Sarah Palin
August 31st, 2008 at 10:18 am by David FarrarMcCain’s choice of Sarah Palin certainly has suceeded in catching the headlines. It has dominated the cable news netwroks for two days now. Before I blog in more depth on her, a quick reference back to the Obama speech.
Factcheck.org fisks Obama’s speech and finds seven inaccuracies, half-truths, exaggerations etc. Now to be fair, I am sure when McCain does his speech, they wll find a similiar number. But I think it is a wonderful resource to have a neutral well funded site that checks facts and claims from both sides. We badly need one of those in New Zealand. That would be a project worth getting a few million donated towards!
Now back to Sarah Palin. Power Line looks at how much of an outsider she is:
So Palin was an upstart in every possible way when she challenged Frank Murkowski, the former Senator and entrenched Republican Governor who, among other things, appointed his daughter Lisa to succeed him in the Senate. Palin was opposed by the entire Republican establishment in Alaska, including Senator Ted Stevens–after whom the Anchorage airport is named–and Congressman Don Young. Notwithstanding the hostility of her party’s elder statesmen, Palin defeated Murkowski in the primary. She then faced the popular former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles in the general election. In what would have been considered an extraordinary upset just a few months earlier, Palin trounced Knowles, despite reported efforts by her own party’s leaders to defeat her. As Governor, she has enjoyed approval ratings in the 80s.
So it is hard to imagine a more complete outsider, in terms of national politics, than Sarah Palin. She ran and was elected as a reformer, has governed successfully as such, and owes nothing whatever to anyone in Washington. Personally, I’m not as anti-Washington as many conservatives, but it would be just about unAmerican not to root for a rebel and outsider like Palin.
This is what I like about Palin. She is the genuine deal, as much as anyone can be in politics.
But criticism of her experience is valid, if overly dramatised.
Could I say she is ready to become President on January the 21st 2009 should John McCain drop dead on the day of his inauguration? Not really. She does not have the experience in national politics. However she is standing for VP, not President, and people do overplay the McCain age issue. It is worth remembering that John McCain’s mother is still alive!! Given time, Palin as Vice-President will gain the experience so she could step up if necessary. So there is a risk should something happen very early in a McCain presidency, and that will be a factor in voting – not a huge factor though I suspect.
Some people have claimed Palin is more experienced than Obama to be President, as she has had two years of executive experience as Chief Executive of Alaska. It is true that Obama has no executive experience, and limited federal legislative experience. But 18 months on the campaign trail has exposed him to almost every issue domestic and foreign and Palin has not had that. Of course Obama is standing for President, not VP.
Palin is somewhat of a risk. If she does a massive blunder, or a series of minor ones, in her early days, she will be painted as a Dan Quayle (who was in fact somewhat unfairly treated) lightweight. But if she does not stuff up, she could develop a lot of popular support. Both Palin and McCain are genuinely independent of their party machines, and may appeal to those independents.
I still think Obama is favourite to win, as his get out the vote organisation will be so massive, that he will win on turnout. But there is still a long way to go.
I’ll finish with some quotes on Palin from the Palin for VP blog, which had been quietly pushing her for many months:
I have been working to draft Gov. Palin as Vice President since February of 2007, and I can recount first hand how she has united divergent views among Republicans and is now even gaining Democratic support. The key is that she offers a combination of qualities that make her a hero to many, many different groups. For instance, two of our strongest bases of support have been social conservatives and libertarian republicans, who are normally at each other’s throats.
However, she offered both groups something that they desperately wanted without compromising any appeal to the other. The SoCons loved her pro-life, pro-family, and pro-gun positions, while the libertarians and fiscal conservatives cheered her on as she vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars of wasteful government spending. Getting those two groups to sing kum-ba-ya was enough of an accomplishment, but now it appears that a third group has found what it wants in Gov. Palin: McCainocrats.
If anyone can unite those bases, she does it to a reasonable degree.
