Dr. Gina Loudon on the Fear Factor: Sarah Palin and 2012

"Fear is not a factor for the Palins"
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Dr. Gina Loudon argues that it is inevitable: the United States has a woman president in its near future. If conservatives choose NOT to nominate Sarah Palin, she points out, the liberals are certain to nominate a woman soon, and then they will "continue the whining about sexism that has worked for them for so long":

Liberals and establishment politicians of all parties seem to have a special venom for the former Governor of Alaska. If she is really so “unelectable” then why all the fuss? “Thou doth protest…”. If she is really so laughable, then why do the jokes about her keep falling flat? Could it be that they obsess about her for the psychological reason that they can’t stand the threat she poses to them? Could it be because they see her as the greatest threat in recent history to their personal goals, and the establishment media and messaging they have used to control politics in this country for a generation? Could it be that the nomination of Sarah Palin for President is a revolution?

Her nomination presents a real conundrum for liberals and establishment parties of all stripes. If the Republicans nominate Sarah Palin, how will the liberals continue to accuse the right of being sexist? Where will the feminists go to find their beloved glass ceiling victim status? If she has outspoken gay supporters who don’t disagree with her stance that this is a Judeo Christian republic with a founding document that matters more than someone’s sexual preference, then how will the militant gays continue to relegate Christians to radical, homophobic, hating extremists? If a family woman, a mom, can (based on her Christian principle) in fact love someone that the liberals say she hates, then what do liberals do with that? If the constitutional conservatives progress this nation to nominate the first female nominee for president, then how do liberals continue to abuse labels like “progressive” and “tolerant”?

Conservatives have their own issues. First, from a GOP perspective, consultants use their experience with the apparatus to be hired by candidates to run their campaigns. How will they do that if someone climbed to the top on a different tree? Some conservatives may struggle with her rebuke of legalistic philosophy in lieu of one that favors real liberty, and Christ-like love, even for those who live or believe differently than you. Perhaps most difficult for some conservatives to admit–When a woman like Sarah Palin is President, how to we reconcile our own sideline behavior without tremendous guilt? I wish I had a good answer to that last one.

The militant liberals don’t like her, but interestingly she has attracted a broad group of people who do like her. Their loyalty has resulted in an organization that is so talented and proficient, it is difficult to comprehend, even to a seasoned campaign veteran. Her supporters are constitution loving, focused and very, very serious about supporting her (or whomever she taps with her magic winning wand)! Not everyone at the Conservatives for Palin were certain she would run, or that she should, but almost all that I talked to agreed that if she did run, the Country would be shocked at her savvy and self deprecating ability to do so. They all agreed that she is far stronger, far more capable than any of her opponents even know. She is certainly well vetted, beyond that of any other candidate. Most people would agree that no other candidate has endured the ridicule and jabs that Sarah has overcome.

[More]

- JP

Day By Day (November 28, 2010)

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Good Morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day.



Support Pro-Palin Day By Day

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 27, 2010)

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A baffled Ed Pilkington, New York correspondent for the UK's leftist Guardian:

"'Sarah Palin has done everything wrong according to the traditional way of campaigning,' said Scott Rasmussen, a leading pollster and co-author of a book on the Tea Party. 'She gave up her position of power as governor of Alaska, she wrote a book for a lot of money, she has her daughter on Dancing with the Stars, she is on her own reality TV show, she's been incredibly partisan in her politics – this is everything that a presidential candidate is supposed not to do.' And yet in its own baffling way her anarchic strategy appears to be working."

- JP

Updated: Sarah Palin signs books at Borders in West Des Moines

Crowd five times size of that for Gingrich at same store last week
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Gov. Palin began signing books a few minutes early at the Borders bookstore in Des Moines this evening:

About 400 people were standing in the line that snaked through the west side store for the 2008 vice presidential nominee’s book-signing. Palin, who is weighing a 2012 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, was scheduled to sign copies of her new book, “America By Heart: Reflections on Family Faith and Flag” at 6 p.m.

At 5:36 p.m., Palin breezed in the back of the store through a service entrance and prompted brief cheers from those first in line for signatures. Palin, in a bright red jacket and black pants, gave a quick wave to the audience before being whisked behind a staff door.

At 5:42 p.m., she popped back out, ducked behind the black curtain and the line of waiting fans began moving. Palin’s daughters Willow and Piper were with the former Alaska governor.

[More]

Pundits are watching today’s stop because of its political significance, as Iowa's presidential nominating caucuses are on the calendar for February 6, 2012.

Updates...

The New York Times observed that the crowd she drew was was "at least five times the number of people who turned out" at the same bookstore the previous week for Newt Gingrich.

