there are those who whine and complain that the whiners and complainers just "have it in" for lovely Sarah. These bloggers never really liked Sarah to being with, it was said, so they must be scum.......or something like that.
Pssssst. The Republican Party had a "snow day", folks. Our schedule was profoundly disrupted. Too many out there are lacking discipline. Some won't have it until we elect a president.........and maybe not even then, but having a president would certainly help a lot in the discipline department. In the meantime, well, you're all supposed to be grown-ups. What can I do?
In the Palin camp, some of us (not all), have discipline (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C) because we've already selected our choice for President for 2012.
And that's all I have to say about that.
- Lisa
Lisa Graas is editor of the Palin Twibe Blog and several other websites. She is a regular contributor to Texas for Sarah Palin.
It's come to my attention that there is a rumor going around that you might have lost my support to some extent recently, so I think it's important that I set the record straight for all of my readers and for you, as well. The best way to do that, I think, is to just start from the beginning to explain why I'm here and why I'm not going anywhere as far as my support for you goes.
Though I have a long history of political involvement, a few years back a certain sense of defeatism settled into my soul which informed me (wrongly) that the powers that be were just too oppressive for this mom in central Kentucky to be able to make much of a difference beyond voting for the candidates that other interested parties select for me. After all, I have four children who keep me quite busy and, well, truth be told, I have a lot of fairly big things to deal with besides.
I don't even really remember what I was doing back in August of 2008, but it certainly wasn't blogging and tweeting. I do know that I had resigned myself to taking a back seat in politics. It had become too easy to tell myself that I was in far too much pain and had too many other responsibilities to be as involved as I had been before. Those concerns all evaporated on August 29, 2008.
Now, here's a familiar story because so many can relate the same experience themselves with only slight variations. I remember hearing that John McCain had selected a running mate and that it was believed to be Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska. I had no earthly idea who you were, but I was excited that we might have a woman on the ticket -- and I certainly hoped she'd be pro-life. I remember calling my elderly mom and sharing the news with her. She didn't know who you were either, but I was about to jump out of my skin with excitement to find out. Mom and I tuned in to C-SPAN (or maybe it was Fox), on the edges of our seats, watching and waiting as you were announced. I can tell you, we loved you before you walked onto the stage. We loved you A LOT. Your speech still inspires me.
This singular event changed our lives profoundly. Nothing has been the same since. It is very rare that a day passes without your name being mentioned in our house either in expressing glee over one of your triumphs or in discussing our hopes for the future of our country. (For days on end, my girls' favorite thing to say was "Right next to the mashed potatoes!") It's almost as though you are family here, and our support for you has not abated once since August 29, 2008. In fact, okay, I'll admit it. What I couldn't do for my mom in 17 years of pro-life activism, you did with one speech. The next day, Mom went out and registered to vote after having given up completely on government. (Her last vote had been for Jimmy Carter.) In November, 2008, she voted for a Republican for the first time in her 72 years -- the whole ticket, that is. All my time helping to write informed consent legislation, knocking on doors for pro-life candidates (just because they were pro-life) and being a crisis pregnancy counselor hadn't moved her. One speech from you and she's totally on board now, so............thanks. I appreciate that.
Having said that, I drink the proverbial Kool-Aid for no one. I want to be up front in saying that there have been two times when I have had my doubts. The first time was on the day of your resignation. I remember emailing one of my closest compatriots who follows the news about you even more closely than I do. I trust her judgment. I asked if there is "another shoe". She replied, "There is no other shoe." That, coupled with the fact that you asked us all to trust you was quite enough for me. No more doubts. In fact, it's not merely a metaphor when I say that my jaw dropped open in astonishment in my realizing that you (or anyone) would do something so utterly selfless. I understand sacrifice pretty well and I know it when I see it.