By upending Alaska’s corrupt political class, Palin has actually produced the type of change that Barack Obama can only talk about; and her collar is far bluer than Joe Biden’s ever was. Furthermore, she is arguably the only candidate who has the necessary expertise to address the single most pressing issue in this election: gas prices. As Governor of Alaska, Chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (America’s largest interstate organization), and a former Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Sarah Palin can run rings around almost anyone when it comes to oil.
That’s a good point. She may be inexperienced on some issues, but if they position her as a VP who will lead the Administration’s energy policy, that could appeal.
Related posts:
- McCain chooses Palin
- Will Palin run?
- A positive NYT column on Sarah Palin
- Sarah Palin rumours debunked
August 31st, 2008 at 10:32 am
The Dems attacks on her as being “inexperienced” are revealing.
What they are really saying is “a person with no executive experience is ok if that person is a man, a person with limited experience is not ok if she is a woman”.
Sexism in a bottle.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:34 am
The left is scared to death of Sarah Palin because unlike most of the right she is not intimidated by their bullying, not afraid to say what she thinks is right. Not afraid to be herself instead of the politically correct charicature that leftist doctrine always demands. This automatically makes her a target for the left’s hate and intolerance and venom.
She’ll need to be prepared for much worse from the left than she’s faced to date tho, as the attack dogs of the Democrat party and other far left groups (and their mainstream media agents) start their campaign to discredit her- Bill Kristol in The Weekly Standard put it succinctly and accurately:
“So what we will see in the next days and weeks–what we have already seen in the hours after her nomination–is an effort by all the powers of the old liberalism, both in the Democratic party and the mainstream media, to exorcise this spectre. They will ridicule her and patronize her. They will distort her words and caricature her biography. They will appeal, sometimes explicitly, to anti-small town and anti-religious prejudice. All of this will be in the cause of trying to prevent the American people from arriving at their own judgment of Sarah Palin.”
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:41 am
And isn’t Michael Moore full of class? He thanks God a hurricane threatens New Orleans the week of the Repub’s convention.
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080830000004.aspx
It doesn’t matter how many suffer as long as opposition voices are stifled. To what extent is Moore and his lefty mates prepared to go to silence others? Already Obama’s team are trying to shut down Repub ads with threats but they never deny the veracity of those ads.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/08/29/barack-the-silencer-obamas-gangland-assault-on-free-speech/
As Malkin says, “Feel the chill.”
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:42 am
BTW, something else I read that I think shows once again what a breath of fresh air Sarah Palin is- She’s suing the weak and vacillating Bush government for caving in to the bullshit of the watermelons-
—————————————-
The state of Alaska will sue the U.S. government to stop the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species, arguing the designation will slow development in the state, Gov. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday. Palin said the state will file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington challenging U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s decision to grant Endangered Species Act protections to the polar bear.
The Republican governor has argued that the ice-dependent polar bear, the first mammal granted Endangered Species Act listing because of global warming, does not need additional protections. “We believe that the listing was unwarranted and that it’s unprecedented to list a currently healthy population based on uncertain climate models,” said Alaska Assistant Attorney General Steven Daugherty.
Even though Kempthorne enacted a rule aimed at precluding any new restrictions on oil and gas operations as a result of the listing, the Palin administration believes a wide variety of other development activities in Alaska would be hampered if the listing goes through, Daugherty said. Any development or activity requiring federal permits or using federal funds would have to engage in a “consultation” process to ensure that polar bears are not harmed, he said.
That consultation, mandated by the Endangered Species Act, “is a long and time-consuming process,” he said. “It’s just, basically, a big time-and-money-waster.”
————————————
What a babe..!!!
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
Overnight most of the Pumas have joined the GOP. I am completely dumbfounded. Won’t hear about that in the MSM. My money is on McCain /Palin.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:54 am
Quote from the Daily Mail UK
“Struggling against the waves, this polar bear faces almost certain death after becoming lost at sea in the Arctic.
It is one of a group of nine to have plunged into the ocean after the ice float they lived on melted.
The bears were spotted miles from their normal hunting ground by U.S. government oil survey scientists flying over Alaska’s Chukchi Sea.
They said the creatures’ homing instinct has sent them north towards the edge of the polar cap instead of 60 miles south towards the nearest land.”
