More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention Part 326

“Restoring Sanity” Edition
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Rock, at The Time Has Come Today:

“The Massive deficit. There is a reason for it... We have a spending problem that no amount of taxing will cure... If you raise taxes on the wealthy, on the job creators, and bring in some money that will never pay for this out-of-control debt, what will you do to the weak economy? A lot of damage... And all to bring in maybe 80 billion dollars. That's not going to close this debt. You take down this debt by less spending and by growing this economy. There is no magic pill... We cannot continue to spend like mad. Please understand this. Washington has an addiction to spending on the most idiotic things, and it has to end, now... Common Sense is all we ever needed... Sarah Palin will begin to restore sanity to this nation. And we will survive. If you only give her the chance. And your support. Yes, there will be hundreds of entities working to see her fail. But with Americans like you and me behind her, they cannot defeat her.”

Laura Lee Donoho, at The Wide Awake Cafe:

“Sarah is still standing after the relentless attacks of the Democrat hounds of hell.”

Jim Treacher, at The DC Trawler:

“There was a relatively minor media frenzy over Sarah Palin canceling her bus tour. Now she says it’s on hold because she has jury duty, but she plans to pick up the tour at a later date. So all the people who were braying ‘Quitter!’... have to find new reasons it’s her fault. (For example, Mediaite’s Colby Hall goes with the ‘Look what you made me do!’ angle.) It’s been [just a few] weeks since the previous failed gotcha, when those 24,000 e-mails turned out to be disappointingly scandal-free. Then there was the time Palin magically made a crazy guy shoot a bunch of people by putting up a map he never saw. And then there was the time before that, and the time before that, on and on, going back to the first time you ever heard of her. The following is a simple illustration of the process...”

John Lott:

“Los Angeles Times paints what will be a surprising portrait of Palin to her liberal detractors...”

Cora Lee Schingnitz, in a letter to the editor of The Yuma Sun:

“I have long wondered why people are so hostile about Sarah Palin... So what can they say? ‘She's stupid.’ If she is so stupid, how did she become so wildly successful at everything she does? She worked her way from town councilman to small-town mayor, to state oil and gas commissioner to state governor, to vice presidential candidate in a little over 15 years. She took on the corrupt good old boys in the Republican Party. She sold... the Westwind II jet her predecessor had purchased against the wishes of the Alaskan taxpayers and cut down on the staff in the governor's mansion, holding meetings in her kitchen, Golda Meir-style, while caring for her family and in her spare time helping her husband fulfill his fishing contracts. Yes, Sarah Palin has it all — beauty, brains and brawn, and it's driving the left wild.”

Dan Riehl, at Riehl World View:

“True, the media has done everything it can to shred Palin's reputation. Also, before the more current seeming love affair it's having with Bachmann - one that will not last - she never did receive much credit, or positive attention from the media.”

The Lonely Conservative:

“ABC News has an article titled ‘Sarah Palin’s Unlikely Supporter.’ Are they surprised that a black woman would support Sarah Palin?... Bad on ABC News for finding it so ‘unlikely’ that Americans whose skin happens to be dark would support Sarah Palin or other Tea Party candidates. But hey, at least they didn’t mock or belittle her as so many liberals do to those who step outside of their stereotypical boxes. And in all fairness, at least they told her story. I’m sure those who aren’t mocking Mrs. Johnson would rather just ignore her.”

Bristol Palin, to CBN's Wendy Griffith:

“I feel like people tried to break me down during that [‘Dancing With The Stars’] experience. But that just gave me the fire in my gut to do better.”

Ron Devito, at US for Palin:

“Readers get to see the sibling rivalries and the interactions among the large extended family spanning multiple generations. We see the lives of Sarah and Todd Palin through the eyes of their eldest daughter from the perspective of a teenager and young adult. Bristol’s vivid descriptions of events and incidents put the reader right in the action. For this reason alone, Not Afraid of Life is a must-read and and a must-have for the library of any Palin supporter.”

AJ, at NoisyRoom.net:

“Vetting Obama... ‘Palling around with terrorists,’ a phrase made famous by Governor Sarah Palin during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, has just risen to new heights in its accuracy with regard to Obama.”

Angela Walker, at ChristianCinema.com:

“I was at the one theater in California where ‘The Undefeated’ will be released, and I was in the presence of California's organizers for the Tea Party movement. Brave people who daily rub shoulders with neighbors who despise their political leanings. It wasn't so much a film screening as it was a pep rally reminding us that there's a rogue politician who is ready to take on ‘Big Government.’ ... It's impressive to learn of the improvements she made for the city of Wasilla and the state of Alaska, always reminding those listening that it's about the people, not about the government. Whatever you say about her, the woman can get things done.”

Kufsy, at Off The Kufs:

“I am starting to realize that Sarah Palin is a force to be reckoned with. The left loathes her and we need to ask why. Is it because she scares them? All I know is that my so-called conservative Republican friends that do not like her are not really conservatives.”

tdc, at The Design Conservative:

“As someone who did her homework when Governor Palin was selected to run with Senator McCain in 2008, I considered myself quite familiar with her record of achievement in Alaska... Despite this background information, however, The Undefeated enabled me to see Governor Palin with new eyes... In story after story, the picture of Governor Palin became clear: she has a servant’s heart and a lion’s will. Whatever the personal or political costs, she won’t back down and she won’t retreat from a course she feels is right... I do not exaggerate when I say that people who walk into the theater with skepticism about Sarah Palin’s capacity to achieve higher office may very well walk out asking, ‘When is she going to announce?’ and ‘How can I help?’... After July 15th, there will be no excuse for anyone to plead ignorance about Sarah Palin’s record.”

