"In politics, part of being able to support other people of your party in your election endeavor is a way you build your network and you build power. [Sarah Palin is] basically building a lot of clout within the party. She can raise money, she can turn out crowds. People read into her the ability to impact an election."- JP
The former employees of the CBS affiliate in Anchorage left an accidental voicemail for an aide to GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller, in which they joked about the possibility of reporting on the appearance of sex offenders at a Miller rally.Update: But that's not the whole story, not by a long shot. Ed Morrissey explains.
KTVA's General Manager released this statement on the station's web site:Anchorage, Alaska, (11/02/10) - KTVA today released findings of its internal assessment of allegations that the "news director for CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA, along with assignment editor Nick McDermott, and other reporters, openly discussed creating, if not fabricating, two stories about Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Joe Miller," as alleged by the Miller campaign. KTVA states that its review included multiple staff interviews, a review of that day's actual news coverage and a forensic transcript of the recorded audio conversation.
General Manager Jerry Bever stated, "As we worked through this fact-finding process we noted that actual story assignments for that day had already been decided before the recorded conversation took place. At no time did any of the elements associated with the recorded comments become part of any coverage or broadcast. The recorded conversation in question specifically involved how that evening's Miller rally might be promoted and the ensuing dialogue went down hill from there. These particular comments were not in line with KTVA standards."
As a result of this incident, the two producers involved in the recorded conversation are no longer with the station. As a matter of policy KTVA did not identify the staff members involved, however KTVA clarified that neither the News Director, Assignment Editor Nick McDermott nor any other KTVA reporters were involved in the recorded conversation as previously reported by the Miller campaign.
KTVA believes that its actual broadcast coverage of Miller has been sound and fair during this election cycle and the history of our coverage speaks for itself. Bever noted that in the coverage of this issue, FOX News correspondent Dan Springer reported that in a review of recent Miller coverage by KTVA, Fox News could not find any articles or stories that showed any obvious bias or hit pieces against Joe Miller.
KTVA has contacted the Miller campaign to set up a meeting to review its findings.
NewsBuster Geoffrey Dickens catches NBC media hacks trying to set up Gov. Palin by making the election all about her, rather than about the liberal Democrats and their failed leftist agenda:On Tuesday's Today show, a couple of correspondents laid down the potential story line of a big defeat for Sarah Palin if the Republican Tea Party candidate she endorsed, Joe Miller, doesn't win his bid for the Senate seat in Alaska as NBC's Chuck Todd proclaimed: "Sarah Palin's political future is a little bit on the line" and added "this would be a big embarrassment," while NBC's Kristen Welker declared: "the race is also a referendum on Sarah Palin." Welker also featured a sound bite from a political analyst noting a Miller defeat would mean a "black eye" for the former Alaska Governor. Of course the question has to be asked, if Miller defeats write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski, will Todd and Welker go the other way and admit it was a huge win for Palin and the Tea Party?Of course there's no way the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate was going to let them get away with it scot free, as this tweet demonstrates:
"Silly fellas! Chucky, remember, I'm not on ballot; RT @newsbusters: Today Show Tries to Set Up Sarah Palin for Big Fail http://bit.ly/dwT5sy"- JP
Sarah Palin wore her America/Israel flag pin during the weekend rally for GOP Senate candidate John Raese in Charleston, West Virginia:
This pleases Americans who recognize Israel as one of America's truest and strongest allies. It enrages the axis of anti-Israel leftists and Jew-hating jihadists.
For better or for worse, the notion of voting for the candidate rather than the party is now mostly naive idealism. The Democratic Party is now fully left-wing, and is simply the American version of any European Social Democratic party. It is the party of ever-expanding government. (The Republican Party, in contrast, is -- at long last -- the party of small government.)- JP
[...]
This is my response to the liberal media, which have portrayed virtually every popular conservative in my lifetime as a mediocrity at best, a dummy at worst. In not one case -- from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush to Sarah Palin -- was the media's depiction accurate. To give but one example, George W. Bush can probably run rings around Vice President Joseph Biden in his understanding and knowledge of history and of the world.
But even if the media's depictions were accurate, it wouldn't matter to me. I will take common sense and values over intellect any day and in any election. Left-wing intellectuals have abysmal track records when it comes to confronting great evil in the world. Their willingness to fight tyrants and despots is one of consistent and abject moral failure.
