Day By Day (September 24, 2011)

No Man is an Island
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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 (September 23 2011)

The War on the Palin Family Continues
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Mark America:

“What sort of coward must one be to accost a young woman for the fact of who her mother is? Who does such things? Who carries out such vengeful attack? I’ll tell you: The rabid left hates. It’s what they do and what they know. It is what consumes and drives them.”

- JP

Chuck Heath, Jr: 'The McGinniss book is filled with one lie after another'

"Neither McGinniss nor Crown/Random House reached out to me" for verification or comment
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Chuck Heath, Jr., Gov. Palin's brother, released a statement on the McGinness book of lies to Andrew Breitbart's Big Government and Big Journalism:

"The McGinniss book is filled with one lie after another. The final straw for me was when I learned that he used me as a source for his lies about my sister and brother-in-law’s marriage. He included in his book comments falsely attributed to me by one of his unnamed sources. Neither McGinniss nor Crown/Random House reached out to me to verify, or even comment on, this alleged hearsay from an unnamed source. They just ran with it, and as a consequence, the tabloids picked it up and used it to fuel false rumors about my sister getting a divorce. All of this is a total lie, and I’m sick of seeing my sister, her family, and our extended family being trashed by smear-merchants like Joe McGinniss and his publisher."

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention Part 383

“Waitin' On A Woman” Edition
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Liz Marlantes, at The Christian Science Monitor:

“Will Sarah Palin be the October surprise? One national poll shows Sarah Palin surging ahead of Rick Perry in a head to head matchup against Barack Obama. Will Sarah Palin announce her candidacy in time for the Florida primary deadline? ... And that remains the question: will she or won’t she? Palin recently told Fox News that she thinks there’s ‘still time’ for candidates to get into the race, and that she’s ‘still considering’ it. She repeatedly said she believed it would be an ‘unconventional’ election year. Palin did acknowledge that there are deadlines looming to get on the ballot in certain primary and caucus states. (Florida, for example, has a deadline of Oct. 31.) Still, a late entry isn’t necessarily insurmountable, particularly for candidates with high name recognition and easy access to cash. In 1995, self-funded candidate Steve Forbes waited until October to announce, and quickly became the strongest challenger to ultimate GOP nominee Bob Dole. Forbes made up for his lack of on-the-ground campaigning by blanketing the airwaves in early primary and caucus states with ads. Palin may string everyone along for a while yet.”

Shane Vander Hart, at Caffeinated Thoughts:

“I think it is entirely possible for her to still jump into this race. She would have the advantage of staying out of the bludgeoning that is currently going on among the candidates. She also will have had time to hone her message before launching her campaign.”

Catholic Online:

“Sarah Palin was the poll's biggest surprise. While the former Alaska Governor isn't officially running for President, she has been touring the country and promoting herself nonetheless. The latest poll has her only 5 percentage points behind Obama, after trailing him by as much as twenty points earlier in the year. Palin now leads Obama amongst independent voters, a key swing block... The survey did find that Rudy Guliani and Sarah Palin were popular with voters, despite the fact they are not running. The poll results showed that if they were to enter the race they would have at least as much support as Romney or Bachmann.”

Jennifer Jacobs, at the Des Moines Register:

“Sarah Palin is ‘on the verge of making her decision of whether or not to run for office’ – and her backers should write a check right away, a letter from her political action committee says.”

Stacy McCain, at The Other McCain:

“Sarah Palin — having previously specified September as the deadline for her to enter the 2012 field — appeared to extend her timeline to November. That alone is enough to make all the pundits groan at the prospect of another two months of will-she-or-won’t-she drama... Is Palin hinting at a possible third-party campaign? I strongly doubt it, but neither would I rule it out, and I’m also thinking about the possibility that the changes to the delegate apportionment rules — no ‘winner-take-all’ primaries in March — could lead to a brokered convention at Tampa. Whatever the tea-leaf readers see in Palin’s comments, I think she’s absolutely right: 2012 has already been an unconventional election cycle, and people should be skeptical about bandwagon organizers who think they can predict events many months in advance.”

Poll Insider:

“It sure does seem that everything comes back to Palin.”

Katie Pavlich, at Townhall.com's Tipsheet:

“Palin is leading Obama among independents. It looks like voters may have paid attention to Palin's ideas presented in a speech given at tea party rally earlier this month when she slammed crony capitalism and the permanent political class, rather than getting caught up in the superficial arguments about why people don't like her. However, Palin is the one who said, ‘Polls are for strippers and cross country skiers,’ so in the end, this may not even matter. Love her or hate her, Palin does have ideas that resonate with independent voters. If she were to run, Palin would offer unique experience (taking on the political machine in Alaska, taking on the oil companies in Alaska, building a pipeline, etc.) to the current GOP presidential field.”

Mitt Romney, to USA Today's Susan Page:

“She would make the race that much more exciting, bring more people to watch the debates, and I hope she gets in.”

Paul Bedard, at U.S.News & World Report:

“As Sarah Palin mulls entering the GOP presidential primaries amid new polls showing her popularity still soaring, current Republican candidate Ron Paul urged her and others to jump in... Only Palin remains the big name potential presidential candidate considering a bid. Others like Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have ruled out running. Palin retains a strong supporter base and a McClatchy-Marist poll out today has Palin gaining on President Obama. She is now just five points behind Obama, 49-44 percent, and she is capturing independents.”

Justin Sink, at The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:

“Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who disappointed many of his fellow Republicans when he decided against joining the field for the 2012 presidential nomination, said Friday that he would welcome former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R) entering the race.”

