John Hayward: The Palin Uncertainty

Palin's is often the first voice raised in response to attacks against conservatives.
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At Human Events, John Hayward opines on the Palin slam that Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter tag-teamed up to perform Tuesday night on Fox News:

Judging the fortunes of political candidates from polls is a tricky business, especially those who have not formally declared yet. Is it a sign of strength or weakness that non-candidate Sarah Palin shows up in third place behind Rick Perry​ and Mitt Romney? Whatever that says about Palin, it’s probably a more significant data point for the declared candidates chugging in behind her. Personally, I would not find the notion that I could enter the Presidential race in third place to be depressing.

At any rate, people do change their minds.

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In the wake of the conversation between Coulter and Ingraham, many bloggers echoed Coulter by expressing their exasperation with fans who can’t tolerate any criticism of Palin. I suspect Palin herself would strongly maintain that the issues at hand are far larger than any single person, and would not be happy with those who say they will only participate in the 2012 elections if they can vote for her. She also wouldn’t want the issues she cares about to be evaluated solely through personal admiration or disdain for her. Of all the many things Palin has been, or aspired to be, I’ve never heard her express a desire to become an ingredient in an ideological litmus test. She puts too much effort into writing and speaking eloquently, about matters of great substance, to be treated that way.

Why are so many Palin fans dedicated to her, and why do they perceive so much of the criticism leveled at her from sources on the Right as unfair? Because she’s always out in front. She took a mountain of abuse in 2008, and then cheerfully began climbing the even bigger mountain behind it. Hers is often the first voice raised in response to attacks against conservatives, the Tea Party, and middle-class Americans… especially against the really vicious attacks. And when Palin herself is the target, as in the wake of the Tucson atrocity, too many conservative and Republican “leaders” are much too slow to speak up for her.

Look at her response to James Hoffa’s vile remarks on Labor Day, and Barack Obama​’s agreeable silence afterward. She didn’t just run to a camera and express her outrage. She wrote a very detailed, thoughtful response, as constructive as it was fiery, and posted it in the wee hours of the morning. Did you see anything like that from the declared GOP presidential candidates? Why not?

Maybe Palin won’t run, and never seriously planned to. Maybe she will, but she’s taking a long time to make her announcement. She always said she wanted to see if there’s another candidate she could support. Tonight will be the first big debate appearance of Rick Perry, the last big name to join the race. He had a pretty spectacular campaign launch. Is it so unreasonable for Palin to wait a bit longer and see how he fares, once his campaign reaches orbit? If she’s a non-factor, why are so many people – pro and con – being so unreasonable about her?

[More]

Tammy Bruce also discussed this on her show today.

- JP

Ann Coulter: Mud Libel

"Shouldn't we at least bring Bill Maher in for questioning?"
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Ann Coulter finds it remarkable that the very same Democrats and their media minions who had accused Gov. Palin for the extremely unhinged Jared Loughner's handiwork in Tuscon, went on to slam her for her "silence" and then became even more enraged when -- after a respectful period of mourning, prayer and waiting for the facts to be revealed -- she actually did speak out:

Last Tuesday, the night before Palin responded, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann mocked Palin's silence throughout his show:

-- "And why is the ever self-promoting Miss Palin so quiet?"

-- "And it's quiet, isn't it?"

-- "It's too quiet."

-- "The silence is deafening from the great Northwest."

It was deemed an admission of guilt that she hadn't spoken about the Tucson shooting or denied the accusations that she had inspired the shooter.

The next day, Palin posted a video response, and Keith immediately attacked her for "the worst timed political statement ever." It's almost as if liberals would attack Palin whatever she did.

Olbermann sneered about Palin's use of the phrase "blood libel," scoffing, "This, to Sarah Palin, is analogous to what is happening to her." No, not only happening to her, but to all right-wingers, tea partiers, Republican politicians, and conservative radio and TV hosts -- all of whom have been accused of complicity in murder.

On the day of the Arizona massacre, Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva blamed the "Palin express." The father of Gabrielle Giffords, one of the victims, blamed "the whole Tea Party." The sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, who had failed to lock Loughner up despite repeated arrests and other contacts, blamed "the vitriolic rhetoric that we hear day in and day out from people in the radio business and some people in the TV business." (Dumbnik also said: "We're not convinced that he acted alone.")

