Showing posts with label Ex-Governor Sarah Palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ex-Governor Sarah Palin. Show all posts

Friday, September 17, 2010

She's rested, tanned, rich, and ready to rock following Tuesday's wins. The half-term Governor may just be running for the White House

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor



After all the butt-scratching, dissembling, and aw-shucksing about her Presidential plans, Ex-Governor Sarah Palin now says, sure, "I would give it a shot."  But, only if we think she's "the one."

The half-term former Governor made this pronouncement during an interview with Fox News (her sometime employer).  There were, of course, a couple of contingencies:



"If the American people were to be ready for someone who is willing to shake it up, and willing to get back to time-tested truths, and help lead our country towards a more prosperous and safe future and if they happen to think I was the one, if it were best for my family and for our country, of course I would give it a shot."


As you all know, she is highly skilled at getting on TV and energizing the base, but her team's organizational skills run the gamut from pathetic to non-existent.  If she IS going to make an even half-serious run, she needs to get on the ground in the primary states...just as her potential adversaries like Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, and others are doing.  She found it difficult to study for the VP debates; it's not clear if she has the stomach for the massive operational efforts required to mount a Presidential primary campaign.
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Friday, August 27, 2010

A Red Dawn: The Gathering Storm of The Tea Party

By Pablo Fanque
National Affairs Editor

The Democratic Party posted this fascinating web ad yesterday. 

We've been saying this for a while--while the left and center seem to laugh them off, the tea party, Michelle Bachman, Dr. Paul, Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, and the others ARE a threat.



It's a new dawn.  And it's kind of like a Red Dawn.
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Monday, August 23, 2010

Is Barack Obama An Intentional One Term President?


By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

We've written about this before here. . .In his first year and a half in office, BHO took on a lot of difficult tasks, and succeeded at many of them.  Notably, while in the middle of pushing for financial reforms and trying to prop up a faltering economy, he tackled health care reform.  He has taken on a number of other reforms.  He has already in his first two years, successfully seated two nominees on the Supreme Court.  George W. Bush also placed two nominees--in eight years.  On the other hand, President Bush also failed in one nomination--the disastrous and almost laughable nomination of his White House Counsel Harriet Miers.  Bill Clinton also placed two people on The Supremes.  BHO has also taken on some almost pointless issues, like bringing his old professor and a cop to the White House for a mediation over beers on the lawn.  Or, when he recently spoke out about the proposed Muslim center in downtown Manhattan (about which he was absolutely right, but had nothing to gain) which is unlikely to ever be built, since they only have a few thousand dollars in the bank.  He has nothing to gain, and is unlikely to really even influence people on these sorts of wedge issues.

Almost out of the gate, President Obama seemed to act as if a second term didn't really matter.  The U.K.'s Telegraph had an interesting article this weekend, "Does Barack Obama want to be re-elected in 2012?" While I doubt the veracity and analysis of a British 'paper analyzing the U.S. Presidency, they have a point. 

Almost everything Obama does these days suggests that he doesn't care much about being re-elected. He may want to be re-elected, but it feels like he isn't really sweating it one way or the other.  Strange as it might seem, perhaps he wants to be a one-term president. And, let's face it, in an eight year term as President, you spend at least three of those years either running for re-election or functioning as either a virtual--or real!--lame duck. 

Of course he will run for re-election (unless something really weird happens).  But as popular as he still is, I often feel that he will not be re-elected.  It's a foolish move, but I suspect the electorate will want to roll back and elect a republican to office.  Like many of you, I fervently hope that that Republican will not be Ex-Governor Sarah Palin...
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Slate's Excellent Mock Ad: Levi Johnston for Mayor

By Pablo Fanque
National Affairs Editor

This mock ad for Levi Johnston's mayoral campaign is just great.  Slate's slogan is even better:  "Levi Johnston: Building A Bridge To Somewhere."