Jelayne Sessler, at Palin Defender:

“And so, the question remains: Who’s left to ride in on that white horse and fill the shoes of that true conservative the American people are yearning for? Sarah Palin. By the looks of things, she's played her cards just right – she's sat back long enough to let Perry and Romney hash it out on stage and now the so called front-runners are exposed for who they really are. Palin’s timing could very well be impeccable; maybe it’s time for her to jump in and fill that true Tea Party candidate void America is pleading for.”

MrCurmudgeon, at Tea Party Tribune:

“The GOP primaries are about to get a little more interesting. If Palin runs, imagine the coattail effect her high-profile candidacy will have in bringing more Tea Party candidates to the House and Senate.”

Scott Conroy, at RealClearPolitics:

“If she is still gauging the viability of a potential candidacy before making her ultimate decision, Palin might find grounds for encouragement in a McClatchy-Marist poll released earlier this week that showed her trailing President Obama by just five percentage points in a hypothetical general election matchup and beating him among independents. Palin, who does not employ a pollster and joked in Iowa earlier this month that polls were ‘for strippers and cross-country skiers,’ has also placed third and within striking distance of Mitt Romney and Rick Perry in several recent Republican primary surveys -- further evidence that she might very well have the potential to turn the GOP race into a three-way contest with the two front-runners if she does jump in. There are currently no indications that Palin has taken any steps toward planning what would likely be a major announcement rally, nor has she made additional staff hires that she would need for even the most bare-bones presidential campaign operation. But Palin’s aides insist that they have constructed a plan by which they could have a fully functional -- if tiny, by contemporary standards -- operation ready within a couple of weeks.”

Mary Beth House, at Conservatives 4 Palin:

“So the question I throw out there to all Palin supporters is this: Are you ready to storm the beaches?”

Patrick S. Adams, at Patrick's World USA:

“Ronald Reagan was 25 points behind Carter 8 months out from the election. His electability at this point in 1979 was way more in doubt than Palin’s is. Reagan didn’t have the advantage of the electronic era with a 24 hour news cycle, Facebook and other new media ways of expressing himself. The new era of news is a double edged sword, It was a weapon to be used against Palin to smear her by having every negative meme perpetrated on fly up the media flagpole because of the complicity of the mainstream media. This did not stop Palin and her supporters from turning it into a weapon for them to compress time frames and deal with the smears almost instantaneously. Because Reagan didn’t have today’s media at his avail, it took him right up to merely weeks before the election to overcome the public’s concerns. But, the methodology was the same. He showed them in the final debate with Jimmy Carter that he was not only competent but affable by being himself in front of the American people. There was no print or video medium then that could stop him from busting through the myths then just as there is no print or video medium today that can alter the speech that Palin gave in Indianola, IA.”

Exit Quote - Ronald Reagan:

“If the federal government had been around when the Creator was putting His hand to this state, Indiana wouldn't be here. It'd still be waiting for an environmental impact statement.”

- JP

Mark Levin: It would appear that McGinness is a fiction writer

"And a bad one at that -- a hack."
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h/t: Timothy Donovan

- JP

Shawn & Craig Christy plead not guilty in Palin harassment case

"They repeatedly say they are coming to Alaska."
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The Pennsylvania father and son who have been threaten Sarah Palin and her family entered not guilty pleas Wednesday to federal charges of harassing the former Alaska governor's attorneys by telephone. Craig Christy, age 47, and his 19-year-old son Shawn entered their pleas before a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Anchorage:

The Christys, of McAdoo, Pa., face felony charges of placing harassing interstate telephone calls to the former Alaska governor's attorneys and employees of the law firm's offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Palin, a potential Republican presidential candidate and the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, has been granted state restraining orders against the men.

The Christys have been accused of making hundreds of phone calls to the offices of Palin's attorney, John Tiemessen. Some of the calls involved threats against Palin and others, according to an indictment by a federal grand jury in Alaska.

Neither Tiemessen nor Palin attended the hearing.

"The tone of the messages was putting the staff on edge because they have been threatened by the Christys," the indictment says. "They repeatedly say they are coming to Alaska. Tiemessen's family also has been threatened and harassed telephonically."

The indictment did not elaborate on the nature of threats against Palin. The document says the calls included obscenity-laden phone messages, including a death threat to Tiemessen from Craig Christy. In another message, Shawn Christy said he was going to Alaska and would rape one of the attorneys, according to the indictment.

The Christys were arrested last month following the indictment. They have since been held without bail.

A jury trial for both men, who were assigned court-appointed attorneys, has been set for Nov. 21, and a hearing to determine whether they will be granted bail will be held Monday. Each of the Christy men faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

- JP

Day By Day (September 23, 2011)

Bad Boys
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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 (September 22 2011)

Palin letting Romney and Perry duke it out?
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Lori Calabrese, at Examiner.com:

“One thing’s for sure, if you’re Sarah Palin, it’s wise to let Romney and Perry duke it out. Who knows, they might fight so hard that they knock each other out, making room for only one candidate whose name is Palin.”

