Posts Tagged ‘Palin’

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Another Downgrade on the Horizon?

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

Worse This Time?

Leave it to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch to publish their fears of another credit-rating downgrade for the US government.  On Saturday, I brought you the story of how this very company is shifting some of its European derivatives over to its depository arms so that they will be insured under FDIC.  It’s a stunning development that an analyst for this very institution to  tell us they expect another credit downgrade, tells us something about how they believe that will work out for the American tax-payer that will now be on the hook for trillions. They don’t think it’s going to turn out well, I can assure you, but you can expect all sorts of hand-wringing excuses when the meltdown occurs.

In his dire analysis, Ethan Harris writes:

“We expect a moderate slowdown in the beginning of next year, as two small policy shocks—another debt downgrade and fiscal tightening—hit the economy. The “not-so-super” Deficit Commission is very unlikely to come up with a credible deficit-reduction plan. The committee is more divided than the overall Congress. Since the fall-back plan is sharp cuts in discretionary spending, the whole point of the Committee is to put taxes and entitlements on the table. However, all the Republican members have signed the Norquist “no taxes” pledge and with taxes off the table it is hard to imagine the liberal Democrats on the Committee agreeing to significant entitlement cuts. The credit rating agencies have strongly suggested that further rating cuts are likely if Congress does not come up with a credible long-run plan. Hence, we expect at least one credit downgrade in late November or early December when the super Committee crashes.”

Of course, part of the problem is that everybody is waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Europe stands on the verge of a complete meltdown, and our Federal Reserve has gotten us so deeply tied to the success or failure of Europe at this point that if Europe goes down, we will likely fall down too.  Several outlets are reporting that a number of European banks are on the brink, and that this will trigger a sell-off and panic unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time.

At the same time Germany’s Angela Merkel is chastising Italy over its debt of 120% of GDP, I wonder if she’d do us a favor and look at the US, which isn’t far off from that ratio itself, and tell Obama a thing or two while she’s at it.  Merkel is among those who are urging further austerity measures, and she’s right. The trouble is that leftists never tire of pitching their best Keynesian plans at these sorts of problems, pretending that if only they can borrow and print a little more liquidity, the problem will solve itself.  Naturally, that’s nonsense, and while everybody knows it, the spenders will never, ever admit it.

Ladies and gentlemen, we stand on the precipice and wonder why this is happening, but anybody who has ever learned the hard lessons of running on credit must begin to see the simple truth of the matter:  You cannot consume more than you produce on an indefinite basis.  This entire fiasco is the result of runaway governments spending our future into oblivion.  While we’re at it, we must also rein in the Federal Reserve as the policies now in force are merely multiplying the trouble.  One year ago, as they began to plan out QE2(Quantitative Easing, Round 2,) Sarah Palin warned the world.  She was mocked by Krugman, the purveyor of Alien Attacks and other nonsense dressed up as economics, while she was being berated for her stance by a host of others, but in the end, who has been right?  We mustn’t permit ourselves to suffer under this comfortable illusion any longer: There is no alternative but to dramatically slash government spending.  We must do it now, or there may be no tomorrow.

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Posted in Business, Crony Capitalism, Economics, Federal Reserve, News, Politics, Sarah Palin | 5 Comments »

What S.E. Cupp Doesn’t Understand

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Pushing a Broken Narrative

CNN has posted an article by S.E. Cupp and I must say I disagree with Ms. Cupp completely.  She argues that the Christie and Palin question is a detriment to the GOP.  Add Ms. Cupp to the long list of people trying to tell us when it’s too late for this one or that one.  Lately, it’s become an absurdity to watch.  I can’t imagine that it’s possible that she believes her own impatience ought to drive the party’s choices, but there she is demanding: “Time’s up, Christie and Palin. In or out?”  Excuse me if I fail to take Cupp’s complaint seriously, declared as if she has anything to say about it.  Perhaps she should return to tweeting all things Tony Stewart.  Maybe she would have told Reagan he had better jump in.  Who knows, but more to the point, who cares?  What Cupp’s column demonstrates is the arrogance of the media in its attempts to  influence events according to their agenda.  Besides, while this article is posted on CNN, I know that Cupp’s associations have included The Daily Caller, and of course FoxNews, so I’m not surprised to see her further this particular narrative.

I would like Ms. Cupp to substantiate the following claim:

“And now, the will-they-or-won’t-they game has flipped from fun and energizing to damaging to the party. Christie and Palin now do conservatives more harm than good.”

I disagree, and her article doesn’t explain this charge very well.  It seems to consist of an assertion that Christie and Palin are taking “valuable resources and attention” from the rest of the field, but what goes unstated is that if the rest of the field was compelling, neither Christie nor Palin could get any attention.  The very fact that they get so much attention makes it clear that her thesis is based on broken logic, and indeed, the very existence of her own article demonstrates the point:

“With the question marks still lingering in the ether, and pundits on both sides of the aisle still performing their daily trapeze act — swinging back and forth between “yes, he’s running” and “no, she isn’t” — the focus on Christie and Palin has taken valuable resources and attention away from the rest of the field.”

She doesn’t need to pay it any more attention if she doesn’t wish to, but then she writes an article giving it more attention.  More, she goes on to make the claim:

“Because of those question marks, conservatives haven’t been able to invest fully in the candidates who are running. They haven’t been able to imagine one of them as president. They’ve held back support, money and endorsements, because they still don’t know that the field is settled.”

My laughter over this jewel cannot be quieted.  Conservatives “aren’t able to fully invest in candidates?”  Suddenly, Cupp’s argument seems more like a “Winning The Future” moment than any sort of conservative commentary.  There is absolutely nothing forbidding conservatives from committing to any of the declared candidates.  What Cupp offers here is actually an insight from the perspective of the establishment: These are people who hedge their bets, and the non-entries of Christie and Palin have essentially frozen a goodly sum of cash that might go into play should one or both ultimately announce, or swear off.

Cupp finishes off with this self-aggrandizing flourish:

“Time’s up, governors. If Chris Christie and Sarah Palin want to run, get in there. If not, definitively and convincingly take your names out of the running. Conservatives need to begin the arduous job of whittling down the field and picking their frontrunner. The fact that there have been five GOP straw polls in as many weeks with as many different winners is proof that these unanswered questions are creating a dangerous ambivalence among conservative voters.”

S.E. Cupp now runs the conservative movement?  Does she speak for you?  She doesn’t speak for me.  For whom is she speaking, anyway? That should be the question that you take away from all of this.  Which conservative voters have become “dangerously ambivalent?” I don’t know any.  Ambivalence will be measured by turn-out during the primary season next year, and not by gauging the number of big-dollar contributors still clinging to their cash.

I’ll give Ms. Cupp her due:  She did an excellent job of trying to advance a phony narrative.  All I can say is “Better luck, next time.”  As I pointed out in my coverage earlier Friday, this all comes down to strategy, and none of us should fall into the trap of believing Ms. Cupp doesn’t know that.  What we should also recognize immediately is that Cupp’s article is a part of somebody’s strategy, and when taken together with Williams’ article on FoxNews, it begins to paint the picture more clearly as to the identity of the driver of this narrative.

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Posted in Breaking News, Election 2012, GOP Candidates, Media, News, Politics, Sarah Palin, Update | 17 Comments »

The War on the Palin Family Continues

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

What Hate Looks Like

It’s absolutely ridiculous.  I don’t know which is worse: The haters who spew their venom at Sarah Palin and her family, or the media outlets that justify it.  Most of the American people have begun to catch on, and even some of those on the left have expressed increasing disdain at the endless attacks on them.  I’ve never been supportive of the notion of attacking politicians’ families, particularly their children, but others in the media justify it behind the absolute shield of “journalism.”  More, the moment a politician’s child crosses the legal boundary into adulthood, all bets are off, and no hold are barred.  Worse yet, there are those who have used an infant as the basis for attacking his mother.   Despite the repeated debunking of conspiracy theories and vile garbage directed at the Palin family, there are still those who carry out their own holy war against the Palins, and not all of them are in media.  Yesterday, a boorish sort of oaf saw Bristol Palin in a public place, and could not restrain himself.  He’s accosted Newt Gingrich in a similar fashion by his own description, but this time, rather than go after the politician herself, this vile hate-monger decided to attack her eldest daughter as a target of opportunity.

I hate to be the one to provide the video, because Hanks’ behavior was so lewd and cowardly, but at the same time, we must be willing to confront evil, and to confront it, you must know it(Profanity and Explicit Language):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S18gsZ37QXY]

Stephen Hanks is that sort of vile hate-monger, and he’s the sort of dirt-bag who carries his hatred of life into action via bombastic public verbal assaults on any public official with whose policies he disagrees, and clearly, he’s quite willing to extend this to family members, making him the sort of villain who should be cast out of civil society.  I can tell you that I’ve learned almost nothing about him, and except for his Twitter Profile:

stephen hanks

@sickofpalin Los Angeles, CA
My hate of all things Palin runs deep. I’m against the takeover of this Country by religious fundamentalist i.e.: Donminionst, NAR and young earth enthusiast.

What motivates people to hatred?  It’s my contention that such vile, disgusting people are generally incapable of dealing with the implications of some facet of their own lives.  I have no idea what drives Hanks’ hatred.  I really don’t care.

I’m not sure we can allow Hanks’ pretense that what ensued was unplanned, but it was clear from the footage I’ve seen, courtesy TMZ, that his hatred is real.  I have a daughter roughly Bristol Palin’s age.  Would he hesitate to verbally accost her too?  What this seems to reveal is a man so consumed with his hate-fueled, political agenda that he is unable to rationally partition his political views when in civil society among others.  This apparent absence of a self-filter that most rational people possess may indicate he’s dangerous, or it may simply indicate he’s a fundamentally broken person.  Unfortunately, given this incident, we already know that much about him.  In fact, his Twitter profile says enough to make the matter clear.

Since he admits doing something similar to Newt Gingrich, one must assume that he’s targeting people.  This guy may well need to be in the database of photos that security officials review in preparation for political events.  In reviewing the video, it may simply be that this guy is a bully, and full of himself, or something…

What you learn about these Palin-haters is that they don’t really have a reason for their hatred that they are willing to express, so they dress it up in all sorts of lame excuses about religion, and what they perceive as “religious intolerance,” but one must ask rightfully:  Is this not its own form of religious intolerance?  Hanks says during his brief dispute with Palin that he doesn’t believe in a hell.  My bet is that he’s lying about that, because he seems to inhabit his own personal hell or create one wherever he goes.

What sort of coward must one be to accost a young woman for the fact of who her mother is?  Who does such things?  Who carries out such vengeful attack?  I’ll tell you: The rabid left hates.  It’s what they do and what they know.  It is what consumes and drives them.  Andrew Beitbart has been busy exposing the sort of vermin who continue to invent new smears and conspiracy theories about the Palins, but what this latest incident makes clear is that some people are so incapacitated by their hatred that rage takes over and they become driven by their worst emotions.

What we know for certain is that Hanks’ hatred extends to women, to conservatives, and since she is both, particularly to Sarah Palin, and this latest attack was merely the expression of the deeper hatred he admits in his own Twitter profile.  It really doesn’t matter what the particular cause of his hatred may be.  Anybody who walks around with such a chip on his shoulder is dangerous, if not in a physical sense, then at the very least in the sense that they pollute everything they touch with the stink of their irrational motives.

Thanks to Bristol Palin’s courage, we now have a fuller picture of the form of such hatred.  She could have walked away, refusing to acknowledge his garbage, but in standing up for herself as well as her mother, maintaining her composure in the face of sheer evil, she’s revealed a few things that we all ought to know that have wider implications:

  • The rabid left are bullies; they spout and spew but all they have is hate
  • Standing up against evil is a necessary if unpleasant duty of those who oppose it
  • The women of her family are cut from sturdy cloth and are cool under withering attack

Much will be made of this in an attempt to dissuade Governor Palin from running.  It has always been my contention that this sort of thing is the worst she will face, because while she is more than able to defend herself, she also worries about her children like any parent does and should, whether they’re five or fifty years of age.  Bristol herself forshadowed a bit of this when in an interview she was asked if she thought her mother would run, she responded that the Palins could live in a cabin and still people would talk about them. She was right:  This sort of hatred never seems to take a holiday, especially if its target happens to be a Palin.