The second time I doubted was when you took time off to write your book. I kinda thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Again, I turned to my compatriot and she assured me this was best. I put my trust in you a second time, though the doubt was very real...........but, you know, it's quite impossible to trust in the absence of doubt. Doubt gives us the opportunity to trust.......and I did trust you even as I doubted. At the same time, I decided that if you were going to take a break, I would too! I turned over the Palin Twibe to a few of my compatriots while I went back to work on my vocations site. It's important to note here that deep inside I knew very well that I'd be back for 2012. It was also a very real concern of mine that because of my online presence and support for you, there would be candidates crawling out of the woodwork looking for my support. I reeeeeallly did not want to deal with what I knew would be a flood of requests........so back to the vocations site I went.
As you know, things don't always work out the way you want them to. You can plan all you like, but life will ever be an adventure. There is always a decision to make, always someone trying to wreck the glory train, always the greater good that needs to be fought for in large battles or in small. It became clear to me fairly quickly that no matter what you might be doing with yourself, Governor, the opposition will be on the march against you. I just couldn't let that go on without saying something. Also, about those candidates, I was right. They were crawling out of the woodwork. I'm staying focused on Kentucky, though.
So, there you have it. That's the basic story on my support for you. I think it should be pretty clear to everyone now that I am back on board, full force. For the record, you never EVER lost my support. To the contrary, in the roughest times for me, when I have had some doubts, you have earned my deepest trust. I'm not going anywhere. Even if your own people give me a hard time, I'm in for the long haul. You couldn't beat me back with a stick. Not even a hockey stick.
Wishing you all the best for the future of America.
- Lisa
Lisa Graas is editor of the Palin Twibe Blog and several other websites. She is a regular contributor to Texas for Sarah Palin.
- by Lisa Graas * Happy New Year's Eve! Let's have a bit of fun and recap some Palin tribute videos from the previous year!
I admit that I'm not a huge fan of tribute videos even when they are in honor of my favorite politician, Sarah Palin, but these are a means for some to express their feelings of admiration, whether in creating them or viewing them. I "get it", and I rather enjoy some of the Palin Tribute videos that came out in 2009, both as a musician and as a Palin admirer. I've included some of my favorites below.....but first, let's examine a very intriguing one.
'Sarah Palin's Political Odyssey', a photo slideshow set to serious music (Everyday by Carly Comando) offered at YouTube by wnwhite, really made me think. Many of you may not realize that I am a celibate person. Yes, it's true that I'm a mommy of four, but since my divorce I have become far closer to God and I've completely embraced the celibate life. (I'm also a Passionist Oblate Associate.) When I say that I have embraced celibacy, I mean that I love being celibate. Celibacy is a positive, nurturing thing for me in my walk with God and I really and truly do not think in sexual/physical terms at all. I see the Song of Songs far differently than the vast majority of people, for instance. It is, for me, a song of the relationship of God with my soul. I have no earthly spouse, nor do I have the slightest desire for one because all my needs are fulfilled by God. Because of this, it is natural for me to see others just as I would see a brother, a sister, my parents or my children. It's for this reason that I don't understand the sexualization of famous people, particularly politicians like Barack Obama and Sarah Palin who are both very good-looking people, truth be told. It confuses me immeasurably to see the fascination with sexuality in our culture.
I think the first video below highlights Sarah Palin's "sex appeal" too much........but since it is set to serious music, it makes one wonder what the intent is here. Personally, it made me uncomfortable because it seems to be saying, even without using words, that the fact that Sarah Palin is a beautiful woman is something that should concern us. My support for Sarah Palin has nothing whatsoever to do with her appearance, so this video, to be blunt, just confused the hell out of me. I don't know the purpose of it. Perhaps I don't want to know. Is it a positive video, or a negative one? I have no idea. You decide.
Now, let's have some fun. For country music lovers, Stand, by piper4444205
Ready for Conservatism? Palin in 2012 -- a brief but very nice video in the form of a political ad from sepersr
Is it because she's 'just a girl'? This one pokes fun at the media, from purpleporter
Next, a tribute in commentary, from both friend and foe, courtesy ofsarahpalinrockon.