John Hawkins, at Right Wing News:

“Now, without further ado, a ranking of GOP presidential contenders (and some select ‘maybe they’ll runs’) based on their Twitter Followers...”

Bill Corfield, at Reasonable Conversation:

“Polling second in the both the Gallup and the RCP polls, Palin is still positioned to make quite the splash if she decides to run for POTUS. She's got great name recognition, loads of cash, a buzz factor that blows away anyone else's. A Palin campaign, to many, would be thrilling. Well positioned for either direction. Stay out of the race and play king maker, or jump in with little to lose.”

Exit Quote: William Shakespeare, in King Lear, Act 3 Scene 4:

“O, that way madness lies; let me shun that.”

- JP

Plurality of Americans see George Washington as greatest president

Mika Brzezinski's choice failed to make the cut.
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A plurality of adults agreed with Sarah Palin in a recent Rasmussen Reports survey, naming the first president of the United States as our greatest founding father:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American adults shows that 43% say George Washington is the greatest founding father of our country, up 11 points from last year. Thomas Jefferson comes in second with 24% who see him has the greatest found father, followed by Benjamin Franklin with 16%.

Just five percent (5%) see both John Adams and James Madison as the greatest founding fathers...

Washington has been at the top of this list since 2006.

Data released earlier shows that Americans continue to strongly believe in the nation’s founding ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence. While most believe that governments derive their only just authority from the consent of the governed, only 23% believe the federal government today has such consent.

In fact, 45% believe that the gap between Americans who want to govern themselves and politicians who want to rule over them is now as big as the gap between the American colonies and England during the 18th Century.

As usual, Gov. Palin is totally in sync with most Americans on the question. Clueless liberals had mocked the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate for choosing Washington, telling Glenn Beck in a in January, 2010 interview that she admired the father of our country because he refused efforts by some of his supporters at the time of the nation's founding who wanted to elevate the general to the status of royalty. Instead, Washington served two terms as president and then returned to his Mount Vernon home.

Most clueless of those clueless liberals was and continues to be MSDNC's Mika Brzezinski, who named Abraham Lincoln as her favorite "founder":

Ah, karma. In the middle of this MS-NBC gigglefest over Sarah Palin’s response to Glenn Beck on which Founding Father she likes best, Mika Brzezinski offers her opinion on the best Founding Father — who wasn’t born until 20 years after the US adopted its present Constitution.

Too bad the Civil War president was not there for the founding, as it occurred years before he was even born:

Lesson: Don't laugh at and mock someone when you are totally clueless about the subject.

Sadly, Mika doesn't seem to have stumbled over any clues in the last year and a half.

- JP

Day By Day (July 4, 2011)

Meat
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Good morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day:


Please support Chris Muir's pro-Palin Day By Day.

- JP

Quote of the Day (July 3, 2011)

Hot Air Candidate Survey: 4th of July Weekend Results
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Patrick Ishmael, at Hot Air's Green Room:

“With over 6000 ballots cast... Sarah Palin has returned to almost her highest vote take since the survey began, at 36.94% of the vote. Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry run closely together, coming in second (19.95%) and third (18.91%) respectively. Herman Cain takes fourth at 6.68%, continuing his downward movement since his May highs. Mitt Romney takes fifth, at 6.3%.”

Editor's Note: So let's see if we've got this straight. Gov. Palin dominates this poll. She wins going away, by her highest vote total "since the survey began," beats the two candidates the anyone-but-Palin media is currently hyping (Bachmann by 17 points, Perry by 18 points)... and HA desperately tries to spin this as somehow bad news for Sarah? Why is Ed Morrissey the only contributor at Hot Air that seems to have no axe to grind when it comes to Gov. Palin?

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention Part 325

“High-Tech Lynching” Edition
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James Lewis, at American Thinker:

“What we are seeing today with Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin is a ‘high-tech lynching,’ just as Clarence Thomas said at his Senate hearing about the way the media abused him with rumors of sexual misbehavior. High-tech lynching. Keep that in mind, because that's who these people are. They don't lynch people by accident, but with a very clear purpose. They are ruthless, and they have no decency. Domestically their purpose is to intimidate you and me, just as the KKK did in the Jim Crow South. Media lynchings create an atmosphere of fear by hanging specific scapegoats from a tree. Watch it happen to Palin, Bachmann, Herman Cain, and everybody who becomes uppity against Obama. That is how the left aims to win a second term that Obama desperately wants.”

Erin Brown, at NewsBusters:

“The media's character assassination of Sarah Palin knows no bounds, as she's been smeared as everything from ‘evil’ to ‘unintelligent.’ But ‘Palin Derangement Syndrome’ is a hereditary disease...”

Andrew Breitbart, on “Fox & Friends”:

“The thing is that Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann represent an existential threat to the Democratic Party the way that 20 years ago Clarence Thomas as a black man represented to liberals and the Democrat Party. The Democratic Party likes to think of itself as the party of minorities, and when in the Republican Party so many women and attractive women and accomplished women rise to the top, it's going to take the media to destroy them because at the end of the day, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, you go by the polls, represent what the American people represent on the issues... Well, what you just saw with President Obama they call in tennis an unforced error. What they try and do with Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann is to force errors, to ask gotcha questions. Life for them is a permanent game of Jeopardy where the George Stephanopouloses of the world, he of the Clinton war room, are there to try to make them look stupid on YouTube.”

theblogprof:

“Perhaps the president was already thinking ahead to Malia's approaching birthday: She turns 13 on July 4. If Sarah Palin had indeed made the exact same mistake, she would have been ridiculed as a dimwitted bimbo unfit for any office.”