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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Ex-Governor Palin riding low in the water & high in the polls

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
& Jack Brummet, Social Mores & Ethics Editor




Holy S***t!    People laughed when Jack wrote a year and a half ago that Sarah Palin had a serious shot at succeeding President Barack Obama--after one term.  Pablo laughed, and didn't take his jabbering as half-serious...it was just Jack being contrarian Jack.   But then, a few months later, the Teabag movement began gathering momentum, Sarah Palin had sold millions of books, and piled away millions of dollars. She was making highly paid speeches.  She's been racing around the country and beating the drum for teabagger-approved candidates. 

This recent Gallup Poll raised the collective hairs on our necks. 



We haven't seen any recent Palin-Obama head to head polls, but this is feeling more than a little spooky.  The juggernaut we all thought would blow itself out by now is still picking up steam.  Even Levi is back on the bus.
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Friday, July 16, 2010

Opening 2012 dustup: Romney v. Palin

By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor
on assignment in New Orleans















Yesterday, a Romney insider told Time Magazine that they "do not believe Sarah Palin is a ’serious human being,'."  Politico called someone in the Ex-Alaska Governor's camp, where they were told that comment was “frankly immature."  Romney more or less Tweeted an apology.

I suspect there will be lots of great back and forth between the Palin camp and all the (so far) many other candidates.  Ex-Governor Palin is definitely on steadier ground when she can have the ghost-writers cook up her press releases.  But, I for one, mainly look forward to her debate performances.  Read more at one of my favorite political snark sites:  Wonkette
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Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Did Ex-Governor Palin have "some work done"?

By Pablo Fanque
National Affairs Editor

Our frequent tipster, D.E. of E.I., Wonkette, and dozens of other blogs and websites have noted that Ex-Governor Sarah Palin may have recently spent some of her mega-millions in book royalties on "some new work,"  or, as one author put it: "Did Sarah Palin Buy Herself a Couple of Luxury Items?"

click to enlarge

A Tweet from Wonkette:  "“Sarah Palin 12/09 no boobs http://bit.ly/bmQtPJ  #Sarah Palin today, Instant boobage! http://j.mp/dokqd2 only her #plasticsurgeon knows4sure.”
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Common Ground between Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the Tea Party Movement

By Jack Brummet
Poetry, Pranks, and Paranormal Editor
filling in for National Affairs Editor Pablo Fanque on assignment in Louisiana



"The people are never in the wrong; we make the mistakes and need to be corrected by them." - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

Members of the Tea Party Movement would embrace this statement whole-heartedly if they didn't know the author.  Guevara, however,  was actually referring to a majority, and the will of the people, and not to a splinter movement of cranky, hard-right factionalists.

With the Tea Party's first victory today, you have to wonder .just what their de facto front-runner has in mind. . .
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Saturday, May 15, 2010

       By Pablo Fanque     
   National Affairs Editor  


The Ex-Governor makes a plea for diligent scholarship, research, and fact checking. Does this strike anyone else as insanely disingenuous? Her vituperation against the media is always fascinating, since even more than most politicians, she owes her fame and fortune to that same media. In fact, she is now a part of that media as a Fox News employee, and Fox has never been accused of meticulous fact checking in their hysterical "news" coverage.

From Sarah Palin's Facebook posting today:

  Research is your friend, News Media. Try it sometime. 

                            By Sarah Palin



The more things change, the more they stay the same with twisted media coverage of my comments. Stories from yesterday are littered with typical inaccuracies and half truths; and in our never-ending quest to hold the press accountable, here are the points that require correction:

1) I was not “interviewed” by ABC News. I had an ABC News camera in my face while I was signing things and greeting some attendees following the Susan B. Anthony List Breakfast.

