BBC Newsnight reports on Gov. Palin and her parents

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Links to some stories and videos from BBC Two's report from Alaska:

Chuck and Sally Heath

Will Sarah Palin run for president?

Should Sarah Palin run for president?

In the third video, regarding Dave Stieren, whom BBC bills as a "conservative" talk show host and Palin critic, his comment that "Not even Reagan thought that he was Reagan" demonstrates that this guy isn't playing with all 52 cards. Also in that video, Ivan Moore once again shows his anti-Palin bias by parroting the DNC's tired, old "intellectual curiosity" meme.

- JP

Sarah Palin: Money will be a consideration whether to run

"And... will the American electorate be ready for someone a bit unconventional?"
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Excerpts from the transcript of BBC Two's interview with Gov. Palin conducted by Jackie Long:

JL: Are you going to run?

SP: Well there again, you enter a race to win the race. There is still a lot of consideration that have to be made. We haven't made up our mind or desired to make an announcement yet as to what it is we will be doing.

JL: What are the considerations at the moment? What are the things that you are weighing up?

SP: Well, understanding that Obama has already said he's going to rake in and spend $1bn (£615.4m) in this race. Money is certainly going to be a consideration. And then just the idea of, will the American electorate be ready for someone a bit unconventional, in terms of a candidate who will call it like she sees it, and who will not be beholden to special interests or such obsessive partisanship as to let a political machine get in the way of just doing what's right for the voters.

JL: In a sense, do you think your "unconventionality" in that sense, the fact that you tell it as it is, is your strength but is also perceived as a weakness as well?

SP: I believe that it is a strength. I tell my kids, I encourage everyone I know that whether it be in their workplace, whether it be in a political arena or within their own families, to do what their gut tells them to do. And that involves calling it like they see it and tackling the tasks that are at hand and not worrying so much what other people are thinking or saying about them. And a lot of that goes along with that unconventional vein that I am talking about, that independent vein that I have within me. So I think that it's a strength and I encourage people I know to exercise that strength, too.

JL: In terms of making that decision, presumably the pressure on you and your family is a big part of the decision making, because you've been through a lot and you take a lot of flack?

SP: Our family is pretty thick-skinned, though. We have taken the pressure and pressure I think builds character and allows someone to handle what else is coming. For the last 20 years being in political office our family has had unconventional schedules, we've put up with a lot of flak, and we're still standing and we're doing well, so we're not worried too much about that pressure put on the family because we've been tried by fire.

[...]

SP: So again if I decide to run we know that we have to put up with a lot of the BS that comes from the media but ... It's not all of you guys but some of you still claim that Trig isn't my kid. I think that's an indication of screwed-up media.

[...]

JL: How offensive is that? How do you deal with that?

SP: Would you be offended if someone said you're child wasn't your child? It's offensive.

[Full Transcript]

Jackie Long also interviewed Sarah's parents, Chuck and Sally Heath. Here's an excerpt from the transcript of that interview:

JL: And people have threatened her life?

CH: Oh yeah, oh yeah. And her kids too.

[...]

JL: You say you laugh it off, but what does Sarah say about it? It must be terrifying.

CH: Well, she has good security when she goes places but here in Wasilla she doesn't have that good of security, other than family, friends and things like that. Not only Sarah has been threatened but her whole family has been threatened. We sleep with the guns.

[...]

JL: On a less extreme level, she has faced huge criticism and very personal criticism at times. How do you cope with that?

SH: I can't imagine what specifically they would object to, and that's what I would like to hear, and what I imagine Sarah would like to hear: 'well, what specifically do you not like?' And when we do read comments and then someone's asked, and they'll say 'well someone told me, such and such'. But truly, I do not know.

[Full Transcript]

The interview airs tonight on BBC Two's "Newsnight" at 10.30pm GMT/4:30 PM CST.

- JP

The DC: Chuck Heath & Son become sought-after figures in GOP primary races

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Although Sarah Palin hasn't endorsed a candidate in the Nevada GOP senate primary, Danny Tarkanian has the next best thing -- the backing of her father and brother. According to Alex Pappas, it may help:

Chuck Heath Jr., a 48-year-old schoolteacher from Anchorage, says both he and his dad receive constant requests for endorsements across the country, but grant few. So far they’ve endorsed just four candidates. “Of course, their ultimate goal is they want Sarah’s endorsement,” Heath explained during an interview Wednesday with The Daily Caller.

The Heaths first met Danny Tarkanian during the 2008 election. “Their family got really behind our family, and especially Sarah, and we kind of struck up a friendship that way,” Chuck Jr. said. Tarkanian, son of the famous coach and a former NBA player himself, bonded with the family over basketball. When Tarkanian called to say he was running for the nomination, Palin’s brother remembers, it wasn’t a tough call. “We told him, you worked for us and we believe in what you stand for also — and especially running against Harry Reid, we’ll do whatever we can to get behind you.”