I'm not a country music lover, but this song I like -- Days Go By, by 2k5hockey
Remember when Going Rogue became available for pre-order and there was an onslaught of orders? This video, uploaded at YouTube on October 1 by MisPlacedLoyaltieswas a DELIGHT to me that week........and I still love it.
YouTube user D0VVNT0VVN writes, "I'm only in my twenties but I think I now have an idea what it was like when Reagan first came on to the national stage. I made this video in tribute to Sarah." I'm sharing D0VVNT0VVN's tribute with you primarily because of the music as it includes the song that was played when she was introduced in Dayton, August, 2008. I think the song has "Sarah Palin" written all over it. I don't know the title, though, and ask for readers to enlighten me.
Finally, my favorite Sarah Palin tribute video of the year -- America, by ifyoucanbenice, but it's important that I explain why. Admittedly, when I first saw this video, it repelled me. Now I count it as the best. Don't get me wrong. I never believed that there was anything inherently wrong with this video. I was disturbed through my own grievous fault. It was my resentment for the way we Catholics are criticized by our protestant brethren for our deep love for the saints that caused me to be repelled.
Catholics understand that God calls ordinary people to do very extraordinary things. We love the saints not for their own sakes, but for their selfless response to the grace that God has poured out to them to become the people He created them to be. We have images of these saints to remind us of this greatness. This video, with its powerful imagery, was sent to me by a protestant who, quite likely, would be critical of the use of such imagery if the subject were a Catholic saint. That is why I was repelled by it initially. Now, I understand that my resentment was not a holy thing.
If you have read Going Rogue, you know that Sarah Palin has been inspired to become the person that God has called her to be, and her story has, in turn, inspired many others to understand that in their own lives. The reason we love Sarah Palin is not for Sarah Palin's sake. Yes, the snow machines are cool and the moose chili is a novelty to us and the high heels are fun........but these things are not what drive our support. We love Sarah Palin for responding to what God has called her to be even when, as with her resignations from the Oil and Gas Commission and from the Governor's Office, it very well might have destroyed her politically. Despite unprecedented criticism, legal complaints and even the burning of her church, Sarah Palin treads onward. There's much more to it than her willingness to do the right thing, though. If it were only that, she would best serve as a motivational speaker or a spiritual minister. No, it is also her love for America.
America is hurting right now. America calls to each one of us passionately, therefore we long for a leader who loves America passionately. Those of us who love Sarah Palin love her primarily because we know she also hears America calling.........loud and clear. We are further emboldened by our confidence that she will answer this call to the very best of her ability. To those of us who know her actual record in Alaska rather than the ugly distortions of her record, her abilities far outshine those of others who profess interest in answering this call of America.
In my view, this video is the best expression of that understanding which those of us who have come to admire Sarah Palin all share.
It's been an interesting year. In 2010, we have the mid-term elections which will be a crucible of preparation for us as we begin our launch into 2012. Let's make the most of it. Let's all commit to remembering that God really is in charge no matter how much others may try to work against Him. He's on everyone's side. Remember that He loves both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. He loves you and He loves America. Let's pray that all of our leaders will turn to Him for guidance and be the people God has called them to be -- servants to Him, to each other and to America.
I recommend that you check out the YouTube accounts of mikesgirl93 and AdoringPalin for more great videos about Sarah Palin.
- Lisa
Lisa Graas is editor of the Palin Twibe Blog and several other websites. She is a regular contributor to Texas for Sarah Palin.
- by Lisa Graas * Hats off to Jim Bailey, a columnist with The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, IN, for an insightful overview of Sarah Palin's history on the national stage. In a piece aptly entitled "Sarah Palin is Reloading", Bailey provides a synopsis for Herald Bulletin readers beginning with her resignation and incorporating anecdotes from her book, Going Rogue: An American Life.