John Sexton, at Verum Serum:

“[Barack Obama]: ‘Listen, Abraham Lincoln helped build the interstate…the intercontinental railroad in the middle of the Civil War because he understood this was going to be important.’ Of course, there was no ‘intercontinental railroad’ being built during the Civil War. We did not build a trestle across the Bering Strait or lay tracks to South America. Abraham Lincoln did support the building of a transcontinental railroad connecting the East Coast to the West Coast... It’s obvious the President stumbled, probably thinking of our modern interstate road system and transposed that onto the transcontinental railroad. But if Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann had said this, you can bet there would be lots of people pointing out what an embarrassing historical gaffe it was.”

Nicole Coulter, at Conservatives4Palin:

“Bring Her Down: How the American Media Tried to Destroy Sarah Palin should be required reading for any Palin supporter.”

Tina Hemond , at Degrees of Moderation:

“The media has exhausted its ability to criticize (but will, of course, keep on trying) Sarah Palin (...try to find [a] specific news article that does not contain slurs – good luck). Palin (or any other female Conservative Candidate...) will face a constant battle from the Press, but Palin has lived through, media stalkers, liars, and crackpots fighting for their fifteen minutes of fame on MSNBC, and is, perhaps, more prepared than any other candidate in the history of the GOP. She also has the wherewithal to stand up and tell it like it is, something that irks those who think they know better than the masses.”

Sandor Balogh, Ph.D., in a letter to the Times Union:

“Palin knows American history (and the English language) better than those journalists, who first reported this perceived error...”

Ed Morrissey, at Hot Air:

“Her PAC supported a number of Republicans in the 2010 midterms, most of whom won their elections in part due to her support. Palin has done as much as anyone has in the past two years for political organization in both grassroots and traditional party structure, all while being ridiculed by media figures like [Mika] Brzezinski, whose main claim to fame is … being on television, and being the daughter of a former National Security Adviser in the Carter administration. If anyone has less standing to make a point about superficial celebritydom on Morning Joe, I’d like to know who it might be.”

myiq2xu, at The Crawdad Hole:

“The [Slate] article goes out of the way to tie Bachmann’s beliefs to Palin, even though Sarah has never said she agreed with the ‘submissive wife’ idea.”

Clayton Cramer:

“What never ceases to amaze me how is ignorant the left is of Christianity. Ephesians 5:21-33 are the verses that leftists (and some misogynistic Christian men) like to quote very selectively: ‘Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.’ Got that? ‘Submit to one another’: that means that both husband and wife have a humble obligation to each other... Sarah Palin as Todd's wife is an entirely different sphere of work from President Sarah Palin. This notion that a Christian woman can't be a strong and effective leader is not Biblical -- the early Church was awash in women performing important roles.”

MarkAmerica, at Palin Promotions:

“Sarah Palin is the real outsider in this race, and Obama and the Democrat party, as well as their numerous shills in the media know it. The Republican establishment knows it, too, and they are as committed as any Democrat to seeing her banished from the beltway.”

Toby Harnden, at The Telegraph:

“Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate has yet to declare she’s in the 2012 race; but during an appearance in Iowa did nothing to dispel the notion that she, too, was running for the White House... With President Barack Obama’s re-election chances looking shakier by the day, the prospect of a President Bachmann or a President Palin – as the first woman to occupy the Oval Office – is suddenly not so outlandish a notion... Establishment Republicans are resolutely sceptical... But it will not be Washington-based strategists and consultants who will be selecting the man, or woman, to take on Obama. If Bachmann or Palin secure enough votes, that will be qualification enough.”

Harris Harrison, at Incumbent Rant:

“I've always known we needed to stay away from the RINOs. I didn't want McCain, but he was put before us, and I voted for him. Really, I voted for Sarah Palin. And, frankly, I'd vote for her again.”

Whitney Pitcher, at Little Blog on the Prairie:

“Governor Palin has taken a stand on every major political issue, often doing so with great prescience and foresight. She questioned the Fed's decision to engage in a second round of quantitative easing, warning that it would cause inflation and higher energy prices, which it has. She has spoken out on a variety of foreign policy issues as well, from Iran's nuclear proliferation and lack of support for Democracy to concerns about the START nuclear treaty with Russia, to a strong stance with Israel and warning of the threat of an Egypt controlled by the Muslim brotherhood. She has given speeches to business leaders on Long Island and in India, spoken to various trade shows, pro life events, and tea parties. She has traveled to Israel and met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and traveled to Haiti to do some humanitarian work with Samaritan's Purse. Her road less traveled has taken her all across America and across the world, and Lord willing, it will lead her to a position held by only forty-four other individuals in America’s 235 year history.”

Exit Quote: Jeremiah 20:10, in The New American Bible:

“But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.”

- JP

Jack Kelly on the Power of Palin

Her critics have already said every bad thing they could say about her.
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Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist Jack Kelly makes a compelling case against the conventional wisdom, which says it may be too late for Sarah Palin to get into the 2012 presidential contest. The conventional wise guys are quick to point out that Gov. Palin has done no fundraising (beyond her leadership PAC, but she can't use those funds for a presidential run), she hasn't built a campaign team, and some of her supporters who believe the media narrative that she will not run are turning to active candidates such as Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

But the conventional wisdom has a fatal flaw, cautions Kelly. It is "more conventional than wise." Traditionally, candidates have needed to get an early start to build name recognition, and they require a campaign organization mainly to energize supporters to get out and vote. And that's where the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee may have the conventional wisdom beat.