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Posted in Media, Politics | 14 Comments »

The C4P/O4P Meet-Up Starring Sarah Palin

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Clive, IA – It was a stunning arrival Friday evening by Governor Sarah Palin to the cheers of an adoring crowd at the Machine Shed restaurant in Clive.  I happened to be in the most perfect position to view the Governor’s arrival.  I have no images to share with you, my phone having become a casualty of the thirteen hour drive to the event.   It wouldn’t have mattered.  At 7:53pm, a large SUV with tinted glass pulled up to the entrance at the Machine Shed.  Out leaped Sarah Palin onto the sidewalk.  I happened to be standing just feet away on the sidewalk, and also happened to be the first person to welcome her with an outstretched hand.  I have no pictures to offer you, and the media probably didn’t get any pictures until moments later as the barrage of flashes exploded like fireworks.  Still, consistent with any other appearance she makes, Governor Palin was surrounded by reporters and supporters alike, and I was suddenly relieved that I had mercifully avoided being at the center of that spectacle as she moved past me and toward the entrance.

Prior to her arrival, the media seemed to be covering all of the restaurants entrances and exits.  Some had gathered by the main entrance, but none really seemed prepared for the moment when she emerged from the SUV.  For a politician who so many pundits have declared irrelevant so many times, Palin’s raw star power and broad base of committed support seems to re-write the meaning of the term.  Inside the restaurant, the scene was one of well-mannered pandemonium, with chants of “Run Sarah, Run” reverberating to thunderous applause.  As always, Mrs. Palin deftly worked the crowd and thrilled many joyous supporters, as well as others who were there simply for a meal, at the restaurant sheer happenstance.

People from both coasts, and everywhere in between, had traveled to Iowa for this event. The Texas contingent was particularly large, arriving in a tour bus with a placard proclaiming Texas Is Palin Country.  Another group from Texas also arrived by van.  Altogether, hundreds upon hundreds of Palin supporters jammed into the Machine Shed.  One might have called it a mob in any other context, but as is common wherever Palin appears, she tends to draw a rather different crowd.  These were all salt-of-the-earth sorts who came to show their support for Sarah Palin, whether or not she ultimately appeared.  Apparently, Governor Palin adores her supporters too, because she seemed intent on fulfilling every request for autographs, and ever photo request.

Once the Palins made it to their seats, in the corner of the room reserved by the C4P and O4P organizers, Peter Singleton made some impromptu remarks to the resounding enthusiasm of the assembled, standing-room-only crowd.  Spontaneous chants of “Run Sarah, Run” filled the room as punctuation to his remarks.  He told the crowd of his belief that Governor Palin could win the nomination, and having done so, could also go on to win the general election.  While the enthusiasm of supporters isn’t necessarily an accurate measure of one’s electoral prospects, it’s likewise clear that few other candidates engender the sort of passion observed in the crowd at the Machine Shed on Friday night.

In the end, the Palins departed through a back door in the large room, Mrs. Palin herself not electing to make a speech to the crowd.  She smiled humbly as the crowd implored her to seek the presidency, but there’s little doubt that she understands the wishes of her supporters.

Saturday’s Tea Party rally at which Governor Palin will deliver the keynote address is expected to draw a large crowd at the balloon field in Indianola.  I’ll be there to cover it with camera, phone, laptop, and what few wits I’ll be able to muster.  Whatever happens, and whatever Palin may say at Saturday’s event, it’s almost certain to be memorable.

Note to my readers: I was fortunate enough to meet a relatively large number of people who approached me to tell me they appreciated my work in this blog.  I want to thank all of you, each and every one, for taking the time to say hello.  When I began publishing this blog six weeks ago, I had no idea it would blossom as it has.  To all of you, whether you were at the gathering on Friday evening at the Machine Shed, I thank you, for reading and supporting this blog.  I am truly humbled by your response.  If any of you are in town for the Tea Party event on Saturday in Indianola, please don’t hesitate to say hello!  I greatly appreciate your honest feedback.

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Posted in Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Tea Party, Update | 8 Comments »

If You Haven’t Seen This…

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ck4I_HPIQo&feature=player_embedded]

Also, check out this excellent article:

The Constitution and a Cornfield

Also, this update from C4P on Saturday’s Indianola, Iowa event:

Governor Palin Will Deliver the Keynote Address in Indianola, Iowa on September 3rd at the Tea Party of America Rally at the Indianola Balloon Grounds

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Posted in Call To Action, Politics, Sarah Palin, Update | 4 Comments »

The Fallacy of the “Who Can Win” Argument

Saturday, August 27th, 2011

Who Can't Win?

One of the most despicable arguments used to deter candidates from entering a campaign is the old standard: “You can’t win.”  By now, this argument should finally be put to rest.  Let me state it bluntly: While highly unlikely, it is possible for any eligible person to launch a campaign for President and win.  I could do it. You could do it.  Will I win? Will you? Probably not, but it is possible.  When I see this argument pulled out, it’s usually in the context of somebody or other deriding one candidate in favor of another.  I’ll admit, I may have used it a time or two because it’s an argument that seems on its face to have power to persuade, but should it?  In truth, I don’t think so.  In 1776, there were people dis-inclined to revolt against England who said: “But you can’t win.”  Nevertheless, the war ensued, and in the end, lo and behold, the revolutionaries had won.

I think the same is true in every political election, where the stakes are generally not so directly life and death, but perhaps for this same reason, many are willing to accept that tired and false argument in frustration and despair.  The current media theme is that Sarah Palin shouldn’t run, because “she can’t win anyway.”  Balderdash.

As I’ve explained recently, the polling numbers used to assert Sarah Palin’s lack of viability as a Presidential candidate have revolved around the notion that she has too many Republicans or Republican-leaning detractors.  Do you think this would still be the case if she were the nominee?  Certainly not.  If Mrs. Palin were the alternative to Obama today, she would draw enough of the vote, at a minimum, to make the Obama machine tremble.  The truth is, however, that the election won’t be held today, but instead, in 14 months, when the economy is likely to have remained flat, or worsened.  That is the scenario that keeps the White House awake nights. On the other hand, if by some miraculous machinations, the economy suddenly rebounds, and we see job growth exceeding a half-million per month, Obama will be difficult to defeat.  While unlikely, it is possible.  This is why I argue that whatever candidate the Republicans offer, he or she should be as strong in all other issues as they may be in economics.

There’s another problem with the argument about “who can win.”  It ignores something vital: Whose record best establishes the merit required to get our nomination?  Once you consider this, it’s clear that the “who can win” business becomes irrelevant.  There are those who argue Donald Trump should run, in part because they believe he can win.  Do you think him qualified?  Why? Because he says “You’re fired” with such flair?  I’m really not inclined to accept the “who can win” argument as superseding the “who is best qualified or suited” argument.  Roughly half the registered voters in the country are inclined to agree with Republicans, and roughly half with Democrats.  Anybody who can capture half plus a few more can win.  I want somebody to seek the office who can not merely win, but will be depended upon to carry out their campaign promises, and the only way you and I can know that with any sense of certitude is to examine their records. I’m sure the devil can win any election, but is that what we want?

I think it’s fair to say with all the media hammering home the idea that Palin can’t win, or worse, dropping the hint that she’ll endorse some other candidate, it’s fairly obvious what their intention must be: They want to deter her from a presidential candidacy, and the only possible reason is because they fear she can win it.  As I’ve explained above, she most certainly can.

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Posted in Election 2012, Politics, Sarah Palin | 3 Comments »

Why They Hate Us

Saturday, August 27th, 2011
Over the Precipice

It’s the reflexive reaction of those who have the most to lose, and their numbers are substantial. In their self-delusions, they’ve continued to pretend to themselves that everything will go on as it has for more than two generations, with no interruptions in the gravy train, and their stubborn indifference to the mathematical certainty permits them momentary refuge against a reality they’ve created but wish not to endure. When a voice rises to warn them, they dutifully dismiss it. When the Tea Party arose, they were faced with a messenger they could not so easily silence. Worse, when Sarah Palin became one of their number, they allowed themselves to be seduced by the establishment’s siren song, offering to them a gentle lullaby that promised the gravy train would continue. The media told them that Sarah Palin is stupid, and that the Tea Party is a small band of nuts, and since that message comforted them, they greedily accepted it. After more than two years, some of them have noticed that the wheels are coming off and the rails are splitting, and a few have begun to leap from the sides. Their hatred of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party is not born of ignorance, but of a knowing resentment that these messengers had been right all along.

Friday, we were treated to the news that the GDP growth estimates for the second quarter was downgraded from an already anemic 1.4% to an astonishingly lower 1.0%. While most of you expected a downward revision, as did I, and I expect another later this year, the Europeans aren’t faring any better, coming in around 0.2%. This suggests a global catastrophe is already underway. There can be no way to repair all the things that ail our economy by spending more money, printing more money, or otherwise putting good money after bad. While Sarah Palin and the Tea Party recognize this, the gravy train chugs along happily down the tracks, most of its passengers enjoying their free rides apparently oblivious to the fact that the trestle ahead has been demolished.

The problem is that not all of them are oblivious, and any of them could sound the alarm to their fellow free-riders. Most of them, having mocked the stalwart messengers now want no part in raising the alarm. Every one of them knows that in so doing, they’re inviting the scorn and derision of the rest who will likely continue to evade reality until gravity takes control at the end of their track. Then they’ll panic, and complain that somebody should have warned them, despite the fact that against each successive warning, they hurled only contempt.

It’s a firmly established norm in human psychology that few like to be reminded: “I told you so.” Worse, when those who are being told a thing mock those doing the warning, the mass psychology leverages in favor of a bullying response. As the train rushes closer to the abyss, more aboard will notice, and sneak quietly to an exit and and in an act of self-preservation, hurl themselves from the train, often to pretend they’d never been aboard. Those who remain aboard to the bitter end necessarily become more angry as they notice their numbers slowly diminishing. Here is where real hate is born. This is also where we have arrived. The train is still careening toward the precipice, and its passengers still ride, hoping they were somehow right, and that somehow, their view will be vindicated. It won’t.

Meanwhile, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party continue to urge them to abandon the train. With each pronouncement, the train loses a few more passengers, but the remainder become still more stubborn in resisting the call. The engineer, now Barack Obama and his crew of coal-men in Congress continue to stoke the engine and drive it forward at break-neck pace, hoping that the acceleration will imply confidence. It no longer does. Like the end of credibility for the boy who thrice cried wolf, nothing this President can do will convince any but the drones that our situation isn’t awful.

The establishment in Washington DC has a captive audience, and they know it. Peddling hate and resentment is the last stunt remaining in their bag of tricks. It’s easier to “shoot the messengers” than to refute them. No honest refutation exists. They now stare openly at the abyss coming into view outside their windows, but like passengers on a train, they can see the gorge stretching out for miles in either direction, but they cannot see the bridge out directly ahead. That doesn’t mean they don’t know it.

Our nation needs to reduce the spending on almost every social program. There’s really no way to get control of this train and bring it to a stop in time to repair the bridge if we don’t substantially curtail big government. Those who stubbornly refuse to see what they know must be ahead are guilty of the sin of self-fraud. Those leading them are guilty of a monstrous lie. Not only do they continue to hand out the blinders, but also to scapegoat others for the impending consequences. This is the purpose of calling Tea Party members “terrorists” and Sarah Palin “stupid.” The hatred attending those pronouncements isn’t really aimed at the people involved, but instead at the truth they’re dispensing to the unwilling segment of their audience.

