The Great Palin Blood-letting Metaphor - Sarah Palin
Here’s Sarah Palin “Palining” yet another TV interview, while turkeys are methodically slaughtered onscreen beside her. Is this a metaphor or a simile? I can’t quite figure it out.
The greatest part is the last line “I’m always in charge of the turkey”. With this in mind, consider that she was almost in charge of the country. There but for the grace… go we all.
Sarah Palin Interviewed In Front Of Turkey Murder - Palin, Sarah
What an unfortunate spot she chose to conduct an interview!Saturday Night Live really should have Sarah Palin on their payroll. What will she come up with next?!?
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Pew Critiques Campaign Religion Coverage - Sarah Palin
The Pew Research Center?s Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life offer a critical look at how the news media covered the role of religion in this year’s presidential campaign in a report released today. (The Pew graphic at right shows the percentage of the overall religion-related campaign coverage that focused on each candidate.) An excerpt:
“Religion played a much more significant role in the media coverage of President-elect Barack Obama than it did in the press treatment of Republican nominee John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign, but much of the coverage related to false yet persistent rumors that Obama is a Muslim.
Meanwhile, there was little attempt by the news media during the campaign to comprehensively examine the role of faith in the political values and policies of the candidates, save for those of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
And when religion-focused campaign stories were covered by the mainstream press, often the context was negative, controversial or focused on a perceived political problem.”
Some reactions from around the blogosphere:
Steven Waldman at Beliefnet writes:
“For those of you feel that Obama would have lost if only the press had paid more attention to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, consider this finding from a fascinating new Pew study of press coverage of religion in the campaign: ‘Looking at the entire primary season and general election period together - from January through mid-October - the Wright controversy was the single largest press narrative in the campaign, religious or otherwise’.”
And Mark Silk at Spiritual Politics says:
“In its just released overview of news coverage of religion in the campaign, Pew ranks “Palin Family/Personal Issues” as the biggest religion story of the campaign after Obama’s alleged Muslim identity, consuming fully 25 percent of religion-related campaign coverage. In late September, a Pew report noted ‘the relative lack of attention to Palin’s religious biography within the mainstream media,’ and nothing happened afterward to require altering that assessment. For those disposed to assail the MSM for inattention to religion, this is a pretty good case in point. Not that it was an easy story to get. I’m convinced that Palin, aided and abetted by her handlers, engaged in a conscious occultation of her religious beliefs and commitments. But journalists often dig out things public figures try to hide. The most charitable view I can summon is that in this case they began to feel that the truth might be sufficiently disturbing as to suggest that Palin ought not occupy the second highest office in the land. But doesn’t the Constitution forbid religious tests for office? So let’s not go there, and hope we never have to deal with the possibility. In the end, they didn’t.”
Convicted, Defeated, Alaska’s Sen. Ted Stevens Yields The Floor After 40 Years - Palin, Sarah
Alaska’s long-serving raker-in of federal money narrowly lost his bid for a seventh term in the U.S. Senate this week, after losing his bid to defend himself against seven federal felony corruption counts in a trial this fall.
So today the 85-year-old Ted Stevens made his farewell speech to the exclusive club of 100 where he has served since 1968. (Watch video below.) He sounded mildly defiant, saying he was sure his name would be eventually cleared and that God would give him a new way to serve.
He said his motto had always been: "To hell with politics. Just do what’s right for Alaska." He said he would pray for the success of his successor, Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
And Stevens asked God to bless Gov. Sarah Palin, President George W. Bush and every member of the Senate. (No mention of the House.)
He got a standing ovation. See news video below.
– Andrew Malcolm
But you don’t have to be 85 to register here for cellphone alerts on each new Ticket item.
Alaska Poker Players Left Cold By Palin Speech - Palin (r, Alaska)
Two excellent articles came out today on the climate Sarah Palin finds herself in as her administration prepares the FY 2009 budget, and she has to settle down to doing her real job again, for a change. Palin has never gotten along with big oil, which has always been fine with me in many respects.