- JP

Breitbart promises more McGinness bombshells

"People are reaching out to us" with testimony which debunks McGinness book"
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In an interview with Hugh Hewitt, Andrew Breitbart reveals that he's not through disassembling the living lie that is Joe McGinness, not by a long shot:


h/t: PalinUndefeated

See Also: McGinniss Confirms, Griffin Fumes, ‘Hooker’ Responds

- JP

Rush: 'Now this looks like the makings of a very lucrative lawsuit'

"These people are telling us who they are afraid of, and they'll stoop to anything..."
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h/t: Breitbart.tv

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention Part 382

“Crickets: Blues for Palin-Haters” Edition
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Steve M, at Radio Vice Online:

“Joe McGinniss himself uses phrases including: a little thin, no one has provided any evidence, unreliable source, rumors … are not facts, garbage, tawdry gossip, malicious speculation and third-hand rumors when discussing content for an attack-book on Gov. Sarah Palin in an email to one of the Palin-hater kings. Head over to Andrew Breitbart’s post at Big Journalism to read McGinniss’ cry for help as lawyers and editors reviewed the book that was presumed to feature multiple nails that would finally seal the Palin political machine into a woodshed in the Alaska outback. Not so much. In January, after spending the previous summer living and working next door to the Palin’s in Wasilla, McGinniss seems to have been slapped into a somewhat lucid state by lawyers at Random House who told him ‘this is all bull manure.’ OK, I paraphrased a bit. McGinniss so badly wants the rumors to be true he’s begging Jesse Griffin – who [operates] an anti-Palin blog – to provide him with the names of his sources so he can contact them to substantiate any of the rumors. Crickets...”

Vincent Ferrari, at Insignificant Thoughts:

“McGinnis is slime, so this should come as no surprise to anyone.”

Don Surber, at the Charleston Daily Mail:

“Hating Sarah Palin is a cottage industry built around those intolerant intellectuals who never bothered to find out just who she is and instead bitterly cling to their stereotype of her as a Church Lady who shoots Bambi from helicopters. Those who hate her are shelling out $13.99 to buy charlatan Joe McGinniss’s book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin, which apparently is more fiction than fact. That’s because Joe McGinniss spent a summer in Alaska on his publisher, Random House’s dime and could not come up with anything new. His words, not mine... Mind you, this missive to the blogger was sent on January 27, 2011, after Joe McGinniss had spent the better part of a year trying to dig up something — anything — on her... If she runs, I will vote for Sarah Palin satisfied that there are no skeletons in her closet. She is who she says she is. So many people have vetted her that I have full confidence that there is no scandal anywhere.”

JadedByPolitics, at RoguePolitics.com:

“Random House has put Joe McGinniss’s book out as fact, not fiction while knowing full well it is all fiction and nothing he asserts has any basis in fact. McGinniss knew it and via his email Random House knew it as well.”

Joel B. Pollak, at Big Journalism:

“It seemed odd that Joe McGinniss’s new biography of Sarah Palin had received so many poor reviews from media outlets typically hostile to the former Alaska governor. After I read it, the reason became clear: The Rogue is so lurid, malicious, and self-evidently false that Palin’s opponents fear it will undermine their cause. It also reveals more about the shared mindset of the left and the mainstream media than many journalists would care to admit. McGinniss seems driven by an irrational hatred of Palin. That is apparent from the nasty charges he makes about her, which are not only sensational but also self-contradictory... Ironically, while McGinniss tried to write the definitive Palin exposé, he inadvertently exposed how the left-wing gentry and the media think–not just about Palin, but about Americans in general. It is no accident that McGinniss’s impressions of Wasilla and Obama’s thoughts about rural Pennsylvania are virtually the same... That tone-deaf tactic hasn’t worked, as Palin’s recent surge in opinion polls shows. And it won’t work, because most reasonable people have stopped buying the lies about Palin.”

Daniel Foster, at NRO's The Corner:

“McGinniss says he ‘need[s] facts [he] can rely on,’ but if this admittedly astonishing e-mail is the real deal, he appears to have failed to get them, and has gone instead with gossip he can profit from.”

Michael Smerconish, at Philly.com:

“By now you've heard about a new book, The Rogue, concerning the behavior of a narcissistic public figure set in Alaska during the summer of 2010. What you wouldn't know until reading it is that the protagonist is its author, Joe McGinniss, not his purported subject, Sarah Palin. While the subtitle claims the work concerns ‘searching for the real Sarah Palin,’ it is instead the personal diary of an author trolling for rumor and innuendo while living directly next door to his subject for 3 1/2 months... No bathroom stall in Alaska was left undisturbed in his quest for dirt.”

Dan Riehl, at Riehl World View:

“One of the memes McGinniss and the Left would like to push is that former Governor Sarah Palin is driven by self-interest and ulterior motives. Perhaps it's time people begin thinking of Joe McGinniss in that context.”

Charles Hurt, at The Washington Times:

“Sarah Palin is not even running for president, and yet the very thought of her existence inspires such frenzied high moralizing from the media that they cannot resist reveling in the most salacious and spurious claims about her. Like dogs discovering a pile of fetid manure, they blissfully roll in the gossip and grind back and forth until the offensive stench is mashed deep into the very pores of their skin. Then they trot off, proudly reeking of the stench that proper humans try to avoid. Even the most pious of journalists who went to great lengths to savage the ‘author’ and his ‘reporting’ techniques opted, of course, to review the book and spread the good word.”

Brent Bozell, at NewsBusters:

“McGinniss was out to destroy Sarah Palin and NBC reporter Savannah Guthrie rolled out the red carpet.”