"With the McCain-Palin campaign trailing to start with and making little headway as it heated up, it is difficult to imagine how turning a maverick loose could have caused further harm.
"And with the media complying with Barack Obama’s request to leave his family alone, Palin was understandably chagrined at probes and swipes at her own family."
Bailey ends with this good piece of advice.
"Don’t count her out just yet. As her father, Chuck Heath Sr., said, 'Sarah’s not retreating; she’s reloading.'"
- Lisa
Lisa Graas is editor of the Palin Twibe Blog and several other websites. She is a regular contributor to Texas for Sarah Palin.
- By Lisa Graas * You know about the distortions of Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzeneggerregarding Governor Sarah Palin's record and her position on climate change. Now comes New York Environmental Commissioner Pete Grannis with false accusations about Governor Palin in remarks made at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
From The Times Union:
"Last week, Sarah Palin -- you all remember her -- put a new posting on her Facebook page challenging the severity of climate change and telling President Obama to boycott Copenhagen," Grannis told his audience Monday. He pointed out that in the last 50 years, temperatures in Alaska have increased 6 degrees, and some coastal villages are at risk of falling into the ocean because of melting permafrost.
"Maybe instead of giving President Obama advice, (Palin) should be looking for a house further inland," Grannis said.
Actually, Governor Palin didn't "challenge the severity of climate change". She challenged the credibilityof the data in light of ClimateGate, the release of emails showing climatologists have been fudging the numbers. She also challenged the claim that climate change is primarily caused by man's activities.
Governor Palin wrote:
Our representatives in Copenhagen should remember that good environmental policymaking is about weighing real-world costs and benefits -- not pursuing a political agenda. That’s not to say I deny the reality of some changes in climate -- far from it. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. I was one of the first governors to create a subcabinetto deal specifically with the issue and to recommend common-sense policies to respond to the coastal erosion, thawing permafrost and retreating sea ice that affect Alaska’s communities and infrastructure.
But while we recognize the occurrence of these natural, cyclical environmental trends, we can’t say with assurance that man’s activities cause weather changes. We can say, however, that any potential benefits of proposed emissions reduction policies are far outweighed by their economic costs. And those costs are real. Unlike the proposals China and India offered prior to Copenhagen -- which actually allow them to increasetheir emissions -- President Obama’s proposalcalls for serious cuts in our own long-term carbon emissions. Meeting such targets would require Congress to pass its cap-and-tax plans, which will result in job losses and higher energy costs (as Obama admittedduring the campaign). That’s not exactly what most Americans are hoping for these days. And as public opposition continues to stall Congress’s cap-and-tax legislation, Environmental Protection Agency bureaucrats plan to regulate carbon emissions themselves, doing an end run around the American people.
As New York's Environmental Commissioner, Grannis has been an active participantin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program in which New York's state government participates and has already raked in $25.4 million by selling carbon credits. Is he on the socialist bandwagon? It would seem so to me.
How effective is RGGI at reducing emissions? Not very. Not only that, states aren't using the funds for the purposes promised. Basically, RGGI allows states to impose what is rightly called an "energy tax" on businesses so that they can cover budget shortfalls not related to reducing emissions. See here for a report.
I'm reminded of something I read in Governor Palin's book Going Rogue:
“Politicians can either eat well, or sleep well. I wanted to sleep well."
- By Lisa Graas * From the Times of London comes an intriguing report on Al Gore's latest falsehood in the debate surrounding climate change:
In his speech, Mr Gore told the [Copenhagen climate change] conference: “These figures are fresh. Some of the models suggest to Dr [Wieslav] Maslowski that there is a 75 per cent chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during the summer months, could be completely ice-free within five to seven years.”
Unfortunately for Mr. Gore, this was false. As noted by The Times:
[T]he climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast.
“It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at,” Dr Maslowski said. “I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.”
Mr Gore’s office later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a “ballpark figure” several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore.