2) My remarks at the NRA Annual Meeting regarding the anti-Second Amendment sentiments of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi were as follows:

“President Obama and his allies like Nancy Pelosi have been relatively quiet on the gun control front – not because they don’t want to limit your rights, but because they’re afraid of the political consequences. Don’t doubt for a minute that if they thought they could get away with it, they would ban guns, and ban ammunition, and gut the Second Amendment.” (emphasis added)

That’s what I said. And here’s what Barack Obama himself once said: “Even if I want to take them away, I don’t have the votes in Congress.” (emphasis added)

Now, what proof do we have that he would want to limit our Second Amendment rights? Well, he made some pretzel-like equivocating statements about our individual right to keep and bear arms, and he flip-flopped on his opinion in the Heller case and then still wouldn’t come out and say that the court made the right decision. But the real proof is his terrible anti-gun record as a state senator in Illinois, where he voted repeatedly in favor of banning guns and ammunition. He even expressed his support for state legislation to “ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.” (This outrageous position was declared in a questionnaire, which candidate Obama later claimed he “never saw or approved,” despite the fact that his handwriting was on it – a fact which he did not dispute.)

As for Nancy Pelosi – she’s a San Francisco Democrat. That should be proof enough. But if you require more: She has an F rating from the NRA and supports gun bans and registration laws.

As noted in my remarks, I don’t believe that it’s politically expedient for them to attack our Second Amendment Rights. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like to do so if they had the chance.

3) Despite reporters’ claims to the contrary, Obamacare does allow for public funding of abortion in myriad ways, which is why the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (speaking as the voice of authority for the Catholic Church in America) unequivocally opposed Obamacare despite the Church’s long desire for health care reform.

4) As for the remarks I made yesterday about my beautiful son, Trig, I ask that you watch my speech here and judge for yourself my intentions.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

What are Sarah Palin's Prospects? Pablo Fanque speculates on the mid-term elections and beyond

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

As we all know,  the vice-presidency in modern politics has not exactly been a golden path to the Oval Office.  Sure, George Bush (Sr.) pulled it off, Dick Nixon was finally elected after eight years in the political wilderness, and Harry Truman and LBJ were catapulted into office by the sudden deaths of the Presidents under whom they were serving. 

Recent unsuccessful vice presidential nominees — like Jack Kemp, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, and Dan Quayle — never got within miles of the Presidency.  The only two losing vice presidential candidates to win a nomination--Walter Mondale and Bob Dole--were trotted out as sacrificial lambs with no chance of surviving against wildly popular incumbents.  They were both thoroughly trounced in the general election.

What does this mean for Ex-Governor Palin, who was not only a losing Veep candidate, but eventually resigned little more than halfway through her only term as Governor of Alaska?  It's hard to say.  None of these other also-rans attached themselves to a populist movement like the "tea party."  None of them ever stumped as hard as she has for fellow Republicans.  And none of them had amassed the vast mega-million personal war-chest that Palin has collected in the last year.  Whatever you think of her, she has garnered some good ink, a lot of tea-party love,  and political I.O.U.s from GOP candidates and their supporters.  Does that translate into traction as a candidate?  Probably not, but it's too early to tell.  Sarah Palin is unique, her fans are especially dedicated, and the voters seem particularly cranky.  I suspect we will know much more about her prospects after we see what happens in the 36 Senate, 435 House, and 37 gubernatorial elections coming up on November 2nd. 
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Friday, April 30, 2010

Drilling Pals: Pres. Barack Obama and Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin on offshore oil drilling

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor



Ex-Governor Sarah Palin: "Drill, baby, drill."


President Barack Obama: "We have to compromise in terms of a careful, well thought-out drilling strategy that is carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage"
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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Sarah Palin claims "a swing and a miss" on her ethics violations

By Pablo Fanque, All This Is That National Affairs Editor
Painting by Jack Brummet




The Ex-Governor fails to tell you that the defense fund she established to beat these many allegations (most of which were in fact quashed by technicalities, and not on the merits) is in fact itself probably an ethical violation since she used her office (before she quit) to solicit funds. As it turns out, the $12 million she has since squirreled away in the bank would have more than covered beating these charges of her nefarious activities.