William A. Jacobson, at Legal Insurrection:

“The controversy is not that a convicted rapist would make such statements, but that The Daily Caller would run the clip with a bold traffic-grabbing headline and keep it there without so much as any commentary (which was not added until later)... There is a huge difference between an article discussing despicable comments about conservative women, and quoting the language in the context of analysis, and what The Daily Caller did... This is a disaster compounded by the folks at The Daily Caller digging while in a hole, and digging even harder when people called them out on it, and doubling down on the digging as it went viral. Can The Daily Caller survive? Should it? Depends on how much money its investors want to throw at it, because at this point it’s a pretty deep hole they’ve dug.”

MaroonedinMarin:

“Well, the last thing I need as a conservative is a lecture by Tucker Carlson about how to act like one. Especially a guy whose alleged ‘conservatism’ shifts like the wind.”

Mark America:

“One of the reasons that so many of my fellow Tea Party patriots and Palinistas are ready for a Sarah Palin campaign to begin it because we’ve become so tired of the smears against us. Each time they mock Sarah Palin, those in the establishment are taking shots at us too. Each and every time they smear Sarah Palin, they try to slip something in about those of us who support her that will tend to paint us as those people. You know… Those people. Yes, they mean us. It’s true for Tea Party patriots too. This interminable war on the Tea Party and Sarah Palin has gone on, will go on, and the establishment in DC will maintain its stance against us, either until we go away quietly, or until we displace them. This country is ours, and for decades, ordinary Americans with extraordinary virtues have kept this country afloat while the party of DC keeps crashing the ship of state into the largest icebergs it can find. I don’t know about you, but for once in more than three decades, I’m ready to finally fight them. Rather than endlessly defending ourselves, our principles and our leaders against smears meant only to debase, dismiss, and disable, I think it’s time that we went on offense.”

PennyThawtz, at The Morning Spew:

“Mike Tyson and Joe McGinniss... haven’t simply inadvertently helped to garner Mrs. Palin sympathy support, but that they have helped to open more people’s eyes as to who Palin really is, what she can accomplish and what she has had to endure for simply being a successful conservative woman in politics.”

Dana Loesch, at Big Journalism::

“Moss operates under the misconception that his show exists in a vacuum, and that anyone affected by its offensive content is out of line for … being offended. He had a rapist on his show and he and his cohorts stopped short of picking up their pom poms and cheering Tyson’s remarks. Yes, I and all the other women out here are a treat because we expect men to act manlier than prepubescent boys giggling like they’re talking about sex for the first time. It was only funny to you guys. To everyone else it was painful in a non-comedic way. Painful like when The Situation tried to tell jokes at the Donald Trump roast and bombed. This wasn’t locker room humor, this was violent fantasy. I’m also not one to think the worst of the male sex and brush this off as ‘boys will be boys’ because this isn’t how men act. This is how progressives act, though. Where is NOW, by they way?”

Exit Quote - Unattributed:

“Haters are like crickets; they make a lot of noise you can hear but you never see them, then you walk right by them and they're quiet.”

- JP

More Fallout From Bretbart's McGinness Bombshell (Updated)

“No one has ever provided factual evidence”
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There's more fallout from Andrew Breitbart's devastating bomb run on Joe McGinness and his book of lies. In a follow up posting at Big Journalism, Breitbart presents six of the more scurrilous of McGinness' unsubstantiated allegations in detail, "and how McGinniss used most of them in The Rogue, even though he admitted in his email that he could not prove them."

a) Todd had sex with a hooker, or with anyone else outside his marriage.

McGinniss dropped the “hooker” accusation–probably because he was afraid, as his email suggests, that the sole source “may be mentally unstable” and that even the National Enquirer appeared to be ready “to back off this story.”

Yet McGinniss did publish allegations in The Rogue that Todd flirted with other women (p. 115) and had sex outside his marriage (p. 169), based solely on sources identified as “an attractive white woman” and “a friend of his,” respectively. Both sources are identified in the book as having spoken to McGinniss in 2010–before the January 2011 email in which he admitted he had no factual evidence beyond “tawdry gossip.”

b) Sarah had an affair with Brad Hanson, or anyone else.

McGinniss presents no named source for this accusation in The Rogue other than an article in the National Enquirer in October 2008. He refers to “a friend of Todd’s,” who tells McGinniss in 2010 that the affair–which both Palin and Hanson deny–was “known” (p. 64). He also cites third-party rumors, cited in turn (apparently in 2010) by former Wasilla mayor John Stein, who states that “we were hearing” about an affair during the mayoral campaign in which he was ousted by Sarah Palin (p. 64). Similarly, he cites third-party rumors from a woman named Colleen Cottle, whom he speaks to upon arriving in Wasilla in 2010. McGinniss does not quote Cottle directly, but says that she fills him in on local gossip, and attributes a remark about the affair to her (p. 6). All of these flimsy sources pre-date McGinniss’s email in January 2011 in which he admits that: “[N]o one has ever provided factual evidence” for the claims he lists.

c) Track was a druggie who enlisted in the army to avoid a jail term. Or that he vandalized Wasilla school buses.

McGinniss’s basis for accusations of drug use by Track Palin is the National Enquirer, which in turn had quoted an unnamed “source” in 2008. He adds that “reports of Track’s drug use persisted even into the summer of 2010” but does not specify what those reports are, or from whom (p. 114). His primary source for the accusation of vandalism in 2005 is local gossip: “word spread immediately in Wasilla,” McGinniss says, though he also claims that an unnamed radio station and an unnamed television station in Anchorage reported the accusation (p. 113). In the end, McGinniss hedges his bets: “Whether or not Track was involved in the school bus vandalism…” (p. 113).