Gov. Palin deflected questions asked her by The Des Moines Register about "when she planned to decide whether she will run in 2012."

According to the Associated Press, she insisted that the book signing event "was not for political purposes."

Iowa blogger Shane Vander Hart, who attended the Des Moines event, believes that "if she should choose to run she could do very well in Iowa."

Palin TV has a photo gallery of pics from the Des Moines book signing.

- JP

Large crowd welcomes Gov. Palin at Nebraska bookstore (Updated)

The line grew to more than 1,000 by early afternoon
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Sarah Palin began her three-hour book signing appearance in Norfolk, Nebraska Saturday morning by thanking the many fans who were waiting in line for her at the Hastings bookstore. The Norfolk Daily News covered the event. Gov. Palin, who arrived in the northeast Nebraska city Friday night, signed books for three hours at the store Saturday:


The Daily News has a gallery of photos from the event here.

Norfolk is the state's tenth-largest city. Why didn't she stop in a larger metropolitan area such as Omaha instead? Robynn Tysver of the Omaha Wold Herald suggests that it may be because Madison County, in which Norfolk is located, "is one of the reddest counties in a very red state":

Whatever the reason, Palin is THE buzz in Norfolk.

Her scheduled Saturday stop, part of the former Alaska governor's 35-city book tour, has generated considerable interest in the northeast Nebraska town. Local Republicans' phones began ringing last week as word spread.

“It's not very often you live in Norfolk, Neb., and someone like Sarah Palin comes to a book signing. It's a first. Nothing like this has happened,” said Robert Dover, vice chairman of the Madison County Republicans and a Palin fan.

[...]

The county has one of the state's highest concentrations of Republicans — about 58 percent of its registered voters. Twenty-five percent of Madison County registered voters call themselves Democrats.

[...]

In Nebraska politics, Madison County is key to Republicans running statewide. It has a strong county party, with a muscular fundraising arm and the ability to recruit strong local candidates and volunteers, said Jordan McGrain, executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party.

“If you're a Republican and seeking statewide office, gauging your support and testing your message, Madison County is a good place to start,” McGrain said. “It is a bit of a testing ground.”

Several of the fans she met in the bookstore told the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate that they hoped she would make a run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012:

“Run in 2012,” urged Steve Hughes, 57, of Lincoln as Palin signed a book for him.

Palin's response was neither a “no” nor a “yes.”

“I appreciate your encouragement,” she told Hughes and several other people who urged her to run.

[...]

Her visit to this northeast Nebraska city had all the markings of a Black Friday frenzy.

Die-hard fans began assembling outside the Hastings Entertainment book and video store the night before, braving frigid temperatures to be near the front of the line.

By the time Palin arrived, nearly 500 people were standing outside, wrapped around the store and onto a neighboring sidewalk. The line grew to more than 1,000 by early afternoon.

[...]

Christine Boone is one Nebraskan who thinks Palin should run.

Boone, 44, of Plainview arrived at the Norfolk store about 9 p.m. Friday with two friends. They wanted to be first in line.

“I admire her core values. She doesn't let people rile her up,” Boone said.

“To those that say she can't win (the presidency), I think they're scared she will,” she added.

Gov. Palin met with Republican Mike Flood of Norfolk, speaker of the Nebraska Legislature and some local dignitaries before she began signing books. Flood said the meeting was a brief one because the former Alaska governor did not want her fans to have to wait in the cold. The next stop on her tour is a signing event in Des Moines, where speculation is high that she might enter the Iowa caucuses in 2012.

Update: Sioux City television station KCAU reports that Gov. Palin's visit "spiked" the Norfolk, Nebraska economy.

- JP

GOP strategists: Sarah Palin should wage campaign for Iowa's caucuses

She would bring unusual star power to a potential caucus bid
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According to strategists for six GOP presidential campaigns, it would be a shrewd move for Sarah Palin to fully compete in Iowa's first-in-the-nation nominating caucuses if she runs for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, writes Thomas Beaumont in the Des Moines Register:

The state's Republican base fits her conservative profile, they say, and the base is ripe for the energy she attracts. The base already is motivated by Terry Branstad's election as governor and the defeat of three Iowa Supreme Court justices this month.

Palin has a ready-made following in Iowa, as shown by the crowds she drew campaigning as the 2008 vice presidential nominee and headlining a state GOP fundraiser this fall. Hundreds are expected today for her 6 p.m. book-signing at Borders Books in West Des Moines.

Palin has said in recent interviews that she is weighing a 2012 campaign. If she runs, she would be expected early next year to begin the painstaking work of assembling an Iowa organization.