Imagine arriving at a social services office and picketing the people standing in line, telling them that they are bleeding the country dry. What would happen to you? In effect, this is the message being delivered, and this is a large segment of that unwilling audience. What do you expect? They might start out mocking and jeering but eventually, they’d get ugly with you, and the reason is that people don’t like to be told they’re doing wrong. People don’t like to be told their own choices have led them to the problems they now face. People don’t want to be reminded “I told you so.”

You wonder where the hate originates? It is born of this reality of human existence: You have the right to believe whatever you want, but no right to evade the consequences for faulty beliefs. Nothing can ultimately protect a people from a belief that they can exist without effort, or that they can long consume more than they produce. Nothing. Not slogans, not blinders, not governments, nothing.

Once you realize this, the hate is much easier to understand. It’s the last pathetic scream of persons too long in denial. There’s a tendency among some to interpret it as a sign that the messengers are winning. That’s not so. Nature is winning. Reality is winning, but there is no guarantee that the messengers will avoid their usual punishment for their good deeds. The more numerous the messengers, the better, and they ought not miss an opportunity to multiply their numbers. As I’ve told you before, there’s a war coming, and it won’t be pretty, or easy. The hate you’ve had aimed at you is just the opening salvo. Can you win? Yes! Will you win?

Will you fight?

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Posted in Barack Obama, Politics, Sarah Palin, Tea Party, War | 7 Comments »

Establishment Punditry Misjudges Palin’s Appeal

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Don't Count Her Out

Friday,  in an article on Politico, the argument is advanced that Palin cannot win.  This narrative has long been the snide assertion of the left, but it’s also become an increasing mantra being put forward by Republican pundits and strategists who are generally supporting other candidates, or are thoroughly in bed with one. Bearing in mind this bias against objectivity in editorializing and reporting, it would probably be a worthwhile exercise to assess how accurate these predictions are likely to be.  If Politico’s writer Alexander Burns is correct, Sarah Palin might as well quit, in line with the position of Rove and Morris, but if he’s wrong, and I’m inclined to believe he is, then Palin remains not only a viable candidate but also a candidate with a number of advantages to be considered along our path to the elections of  November 2012.

The first thing that Burns points out is that among Republicans, and Republican-leaning independents, Palin is regarded by two-fifths as unelectable.  To this, I would respond simply: First, throw out the Republican-leaners.  They don’t vote in primaries in most states, or they wouldn’t be independents.  Second, the reliable likely Republican primary voters is apt to be a good deal more conservative than the polling data’s fuzzy delineation represents.  The data reveals that some movement is actually possible, at least enough to win the GOP nomination, and this is the first object of any campaign.  One’s inability to get all the Republican votes in a primary really isn’t a valid test of one’s suitability for a general campaign.  As a counterpoint to the conclusions Burns has reached, one might do well to take a look instead at what Gary P. Jackson has to say on the matter.  His is an excellent analysis of Palin’s real electoral prospects.  Like Reagan, Palin enjoys a substantial lead in favorability in the key swing state of Ohio.  Looking at the way Reagan won in the 1980 primary season, it’s easier to understand how it could be true that Palin is just as apt as any to win not only the nomination, but also a general election campaign.

If we admit that there is a path for Palin to the nomination, then the question of her electability suddenly loses its punch.  This is because the electorate will find itself faced with the probability of a continuing stagnation or decline, and the prospect of choosing between a Sarah Palin presidency and that of another four years of what has been a largely failed presidency.  Under continued or increasing economic duress, you might well expect the former Alaska governor to begin knocking down questions of her suitability for office, and general election voters, considering their available alternatives to begin to agree.  More, Palin has matured as a national figure, and has made herself much more familiar with the intricacies of issues of national import on a level of detail many candidates simply don’t possess. In all probability, it would ride in large measure on her performance in Presidential debates late in 2012. If she substantially holds her own, or is viewed even marginally as the victor, it’s very likely that she would find herself victorious in November.

One of the other themes being covered widely, but particularly on Politico, is that late entries are faced with a number of obstacles.  While this is true, the late entry is also a frequently successful approach to Presidential victory.  Reagan, Clinton, and Bush were all late entrants.  There is a definite advantage in being last, with significant name recognition, and this is another way in which Palin is well-placed for victory.

Setting aside Burns’ previously demonstrated preference for Romney among the current candidates, it’s easy to see why he’s concerned, because while Palin is a principled conservative, she is not unaccustomed to working with Democrats and independents in pursuit of common sense solutions to pressing problems. That’s her actual record, and if she’s able to demonstrate that, it not only makes a general election campaign winnable, but increases the chances that she will capture some significant portion of Romney’s voters as he continues to fade.  As the GOP nomination campaign consolidates, it would likely come down to just two candidates, as Michele Bachmann is sliding now with the entry of Perry.  This presents a great opportunity for Palin, and one she will likely have known in withholding an announcement as long as she has.

If one listens to the punditry in DC media, one would think the campaign is all but over, but common sense and a little closer examination of the polling data definitely suggests otherwise.  Palin is known for running underfunded campaigns to great success, and she also has the ability to raise money, as much is still being withheld as people wait for the Republican field to settle.  Some of it would certainly settle out in her campaign coffers, and some would go to the anti-Palin vote, but if voters begin to consolidate around a common sense conservative, none will be surprised.  Part of the narrative since 2008 has been to paint Palin as a radical right winger, and while it is certainly true to say that she is conservative, she is no more conservative than Ronald Reagan, a president who is still revered in the Republican electorate, and among voters in general.  While not a perfect analogy, it’s accurate to say that she has history on her side, even if it’s not something the establishment pundits wish to tell you as they struggle to understand the Tea Party phenomenon.  What causes them confusion with that political development is the same thing that causes them to misjudge Sarah Palin’s appeal.  Much as in the closing months of 1979 and into 1980, it’s nearly time for the establishment to learn.

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Posted in Election 2012, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin | 4 Comments »

Sarah Palin on Libya

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Premature Celebration?

Thursday evening, Sarah Palin published a column On the Future of Libya that sets forth a foreign policy position that neither retreats to the isolationism of some libertarians, nor advances an interventionist foreign policy favored by so-called “neo-cons” preferred by the establishment wing of the GOP.  Her foreign policy prescription would best be described as fiercely American, seeking to protect the interests of our country, while lending sympathy to people seeking freedom, yet mindful that not all revolutions are created equal.  Palin advises caution, and avoiding a rush to premature notions of victory.

Mrs. Palin embraces a reasonable foreign policy that neither rushes to war, nor shrinks from it when no other rational alternative remains when the US comes under direct threat.  One could presume, were she President, that we would not rush into war on the basis of every half-baked notion of what is in the vital US interests, but to war we would go, nevertheless, but with prudence and only when we could ensure victory.

Palin advises caution with respect to the nature of those who seem poised to rule Libya, wary of people with decidedly questionable motives who have ties to terrorists and radical islamists.

“Second, we must be very concerned about the future government that will emerge to take Gaddafi’s place. History teaches that those with the guns usually prevail when a coalition overthrows a tyrant. We must remember that military power ultimately resides with the rebel commanders. This should be a source of some concern. The armed opposition to Gaddafi is an outgrowth of a group called Islamic Libya Fighting Group, and some rebel commanders admit that they have Al Qaeda links. The rebel fighters are from different tribes, and they have a variety of political views. Some are Islamists, some appear to favor some sort of western democracy. We should work through diplomatic means to help those who want democracy to come out on top.”

One thing that can be gathered from this is that she’s studied the players and is quite familiar with the problems inherent in the entire intervention by NATO in Libya.  This means she’s taking foreign policy seriously, despite the tendency of some to focus almost entirely on domestic economic issues.  This makes her position as a potential candidate all the more viable, signaling a well-rounded grasp of issues that is critical to leading a country long considered the world’s leading light, until recently.  Palin also mentions the idea of “nation-building” that has been a general failure for the last half century.  She argues that US troops should never be used in Libya for these purposes:

“That said, we should not commit U.S. troops or military assets to serve as peacekeepers or perform humanitarian missions or nation-building in Libya. Our military is already over-committed and strained, and a vaguely designed mission can be the first step toward a quagmire. The internal situation does not seem stable enough for U.S. forces to operate in a purely humanitarian manner without the possibility of coming under attack. Troop deployment to Libya would mean placing America’s finest in a potentially hostile zone that is not in our vital national security interest.”

This statement is certain to be popular among our country’s reluctant warriors, who will dutifully follow orders, but do not volunteer to serve with a mind to being used for frivolous, or otherwise purely political ends.  For troops who’ve been stretched too far, this promises some relief in the form of a Palin presidency.  It clearly figures into her thinking that American sons’ and daughters’ lives should not be risked for so little.

Clearly, Palin sees a potential quagmire in Libya, and it’s this discernment that separates her foreign policy agenda from those on the interventionist edge who seem willing to engage almost anywhere, or those on the libertarian side who wouldn’t engage in any place until the US comes under direct attack at home.  Either extreme position is unsuitable for a country such as ours, that has trade interests around the world, citizens working in virtually every nation on the globe, and is usually relied upon to lead the world.  If we wish to be the leading light for freedom, we ought to take care to lead.  It’s clear that Governor Palin realizes this, but also refuses to be led or pushed into battles where the security interests of  the United States are not really at risk.

Barack Obama’s approach has been to turn over leadership to European powers in the Libyan engagement, but I think it’s perfectly clear that we should take Palin’s wise counsel to heart, and withdraw from the operation and avoid becoming embroiled in some sort of occupying or peace-keeping force.  This is the policy statement of a politician prepared to lead from the front, and that’s something our fighting men and women around the world most assuredly deserve.

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Posted in Foreign Policy, Politics, Sarah Palin, War | 1 Comment »

Sarah Palin Links to New Video

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Sarah Palin, on her Facebook Wall, posted a link to a video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfu1_Scgyow&feature=youtu.be]

Commenting on the video, Governor Palin said:

“I’ll be talking about this and more on September 3rd.”

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Posted in Barack Obama, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin | 2 Comments »

Let’s Think About This

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Sizing Up Karl Rove

One could easily imagine that the reason for Rove and others to create a mis-impression among Palin supporters that September 3rd would be the day for an announcement of a presidential campaign, but there must be more to this than meets the eye.  Why? As I have surmised, it’s likely the attempt to force Palin in early, leaving her to otherwise risk disappointing her supporters.  This would imply that he had some other potential candidate he wants to bring in afterward, or he wants to damage her and thereby dissuade her from entering at all.  Failing that, he must intend to damage her in support of a candidate already in the field.  Last night, as I reported, Rove went on FNC with Greta to continue his attack on Palin, feigning self-defense, and establishing a meme that she’s “thin-skinned.”  That’s not nearly true for any number of reasons, but as you know, Rove works at managing perceptions. Remember his operation against Christine O’Donnell? Don’t assume anything less will be in the offing for Sarah Palin.

Why, having been caught trying to force her hand, or otherwise cause her damage, would Rove then go on to continue this attack on Sarah Palin?  Rove knows that most polls made public are tools for guys like him to push the public, to establish narratives, or to support them once seeded.  He has access to other polls and I believe that when you consider Dick Morris’ brief piling-on, though he likely represents different people, they share an interest in this scenario, and it therefore must be this:  The remainder of the Republican field, even with Perry now in, is soft in their support for the candidates they may now seem to prefer.  The last thing any of them want to see is a Palin candidacy.

Consider it this way:  The support for candidates like Bachmann and Perry, and now, clearly even Romney, is much wider than it is deep.  This is because many people have leaped into support of those campaigns not because these represent their favorite candidate, but because they’ll serve as a sort of surrogate unless and until their real choice enters.  I know people like this, and so do you.  Right now, they’re out there supporting their “back-up plan” for 2012, waiting, or at least hoping for somebody else.  Part of the evidence of this is that money is not flowing to campaigns as readily as they might otherwise expect.  The other evidence lies in the softness in the polls that could permit Perry to announce only two weeks ago and virtually without effort, eclipse Mitt Romney.  What this should tell you is that people are looking for better choices, and some number of those who have gone from Romney to Perry may well jump from Perry’s ship once the dirt accumulates and another candidate they would prefer becomes available.