The embarrassing error cast another shadow over the conference after the controversy over the hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, which appeared to suggest that scientists had manipulated data to strengthen their argument that human activities were causing global warming.
Mind you, Mr. Gore has been under a great deal of pressure these days to salvage his credibility. He's reportedly made at least $100 million dollarstelling people that the North Pole will melt within five years because of global warming that, he says, is primarily anthropogenic (caused by man). His film "An Inconvenient Truth", which my teenager assures me is misnamed and should be called "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE" has won a boatload of awards, none of which caused this concerned parent's eyebrow to raise more so than the fact that my son's science teacher showed the film in class. Meanwhile, climatologists and meteorologists whose research shows that solar activity, orbital variations, and volcanic activity contribute more to climate change than man's activity are discounted by Gore and others who, like Gore, stand to lose credibility, prestige and, in some cases, federal grant money.
Though some reasonable people from across the societal spectrum have long questioned why research refuting Gore's claims has been largely ignored even as Gore is rolling in dough, sporting a big carbon footprint and influencing legislation, the megaphones of these skeptics weren't quite loud enough...........until ClimateGate.
In her recent op-ed in the Washington Post, Sarah Palin used her mighty megaphone to point out the "inconvenient truth" we "common-sensers", if you will, call ClimateGate.
With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point. The revelation of appalling actions by so-called climate change experts allows the American public to finally understand the concerns so many of us have articulated on this issue.
“Climate-gate,” as the e-mails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia have become known, exposes a highly politicized scientific circle -- the same circle whose work underlies efforts at the Copenhagen climate change conference. The agenda-driven policies being pushed in Copenhagen won’t change the weather,but they would change our economy for the worse.
The e-mails reveal that leading climate “experts” deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to “hide the decline” in global temperatures, and tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
Palin's full statement is here. If you have common sense, the above makes perfect sense to you. If you are Al Gore or one of his radical followers, apparently you have trouble getting your mind around it.
Though the left would have us believe that Governor Palin is irrelevant (an Obama supporter I was debating with the other day characterized Palin as an annoying "gnat"), even they sometimes have to admit her power.
I’m told by the paper's insiders that her piece was one of the most-read WaPo opinion pieces of the year, coming in 21st in page views out of literally hundreds of opinion articles. An earlier Palin Op ed in the paper on the same topic was the third most read of the year.
Clearly, the hockey mom from Wasilla is an Alaska-sized burr under Gore's saddle. Andrea Mitchell to the rescue! In an interview with Mitchell on the heels of Palin's op-ed, Gore chose to lie about Palin's position by saying that she denies climate change. Are you paying attention, folks? Al Gore told a convenient lie designed to make you think Sarah Palin isn't as smart as he is. (Yawn.)
It's quite an inconvenient truth, at least for those who are benefactors of "Hoaxenhagen", that the science is not settled on the matter. The only ones who truly believe the science is settled are those who embrace the leftist principle of "economic justice" and who see Copenhagen as a grand opportunity to bring that about no matter how badly it may damage our economy. The end justifies the means in the leftist playbook and environmental studyis no exception in that playbook. Is it a coincidence that the climate alarmist camp is saturated with believers in "economic justice"? I think not.
In response to Gore's lie, Palin responded by doing what she does best. She went all "common sense" on him again.
The response to my op-ed by global warming alarmists has been interesting. Former Vice President Al Gore has called me a “denier” and informs us that climate change is “a principle in physics. It’s like gravity. It exists.”
Perhaps he’s right. Climate change is like gravity – a naturally occurring phenomenon that existed long before, and will exist long after, any governmental attempts to affect it.
However, he’s wrong in calling me a “denier.” As I noted in my op-ed above and in my original Facebook post on Climategate, I have never denied the existence of climate change. I just don’t think we can primarily blame man’s activities for the earth’s cyclical weather changes.