A comment on Gawker the day of the attack said: "Palin ... you now have more than just elk blood on your hands."

The next day, New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly wrote, with stunning originality: "Palin may have the blood of more than some poor caribou on her hands." (See -- he changed "elk" to "caribou.")

In an especially prissy "Special Comment" the night of the shooting, Olbermann said that if Sarah Palin "does not repudiate her own part in amplifying violence and violent imagery in politics, she must be dismissed from politics." Ditto for Rep. Allen West, ex-candidate Sharron Angle, Rep. Giffords' opponent Jesse Kelly and "the Tea Party leaders."

[More]

- JP

Crazy Ann Coulter wants Sarah Palin to endorse pro-abortion Rob Simmons

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From Ann Coulter's latest Human Events column:

Connecticut will not vote for a professional wrestling "impresario" for the U.S. Senate. So unless Republicans have secret information that [Richard] Blumenthal does enjoy dressing up in diapers, Republicans are forfeiting a Senate seat for no reason.

By contrast, Rob Simmons, who recently suspended his primary campaign against [Linda] McMahon for lack of money, is a Haverford College graduate, a former Yale professor and an Army colonel. Unlike fantasist Blumenthal, Simmons really did serve in Vietnam, coming home with two Bronze Stars.

And Simmons, who remains on the Aug. 9 primary ballot, can win even in moderate-Republican Connecticut. He's good on taxes, he's good on defense -- and he's the best Connecticut is ever going to get.

Simmons was elected to Congress three times from a very liberal Connecticut district, beating an incumbent Democrat in his first run. As a result, he had the distinction of representing the largest number of Democrats of any Republican in the House of Representatives. Even in the dark Republican year of 2006, Simmons lost to his Democratic challenger by only 83 votes.

Instead of sitting around, idly predicting massive Republican landslides this fall, how about Republicans work on running candidates who might actually win?

If only we had some popular former governor, preferably a moose-hunter, whose endorsements are gold ... Then we'd show 'em.

Read the complete Coulter column here.

h/t: Andrew Malcolm

With all due respect, Ann, have you lost your mind? Here are ten reasons why Gov. Palin might NOT want to endorse Rob Simmons:

• Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
• Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
• Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
• Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
• Voted NO on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
• Voted NO on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
• Voted NO on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
• Voted NO on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)
• Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record. (Dec 2003)
• Voted NO on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)

Even libertarian Peter Schiff opposed late-term (third trimester) abortion, and he doesn't think the federal government should be using taxpayer money to perform or subsidize abortions. While that's still not a pro-life stance, it's not as bad as Rob Simmons' position on the issue. To our knowledge, Ann, Gov. Palin has not endorsed a pro-abortion candidate. We doubt that she will start now. This Connecticut race is one that we would be genuinely surprised to see the governor get herself involved in. There's just no good reason for her to do so.

- JP

Sarah Palin inspired growth in roles of conservative women in movement

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The Conservative Political Action Conference last week has shown that women's roles in the conservative movement have only grown, and the first woman to be the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party has inspired some of that growth, says FOX News' Kelley Vlahos:

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter delivered a rousing speech Saturday, and Sarah Palin, though not in attendance, has been a constant reference point at this week's annual conference in Washington, D.C.

One panel discussion, "Going Rogue: Women Changing the Face of Conservatism," took its name from Palin's recent book about her experience on the campaign trail as the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. Panel participants said conservative women still promote "family values," are pro-life and clearly still disdain the feminist movement that told girls they have to work and put off raising a family.

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Women acknowledge that while a united front might not always be possible, they can all enjoy the fact that they have made great strides as women. For all the criticism and controversy swirling around Palin, she has helped fire up conservative women, said Zoelle Mallenbaum, a student at Wellesley University.

Conservative women are "still discredited" by liberals on campus, Mallenbaum said, adding that Palin sends an inspiring message -- that conservative women are "out there and unafraid."

Coulter quipped that Gov. Palin has actually created more jobs than President Obama:

"She's created at least 11 jobs fact-checking at the AP just for the Palin autobiography," she said.

