A Year of "Type,Type, Send"

One year ago today, Governor Palin posted the now famous "death panel" note on her Facebook page. As has now become common place, Governor Palin wrote and the collective heads of the Left exploded. Within those short weeks following her resignation, as health care reform town halls were heating up, the pundits and politicos were trying to predict what was next for Governor Palin. Little did they know what was coming. Just two short weeks after stepping down from her public office, Governor Palin began what has become her now signature way of speaking to the American people, and so often, expressing their exact sentiments. Whether it has been health care "reform", cap and tax, relations with Israel, Afghan strategy, handling of the Gulf oil spill, or the Bush tax cuts, Governor Palin has taken to her Facebook page, much to the chagrin of the mainstream media which makes it all the more pleasing.

The media, with their entitlement mentality, has always felt that Governor Palin must abide by their commands.Thou shalt go through us to make a policy statement. Thou shalt go on one of the alphabet networks and do a taped interview or a Sunday show to speak on politics. Thou shalt not circumvent us to get the message out to the American people unfiltered. Instead of adhering to such rules, Governor Palin has used Facebook to do a myriad of things: get out her policy messages, offer a happy birthday to Margaret Thatcher last fall, offer well wishes to those in failing health like John Wooden, send out holiday wishes, and over the last several months, endorse more than thirty candidates running for office. By using a free social networking site, Governor Palin has helped secure loads of campaign money and votes to candidates like Nikki Haley, Carly Fiorina, and Susana Martinez.

In recently passing two million followers on Facebook. Governor Palin's social networking prowess continues to draw attention. In a recent piece at the Daily Beast, Governor Palin's use of Facebook is discussed:

None of the other possible Republican candidates for 2012 have been able to reach her number of friends, fans, and followers. “She has defied the limits of this kind of thing,” says a Republican operative with close ties to Palin. “She is still massively more influential than other would-be candidates.”

It’s a unique thing. It may not work for everybody, but it works for her.” SarahPAC staffer Rebecca Mansour said, “I think it works because there is intense media attention on her. She can tweet something and it can cause a news story. That’s an unusual situation to be in, therefore it’s a unique perspective in controlling the message because of that.”

And that’s exactly what Raynor says makes her dominate the medium: She’s the one with the BlackBerry in hand.

“She is genuinely doing it. It is her in front of a computer personally engaging with hundreds of thousands of people. That is a huge reason why she is so successful. Most politicians that are personally tweeting or updating their Facebook pages are going to be the most successful.” Raynor said, “Everybody believes is it is her because it really is her and that’s a really powerful thing.”

From Governor Palin's laptop and/or blackberry, she has spent the last year refudiating liberalism and the media (am I being redundant?). Governor Palin has been able to define her own political narrative. She has been able to circumvent the biased media and from time-to-time has even taken the liberty of correcting them on their lies or calling them out on their thoughtlessness and heartlessness. Her words have changed the political discourse and have even had an impact on policy, as Tammy Bruce, nearly a year ago, highlighted following changes to a version of the health care reform bill after that famous "death panel" post:



For Governor Palin, it has not been about focus grouping policy stances or sticking her finger in the wind to know what candidates to support. It's not about adhering to the media and Establishment's political messaging playbook. It has been about using unique and unorthodox ways to share her conviction, stand for Constitutional principles, and support candidates who share those convictions and principles.

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Joe Miller on Lisa Murkowski's Support for Government Run Healthcare/Open Thread

Can any Alaskans tell me whether the following ad from Joe Miller is a web ad or if it's going up on the air? (h/t AKReport)



She visited Homer this morning.

What else is going on today? Treat this as the open thread.

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The Media's Anti-Palin Head Games

Last Sunday, Governor Palin said in an interview with Chris Wallace, "I don't blame people for not knowing what I stand for. If I believed everything I read in the media, I wouldn't like me either."

I've wondered before what I would think of Governor Palin if I wasn't a conservative political junkie who had already formed an opinion of, and had been familiar with Sarah Palin's record before John McCain chose her to be his running mate back in 2008. If all I knew about her was what I caught on the news after the announcement, or whatever some lamestream publication wanted me to think about the former Governor of Alaska, I definitely wouldn't spend so much time defending her. I am thankful I was paying enough attention in 2007, a time when I was growing tired of the ways of Washington, and was looking for reformers (especially pro-domestic energy ones) to hear about and conduct my own research on.

Much has changed since those days, and the media lynch mob has dedicated itself to distorting the narrative about Governor Palin and her family. They have put on a disgusting clinic in character assassination. But don't tell them that! They will have none of that kind of talk from the peasant class.

Just as Jack Cafferty...

Earlier this week, Jack hosted a segment in which he brought up the quote I just mentioned from Governor Palin. He scoffed at the notion that the media had any culpability in framing a negative opinion about her. He then went on to read five emails from his left-wing audience, who proceeded to display the fact that they are brainwashed haters that seem to take particular joy in calling Palin childish names. By reading these comments on air, Cafferty was using CNN's "news" platform to continue the behavior he had scoffed at just minutes earlier. He proved himself wrong because he, like the others cannot seem to control their hatred long enough to pull off a believable lie.

As we are all well aware of now, this started on the first day she joined McCain on the campaign trail. It has been said here before, but it bears repeating... What Katie Couric did during the prep for her coverage of the RNC Convention was rude, tasteless, and juvenile. However, what she later robbed her viewers of in the actual broadcast, was what I call journalistic fraud. She never once mentioned Governor Palin's professional record. A record of public service that dates back to 1992. While Couric did talk about the Governor's family (holding back her snobbish laughter, no doubt) everything else she told her audience was nothing but little irrelevant 'fun facts.' For a nation going through very rough economic waters, wars, and ongoing major energy issues, that sort of coverage sold Governor Palin short and robbed Americans of the opportunity to see what she actually brought to the table. So, YES, Jack...it's the media's fault!

That brings me to a piece written on Tuesday by disgraced Journolist member, Greg Sargent titled, "Still more proof Sarah Palin is toxic outside her bubble." In it, he cites a few polls that say Governor Palin's "negatives" are high. The same figures Chris Wallace asked her about when she replied with the quote I mentioned above. Sargent, a onetime member of a group of left-wing ideologues who used their journalistic platforms to coordinate attacks on Palin, now laughably says those numbers look the way they do because she's "toxic." No Greg, the only people Governor Palin is "toxic" to are you and your left-wing cohorts. Considering her commonsense conservative principles, I think that is sort of a given though, isn't it? I believe that once the American people, or "Joe Mainstreams" as Sheya called them the other day, learn the truth about her record of reform, her standing on the issues of the day (she stands with the majority), her commonsense methodology, and the fact that nobody (special interests included) owns Sarah Palin, they will come around.

The media's lies cannot live forever. Governor Palin continues to take hits from the press on a daily basis and is still standing, regardless of their efforts. In fact, even Greg Sargent had to admit her high approval numbers with Republicans. As much as Sargent wishes, he and his fellow travelers from the lefty media cannot contain Governor Palin to a "toxic bubble." The new media is alive and well, and something Palin has a knack for using to get her message out. She is going to need the help of her supporters to get the truth to the American people, and get around the head games the media play with this nation. Governor Palin can rest easy knowing she has many dedicated people who 'have her back,' ready to help spread that message of truth along with her.

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Saturday Open Thread

WSJ: Recovery Summer: U.S. Employers Shed 131,000 Jobs

Jim Geraghty: You Can’t Spin a Jobs Report Like This

Gabe Rodriguez: Obama’s Failed Stimulus and Opportunities Forgone

WaPo: Education jobs bill is motivated by politics

IBD: A Mortgage Rescue In Every Pot?