Even before she was selected as John McCain’s running mate, however, Palin often claimed more credit for both the higher extraction rate now charged oil companies for removing Alaska’s minerals, and for the AGIA deal. On the campaign stump this fall, she constantly claimed all the credit for these events. Every single bit of it.
From several angles now, the AGIA deal with TransCanada is beginning to look more than a little dicey. Their financing package is nowhere near complete, and the environment for getting money now, both in small and large sums, let alone mammoth sums, is changing daily hourly.
Tony Hopfinger, at Alaska Dispatch, has written an informative article about Palin’s appearance Wednesday morning before the Resource Development Council. Here’s a revealing extract:
When Palin was introduced at the Resource Development Council’s meeting at the new Anchorage convention center, she was met with modest applause. Nobody stood up and the claps lasted less than 10 seconds.
She opened her remarks with what has become her post-presidential election stump speech in recent weeks: “The last few months have been an amazing experience…. The time went so quickly… I got to briefly expand my wardrobe. I got to meet a few VIPs, you know, those that really impact society, like Tina Fey.”
No laughs for this laugh line from these hard-headed poker players, though.
Ex-Alaska legislator Andrew Halcro has begun today what I think will be a series of articles on the prospects of both AGIA and Denali. He opens with this:
"Even in my own energy producing state, we have hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean green natural gas, and we’re building the nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline, which is North America’s largest and most expensive infrastructure project." — Governor Sarah Palin - Vice Presidential Debate - 10/2/08
In the 1996 blockbuster "Top Gun", there is a scene where a young hot shot pilot gets called out by his commanding officer after a risky stunt; "Maverick, your body is writing checks your butt can’t cash."
It seems history is repeating itself for at least one self proclaimed maverick. After spending nine weeks travelling from one end of the country to another, promising the people of America that her leadership is building the largest and most expensive natural gas pipeline in the history of the United States, Governor Sarah Palin returns home to face the music; her leadership is building no such pipeline.
Maybe she thought she’d get elected and could leave the truth behind for others to handle. Maybe she thought Joe the plumber and the press had short term memories and would forget about her pipeline lies if she ran for national office again in the future. Or maybe, just maybe, Palin didn’t see anything wrong with being extremely liberal with the truth when talking to the so called elite liberal media.
But whatever the reason for her being less than honest with Americans about her actual success in trying to manage the development of Alaska’s economic future, this "Top Gun" looks more like the movies character Goose than the movies character Maverick.
Halcro goes on to describe a working relationship between the major producers and TransCanada that has deteriorated since the time AGIA went through the legislature and was signed by Gov. Palin:
And given all of her tough talk on the campaign trail about how she "took on big oil" and "broke up their monopoly" while jump starting this project, Palin now finds herself boxed in by her tough talk. Yes, it will be big oil who will decide the fate of this project, not Sheriff Palin.
The best explanation comes from Hal Kvisle, CEO of TransCanada, an independent pipeline company. "Eventually, it’s come down to the big producers. ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP are the ones most likely to hold the shipping commitments, so whatever kind of project is put together has to be one that works for the producers," Kvisle said.
In fact, three days after the Alaska State Legislature approved Palin’s pipeline plan to nowhere, where they granted Kvisle’s company up to $500 million in taxpayer money and exclusive rights, Kvisle was quoted in the Toronto media as saying, "Nothing goes ahead unless Exxon is happy with it." And my friends, Exxon ain’t very happy.
Go read Andrew’s article. It is informative, to say the least. You might skip Wesley Loy’s blog entry at the Anchorage Daily News political blog niche. Unless you’re looking for more evidence of how much better our Alaska blogs are managing to cover the new ground upon which celebrity Sarah is going to tread this coming legislative session. The ADN clearly doesn’t get this yet. Loy manages to pimp pump up Palin, while dissing Senator-elect Begich at least twice.