The Tarkanian campaign has been using Palin’s father as a surrogate since last fall. In October, Chuck Sr. made five stops throughout the state for Tarkanian. In November, the retired schoolteacher signed a fundraising letter. In March, he cut a radio ad that’s still on the air today.

The Tarkanian campaign, says spokesman James Fisfis, has “certainly valued the endorsement” – which, while “it doesn’t guarantee any votes,” does “guarantee that you do get attention and people will take a look at your platforms and what you’re saying.” The presence of Palin’s father and son “shines attention on Danny,” he says. “We were able to have events and bring people together. They all wanted to meet and hangout with the Palins.”

Chuck Jr. says he doesn’t know if his sister Sarah will make an endorsement in the Nevada primary, where former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, former State Senator Sue Lowden and Tarkanian are the three leading contenders in a field of nine candidates.

Lowden, who is considered to be the establishment GOP candidate still leads the race with 30 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon poll conducted May 10-11 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Angle, who has the endorsement of Tea Party Express, has surged recently and is now right behind Lowden at 25 percent. At the beginning of April, before the TPX endorsement, Angle was at a distant 5 percent in the polls. Tarkanian is not far behind Angle in third place with 22 percent.

Chuck Heath, Sr. cuts radio ad for Jerry Tarkanian

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From CNN's Political Ticker, Sarah Palin's father Chuck Heath has recorded a radio ad for Danny Tarkanian:

Sarah Palin's dad is again weighing in on the Nevada Senate race – this time by starring in a new radio ad on behalf of Republican primary candidate Danny Tarkanian.

Palin's father Chuck Heath has long supported Tarkanian, one of the many Republicans hoping to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this November.

"You supported my daughter Sarah Palin, now please join me in supporting another strong conservative – Danny Tarkanian," Heath says in the state-wide ad, according to a script provided by the campaign. "Danny Tarkanian is strongly pro-life, and he will protect our Second Amendment rights. He will fight to cut taxes, slash spending, and end budget-busting pork barrel politics."

The retired science teacher who lives in Alaska made five stops across Nevada last October with Tarkanian, the son of legendary college basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

CNN producer Alexander Mooney says that Nevada GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden is leading Tarkanian in a recent Mason-Dixon poll by nearly 20 points.

Gov. Palin has not weighed in on the Nevada primary, leaving it to her father and brother to endorse and campaign for Tarkanian. Should Tarkanian lose to his primary opponent, then Palin can endorse Lowden in the general election against Harry Reid without the Democrats making hay out of any prior Palin endorsement in the primary. The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate will be in Reid's hometown of Searchlight, Nevada for the kickoff of a major Tea Party Express tour later this month.

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 15, 2009)

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Sarah Palin's dad, Chuck Heath:

"Sarah's not retreating; she's reloading."

- JP

Chuck Heath to stump for Danny Tarkanian in Nevada

From the website of Danny Tarkanian, candidate for the U.S. Senate:

"Danny is proud to announce that Chuck Heath, father of former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, will be in Nevada to campaign for him the first weekend of October."

More info here.

- JP

Credibility Test

Which of the following two people do you believe?

Levi Johnston...

"She says she goes hunting and lives off animal meat -- I've never seen it. I've never seen her touch a fishing pole. She had a gun in her bedroom and one day she asked me to show her how to shoot it. I asked her what kind of gun it was, and she said she didn't know, because it was in a box under her bed."

... or Chuck Heath?

"She started shooting a gun when she was eight and shot her first animal when she was ten. It was something small, possibly a rabbit.

"She is a really good shot. I taught her to shoot a moose and dress it, to fish and hunt for game."

"We raised our family to be able to support ourselves - 90 per cent of our meat and fish we get ourselves."

We will take the word of the man who shot the bear that adorned the couch in former Governor Palin's office over the lies of the paid character assassin who drives around in a $30,000 truck and has never so much as bought a pair of diapers for his infant son.

- JP

Palin dads to campaign for Vaughn Ward in Idaho

About a week ago Jim Geraghty noted a tweet from Vaughn Ward, a candidate for the U.S. House in Idaho's 1st Congressional District, and we passed along the information. What captured Geraghty's attention was Ward's Twitter message that "two Alaskans" would be coming to Idaho to stump the district for him. Now we know which two Alaskans he was Twittering about:

The fathers of Sarah and Todd Palin will be joining forces this month to help an Idaho congressional candidate who's getting an early start on his 2010 election bid.

Both Chuck Heath and Jim Palin will be in Idaho later on this month to help out Vaughn Ward, a Republican candidate for Congress. They’ll be attending events for Ward at the end of the month in Boise and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Ward's campaign spokesman said.

The former Alaska governor's father is an Idaho native who graduated from Sandpoint High School in northern Idaho. Palin, Sen. John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate last year, is herself is a 1987 graduate of the University of Idaho.

As we mentioned in our August 3 post, Todd Palin's parents have contributed to Ward's campaign. We also expressed our curiosity about whether Ward would be one of those conservative candidates that former Governor Sarah Palin said she would campaign for. No confirmation on that yet, but it wouldn't surprise us at all. Ward fits the bill.

- JP