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A Letter to Dan Fagan About Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller

Dr. Walter Campbell wrote the following letter to Dan Fagan about Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller. Please pass it along:

Dan,

Joe Miller still has my support. I've followed this a lot more closely than you. I've actually done my homework. I've talked with her in person where she told me one thing, and then listened in town halls and in more liberal venues where she said something entirely different.

She's made comments at town halls saying the "mandate for insurance wasn't the problem", and that she believed the "government did have a role in providing healthcare to it's citizens". The comments Joe made to Human Events (btw it's both an Online and a print publication..most real conservatives are familiar with that fact) were obviously in reference to her refusal, much to the chagrin of her conservative colleagues like Mike Pence and Jim DeMint, to sign on to the DeMint repeal bill for over two months. Joe was saying essentially that she didn't sign on, and he would. At the time of his interview, (the 22nd of July) she hadn't signed on. Pressure brought to bare on her by a more conservative rival forced her to take a harder position on Obamacare, and she did sign the bill on the 29th of July, a week after Miller's interview.

For you to paint her as strong in her opposition to socialized government run healthcare is a flat out lie.

The reason she voted against it was because she would be trailing significantly in the polls right now had she voted for it. She is a career pol; nothing she does is on principle..it's all about political survival. She is everything that is wrong with our system.

She had stated before that repealing the bill was not the answer. Clearly the distinction here is that she favors some form of nationalized healthcare, (perhaps not the Obama version) just like she favors some form of cap and trade just like she favors some form of amnesty. Joe does not..under any circumstance, believe it's the government's role to provide healthcare, tell doctors how to treat, set carbon taxes, or reward illegal immigration. She does. She clearly did NOT support the repeal of Obamacare until just recently, because she said so on KTUU, and she withheld her signature from the repeal bill for two months. It's obvious she was testing the waters to see how moderate she could be for various political gain in Washington and within the state. Miller enters the race, challenges her on the right, is consistent, and she has to retrace her steps and pull back to a stronger position on Obamacare.

She also told a national publication she didn't know Joe Miller..another lie..her sister worked on a steering committee with him and they had met several times. You've never pointed out that blatant lie on her part..an obvious attempt to smear for political gain; she did this to dismiss his candidacy because she knew their were plenty of folks across the country and in the state ready to support a more conservative candidate, if they were viable. You see, it's not just us here in Alaska who are fed up with her..

Now, if there's something else you are leaving out..if you have a personal score to settle with Paul Bauer, or Sarah Palin, perhaps you should let your listeners know -- but to call this man a liar, a man with 8 kids, spotless military record of heroic service, a man who stands not to gain a thing by his run, and would lose money if elected, versus someone who was a failure as a lawyer, who's only accomplishment thus far, was to be appointed by her dad and then become notorious nationally among the likes of Arlen Specter, Susan Collins, and Olympia Snowe as a turncoat progressive RINO. That's beyond the pale. On its face it seems you have either been duped by your friends (and let's be honest here, you have MANY leftist and progressive right friends and lobbyists who are very loyal to Lisa..I would imagine the pressure to support her has been pretty intense for you..) or you have not done your homework, or YOU are the one being purposefully dishonest..for whatever reason..personal vendetta..financial gain..etc.

This man represents everything you say you believe on your show -- and Lisa represents the exact opposite -- and yet you've always antagonized this man, and pitched softballs to Murkowski. Your in studio interview with her was a sickening display of pandering on your part. I never expected you to be a "journalist", but I must say I wasn't expecting you to be a phony or a sell-out. I heard both that day, and it was sad.

From her deal with Bob Penny, to her being involved in meetings when her father had planned to appoint her (a clear conflict if interest) to her lying about her record, to her covering up how many times she tried to pass the bar and failed..clearly there is one dishonest party here -- and now that's YOUR candidate.

This man has a family, has devoted his life to the service of our country as a warrior, tank commander, and judge. Your slander and insults yesterday were shameful and belie ulterior motives..not too mention they were wrong, and you mis-quoted her (a lie) favorably, and him (a lie) negatively twice yesterday. In the middle of spitting out your hate, the names you called Miller better represented you yourself.

For the record, there has never been a vote to repeal Obamacare. The votes you were duped into referencing by the Murkowski camp were votes to table. The only repeal measure out there, was the one DeMint initiated, and Murkowski purposefully held off for signing for two months..a bill Joe said he would not hesitate to put his name on..a clear difference between him and the senator, and one worth mentioning in a national publication, given its national consequences.

Miller's comments were correct, only a fool or a paid hack wouldn't know the difference, and beyond that, he is the only conservative in this race, and those of us who support him and wish to see constitutional conservatives elected to office and corrupt RINOs sent packing, are NOT going away. We will take back our country, and our party, and you can help, get out of the way, or make us go through you and your corrupt allies, it makes no difference to me.

Walter Campbell

PS: I was at the GOP picnic yesterday. Didn't see you or your candidate. Could it be she was looking for where they were holding the DNC picnic?

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Governor Palin: Pants on Fire, Still

Via Facebook:

A $3.8 trillion tax increase is coming down the pike, folks. America’s tax cuts which can incentivize small businesses to expand and hire more people (thus fulfilling the mission to grow more private sector jobs), or even just to keep our doors open, will expire in four months. That expiration equates to an increase on your tax bill, starting at midnight, December 31.

I’ll keep calling out President Obama and the Democrats until they tell the American people what the plan is to save the incentives – to not allow the mom and pops’ tax cuts to expire. Granted, liberals (including stubborn “fact-checkers” who claim I’m lying about the soon-to-be tax cut expiration) are trying to clobber me for holding them accountable and prodding them toward revealing their intentions (because they’ve had 18 months to publicly propose a plan to stave off the $3.8 trillion tax increase that will soon slam us, but have revealed no plan). If they have a bill to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, let’s see it. Time for them to put up or shut up.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Take the word of the “fact-checkers” at PolitiFact, who, before moving the goal posts in their second dissembling “fact-check” on the Democrats’ tax hikes, wrote in their original “fact-check”:

There are no formal congressional proposals yet to keep the Bush tax cuts in place, so we don’t have precise estimates from official sources like the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Still, there’s a good bit of consensus on what the tax increases would look like, both if lower rates expired only for high earners and also for all incomes.

As Ed Morrissey noted:

And there’s a big problem with this argument, which is that “consensus” means nothing without passing a bill, and especially not without proposing one first. Thanks to Democrats in 2001 and 2003, those bills cutting the tax rates have hard-and-fast sunset provisions that create an expiration date absent of any other action. We are now less than four months away from that expiration date after seven years of seeing it coming, after more than 3 years of Democratic control of Congress, and after eighteen months of the Obama administration. Democrats don’t even have a proposal on the table yet, and the legislative calendar is rapidly shrinking to take action before the expiration date hits. Without action, we will see a $3.8 trillion tax hike across the entire spectrum of earners.

So much for “consensus” without action. PolitiFact is curiously stating that in his 2011 budget, the President mentioned some “plan” to do something about not raising taxes on all Americans. Um, don’t know about you, but I don’t find this general, vague promise of some “plan” all that reassuring. The Left also “plans” to do something about our out of control deficits and high unemployment, and the President “planned” for his nearly trillion dollar stimulus to keep unemployment under 8%. We’ve seen how successful that “plan” worked out. The President’s budget “plan” hasn’t worked out so well either. As the economist Bruce Bartlett explained at the time, the President’s budget – including the tax promise – was never much more than a vague statement of intent. Practically speaking, it was dead on arrival. Even Bartlett couldn’t have known how dead, though, because in the end Congress didn’t even succeed in passing a budget, let alone in taking a decision on the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Bottom line: until we see a formal proposal – an actual bill before Congress – then get ready for that $3.8 trillion hit.