- JP

Conservative Women Rising: New Political Power

Conservative women, especially religious ones, have arrived. At National Catholic Reporter, Michael Sean Winters commented on their ascendancy in the Republican Party:

In all the commentary about the now former governor of Alaska, some of it comic, much of it trivial, a basic fact has been overlooked: Sarah Palin has come to represent a vital and vibrant constituency in the Republican Party -- religious women -- and they aren’t going [away] anytime soon.

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In 2008, the last Republican challenger to John McCain in his quest for the nomination was pastor-turned-politician Mike Huckabee. Huckabee’s campaign had little money and was organized through the homeschooling movement, a social network that turned out to be a workable substitute for the millions of dollars raised by Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. That network consists almost entirely of women. In Huckabee they saw one of their champions, but in Sarah Palin they see one of their own.

[...]

No one knows what Palin’s intentions for 2012 are, perhaps not even the former governor herself. But if she chooses to run, I would not bet against her. The women who built the modern religious right are quite capable of building a nationwide campaign. The first social networking group to exert political influence is still networking and they don’t only exchange bread recipes anymore.

Scott Michaels at Entitlement Synrome celebrated seven strong, smart and fearless conservative women, including Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Marsha Blackburn, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham and Star Parker:

What all of these women have in common is a firm conviction that the essential tenets of Conservatism in the 21st century — as opposed to the mushy-headed kinds pushed by Kathleen Parker and others of her ilk — is what will best serve the nation in the years ahead. And all have been fearless in speaking out against the neo-socialism being pushed by Barack Obama and his supernumeraries in the Congress.

Actually, maybe Republicans need to put these women in charge for awhile, what do you think?

We think that's an outstanding idea, Scott. We don't know if the others are active sportswomen like the former governor of Alaska, but Sarah Palin may be able to use her hunting skills to help Republican men track down their long lost spines.

- JP

Ann Coulter Pwns Kathleen Parker

Ann Coulter has turned her attention to Kathleen Parker, as lopsided a match as you're likely to see. Ina battle of wits between the two, Parker is bringing a butter knife to a gunfight.

Excerpts:

The latest fake insider/whistleblower is Kathleen Parker, the Barry Lynn of the South. Fresh off her mainstream media tour as a Sarah Palin-hating "conservative," Parker is now a self-proclaimed Southerner blaming opposition to Obama's policies on the region's reputed racism.

Uncannily, this claim struck a chord with Northern liberals!

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Kathleen Parker has leapt into the fray to explain that the opposition to Obama's agenda is pure Southern racism. And she's from the South, so it must be true!

[...]

How one gets from "we don't want socialized medicine" to "we hate black people" was a tough equation. As my algebra teacher used to say: "Please show your work."

Parker's explanation: "Sarah Palin may not have realized what she was doing, but Southerners weaned on Harper Lee heard the dog whistle." And on "Hardball," she said: "You don't position a white woman and a black male and pretend like there's nothing happening there. There's a deep history. That's why I mentioned Harper Lee in there."

[...]

Called upon to draw a straight line between Sarah Palin and racism, I guess this is as good a try as any.

That's not only going to leave a mark, but as the doctor says, Parker "may feel some discomfort."

- JP

Quote of the Day (July 8, 2009)

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Ann Coulter:

"On one hand, liberals are enraged at the heinousness of Mark Sanford -- whom they didn't vote for -- for not resigning and, on the other, they're enraged at Palin -- whom they also didn't vote for -- for resigning."

- JP

Quote of the Day (July 5, 2009)

*Ann Coulter, commenting on Gov. Palin's coming resignation, comes up with a triple redundancy:

"She’ll be much bigger now and can play on the national stage without constantly setting off state ethics investigations by loons, parasites and liberals."

- JP

Quote of the Day (April 30, 2009)

Ann Coulter, describing Gov. Sarah Palin for "The TIME 100: The World's Most Influential People":

"The biggest red flag proving her popularity with normal Americans is that liberals won't shut up about her... There's a reason there's no 'Stop Olympia Snowe before it's too late!' movement."

- JP