If Rove and others could substantially damage Palin, she might not get in, or if she did, be forced to fight too great an uphill battle from which to recover.  Even if Rove has no new candidates in mind,  let’s imagine that he supports one or more of those already in.  Ditto Morris.  Delivering a damaging theme to the media might well prevent her from entering, or having entered, from getting traction.  In other words, everything Rove is doing is aimed at aborting a Palin Campaign, or causing it to be delivered prematurely and stillborn.  If he could accomplish this, it would tend to settle the field.  We’re being told that Perry and Rove don’t mix, but who’s more apt to benefit, among the current crop, if Rove is able to freeze the field?  Well, that would be the three front-runners, would it not?  The only other plausible beneficiary would be an unknown late entrant, but Morris’ statement was too ad hoc, seemingly piling on to ride a wave Rove was trying to build.  Morris also quickly retreated to his previous stance that Palin will not run.  Settling the field would cause the money to start flowing.

This should tell us all something about which we should be thoroughly cautious: Over the remainder of the period between now and the legal cut-off to entry in some states, around the middle of October, there will be endless attempts to try to goad Governor Palin into rash actions in support of the theme Rove first advanced last night.  I even heard Mark Davis continue that theme, using the “thin-skinned” smear while sitting in for Rush Limbaugh on Thursday.  That isn’t accidental.  Look for more of the same as he sits in for Open Line Friday.  Beware of some of those you had once thought to be friends.  They will come out of the woodwork now, trying to join in the theme, on television, radio, and in blogs.

In most cases, the best thing for Sarah Palin and her PAC to do is just steer clear.  There’s no reason to engage it further, having made their position known, and those of us who are vigilant in the blogs will combat it here on the Internet.  It’s simple for us: We need only to oppose lies by revealing the truth.

If Governor Palin intends to run, it’s clear that she’s said we’d know probably by the end of September.  That’s good enough for me, and probably for you too, and nothing is served by further engaging these leeches directly.  Like Sarah Palin has done, we need only to maintain discipline.  So long as we do that, Rove and his cronies will fail.  It’s time to actively kill off the rumor mill to the extent we are able.  It’s time for heightened awareness and vigilance.  It’s time for us to stop with our own speculation and trust Governor Palin’s sense of timing.  Let’s get on with it.  We’ve come too long to fall prey to the purveyors of garbage now.

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Posted in Election 2012, GOP Candidates, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Update | 5 Comments »

Karl Rove is a Villain – Those He Serves Are Worse

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Still Rove

Tonight, the master manipulator, and Sith Lord, Karl Rove went on FNC’s “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren in an attempt to continue his theme of disinformation, asserting Sarah Palin is thin-skinned, and that he had nothing to do with an attempt to sabotage Sarah Palin or her supporters:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G2ggNKmkOw]

Hey Karl, newsflash, pal: I accused you. Me. Right here on this blog. Don’t go spinning this off on Sarah Palin. Don’t blame others. Blame me. I called you out. I called you a manipulator. ME. I looked at SarahPac’s statement, posted elsewhere on this blog, but I cannot find your name in that statement, anywhere.

No sir, what you’ve done is to make a confession, but let’s demonstrate that, shall we?

First, let’s read the SarahPac statement:

Setting The Record Straight: Wrong & Misleading
Posted on August 23, 2011

Three years ago DC pundits predicted with glee the demise of Sarah Palin’s political career. This past weekend their tune changed, citing false information that she has made a decision and set a date regarding a future campaign. Any professional pundit claiming to have “inside information” regarding Governor Palin’s personal decision is not only wrong but their comments are specifically intended to mislead the American public. These are the same tired establishment political games that fuel the 24 hour news cycle and that all Americans will hopefully reject in 2012, and this is more of the “politics-as-usual” that Sarah Palin has fought against throughout her career.

PS – Kudos to CNN for setting the record straight and including Governor Palin’s own words.

Now Karl, it’s not possible that you’ve read this and then told Greta that Sarah Palin was the one making  it about you.  I made it about you, Karl.  Me. To my knowledge, nobody published on this developing story before me.  Nobody else that I had heard anywhere made these accusations against you until some time later.  What’s worse Karl is that I know that you know it.  Others followed, but I went with the story when I began to suspect something watching the footage and re-reading your statements, but in nowhere that I’ve seen (and I’ve looked) is there a single instance of Sarah Palin mentioning your name with respect to this incident.  Nice try, Karl.  I said it here in this blog.  Mark Levin said it to a much larger radio audience later on Monday on his radio show.  You are now reacting in an attempt to rescue yourself from the cesspool of your own making.  Are you suggesting you came upon SarahPac’s statement out of the blue, read it, and simply assumed yourself to be its object?  No Karl, that’s not credible. If somebody else informed you that you might be its object, how did they form that conclusion?  Surely not from SarahPac’s statement?

No, you must have heard the accusation of sabotage from some other source.  How else would you have concluded SarahPac’s statement was aimed at you?  Which source, Karl?  Much as I might like to think it was from my little blog, it was more likely Levin’s pronouncement on this own show, with a large audience that might even include you.  If so, your statements to Greta were bold-faced lies.  If you did actually just happen upon the statement, and having read it cold, concluded it must be pointing at you, I would ask only: Why?  There’s only one reason that comes to mind:  You knew it was aimed at you because this was indeed your intent.  As I said, you’re either confessing to your motives, or your admitting you lied to Greta.  Take your pick. Neither alternative sits well with me.  Don’t be concerned as that means damnably little to you.

You implied by your original statement on FNC that Palin had to get in by Labor Day, or not at all.  You said that. You may attempt to weasel the words, but we have the video.  Here it is again:

“This is her last chance,” Rove said.  “She either gets in or gets out [after the Iowa visit].  I think she gets in.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJiZocuBkBo]

Having seen this quote, or the original footage, most people would naturally conclude that the simplest interpretation of what you said is your honest opinion.  The problem is, Karl, you don’t speak in honest opinions publicly, and you’re trying now to back out from under this load before it lands on your head, but it’s too late, this time.

Let’s cut the crap, Karl: For whom are you shilling, this time?  You always have clients, or at least prospective clients, so who is it this time?  You see, I’m finished dealing with you.  I’m going to discover the identity of  the client(s,) and I don’t care the identity, because I am going to expose all of this if I can, to the embarrassment of whomsoever may be involved.  I will devote a good deal of text to that relationship, and it doesn’t matter to me who your client(s) may be.  Said person(or persons) will be exposed along with you.

You might wonder how you could have raised my ire this way, because to you, I’m just another piece on the field, to be played and manipulated.  I’ve got news for you Karl: It’s not going to work, this time.

For my audience, let me explain to you what Mr. Rove really is.  He’s the kind of creature politicians use for their worst, most devious dirty work.  Mr. Rove has analogs all over DC, and around the country.  In fact, it’s fair to say there’s a Rove equivalent in every corner of the globe.  You may remember my previous discussion of the mindset of these people, but if not, let me explain it again:

Mr. Rove wins when he can push a narrative to the advantage of his client(s.)  Mr. Rove doesn’t give a rip about you, any of you, except to push you in a direction that serves his clients’ interests.  The easiest way to negate the influence of Karl Rove is to ignore him, completely.  Cover your ears and say “blah-blah-blah” until he’s done speaking.  Karl Rove is a man who makes his living getting inside your head.  Anybody who associates with him or retains his services intends to wage Machiavellian warfare against your minds.  Anybody.  Read that again.  I said “anybody.”

You might wonder how my judgment of Mr. Rove and all who consort with him could be so scathing.  After all, he’s just a political hack doing the bidding of some master, right?   Well, yes, but also no.  As I’ve said before, Rove is the sort who manages narratives in the service of his clientele.  Part of the problem with the class of people that Mr. Rove is, and the sort he represents, is that they are of the mindset to manipulate people en masse without any concern for the lives of the people they’re manipulating.

For example, this recent narrative put in play by Rove, and then pushed by Morris, would have led tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands and perhaps even millions of people to believe that Sarah Palin intended to announce over the Labor Day weekend at the Tea Party event in Indianola, Iowa.  Let me ask you: Had some many tens of thousands of people arrived in Indianola, Iowa, expecting to hear a campaign launched, what would be the cost if it were not then launched?  Would it destroy that potential candidacy?  Perhaps, but here’s what raises my blood pressure the most, and it has nothing to do with the politician(s) involved:  What would have happened to those individual people?

What would it do to them?  Mr. Rove and his clients regard all those people as pawns in their game.  The emotional investments, the tireless efforts, the hopes, the dreams, and the aspirations of all those who in such a scenario would arrive expecting an announcement of a campaign would surely be crushed.  I think of the young women like my own daughter, who adore Mrs. Palin, who would begin their transformation into political cynics at much too young an age.  I think of all the independents who, in this scenario, would have been willing to give politics one last try in the name of all they love about their lives and their country, and how this would permanently disaffect them.  To Mr. Rove, and those he serves, all of these would be mere pawns.  Not individual people.  Not thinking human beings with lives and loves.  Just another mass of people to be “played.”

Let me tell you what else this means, in the concrete and honest facts of the matter:  Anybody who consorts with Mr. Rove is willing to use and dispose of you like stage props.  I mean that.  Have you considered how many additional people might flood the roadways leading to Indianola, Iowa, if it had been believed widely that Sarah Palin intended to announce her candidacy for President there?  Thousands more?  Tens of thousands more?  How many more gallons of gasoline?  How many hours of labor spent?  How many dollars would have been spent in futility, by people some of whom cannot afford to let their money go easily?  Sadly, what might have happened on the roadways so packed with people, some of them hurrying from great distances to be there?  How many would perhaps not make it home again, all in pursuit of something that might well not occur, because Karl Rove created that expectation?  Would Karl Rove or his master(s) be blamed?  No.  If anyone would be blamed, who would it likely be?  Yet who agitated in the direction of such a thing?  Who tried to create that impression? Karl Rove, Dick Morris, and any number of their brethren, along with their clients were begging for it.  Those clients would be safely well away, blameless.

Now, it’s fair to say that with any large event, even a football game or rock concert, there will always sadly be some number who don’t make it to the event, or having made the event, never make it home.  That’s reality.  That’s our world, and nobody can be held responsible, right?  Sure.  That’s easy to say if it wasn’t somebody you knew, but instead some faceless person in the crowd about whom Rove and his master(s) couldn’t possibly care less.

It is this willingness to view people as segments and blocs and masses and numbers that brands Rove and his colleagues as immoral.  When he was in the midst of a divorce, he sent out Dana Perino as his spokesperson to handle the press.  You may not remember it, but I do, and it was done very much in a manner to maintain the privacy of Rove and his family.  I have no issue with that, yet I also know that Mr. Rove demonstrates by that instance that he holds his own life in one respect, but yours in another entirely.

You see, this is the vulgar mindset of crass indifference to your lives that dominates Mr. Rove’s thinking.  He doesn’t care about you or even the country.  He cares about getting paid and wielding power.  He cares about exercising influence on masses of people by shaping narratives for the sake of his clients.  You?  The individual?  You’re just another brick in his wall.  He’s building his own tower of Babel.  He and those like him care not whether it is built on your corpse, or the rotting hulk of a nation.  Neither do those who retain his services.

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Posted in Election 2012, GOP Candidates, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Update | 4 Comments »

To Restore America, We’ll Need Courage

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Courage to Lead

Our country is in serious trouble.  There will be no easy, short or long-run fixes.  Our government’s credit rating has been downgraded, and that threatens to drive up the rate we will pay for all those trillions of dollars in debt.  Worse, the debt continues to accumulate as Congress recently extended the President’s line of credit.  If President Obama wasn’t so thoroughly irresponsible, we might have expected more, but in the last thirty-one months, he’s given no indication that there will be any consideration of his duty to lead the country.  Instead, he’s turned it into another battleground for partisan name-calling, with the American tax-payer as his economic and fiscal cannon fodder.