(By the way, the Left sure gets wee-wee’d up when they’re called on something like this, eh? And here I am, thousands of miles away from DC out on a commercial fishing boat, working my butt off for my own business, merely asking the Democrat politicos and their liberal friends in the media: “What’s the plan, man?”, and they seem to feel threatened by my question. So, I’ll go back to setting my hooks and watching the halibut take the bait, and when I come back into the boat’s cabin in a few hours, I’ll log back on here to read their reply. I’ll have succeeded if they’re forced to finally reveal to Americans how they plan to increase taxes, and what they intend to do with our money. In the meantime, I’m catching fish.)

- Sarah Palin, in Homer, Alaska

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Tammy Bruce on Arianna Huffington - UPDATE

Tammy Bruce on Arianna's attempt to dissect the appeal of Sarah Palin:

Now would be a great time to sign up for access to all of Tammy's podcasts. She's starting a weekly "Palin Report."

UPDATE: Don Surber has a different take. And check out this cartoon by Draw For Truth.

ht/Whitney

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McCain Staffers Still Owe Palin an Apology

Douglas MacKinnon at Townhall:

As the video popped-up this week of far-left, ultra wealthy, and privileged CBS “News” anchor Katie Couric going after then Governor Sarah Palin while mocking the names of her children, it reminded me all over again how much Palin is owed an apology from the “leadership” of the McCain campaign...

Why the McCain campaign let proven liberal propagandists like Gibson and Couric “interview” Palin is still beyond me. That they did not prepare Governor Palin properly or set the needed ground rules with ABC and CBS is still inexcusable.

Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, if you are the press secretary or director of communications for a presidential or vice-presidential candidate, you are always looking to establish certain ground rules with the press. Job one for the press secretary is to make sure your candidate is not ambushed or made to look bad. Clearly Palin was both ambushed and sabotaged by Gibson and Couric.

People may forget now, but back in September of 2008, if ever there was an interview for which a campaign could demand ground rules, it was the Gibson-Palin/Couric-Palin interviews. Every network and every network anchor was desperate to question the then Governor of Alaska. Desperate.

While managing editors and network news heads will tell you they never agree to interview ground rules from candidates, politicians, or celebrities, in the five years I worked for Bob Dole, I certainly insisted on and got them. Sometimes the ground rules were as simple as the number of question to be asked, to the more complicated assignment of picking the person from the network who would actually ask the questions...

Knowing that mindset and that track record, I am still shocked that at least one ground rule was not demanded by the McCain campaign with regard to the Gibson and Couric hit jobs on Palin.

A ground rule which is very simple and should never be broken. That being that if you are a Republican national candidate, ONLY do live interviews. [emphasis added]

As they did not request or get the live interviews, the McCain campaign gurus should have at least insisted that edited teasers not be released prior to or following the interview. Of course, that did not happen either and Gibson and ABC and Couric and CBS released selected and edited snippets with the express purpose of putting Governor Palin in the worst possible light with the American people.

Decades of evidence prove that the major networks have not always been the fairest of venues for Republicans. With a live interview, the candidate, just as much as the anchor or reporter, controls the outcome. No words taken out of context, and no anchors maliciously editing the comments of the GOP candidate after the fact.

[...]

Couric’s leaked video from 2008 of her mocking the names of Palin’s children (I’m sure Couric believes the names, looks or weight of her children are out of bounds) simply reaffirms what we already knew about her. More importantly, it underscores the incompetence of the McCain campaign and why its leadership still owes Palin a sincere apology.

According to McCain staffer Nicole Wallace, they didn't set any ground rules:

"We had no input on usage,” said Ms. Wallace. “We had no ground rules on the interview. I think that’s pretty unprecedented. A lot of people negotiate platforms. We didn’t negotiate platforms or air dates."

Unprecedented and dumb, IMHO.

On Monday afternoon, Ms. Wallace downplayed her role in setting up the interview. The decision, she said, had been made primarily by campaign manager Steve Schmidt, in keeping with a broader media strategy.

Ah, Steve Schmidt. Of course.

Unfortunately, the poor media strategy was only the beginning:

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Kristol said Palin had been "ill served by some of the staff," particularly in light of anonymous aides ripping her as a diva and/or rogue agent in recent news articles.

He chided the RNC for not taking the hit for the clothing that was purchased on Palin's behalf.

"Why wasn't a staffer out there saying, 'you know what, I made the mistake'?" he asked. "Since when do the staffers go into hiding and let Governor Palin be the one who has to explain it? It's a total disgrace the staff has ducked responsibility for this mistake, which was not her mistake. Whatever people's criticisms of Governor Palin, no one thinks she lives high on the hog in Alaska, shopping at Neiman Marcus... I think the staff has ill-served her."

Ya think?

This is not to say that every single McCain staffer did a terrible job or left Governor Palin under the bus. Lisa Klein, for example, has since come out and explained the clothing situation, albeit after the election. But you know what they say about bad apples and barrels.

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PolitiFact Doesn't Seem to Understand the Difference Between Words and Actions (Update)

In its response to Governor Palin's fact check of them, Politifact has effectively conceded (apparently unwittingly) that the governor was right all along (emphasis added):

Palin does make a good point that there is not pending legislation to make some parts of the Bush tax cuts permanent.

Here's what Politifact doesn't understand about Sarah Palin. She's is a doer, not a talker. It's pretty clear that her definition of "plan" means something practical such as "pending legislation." Anything other than pending legislation is nothing but words in her opinion.

She clearly said as much in her Facebook post by noting that Politifact had admitted that "there are no formal congressional proposals yet to keep the Bush tax cuts in place." Politifact has conceded that there is absolutely no legislation pending in Congress to deal with the Bush tax cuts. Without such formal action, all we have are words and words do not constitute a plan.

Words don't mean anything to Governor Palin. Actions do. Politifact clearly fails to distinguish between words and actions.

Update: She tweeted about the lack of a plan earlier today.

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Help Out Karen Handel/Tammy Bruce to Speak at C4P Meet-up in Chicago/Open Thread

If you need any more incentive to help out Karen Handel, here was a message left on last night's open thread:

R. A. Mansour

Just wanted to say that anything you can do to help Karen Handel would be much appreciated. She's fighting the political machine in Georgia -- just like Governor Palin did in Alaska and just like Nikki Haley in SC. The people attacking her are just so vicious. I know because one of Nathan Deal's most rabid supporters got a hold of my personal email address and sent out a mass email encouraging people to spam my inbox to the point where I have to shut down my email account. You can imagine how frustrating this has been. But if they think such tactics will intimidate us, they've got another thing coming. So, please help Karen.

You can contribute to Karen's campaign directly here, or sign up to make phone calls on behalf of her campaign by sending an email to palintwibe@yahoo.com. Here's the news:

-Whitney updated her post earlier today about the C4P meetup set for November in Chicago with the news that Tammy Bruce is scheduled to attend.

-Insider Advantage shows a tie between Handel and Deal but I wouldn't be worried. It appears that the pollster didn't weigh according to geography and thus, is more than likely oversampling voters from Nathan Deal's base of Northern Georgia.