Sarah Palin has some 3.2 million followers on Facebook. That's 800,000 more than all the declared GOP candidates combined, Kelly points out. Palinistas are not the sort of supporters who need to be motivated either to show up at the polls or to stuff envelopes and knock on doors. All Mamma Grizzly has to do is say the word, and they will hit the ground working for her. As recent events in Pella, Iowa have demonstrated, many of them are already doing that.

Also working in Sarah Palin's favor, Kelly observes, are the RNC's new rules, which favor late entrants. He predicts that the highly touted early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are more likely to prune a crowded field than to produce a clear front runner. The fewer the candidates in the debates, Kelly argues, the more they will matter. For Sarah Palin, the debates will be crucial.

Because the media/Hollywood left and their fellow travelers in the Vichy wing of the Republican Party have been denigrating her 24/7 for the last three years, Sarah Palin needs to build her poll numbers, especially among independents, which is where the campaign against her has had the most impact. But even that factor can still be turned around:

A new documentary, "The Undefeated," opens with a montage of vicious things celebrities have said about Ms. Palin. Viewers at the premier in Pella, Iowa, Tuesday were shocked.

But efforts to portray Ms. Palin as a shrill, stupid snowbilly backfired on the journalists who sought the release of 24,000 emails from her time as Alaska governor. The emails "brought back the memory of a long-lost Palin: the popular, charismatic competent woman of the people," who "comes across as practical and not doctrinaire," and who is "far from being a knee-jerk partisan," wrote Molly Ball in Politico.

Liberals hope their sliming of her will keep Ms. Palin from running. But it may be the most important reason why she should.

[...]

Many "mainstream" journalists have abandoned all pretense of fairness, but still expect to be treated as if they were honest brokers. Most Republicans oblige them.

Sarah Palin doesn't. She uses social media to bypass news media "gatekeepers." That's one reason so many journalists hate her. They seethe even more because Ms. Palin uses their obsession with her to make them look ridiculous, as she did during her bus vacation in the Northeast last month.

[...]

But her critics have shot their bolt where Sarah Palin is concerned. They've already said every bad thing they could say about her.

"The Undefeated," strives to set the record straight. The people in Pella who saw it liked it very much. But most Americans won't see it.

Which is why debates will be so important if Ms. Palin runs. In them, she'll either conform to the caricature of her -- or demolish it.

[More]

Gov. Palin should do well in the debates. She used a strong debate performance in the 2006 GOP primary and general elections in Alaska to turn the conventional wisdom upside down and win a governor's race the conventional wise guys had said she had little chance of winning. Two years later, she surprised the pundits, as well as Joe Biden, in a vice presidential debate after which a number of observers, including a Frank Luntz focus group, judged her to be the winner.

An email dump in Alaska which showed her to be a good governor and the media to be actively working to try to destroy her, a documentary which drives those points home to all who will see it except for the hard left, an army of grassroots supporters who will -- as Kelly notes -- "crawl over ground glass" for her, new RNC rules which favor candidates willing to bide their time until many of their opponents have severely wounded themselves and their rivals, and a talent to excel in debate settings are all key elements Sarah Palin has working in her favor in this election cycle. All she has to do is say the word, and the game is on. But she has already said that, hasn't she?

h/t: M. Joseph Sheppard

- JP

Day By Day (July 3, 2011)

A Priori
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Good morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day:


Please support Chris Muir's pro-Palin Day By Day.

- JP

Quote of the Day (July 2, 2011)

Sarah Palin For President?
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Jessica Lauren, at WagerRun.com:

“Would Sarah Palin be able to put us on the road to recovery? Is she even going to put her hat in the ring and give us that choice?”

- JP

Jim Galloway: Sarah Palin’s movie message to GOP ‘establishment’

The first line to draw applause was Palin suggesting Republicans “learn to fight like girls.”
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution political columnist Jim Galloway was in attendance Thursday night in Kennesaw for an invitation-only preview of “The Undefeated.” In his review, Galloway says those Republicans who are not Palin admirers should "find a way to see at least the final 15 minutes" of Stephen Bannon's documentary

It will tell you much about what’s happening now within the GOP.

As you might expect, the movie is packed with accounts of liberal and media hatred of Palin — conflated as being from one and the same source. This is not news and barely worth a mention.

But the last quarter hour is primarily a diatribe against the “Republican establishment.” Images of House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky jump onto the screen as conservative broadcaster Mark Levin speaks of Republicans “putting up symbolic votes that don’t have any meaning.”

[...]

It is hard to say which thoughts in the movie belong to Bannon, the director, and which ones belong to Palin. The voice of the former Alaskan governor is heard throughout, but it is drawn from the audio version of Palin’s book, “Going Rogue,” to which Bannon purchased the rights.

So there is a layer of deniability available to Palin, if she wants it.

But if the movie’s thesis in fact represents Palin’s thinking, then “The Undefeated” helps explain the strange bus tour that coincided with Mitt Romney’s formal entry last month into the presidential contest. And Palin’s appearance on Tuesday in Iowa — one day after Michele Bachmann’s appearance in the same state — for a showing of “The Undefeated.”

If Palin indeed feels snubbed by the movers and shakers within the Republican Party, then her recent behavior looks less like toe-dipping associated with a 2012 presidential bid and more like a longer-term, guerrilla campaign for the heart and soul of the GOP.

“The Undefeated” opens in metro Atlanta July 15 for a seven-day run at the AMC Barrett Commons theater complex off Barrett Parkway in Cobb County.