Former Vice President Gore also claimed today that the scientific community has worked on this issue for 20 years, and therefore it is settled science. Well, the Climategate scandal involves the leading experts in this field, and if Climategate is proof of the larger method used over the past 20 years, then Vice President Gore seriously needs to consider that their findings are flawed, falsified, or inconclusive.
Vice President Gore, the Climategate scandal exists. You might even say that it’s sort of like gravity: you simply can’t deny it.
- Sarah Palin
Palin's common sense coupled with humor to highlight the error brought clarity to the national discussion and put some much-needed pressure on Gore to come clean on this hoax. The philosopher Epictetus once said: “If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.” Did Gore correct himself when Palin laughed at his lie? No, he just came up with another lie. If we wait long enough, he'll lie again. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he's telling another whopper as I write. Meanwhile, America watches.
All of this is strikingly reminiscent of what I wrote about just yesterday -- "Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton: Is Obfuscation Intellectual?" I do hope you'll consider reading it. As time goes on, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that one of the most important reasons for the Palin phenomenon is her style of communication in which she deftly integrates, like Ronald Reagan before her, three fundamental qualities -- genuineness, forthrightness and levity. You do remember what they called Reagan, don't you? The Great Communicator.
The genteel left, so adept at pulling the wool over the eyes of hapless American voters with their obfuscation since the end of Reagan's term, are being stopped in their tracks by "The Thrilla from Wasilla". Yes, Sarah Palin has vexed Al Gore. Obfuscation isn't working anymore for him. This is why he told a blatant lie to Andrea Mitchell to defend himself against the WaPo op-ed and why he told an even more embarrassing, blatant lie to the climate change conference in Hoaxenhagen after Palin's follow-up.
In the left corner? The King of Platitudes, Barack Obama, and his pretentious band of thieves, including Mr. Gore.
In the right corner? The Real Deal, Sarah Palin, and her "roguish" band of common sense conservatives.
Though some deny it, there's been a Palin Revolution going on for some time now, folks. Rogue is Vogue! If you haven't come to realize this yet, you will. In time, you will.
- By Lisa Graas, Special Guest Contributor * CBS News interviewed Dick Armey, who heads up Freedom Works, regarding the future of the Republican Party. Regarding Sarah Palin, Armey had this to say:
"The first thing that drives them nuts about Sarah Palin is that she's authentic. She is who she is, on her own terms. In many respects she's everything that Hillary Clinton pretends to be. She became the governor of the state of Alaska not because she was someone's daughter or sister or wife, but because on her own terms on her own initiative, she became the governor."
"She's not wishy-washy. She says exactly what she means and makes it quite clear so there can be no misunderstanding. Clarity is considered by the left to be intellectually diminished as opposed to obfuscation."
Admittedly, I do spend some time wondering why the liberal mind deems Sarah Palin to be lacking intelligence. I had always chalked it up to their elitism that makes them confuse her accent with a lack of intelligence. As someone who speaks with a Southern accent who also happens to have a high IQ, I know something about that. It happens to me frequently. Armey may have something here, though. Could it be that the liberal mind expects intelligent people to speak in extraneous meanderings?
I'm also intrigued by the comment "she's everything Hillary Clinton pretends to be". Would Hillary Clinton have the position that she has if not for her husband? I doubt it so, on this point, I agree with him without compunction. She would likely be a very high profile attorney if not for her husband's political rise. In fact, I might venture to say she'd be sitting on a federal court somewhere......but presidential hopeful? Nope.