To do that, she would need to commit to the demands of an Iowa campaign, including regular access to activists and the news media, said advisers to the six campaigns, which took varying approaches to Iowa. The schedule for her visit today includes no political events or meetings with party activists.

[...]

The Iowa caucuses are a series of precinct-level meetings of party activists. They developed as a testing ground for candidates by giving little-known hopefuls, from Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976 to Republican Mike Huckabee in 2008, a way to establish their footing. More recently, they also have become a lever to force celebrity candidates to organize at the grassroots.

[More]

In addition to today's stop in West Des Moines, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate is scheduled to return to Iowa Thursday to promote her new book at the Walmart in Spirit Lake. Other than her two Iowa book tour stops, Gov. Palin has no announced plans for other appearances or meetings with state party officials.

- JP

Palin fans brave cold to meet her at Tulsa book signing

"She fascinates people"
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Gov. Palin arrived at the Mardel Christian Bookstore in Tulsa Friday nearly 25 hours after the line began forming. About 500 hardy souls had braved the cold weather and camped out in the parking lot overnight. Inside the store, the line snaked around the aisles, according to a Tulsa World report:

Some wore Palin buttons and hats, while others stood on bookshelves trying to get a glimpse of her.

"She fascinates people," said Gilles Mingasson, a French photographer for the magazine Paris Match.

Mingasson and Match's U.S. bureau chief, Oliver O'Mahony, followed Palin from her book signing earlier this week in Arizona to Friday's appearance in Tulsa. They'll continue to follow her into Nebraska and Iowa and perhaps longer, Mingasson said.

At Friday's signing, Palin sat at a table in the rear of the store. She sounded cheerful as she chatted with supporters, often asking their names and how they were doing. Her daughter Piper handed out bookmarks.

[More]

Tulsa's Fox 23 also covered the event. Ian Silver's story and video package are here.

- JP

Day By Day (November 27, 2010)

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Good Morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day.



Support Pro-Palin Day By Day

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 26, 2010)

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Stacy McCain at The Other McCain:

"Let me suggest to Sarah Palin a campaign promise that will unite the GOP coalition: The first thing you do, after completing the oath of office on January 20, 2013, sign an executive order for Andrew Sullivan’s deportation."

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention, Part 161

Special"Chick Corea Korea" Edition
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Jim Vicevich at Radio Vice Online:

"I am not sure why the lefties have once again made the lovely Sarah Palin a big time target for personal hits... but so be it. Much is being made of Sarah’s gaffe on Becky’s show. It wasn’t much of a gaffe as you will see. But it has left them open to a very special holiday rerun of 'The One’s' most memorable moments... Of course the left is going after Sarah. Her name continues to show strong when it comes to Presidential polls. But if this woman is such an easy defeat for Obama, why would they not be encouraging her instead of whacking her? I may be missing something, but I think they think she can win."

Da Techguy:

"Sarah Palin put out a thanksgiving message yesterday that was simply classic... Not only has she addressed the issue but she made you [the media] look like fools by making it an issue... Bazinga!"

Curt at Flopping Aces:

"Since many of you spent the holidays with family, paying little attention to the media, you probably didn’t get the latest PDS from the MSM. This time Sarah Palin, during an interview with Beck, spoke about the Korean situation. She spoke about South Korea being an ally throughout the interview but slipped up once and said North Korea was our ally, which she corrected seconds later. The MSM couldn’t let that pass... Pointless, ridiculous, Palin bashing. Obama has been one of the most unqualified Presidents to ever sit in the Oval Office and our media ignores it. Sarah slips up during a unscripted interview, corrects the slip-up immediately, and is still raked over the coals. Naw…no media bias here."

MaroonedinMarin:

"Sarah Palin Slices Obama's Lapdog Media Like A F'n' Hammer... That's what's so great about Sarah... she throws it back in their faces with a smile on her face."

John Hinderaker at Power Line:

"Sarah Palin referred to 'our North Korean allies' on the Glenn Beck show, a slip of the tongue that was deemed newsworthy by CBS News, the Washington Post, and many other outlets. Did those same sources publish gleeful headlines when Barack Obama talked about campaigning in all 57 states? Of course not; Obama is so, you know, brilliant... Heh. Governor Palin, on Facebook, makes the same point I made above, but more humorously."

Chris at Political Lipskip:

"The left is truly pathetic. But Palin shot back at the main stream media on her Facebook page with a glorious post of all the left’s dear leader, Obama’s, gaffes. Hilarity ensues... She is a helluva lot smarter than the left is giving her credit for, and they are all looking amazingly STUPID."