McGinniss does not include the accusation that Track “enlisted in the army to avoid a jail term” in The Rogue. However, he does quote an unnamed “friend” of Track’s who said that Track enlisted to avoid getting into “trouble” such as “[t]he school bus thing, theft issues, multiple stuff” (p. 113). McGinniss does not clarify whether the “friend” is speaking from personal knowledge, or merely repeating third-hand rumors, perhaps provided by McGinniss himself as a prompt. For good measure, McGinniss claims–again, without any evidence–that Sarah Palin engineered Track’s enlistment and his deployment to Iraq for political gain, and quotes an unnamed state trooper who claims Track showed no signs of patriotism on the way to the enlistment office (p. 114).

All of the “evidence” cited by McGinniss to substantiate his claims about Track Palin appears to pre-date his January 2011 email in which he states that Random House lawyers have told him that he has no evidence, and that “nobody” has provided proof.

d) Willow was involved in the vandalism of the empty house in Meadow Lakes. Or that Sarah rushed back from Hawaii to put the lid on that.

McGinniss’s only source is the National Enquirer, which made these claims in 2010. He also claims “[m]any in Wasilla” believe the story (p. 111). He also cites gossip related by Colleen Cottle in 2010–again, without quoting her directly (p. 6). None of this “evidence” was obtained after McGinniss admitted, in his email, that he could not prove the claim.

e) Trig is not Sarah’s natural born child.

McGinniss provides no new evidence for this debunked claim, quoting “questions” being asked on “blogs” and the like (p. 316). McGinniss also cites “many Wasillans” who allegedly say that “even if she had not faked the entire story of her pregnancy and Trig’s birth, it was something she was eminently capable of doing” (p. 285). In other words, he supports a lie, which he tacitly admits he cannot prove, by attacking Palin’s character.

f) Bristol was promiscuous as a high schooler and drank and used drugs, or became pregnant again after Tripp’s birth.

McGinniss’s source is again local gossip in the summer of 2010: “Rumors immediately run rampant,” he says (p. 204). Once again, he also cites gossip allegedly related by (but not directly quoted from) Colleen Cottle in 2010. He mentions a July 2010 interview in The Daily Beast with Bristol’s alleged new boyfriend at the time, Ben Barber, which does not discuss promiscuity or drugs, and actually contradicts the claim that Bristol became pregnant again. None of these “tawdry” rumors, which McGinniss admits in his January 2011 email have no factual basis, is supported by subsequent evidence.

[More]

Update: McGinniss Confirms, Griffin Fumes, ‘Hooker’ Responds

- JP

Andrew Breitbart Drops a Smart Bomb on Joe McGuiness

McGinniss email reveals his manuscript could not prove its most salacious allegations
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Andrew Breitbart dropped a smart bomb Friday morning which threatens to utterly destroy Joe McGinniss and his anti-Palin book The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin. But Breitbart's precision-guided weapon may have also caused some collateral damage to the reputation of McGinness' publisher, Random House. Also caught up in the explosion is disgraced anti-Palin blogger Jesse Griffin.

As Breitbart points out, even the establishment media, which is not kindly disposed toward Gov. Palin, has overwhelmingly greeted the McGinness book with scathing reviews and condemnation. McGinniss aapears to have knowingly submitted a book to his publisher that was filled with little more than unproven “tawdry gossip” and rumors that lacked “factual evidence, says Breitbart, and now faces "the fight of his literary life."

In the email below, sent in January of 2011, McGinniss reveals that his manuscript, then under legal review at Crown/Random House, could not prove its most headline-grabbing allegations. And yet, many of these “salacious stories” that lacked “proof” (in McGinniss’s own words) ended up in the book, and on televisions everywhere during the author’s current media tour … without proper sourcing, and without any apparent new evidence to support them.

McGinniss’s panicked state is evidenced by the identity of the recipient to whom he sent his email of distress. Jesse Griffin was the author of an obscure, low-rent, and now-defunct anti-Palin blog that obsessed over Trig Palin’s maternity–claiming, without any evidence, that Sarah Palin was not Trig’s mother.

Was Random House aware that its prized author was making a desperate overtime bid to save face? And if so, why did it allow him to come forth with most of those tawdry accusations without proof or proper sourcing?

This would not be the first time McGinniss has found himself in trouble over accusations of unethical journalism. In 1987, McGinniss agreed to pay $325,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the convicted murderer who was the subject of McGinniss’s book Fatal Vision. He has also admitted to having surreptitiously distributed a competitor’s manuscript about Palin that was handed to him by his own publisher. The leak allegedly damaged the commercial viability of that book.

In 2003, Random House released a larger-than-life, massive bestseller by James Frey entitled A Million Little Pieces. Later, it was revealed that the book was a fantastical literary hoax that made its way past some of the highest-paid and most respected editors and lawyers in the literary world. Doubleday/Random House felt compelled to offer full refunds to those who had bought the book.

Has history repeated itself?

Mr. McGinniss has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

—–

From: Joe McGinniss
To: Jesse Griffin
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 6:15 PM
Subject: I have to ask you for help

Jesse–

Legal review of my manuscript is underway and here’s my problem: no one has ever offered documentation of any of the lurid stories about the Palins. Shailey Tripp is the latest example.

APD and Sarah have denied that Todd had any involvement with her. To my knowledge, no one has provided any evidence that he did. TheEnquirer cites AlaskaWTF, which in turn cites the Enquirer: what good is that? I’m also told that the Enquirer is preparing to back off this story and save face by denouncing Ms. Tripp as an unreliable source who promised documentation she couldn’t provide.