- JP

John P. Meyer reviews 'The Undefeated' for Pegasus News

"The visuals are enhanced by dramatic orchestral background scoring..."
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Pegasus News is an online news and entertainment site focused on the DFW area covering neighborhood news, the local music scene, top restaurants and the like. The target readership for this genre is active people of sufficient means to still have an item in their budgets tagged "nightlife" in an economy, which even in Dallas-Ft. Worth is at best lukewarm. John P. Meyer is Pegasus' "film guy," and he was in the audience at the AMC Grapevine Mills 30 for a special Thursday night screening of "The Undefeated" for community leaders and media types. Here are a few excerpts from his review:

Stephen K. Bannon's filmmaking approach here is straightforward storytelling style, with talking head interviews with Palin associates comprising the meat of the material. He spices up the narrative with sweeping scenes of the Alaskan countryside, Palin baby pictures (she was a cute kid!), and occasional tongue-in-cheek stock footage visuals presented as a means of illustrating a point. (Think: dollar bills being flushed down the toilet; slick suited, sunglasses-wearing corporate executive types debarking from private jets; an anonymous politician cringing in fear as he answers the phone, presumably in receipt of news that "Whistleblower" Palin's on his case.)

Palin herself contributes a good bit of narration to the film, which also features video footage contemporary with her career as Wasilla mayor (two terms), and her demonstrably successful stint as Alaska's reform-minded, consensus-building, limited-government-advocating governor, prior to the McCain team's V.P. invitation in August 2008.

As her many sweeping legislative successes are being extolled, in fact, I wondered to myself why in heaven's name she would have chosen to resign the governorship upon her presidential ticket's defeat. To its credit, the film goes on to address that point with an explanation involving the spate of ethics complaints filed against her (which, even if false, she was constrained to defend against out of her own pocket). As a consequence of some kind of Republican establishment backlash, it's implied, her efforts to foster passage of even the most mundane of legislative measures during this period were undermined.

So she resigned for the sake of the state, the way the movie tells it.

The visuals are enhanced by dramatic orchestral background scoring (credit David Cebert), inspirational in tone as Palin's successes are being extolled, and then ominous as we hear about the inimical forces operating to take her down.

The last segment of the film chronicles Palin's fundamental influence on the Tea Party movement, and documents her ongoing central role at some of its rallies. It's at this point where the film turns downright evangelical in tone, inspiring our particular audience to break out in chants of "Run, Sarah, Run!" as we approached the end credits.

[More]

Meyer concludes that as an in-depth "subject-friendly biopic," the film succeeds "fairly well." He does offer some constructive criticism, however.

The critic thought the documentary was too long and suggests that it be edited down to an hour and a half in length. Director Stephen Bannon has already addressed this point in interviews. He says the finished product run two hours because he felt that depth of detail was essential to tell the story of Sarah Palin's struggle which led to "the catharsis of her convention speech and the once-in-a-lifetime run she went on at those early rallies." Most of the people who have pre-screened "The Undefeated," according to Bannon, say it actually feels much shorter than its two-hour length because the film moves at a rapid pace. Meyer seems to be the exception on that score.

Meyer's other complaint is a bit of nit-picking. In the film Gov. Palin says that her legislative agenda boils down to "three words: the natural gas pipeline" (Meyer's quote). This, he feels, is an apparent "verbal gaffe" which should be edited out of the final product. But in this case, the word "the" was not an essential part of her agenda. "Natural gas pipeline" is three words by our arithmetic. At any rate, what the governor said hardly rises to the level of absurdity, unlike Joe Biden's attempted schooling of John McCain, when he said "...the number one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S."

- JP

Day By Day (July 2, 2011)

A Priori
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Good morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day:


Please support Chris Muir's pro-Palin Day By Day.

- JP

Quote of the Day (July 1, 2011)

Palin and the Wisconsin budget
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Peter Ingemi, at Datechguy’s Blog:

“Sarah Palin right again! Shhh… Don’t tell Mika Brizezinski!”

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention Part 324

“Distraction” Edition
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Diogenese, at Diogenes: In Search Of An Honest Politician:

“Encourage Sarah To Run... Go See ‘The Undefeated’... Having Co-Hosted a sneak preview last night, I can assure you Sarah is monitoring the response very carefully and it will come into the decision... You cannot see this film and come away from it not seeing what a great leader she has been in the past, and imagining what America could be with her at the helm. Never forget that Bachmann and all the others are there to distract you from the person every elite in every office in Washington is afraid of: Sarah Palin... This time the devil wants to win, and is disguising himself, like a ‘good America’ but anywhere George Soros' hand is, is an enemy of America. ”

Jim Geraghty, at NRO's The Campaign Spot:

“Palin’s PAC, Now Offering The Undefeated DVDs to Donors... Is Sarah Palin planning on running for president? Her PAC certainly doesn’t mind fanning the flames of expectation.”

Jelayne Sessler, at Defending Sarah Palin:

“Last night I had the privilege to see a rough cut of ‘The Undefeated’, soon to be released in select theaters on July 15th. The courage, confidence and convictions of Sarah Palin are distinctively captured in this documentary. Without any doubt in mind, the film made me come to one certain conclusion: Sarah Palin will seek the presidency in 2012... Call everyone you know and invite them to see the film; you will not be disappointed.”

John Nolte, at Big Hollywood:

“The fact that an independent filmmaker had to risk a million of his own dollars to tell the true story of one of the most dynamic political figures of our time is a damning indictment of the media...”

Karen Townsend, at Pondering Penguin:

“Accepting an invitation to attend a private screening of ‘The Undefeated’, the Sarah Palin story, I was uncertain as to what to expect. I thought I already knew her story and her political history. I was wrong... I was and still am hugely disappointed that men, especially conservative men, didn't rise up and defend Sarah Palin as she was smeared night after night on cable television and in newspapers across the country. And the treatment of Palin by liberal bloggers is unmentionable. Palin was left out there on her own to fend for herself - even women in the McCain campaign allowed stories to come out about internal friction and their disapproval of Palin's actions on the campaign trail. Unforgivable. Sarah Palin is a strong, principled, motivated woman. She fights like a girl... Game on.”

Jedediah Bila, at The Daily Caller:

“I walked away from Iowa this week with the sentiment that Palin supporters are a force to be reckoned with.”

No2Liberals, at Nuke's:

“After ‘The Undefeated’ was over and the credits were still rolling on the screen, Palin took the stage to address everyone in attendance... Notice that the address is unscripted, she is speaking from the head and the heart, from experience and beliefs, not from a teleprompter or index cards. There is something else you might notice(or should), the wonderful absence of the words ‘I’ or ‘me.’ This video is a perfect example of the type of politician we need, one that is more concerned about this great nation and its people, than with satisfying their narcissism.”

Adrienne Ross, at Motivation Truth:

“Notice how she speaks substantively and from the heart--with no teleprompter and no notes. She never misses a beat, and the Iowa crowd is completely engaged in the message of American exceptionalism and hope that she delivers.”

Andrea Shea King, at Blog Talk Radio:

“Here’s my take on ‘The Undefeated’: having met and seen Sarah Palin in person several times during my two tours with the Tea Party Express... I know from experience how people respond to her. They connect. In a BIG way... And it drives the envious Left and establishment GOP elite absolutely out of their minds crazy. And that comes across in this biopic... Should you see it? Absolutely. You should bring your family and friends. ‘The Undefeated’ will be screened in 10 theaters across America on July 15th. Bannon & Co. are hoping to fill those seats so the film can be shown in even more theaters.”

Randy Highsmith, at Florida 4 Palin:

“I was reminded why she, like Ronald Reagan, was a threat to the status quo. Seeing what made her so popular in AK is exactly what the leftist and entrenched Republican elitists fear. She is not beholden to the establishment... as you will see from her record in AK when you watch The Undefeated.”

Sue Himel, commenting at Conservatives 4 Palin:

“I sat at a table with people mostly from the Pella area. We chatted about the film and several were surprised to learn in the film exactly why Palin resigned as governor of Alaska... One woman at the table actually told a CNN reporter who was leaning across the barrier (media were not allowed in the event, but were just outside the event) that she had finally learned why SP resigned and would support her if she ran. He tried to get her to back track and asked her about MB, whom he described as a policy wonk. But the lady had the courage of her new convictions and told him she could not support a candidate with no executive experience. Sarah has at least one new convert.”

The JerseyNut, at Right, Wing-Nut!:

“Sarah Palin Loves The Jews More Than The Jews Love Themselves...”

Noel Sheppard, at NewsBusters:

“As NewsBusters previously reported, Bill Maher last Friday disgracefully attacked Bristol Palin saying, ‘The s--t doesn't fall far from the bat.’ On Wednesday's ‘Fox & Friends,’ noted psychiatrist Keith Ablow analyzed the behavior of HBO's ‘Real Time’ host concluding that the comedian has a deep-seated hatred of women and absolutely no regard for life... This certainly explains the constant attacks on former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN). Yet, the bigger picture is indeed what it says about our society that he has a nationally televised program on a premium cable network that people have to pay for. Heaven help us.”

Ace, at Ace of Spades HQ:

“Of course, it's not funny, not for the media. Oh how they laugh when Bill Maher drops the c-bomb on Palin. But calling Obama a d*ck? Why that's just out-of-bounds.”

Doug, at Fine Dry Wit:

“Your Arrogance Is Hilarious... Not to me, of course - I'm just a guy at a keyboard. I'm talking about ARROGANCE towards God and His children. It makes God laugh... If Sarah Palin were an atheist, but still (somehow) holding her present political beliefs...she wouldn't face one thousandth of the vitriol she now endures. If she were a Buddhist, we would hear no outcry that, if elected, she would attempt to change us into a Buddhist country, forcing HER moral code on the populace... I don't know if Sarah Palin will run for president. I hope she does, either this time or the next. That would make me happy. That would make you happy too, even if you are a teeth gnasher - your country would be improved, and think of all the snarky anti-Palin books you could buy!”

Exit Quote: Maria Bartiromo, to Joshua Kennon:

“News is important information... Noise is talk or buzz or some headline that prevents you from seeing a story clearly. News is useful. Noise is a distraction. Calling what's noise and news after the fact is easy.”

- JP

Palin Pella Premiere: The Music Video

Phenomenal
*
Interspersing stills and video clips, Dave Davidson has created a nice music video of images from "The Undefeated" premiere in Pella, Iowa:


h/t: Sarah Palin Blog

- JP

Liberal Houston & Dallas 'alternative' blogs review 'The Undefeated'

"The film elevates her to... a primary fighter in a holy war... against the encroaching forces of darkness."
*
A review of "The Undefeated" appears in the Unfair Park blog of the Dallas Observer, an "alternative" weekly owned by Village Voice Media. Think of the Dallas Observer as a Metroplexed Village Voice, and you've got it pegged. Still, reviewer Anna Merlan gives the film a fairer shake than does the Houston Press, the left-wing "alternative" rag in the Bayou City, which used the opportunity to slam-pan Stephen Brannon's documentary.

Instead of being angrily outraged, as was the lefty who wrote the Press' review, Ms. Merlan seems to find the grassroots conservatives who were with her at the screening to be the sort of curiosities rarely encountered in her normal circles. Some excerpts:

After the film, the woman sitting next to me -- who turned out to be Lorie Medina, the head of the Dallas Tea Party -- talked a bit about about Sarah Palin haters. Many of them, she thinks, are motivated by bitterness.

"She's what the feminists have told us to be shooting for," she said. "She has a great marriage, a huge family and an incredible career."

Does Medina think Palin would run for president?

"Well, that's the $64,000 question," she said. "Some days I wake up and I think she will, some days I think she won't." I asked if Palin would be her first choice for president. "Of course," she said, looking faintly shocked.

[...]

"There's nothing wrong in America a good ol' fashioned election can't fix!" Palin exclaims brightly near the end of the film. The audience in Grapevine clapped, cheered and whistled at that. As the movie faded to black, the clapping was replaced with earnest chants of "Run, Sarah, run!"

To her credit, Ms. Merlan eschews the usual liberal snark lathered into the Houston Press review. Still, she missed the point:

The purpose of the film, basically, is for people who currently work for her -- or have in the past, including her attorney, who looks a little depressed, and numerous people who were part of her mayoral and gubernatorial campaigns -- to talk about her achievements and bash her foes, who are part of what one talking head calls "an uprising of hatred" against Palin.

No, the purpose of the film is to tell the true story that the major media ignored, so busy was it bashing Palin and praising Obama during the campaign of 2008. It's the same story told by the tens of thousands of Gov. Palin's emails that same corrupt media couldn't wait to get its hands on, so sure it was that there was dirt to be mined there. But all the media found in the massive email release was the story of an honest and capable administrator who left office with a number of significant accomplishments on her watch. And that's also the point of "The Undefeated." Too bad the Dallas Observer failed to observe the obvious.

The hard left will never give Sarah Palin the credit she's due. That's all right; we don't expect them to. If we can get them to see "The Undefeated," and they come away from the film no longer dehumanizing her as a monster or something, that will be progress. Which would make them live up to their self-characterization as "progressives" for a change.

- JP

Liberals can't handle the truth about Sarah Palin, so they lie.

"Progressives" are telling a whopper about the Palins' MOA book signing
*
The political left cannot handle the truth about Sarah Palin so they consistently bear false witness against the first woman to be both governor of Alaska and the vice presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

For example, the leftist blogs are regurgitating a bogus Democrat talking point that the book signing at Minnesota's Mall of America was poorly attended. Sewer blog Wonkette and its fellow travelers in the leftosphere are prevaricating, as they are inclined to do every time they put up a post about Gov. Palin and her family, when they claim that "only 300 people showed up to attend the Sarah and Bristol Palin book signing of Bristol’s new memoir... The family abandoned the stage half an hour before the end of the time slot because there was nobody left."

That's the lie. However, the Associated Press, a media institution which has not exactly been friendly to Gov. Palin, reported:

"The mall estimates about 1,500 people turned out..."

1500 people showed up for the signing? But, but, but... that would mean that leftists are lying when they insist that only 300 turned out.

Let's check another source. According to local television station KSTP-TV:

"A crowd at Mall of America waited hours to see ex-Alaska governor Sarah Palin, her husband Todd, their daughter Bristol and her son Tripp."

The crowd "waited hours" to see Gov. Palin and her family? How can that be, when the "progressive" prevaricators claim that few showed up and nobody stayed? Who are you going to believe, liberals or your lying eyes and ears?

Here's a third source. From the account by local CBS affiliate WCCO-TV:

"People lined up throughout the day at the Mall of America in Bloomington as Bristol Palin made an appearance for her new memoir..."

Throughout the day? My, my. There you have no less than three independent sources that expose the liberal lie for what it is.

The source for the bottom-feeding bloggers' bullsh*t offensive seems to be a disingenuous account posted by Jessica Lussenhop at the untrustworthy site City Pages. According to her Linked In profile, Lussenhop attended the "Academy for Alternative Journalism" and the leftist Journolister factory otherwise know as the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Oh, and she also did some time at Ms. Magazine. No agenda-driven distortion by Ms. Lussenhop, no ma'am.

So why the lie? Even if a lefty journo hates Sarah Palin with a purple passion, why intentionally write a dishonest account of something as relatively pedestrian as a book signing and then put your name behind it? There's just one logical conclusion. It's not just hate at work here, but fear as well. The left is so afraid of Sarah Palin as a potential threat to the faux socialist utopia they are clumsily constructing that they will do literally anything, even lie their sorry butts off, to maintain the narrative that she does not enjoy the popular support that we see displayed for her everywhere she goes.

It's not that the left cannot recognize the truth about Sarah Palin. They just can't handle it. So they tell lies about her. If they weren't so evil they'd be pathetic.

- JP

Jedediah Bila: Impressions from the Iowa premiere of ‘The Undefeated’

"The audience was decidedly engaged during the film..."
*
Outnumbered author Jedediah Bila shares her impressions from the Pella premiere of "The Undefeated" in her Daily Caller column today. Some excerpts:

First off, there’s something extraordinary about the communication between Todd and Sarah. There’s a palpable trust and commitment, a mutual support system that grounds them and propels them forward. They are a genuine team.

[...]

The audience was decidedly engaged during the film, particularly throughout the segments that focus on Palin’s policies in Alaska. Many lines were met with excitement and applause — especially those viewed by some as alluding to a possible presidential run — and Sarah received a standing ovation at the end.

[...]

Palin spent quite some time signing books for and speaking with supporters. It appears that she enjoys those opportunities the most — the ones where she gets to interact with everyday Americans who share her love of country.

I had the chance to speak with Palin throughout the evening. Although I had interviewed her via telephone once before and met her briefly at the aforementioned Long Island event, this was the first time I really got to chat with her face to face.

She is incredibly gracious. When you talk to her, she really listens to what you’re saying. Her patriotism shines through consistently. When you ask her a question, she’s not afraid to tell you what she thinks. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything. She possesses an inspiring optimism. She has a warm, approachable demeanor, but there’s something tough as nails that always comes through. And her humility is remarkable.

[More]

- JP

Steve Flesher sizes up Palin and Bachmann as presidential contenders

"It is Sarah Palin whose time has come."
*
In an American Thinker commentary, contributor Steve Flesher sums up the pluses and minuses of the Republican Party's two leading conservative women as presidential candidates. One key difference he finds is that while Bachmann has only recently been placed on the slide under the media's microscope, Sarah Palin has proven that not only can she handle the scrutiny, but she has corralled that same media onto a slide fixed under her microscope and invited the entire world to take a look. As a result, says Flesher, the 2008 vice presidential candidate has developed "a steel spine in dealing with it which matches her handling of dismayed establishment-politicians beholden to special interests." Both conservative women, he continues, are more than qualified to do battle with Barack Obama, make him a one-term president, and lead the nation to better and greater days.

However, after examining the objective evidence, Flesher concludes that the preponderance of it falls in Sarah Palin's favor. First, the author cites the historical fact that no President since James Garfield in 1880 has managed to move directly from a seat in the House of Representatives to the Oval Office. It's governors that American voters instinctively prefer because of their executive experience:

As a former governor, Palin vetoed $237M of wasteful spending under Alaska's billion-dollar annual budget. She proposed and often convinced the legislators on both sides of the aisle to reduce burdens on individuals and businesses by eliminating nuisance taxes and various bureaucratic road blocks to success like license fees and other unnecessary costs.

She achieved a record 88% approval rating by showcasing her independent streak of reaching across the aisle to Democrats in the legislative branch. Doing this made sure that fellow Republicans were, too, held accountable.

While one can appreciate Michele Bachmann's entrepreneurial experience as a job-creator, Palin's similar experience is now combined with that of an executive of a state. She knows how to utilize business experience for the greater good of job creators.

Further, as former head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC), Sarah Palin knows firsthand the complexities involved in dealing with often-stubborn oil giants. Her experience can be utilized to explore tapping into our own resources benefiting our economy, creating jobs, and making us less dependent on foreign sources.

[...]

Since waiting around for the media to treat a good conservative candidate fairly is not likely to happen anytime soon, we have no choice but to accept it and fight back as we did in 2010.

[More]

Flesher says such a mission promises to more easily accomplished with a candidate with years of dealing with a corrupt media in her logbook rather than with one who has not yet even managed to get acclimated to it. Whether the criteria is media wisdom, executive experience, or extensive knowledge and experience on issues like energy, Steve Flesher concludes that it is Sarah Palin whose time has come.

- JP

75 percent of Americans in sync with Sarah on domestic energy

'Drill, baby, drill' is a winning issue for Gov. Palin
*
From the Washington Examiner's David Freddoso, some potentially very good news for Sarah Palin:

For politicians seeking a winning issue, there is still a lot of ground to be gained from the "drill, baby drill" meme, a new Rasmussen Reports poll shows:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that just 19% believe the United States does enough to develop its own gas and oil resources. Seventy-five percent (75%) do not think the country is doing enough in this area.

h/t: Tammy Bruce

Though the left has mocked Sarah Palin for making Michael Steele's "Drill, baby, drill" mantra a well-known phrase, Freddoso observes that this is one issue they are no longer winning.

More importantly, this is one of the most compelling reasons why Sarah Palin should run for president in 2012. No announced or potential presidential candidate can match Gov. Palin's experience in energy matters nor her record or of accomplishment on domestic energy exploration and production. Certainly none share the intensity of her commitment to make America energy secure and independent.

She has tirelessly advocated for opening ANWR and the National Petroleum Reserve for drilling. As Alaska's governor, she negotiated an agreement to develop a natural gas pipeline from Alaska through Canada to the Lower 48. When ExxonMobil failed to live up to its lease agreement to develop the Point Thomson field, Gov. Palin warned them to get to work or risk losing the lease, and that decisive action led to the first drilling at that location in 30 years. She developed and implemented a new oil tax plan that provided incentives for investment in capital development for producers.

Also as governor, Sarah Palin served as the 2007-2008 chairman of IOGCC, the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, an organization of 30 member states and seven associate states which promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of the nation’s oil and natural gas resources, while at the same time protecting health, safety, and the environment. Prior to her election as governor, Palin chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state agency responsible for overseeing oil and gas drilling and production, reservoir depletion, and other operations on private and state-owned lands in the 49th state.

With 75 percent of Americans on her side on a matter as essential to America's economic health and security as this one, plus her unique qualifications and accomplishments on domestic energy, it's an issue which could fuel a considerable portion of a Sarah Palin drive to the White House.

Drill, baby drill, and run, Sarah, run!

- JP

Day By Day (July 1, 2011)

The Just
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Good morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day:


Please support Chris Muir's pro-Palin Day By Day.

- JP