Peter Singleton to NRO: ‘She Will Run’

“We have laid the groundwork for her.”
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O4P's Peter Singleton told National Review Online he's convinced that Gov. Palin will announce her candidacy for the White House by the end of September:

“I believe that she will run,” he says. “I can’t see her sitting this election out.”

Palin, a former Alaska governor, is scheduled to address a tea-party rally on September 3 in south-central Iowa. Singleton is one of the forces behind the event, working with grassroots groups. “Labor Day will kick off the Republican campaign for the nomination,” he hints. “She is going to make a major, major speech.”

Since late last year, Singleton has crisscrossed the Hawkeye State, connecting a network of supporters at rubber-chicken dinners and Republican picnics. He has huddled with county GOP chairmen, spoken with a number of conservative state lawmakers, and assembled a close-knit team of pro-Palin activists.

All of Singleton’s efforts have been self-directed, with no official involvement from Palin’s political apparatus. Still, he says, “We have not been on a lark. But we are happy, delighted even, to have people think that.”

GOP presidential contenders, from Rick Perry to Mitt Romney, will be in for a shock when Palin makes her entry, he predicts. “When she gets in the race, I would not want to be the other candidates, who have shamelessly whispered to Iowa Republicans for months that she is not running,” he says. “There will probably be some defections.”

Singleton, a 57-year-old former software salesman, says he has already compiled an extensive e-mail list of Iowans ready to join her ranks. With the help of Michelle McCormick, his fellow Organize4Palin state coordinator, “we have laid the groundwork for her,” he says.

[More]

Singleton says if Gov. Palin does not announce at the September 3 “Restoring America” TEA Party event in Indianola, Iowa, then she will do so soon after the rallly.

- JP

Herman Cain to Palin Camp: Let's talk

Birds of a feather...
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Here's an intriguing tweet from NRO's Robert Costa:

Herman Cain tells me that he is contacting Sarah Palin's camp. "We are reaching out," he says.

Now what could the Herminator and The Cuda possibly have to talk about? Plenty of things, most likely. Gov. Palin had words of praise for Cain in her interview (at about the 7:35 mark) with Judge Jeanine Pirro over the weekend. Cain was appreciative in February when the governor linked to one of his op-eds.

The two share very similar political views, and both have felt the sting of the Gotcha Obamunist Media. But if Mr. Cain is seeking the governor's endorsement, it's probably much too early for that, and besides, Sarah Palin may have some political plans of her own for 2012. But birds of a feather must stick together, especially when both have targets pinned on them by the corrupt media.

- JP

Gov. Palin to challenge Fed monetary policy in Monday speech

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NRO's Robert Costa reports that Monday in Phoenix, Sarah Palin will criticize Federal Reserve monetary policy and challenge chairman Ben Bernanke to stop printing money. The Fed, she says, is flirting with inflation. NRO has obtained some excerpts from the governor’s prepared remarks, a few of which we present here (Read the rest at NRO's The Corner blog):

I’m deeply concerned about the Federal Reserve’s plans to buy up anywhere from $600 billion to as much as $1 trillion of government securities.

[...]

Where will all this money printing on an unprecedented scale take us? Do we have any guarantees that QE2 won’t be followed by QE3, 4, and 5, until eventually – inevitably – no one will want to buy our debt anymore? What happens if the Fed becomes not just the buyer of last resort, but the buyer of only resort?

All this pump priming will come at a serious price. And I mean that literally: everyone who ever goes out shopping for groceries knows that prices have risen significantly over the past year or so. Pump priming would push them even higher. And it’s not just groceries. Oil recently hit a six month high, at more than $87 a barrel. The weak dollar – a direct result of the Fed’s decision to dump more dollars onto the market – is pushing oil prices upwards. That’s like an extra tax on earnings. And the worst part of it: because the Obama White House refuses to open up our offshore and onshore oil reserves for exploration, most of that money will go directly to foreign regimes who don’t have America’s best interests at heart.

We shouldn’t be playing around with inflation. It’s not for nothing Reagan called it “as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber, and as deadly as a hit man.”

[More]

- JP

Murkowski write-in bid costs her Senate seniority, leadership roles (Updated)

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Robert Costa at NRO's The Corner with reaction to Lisa Murkowski's decision to attempt a write-in campaign to try to hold on to her Senate seat. Apparently she had to resign her leadership positions and forfeit her seniority in the chamber to do it:

Joe Miller tells National Review Online that Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a member of the “ruling class,” is “refusing to relinquish power.”

Miller, Alaska’s GOP Senate nominee, defeated Murkowski in an August primary. In a press conference tonight in Anchorage, Murkowski announced her plans to continue in the race as a write-in candidate. Miller says that he has “been told directly” by senior GOP senators that Murkowski will now “lose her seniority and her committee positions.”

Miller says Murkowski’s move “should shock anyone with integrity,” calling it another example of how her “lifeblood is power.” She has, he says, a “disconnection from reality.”

“[Murkowski] is going back on her word,” Miller continues. “She gave her word several days before the primary that she would respect the primary outcome.”

“This is a write-in campaign for a person named Lisa Murkowski,” Miller says. “We are not terribly concerned about it. It doesn’t change our approach. Our calculus is that we win. It is now Joe Miller versus the liberals.”

Miller agrees with Sarah Palin, who earlier tonight in Iowa predicted that Murkowski’s effort will be “futile.” “It will end in failure,” Miller says. “She is going to throw a lot of money away just to mud sling.”

(More)

Costa has comments from NRSC chairman John Cornyn and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell here.

Updates...

In a statement Friday, the Alaska GOP says Murkowski will get no help from the party, which it affirms is solidly behind Joe Miller.

Via Twitter, Gov. Palin tried to talk sense to Livid Lisa:

"My advice for Lisa is the same for anyone who sees a grizzly in the woods. DON'T RUN."

And a couple of hours earlier:

"Primary voters spoke. Listen to the people, respect their will; w/a 40-pt incumbent lead & $2.8 million war chest, voters chose Joe instead"

Nearly everyone is condemning Murkowski's write-in foolishness. No one thinks she has a chance to win the election. But that's not the point. We would bet real money that the Senator knows that as well. But it's no longer about winning for spoiled-brat Lisa. This is an exercise in pure revenge. Murkowski and her handlers Bitney and Halcro all have axes to grind, and once sharpened, they would just love to use them to take off Sarah Palin's head. Their real goal is to siphon enough votes away from Joe Miller to make Democrat Scott McAdams the winner. That's the only victory they know is still possible in this race.

- JP