Every politician alive likes to be called “courageous,” but damnably few of them ever earn the title.  I think we have at least one such person, and she’s likely our best bet for restoring the country.  In a time when most departments and levels of government were increasing spending while coffers were less strained, Governor Sarah Palin actually cut Alaska’s government spending.  Say what you want about Chris Christie’s courage in taking on the teachers’ unions in New Jersey, but as Sarah Palin herself reminds us, courage is cutting spending not only when you must, but also when you ought to simply because it’s the right thing to do.

Think of the man who confesses the truth only when the consequences of his previous lies are near at hand.  It takes no courage to admit what is by then obvious to all who view it.  It takes far more courage to point to a doubtful future, warn others, many of whom will reject your warning, and undergo the accusations and insults for telling the truth well before it seems to matter to most people.   Last autumn, Sarah Palin stood up to tell you that QE2 would have ugly consequences.  She was pilloried as an economic know-nothing, and she was castigated in every major newspaper in the northeast corridor.  Eight months later, we now know she had been right, but not because those newspapers corrected the record. As she predicted, food and energy prices have inclined sharply, and general inflation is well under way at a pace not seen since the Carter era.  It took courage to take that stand, and to continue to suffer the political pummeling she endured for her stance.  Almost nobody else would tell you the truth, and even many of those who knew participated in the bashing of Sarah Palin.  Under that sort of attack, why would you stand in for a beating while also knowing so few were listening anyway?  The only reason possible is a firm conviction in doing what is right, even when it’s hard, painful, and punishing.  That’s courage.

When Sarah Palin became Governor of Alaska, she had to survive and struggle through a nightmare of crooks and corruption that was in de facto control of the state.  It requires no particular courage to go into a situation like she discovered in the state’s capital and simply play along with the game.  That’s what most politicians do, but Governor Palin would have none of that.  Instead, she went in and cleaned up the mess, any mess, wherever she found it.  As it turns out, this is part of the reason that the 24,000(+) emails reviewed by the media turned up nothing damning: She was simply doing the job that every elected politician is supposed to do.  It takes a good deal more courage to walk to the temple and kick over the tables and wreck the crooked and corrupt interests and actually reform what goes on there.  Most politicians simply join in the plunder, but not Sarah Palin.  She actually did what she said in her campaign she would do, no matter how difficult it might have been.

The Obama disaster has produced a situation that is nearly infinitely more grand in its scale and effects.  The next occupant of the White House will need unwavering courage.  As bad as the situation is, it threatens to worsen, and our next President will need to rally the American people to engage them in taking their share of ownership in the problem.  At present, our most intractable problems are the debt and the entitlement spending that has caused much of its growth.  Our next leader will need to recognize that as much as we must restore the fiscal and monetary aspects of our nation, what will need the most repair is the courage of our people in order to face up to these challenges, some of which will be severe.  Courage won’t be something we’ll be able to claim in moments of bravado.  Families are going to need courage, and communities are going to need it too.  There’s simply no way around the mess we’re in by means of more borrowing, spending, and taxing.  This situation will now require dramatic steps to avoid significantly worse results.  Some people will be quite dis-satisfied.  Some of those will become angry, and possibly violent.  It will take courage to restore order to such a situation, and none of our current crop of potential GOP nominees have exhibited much of it.

The situation we are going to face in the next three to five years is going to become increasingly bleak and dangerous unless we change course.  Congress has effectively stalled the inevitable until after the next elections, with President Obama’s assistance.  President Obama will likely introduce some tepid reforms that will offer no real chance at a lasting recovery, but will certainly make it seem as though he’s doing something.  It will take courage for our next President to do something lasting and substantial.  It will take courage to show the American people how much energy they use, and explain to them the reality: No energy, no growth.  No growth, no productive jobs.  No jobs, no prosperity.  It’s going to need to be as blunt as that, and few politicians have the stomach to deal forthrightly with such issues.

Sarah Palin does, and has demonstrated it before.  This election had better not be so much about economics or finance or health-care or legislation, but about the character of the people who will lead us.  Courage is that indispensable trait without which this nation will not much longer endure.   Knowing this, we’ve got a choice and a mission ahead, and my vote will be for  courage.  The President will need the courage to tell the truth, first of all, and the courage to see it through.  Sarah Palin’s never known another way to govern.  It’s that special something that comes shining through when you examine her record or even the 24,000 emails.  It’s not a Hollywood action-movie courage, but instead the courage of a simpler character, like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.   Sarah Palin is Mr. Smith.  She’s that kind of leader.  In less than ten days, the bio-documentary about her, The Undefeated, will become available on DVD and pay-per-view.   If you care about the country’s future, and you have the requisite courage to help restore it, you might want to pick up a copy and learn what political courage really looks like.  In 2012, and in the years to follow, we’re going to need it.

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Posted in Barack Obama, Economics, Election 2012, Politics, Sarah Palin | 4 Comments »

Update Number Two: SarahPac Sets Record Straight

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Well, there it is. You can go read it for yourself, but I am quoting the message in its entirety here:

Setting The Record Straight: Wrong & Misleading

Posted on August 23, 2011

Three years ago DC pundits predicted with glee the demise of Sarah Palin’s political career. This past weekend their tune changed, citing false information that she has made a decision and set a date regarding a future campaign. Any professional pundit claiming to have “inside information” regarding Governor Palin’s personal decision is not only wrong but their comments are specifically intended to mislead the American public. These are the same tired establishment political games that fuel the 24 hour news cycle and that all Americans will hopefully reject in 2012, and this is more of the “politics-as-usual” that Sarah Palin has fought against throughout her career.

PS – Kudos to CNN for setting the record straight and including Governor Palin’s own words.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there you have it.  I feel vindicated in my suspicions about Karl Rove and Dick Morris, and I am glad that SarahPac made this clear and unambiguous statement.  It’s good to see them answer this nonsense directly! And kudos to SarahPac, as they’re doing tremendous work.  You can also contribute to their cause on the website.

It’s ironic that after three years, the Republican establishment has teamed up with some forces in the media to continue the hatchet-job that was begun by leftists three years ago.  This is where you can make a difference: Stopping the spread of the ridiculous attacks.  They’re right. It’s just more “politics-as-usual.”  Well, they got caught red-handed this time.

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Posted in Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Update | 3 Comments »

Another Voice Agrees: 9/3 Narrative Smells Like a Setup

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

It’s really not a surprise that Mark Levin gets it.  I’ve told you before what an awesome talk-show host and conservative thinker he is, and as usual, Mr. Levin did not disappoint with Monday’s opening monologue:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAn8gOH8kC8]

As is obvious, we need to be watchful for ploys like this from the so-called analysts and other shills for the establishment. You can catch Mark Levin in many markets, nationwide, and you can also check out his website here. Don’t forget to like him on Facebook.

That’s my view, as I explained earlier Monday, and it’s important for Sarah Palin’s supporters to remember this is the sort of game some of these people play, and they play for keeps.

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Why Would I Believe Karl Rove Now?

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Who? Me?

You know what I think of Karl Rove, and it isn’t pleasant.  He doesn’t say anything without some ulterior motive, and he seldom throws air-time away on loose, unfocused talk.  He even makes up his own small white-boards for television interviews so he can make his points visually.  No, a guy like this never says or does anything without a purpose in mind.  Over the last several days, since he made his statements regarding Sarah Palin’s potential official entry into the GOP field, something hasn’t felt right about it.  Two things I know about Rove are that he hates to be seen as having been wrong, and what he really hates is to lose.  His value to the establishment as a political strategist isn’t based on the accuracy of his political prognostications in public, but instead on his ability to manipulate results by the disinformation he spreads in the media.   Often times, the analysis he offers on TV are aimed at some purpose other than that which would seem apparent.  Due to this, I’ve begun to wonder what his mention of Sarah Palin is really intended to accomplish. It’s the reason I included a question mark in my coverage of Natalie Nichols’ article from yesterday.  I simply don’t trust the guy.  There’s always an angle to what he’s doing, and he’s effective.  Now, with Dick Morris tweeting that he thinks she’ll announce September 3rd, I can’t help but smell a rat.

I went back to the original article in which I read the account, and I was even able to scare up a portion of the video, and so I took a look at what Rove said, and considered what it might be intended to accomplish, apart from what he seemed to be saying.  In my view, here is the critical nugget:

“This is her last chance,” Rove said.  “She either gets in or gets out [after the Iowa visit].  I think she gets in.”

Who says it’s her last chance?  Why would any of us assume that Governor Palin would choose this moment to begin complying with the narrative of the media’s pet political analysts?  It’s not as though any of us actually believe either that Karl Rove wants Sarah Palin to succeed, or that he’s some sort of detached, objective source of political wisdom.  What Rove’s statement proposes is a ridiculous premise:  It’s then, or never.  Why would Rove wish to deliver such a message?  He certainly isn’t saying it to help Sarah Palin.  I think he wants to paint the picture of a candidate who must get in over Labor Day weekend, or just as well stay home.  Could this be because Rove is trying to push her to a premature declaration, or to push us into a false belief based on his dubious assertions?

Why would Rove do that? Rove’s interests lie with some other agenda, but not in advancing a Palin candidacy. What if he could score a substantial knock on her via an expectation game he’s now helped foment among us, knowing that she’s better served to wait a while longer?

Would I enjoy it if she did announce on the 3rd?  Sure, since I plan on being there, but then again, I am not so worried about the particular date of her announcement that the lack of one on that day would throw me into a tail-spin of despair or send me scurrying off to some other campaign.  I’m a grown-up, and I’ve waited longer for things of much less importance.  Truth is, if that’s not the best day for Sarah Palin to announce, in her own judgment, and by her own criteria, I don’t want her to announce just to suit me.  I want her to announce on the day she believes will make for the best effect in pursuit of victory.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am prepared to wait until hell freezes over, or she herself tells us otherwise, and if she ultimately decides not to run, I’ll be fine with that too, because I support Sarah Palin, candidate for President or no.

Right now, there’s a lot of “huff and puff” over Rick Perry, and as I mentioned before, this Savior-of-the-Day mentality isn’t something we Palin supporters have ever accepted, so why go with the talking heads’ claims of their prescribed dates and times now?  No, I’m not falling for it.  If she announces that day, or any other day, I will be equally thrilled at the prospect.  There isn’t a time limit on my support, and in truth, my support of Governor Palin isn’t limited to Presidential politics, so I’m not inclined to get too attached to what Karl Rove asserts, one way or the other.  I’m done buying the premises such people try to lay out for us, knowing that all too frequently, it’s intended to push us in a direction we would not otherwise knowingly or willingly go.

I’ve said it before, and at some length a month ago today, and I’ll say it this one last time:  Leave the strategy to Governor Palin. Why am I supposed to feel hurried anyway?  I know who I support, and all the other people already in this race will still be there a month from now even if Governor Palin should decide not to run.  While I don’t view that as likely, so what if she did?  Two things would remain true even in that case:  I would still support her as a tremendous advocate for our values, and I would still be able to decide whether to support (or not support) one of the other numerous candidates.   What I won’t do is talk myself into arbitrary, dubious, artificial deadlines for which there is no actual basis in fact, never mind letting Karl Rove talk me into one.  That’s just silly.  The real deadlines are a good bit later, and for me, my deadline is that day on which Texans go to vote in the primaries, next March.  That’s the only deadline I’m worried about, and Karl Rove’s claim of some nonsensical cut-off date is just more typical DC-insider political garbage, and media manipulation.   No, I am prepared to wait.  Sarah Palin has said it herself:  There will be no mistaking her decision on the day she announces it.  I expect Iowa on September 3rd to be one thoroughly enriching event, and I am going there to enjoy the fellowship of others like me, and to listen to whatever Governor Palin has to say.  I’m not going there expecting to hear an official campaign launch.  I’m going there to support her and the Tea Party folks who are hosting the event.  She said the time-frame of the end of September should cover the range of dates during which we could expect some sort of announcement.  I believe her, and it’s as simple as that. There’s no sense in falling prey to some well-laid Karl Rove narrative.