Rob Port at SayAnythingBlog.com:

"Sarah Palin misspoke, recently, saying that America was standing with 'our North Korean allies.' Obviously she meant South Korean allies... but that hasn’t stopped the liberal media from mocking her ruthlessly... Palin fired back, pointed out a rather palpable double standard when it comes to word fumbles by Presidents... To be fair, Obama has gotten his fair share of mocking from the right for verbal gaffes, the '57 states' thing being perhaps the most infamous. But I think most of the critics weren’t operating under the assumption that Obama didn’t know how many states this country has. It was just a funny slip of the tongue, and everyone enjoys a good laugh. But that’s not the standard applied to Palin. The media has been trying to write her off as an ignorant bimbo since she first rose to national prominence, the triumphant hyperventilating over this North/South oopsie being just the latest example."

OldIronsides at Conscience of a Conservative:

"Gotta love a beautiful woman who has brains and a sense of humor."

Freedom Fighter at Joshuapundit:

"Sarah Palin made a small momentary gaffe on Glenn Beck's radio show during an interview, saying we needed to stand by our North Korean allies. She corrected it at once and it was obvious what she meant, but the Leftish press made a major political headline out of it. So Sarah Palin, being who she is, decided to take this opportunity to remind them of a few things about double standards... On a serious note, the ignorant RINOs who have been engaged in Palin bashing lately need to understand that they are playing a dangerous and self-destructive game. They need to be reminded that the Leftish media will not just go after Sarah Palin, but will cynically use them to bring down any Republican nominee no matter who it is...and that person will not receive anything remotely like fair treatment by the likes of the dinosaur media."

Pierre Legrand at Pierre Legrand's Pink Flamingo Bar:

"At least one Republican is willing to take on the corrosive nonsense that some identify as a 'free' press."

Jack Marshall at Ethics Alarms:

"Palin, who is nothing if not feisty, took to the New Media with a Facebook post pointing out that equally egregious flubs out of the mouth of President Obama had been ignored, and listed some of them, including the time Obama raised the number of states to 57, momentarily confusing them with ketchup. Good for her. No American politician in recent memory has been so outrageously victimized by media double standards and bias, and Palin was the perfect messenger to point the finger at this long-standing and despicable weapon in the journalist’s bias and favoritism arsenal... Whatever Palin’s flaws, being a patsy and a passive victim are not among them. No fair person can deny that she is in the right this time, and if there are any editors with integrity any more, and I have begun to doubt it, they may consider retiring the selective reporting trick. Finally, one of the targets won’t play by the old rules and it is about time. They might also consider apologizing."

theblogprof:

"If ABC wants to debate whether Sarah Palin is geographically illiterate because Glenn Beck corrected her small mistake, then they should also be debating whether Obama is a Muslim since their own George Stephanopolis had to correct him..."

Susan Duclos at Wake up America:

"If you click over to all the Youtube links Palin supplied, you wonder immediately why, if gaffes are so newsworthy to news outlets, the ones she quoted and provided videos of weren't given the same intense scrutiny instead of nothing or just mere mentions as those same media outlets moved along to other more newsworthy stories. Palin's response was brilliant, and for those that believed or simply tried to convince their readers that Palin truly thought North Korea was our ally, does that mean they also think gaffes by Obama meant he believed his own misstatements when he made them?"

Gun Shy Tourist at Around O-Town:

"Sarah Palin beats the biased liberal media like a rented mule... and God knows that they need it."

Dave at Thoughts Aloud:

"I first heard about this 'gaffe' on Shepard Smith’s 'Studio B' about two hours after it was made... I immediately went and listened to the interview with Beck twice and it was so obviously a slip of the tongue that nobody could honestly conclude otherwise. There is no excuse for anyone in the media (including Shepard Smith) not to have done the same thing before gleefully running a story on it. These partisan 'reporters' are incorrigible. They wonder why they are losing their readers/audience. The ability for someone like Palin to bypass their publications and publish gems like this on social media sites will make these dishonest spinmeisters increasingly irrelevant. The more I see of Palin, the more I like her. This clever lady has pluck in spades and those who underestimate her mind are fooling themselves. She doesn’t need a teleprompter to deliver an inspirational speech. Her ability to speak extemporaneously puts the Obamessiah to shame. I’d pay good money to watch a debate between them."

G. Morris at Elephants in the Blue Grass:

"Sarah Palin cleverly regroups... with a reminder that she still has quite a few more mistakes to go before she catches up with President Obama's bloopers, including the Harvard man's lines about the '57 States'. a '20 centuries' old U.S. Constitution and the 'Austrian' language."

Loren Heal at Socrates' Academy:

"Like Sarah Palin, I draw some amusement at presidential candidate Barack Obama's famous mis-state-ment, thinking he had been insufficiently immersed in American civics as a child raised in Indonesia or wherever. When forced to think in an unteleprompted environment, his unfamiliarity shone through, I thought. OK, on some level I still think that... Obama wasn't being stupid, but phony... Obama simply misspoke. He meant to say he'd been in 47 states, with one left to go to visit all lower 48. Yet he was too arrogant to think the crowd was laughing at him. So he pretended to be in on the joke. As usual when a person does that, they wind up looking like a worse fool than if they'd just asked what the joke was in the first place."

Clifton B at Another Black Conservative:

"It is refreshing to see at least one conservative political figure willing to consistently stand and call out media bias. Perhaps if more conservative candidates put their foot down we would not have to suffer though crap like the CNN/YouTube debates from 2008."

Debra Moore at Exposing Liberal Lies:

"Now, that we have the full context of the conversation, it obviously was just a slip of the tongue. She clearly is aware of which nation is a threat, just as Obama is certainly aware that there are 50 U.S. states, even though he mentioned visiting 57 states while campaigning for the presidential election. Of course, the corrupt American Pravda neglected to share his gaffe with the public because they have a liberal agenda to fulfill. Unlike George W. Bush, who refused to stick up for himself against an avalanche of media attacks, Sarah Palin does an awesome job of firing back and reminding us all of the lengthy list of Obama's gaffes, many of which I've never heard before, and I make it a point of staying well-informed, which means that the average American has likely never heard any of these comments."

Scared Monkeys:

"Isn’t it just simply amazing that ABC News jumps on this Sarah Palin gaffe, when they completely ignore every and any Obama shortcoming."

- JP

Tulsa retailer hopes Gov. Palin brings Black Friday crowd

In Tulsa, Mardel Christian & Education is hoping a lot shoppers will bypass the malls today and visit their store at 9725 E. 71st Street instead to meet Sarah Palin. And while they are in the store, Mardel wouldn't mind a bit if they would purchase two copies of Gov. Palin's America By Heart to get personally autographed by the former Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate:

"We've already got people asking to camp out," Kelly Black, Mardel's marketing director, told USA TODAY.

This is the first time that Mardel, a 34-store retail chain that sells Bibles, educational materials and gifts in six states, will be holding a book-signing event with Palin. Black says Mardel wanted to get into the act because Palin's memoir, Going Rogue, did well last year. Besides, Mardel says, each Mardel store is big (average size is 28,000 square feet) and has plenty of free parking.

She is scheduled to sign copies of her second book from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. today, also known as Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year.

- JP

Rove: Palin Iowa book tour 'a smart thing to do'

"If she's thinking about running, she's doing the smart thing" in Iowa
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Karl Rove, the political strategist who was known as "Bush's Brain" may not consider Gov. Palin's TLC television series to be "presidential," but he opined on Fox News that "she's actually making a pretty smart move" with her selection of book tour stops in the early presidential primary state of Iowa:


- JP

AfterMath: Happy Thanksgiving!

Who needs turkey?
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Talented cartoonist Rich Terrell imagines our Sarah serving up a roasted Democrat icon for Thanksgiving:


Published with the kind permission of Rich and Lucy. View more of Rich's work here.

h/t: American Thinker Blog

- JP

Simmons: Holding Sarah Palin to Her Promise

Sarah Palin, we need you to serve -- and for that, we need you to run
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Robert Eugene Simmons Jr. has an outstanding opinion piece at American Thinker making the case for holding Gov. Palin to her promise to run for president in 2012 if no one else is willing to do the job and deal with the problems facing this republic:

Sarah Palin is one of few politicians who have fearlessly taken on the establishment, both Democrat and Republican, with a consistent message about the enforcement of the constitution and the returning of government to the people.

However, the need to curtail the aristocracy isn't the only issue that drives the need for President Palin. There are other lesser-known politicians who have taken on the establishment, such as Chris Christie. However, only Palin has shown the charisma and powerful speaking skills that can pack an auditorium to a sold-out crowd ten minutes after announcement. Unlike Obama, Palin is an old-style speaker, referring to her notes and adding in her own personal touches. She doesn't usually need a teleprompter because she believes what she says. Most politicians, on the other hand, say what they feel is popular at the time; their speeches are carefully prepared by experts and preened to play to the latest polling data. Palin is a rare person in politics who speaks from the heart.

Mrs. Palin also has a unique trait that comes with few politicians of our time. That is the ability to see that the law is done regardless of her personal beliefs. Personally, I am an agnostic and libertarian, and when I see that she vetoed a law that denied benefits to same-sex couples in Alaska -- not because of her religious beliefs, but because it was unconstitutional according to the Alaskan constitution -- I stand up and cheer. A governor putting her beliefs first would approve the law and take their chances with the court, but Palin chose the novel path of obeying her oath of office. A president is a servant of the people charged with enforcing the constitution and protecting the people from all enemies of the USA. It is not for the president or a governor to "interpret" or otherwise circumvent the law. When asked about the veto, Palin responded that if people wish to change the constitution, then there is a process for that.

[...]

Another trait that sets Mrs. Palin aside from the rest of the pack is her devotion to America. Mrs. Palin speaks with pride and joy about the unique place that is the United States of America. I can't see her cutting down our troops, declaring our culpability for the world's woes, or berating the people of America for being stupid, or throwing a tantrum, as others in the media and politics have done. Palin would be a strong figure in international politics and a tough president to those who would do America harm. Palin is utterly fearless, willing to take on her own party, the other party, the Federal Reserve, and anyone else who needs to be taken on to forward the interest of America.

Finally, Mrs. Palin is an intelligent and savvy person. The liberal media and establishment Republicans have spent two years trying to alternately paint her as stupid or Machiavellian. They can't seem to make up their mind whether she is smart and evil or dumb and incredibly lucky. Neither strategy has worked.

[More]

Simmons says he can't think of a reason why Gov. Palin would want to leave the good life in Alaska, especially now that she has so much going for her, but there is one critical reason to ask her to do it: "We need her." Not only would a President Palin inspire young women by being the first of her gender to serve as president, says Simmons, "she would be a great president." She's not Reagan, he adds, "but she could be just as great as Reagan."

- JP

Jazz Shaw: The Palin Fish Massacre of Aught Ten

Please, people. It’s a fish. We eat them. Get over it.
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The hysterical leftists of the animal lobby are calling the second episode of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" -- or at least the halibut fishing segment of it -- a "snuff video":

Sarah Palin is under fire for clubbing a fish to death on her new reality TV show.

The Tea Party darling and her daughter Bristol, 20, were shown on a halibut fishing trip filmed for her new programme, Sarah Palin’s Alaska.

After catching a fish, Sarah is seen beating it with a club and Bristol later holds its still-beating heart in her hand, a sight Sarah called ‘weird’.

Pundit Jazz Shaw makes it clear that he's no Palinista -- nor anything close to it -- and admits to having worked in animal welfare groups for most of his adult life, although he doesn't suffer "animal rights" fools lightly:

I have zero use for PETA, ELF and the rest of their ilk, apparently including In Defense of Animals, (IDA) the group raising a stink over this non-story.

But after reading this ridiculous attack on Gov. Palin, he was compelled to rise to her defense:

The language used in this report, rather than being alarming, actually set me to laughing. “Clubbed a fish to death?” And particularly, “holds its still-beating heart in her hands?” Is this a fishing trip or a mockumentary on Mayan Sun God sacrifice rituals.

Please, people. It’s a fish. Humans used their brains and technology to achieve apex predator status on this planet and the fish, well… they came in a bit further down on the food pyramid. We eat them. Get over it.

I’ve been a fisherman since childhood and have made a fair number of trips out to sea for the bigger species. One of the last times we went out we didn’t use a club on the large fish. We used a gaffing hook to drag them into the boat and gutted them while they were still moving. The fact is, you don’t want to eat a fish that died of “natural causes.” And with apologies to the IDA, the fish in question is destined for the dinner table, so lethal injection simply isn’t an option.

We often wonder where the clueless left -- or at least the majority of them who don't subsist by exclusively grazing on plants -- think their food comes from and what happens to it before it is conveniently packaged in Saran Wrap at the grocery store. Ah, but that's their problem; they don't think.

Consider this: the left, by "virtue" of its near-pathological hatred of all things Palin, is actually pushing people -- especially independents -- in her direction. When even people like Jon Stewart (and now Jazz Shaw), who were not that kindly disposed toward Gov. Palin in the first place, feel that they must defend her, does that mean that the leftists are unwitting agents in the discrediting of their own political philosophy? You betcha!

- JP

Lance Fairchok on The Pain Factor: Even Republican Elites Don't Get It

The Labashing of Sarah Palin
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Like us, Lance Fairchok was shocked to see a Sarah Palin hit piece at the previously Palin-friendly Weekly Standard:

I happened upon an article in the Weekly Standard by Matt Labash with a title poking fun at Palin's Twitter abbreviations: "R U Lovin' Sarah's Alaska?" Labash throws quite a number of petty hits at Palin, ridiculing her folksy language, her rural underpinnings, and her lack of "gravitas" in the context of her hit TV show. Conservative elites have heretofore been more circumspect with their criticism, preferring the knife in the back in a dark alley to open confrontation. Apparently, that is changing as 2012 approaches.