Mind you, Hillary is a very accomplished and intelligent person. At the same time, she is a master at obfuscation. When asked by Congressman Chris Smith how she could have brought herself to accept the Margaret Sanger award for her work in expanding abortion even though Margaret Sanger's agenda was to eliminate the minority population, Clinton reminded him that the Founding Fathers were slave holders. My, how she can catch us off guard with what seems at first glance to be a brilliant retort. None would argue that the Founding Fathers had an agenda to keep the slaves in permanent bondage. Slavery was not their main agenda. On the other hand, Sanger's entire agenda was to bring about a somewhat systematic elimination of those she deemed to be unworthy of life, including the poor and minorities. This is just one example of Clinton's ability to practice piercingly effective deceit.....but it is deceit, nevertheless. What may sound good at first hearing is revealed by some investigation to be quite sinister. On the other hand, in considering Palin's public statements, what may sound quite sinister at first hearing is revealed by some investigation to be, in many cases, utterly brilliant and decent.
Also today, Michael Petrilli, writing at the Wall Street Journal, claims that Palin supporters are "anti-intellectual" and that Palin is "unable" to name newspapers she reads. I wasn't expecting to see a suggestion in the Wall Street Journal this morning that I am "anti-intellectual". As a devout Catholic, my heroes include Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa and when I want to pleasure myself, I study the Summa Theologica. Petrilli is engaging in a generalization that simply doesn't fit reality. I find myself perplexed, as well, that he believes Sarah Palin can't name a newspaper she reads. Did he watch Media Malpractice or, for that matter, the Oprah interview for the story on that? Has he read her op-eds in the New York Times and the Washington Post?
I don't know that we will ever get to the bottom of the reasoning behind this hatred, but I do sometimes wonder, do those who said such things about Ronald Reagan have any regrets now? It's my fallen nature that urges me to ask this in pride because, when Sarah Palin is our next president, I'd like to hear some apologies from the likes of Petrilli.
- Lisa
Lisa Graas is editor of several websites, including the Palin Twibe Blog.
We're pleased to welcome Lisa Graas to Texas for Sarah Palin as a regular contributor. Her post here as a special contributor prompted us to offer her a position on our staff of contributors, which, we are happy to announce, she has accepted.
Lisa joins Warner, uppy and Tom as contributors that any editor would be proud to work with as a team. We're all looking forward to her future contributions.
There are some conservative pundits out there who don't particularly care for Sarah Palin. They know who they are and so do Sarah Palin's supporters. It's time for straight talk on why these pundits, some of whom are popular bloggers, have the aversion to Sarah Palin that they do.
The slams against Sarah Palin remind me greatly of the kinds of slams against the Catholic Faith which I am also all too familiar with as a faithful Catholic convert. There's a quote from the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen that Catholics are familiar with that exposes the same kind of animosity that people have for the Catholic Church that Palin's detractors have toward her. Sheen said:
"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church, which is of course, quite a different thing."
Although statistically speaking the numbers may vary somewhat, substitute "Sarah Palin" for where it says "Catholic Church" and you'll have the same reality.
Those who demean and attempt to derail Sarah Palin really have no idea who Sarah Palin is. None whatsoever. If they did know who she is, they could make an informed choice about whether or not she is the person we need to get behind to pull this country out of the mess it's in. As it is, there are four points that I firmly believe the vast majority of people are missing either in whole or in part, even sometimes among her own supporters... and they are huge points. Further, it is my belief that if you don’t get all four, you have no business doing political analysis regarding Sarah Palin. I ask your consideration as I offer a brief summary of these four points and then some rather blunt elaboration on each of them.
I don’t share Sarah Palin’s theology on many levels because I’m a diehard and unapologetic Catholic... but I am a Christian and I know a Christian when I see one. Now, before you go off thinking I’m hailing Sarah as a saint, let me assure you, as a Catholic, I know good and well what a saint is and Sarah isn’t one (not under the Catholic definition anyway), as far as I can tell. But a FAITHFUL Christian she is. She believes strongly in the tenets of her faith and they generally rule her life, although we all fall a little short now and then. You have to know how Christians think in order to understand what Sarah’s plan is just as you have to know how Catholics think if you want to understand who Saint Joan of Arc was. You also have to understand what her character is beyond the Christian aspect in order to understand what her plan is. Third, you have to actually listen to what the woman says in order to understand what her plan is. Finally, you have to understand what her views about political power are in order to understand what her plan is.