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A Time For Self-Discipline

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Looking Ahead!

One of the things that happens in any political season is that supporters of candidates can become overly confident and lose their edge.  My preferred candidate is, as you all know by now, Governor Sarah Palin.  As you also know, she has not yet made her entry into the race for the GOP nomination official.  Many people have been tempted to talk about how she’s going to beat Obama, myself included, and while that’s important, I’d urge my friends to temper their enthusiasm with the reminder that while we know she can win, the rest of the GOP doesn’t yet understand it, and it’s going to take our tireless efforts to make that happen.  It is not my intention to be a wet blanket, as I am as thoroughly enthusiastic at the notion of Sarah Palin’s imminent entry as any, but let me say this clearly: We who wish to see her inaugurated in January of 2013 must remember that this will be a long and difficult fight.  We have an uphill battle in all ways but one:  Ours  is the superior candidate, and we know it.  Let us now begin to show the rest of the GOP, and indeed the rest of America, why this is true.

I am certain that upon an announcement, Governor Palin will in some way begin immediately to coordinate her supporters.  There’s been no official campaign structure to link her to all the groups who have supported her for so long, but the rudiments are already in place with the great work of people who’ve been coordinating in their own states and regions for quite some time now.  It’s now time for you to begin building those contacts back up, and staying in touch more closely so that those who have waited for so long in expectation of this moment are able to take that stored enthusiasm and turn it into boots on the ground in every state in the union.  You want to win, don’t you?

There will be those who will hesitate at the notion of any formalization of their efforts, but to succeed, we must reaffirm our commitment in the candid and well-mannered self-discipline that has really been the calling card of Sarah Palin’s supporters all along.  I had one young person ask me recently how to help.  I said without hesitation that we must lead, but as we all know by now, to lead is to serve.  Let us serve our chosen candidate first by being there for her.  On September 3rd, whether that is the date of the announcement we all hope for, or not, we must be there for her, as many as we can, in such dedication as the moment will deserve.  Remember, by entering the race, Governor Palin will signify her own willingness to serve you, and the country, first by being there.  The truth is, she’s been there right along.  We must do the same.

The other thing I told this youngster was that we must remember that by association with her through our support, we must conduct ourselves at all times as her ambassadors.  This can be difficult at times, because there will surely be some ne’er-do-wells you will encounter who will try to rattle you or provoke you into words that you might later regret.  Remember, the world is sadly overstocked with some nasty provocateurs who would love nothing better than to goad supporters of Governor Palin into embarrassing themselves or even worse, the Governor.  Let the better angels of our nature be our guide.  We all find instances in our daily lives when we must deal gently with obnoxious people who don’t deserve the kind treatment prudence demands we afford them. I’m not asking you to be a pushover, as I don’t think that’s what Governor Palin would want, but just remember: As her supporters, we’re out there on her behalf.  Let’s do her proud!

If this seems a bit burdensome, it’s really not.  We need only to remember our goal.  What is our goal?  Is it that Sarah Palin runs for the nomination, or that she wins it?  If she wins the nomination, is that the end? Of course not, as we intend to see her win the nomination, and then the presidency, and even then, our task will have only gotten off to a rousing start.  Then we will set about restoring the nation, and that will be a long and difficult task, but I’m sure you will agree that it’s the mission for which we’ve volunteered to lead and to serve.

My point to you is not to dampen your enthusiasm, but to remind you for a moment of why we fight, and what we’re fighting to achieve.  I hope you will be heartened as am I by the things you have already accomplished.  We’re going to have tremendous fun doing it, and it’s going to the source of great pride in our lives.  We’ll make many more new friends, we’ll do all that which we are now assembling to do, and more you may not yet imagine.  All of this we can do, and have a start at repairing what is broken, but let us remember that is what we gather now to accomplish.

I have told you that I am prepared to wait so long as Governor Palin sees fit to wait.  That remains true. I have told you all the basic reasons I support Sarah Palin, and many of you have written to say you agree with me in most ways.  It seems that we’ve formed a sort of family, and I am proud of that too, but as I have told you before, things are getting bad here on the farm, and our pastures are now dust-bowls.  I am betting what remains of the farm on this effort because I love it, and I know this is our last chance too.  Some arrogant politicians will spout about having “skin in the game,” but I am here to say to you that I know how many of you also face hard times, and that you, like me, have more than some “skin in this game,” but instead our necks on the block.  I know it, because you’ve told me.  We face much worse if we don’t restore this nation, and you and I know there’s only one way that’s likely to happen.  Remember that for which we fight.  Lead.  Serve.  Do it with the same fervor for which you would fight for your very lives.  I know you will, because the character of those who email and message me daily aren’t the sort to wilt in the face of adversity.

Now is the time for that self-discipline that it took to build a nation.  What must drive us is the love we feel for the ideal that is America, strengthened in the knowledge that we have found our champion after too many years without one.  For what it’s worth, I want you to know I am proud of my association with you.  I haven’t felt this sort of kinship to such a large group since I was in the Army, where we were all brothers and sisters in one cause.  Isn’t it funny that now, when the country needs us most, we assemble again, some of you younger, and some of you older, but among you some familiar faces from my youth when I learned about real self-discipline, leadership and service?  So it is now for me, once again.  Thank you!

Today, I will send another contribution to SarahPac.  I have decided to do all I can for one last chance to save this country.  Yesterday, I talked to some fine folks who look at our future prospects as things are and tremble at what it will mean.  We can’t permit it. We mustn’t, and so I ask you to find all that is good in yourselves, all within you that still wants to fight for the future, and prepare.  On the day that Sarah Palin announces, whatever the date, I will find some way to be there.  It’s easy to make excuses and to claim a thing too hard.  Leave the excuses to Obama.  Leave them to the rest of the GOP field.  We won’t need them.

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The Coming Wars

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Liberty or Tyranny?

For my conservative and Tea Party brethren, there must now be an acknowledgment that the immediate future looks quite grim.  We have a country in some stage of collapse, though I contend that like a free-falling elevator, the rate at which it’s falling may not be entirely apparent to its occupants until it hits the ground.  As this situation worsens, we must consider what’s ahead, how we’ll stop it if we can, and salvage it if we’re able.  For the country to be restored, we’ll be compelled to adopt a more proactive stance, because it’s probably going to get messy.  We face the greater war for our culture and our country, but before we can wage that one to a successful conclusion, we will need to win the opening skirmish.

The Presidential nomination cannot be allowed to go to a useless, tepid, weak candidate who will not pursue the restoration of the country with full vigor. We should consider this primary like an instructive field training exercise, whereby we will polish our skills and extend our endurance, because the other engagements will demand it. As I detailed yesterday, there can really be one candidate among all those under consideration who is able to take on this difficult duty and hope to prevail.

One of the problems in this political season is with us.  We’ve largely failed to understand the larger trends and the clear signals of impending danger those trends are transmitting.  People have compared this coming season to 1980, noting its significance  is greater than all the election years from them until now.  This is an error.  A few have even remarked, myself one or twice, that his is more like 1932, but this is also wrong.  It’s much more substantial than that, and I need your undivided attention in considering it fully.  The coming election year is most like 1860, and we’re facing a different sort of war to stop a different sort of slavery, and to restore the freedom that had prevailed in most of the years since.  I am going to say it more bluntly, because it needs to be said: We are near the tipping point into some sort of civil war.

You may now pause, and wish to ask if I might have blown a gasket, but ladies and gentlemen, we must admit what is true.  We now have a government that issues more money to citizens(and some non-citizens) in some form of direct payment than it annually collects in revenues.  Those same people are dissatisfied with the amount, and demand still more.  Roughly 65% of the Federal government’s expenditures go to some sort of redistributive or entitlement program.  That includes agricultural subsidies, and most corporate welfare, but does not include the amount we’ve handed out in bail-outs on a one-time basis due to some supposed crisis or other.  At the same time, we know that government is borrowing roughly 40% of what it spends. This means only 60% of its expenditures are covered by revenues.  Let me ask once more: Do you not see a problem with this?  Again, you are confronted with a stark reality: We now expend more on entitlements to individuals than we now collect.  These same beneficiaries now scream that it isn’t enough, and are beginning to threaten civil unrest in thinly veiled words.

Whether violence erupts before or after the elections, there will be at least some domestic strife.  Leftist groups now openly agitate for “Days of Rage.”  Consider what message this is meant to deliver.  You don’t pay enough, they argue , and whether through threats or violence, they intend to have whatever they want and demand.  Need I clarify this further? You say, “but Mark, surely they can see you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.”  I’m telling you that they’re willing to settle for turnip soup.  You can try to rationalize it in any manner you wish, and try to comfort yourself with the notion that these people wouldn’t eat the goose that lays the golden egg.  I’m telling you flatly that they’ll happily pluck and roast the engine of capitalism because they have been convinced that they’re entitled to do so.  Who convinced them?  You did.

You convinced them because in every previous challenge, in the name of “getting along,” or “being compassionate,” you have wavered and relented in the face of their demands.  With the creation of each additional program over the last century or so, you’ve said to them that their unlimited wishes will be met.  Has it never bothered you that people who claim to seek help due to a desperate need now make their requests in the form of a demand?  Finally, and perhaps a bit too late, you’re onto them.  That’s what the Tea Party really is: It’s born of the recognition that it’s time to begin saying “No.”  Your problem is that they’re no longer accustomed to being told “No.”  Why would they be otherwise?  You have acceded to all previous demands.  We have arrived fully in the age of moral cannibalism, and what now threatens our future is the real thing in all its terrifying forms.

This civil war will not be defined so much by geography as by ethical orientation, but in truth, if we examine the last civil war, the lines merely happened to coincide with geography, but it too was about legal and moral considerations.  What defined the last war was a notion about the right of states as sovereigns, irrespective the underlying issues, and the object was the ultimate power of the Federal government.  Everything that has happened since is an outgrowth of the resolved issue of Federal supremacy over the states, but as was inevitable, once the states were almost fully subdued, all that remained was to then control local governments and ultimately, individuals. Rather than having a tiered system, wherein most citizens seldom deal directly with the federal or even state establishments, we have grown all levels of government in such a thoroughly entangled manner, with power over individual citizens being routinely exercised at all levels that rather than resembling the orderly layered cake our founders conceived, our governments now resemble a stew.  It is now nearly impossible to discern the individual parts without some effort to separate them.  If we are to repair our country, we’ll be forced to begin rebuilding our layer cake, each layer with its own distinctive flavor and function.  As it is, we now have federal authorities wishing to impose Commercial Drivers’ Licenses on farmers on their own property. We have local officials intervening in other matters, like the right to keep and bear arms, where their authority to restrict rights guaranteed under the federal constitution ought to be negligible.  The more you turn this over in your head, and the more thoroughly you grasp what has been done, it becomes clear that whatever layer of government you ought to be engaging in a particular matter, if at all, they are becoming one uniform mass from top to bottom.  We are becoming the Soviet Union.

If this all seems a bit too overly dramatic to you, consider the increasingly frequent instances of local governments gone berserk  with power, with such things as requiring business licenses of children who wish to set up lemonade stands.  There shouldn’t be an American alive who doesn’t get a sick feeling in the pit of the stomach at the mere thought.  That some sort of ridiculously power-hungry government officials who would even think to enforce such a thing should cause you no shortage of concern.  No, we mustn’t allow our children to experiment in capitalism.  No, we mustn’t let them experience a capitalism limited only by the extent of their own dedication and imagination.  Do you see what this does to our culture, at is simplest, most innocent root? It corrupts it with cynicism about an honest day’s work or entrepreneurship and instills submission to the arbitrary demands of government officials, no matter how unreasonable.  I now ask you: Isn’t this what we have permitted ourselves to become?