-The chief architect of Arizona’s tough immigration law tells Newsmax that he "appreciate[s] [Palin's] vigilance in defense of the bill."

-Palin Endorsement Sparks Interest In Md. Candidate,

-Here's a Bob McConnell profile in the Denver Post.

-Jill Biden and Michelle Obama reportedly hate each other.

-Rand Paul has breathing room.

-Absolutely hilarious.

I'll get to check out what the Governor saw a week ago: the Blue Angels will be here this weekend in Seattle. What's going on with you guys this weekend?

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Associated Press: Sarah Palin Seen as Fundraising Phenomenom for GOP (Update: Copy of the Letter)

The Associated Press reports:

WASHINGTON — Fundraising powerhouse Sarah Palin is helping the Republican National Committee raise money.

In a solicitation letter and survey the RNC is sending to people across the country, she says she's working within the nation's two-party system to, in her words, return the country to greatness.

The 2008 vice presidential GOP nominee and former Alaska governor has spent the past two years castigating both Democrats and Republicans, taking a more independent tone. But she now is calling the RNC the political home for commonsense conservatives.

And Palin says there's no question that President Barack Obama's policies and those of the Democratic-controlled Congress are hurting the country.

Did any of you receive this letter? If so, could you send to tips what the letter says?

Update: Thanks to Bestbud for sending us his copy of the letter. CNN also has a copy of the letter. You can read it here.

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RNC Calendar Reform Favorable for Governor Palin

The RNC has made changes to the way our presidential nominee in 2012 will be selected:

The proposal will move the earliest nominating contests -- in IA, NH, SC and NV -- back from early Jan. to Feb. It will also require states that hold nominating contests in March to award delegates based on the proportion of votes candidates win, eliminating the prospect of an early winner-take-all state that would effectively end the nominating process...

In practice, the new rules will require GOP WH candidates to place more emphasis on grassroots organizing. Candidates will have to build their campaigns in dozens of states, rather than focusing solely on raising money for TV ads. What's more, primaries won't be held so close to the winter holidays.

I think these changes favor Governor Palin. They don't prevent her from achieving a very early victory. The changes also more importantly prevent someone from winning the nomination just because they won winner-take-all contests in the deepest blue states that are disproportionately comprised of Republicans that are not fiscally conservative, socially conservative, or foreign policy conservatives. For example, someone could not win the nomination by relying upon victories in winner-take-all primaries in states such as Illinois and states located in the Northeast. The person who wins the nomination will have to do well in states with Republican electorates that are actually somewhat representative of Republicans nationwide.

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Governor Palin's Accomplishments

With the continued smearing and editorialization of Governor Palin and her record and the propagation of false claims that Governor Palin is a polarizing figure, perhaps it's time to for us to re-visit Governor Palin's accomplishments while she was Governor. She currently shows her policy prowess and acuity through her television appearances, speeches, and Facebook posts. However, even now, a year following her decision to step aside from the governor's office and nearly two years after her presentation on the national scene, Governor Palin's accomplishments are largely unknown to the general public and even to the politically observant. As supporters of Governor Palin, we have the opportunity to set the record straight. Below is a two sheet (or double sided) flyer that you can share with people to show all that Governor Palin accomplished in her two and a half years as Governor. This document includes (non-violence inciting) bullet points to outline her accomplishments. These achievements are categorized into the following groups: energy independence, development, and environmental stewardship; fiscal conservatism; walking the walk on fiscal responsibility; 10th amendment advocacy/promotion of the state constitution; national defense/veterans; transparency/anti-corruption; health care; and sanctity and dignity of all life.

Governor Palin's Accomplishments

This document can emailed or printed off to share at Tea Parties, GOP events, with friends or family, etc. If you would like a more extensive look at Governor Palin's gubernatorial achievements, please see her governor's office archives. Inevitably, discussion of Governor Palin's time as governor will often lead to people to question her resignation. For those who cannot grasp the idea that one can relinquish a title while still maintaining leadership, Nicole has already provided ways to counter such discussions. It also must be noted, that just as a point guard's talent is not only measured by assists, points, and steals, but also in intangibles (Matto points for any Fighting Illini fans out there), so Governor Palin's accomplishments are also not only measured by legislation, reforms, and prudent budgets, but my the intangibles of leadership. Governor Palin took on the Corrupt B*****s Club of Alaska and the Oil Companies. She stood strongly to protect and uphold the Alaska Constitution. She took on the Establishment GOP and won because she stood for principle over party. Those are the kinds of things that people look for in a leader that cannot be bullet pointed, but still speak volumes.

Governor Palin has stated that she has our back. Let us have her back and help dispel the lies and affirm the truth of her accomplishments.

Thank you to all who assisted in reviewing this document and offering suggestions.

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Like Reagan, Palin Reaches Out to Union Members

An editorial by the NY Sun, pointing out that Governor Palin is reaching out to union members:

No sooner had President Obama concluded his dirge before the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations than Sarah Palin was out with a posting on her Facebook page, commiserating with her husband’s fellow union members on having to sit through another “Blame Bush” lecture. Her post went up as the Web was abuzz with talk about the gaffe of Michelle Obama taking a stroll through the glamorous resort of Marbella, Spain, while America is staring at a the prospect of a double-dip recession. The Drudge Report marked the event by linking to a column in the Daily News likening Mrs. Obama to Marie Antoinette.

Mrs. Palin, in her Facebook posting, did not criticize, or even mention, the First Lady, who is entitled to a vacation. She did speak of how the president’s lecture to the AFL-CIO “must have been tough for our good union brothers and sisters to sit through, though it may have resonated with some union bosses who desire their members to adopt a herd mentality, too, so as to not dare speak up against what Washington is doing to us.”

What struck us about this is that it’s hard to think of a Republican reaching out so pointedly to union members since the man who invented Big Tent Republicanism, Ronald Reagan. [emphasis added]

Mrs. Palin’s demarche is one to keep an eye on. What are the Reagan Democrats going to do in November 2010 and November 2012? Mrs. Palin, with her campaign for the Mama Grizzlies and her “whole stampede of pink elephants,” as she put it in the now-famous video, has upended the former left-of-center feminist calculus about women voters, not to mention women candidates.

The question her latest post raises is whether she’s going to strive for a similar upset in the calculus among blue collar voters who, once could be counted on by the Democrats until Reagan came along and talked to them about inflation, taxes and unemployment...

It is true that, during the 2008 campaign, the president of the Steelworkers, Leo Gerard, made a point of saying that Todd Palin’s union card doesn’t confer auxiliary membership on his wife and scoring her record as governor. But all the more notable the language of Mrs. Palin’s latest post about how Mr. Obama’s record may be resonating for “some union bosses.”

No doubt Mrs. Palin has her work cut out for her. But the employment numbers being brought in this week, well into the Obama economy, are quite a backdrop for her fraternal greetings.

And let's not forget that she reached out to union members last January during the health care debate, while giving much of their leadership the cold shouler: Union Brothers and Sisters, Your Leadership Doesn't Get It - You Deserve Better:

Good hard-working, pro-free-market, pro-America union members should join in opposition to their union bosses’ sweetheart deal.

Coming from a union background and living in a world with many union memberships among my family and friends, I know that average members will be embarrassed by their bosses’ deal, which basically only delays the heavy tax on their health care plans until 2018 and in the meantime unfairly leaves many fellow Americans in a much less “enviable” position.

Union members don’t want to stick it to non-union colleagues in the private and public sector. Their union leadership is not helping them in the long run, they’re certainly not helping the rest of America, and unfortunately some union bosses are making all union members look bad, selfish, and anti-business with this Big Government backroom deal.