Sarah Palin's Facebook page yesterday:

Swing and a miss


Yesterday we learned that another “ethics” complaint that was filed against Governor Palin was dismissed as baseless. (If you are counting, the Governor is 26-0-1 regarding such complaints or suits, with one still pending). Only this complaint was actually filed after she left office, and alleged that the mere existence of the Alaska Fund Trust (the legal defense fund set up for her to help defray the costs incurred during the Troopergate fiasco and related machinations that followed in its wake) was violative of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act as well as its solicitation or receipt of contributions. The raison d’ĂȘtre of the legal defense fund was inexorably linked to Governor Palin’s nomination as the Republican candidate for Vice President and the post-nomination political tactics arising therefrom; thus making the nomination sine quo non for the fund. In a detailed opinion, the complaint was dismissed as lacking a factual or legal basis. Last June, upon learning that a complaint against the Governor’s Anchorage Office Director was dismissed as baseless, Governor Palin’s then Chief of Staff Mike Nizich said, “This is not about holding the governor or state employees accountable. This is pure harassment.” That still rings true today.


When I discussed this with Governor Palin, she had an interesting take: “My reaction upon reading the opinion in this matter was not what I expected. Though I’m always pleased with the results of these investigations that prove the false allegations wrong, and I appreciate the detailed reasoning set forth in this recent opinion, I was primarily disappointed that the State of Alaska, the Attorney General’s office, and others, still have to spend time and resources addressing the abusive onslaught of frivolous complaints directed against me—even after I left office.”


At times (indeed, as recently as Sunday in a magazine cover story) people allege that the “real” reason Governor Palin stepped down was to “make money” (citing primarily her best selling book). As this most current complaint again emphasizes, Governor Palin stepped down for the right reasons—she did not want to see her state government continue to get bogged down with inane “ethics” complaints that were transparently political, plainly partisan, and diverting state resources. The voluntary relinquishment of power for the greater good is normally praised as an example of true leadership—just review any biography of George Washington—and it should be in this case as well. But for those who seek power for the sake of power, a selfless act is confusing, so a new narrative is created, such as the “profit” motive now being asserted with renewed vigor. Rest assured Sarah Palin had obtained approval to write her memoir while still in office without running into any conflict with the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Her financial future from her best selling book, though unknown then, would not have altered much whether she stayed in office or resigned, except the number of “ethics” complaints did dramatically decrease, so any legal fees associated with such complaints decreased concomitantly.



Let this latest dismissed complaint serve as a reminder for one of the real—and stated—reasons for her voluntary relinquishment of office, an office she campaigned for diligently, tirelessly and effectively. It stands as a marker that occasionally, every so often, there are public servants who can recognize the difference between self-interest and public interest. Sarah Palin is one such public servant.


- Thomas Van Flein, personal attorney for Sarah Palin

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Friday, February 12, 2010

Joe Klein explains in Time why Sarah Palin is a threat

By Pablo Fanque, All This Is That National Affairs Editor



Joe Klein hit it on the head in this week's Time Magazine.  He was right about Clinton, and he's right about why Sarah Palin is geting traction with much of that same demographic. 

"I have a theory about Bill Clinton: his philandering worked in his favor politically, especially with a demographic chunk that usually shies away from liberalism: American working guys. It made him more accessible. Here was a fellow who got it on with faded lounge singers and then celebrated with a Double Quarter Pounder and fries at the local McDonald's. If that ain't pickup-truck nirvana, what is? Democrats haven't produced many such men of the people; they produce law-professor presidents, a theme Palin launched in Nashville that we will be hearing a lot more frequently in the future."
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Monday, February 08, 2010

Sarah Palin rocks the house at the Tea Party in Nashville. Not that hard, since everyone else dropped out.


So,  maybe we were wrong when we said authoritatively that the Ex-Governor hired a ghost writer with her new-found millions. 

"Say he played the war card, say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided to really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel which I would like him to do, but that changes the dynamics on what we can assume is going to happen between now and three years because I think if the election were today, I do not think that Obama would be re-elected."  - Sarah Palin, on Saturday.
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