I can already imagine the critiques of my leftist counterparts, who will in shrill tones denounce and dismiss what I have said, in the main because they know it to be true.  Somehow, like every vanguard of statist “intellectuals” in history, the current crop also believes they will somehow be held harmless and immune, but in truth, once those of us who stand for liberty are displaced, what these self-defrauding useful idiots will discover is that we had been the only thing protecting them, too.

Now, considering this as your actual situation, and armed with this knowledge, what are you to do?  Will you flee?  Submit?  What will be your course?   For my part, I will fight.  For now, we may expect to fight as we are, in politics, and words, but there may yet come a time when more will be required.  To defend this Republic, I will give all if need be.  My oath didn’t end with my term of service, and I don’t know of any statute of limitation upon it.  I know most of you feel likewise.  Let us work now with extra fervor within the political process in the sincere effort to avert the worst of it.

Part of our problem, nationally, but particularly as conservatives and Republicans, exists in the realm of what we called “enemy identification” when I was in the Army.  If you don’t know who to fight, it’s damned-well difficult to prevail.  The simplest answer must be that we must oppose any who wish to further trample our constitution, or otherwise negate its guarantees.  We must also demand a stoppage to the inclusion of false guarantees it never contained, but have been increasingly discovered there nonetheless.

We must arise for the task before us, and it is a solemn and difficult chore in the best of times.  We must restore our governments, all of them, to their proper limited roles.  Some number of our fellow Americans are going to resist a restoration because it means that so much of what they’ve come to demand by right will no longer be, and this is the first point of conflict, and the threat of that moment will be the probable impetus to a change in the terms of this struggle from the political to the violent.  The question is again laid before us: What sort of nation shall we be?  What sort of freedom do you seek?  What is a right?

We’ve been building to this for a very long time.  The resolution will likely be as sudden in a historical sense as it is likely to be final.  Will we continue as a Republic, restoring our liberties, or will we be fundamentally transformed into something even worse than we’ve already become?  Ayn Rand once admonished us through the fictional character of John Galt in the book Atlas Shrugged that no nation could continue indefinitely as half property and half loot.  Look around you.  What have we become?  As we live out the worst of that novel, and seem poised to go to a still more ignominious end, I’m asking you to consider arresting its decline while there’s still time.  It may be that I’m no different from those in the book who thought it could be saved when it couldn’t, but I suspect we’ve still enough people who know the lessons of history well enough to avoid repeating them.

If that’s so, then let us embark on this first campaign, not to wrest control yet from our statist adversaries of the left, but of their complicit collaborators who would claim our friendship on our side.  We must settle on a candidate who will be able to bring them back into the fold, without making further compromise to them.  Then we can begin to gear ourselves up for the larger struggle.  Mark Levin had it right when he titled his book Liberty and Tyranny.  Those are now the distinct choices.  There has been only one individual of national prominence who has stated this basic thesis consistently, in many contexts and forms for the last three years or more.  None have said it more succinctly or plainly.  In 2012, we will have Barack Obama on their side of this argument, and we will have Sarah Palin on ours, if we’re wise.  There turns the conflict.  There will be determined the course of our nation.  Will we restore our nation, or slide over the precipice into historical insignificance?  Will we emerge as a nation aimed back in the direction of liberty, or will we follow the path of tyranny?  The choice is yours, and the time to make it is running out.

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Four Reasons Why Sarah Palin Will Win

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

Win!

I’ve been approached several times today by doubters who advance arguments as to why Sarah Palin cannot win the nomination, or if she secures  it, why she can’t defeat Barack Obama.  All of the theories I’ve had pitched in my direction today share a couple common faults, and it’s important to point them out here.  The most common reason I’ve heard today is the belief that the Media will destroy her.  That’s silly. Is there a single Republican, never mind conservative, who the media will not seek to destroy to defend their darling, Barack Obama?  Anybody who watched the media in action after McCain’s nomination in 2008 should by now be thoroughly disabused of that shoddy notion.   The Lame-Stream Media has been trying for three years running to destroy Sarah Palin, and there is no chance, having failed thus far, that they will improve results on their limited success.

The problem is that if the media narrative about a person is based on lies, in the longer run, those lies lose effectiveness as people learn the truth from other sources, and worse yet, the lies come back to haunt their purveyors because once the audience, having originally believed them, in the second instance realizes they’ve been scammed, they will thereafter no longer be inclined to believe another pronouncement given voice by that source.  The second most common flaw in the arguments I’ve been hearing and reading today is the dubious assumption that she’s an intellectual lightweight.  Truthfully, there couldn’t be a more ridiculous claim upon which to base one’s criticisms, and yet this is the default argument of those who wish to suggest that Sarah Palin isn’t qualified.  It’s the constant harangue of the elite media types, and it has been a failure repeatedly.  They tried to paint a similar picture of Ronald Reagan, and in fact, every Republican in my memory.  It’s a claim that falls on deaf ears in most quarters, because in the final analysis, it’s simply not believable given all she has already accompished.  Having covered what critics have said, let me move on to my own list of reasons in opposition to these notions.  I firmly believe that Sarah Palin will run, win the nomination, and ultimately the Presidency.

1. Nobody on the Republican side has the ability to raise money like Sarah Palin.  Her numerous supporters are the most rigidly determined of the bunch, and yet they remain more inclined than any to eschew distortions or outright lies in criticisms of the other candidates.  That natural constituency remains one of Governor Palin’s most  precious assets.  Her supporters are leaders unto themselves, needing no prompting or pushing to engage in the contest.  Instead, they’re busily preparing for the campaign they now conclude(and have regarded for some time) as inevitable and right.  One can discern a good deal about a candidate by the quality of leaders that develop and rise in their midst.  In Mrs. Palin’s case, all evidence would support the notion that by her own thoughtful seeding, she’s now harvesting a superior crop.  The media and their political analysts all seem to assert that she has no ground-game and no organization.  To anybody who has been following her for any period of time, this is a laughable misstatement of the facts on par with the storied headline “Dewey Wins!”  Outside her control or direction, Palin supporters have already formed their own grass-roots structure, and that means Governor Palin will put her campaign together in days or hours, rather than weeks or months.

2. The primary election is going to come down to an assessment by Republican primary voters as to who they believe will best represent their interests in the general election.  Considering the candidates on a case-by-case basis, it’s hard to conclude that any have a better understanding of the issues at stake than Governor Palin, and it’s even more difficult to conceive of that Republican candidate who is more closely tied to the conservative base of the party.  Mrs. Palin’s support in the Republican party will come from Main Street, and Anytown, USA, where the values they share meet the reality of the Obama disaster.  This natural affinity for localized concerns magnified and multiplied by replication on a national scale spells doom for other GOP hopefuls.  Nobody gets a warmer welcome from the greater heart of American productivity than the lady from Alaska who has fought on that same field as both a business owner and a politician.  It shows in the crowds she attracts.  She is main-stream America’s real political rock-star, and this is why the remainder of the field now works through distortions and disinformation to dissuade her from the race: They know if she gets rolling, she’ll be almost unstoppable.  Their strategy remains to stop her from starting.

3. Victory for any Republican in the general election of 2012 is going to require the sharpest possible contrast between Barack Obama and his opponent.  As the economy continues to swerve like a drunken driver, curb to curb, and as Obama continues to demonstrate his incompetence for the job, the optics on that side of the scales will be measured against a woman who understands the heart of the trouble in America, and what concrete steps will be required to repair and restore the country.  Obama will have a vault of money, most analysts speculating an amount in excess of a billion dollars, but let’s be honest for a moment and admit that if just ten million of Sarah Palin’s supporters would send in just $100 dollars, she would also eclipse that number. If just her 3 million Facebook fans send in just $300, she would approach that number.  Times are tough, and many of her supporters find themselves on hard times, but as with me, I see each dollar invested in electing Sarah Palin as hastening the day of the country’s restoration and the recovery our economy, and with it, my own farm and prospects.  Many Americans agree, and it is on this point that the matter of money will turn.  It’s also worth noting that her so far unannounced campaign is costing nothing, while most of the remainder of the field has been spending for months.  One of the sharpest points of contrast between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin will be the clear difference between their respective understandings of the importance of energy in the growth and prosperity of the economy, and indeed the country.  As I detailed earlier this week, this difference alone will redound to Governor Palin’s distinct advantage, because people know that life requires energy.  Only death and decay attend its absence.

4. The last reason is the most important: Sarah Palin.  She’s a true patriot, and a real conservative.  It’s not a campaign suit she puts on for the crowds, changing it daily for the sake of a particular audience.  This makes for a consistency that has no real rival, and it also means that her supporters can more easily defend her against frivolous, shrill attacks.  If a candidate believes the same thing today as yesterday, and tomorrow as today, it’s really not hard to respond to critics with facts about the candidate.  This kind of principled consistency is born of knowing what you believe, and why you believe it.  She’s a diligent student of issues great and small, and quickly masters new subjects as they arise.  This makes for an adaptive, flexible campaign.  Mrs. Palin also knows how to capture and hold the attention of people, and it’s an open secret about her success:  She actually listens.  This connects her to any audience, whether one-by-one, or in larger groups and crowds.  Unlike others, she doesn’t see a mass of people as one moving organism, but instead sees people on the personal scale of the individuals who comprise it.  The temptation for most politicians is to see the crowd, and become consumed by the size of the forest while overlooking its trees.  That’s part of the problem in our government too, and her ability to narrow her attention is as precious as it is rare. This is how a politician must connect with a country: One heart, and one mind at a time.

I contend that all of these are reasons that Sarah Palin will run, win the nomination, and defeat Barack Obama in 2012.  When combined with his record of miserable performance, it’s quite possible she’ll do so in epic fashion.  It is true that he has the advantages that every sitting President enjoys, but he also suffers from the overwhelming sense that he’s disconnected, and on a tragically wrong course for the country.  As bad as that is, what’s worse is that it’s unlikely to get substantially better, and instead looks likely to worsen.  With the inflationary policies being adopted by the Federal Reserve, and the debt-piling tendencies of a President and a party addicted to spending, Governor Sarah Palin may well appear on the presidential stage at just the right time to press her advantage and make good on her words: “Mr. President: Game On!“

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Posted in Barack Obama, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin | 27 Comments »

Mindless Hate Begins to Escalate

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

Let 'em Hear it!

I’m not too proud to admit that I enjoy a good debate on Facebook, or other sites, and sure, I’ve been known to get pretty worked up on occasion, but few things get my dander up like the mindless, hate-filled attacks on Sarah Palin and her family.  Since it has become clearer to most that she may well actually enter the race for the GOP nomination, the frequency of hate-filled spew-fests has begun to accelerate in some venues.  What I’ve noticed is that among certain other GOP campaigns, there has been an attempt to dissuade her from running by joining in the hate-fest.   Apparently, these folks weren’t listening when Ronald Reagan explained the 11th commandment he observed, refraining from making personal attacks on fellow Republicans.

The talking points are always the same, and they take nasty stabs at her as a mother, a wife, and a politician, but none of them ever seem to focus on what makes Sarah Palin superior to all the rest: She’s a genuine, sincere leader who has committed to a terrible struggle to preserve our liberties and our nation.  I will always defend that position, and any such leader who takes it.

You can always detect when you’re dealing with another “troll.”  They’re numerous, and seem to multiply whenever conservatives gather.  Some of them will simply be the garden-variety pot-stirring lefty, and you’ll detect them quickly enough, because at least half their number can’t form a cogent line of argumentation that doesn’t condense to: “BECAUSE!”  On the other hand, there’s another brand of troll that sneaks in under the wire pretending to be among your number.  They feign sympathy until they see the opportunity to begin unloading their garbage. It usually takes no more than a post or two to see the first signs.  It will come in the form of “doubts” or “questions” about the intended target’s character, or ability to raise a family.  It’s always some nasty smear, at its root, and it is generally dismissed with ease once you’ve identified them.  They tend to realize they’ve been caught, and beat a hasty retreat, and you can nearly see them saying in Snidely form: “Curses, foiled again.”