I know that ordinary union members don’t want to hurt their fellow Americans, just as ordinary Nebraskans didn’t want to stick it to the rest of the country with a sweetheart deal on Medicaid subsidies. I urge union members to make their voices heard. Please, call your leadership – don’t put up with these special-interest politics – tell them to fight for all Americans who want common sense health care reform, not this flawed boondoggle.

ht/GAHanson

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C4P Meet-Up in Chicago-UPDATED!!

As we shared last week, the 2nd C4P Meet-up will be held in Chicago on November 12-14th, 2010. This event will be a great opportunity to discuss ways that we can support Governor Palin and the commonsense conservative movement going forward, and, hopefully, celebrate some historic midterm election victories! We are very encouraged that there have already been more than 40 ordinary barbarians who will be in attendance at the Meet-up this Fall. As we make final arrangements with the hotel and meeting space, we would like to make another call for anyone who is interested in attending to please let us know ASAP by e-mailing standing4right@comcast.net. If you would like to read about the excitement of the first meet-up, please see here, here ,and here. This is a great opportunity to show that we have Governor Palin's back, as she certainly has ours! We look forward to seeing you in the Windy City!




--the C4P Chicago Meet-up Committee (Beehive, Chicago's Conservative, Mia, Riley4Palin, and Whitney the Pipsqueak)

UPDATE: We mentioned in our first post regarding the Fall meetup that Tammy Bruce was hoping to attend this meet-up. We have received confirmation that she will be in attendance! Check out Tammy's website here. You can listen to Tammy's show weekdays from 11AM-1PM PST here.

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Ridicule and Disdain: The Reagan-Palin Connection

An article by Alan Snyder at Big Government:

You had to live through it to recognize the metamorphosis. During those early days of June 2004, as the nation mourned the passing of Ronald Reagan, you would have never known he had been ridiculed and treated with disdain for most of his political career—not only by Democrats but by establishment Republicans. Frankly, I was stunned by the display of love and gratitude in 2004.

As the Reagan motorcade drove toward the Reagan Library for the final tribute, ordinary citizens along the route were paying their final tributes as well. It was an amazing moment.

But it was not always so.

When Reagan first ran for California governor in 1966, a lot of people, both Democrat and Republican, treated his candidacy as a joke. First, he had to get the nomination. Establishment Republican George Christopher, a former mayor of San Francisco, painted Reagan as a right-wing extremist and racial bigot...

After two terms as California governor, Reagan took on Gerald Ford for the presidency in 1976. The entire Republican establishment opposed him...

He was not exactly the people’s choice. Again, the big guns came out to declare the challenger an extremist. It was an uphill battle, one that Reagan lost that year, only to claim the nomination four years later, this time defeating the establishment candidate George Bush.

Democrats in the 1980 campaign depicted Reagan as an idiot, a grade “B” movie actor who had starred with a chimpanzee, of all things...

They also used the extremist label on him, predicting he would lead America into World War III. Instead, his policies led the world out of the Cold War.

The identical tactics used against Reagan are now being used against Sarah Palin. Even though she was McCain’s vice-presidential pick, and you could say that makes her “establishment” in one sense, she never was at home in that role. Neither did Republican insiders consider her to be one of them. The political professionals in the McCain campaign had little more than disdain for her; that became publicly obvious after the election.

In Alaska, she truly had been a disturber of the status quo within the Republican Party. She was guided more by principle than party loyalty. Even today, as her Facebook numbers rise and her influence is felt via endorsements for candidates running for both state offices and Congress, she is shunned by the establishment. The same type of people who considered Reagan a simpleton and a neanderthal have dubbed her “Caribou Barbie.”

Her faults? Well, she didn’t graduate from one of the approved universities. How can you be president if you didn’t graduate from either Harvard or Yale?

Her speech is too common and ordinary. She makes up words like “refudiate.” At least she knows how to pronounce “corps.”

She gives her children weird names. She actually decided to give a Down Syndrome child the opportunity to live rather than take the sophisticated and more seemly route of abortion. She’s adamantly pro-life, which immediately brands her as one of those extremists.

Personally, I don’t know for sure that Palin is the best choice for president on the Republican ticket in 2012. Yet I respect her for standing firm on her principles and for allowing her Christian faith to be seen in practice.

What I do know for sure is that she is undergoing the same ridicule and disdain that Ronald Reagan once endured. If she handles it with as much grace and good humor as Reagan did, there may be no limit to what she can accomplish. I wish her well.

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Friday Open Thread

Hot Air: ObamaCare: The sum of all fears

WSJ: How an obscure mandate in ObamaCare will reshape health care

Grace-Marie Turner: Are HSAs Doomed Under ObamaCare?

Paul Howard: RomneyCare Blues: The costly Massachusetts experiment has strangled small businesses. Now it is going national.

JWF: Andy Griffith's ObamaCare propaganda: Your tax dollars at work

UK Telegraph: US economy 'on the road to deflation' warns head of the world's biggest bond fund

The Economist: Strategic jousting between China and America

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NYC Construction Worker Echos Palin on Ground Zero Mosque

Last night on Sean Hannity, Gov. Sarah Palin called the planned Ground Zero mosque a "knife to the heart" of those who lost loved ones on 9/11. At the time, I thought it was a particularly powerful metaphor to describe the visceral impact of building an ostentatious monument to Islam, a stone's throw from the ruins of the Twin Towers.

On Rush Limbaugh today, a listener, Andy in Manhattan, called in to say that he and other construction workers in the New York City will refuse to work on the mosque, if and when it is built. "These guys will rather sit home than lift a hammer or a nail that contributes to constructing this insult," he explained.

What was particularly interesting to me were the words he chose next, to describe what he felt about the proposed project:

"This is a dagger in the heart of the 3,000 families that are suffering and have to relive the suffering if this thing actually goes through."

While most of what politicians say is quickly forgotten, Governor Palin seems to have a striking ability to capture the exact sentiment of ordinary Americans, and to invoke expressions or images that ripple through and linger in our national consciousnesses (death panels, mama grizzlies, cojones, knife to the heart).

Reagan had this as well: "There you go again" and "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Undoubtedly, it's all part of the Jungian archetypes that Gov. Palin has unwittingly mastered.

This construction worker goes on to talk about another issue that Gov. Palin has frequently discussed during her Fox News appearances and in her Facebook posts: the fact that union rank-and-file are often at odds with their leadership. She reaches out to them knowing that so many of them, while obstensibly Democrats, are not wedded to the progressive ideology and cronism of the union brass.

Andy's comments would bear out that Palin is wise to continue her outreach:

... I'm not putting any faith in the union leadership. As you know, they can be easily swayed. So what I'm doing is I'm a construction super in New York. I'm going around to all of the big construction sites because I do all the big work in New York City and I've been going up to the guys, I've been talking to them, and Rush, it's unanimous.

What will become of this issue? The vast majority of New Yorkers (and Americans) are opposed to the mosque being built, yet elected officials won't respect the "will of the people." It simply shows that the ruling class is completely out of touch (yet another "issue" Sarah Palin has been highlighting the last year), and that the people may have to take the issue into their own hands voluntarily. (You don't need a title to make a difference, after all.)

In the words of Andy, the construction worker from Manhattan:

I myself am a 9/11 hard hat and we have been fighting this thing tooth and nail since it started, and it seems all our elected officials have abandoned us and let us down. So now it's basically down to us blue-collar workers coming together pledging not to do any work on that site. So that's what I'm reduced to, Rush."

Oh, and what's the date the mosque plans to start construction? 9/11/2011

Yep, Sarah mentioned something about the mosque planners "marking their territory."

I think Sarah's got it right once again.

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A Sensible Comment About AGIA and Andrew Halcro at the Alaska Standard

I admit that the title to this post sounds like an oxymoron. The following comment was left at the Alaska Standard:

Halcro
Submitted by Andy on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 1:49pm.

Oh, my poor, poor friend Andrew...this is the epitome of sour grapes. Re-inventing history because he is so deeply invested in failure. He's been saying all of this would fail for 4 years, you see, so it MUST fail. Cause if it doesn't, well then Andrew's just an ill-informed loudmouth and a shill.

Andrew was wrong then, and he's wrong now. He said that the producers would never play, that the terms of AGIA were too prescriptive, that there would be no applicants for the AGIA license, that the producers would never join AGIA, that the Open Season would be the sound of crickets chirping. Let's take them on one at a time.

The producers will never play - WRONG! First "the Plan" and now "Denali", they're playing in a way they never have. And they're playing by the State's rules - just look how similar Denali's commercial package is to the Alaska Pipeline Project's. And, for those revisionist historians like Specklefoot, the sequence of events went like this: AGIA, Transcanada, the Plan, Denali. State leads the way and the others follow suit.

Terms of AGIA too prescriptive - WRONG! terms of AGIA are no more than a list of the state's interests. Furthermore, the Denali terms are virtually identical, with the exception of a) the Valdez option and b) the commitment to push forward on a described timeline (that's how plans are executed, see, they have timelines)

Nobody will apply for the AGIA license - WRONG! 5 applicants. 5 is bigger than zero.

Producers will never join TC pipeline - WRONG! ExxonMobil is the largest player on the planet. This one was just a complete humiliation for the likes of Andrew.

Open Season failure - WRONG! Every major ANS player participated and, as expected, submitted bids that contained certain conditions. The state knew they would, despite their bluster and the blubbering of their most vocal chorus (Andrew)

How can anyone view this guy as a credible source of anything? He's been wrong virtually every step of the way. Aren't there any cars that need to be rented to tourists? Is that business so slow that we have to listen to know-nothings provide expert commentary?

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With Governor Palin's Help, Cece Heil Turns a 25-Point Deficit Into a Respectable 5-Point Loss

Prior to Governor Palin's endorsement, CeCe Heil trailed in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District of Tennessee by 25 points. Here were the results from that poll:

David Hall - 42%
Jeff Hartline - 21%
CeCe Heil - 17%
Bob Schwartz 9%
Patrick Miranda 5%
Lonnie Spivak 4%
Other 2%

Cece was able to turn a 25-point deficit into a respectable 5-point defeat after receiving Palin's endorsement. Like Todd Tiahrt, she outperformed where she stood in the polls prior to Governor Palin's endorsement. CeCe came within 330 votes of winning Davidson county (where Nashville is located), the largest county in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District despite the fact that her opponents outspent her dramatically. Here were the final results:

Hall 28%
Hartline 23%
Heil 23%"

While some hacks will rely upon the unsophisticated "a loss is a loss" analysis when it comes to Governor Palin's endorsements of Todd Tiahrt and CeCe Heil, keep in mind that the public polling proves the exact opposite as both candidates performed significantly better on election day than they did in polling prior to her endorsement.

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Help Make Calls for Karen Handel/Open Thread (Update: Palin's Interview with Hannity Almost Beat O'Reilly in the 25-54 Demo)

Karen Handel could use some help from people making calls on her behalf for the Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary set to take place next Tuesday. If you are interested in helping one of Governor Palin's "mama grizzlies," send an e-mail to palintwibe@yahoo.com. Governor Palin is scheduled to speak at a rally with Handel next Monday in Atlanta. Here is where you can get more information on that event. (In any event, I think it's fair to say that Nathan Deal has jumped the shark)

Here's the news for the day:

-The Republican primary for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District is today. CeCe Heil is a heavy underdog as she's been outspent dramatically but hopefully, she'll over-perform just as Todd Tiahrt did on Tuesday.

-60% of New Yorkers agree with Governor Palin about the Ground Zero mosque.

-Ed Morrissey writes that "Politifact blew this one. They misleadingly claimed that Palin was discussing a specific plan, when none exists anyway, and which she was not, in fact, debating." Democrat Party hack Hari Sevugan was unhappy with how well Governor Palin's performed in her interview last night and therefore has responded with another shrill attack on her.

-She won't be attending tomorrow's "Whitney Gala in Saratoga Springs due to prior commitments."

-"RCP: How much difference did Sarah Palin's endorsement make in your primary fight?

Fiorina: It was very important because I'm not a known political personality, obviously. I've never run for public office before. I was very proud of the endorsements that I received and certainly hers was a very important one."

-Cubachi endorses Joe Miller. In case you missed it, here's Miller's "all-Alaskana" campaign ad.

-Even the Huffington Post is acknowledging reality: Every Day Sarah Palin Gets Closer to Being President

-Here's more on Bristol from Uffda's blog. She will speak at a right-to-life event later this year in California.

What's going on today?

Update: Governor Palin's interview with Sean Hannity almost beat Bill O'Reilly yesterday in the 25-54 demo. (h/t Lurker)

Update II by Doug: In a move reminiscent of his endorsement of "dear friend" Andre Bauer in South Carolina, The Huckster has jumped into the Georgia race and endorsed Karen Handel's opponent, Nathan Deal. If you haven't yet heeded Ian's call above to help one of Governor Palin's Mama Grizzlies, this is your wake-up call. You can contribute to Karen's campaign directly here, or sign up to make phone calls on behalf of her campaign by sending an email to palintwibe@yahoo.com. Let's show Governor Palin we have her back in this important runoff against the good ole boys of the Georgia Republican establishment.

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Obama Planning Another Mortgage Bailout?; UPDATED

About one month into the Obama Administration, it was becoming clear to many that all of Obama's centrist, "post-partisan" rhetoric during the campaign was just that: rhetoric. Americans instinctively knew that Obama's unprecedented spending boondoggles such as the stimulus and bailouts to multiple industries were a bad idea. They were alarmed at the unsustainable debt being piled up in the pursuit of these and other left-wing programs but, at this early point in Obama's presidency, there was no organized opposition to this irresponsible agenda and he still enjoyed high approval numbers.

All this changed on February 19 when a financial reporter on CNBC was asked to comment on Obama's latest bailout in which he decreed that those taxpayers who acted responsibly had to bail out those who bought homes they couldn't afford. I am, of course, referring to the famous "Santelli Rant":



At about the 2:10 mark in the above video, Santelli invited people to show up for a "Chicago Tea Party" and the rest, as they say, is history. This was the catalyst for the fledgling Tea Party movement which burst onto the American political scene last year and has continued to grow in number and influence ever since. After that day, it became acceptable to question the wisdom of Obamanomics, and Obama's poll numbers have undergone a slow but steady slide ever since. In fact today, for the first time, Obama's RCP average disapproval has ticked just above 50%.

A rational person would think that someone of Obama's "brilliance" would surely have learned his lesson from that experience, and that more bailouts to irresponsible homeowners would be the last thing on his mind. Especially so given that the midterm elections are looming ominously on the horizon for Democrats, a scant 89 days from today. And yet...