Take the left's favorite Republican to depict as a dummy, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
This country would be in considerably better shape if Palin were either vice president or president. Palin would have confronted Iran rather than place her faith in negotiations and the United Nations. She would not have sought to impose a peace on Israel (as if peace can ever be imposed by outsiders on any countries, let alone upon those in which one of the parties seeks to annihilate the other). She would not have bought into Keynesian economics and spent nearly a trillion dollars largely to keep overpaid and overcompensated government workers voting Democrat. She would not have expanded the number of government agencies and "czars" to the point that this country may well be governed for the next two years not by congressional laws but by unelected and unaccountable federal agencies. She would not have declared a date by which America will leave Afghanistan and thereby ensured that fewer and fewer Afghans fight alongside America. She would not have signed a 2,000-page bill about anything, let alone health care. She would have expanded oil drilling in America so that we can actually begin the long journey to energy independence, not the imaginary journey to windmills and solar panels. She would never have considered taxing energy, the engine of our economy, on the increasingly absurd claims that human carbon dioxide emissions will bring the planet to ruin.
So, it is time for us Americans to realize that the old days of choosing the better candidate are gone. The Democrats have, at least in this way, achieved their goal of rendering us more European -- we will have to vote by party.
[More]
Ronald Reagan once hosted the television program "Death Valley Days," pushing 20 Mule Team Borax cleaner. The liberal media questioned his gravitas through both terms. Rudy Giuliani is leading a troupe of motivational speakers across the nation, promising to teach time management, leadership, and several other "skills" -- almost everything except how to stir-fry. Fred Thompson is hawking reverse mortgages to seniors. Mike Huckabee is playing average guitar on his FOX show. None of these former presidential candidates is wading hip-deep today in the Gravitas River that Rove claims does not flow through Alaska. So what's up with Karl?Tomorrow morning, after the midterm election results have been digested and analyzed, that struggle for the heart, soul and future of the Republican Party will no longer be a series of skirmishes. The battle will be on in earnest.
This assault on Palin comes, lest we forget, from the same advisor who either did not make the case or was unable to persuade Bush 43 to stand up and fight back against the relentless criticism from Democrats and the legacy media during six of Bush's eight years as president. Why the aggression now against Palin and the TPM?
Here's a possible explanation. "Bush's Brain," and the architect of the compassionate conservative strategy of George W's 2000 presidential campaign, is feeling the ground shift under his feet. As a consequence, the gyrocompass of his once-highly regarded political judgment is broken.
On Tuesday night, he'll have his signature whiteboard out charting numbers, but the Rove magic has faded some. He appears to be suffering from a severe case of Beltway Insideritis. It strikes when those who've been comfortable with their status as powerful political influencers lose some of their...gravitas...and become mere observers of the events they wish they could influence, but can't.
If that's the case, then Karl's just one among a cadre of certified conservative pundits, in the media and among the professional camp followers of the pols, who don't understand a grassroots movement they neither initiated nor can control.
[More]
"The political operatives and their masters in DC don't like Palin and their favorite outlet for trashing her is Politico. None of them matter. The people will speak tomorrow. And they will speak thereafter as well."- JP
Tomorrow Is Freedom Day!- JP
Tomorrow is Election Day. Before you head to the polling place, take a moment to remember March 21st, when the Pelosi Congress cast its vote for Obamacare. The enduring image of that day is one of Congressional Democrats arrogantly dismissing the pleas of thousands of Americans gathered outside the Capitol Building begging them not to inflict this disastrous bill on us.
In the end this bill wasn’t about health care reform; it was about control and government mandates and fines for not purchasing a government-approved insurance plan. The bill jeopardizes the very thing it was supposed to reform. Every day we hear about doctors leaving the Medicare system; increased premiums with talk of price controls; rationing becoming standard practice; and panels of faceless bureaucrats deciding which categories of treatment are worthy of funding based on efficiency calculations (which I called a “death panel”).
The morning after this terrible bill was passed by the House, I wrote that “we will remember the corrupt deals, the corrupt process, the lack of transparency, the deceptive gimmicks to game the CBO score, and the utter disregard for the will of the American people.”
They voted against our will that day. Tomorrow it’s our turn to vote against them and put our government back on the side of the people. This is our chance to rebuke their big government power grab, reject their unwanted “fundamental transformation” of America, and start the process of repealing this bill before it buries us under a mountain of debt.
So let’s fire Pelosi, retire Reid, and send all those who were responsible for that disgraceful bill a message that America is still about “We the People.”
Tomorrow is our Freedom Day.
Enshrined in our Constitution is the process for the peaceful transfer of power. Our revolution continues each election at the ballot box, and tomorrow we will renew the spirit of the American Revolution once again. Let freedom ring!
- Sarah Palin
Palin taped a recorded message for Tancredo, though she didn’t endorse him on Facebook and Twitter, as she normally does.Listen to Gov. Palin's recording here.
“Tom is the right man for the job and he’ll fight for lower taxes,” Palin said. “He’ll stop growing government and start growing the economy, and we know he’ll continue to work to end illegal immigration.”