She may be mentally unstable and prone to fabrication, delusion, or both. Her joint may be called Blue Hands Massage (brrrrr!), but she’s no Monica Lewinsky with a blue dress with a semen stain, that’s for sure.

Do you believe that Todd paid her for sex? If so, why do you believe that, other than that you wish it were true?

A lurid, sensational, defamatory story about Todd, based only on the account of a woman charged with prostitution, who is no doubt desperate for money, and who sold her story to the Enquirer, is a gift from heaven for Sarah.

Jesse, you can ridicule Sarah for calling in to the execrable Bob & Mark, but the fact is that as far as this story goes, there’s no there there. And rumors about what might come in weeks ahead are not facts. In fact, they’re garbage.

I’ve neither seen nor heard anything that indicates that Ms. Tripp’s story has any basis in fact. None of the endless crap Patrick posted about her before getting the boot from palingates.com offers any substantiation.

And even you write frequently that you know things you can’t yet post, but that soon “all will be revealed.” This has been going on since I first became aware of your blog, but as far as I know you haven’t substantiated a single claim or provided verification for a single rumor that you’ve posted about Sarah’s personal life, or the personal lives of any Palin family members. Thus, she gets to denounce what she calls “lies.”

Neither from you, the Enquirer, AlaskaWTF, palingates.com or anyone else, have I seen a credible, identified source backing any of the salacious stories about the Palin family.

Thus–as Random House lawyers are already pointing out to me–nothing I can cite other than my own reporting rises above the level of tawdry gossip. The proof is always just around the corner, but that’s a corner nobody has been able to turn. Maybe Jeff Dunn has, in which case I’ll be the first to congratulate him. But frankly, at this point, I’m tired of it, and I’ve run out of time.

No one has ever provided factual evidence that:

a) Todd had sex with a hooker, or with anyone else outside his marriage.

b) Sarah had an affair with Brad Hanson, or anyone else.

c) Track was a druggie who enlisted in the army to avoid a jail term. Or that he vandalized Wasilla school buses.

d) Willow was involved in the vandalism of the empty house in Meadow Lakes. Or that Sarah rushed back from Hawaii to put the lid on that.

e) Trig is not Sarah’s natural born child.

f) Bristol was promiscuous as a high schooler and drank and used drugs, or became pregnant again after Tripp’s birth.

Jesse, you were going on and on about Bristol being pregnant while doing Dancing With The Stars. And, if I recall correctly, at the time of her brief glossy-magazine-payday “reunion” with Levi, you surmised that she was pregnant by Ben Barber, or at least by someone who wasn’t Levi. You’ve recently suggested she’s had an abortion, publishing photographs that show her chubby then and thin now. But doesn’t that seem a little “thin” to you, based on nothing besides magazine pictures?

So much has bubbled at the salacious rumor stage for more than two years, but no one has been able to take even one story further.

Jesse, if you can put me in touch with people who are willing and able to substantiate any of the above, now is the time to do so. Otherwise, I hope you won’t complain that there are no startling new revelations in my book. My publisher and I think it’s damning enough without airing the family’s dirty laundry, but because Sarah’s hypocrisy about her family is one of the things that galls me most, I’d like to be able to publish facts in regard to a) through f) above, but I emphasize facts.

Not malicious speculation or third-hand rumors relayed by those who hold a grudge.

For any or all of those who’ve told you they’ll speak out, but not yet, now is the time. My book represents the last best chance to put the truth about Sarah in front of the American people in a documented, verifiable way. But I need facts that I can rely on. I didn’t live this long and work this hard over so many decades to wind up as AlaskaWTF between hard covers.

as always, and looking forward to seeing you in spring or summer,

Joe

[More]

- JP

Day By Day (September 22, 2011)

Burn Notice
*
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 (September 21 2011)

Palin’s Unintended Stalking Horse?
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Craig Crawford, at Craig Crawford's Trail Mix:

“Palin is now within five points of President Obama and beats him among independents, the biggest gain of any Republican. Palin’s rise coincides with Bachmann’s fall... There was a time when the odds makers said Bachmann was crowding Palin off the field... But it could be that she unwittingly kept the grass-roots burning for Palin’s comeback.”

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention Part 381

“Help is on Its Way” Edition
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Patrick S. Adams, at Liberty's Lamp:

“We may be near economic death, both individually... and as a nation... But with Palin, support is hardcore and entrenched. Her army is stout with informed activists who can help any doubter borrow their confidence. If Americans can believe that she is the dawn we are looking for, we can capture that same spirit that Ronald Reagan captured. It is with that spirit that a downtrodden and economically abused electorate can find its way back to the shining city on a hill. Just as Sarah Palin undid the influence of cronyism in big oil in Alaskan politics, so can she undo the influence of cronyism in American politics. Enforcing laws that protect the rights, property and persons of citizens is the appropriate role of government. Micro-managing businesses and regulating lemonade stands is not... Knowing that Sarah Palin can deliver on this should encourage the business community and all Americans that help is on the way. While we suffer over the next year or so, at least we can suffer knowing that someday the pain will be over and the light will shine brightly again on our blessed nation.”

Amby Burfoot, at Runner's World :

“I don't know about you, but I figure Sarah Palin is getting ready to run a fall marathon.”