Va-gov: Split The Difference [updated - Palin, Sarah]
Original Article
The 2009 Governor’s Race is already heating up, and while McAuliffe and Moran battle it out, Creigh Deeds portends to split the difference and benefit immensely.
The first shots were fired by the Moran camp as they released a collection of press clippings highlighting the icy reaction McAuliffe’s overtures to candidacy raised in the Virginia political press. Moran’s moves are just the starting gun.
McAuliffe uuber-spokesman Mo Elithee hit with the classic “curiously negative” attack:
“Brian Moran and his campaign have been spending a curiously large amount of time focused on someone who’s not even a declared candidate for governor yet and their tone has been surprisingly negative…”
BANG!
In response Moran’s Ferguson rolled out the “Why do you hate Obama” defense:
“This is the same thing they tried to use on Senator Obama,” Ferguson said. “When the press raises questions about their qualifications, they try to blame the other candidate. We didn’t compare Terry McAuliffe to Sarah Palin, columnists and opinion writers did.”
ZING!
Meanwhile, as the two camps work each other over like prizefighters, Creigh Deeds is sitting back, clearly hoping to split the difference.
Craig reports that Creigh Deeds “took a softer approach, welcoming McAuliffe into the race.” Well, yeah.McAuliffe is no threat to Deeds. But he’s a disaster for Moran. McAuliffe and Moran will be fighting over the same primary votes, while Deeds can work on getting a plurality. Terry McAuliffe may be the best thing to happen for Creigh Deeds in a while.
So, the stage is set. Terry and Brian are all set to get bloody, while Deeds takes the highroad to a plurality and the nomination. Game on!
UPDATE: It’s worth noting that in 2005 Chap Peterson and Leslie Byrne were expected to cancel each other out, leaving the Lt. Gov nomination to Phil Puckett. It didn’t turn out that way. NoVA stalwart Leslie Byrne became the nominee.
Evangelicals — A Drag On Or Essential To The Gop - Sarah Palin?
By: David Limbaugh
A good friend of mine (let’s call him Bob) is convinced that unless the GOP puts abortion “aside as its focal point, it simply cannot win and regain power.” That’s especially interesting in light of Kathleen Parker’s latest column, which disses the evangelical wing of the GOP.
Bob’s point is that “we’ve lost a majority of women over this issue as they have become one-issue voters.” It’s not only liberal women but also others who believe it’s simply not the government’s business.
Kathleen Parker broadens the point considerably beyond abortion: “The evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.” Since the 1980s or so, says Parker, the GOP “has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners. … The GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents.”
I’ll resist the temptation to respond specifically to Kathleen’s uncharitable indictment of us knuckle draggers because I like Kathleen personally and because I want to respond to her and Bob’s overlapping contention that certain social conservatives are dragging the party down.
Bob’s opinion is largely based on his personal conversations with women, and Kathleen writes, “If one were to eavesdrop on private conservations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that … armband religion is killing the Republican Party.” But do their anecdotal reports justify their conclusions?
2004 exit poll data reveal that President Bush got 55 percent of the male vote and 48 percent of the female vote, while 2008 data show that McCain got 48 percent of the male vote and 43 percent of the female vote. McCain’s percentage of the male vote dropped more than his percentage of the female vote, so it’s hard to see how alienated women made the difference.
Plus Karl Rove tells us that there were 4.1 million fewer Republicans voting this year than in 2004, some of whom he believed turned independent or Democratic for this election, which might validate Kathleen’s thesis, except that Rove says that most of those 4.1 million “simply stayed home.”
What’s even more interesting is there was an almost identical drop-off (4.1 million) of those voters who attend religious services more than once a week (evangelicals, anyone?).
I’m thinking Bob needs to avoid angry women, and Kathleen should steer clear of those intelligentsia types, for there is another 2008 exit poll gem they might not have seen. Top issues for voters were: economy (63 percent); war in Iraq (10 percent); terrorism (9 percent); and health care (9 percent). It appears that neither abortion nor any other social issue even made honorable mention.