While Labash mouths the standard criticisms of the "lame-stream media" in homage to his magazine's conservative bona fides, he is clearly not a Palin fan. Labash channels Dick Armey and Karl Rove throughout the article. It will rub more than a few conservatives the wrong way to see such inane criticism of a conservative icon on the Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, and not at the Palin-hating New York Times. Palin often criticizes the Republican "old boy network" that brought us John McCain, and for good reason. One wonders what elderly political pulse Labash has his journalistic finger on -- the same one, perhaps, that thinks the government health care-supporting Mitt Romney will make a far better president in 2012 and is positioning against Palin now.

The Labash Palin-bash includes some nasty lines that should have the elites tittering into their expensive cocktails. He refers to "Sarah's Alaska": "And that's what Sarah Palin's Alaska is really about: self-love," meaning, one assumes, self-aggrandizement and tastelessness. This next gem should cost the Weekly Standard some subscriptions: "On the show, this involves seein', and doin', and experiencin' things that don't require a 'g' on the end of them, such as shootin', and rock climbin', and snow machinin', and clubbin' halibut over the head ('let me see the club, you look crazy,' says Bristol to her mom when they do the deed on a commercial fishing boat) and media-critiquin' and BlackBerryin', which Palin gets caught doing even in the midst of wilderness adventures." And "While many suspect Palin wants to be president of the United States, she writes as though she just wants to be president of Brent Bozell's Media Research Center," which I, for one, think is a good thing after the despicable treatment she has received and continues to receive from the press. (Does Labash also hold the Media Research Center in disdain?)

[...]

As people watch the train-wreck that is the Obama administration unfold, they are beginning to realize just how much the press, the politicians and their government has lied to them. There is a dawning realization that being a mayor of a good-sized town gives a person some very useful skills. Taxes, utilities, law enforcement, education, and myriad other things fill a mayor's day. Palin did it for ten years and did it well. It is true community organizing. It is a leadership proving ground with measurable human consequences -- America and America's problems in a microcosm. Palin cut her teeth there and made it to the governor's office, where, brief though her tenure was, she excelled. Her entry into national politics was perhaps premature, but the crucible of the 2008 election cut away much of her naïveté.

Here in flyover country, we see an honest woman with our values and our best interests at heart. She is not a liar, nor is she a fool, and she is as angry as we are. The "we love her but don't want her to be president" push poll is meaningless two years out from 2012. It is a tool to mute enthusiasm for her. The electorate is tired of "old boys" and their endless manipulations. The Tea Party and Sarah Palin are not sitting back, content to savor the latest victories. The spin-masters and talking heads who lament Palin's lack of "gravitas" forget that Obama has "gravitas" aplenty. Obama's attitude is a façade and an affectation, while Palin, love her or hate her, is the real deal. Unlike Obama, you can read the details in her résumé. That counts for something now.

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Some on the liberal left and the libertarian left have opined that Labash's bash of Gov. Palin signals that the neoconservative right has turned against her because The Weekly Standard's founder and editor Bill Kristol is a neocon. Labash, however, doesn't march to the neocon cadence. But neither does Sarah Palin, as she has an identifiable small-government and fiscally responsible libertarian streak, though the libertarian left ("social libertarians") can't stand her.

In a 2003 interview, Labash revealed that a writer need not be a neocon to survive at TWS:

"I suppose I should come up with some sort of game plan, but the Standard is a very comfortable place to work. Even if your sensibilities don't exactly match the editors, they pretty much let you go your own way."

So why is Labash Palin-bashing? We may have found a clue in the same interview. Consider Labash's reply when asked if he had ever entertained the thought of a career as a television pundit:

"No, I hate television. I love to watch it. That's my place -- in front of the TV. I have friends who go on TV a lot and say, 'You ought to be on TV.' I don't do it partly because of performance anxiety. I'm pretty sure I'm going to screw it up. Second, it just makes me feel like a fraud. Popping off about issues of the day that I'm considered an expert on simply because I read the paper that morning doesn't feel right to me, which is surprising because I pop off a lot in real life. You take me out to lunch and put a few beers in me and I'll pop off all you want."

So Labash hates television and knows that he doesn't have it in him to be good at doing television. Could some of his disdain for "Sarah Palin's Alaska" be rooted in base jealousy? We'll leave that one for the psychology majors to kick around. No, we think someone took Labash out to lunch and got a few beers in him. Then he went back to the office and "popped off" a hit piece on Sarah Palin. Matt, you really shouldn't try to write when you're high.

- JP

Day By Day (November 26, 2010)

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Good Morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day.