Steven Thomma, of McClatchy Newspapers:

“Look out President Barack Obama. Even Sarah Palin's gaining on you. A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds that Obama looks increasingly vulnerable in next year's election, with a majority of voters believing he'll lose to any Republican, a solid plurality saying they'll definitely vote against him and most potential Republican challengers gaining on him. Even in potential match ups where he leads, Obama in most cases has lost ground to the Republican. The biggest gain came for Palin, the former Alaska governor who hasn't yet announced whether she'll jump into the fast-changing race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. After trailing Obama by more than 20 percentage points in polls all year, the new national survey, taken Sept. 13-14, found Palin trailing the president by just 5 points, 49-44 percent. The key reason: She now leads Obama among independents, a sharp turnaround.”

Doug Powers, at MichelleMalkin.com:

“If Palin keeps trending like this, Joe McGinniss might want to rent the place next door to the White House just in case.”

Allahpundit, at Hot Air:

“Oh my: Palin within five of Obama in new Marist poll... Might be the best poll she’s had since the ’08 election... Some of what’s going on here, obviously, is utter public exhaustion with Hopenchange and Obamanomics. If I were David Plouffe, that 49/36 split on voters who say they’ll definitely vote against The One would make me wet myself. But some of it’s specific to Palin too: Look no further than the fact that she now fares better against Obama than Perry does — and actually leads him among independents.”

John Nolte, via Twitter:

“And lo, a poll was posted on the Drudge, and the gnashing of #GOPSmartSet teeth was heard throughout the land...”

Corbett B. Daly , at CBS News' Political Hotsheet:

“Sarah Palin has not officially declared whether she will jump in the race for president. A new poll may give her one more reason to take the plunge. She is just five points behind President Obama in the survey released Tuesday by Marist College and McClatchy Newspapers. The Fox News analyst garnered 44 percent in the poll, compared to Mr. Obama's 49 percent. That's a sharp increase for Palin, who had been consistently running about 20 points behind Mr. Obama. A key reason for her gain is stronger support among independents, who favor the one-time vice presidential nominee to the sitting president, the newspaper said. Mr. Obama's approval rating fell to 39 percent, the lowest level of his presidency, and his disapproval rating rose to 52 percent. That is the first time a majority of registered voters said they disapprove of Mr. Obama.”

Don Surber, at the Charleston Daily Mail:

“I am not saying Sarah Palin will be the nominee. I am saying the country is more conservative today than it was 3 years ago.”

Basil, at IMAO:

“Now watch the left get their panties in a wad. Because Sarah Palin polls at 44% in a matchup with Barack Obama. That’s according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. What does the new poll mean? Depends on who you ask. If you ask me — you did ask me, didn’t you? — it means that almost as many people hate Barack Obama as hate Sarah Palin. Now, I can’t tell you why they hate Sarah Palin. They can’t either. Ask them, and they go, ‘Palin!!! Arrggghhh!! She’s … (spit) … (slobber) … (mumble) … and Dan Quayle in a skirt!’ Or something like that. They’ve been programmed to hate her. So they do. What else it means is that the programming isn’t taking. Remember all that ‘Bush is evil’ programming that people were spewing a while back. It’s calmed down among most. Oh, sure, some still blame Bush for the economy, 9/11, and Pearl Harbor. Because stupid people have a way of living way too long and not shutting the hell up. But the ‘Gosh, I sure miss George Bush’ sentiment is growing... Palin is no George W. Bush, but the ‘Hate Palin’ programming is starting to wear off.”

Rick Rice, at Wizbang:

“You can almost hear the veins popping in necks across the country this morning as the Palin haters stroke out over this news. The spewing begins in 3, 2, 1…”

John Hitchcock, at Common Sense Political Thought:

“Reagan trailed Carter by 25 points 8 months before the election. And the mainstream media and Democrats and Republican establishment wanted a more squishy Republican candidate to run against Carter, claiming Reagan was unelectable and too extremist. We are still more than 13 months away, and mainstream media and Democrats and Republican establishment want a more squishy Republican candidate to run against Obama, claiming Palin is unelectable and too extremist... As more and more of the announced Republican candidates get vetted, people are finding they have issues and are taking another look at Palin. The Democrats and mainstream media (but I repeat myself) and Republican establishment have been going after her tooth and nail, with the Democrats and mainstream media using all manner of smear tactics, since 2008. Their ammo pouch is basically empty. Absolute nutball fringe Left (Andrew Sullivan, Joe McGinniss, Daily Kos, Keith Olbermann, etc) have been constantly over-playing the ‘attack Palin’ card, and it’s starting to backfire on them.”

John Hinderaker, at Power Line:

“Shock Poll? That is how Drudge is headlining this McClatchy-Marist survey which finds support for President Obama evaporating, so that ‘even’ Sarah Palin trails him by only five points, 49-44. I would say that if there is a shock, it is that Obama – an awful president who acts as though he barely cares – can lead any Republican contender.”

Joel B. Pollak, at Big Journalism:

“Joe McGinniss, author of a controversial new biography of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, was charged in connection with a hit-and-run accident in Wasilla, Alaska in July 2010, police and court records show. McGinniss had moved to Wasilla in the spring of 2010 to work on his book, and rented the house next door to the Palin family, prompting Palin and her husband to erect a higher fence to protect their children’s privacy. On July 12, 2010, at about 2 p.m., McGinniss was allegedly driving an overdue rental car when he collided with an unoccupied vehicle parked near Kaladi Brothers, a popular local coffee shop, causing minor but ‘disabling’ damage, according to the collision report... According to an affidavit by police officer Daniel M. Bennett, McGinniss failed to report the accident, and left the scene, but not before a bystander recorded his license plate and left a note for the owner of the parked vehicle. When Bennett arrived to investigate, he discovered McGinniss’s vehicle nearby, and notified the rental car company, which impounded the vehicle and brought it back to Anchorage, roughly 30 miles away. Two hours after the collision occurred, McGinniss called the police–not to report the accident, but to report that his rental car had been stolen.”