Rumors are running wild from Washington to Wall Street that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth. An estimated 15 million U.S. mortgages – one in five – are underwater with negative equity of some $800 billion. Recall that on Christmas Eve 2009, the Treasury Department waived a $400 billion limit on financial assistance to Fannie and Freddie, pledging unlimited help. The actual vehicle for the bailout could be the Bush-era Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, a sister program to Obama’s loan modification effort. HARP was just extended through June 30, 2011.

The move, if it happens, would be a stunning political and economic bombshell less than 100 days before a midterm election in which Democrats are currently expected to suffer massive, if not historic losses.

Leaving aside the fact that the additional debt and moral hazard created by this is bad economic policy, if these rumors James Pethokoukis of Reuters writes about are true, it demonstrates a stunning lack of political acuity on the part of Team Obama. These mortgage writedowns would effectively be another bailout by taxpayers, who would be forced to subsidize irresponsible behavior by others. Why does Obama think this will find a receptive audience among bailout weary voters now when it didn't a year and a half ago when Obama was still popular? Pethokoukis offers this rationale:

The political calculation is that the number of grateful Americans would be greater than those offended that they — and their children and their grandchildren — would be paying for someone else’s mortgage woes.

Heh. I'd say Obama's political calculator needs some new batteries. I'm quite confident that the number of responsible Americans "offended" by another bailout will far exceed the number of irresponsible ("grateful") people with their hands out, many of whom couldn't find their voting precinct to save their lives anyway. If Obama's goal is to infuriate and energize Tea Partiers and Republicans even further than they already are heading into the midterms, he's going about it the right way. Democrats running in swing districts have to be nothing short of ecstatic at the prospect of having to explain another multiple billion dollar Obama bailout to skeptical voters, right?

Exit question: If Obama follows through on this, how long before Governor Palin refudiates him yet again?

Update: Ed Morrissey sums up Obama's latest scheme succinctly:

...it’s exactly the same kind of Obamanomics that we have seen for the last eighteen months — spend what we don’t have now, run up debt like crazy, and hope that a momentary spike will translate into political success. Unfortunately, that has also been the formula for long-term economic failure.

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As Michelle Hits Marbella Hillary Says Spain No Longer Racist...

Actually her State Dept officials said it but who is going to check the fingerprints?

We have received isolated reports that racial prejudice may have contributed to the arrest or detention of some African-Americans travelling in Spain. Recently, two African-American U.S. Government employees were questioned by police in Barcelona for no apparent reason. One was detained and suffered physical injuries in the process.

The US State Dept’s advice to Americans visiting Spain had until recently included the above warning about racism in Spain. But, in an amazing overnight turnaround, as a result of Michelle Obama’s arrival in Marbella, the people of Spain have sloughed off their racism.

The evidence for this Damascene conversion?

The racism warning has been removed from the State Dept’s website. Clearly Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has decreed that Spain can now no longer be regarded in the same way as the Tea Party.

Which means that the First Lady’s discreet and understated visit to Marbella (4 days, 40 friends, 60 rooms at about $300 per room per night) can go ahead with the NAACP seal of approval.

Until recently Marbella and the surrounding area was known as the Costa del Crime because it appeared to be very popular with members of Britain’s criminal fraternity. As a result it developed a reputation for tackiness and tasteless displays of newfound wealth. Clearly the town hopes Michelle Obama’s visit will transform that image although not every local is convinced....

Click here to see pictures of the understated visit.

Click here to gush with HuffPo.

Click here to see another famous American woman’s idea of a holiday.......(a clue - she is in the Time 2010 top ten of people who most affect our world)


cross posted at The Aged P

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Sarah Palin: Fact-checking the Fact-checkers on the $3.8 Trillion Obama Tax Hike

Via Facebook

Yesterday, PolitiFact.com fact-checked my statement about the coming $3.8 trillion Obama tax hike – the largest tax increase in history. They did such a bad job of it, however, that I feel compelled to fact-check the fact-checkers.

First of all, they claim that there are Democrat proposals which would “keep the tax cuts for individuals who make less than $200,000 and couples who make less than $250,000.”

Unfortunately for PolitiFact, no such proposal exists. They admit as much, by the way, when they state that “There are no formal congressional proposals yet to keep the Bush tax cuts in place, so we don’t have precise estimates from official sources like the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” That doesn’t stop them, though, from claiming I “confuse the issue” by “using numbers that assume all the tax cuts are going away. That is not the Democratic plan nor is it President Obama’s plan.”

Plan? What plan? There is no plan. All we have is smoke and mirrors based on an old Obama campaign pledge that if elected, he would exempt families making less than $250,000 a year from “any form of tax increases.” But this pledge was already watered down before he was even elected. First vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden lowered it to $150,000. Then campaign surrogate Gov. Bill Richardson lowered it even further to $120,000.

A few months after the inauguration, even that last promise disappeared in a puff of smoke. When asked to reaffirm the White House’s commitment to the campaign promise of no tax increases for families earning less than $250,000, Obama’s spin doctor David Axelrod declared the President had “no interest in drawing lines in the sand.”

The truth is that as of today, Democrats haven’t taken any action to extend any part of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for any income group – and in this case doing nothing equals hitting American taxpayers with a massive $3.8 trillion tax increase.

What we do know for certain is that the White House is more than willing to raise taxes on families with incomes of less than $250,000. Democrat Senator Max Baucus admitted as much during the debate about Obamacare when he stated that “One other point that I think it’s very important to make is that it is true that in certain cases, the taxes will go up for some Americans who might be making less than $200,000.”

PolitiFact doesn’t dispute the $3.8 trillion estimate of the cost of repeal of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. It admits that “Palin’s estimate of $3.8 trillion over 10 years is within a reasonable range, if you’re talking about all taxpayers.” And yet somehow it continues to argue that I’m wrong, based on a proposal it admits doesn’t exist which in turn is based on a phantom campaign pledge which Democrats have already broken anyway. I call that a “Pants on Fire” statement.

To prevent PolitiFact from making similar mistakes in future, it would be helpful if the White House and the Democratic Congressional leadership finally mustered the courage to table their plans to let the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire. Mr. President, publish your proposals, and we’ll duke it out. You can argue in favor of a multi-trillion dollar tax hike in an age of economic uncertainty and mass unemployment, and we’ll argue for fiscal sanity combined with serious spending cuts. I for one look forward to such a debate.

In the meantime I suggest the St. Petersburg Times hires a few extra staff to fact-check its fact-checkers. It might help it prevent being caught with its “pants on fire” again in the future.

- Sarah Palin

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Thursday Open Thread

Mudville Gazette: MaryAnn Phillips of Soldiers' Angels Receives Presidential Citizens Medal

If you're not familiar with Soldiers' Angels take a few minutes to read about the organization and about MaryAnn:

While maintaining a residence in Wyoming, MaryAnn lives and works in Germany, where for the last five years she has devoted herself to caring for America’s wounded military personnel and their families five hours away from her at [Landstuhl Regional Medical Center]. As a volunteer with Soldiers’ Angels, MaryAnn regularly spends hours at the bedside of wounded or dying soldiers, distributes gifts of support to patients and medical personnel, coordinates donations, and leads a staff of local German and American Angels. She also spends dozens of hours at home each week, completing paperwork and reassuring stateside families of patients she has met at LRMC.

Help MaryAnn celebrate her honor by making a donation to Soldiers' Angels. Monetary donations can be made here, or choose an item from MaryAnn's list of requested items. They include things like calling cards, sweatpants and toiletries, and are distributed to our wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. The full list of requested items can be found here.

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Governor Palin On Hannity Tonight

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Governor Palin on Hannity Open Thread; UPDATED

She's on Hannity in a couple of hours. Until then, here's the news:

-She leads the field by double-digits among tea party supporters.