As far as I can see, the reason there is a huge disconnect between those doubting Sarah Palin’s political aptitude and/or viability as a candidate for President and those of us pulling for her is that the former know NOTHING of these four things and may know only slightly more than nothing about the current political climate of the country, namely the degree of viability of the Republican and Democratic parties today.
1) The Christian factor — Like it or not, Sarah Palin is a Christian. It’s not what Sarah Palin wants but what she believes God is calling her to do that Sarah Palin will end up doing in life. Agree or disagree with whether or not there actually is a God or whether or not He’ll reveal that to her in some way (before you go off the deep end, I'm merely referring to what we call an "epiphany"), that’s who Sarah Palin is. Deal with it. Don’t like Christians in government? Don’t get behind her. But at least do us all the favor of reporting accurately who the woman is.
2) The character factor — Palin says some things repeatedly. "Ramping up oil production", "hungry American markets" and "culture of life", to name a few. Perhaps the thing she says most often is “politically, if I die, I die”. News flash, folks. It’s really no skin off her nose if she doesn’t end up in the White House. Remember the Christian thing? It's consistent with that. Various belief systems, be they Christian, Muslim, Jewish or even atheism, have some sort of thread of consistency that holds one's beliefs on individual topics all together whether tightly or loosely. Palin's thread of consistency is so tightly ingrained and woven together in her individual tapestry of character, criticisms about her not having a Beltway staff are rightly described as being utterly devoid of thoughtful political analysis.
3) The communication factor — Forget about analyzing her beyond the things she actually says. Guess what. She really did step down from the governor’s office because she’s fundamentally opposed to the waste of taxpayer money on frivolous charges that will now go away with her gone. It’s your own idiotic fantasies that she did it to run for the White House that is the garbage upon which you build your theories such as what kind of staff she needs to get there. I openly laugh about these arguments because they are based in the same kind of uninformed "reasoning" I hear out of my kids when they try to second-guess the things I do. It’s that immature. Really.
4) The "servant's heart" factor (her philosophy on power) — Again, detractors totally ignore what she herself said about how she can, at least in this moment in time, bring about change more readily without a title. Government, in Palin's mind, is about SERVICE, not power. It’s about getting results, not about getting titles and accolades, because the intent is to serve the interest of the people (something else she's said over and over and over again). She is the Anti-Obama when it comes to what is necessary to bring change to America. The power is with the people, not Washington, hence she stepped down and became a private citizen to (gasp) become MORE powerful. Chew on that one for a while, folks. Imagine that concept of becoming a private citizen to gain power. You don’t get much more conservative and freedom-loving than that.
That’s who Sarah Palin is as an individual and it is why she has such adoring fans. I personally don’t care one way or the other if Sarah Palin personally is ever president or not. If someone else comes along with these qualities and the policy positions I also share with her, that person could very well have my support... but the country is in a sorry condition right now and neither party is helping matters any. It’s up to citizens to work together and fight to end corruption whether it is in Washington, the workplace, or in some leftist group trying to infiltrate your parish.
I don't see anyone else who comes remotely close to providing the kind of leadership through personal service and sacrifice that Sarah Palin has shown since she began running for office. While I do not think Palin is a saint, I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind about her being a Godsend. She's not only got what it takes to be president. She's got what it takes to put the country back on track as a solid Democratic Republic.
Disagree? Fine. But at least know who you’re talking about before you start analyzing. Disagree with who the woman really is. Lay out all of your disagreements with her policy positions and her public record in the open.
Just make sure that what you are disagreeing with is something that actually exists in reality. Otherwise, you aren't fighting Sarah Palin at all. You are fighting the myth you have created for yourselves.
- LG
Lisa Graas blogs at Mommy. She also created the Palin Twibe Twitter group and the Palin Twibe Blog, where this diary is cross-posted.