Bob Belvedere, at The Camp Of The Saints:

“I have no respect for a man who can’t admit his mistakes.”

Mark America:

“I’ve concluded that there is a real problem in our culture, and among many Republican men particularly, there is now a surrender of the values we once shared, and it is expressed in a general cowardice to be seen when conservative women come under sexist, vulgar attacks. It’s not that conservative women in politics can’t defend themselves, but when allegedly conservative outlets begin to act like the worst leftist purveyors of filth, one begins to wonder about the character of people who claim merely to be reporting the news. Frankly, it makes me sick, and it makes me angry... Carlson, in all honesty, after your publication ran with the post it did, and Beck, after GBTV’s ridiculous ‘joke’ of Thursday, and yeah, you too Rizzuto, I don’t know what any of you could possibly believe you have to offer to a civil discussion about any subject after this. You’re all embarrassments to manhood.”

Exit Quote - Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, from a Bluegrass Gospel song by Michael Reed:

“Just hold on a little longer
Help is on the way
A brighter day is coming
For those who believe and pray
Help won't help tomorrow
If you give up today
Just hold on a little longer
Help is on the way”

- JP

Day By Day (September 21, 2011)

Never Again
*
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 (September 20, 2011)

Greta Van Susteren Interviews Her 'Friend' Tucker Carlson... (Video)
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Donald Douglas, at American Power:

“Honestly, this is hard to watch --- and I mean Tucker Carlson debasing himself. When he pleads that he's got a wife and three daughters, that's it...”

- JP

Sarah's Story

As posted at SarahPAC:
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Sarah Heath Palin

Sarah Palin first made history on December 4, 2006 when she was sworn in as the first female governor of Alaska. In August 2008, Senator John McCain tapped Palin to serve as his vice-presidential running mate in his presidential campaign, making her the first woman to run on the Republican Party's presidential ticket.

In Alaska, her top priorities included fiscal restraint, limiting the size of government, resource development, education, equitable oil valuation as well as transportation and infrastructure development. Palin fought for ethics reform and transparency in government.

Palin has a long record of achievement and experience in public office. Prior to her election as Governor, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council and two terms as the mayor of Wasilla. During her tenure, she reduced property tax levels while increasing services and made Wasilla a business-friendly environment, drawing in new industry.

Under her leadership as Governor, Alaska invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding and protected Alaska's natural resources. She created Alaska's Petroleum Systems Integrity Office to provide oversight and maintenance of oil and gas equipment, facilities and infrastructure and the Climate Change Subcabinet to prepare a climate change strategy for Alaska.

During Governor Palin's first year in office, three of her administration's major proposed pieces of legislation passed—an overhaul of the state's ethics laws, a competitive process to construct a natural gas pipeline and a restructuring of Alaska's oil valuation formula.

Palin is past chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate government agency that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment. She also served as chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) Natural Resources Committee, which was charged with pursuing legislation to ensure state needs are considered as federal policy is formulated in the areas of agriculture, energy, environmental protection and natural resource management.

Sarah Heath Palin arrived in Alaska with her family in 1964, when her parents came to teach school in Skagway. She is married to Todd Palin, who is a lifelong Alaskan, worked as a production operator on the North Slope and is a four-time champion of the Iron Dog, the world's longest snowmachine race. They have five children.

Born on February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho, Governor Palin moved to Alaska with her family at the age of three months, when her father took a teaching position in Skagway, Alaska, before eventually settling in Wasilla. A graduate of Wasilla High School, Governor Palin was the co-captain and point guard of Wasilla’s 1982 state championship women’s basketball team. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987.

Palin is a contributor for FOX News where she offers her political commentary and analysis across all FOX News platforms, including FOX Business Channel, FOXNews.com and FOX News Radio. She also participates in special event political programming for FOX Broadcasting.

She is the author of The New York Times best-selling books, Going Rogue: An American Life (November 2009) and America by Heart (November 2010) and was named to TIME magazine’s 2010 "100 Most Influential People" list. She was also the host of the 8-week documentary series Sarah Palin’s Alaska on TLC.

- JP

Gov. Palin: GOP must have 'the most vetted candidate' in 2012

"I see my own name up there in the top three."
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Appearing on 'Hannity' Tuesday night, Sarah Palin said President Obama's arguments for passage of his jobs bill amount to just "more of the same" and will lead to more "failed policies." The first woman to be the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party said the president is underestimating the wisdom of the American people. She questioned Obama's numbers, saying that the White House is "way off" on its math. The former governor of Alaska also had a few choice words for Warren Buffett, whom she said is being "disingenuous" about tax rates and accused the investor of refusing to pay his back taxes.


Asked about the Solyndra scandal, Sarah Palin said it was just the tip of an iceberg, the bulk of which will be exposed and will "blow people away" before the 2012 election. About the election, Gov. Palin said, "Mark my words, it will be an unconventional campaign." She predicted that Obama would beaten, having already lost most of the independents who voted for him in 2008. His vote will largely be restricted to his base, that 20 percent of voters who identify as liberal.


When asked by Sean Hannity to assess the current field of GOP candidates, Gov. Palin said that she didn't want to just hear their rhetoric; she wants to hear them articulate their governing philosophies and show how their records show they have created jobs and fought cronyism.


-JP