-Patrick Ottenhoff from the Atlantic Magazine asks "Will Mama Grizzly Claw White Women Away From Democrats?"

-Even Chris Matthews admits that "[a]nything's possible at this point...Nominated in Tampa, Florida in a Republican National Convention in an economy that might still be shaky, the political situation in this country becomes frighteningly dicey. All I can say is that I remember how liberals thought Ronald Reagan could never do it. As we learned in 1980, tough times yield surprising — yes, scary — election prospects."

-If you are going to the Palin-Handel rally on Monday, here are the details.

-It isn't a fair fight between Palin and the Georgia General Assembly.

-The continuing appeal of Sarah Palin

-Governor Brewer reacts to Governor Palin's comments over the weekend.

I'd say it was a pretty eventful day for C4P. What else is going on?


Update by Doug: Governor Palin has given a couple shoutouts this evening to two of her endorsed candidates, Joe Miller and Cece Heil, via Facebook:

Please check out this great all-Alaskana video by my friend Joe Miller who is the commonsense conservative running for the U.S. Senate in our 49th state! Alaskans can trust Joe to not "shed his conservative antlers" in D.C.




I'd just like to encourage the good folks of Tennessee's 5th Congressional District to go out tomorrow to support a true commonsense constitutional conservative and "mama grizzly" CeCe Heil. You can't go wrong with CeCe. Take a look at this video and please vote for her tomorrow!



CeCe Heil is running for Congress in Tennessee's 5th District. She is the Conservative Proactive Candidate with a plan to get this Country back on track and operating under the Constitution.

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Sarah Palin: Obama’s Predictable, Tiring, Ineffective Lecture; Would Someone Call Him on the Hypocrisy, Please?

New Facebook Note from Governor Palin:

Congress’ approval rating is at 11% because politicians thwart the will of the people, explode our national debt, and practice reckless deficit spending while hoping we’ll sit down and shut up about their nonsensical agenda. President Obama just made the AFL-CIO suffer through another “Blame Bush” lecture today as he, as usual, put the car in reverse and looked backward to find someone else to blame for problems he helped cause and now aggressively perpetuates.

Okay, Mr. President, you tell us we have to keep looking backward (as we’re steered toward the cliff), so let’s go:

Barack Obama was part of the problem while in Congress. Senator Obama pushed the fiscally irresponsible measures that Democrats, who held the majority, advanced while holding the government’s purse strings. And now, as President, he’s not just one of the pack anymore as a mere contributor to the problem – he now leads the problem. We are sick and tired of President Obama pointing his finger and screeching through his blame game about what he “inherited.” Up until 18 months ago he was fully engaged in that Congressional herd mentality of the Left as he just went with the flow, adding to the debt and deficit, instead of bucking his party’s leadership to stop the recklessness. (Did you ever hear him as an independent voice standing up and speaking out against his Democrat party’s overspending and over reach? Come to think of it, did you ever hear of his congressional record at all? For the life of me I can’t think of any time he used his bully pulpit as a sitting U.S. Senator to lead free market, equality-respecting pro-private sector efforts, nor to change up actions he now conveniently condemns. He could have refudiated them all.)

His lecture today must have been tough for our good union brothers and sisters to sit through, though it may have resonated with some union bosses who desire their members to adopt a herd mentality, too, so as to not dare speak up against what Washington is doing to us.

Surely the good, hard working Americans who happen to be union members know, too, that Obama’s blame game is getting old. It’s obviously ineffective, it’s the antithesis of good leadership, and it reeks of hypocrisy. A complicit media won’t call President Obama out on this, so let’s do it ourselves, friends. It helps put his criticisms and fiscal problems in context.

In contrast to President Obama’s lack of leadership in getting our country on a responsible fiscal path, there are some who have a positive agenda, including Rep. Paul Ryan who has shared ideas that deserve a fair hearing. He knows why we need to rein in the government’s reckless spending and how it can be done. Please read this excerpt of an article by Rep. Ryan and be thankful there are some who remember why they were hired to serve us in Congress – it sure wasn’t to merely vote “present” as the powers-that-be jam the car in reverse while hoping we won’t remember who dug the ditch we’re headed toward.

“Reducing deficits should begin with a budget plan to cut spending, yet incredibly Congress abandoned its legal obligation to write a budget this year, which means the leadership has abandoned even the pretense of limiting government’s insatiable spending appetite. I hope the Debt Commission, of which I am a member, will identify potential major spending reductions when we publish our report in December. But waiting for somebody else to suggest cuts was no excuse for Congress to dismiss its mandate to write America’s budget.

There’s no shortage of ideas for cuts we could make immediately. Last year I identified $4.8 trillion we could cut. Right now we could easily reduce spending by $1.3 trillion by: rescinding $266 billion in unused stimulus funds and another $16 billion in leftover TARP money; saving $925 billion by cutting and capping discretionary spending at 2008 levels; imposing a hiring and pay freeze on government employees, saving $65 billion; and reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the proximate originators of the home mortgage meltdown, to save $30 billion. I would also give the President line-item veto authority to realize further savings.

The American people and both parties see the need to get federal spending under control. Any time congressional leaders want, we can start by cutting unnecessary expenditures. Let’s not punish business and workers by raising their taxes at a time when the economy is struggling to return to a growth path—that would only make a desperate situation worse.”

Rep. Ryan is right about not raising taxes.

Lest we forget, the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Democrats have a special New Years gift in store for American taxpayers. On January 1, 2011, they are going to hit us with the largest tax increase in U.S. history. By allowing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire on New Years Eve, the Democrats are going to impose a $3.8 trillion tax increase on Americans over the next decade.

Instead of admitting that this massive tax hike is just an attempt to get hardworking taxpayers to continue to fund their reckless spending, the Democrats are selling it is as a tax on “the rich” to increase revenues to pay down the debt. However, history shows that raising the top tax rate doesn’t lead to increased revenues. It’s what Arthur Laffer describes as a tax the rich Catch-22: the highest earners, who are expected to bear most of the tax burden, generally also have the best tax advisers to help them get around it.

Regardless of what the Democrats want you to believe, this is a tax increase on every American who pays taxes. Families will suffer because the Democrats’ tax hike will reinstate the marriage penalty, cut the child tax credit in half, abolish various personal exemptions, and impose limits on itemized deductions like home mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Investors and savers would suffer through increases in the top rates in long-term capital gains and qualified dividends. And the Alternative Minimum Tax would end up hitting 15 million taxpayers – up from 4 million in 2009.

We’ll all be feeling the pinch, but the ones who will be hit hardest by this massive tax hike will be America’s small business owners – the businesses that create up to 70% of all jobs in this country. According to a recent report by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, small business owners will pay over half the taxes raised when the Democrats increase the top two tax brackets. In an already anemic jobless recovery, the last thing government should do is to impose even higher tax burdens on job creators. Instead of hurting “the rich,” such measures would end up hurting the unemployed.

To burden American families and small businesses with the largest tax hike in history while the economy is teetering on the brink of a potential double-dip recession is madness. It’s another reason why we must elect commonsense fiscal conservatives in the upcoming midterm elections this November. We simply cannot afford the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Democrats. We need people in Congress who know that the best way to get our economy moving again is to cut taxes, not raise them by unprecedented amounts.

You might have noticed that the Democrats have been throwing around the phrase “common sense” more often these days, but actions speak louder than words. We need real leadership in Washington across the board. We need common sense solutions, not finger-pointing, buck-passing, and lecturing.

- Sarah Palin

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