So only how many thousand left now?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:54 am
When it comes to change, Obama is all talk. He has done nothing other than sit on committees, avoid difficult votes, and campaign. Biden is the same, except he has been doing it longer and is a bit of a pompous windbag to boot.
But Sarah Palin appears to be a real change agent. She gets things done and isn’t afraid to make hard decisions or stand up to her own party. I think she is a great choice.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:55 am
GM >So only how many thousand left now?
I don’t recall the number. But about 4 times as many as there were 30 years ago.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:59 am
woo hoo..!
..palin is an oil-pimping anti-conservationist/anti environmentalist….
interesting choices of names for her children..eh..?
“..named Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig..”
“pull up captain kirk..!..pull up..!..”
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:10 am
Why don’t you fuck off pullu? You have tried screwing the pooch on every thread I have read this morning…
You are a tiresome oxygen thief – do us a favour.
[DPF: 20 demerits. Phil's comment was on topic, and your response is not]
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:19 am
hey phil! welcome back!
i have no idea what ya said, but all good
18 months on the campaign trail TALKING about issues does not equate to 2 years of running a state and making decisions that actually effect people.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:22 am Vote:
August 31st, 2008 at 11:24 am
Firstly, to get the retarded accusations out of the way, I am not a Democrat or a Leftie.
But get real folks, the only reason Palin was selected was for: A) Her gender, and B) her fundamentalist conservative views. Period. Cut the anti-corruption, governing experience, hockey mum bullshit. Any other Republican senator would be far more qualified than her to do the job. If she had been running in the Republican primaries there is no fucking way she would have gotten anywhere near the top four.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:30 am
looked back and too late to edit – ‘doh!
Man they have to be stoked!
Good way to go about it too… early in the primary season, not a big fan of the VP names being bandied about, so look for an outsider by researching every Republican Senator, Congressman, and Governor. Decide you like this one, start a ‘blog. Awesome.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:47 am
Graeme – indeed. And he has never met her. But she called the author to thank him yesterday.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:07 pm
“Firstly, to get the retarded accusations out of the way, I am not a Democrat or a Leftie.”
I know that, and I have not made that allegation. You’re merely someone who harbours feelings of hatred and intolerance towards Christians. You’re wrong when you say that Sarah Palin was chosen merely on the basis of her beliefs. That is of course what a progressive would say. Its deeper than that. Its Palin’s adherence to Christianity’s basic principles that have made her what she is today, a person of real character and the breath of fresh air that the Republican Party needs after being rent apart for decades by the destructive ideas of progressives like you, who are mistaken about your ideological home.
You say you’re not a Democrat or a Leftie, and I accept that, and accept your right to think the way you do, but the reality is you SHOULD BE a Democrat/ leftie, for it is the presence of wrong headed progressives like you in the Nats or the Republicans and the resultant weakening of the message, that has led to their gradual political emasculation. Progressives masquerading as right wingers and undermining the foundations of the party and splitting it on ideological grounds is the real reason that the far left today enjoy unparalleled political and social supremacy.
Palin is a move away from this self destructive course, and a return to the basics of Conservatism, and that’s why her selection by McCain is something to celebrate. I’ll tell you what the real danger is in Palin’s nomination. She might resign through her inability to swallow the progressive bullshit of the ideologically incoherent McCain.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
one for reddy..
http://whoar.co.nz/2008/2-top-alaska-newspapers-question-palins-fitness/
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Oscars Grouchy Mum (54) +1 Says:
August 31st, 2008 at 11:10 am
Why don’t you fuck off pullu? You have tried screwing the pooch on every thread I have read this morning…
You are a tiresome oxygen thief – do us a favour.
[DPF: 20 demerits. Phil's comment was on topic, and your response is not]
Bloody hell, is Phul a protected species now?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Is anyone else disappointed that Ron Paul did not receive the nomination for GOP?
McCain comes across in so many interviews and debates as not being able to grasp the fundamental issues facing the US and it’s present policies. I can see him being a puppet of Washington, just like Bush became after 9/11. In saying that Obama won’t be much better, yes he has greater grassroots support for now, but that’s only going to increase the pressure on him when it comes time to make unpopular decisions (ie. cutting spending).