It's actually not a bad political move for Tancredo and Palin. With no GOP damage since Maes is a non-factor, she solidifies her anti-establishment, go-with-the-common-sense-conservative-guy-no-matter-what stance. Palin's pal and Tancredo's former House colleague Michele Bachmann made the same move earlier. If Tancredo wins, it looks like he'd owe her, if Palin were to run for something else someday soon.- JP
And since Tancredo wasn't getting any significant Democratic support anyway, the arrival of Palin's endorsement costs him nothing and might help among Colorado's conservatives, where she is a favorite and he must score very big to have a chance in this three-way tilt.
"She would be a great thing for the Republican primary process," said Romney, a 2008 presidential candidate and a potential candidate again in 2012. "It'd be a good thing for her to get in."The story goes on cite a sham ABC News/Washington Post poll (which oversampled Democrats and independents, each by double digit percentages over Republicans) in an attempt to marginalize Gov. Palin. Stupid Media Tricks: a biased lamestream media outlet cites a poll cooked by other biased lamestream media outlets in a pitiful attempt to lend credibility to the narrative they are collectively trying to push. Sorry, guys and girls. That dog is too old and lame to hunt anymore.
Romney, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) have all rallied around Palin, who on Sunday night condemned suggestions that GOP operatives in Washington were looking to stall any potential presidential aspirations she might have.
"The story is nonsense. Because first of all I know Sarah Palin pretty well, and if she wants to run there's not going to be any Washington elites stopping her," Romney told conservative talker Laura Ingraham on Monday on her radio show.
[...]
A spokesman for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, another possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate, said Palin deserves credit and thanks for her work for the Republican Party.
"We're all on the same team, and anonymously sourced stories that try and divide us exemplify one reason why Americans outside the beltway hold D.C. in such contempt," said Alex Conant, the Pawlenty spokesman.
[...]
Palin is seen as a potential candidate in 2012, and she's started the process of opening the door to running in two years by saying she would enter the race if there were no other good candidates involved.
While Romney could be an opponent for the GOP nomination, it makes sense for he and others to support her now given Palin's power with grassroots conservative voters who will play a large role in determining the 2012 Republican nominee for president.
"I can't say I'm surprised, as this is par for the course for the Shill Media. By rights, every one of these 'reporters' should be fired; they are guilty of gross journalistic misconduct. But I won't be any more surprised when that doesn't happen than I am by the behavior itself. They are, quite simply, evil."Jennifer at Cubachi:
"Basically, KTVA told us that we’re imagining things out of thin air. Although the audio clearly indicates the media have conspired to ruin Miller’s reputation, they claim they were discussing 'what-if scenarios.' Yeah, the what-if scenarios are how to bring the downfall of the political career of an innocent veteran who is running for office to save future generations from onerous debt. This is beyond the pale. I hope Alaskans hold this station accountable, and the establishment republicans accountable for what is going on to Joe Miller. Alaskans, please vote in Joe Miller and end this culture of corruption."Gene S at Daily Pundit:
"This is the new Standard of Journalism?"Bookworm at Bookworm Room:
"There a certain Keystone Kops quality to the reporter’s conduct. Yes, they plotted something truly foul, but they did so with such ineptitude they got caught and publicly humiliated. Now, to add to the slapstick quality of the whole thing, they’re contending that they were just strategizing possible things that might actually happen, rather than trying to find a child molester to attach to the Miller campaign. The only difference between these yahoos and the Kops, is that the Kops were innocent and funny. These guys and gals, despite sharing the stupidity, are as malevolent as anyone you’ll find within this nation’s borders."Scared Monkeys:
"The MSM was caught red handed in a conversation that was never intended to be heard and they have no explanation... Remember, the conversation would have occurred right after they got off the phone with the Miller campaign."Mustang at Social Sense:
"Recorded statements of 'journalists' working for CBS affiliate KTVA included this gem: 'We know that out of all the people that will show up tonight, at least one of them will be a registered sex offender.' The tape also reveals individuals discussing the newsworthiness of a Rand Paul moment — referencing the incident involving George Soros plant Lauren Valle. KTVA spokesman naturally claimed that while the incident did happen, the Joe Miller campaign has taken this entire incident out of context. Right. I have a bridge for sale, too."J.M. Waters:
"This excuse KTVA General Manager Jerry Bever goes on to give... does not pass the smell test..."D. B. Light at Light Seeking Light:
"'Corrupt bastards' -- that's what Sarah called the creeps at Alaska CBS affiliate KTVA, who were conspiring to embarrass Republican senatorial candidate Joe Miller. She suggested that the lack of journalistic integrity and outrageous bias displayed in the incident were generalized throughout the MSM. I think she's right."Bungalow Bill at BBCW:
"Joe Miller is perhaps the most sound political thinker running for office in this year's election. His message is as close to the founders that I have heard in a long time. It's no wonder the media wants to beat him up as he speaks Jeffersonian ideas."The Pagan Temple:
"It's clear from hearing the audio and reading the transcript, these reporters certainly weren't trying to help Joe Miller, they were hoping to damage him. Yet, these are reporters, for a CBS affiliate station, people who are supposed to strive for fairness and accuracy in their reportage, for balance, whatever their private personal preferences. They weren't planning an opinion piece for an editorial. They were actually trying to manipulate the news, if not outright planning to create news out of whole cloth... Does anybody seriously wonder why conservatives hate the main stream media?"Dan Riehl at Big Journalism:
"Perhaps [HuffPo's Sam Stein] plans on covering a Republican campaign event... and was off rifling through lists of potential sex offenders who just might happen to show up."Socrates at RedState.com:
"KTVA General Manager Jerry Bever tries to spin [the] problem away, issuing a press release and smiling smugly... 'Have we had internal discussions about the level of professionalism we need to bring to our conversations, internally and externally? Of course we have, this is a lesson to learn from.' ... In other words, 'We’ve told our staff not to get caught.' Because unless the newsroom conversation was substantially as the Miller campaign and commons sense indicate, why was there any need for internal discussions on the level of professionalism?"Connie Hair at Human Events:
"The transcript of the call does not line up with KTVA's explanation... Is anyone actually surprised that conservative candidates don't want to speak to the so-called mainstream media?"Steve Gilbert at Sweetness & Light:
"‘KTVA general manager Jerry Bever issued a statement Sunday. In it, he called the voice mail *unfortunate* but disagreed with the Miller’s campaign’s interpretation of events.’ If the Miller interpretation is wrong, then exactly what is ‘unfortunate’ about the comments? ... ‘Bever said the station has discussed the matter internally. He said *this is a lesson to learn from.*’ Yes, the lesson they will learn is ‘be more subtle.’ And, more importantly, ‘don’t get caught.’ ... Ms. Palin was perhaps being too kind to call them ‘bastards.’"Ron Devito at It's Miller Time in Alaska:
"RINO Lisa Murkowski and her media allies continue their tricknology campaign against Joe Miller."- JP
“Sarah Palin has every right to make her case to the Republican Party. How about we let the Republicans decide — not the so-called leaders — whether she is qualified or not? I think they are missing the whole point of what is going on in our electorate right now because that is the worst possible way to take that kind of a lesson out of this election. I think this time we have to have a Republican National Committee that disciplines Republicans who attack other Republicans. I see it starting already and it really disturbs me."h/t: Melissa Clothier
"These Republican leaders who don't put their names in print but make comments in shadows need to shut up," Steele told American Morning's John Roberts Monday. "We're focused on winning elections tomorrow night. We're not focused on 2012."But Steele disagreed, saying he would be pleased with Gov. Palin as the party's presidential nominee in 2012:
Steele's comments were in reference to a Politico article out Monday in which a string of unnamed Republicans, feeling Palin could not be a viable presidential contender, said it will be the party's goal to prevent her from running in 2012.
Other establishment Republicans have also gone on the record to criticize the former Alaska governor – most recently Karl Rove, who last week said Palin lacks the gravitas to sit in the oval office.
"If she goes through the process and the Republican primary voters vote for her, absolutely I would be happy," said Steele. "Why wouldn't I be?"- JP
"Now, folks, I want to tell you something here. I saw that... Where did I see this? Oh! Oh! I didn't have a chance to reply to it. I got an e-mail from Mike Allen of The Politico last night. They're working on a story; they may have already run it."Emphasis ours.
"Some Republican leader has told them that the Republican leadership is right now as we speak coalescing to find somebody to oppose Sarah Palin. They didn't identify whoever this 'Republican leader is,' so I can't tell you who it is, but they say that there's a Republican talking to them at Politico that they are trying to find somebody to beat back Palin, from the Republican establishment, because they are convinced that if Palin is the nominee, the party loses. That's, at least, what they say. It could also be they're scared to death that Palin wins it's the end of them: The Republican establishment."
"Mike Allen wanted to take my reply, and I got his e-mail in the midst of a whole bunch other stuff. I just now remembered it so I haven't had a chance to reply. But let's see. This kind of thing, I think the reason I didn't drop everything and reply is 'cause the little antenna go up. It could be a disinformation campaign before the election. Why write a story right now about Palin in 2012? What's the point of running a story like that right now if not then to sow dissension in the ranks?"