It’s not debatable that Obama had a vastly superior organization and “ground game” and did an infinitely better job than McCain of marketing himself and inspiring voters with his charisma and his nebulous message of hope and change. Despite all these advantages, McCain — largely because of the jolt of enthusiasm he injected into his anemic campaign by naming the conspicuously pro-life Christian Sarah Palin his running mate — was surging ahead in the national polls right before the subprime meltdown reared its game-changing head. Though Democratic policies and actions mostly caused it, Republicans got the blame — and McCain was finished.
Considering all those unique factors in 2008, it’s premature to say this election represents the emergence of a sustained national power shift in favor of the Democrats — though admittedly, current demographic trends are problematic for the GOP.
But if social issues were so advantageous for Obama, why did he hide and distort his record on abortion? Why did he not brag about the liberal activist judges he is sure to appoint? Why did he attempt — other than when he thought his microphone was off in San Francisco — to paint himself as a mainstream Christian who wants to reduce abortions? Why did mainstream media debate moderators deliberately avoid these issues?
I believe Kathleen is wrong in saying “either the Republican Party needs a new base — or the nation may need a new party.” The opposite is true: The party needs to quit betraying the base, on both social and economic issues.
I do believe some of my fellow Christian conservatives are too single issue-oriented and am appalled that so many stayed home, given the gravity of the stakes in this election. But the fact remains that it was McCain’s underemphasis rather than overemphasis of the social issues that cost him Republican votes.
But the far more important answer to Bob and Kathleen is that the Republican Party can no more do without pro-lifers than human beings can survive without hearts. It’s who they are. There’s already a party stressing economic conservatism nearly to the exclusion of social issues, and the last time I checked, our beloved Libertarians weren’t garnering a great percentage of the vote.
Norm’s Landlord/fundraiser Gets Involved In The Recount - Sarah Palin
Original ArticleI keep thinking that the Coleman campaign couldn’t get any sleazier, but it always manages to surprise me. Rachel Stassen-Berger reports on a new bit of shadiness:
Republican consultant Jeff Larson, the man who was the Republican National Convention Host Committee Chief Executive Officer and rents Republican Sen. Norm Coleman a bedroom in his Washington town home, is helping Coleman out with the recount.
Remember Jeff Larson? Just in case you don’t, here’s a primer:
Larson gave Coleman a shady deal on a basement apartment in his mansion:
Sen. Norm Coleman didn’t have a lease for the first year he rented a garden-level bedroom in an upper-bracket Capitol Hill row house owned by a longtime friend and Republican operative.In addition, Coleman didn’t make a payment for utilities for the living space until last month, under a verbal agreement he had with his landlord — St. Paul businessman Jeff Larson — to settle up after a year in residence, Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan said.
Because of his deal with Larson, an ethics complaint was filed against Coleman:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Norm Coleman in connection with his questionable rental arrangement with political professional Jeff Larson
Larson was also a benefactor for Sarah Palin:
Sarah Palin’s folksy authenticity must have been touted by Republican operatives at least once for every dollar the RNC has spent on her clothes, hair, and makeup over the past six weeks. (That’s 150,000 times/dollars, for those of you who spent today in a cave.)But it turns out the Republicans didn’t trust Palin to dress herself for the big time. No, her Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys, and Neiman Marcus clothes were purchased by one Jeff Larson.
It’s time for the Coleman campaign to start having a bit of respect for Minnesotans. Stop treating us like idiots, Norm, and cut shady Jeff Larson loose. It’s time for you to show us that you care about ethical behavior.
New Column: Evangelicals — A Drag On Or Essential To The Gop - Palin, Sarah?
A good friend of mine (let’s call him Bob) is convinced that unless the GOP puts abortion “aside as its focal point, it simply cannot win and regain power.” That’s especially interesting in light of Kathleen Parker’s latest column, which disses the evangelical wing of the GOP.
Bob’s point is that “we’ve lost a majority of women over this issue as they have become one-issue voters.” It’s not only liberal women but also others who believe it’s simply not the government’s business.