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Palin’s selection is very cunning on McCain’s sake.
Vote:Sarah Palin is the only Washington outsider, a real strength when congress as a whole is more unpopular than George Bush.
Pelosi/Reid promised so much after their 2006 victory, their results have been an abject failure. Obama has been there for four years but Jo Biden, only 36 years !!!!.McCain has been a reformer,much to the annoyance of Republicans like Tom De Lay,Sen Ted Stevens and other Republican dinosaurs.
Also see the fact that Sarah Palin has been in the PTA, a mayor of a small town and has some administrative experience. Just like so many other American moms, her background is readily identifiable unlike the shiny pants lawyers and politicos.
As I said in another thread, lots of people will identify Palin as not a career politico but someone who is trying to make a difference. She has no contacts with lobbyists and has fought big oil.
Too many msm making comments, most obsessed with Messiah Obama.
This election will be interesting. Obama should win in relation to current US opinions but I think many Americans have got tired of these sweet talking show ponies.
August 31st, 2008 at 4:15 pm
CANNOT WAIT , in some speech in the future she will say GOD created the earth and the USA republican party 6000 years ago , truly she will., un abortion clinics queers and the rest will be in her sights , russia europe, corrupt liarbor supporters, shes gungho , so helen will be on the hit list including science , free thought , KIWIBLOGG , to much FREE THOUGHT . so dont praise the bitch to much witch burner
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I was pimping for Palin on my blog back in June. It’s not a token selection. I honestly believe McCain could not have made a better one based on the candidates available. The reality is that the Republican Party has gotten old, tired and tainted in America. Palin or Jindal were the only credible fresh faces that McCain could use to shake off that image. And sure, she is inexperienced, but it is clear she is also a talented politician. For the skeptics out there, just search for her on You Tube and watch her at work – a “hockey Mom” she may be but she’s hard case, and deserves her nickname “Barracuda”.
Watch out for this lady – she may well be America’s answer to Thatcher.
P
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I keep expecting her to get rid of the specs, shake out her hair and transform into Wonder Woman.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I know that, and I have not made that allegation. You’re merely someone who harbours feelings of hatred and intolerance towards Christians. You’re wrong when you say that Sarah Palin was chosen merely on the basis of her beliefs. That is of course what a progressive would say. Its deeper than that. Its Palin’s adherence to Christianity’s basic principles that have made her what she is today, a person of real character and the breath of fresh air that the Republican Party needs after being rent apart for decades by the destructive ideas of progressives like you, who are mistaken about your ideological home.
You say you’re not a Democrat or a Leftie, and I accept that, and accept your right to think the way you do, but the reality is you SHOULD BE a Democrat/ leftie, for it is the presence of wrong headed progressives like you in the Nats or the Republicans and the resultant weakening of the message, that has led to their gradual political emasculation. Progressives masquerading as right wingers and undermining the foundations of the party and splitting it on ideological grounds is the real reason that the far left today enjoy unparalleled political and social supremacy.
Palin is a move away from this self destructive course, and a return to the basics of Conservatism, and that’s why her selection by McCain is something to celebrate. I’ll tell you what the real danger is in Palin’s nomination. She might resign through her inability to swallow the progressive bullshit of the ideologically incoherent McCain.
Err WTF? I am a right winger because I believe in libertarian economics… As for Christianity I see it’s role in society as regressive… Just look at the Family/Kiwi Parties’ retarded policies that are based on nothing but emotion (eg. raising the drinking age, tax cuts, raising the minimum wage, discriminatory marriage benefits, etc – no coherence whatsoever), and then go into a Church and find me a single person who has had their lives changed by Jesus and isn’t caught up in the modern Church’s hierarchial monopoly on Christian values like tithing and the Church structure (you won’t find them in the Church as they often get thrown out for speaking against the status quo). It’s just as bad as it was 2000 years ago when people suffering from diseases and going through shit times would never expect to find any support in the temples, and when they do they get screwed over by the Pharisees who care only for selfish interests.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Like I said, the only reason she was selected was because she has a pussy. There is no way a male clone of her would be acceptable as McCain’s VP choice. You said in an earlier thread she is running for Vice-President, not Commander in Chief… But FFS the whole purpose of the VP’s role is to replace the President in case of emergency (whether it be the President’s death or resignation). Is Palin the woman to do the job, bear in fucking mind that we have no idea of her views on foreign policy, and if for example she was selected as the Democrat’s VP and their Presidential candidate was Biden who has experience… There is no way idiots like you would be giving her the same leeway and lack of scrutiny as she is getting now just because she is a Republican. What are her views on Israel? Her position on Russia? Etc. The truth is we know fuck all about it.