The last sort are the obvious shills for some other candidate, who they will do their best not to name for as long as possible, until by their policy preferences, they reveal who it is they must really support.  You can detect them quickly by focusing on a single issue or two of distinction.  In one case this morning, I dealt with one troll who thought he could simply say “Sarah Palin has horrendous policies.”

I immediately responded: “Name one.”   Then came the endless game of back-peddling to avoid the question.  Eventually, it came around to her support of Israel.  I then pointed out the naïveté  of the proposition that we can simply abandon Israel.  This ended the cat-and-mouse game and defined the battle.  After all, if you’re going to attack Sarah Palin’s relative intelligence, you really ought not do so while pretending to yourself  that Ron Paul’s position on Iranian nuclear ambitions or his willingness to abandon Israel signifies “wisdom.”  This same genius suggested she couldn’t win because of her “horrendous policies.”  Sadly for him, 67% of the American people at large likewise support Israel, and more  than 80% view Israel as an important ally.  That says nothing of the even greater support for Israel in the Republican Party.  This fellow was actually suggesting, at least in part, that Sarah Palin could not win, and her policies are horrendous because of her position on Israel, while he offered up Ron Paul as a better substitute(?)  Yet, this guy questions Sarah Palin’s intelligence?

In the end, what was most laughable about one of these incidents was that the thread in question started out with mockery aimed at Sarah Palin being the least substantial candidate, but within two hours, a quick review of the other threads on the page showed all the activity centered around just one thread: The one focusing on Sarah Palin.  That’s a telling anecdote that should hearten Palin supporters, because what it implies is that Governor Palin evokes passion.  Her adversaries and enemies know it, too, and like her, we should take every opportunity to revel in it, because what it all reveals is what we who support her have known all along: She’s real, and she’s a true danger to the establishment.  Their every response or reaction to her makes it unavoidably clear.  Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to begin dusting off your war-paints.  I think I can hear the first echos of the call coming from away North, quietly now, but growing in the distance, like a faint rumble still… Ssshhh.. Like a train approaching from a way down the track, you can see it in the distance, you can feel its first vibrations, and you might detect just a bit of the sound of the wake it’s plowing through the air, but you don’t get much sense of its speed or inertia until it’s almost too late.  Listen for it. I can almost make it out now: “Game on!”

In the weeks ahead, I expect the rumble to become a full-throated roar, and the naysayers will retreat a bit in awe if we let them hear it.  As they pick up the pace of their hate-filled disinformation, we must answer it, loudly, and at once.  That’s what it’s going to take, from each of us, who have so patiently waited, defending her as needed, but biding our time with her.  The battle cry is coming, and you won’t doubt or wonder when it’s been spoken. I will report it here, but you’ll already know.

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Posted in Media, Politics, Sarah Palin | 12 Comments »

New, Awesome SarahPac Video!

Friday, August 19th, 2011

What else can I say? What else needs to be said?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqaE4sXZWRQ&feature=player_embedded#]

Awesome! Go to SarahPac to learn more!

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Posted in Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Update | 1 Comment »

It’s Time to Pull Ourselves Up By Our Own Bootstraps

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

On the Record

Governor Sarah Palin was on FNC’s “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren Thursday evening.  It was a long interview, prefaced by a short report by Van Susteren on the market performance of the day.  The first segment includes a discussion of President Obama’s recent behavior, and his seeming lack of concern as he packs his bags for vacation at Martha’s Vineyard.  The interview, in two parts below, covered a flurry of topics, but I want particularly to focus on the message of optimism Governor Palin offered viewers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1YNs1ryHrU]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C69zyQ8IDTk]

Van Susteren asked a question(part 2, above) about how all of us could help the President succeed.  The answer Governor Palin gave was somewhat different and wiser from the one I’d have given, in that she offered what was instead a bit of advice to all of us.  It’s a long way from now until the elections, and things can get better, or they can get worse, and our Vacationer-in-Chief may merely seek to make things worse by continuing the same statist policies, so Governor Palin, rather than getting cornered into supporting an Obama agenda that has failed and will likely continue to fail, instead offered the American people what they could do while trying to obtain better leadership:

“One thing we cannot do is put our faith in an individual, a politician or really a political party, or government policies, because – I talked about this in my gubernatorial inaugural address a few years ago I said: Government cannot make you healthy, wealthy or wise. We have to reach within ourselves and find within us the entrepreneurial spirit  the ingenuity, the work ethic, those things that Americans, back in pioneering days built and resulted in the greatest, most prosperous, most exceptional country on Earth. We have to look within ourselves, do what we can to create our own jobs, don’t wait for goverment to creat jobs for us. They’re just going to mess it up, that bureaucratic morass that we find in Washington DC. Let’s get out there and let’s hire people, let’s save for the future, we have to make sure that we’re taking care of our families and our small businesses and being prudent and planning ahead, but let’s get out there and be bold with our own initiatives and not wait for that elite bubble in Washington DC, those folks who are within that bubble, to tell us how it’s going to be, and how the economy can be planned for us. They just keep messing it up Greta, and we’re going to have to do that within ourselves and in our own families in our own small communities and in our own states and kind of ignore the chaos and  turbulence that’s coming out of Washington DC and pull ourselves up from the bootstraps just like Americans used to do.”

She went on to explain this as the approach Americans would need to take until we do get responsible leadership in Wasnhington DC, but I think her message here cannot be ignored.  Governor Palin is telling us to look beyond government, as she always has, to ourselves and our families, our communities, our churches, and to rely upon ourselves and one another because government cannot provide our answers but only more problems.  It is probably also fair to say she has some doubt about whether we can in any way rely upon the current President to do anything to change the situation.

As I’ve said before, it’s worth noting that while Governor Palin isn’t tipping her hand for the media, the frequency of her appearances has seemed to escalate, and I believe that is significant.  She seems poised to run a no-holds-barred campaign, and her supporters are more eager than ever to engage in the campaign.  There seems to be a sense of quickening now as some of her would-be opponents are seeming to lose steam.  While the shine wears off some of the more recent entrants, as the media gives them a small taste of what she’s already endured for years, any lingering doubt about her readiness for such a campaign among those in the media seems to be evaporating.

I think her advice is sound, for this reason if none other:  We’re all able to do math.  Whomever will be the next President, or the next Congress, they’re going to be forced at some point to begin curtailing the reach of the Federal government.  How much better off will the whole country be if fewer among us look to Washington DC to relieve whatever afflicts us?  That’s a lesson many need not to remember, but to learn for the first time, never having known it at all.  Glenn Beck likes to point out that we need to be a shelter for our neighbors in times of strife.  We can also teach them how to look not to Washington, but withing themselves, and within our communities for solutions.  We’re in a position to show them.  We know how to lead.

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Posted in Barack Obama, Economics, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Tea Party | Comments Closed

Restoring America Rally Change of Venue

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

In order to increase ease of accessibility, the venue for the Restoring America Rally in Waukee, Iowa, September 3rd, has been changed.  Sarah Palin will be the keynote speaker! Please read the notice below, and spread the word to those who you know plan to attend:

Restoring-America-Rally.pdf

Thanks to US4Palin for the update!

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Posted in Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Tea Party, Update | Comments Closed

A First Step to Restoring our Economy: Drill Baby, Drill!

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

The Energy President?

It’s a sad fact:  For each dime the price of fuels rises above $2, more jobs are lost.  There’s no way to escape reality.  Our economy depends upon growth – all life does, and growth requires energy, but as energy becomes more costly, the less growth you will necessarily see.  We have other issues too, but with each day that Obama sits at the helm, our ship of state wanders farther off course.  We need a steady hand at the wheel, one who knows about energy production, and how to create the conditions in which energy production is boosted, and not hampered by regulations.  That leader also needs to hold energy giants’ feet to the fire, preventing them from squatting endlessly on resources the market demands.  There is only one potential candidate in the country who has done this.

Don’t let the propagandists lead you astray: What’s doing more to keep our economy in decline and hamper growth or recovery is the big government regulations and myriad obstacles Obama has placed in its way.  If you want to make a substantial change, you’re going to need to strip from him the power to obstruct you, and put in his place a President who understands the critical importance of energy to our economy.  We need an “Energy President”, and that can only be Sarah Palin.

It’s really very simple.  Every dollar diverted to the cost of energy is a dollar that cannot go for other things.  You cannot upgrade your machines, hire more employees, or buy as many raw materials if a larger proportion of your expenses is taken up by energy costs.  Any sensible examination of the economy of the United States immediately demonstrates the foolhardy nature of an economic policy and a regulatory regime that promises to drive the prices of energy up, while simultaneously driving down the value of our currency.  Either one would be be a disaster on its own, but the two in combination sends devastating effects through the entire economy to create a spiral of cannibalistic decline which is nearly impossible to arrest.  This is the simple fact.

Like most instances of cause and effect in macroeconomics, there is always a lag between the two.  Fuel prices sky-rocketing today will depress economic growth in the statistics that will be tabulated in three to six months.  When fuel prices decline, the lag of the effect in response to this cause means economic growth will be well behind, but it will respond favorably to energy prices.   So you want proof?   I’ve gone out and found the first graph for each measure I could find to cover the period of the last 6 years.  They come from different sources, different sites, but I’d like you to look closely. First, let’s look at the prices of gasoline:

Fuel Prices

(H/T Gasbuddy.com for the graph)

Next, let’s take a look at the US Gross Domestic Product’s growth(or decline) in the same period:

United States GDP

(H/T TradingEconomic.com for the chart)

As you can clearly observe, there’s a clear lag, but the tepid growth we began to experience beginning in second half of 2009 tracks well with the lower fuel prices under which the economy had been operating for roughly six to eight months. At the same time, the bottom of the GDP numbers in Janurary 2009 tracks well with the peak in fuel prices in the summer of 2008. If for some reason, you view these graphs and remain unconvinced, notice later in the same charts that while the trend is a little less clear, the results are the same. Fuel prices began a steep climb in February of 2011, and now, six months later, look what has happened to GDP growth. (Note, the 2nd quarter numbers represented in this GDP chart do no show the revised GDP numbers, as that last bar should be half as high above the line as this chart reflects.)

So what can you make of all of this? Simply put, there is no escaping the fact that the rational among us have always known: Our economic future is directly tied to the relative cost of energy. None of this should surprise anybody reading this site, but the colossal ignorance among those on the other side of the argument is shocking. We cannot resume economic growth until we have a president who is not a servant to leftist causes, particularly environmental radicals, who wish to constrain economic growth by making it too expensive to operate.

This is the meaning of Obama’s campaign promise:

“Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4]

In other words, he knew this would be the effect, but he damned-well did it anyway. People wonder why Rush Limbaugh wanted Obama to fail? Ladies and gentlemen, we should have been so fortunate, but sadly, we’ve not been lucky and Obama’s plan has succeeded, and it’s reflected in the anemic growth we’ve experienced since his policies to constrain energy production have begun to press down on the economy.

(As I prepared to post this, this headline appears as the Dow drops 400 points: US Jobless Claims Up, Gasoline Lifts Consumer Prices)

Case Closed!

If you ever need evidence that we need a President who understands the importance of energy to our economic growth, you now have it, and if you need further evidence that Sarah Palin is best suited to be that President, I suggest you read up on her own many energy proposals, and look at her record on energy as the Governor of Alaska.  Nobody has done it better.  It’s time to choose, and if you want a future not stifled by policies that are becoming more entrenched daily, and ever more difficult to reverse, it’s time to give serious thought to 2012 and what you’re going to do.  I’m going to support a candidate who knows the way to repair this. I support Sarah Palin, and I say “Drill Baby, Drill!”

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Posted in Barack Obama, Business, Economics, Politics, Sarah Palin | 3 Comments »

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