Kathleen Parker broadens the point considerably beyond abortion: “The evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.” Since the 1980s or so, says Parker, the GOP “has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners. … The GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents.”
I’ll resist the temptation to respond specifically to Kathleen’s uncharitable indictment of us knuckle draggers because I like Kathleen personally and because I want to respond to her and Bob’s overlapping contention that certain social conservatives are dragging the party down.
Bob’s opinion is largely based on his personal conversations with women, and Kathleen writes, “If one were to eavesdrop on private conservations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that … armband religion is killing the Republican Party.” But do their anecdotal reports justify their conclusions?
2004 exit poll data reveal that President Bush got 55 percent of the male vote and 48 percent of the female vote, while 2008 data show that McCain got 48 percent of the male vote and 43 percent of the female vote. McCain’s percentage of the male vote dropped more than his percentage of the female vote, so it’s hard to see how alienated women made the difference.
Plus Karl Rove tells us that there were 4.1 million fewer Republicans voting this year than in 2004, some of whom he believed turned independent or Democratic for this election, which might validate Kathleen’s thesis, except that Rove says that most of those 4.1 million “simply stayed home.”
What’s even more interesting is there was an almost identical drop-off (4.1 million) of those voters who attend religious services more than once a week (evangelicals, anyone?).
I’m thinking Bob needs to avoid angry women, and Kathleen should steer clear of those intelligentsia types, for there is another 2008 exit poll gem they might not have seen. Top issues for voters were: economy (63 percent); war in Iraq (10 percent); terrorism (9 percent); and health care (9 percent). It appears that neither abortion nor any other social issue even made honorable mention.
It’s not debatable that Obama had a vastly superior organization and “ground game” and did an infinitely better job than McCain of marketing himself and inspiring voters with his charisma and his nebulous message of hope and change. Despite all these advantages, McCain — largely because of the jolt of enthusiasm he injected into his anemic campaign by naming the conspicuously pro-life Christian Sarah Palin his running mate — was surging ahead in the national polls right before the subprime meltdown reared its game-changing head. Though Democratic policies and actions mostly caused it, Republicans got the blame — and McCain was finished.
Considering all those unique factors in 2008, it’s premature to say this election represents the emergence of a sustained national power shift in favor of the Democrats — though admittedly, current demographic trends are problematic for the GOP.
But if social issues were so advantageous for Obama, why did he hide and distort his record on abortion? Why did he not brag about the liberal activist judges he is sure to appoint? Why did he attempt — other than when he thought his microphone was off in San Francisco — to paint himself as a mainstream Christian who wants to reduce abortions? Why did mainstream media debate moderators deliberately avoid these issues?
I believe Kathleen is wrong in saying “either the Republican Party needs a new base — or the nation may need a new party.” The opposite is true: The party needs to quit betraying the base, on both social and economic issues.
I do believe some of my fellow Christian conservatives are too single issue-oriented and am appalled that so many stayed home, given the gravity of the stakes in this election. But the fact remains that it was McCain’s underemphasis rather than overemphasis of the social issues that cost him Republican votes.
But the far more important answer to Bob and Kathleen is that the Republican Party can no more do without pro-lifers than human beings can survive without hearts. It’s who they are. There’s already a party stressing economic conservatism nearly to the exclusion of social issues, and the last time I checked, our beloved Libertarians weren’t garnering a great percentage of the vote.
Senator Stevens: 1 Republican Resignation = 58 Democratic Senate Seats - Palin, Sarah
Original ArticleThe news just keeps getting better for the Democrats on the Hill, president-elect Obama and senator-elect Begich.
From one comes many is the kind of math the men and women on the Hill like to count, smile at and take a page from, any Democrat man or woman that is. Ted Stevens' resignation amounts to more grim news for the Republicans around the country. What will Rush do? Yes, what a difference a day makes. Talk of Sarah Palin resigning as governor, and by…
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