Support Pro-Palin Day By Day

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 25, 2010)

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John McCormack at The Weekly Standard Blog:

"Palin shouldn't be sheltered from tough yet fair criticism. But her critics don't help themselves when their attacks are based on falsehoods or don't tell the full story."

- JP

Sarah Palin: A Thanksgiving Message to All 57 States

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Gov. Palin, the only potential candidate for president to have the intestinal fortitude to call out the corrupt lamestream media, did just that this evening on Facebook:

A Thanksgiving Message to All 57 States

My fellow Americans in all 57 states, the time has changed for come. With our country founded more than 20 centuries ago, we have much to celebrate – from the FBI’s 100 days to the reforms that bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system. We know that countries like Europe are willing to stand with us in our fight to halt the rise of privacy, and Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s. And let’s face it, everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma and they end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a breathalyzer, or an inhalator. I mean, not a breathalyzer, ah, I don’t know what the term is in Austrian for that…

Of course, the paragraph above is based on a series of misstatements and verbal gaffes made by Barack Obama (I didn’t have enough time to do one for Joe Biden). YouTube links are provided just in case you doubt the accuracy of these all too human slips-of-the-tongue. If you can’t remember hearing about them, that’s because for the most part the media didn’t consider them newsworthy. I have no complaint about that. Everybody makes the occasional verbal gaffe – even news anchors.

Obviously, I would have been even more impressed if the media showed some consistency on this issue. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn’t resist the temptation to turn a simple one word slip-of-the-tongue of mine into a major political headline. The one word slip occurred yesterday during one of my seven back-to-back interviews wherein I was privileged to speak to the American public about the important, world-changing issues before us.

If the media had bothered to actually listen to all of my remarks on Glenn Beck’s radio show, they would have noticed that I refer to South Korea as our ally throughout, that I corrected myself seconds after my slip-of-the-tongue, and that I made it abundantly clear that pressure should be put on China to restrict energy exports to the North Korean regime. The media could even have done due diligence and checked my previous statements on the subject, which have always been consistent, and in fact even ahead of the curve. But why let the facts get in the way of a good story? (And for that matter, why not just make up stories out of thin air – like the totally false hard news story which has run for three days now reporting that I lobbied the producers of “Dancing with the Stars” to cast a former Senate candidate on their show. That lie is further clear proof that the media completely makes things up without doing even rudimentary fact-checking.)

“Hope springs eternal” as the poet says. Let’s hope that perhaps, just maybe, they might get it right next time. When we the people are effective in holding America’s free press accountable for responsible and truthful reporting, then we shall all have even more to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

- Sarah Palin

- JP

What a coincidence! Morning shows hype Bar Bush's Palin blast

You DO believe in coincidence, don't you?
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In the same Monday morning time slot, all three major alphabet networks seized upon Barbara Bush's recent diss of Gov. Palin to push the "divisive" and "overexposed" memes. The former is an oldie but baddie, while the latter is the newest shared anti-Palin media narrative:

On Monday, all three network morning show's eagerly highlighted former First Lady Barbara Bush voicing opposition to a Sarah Palin presidential run while suggesting the former Alaska governor has spent too much time in the public eye. As Harry Smith proclaimed at the top of CBS's Early Show: "It's all Palin all the time. But could the most famous family from Alaska be on the verge of overexposure?"

Later on the Early Show, senior White House correspondent Bill Plante noted: "But there are critics. In an interview with Larry King, former First Lady Barbara Bush weighed in on the possibility of a President Palin." A clip was played of Bush: "I think she's very happy in Alaska and I hope she'll stay there." On NBC's Today, correspondent Norah O'Donnell declared: "Nothing like some controversy to help sell a book, right? Just as Palin gears up for her national book tour and a possible presidential run, Barbara Bush says she likes Palin, but hopes she stays home." Finally, on ABC's Good Morning America, correspondent John Berman announced: "Sarah Palin seems to be everywhere. But, not everyone approves. Why Barbara Bush and other Republicans are saying enough."

While the Early Show only mentioned Bush's criticism, both Today and Good Morning America sought to tout widespread GOP opposition to Palin. On NBC, O'Donnell exclaimed: "Even the conservative magazine, The Weekly Standard, is going negative on Palin. The article says Palin's show 'has secured her a spot in the reality TV Star pantheon. And good for Palin, though there's no compelling reason to suggest the rest of us should tag along behind.'" On ABC, Berman remarked: "Listen to conservative George Will on This Week with Palin's visit to Dancing with the Stars." A clip was played of Will: "It's stirring family values but it's not good training to be president."

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Gee, what a coincidence. And if you really believe this was a coincidence, we would like to sell you a brand new Pontiac which just rolled off the assembly line yesterday.

- JP