Answer me this: do you think she would have had any chance of winning the Republican primary if it was her running instead of McCain against Romney, Rudy, etc?
By the way, just came across this on Wiki, not sure how reliable it is:
SARAH PALIN PREGNANCY SCANDAL
Here is a link to the original daily kos diary that brought the the story to mainstream attention: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223
A link to the google group that broke the story friday morning a few hours after she was announced as VP: http://groups.google.com/group/talk.politics.misc/browse_thread/thread/113762ce1f141a80/42bfd769e44bb65a?lnk=raot
More Photo evidence that Bristol is the mother: http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/1113/6873504039standaloneprokr3.jpg
http://gov.state.ak.us/photos/PalinFamily_Outside_v01.jpg
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo147/bort27/784px-Palin_family.jpg
The only photo of what Bristol looked like before she was pregnant, removed from the photos on Palin’s website but still in google’s cache for now: http://209.85.173.104/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fgovserv.state.ak.us%2Flarge_photo.php%3Fid%3D1&btnG=Search
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Liberterian? Pffft…. You’re free to call yourself what you want of course but to me you’re nothing more than an intolerant hate filled bigot.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
I think that Palin has that demure Librarian look. If she takes off the glasses, shakes her hair, and twangs her suspenders.
Then i will want to be a Palintologist for sure.
I may be in Lust?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Oh, Reb, that is so last season Desperate Housewives.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Just ignore the troll who links to Kos and styles himself as a Christian musician. He is a confused young man who has long been banned from my blog and needs to take his meds.
Anchorage is is a pretty small place, about the size of Christchurch, and I think it would be difficult to keep something like this under wraps if it were true. I’m more inclined to think it’s scurrilous bullshit from the gutter of the US left wing.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Just seen an article in a UK redtop online.
News of the World, otherwise known as ‘Screws of the World’
Big column inches and piccies of Palin, and the attempt by the Socialists to pull her down.
However on one of the piccies, I presume swearing in as Governor. She is wearing a necklace with the star of David. That is significant.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:14 pm
http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html
If it’s not her baby, that’s a) a pretty elaborate cover story, and b) a LOT of people who have to be co-ordinated to lie in unison.
Vote:September 1st, 2008 at 12:13 am
Is that so Blair? I’ve been posting at your blog as ‘cunt’ for quite some time now. And I am surprised you kiss her ass so considering anyone else with the exact same views as her, say Huckabee or Falwell you hate vehemently.
Vote:September 1st, 2008 at 1:48 am
You won’t be doing that much longer, because you named yourself well. And herding Palin in with an old skool neocon/economic wet like Hickabee or the odious Falwell proves how bizarre and confused your views are.
Vote:September 1st, 2008 at 8:36 am
Well at least you acknowledge you’re a cunt yourself.
Thats the first step along the long road to recovery. No perhaps you’d like to stop soiling DPF’s carpet and let the grown ups’ talk.
Vote:September 1st, 2008 at 12:36 pm
go fuck an ass Murray if you’re into shit so much
Vote:September 1st, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Meanwhile the low life left have started attacking Palin already (stolen from No Minister)
“It is hard to credit that there are people as cretinous as those who accuse Governor Palin of actually adopting her teen aged daughter’s baby and passing it off as her own or of willfully mismanaging the last days of her pregnancy and thereby inducing Down Syndrome in her baby.”
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/stop-prying-into-other-peoples-vaginas.html
Vote: