Interesting line up of speakers tonight, Rudy, Mitt and Sarah. Cheney is an undisclosed location on a scheduled trip to three former Soviet republics. Cheney, Putin, Soviet Bloc, so very retro. The comments are all yours.
Republican Convention Open Thread
by turfgrrl
September 3rd, 2008 · 106 Comments
Tags: Open thread
106 Responses so far ↓ “Republican Convention Open Thread”
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The speeches were interesting, and predictable. Sarah did a good job and has a future on the national stage, even if she doesn’t make VP this time. Don’t be surprized to see one of the networks offer her a job as a political commentator.
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Sarah Palin did an awsome job last night and didn’t miss a beat. Old timer, you may be right but I certainly hope not. What a bright new breath of fresh air.
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More of the same con job from the GOP. Time to let the party die.
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Yeah OK! You’re just mad because she sure did take the wind out of Obama’s Superstar status! Not necessarily enough to win the election but she outshines Obama any day!
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Palin gave a great speech and came across very well.
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Nah, she just appealed to the ANGRY ANGRY GOP (sounds like the title of a really twisted children’s book). What a shrill harpy they’ve turned the soccer mom into. What has the GOP got to be angry about anyway, they’ve been in control of everything for the last eight years (and please, don’t even try to blame Congress. How can six years of disaster be undone in two years?).
Let’s see: Liberal media, liberal media, liberal media. With some elitist branding thrown in for good measure. And DRILL, DRILL, DRILL!
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Ms. Palin’s speech writer should be running for prez! They wrote a hit that went out of the park last night, and she delivered flawlessly. Old timer: I agree - she will be a “celeb” on networks this November: very energetic, entertaining, and pithy enough for the O’Reilly crowd - Kinda like Coulter, but in a refined, PTA, class-act sort of way! I LOVED the hockey mom joke!
I was a little disappointed in the speech that Mike Huckabee gave - I really thought it would be more energizing, funnier, and thought-provoking.On another note: Weird night seeing the mayor of Norwalk at the CT nominating stand last night….didn’t see the guv, though. Thought I saw Chris Shays, but I could have sworn he announced he would not be attending -
Stamford Advocate 8-26-08:
“Shays, who is fighting accusations from Democrats that he is trying to distance himself from his party, is skipping the event in St. Paul….”
I fell asleep half-way thru nominating roll call…better than Ambien! -
#7: Governor Rell’s husband was in the hospital yesterday.
No one mentioned the grating speech by the died-in-the-wool phoney, Rudolph Giuliani, who still claims that he did such a great job on 9-11. Read the book Grand Illusion to get past all of the hype and to learn how his failure to provide appropriate leadership was responsible for an increased number of deaths, particularly among rescue workers.
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Hey Diane - why don’t you drop the “unaffiliated” charade. Anyone who takes the time and the energy to go to a convention definitely has a stake. Unless you’re a member of the demonized “liberal media?”
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#9- Come again? Are you suggesting that I join a recognized party and attend conventions? Probably not in my lifetime, friend. But just in case, why don’t you suggest which party category you think I best fall into……….Also, using media and my name in the same sentence is an insult to fine journalists the world over. LOL
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She’s not the only one who’s unaffiliated. I refuse to join a party and I don’t vote based on the party line. I vote for the PERSON, not the party. As everyone else with any intelligence ought to be doing.
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Wow people bashing based soley on party line… how funny
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I know. Sometimes I wonder if people put on their angry pants before they post here.
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#11-there’s more of us out here than you know who vote based on the person and not the party. As far as people bashing, this blog has become one of the top basher blogs and no one is above ridicule. Its a shame because there’s some good discussions to be had but some would rather get down and dirty therefore pushing others to stay away who would otherwise lend some great topics and discussions. These people do this to see themselves in print and think the rest of us are merely here as their audience. They tend to make even the most rational person want to spew garbage.
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#11 and #14: BRAVO- now there is a concept that the “affiliated” may never get: vote based on the person and the issue, NOT the party. I call some of my democratic and republican friends and relatives “the cult members” - I swear to you that I actually see their eye glaze over and they get that zombie “follow the cult leader” look in their eyes when they are speaking about either Reagan, Bush or McCain -or- Kennedy, Clinton and Obama. I wonder if any of the centers that de-program the brainwashed folks offer group discounts?! Sometimes the people-bashing here hurts, but that’s okay.
By the way: from the floor of the unaffiliated convention here is the question I’ll be asking the delegates: Who would be your dream ticket if good folks could cross party lines?
#9- just in case you didn’t guess yet, there is no “unaffiliated” convention- I am simply having some fun. I may recruit some super-delegates, so send resume. -
This blog is half entertainment and half serious dialogue. One balances the other. Take away one or the other and nobody would be reading.
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Diane C: Dream ticket from the unaffiliated convention? Why that would be Michael Bloomberg and his VP pick of Bill Richardson.
More importantly my dream cabinet: I would want Robert Rubin back at Treasury. Scowcroft back as NSA. Colin Powell back as Secretary of Defense and Carol Browner back at the EPA. New picks; Bill Gates as Secretary of Commerce, Meg Whitman as Secretary of State, Christine Todd Whitman Secretary of Transportation, and Lawrence Lessig as AG.
Sure there’s more slots, but this was just off the top of my head.
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How about your fantasy perp walks from among those in the current administration (and the ones who have already left)? Gutsy enough to let us know who that would be?
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What They’re Saying About Governor Palin’s Address To The Republican National Convention
Governor Palin Was “Simply Brilliant”
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “She Gets An ‘A.’” ABC’s CYNTHIA MCFADDEN: “Joining me now is ABC’s chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos for the Nightline report card. So George, what about it, did she win them over?” STEPHANOPOULOS: “She definitely gets an ‘A’ for this, especially when you look at that crowd tonight. They loved every minute of her speech, but also I think to the television audience, she was appealing, she was funny, she was warm at times, very, very tough at times as well. And she really did have an ability to bring these things down to earth, bring these issues down to earth, like when she talked about saving money in the state of Alaska.” (ABC’s “Nightline,” 9/3/08)
NBC’s Tom Brokaw: “She Could Not Have Been More Winning Or Engaging.” “Tonight makes a very auspicious debut as the vice presidential candidate before this hall and a national television audience. She could not have been more winning or engaging.” (NBC’s “Republican National Convention Coverage,” 9/3/08)
CNN’s Anderson Cooper: Governor Palin “Is A Force To Be Reckoned With.” “I mean as you said a star was born certainly for the Republican Party. Whether you agree with her or disagree with her, no one has any doubt, I think listening to that speech, that she is a force to be reckoned with.” (CNN’s, “CNN Election Center,” 9/4/08)
CNN’s Candy Crowley: “She Was, I Thought, Terrific.” (CNN’s “Republican National Convention,” 9/3/08)
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “And She Not Only Hit A Home Run, It Might Have Been Even A Grand Slam.” (CNN’s “CNN Election Center,” 9/4/08)
CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin: “This Speech Was A Heck Of A Lot Better Than Joe Biden’s Speech.” “Well, let’s just start with an obvious point that I don’t think anyone has made yet. This speech was a heck of a lot better than Joe Biden’s speech.” (CNN’s, “CNN Election Center,” 9/4/08)
ABC’s Robin Roberts: “Oh, What A Night!” “Oh, what a night! Can we say this place went nuts, erupted when John McCain’s running-mate took the stage, a lengthy standing ovation for Sarah Palin, the self-professed average hockey mom. Such support she received from her family and the delegates here, even the Michigan delegates were dressed in matching hockey shirts and she did stir things up here last night.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 9/4/08)
Former Clinton Adviser Howard Wolfson: “Quite Impressive.” “And look, she did a very, very good job. I agree Democrats have reason to be concerned. Nobody should underestimate this woman’s political ability. To go on stage in a hall like this, to give a speech like this for the first time ever, quite impressive.” (Fox News’ “American Election Headquarters,” 9/3/08)
The Financial Times’ Chrystia Freeland: Governor Palin Was “Absolutely Dazzling.” “Absolutely, she did not sound like she was from one of the coasts. She sounded like she was a really normal, down-to-earth person, and at the same time, clearly she is an extraordinary person, because she was absolutely dazzling.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 9/4/08)
The Washington Post’s Dan Balz: Governor Palin “Ready For A Fight.” “On Wednesday night, she took the opportunity to answer back, and she put her critics — Democrats, the media and the Washington political establishment — on notice that she is ready for a fight.” (Dan Balz, “Striking Back At Critics, One By One,” The Washington Post, 9/4/08)
The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes: “She’s A Natural.” “She’s a natural, gifted with the ability to connect with people in a way that few politicians can and to perform under extreme pressure. She has star quality.” (Fred Barnes, “The Natural,” The Weekly Standard, 9/4/08)
Barnes: Governor Palin “Made It Look Like She’d Been Performing On The National Political Stage For Years.” “Sarah Palin delivered what may have been the most important speech ever by a vice presidential candidate and made it look like she’d been performing on the national political stage for years.” (Fred Barnes, “The Natural,” The Weekly Standard, 9/4/08)
The Associated Press: Governor Palin “Reminiscent Of Ronald Reagan.” “Sarah Palin delivered. But the former TV sportscaster spoke in calm, TV-friendly tones reminiscent of Ronald Reagan. Like the former GOP president, Palin warmed the crowd with quips and jokes.” (Tom Raum and Liz Sidoti, “Palin Delivers Star-Turning Performance For GOP,” The Associated Press, 9/4/08)
MSNBC’s David Gregory: “I Think It Was A Very Strong Presentation.” “I think this was a very strong presentation. I think it was well-received. I think what Sarah Palin achieved tonight, what Governor Palin achieved, is something that a lot of Republicans who are here and who are watching didn`t think was necessarily possible. And that is that there could be a very energized and enthusiastic base of the Republican Party.” (MSNBC’s “MSNBC Special,” 9/3/08)
Roll Call’s Mort Kondracke: “Simply Brilliant.” “Simply brilliant … It was incredibly sophisticated and effective. You know, it was derisive of Barack Obama in a sort of funny way but a very poignant way, about his lack of experience and about, you know, her experience as a mayor.” (Fox News’ “American Election Headquarters,” 9/3/08)
The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol: “A Star Was Born Last Night.” “A star was born last night–but I won’t belabor that fact, especially since it was the title of my New York Times column Monday.” (Bill Kristol, “The Speech,” The Weekly Standard, 9/4/08)
Fox News’ Chris Wallace: “A New Star In The Political Galaxy.” “I don’t think it’s overstating it to say being right here on the floor that a star was born tonight — a new star in the political galaxy.” (FOX News’ “On The Record,” 9/4/08)
The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart: “Absolutely A Star Was Born In The Republican Party. There’s No Question That She Delivered An Incredible Performance.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 9/4/08)
The Washington Post Editorial: “The Alaska Governor Proved Herself More Than Capable Of Making A Strong Case For Nominee John McCain.” “Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech at the convention last night was an impressive debut on the national stage — well-delivered, with an appealing combination of charm and bite befitting her description of a hockey mom as a pit bull in lipstick. The Alaska governor proved herself more than capable of making a strong case for nominee John McCain and landing some pretty good zingers, aimed at both the Democratic nominee and the ‘Washington elite.’” (Editorial, “Ms. Palin’s Introduction,” The Washington Post, 9/4/08)
Democrat Strategist Steve McMahon: Governor Palin “Confident, Articulate And Strong.” “‘She was confident, articulate and strong. And she seemed folksy and real. So she’s passed the style test. The next test will be on substance,’ said Democratic analyst Steve McMahon.” (David Brown, Salena Zito and Mike Wereschagin, “‘Small-Town’ VP Nominee Palin Stands Tall,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 9/4/08)
A Brilliant Speech That Electrified:
The New York Times: “Palin’s Appearance Electrified A Convention.” “Ms. Palin’s appearance electrified a convention that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job, as she launched slashing attacks on Mr. Obama’s claims of experience.” (Elisabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper, “Palin Assails Critics And Electrifies Party,” The New York Times, 9/4/08)
The Washington Post: Governor Palin “Electrified The Republican Convention.” “Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin electrified the Republican convention Wednesday night, pitching herself as a champion of government reform, mocking Democratic candidate Barack Obama as an elitist and belittling media criticism of her experience.” (Michael D. Shear, “Palin Comes Out Fighting,” The Washington Post, 9/4/08)
The Associated Press: Governor Palin “Energized Delegates With A Rousing Speech.” “The Republican presidential nomination his at last, John McCain makes his case for the presidency to the GOP convention and the nation after his surprise choice for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, energized delegates with a rousing speech.” (Glen Johnson, “Palin Revs Up Republicans For McCain,” The Associated Press, 9/4/08)
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “There Were A Lot Beautiful And Effective Lines In This Speech.” (ABC’s “Republican National Convention Coverage,” 9/3/08)
ABC’s Diane Sawyer: “It Was Thunderous In This Room Last Night.” “Right here at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul and it was thunderous in this room last night.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 9/4/08)
CBS’ Maggie Rodriguez: “She Needed To Deliver Here Last Night, And Talk To Anybody, And They Say She Did Not Disappoint. They Just Ate It Up, Harry.” (CBS’ “The Early Show,” 9/4/08)
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: Governor Palin “Delivered A Very, Very Passionate And Rousing Speech.” “What a night it’s been. History has been made. The Republicans going forward for the first time in their history with a woman who will be on the ticket. And we heard from the governor of Alaska. She delivered a very, very passionate and rousing speech.” (CNN’s “Larry King Live,” 9/4/08)
FOX News’ Juan Williams: Democrats Say Barack Obama “Is Terrific.” “What I have been hearing from Democrats around the country as they’ve been watching is they say, ‘She is terrific.’” (FOX News’ “On The Record,” 9/4/08)
MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski: “She Sounded Good, She Was Good And She Connects With Women.” “But here’s your problem: she looked good, she sounded good, she was good and she connects with women. I’m telling you right now, I watched it from my perspective as a working mother and I can tell you there are probably many out there facing many different types of challenges in their lives, economic, and that woman spoke to women across America in a way any other candidate, male — sorry — could not have. She brings a new dimension to this race, you have to admit it.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 9/4/08)
NBC’s Meredith Vieira: Governor Palin “Energized The Crowd.” “She brought them to their feet. In the biggest speech of her lifetime, and her first ever to a national audience, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin energized the crowd and she showed that she could throw some pretty good punches of her own.” (NBC’s “Today,” 9/4/08)
Politico: Governor Palin “Wowed The Republican Convention.” “In her first national address, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin wowed the Republican convention using wit, sarcasm, charm and ridicule in a full scale assault on a now familiar cast of GOP targets — an elitist adversary, a biased media and high taxes.” (Jeanne Cummings and Beth Frerking, “Palin Wows GOP, Puts Dems On Notice,” Politico, 9/4/08)
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Governor Palin “Brought Thundering Ovations.” “Unknown even to many Republicans a week ago, Palin wrapped a personal profile and philosophical pitch into a 40-minute talk that brought thundering ovations from delegates at the Republican National Convention.” (David Brown, Salena Zito and Mike Wereschagin, “‘Small-town’ VP Nominee Palin Stands Tall,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 9/4/08)
A Hockey Mom To Be Reckoned With:
Politico: “Palin Will Not Flinch From The Fight.” “When the nearly 40-minute address came to a close, however, all doubts were doused and Democrats were on notice that Palin will not flinch from the fight.” (Jeanne Cummings and Beth Frerking, “Palin Wows GOP, Puts Dems On Notice,” Politico, 9/4/08)
CBS’ Jeff Glor: “This Was A Hockey Mom Not Afraid To Throw Body Checks, As She Slammed Barack Obama’s Early Work In Chicago As A Community Organizer.” (CBS’ “The Early Show,” 9/4/08)
The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol: “Palin Went Right For Obama’s Fundamental Weakness.” “The attack on Obama was very deft. Palin went right for Obama’s fundamental weakness–that he’s never done anything impressive. (And by giving such a good speech, she partly undermined his claim to be the only one who could speak impressively.).” (Bill Kristol, “The Speech,” The Weekly Standard, 9/4/08)
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OH MY GOD. THE DEMS SHOULD JUST LAY DOWN AND ROLL OVER. NOW.
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These quotes are from the very same liberal media that the Republicans were whining on and on about last night, correct?
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Guess she made an impression on them didn’t she?
No one said the dems should lay down and roll over but I would say that Sarah Palin all in all hit it out of the park not only within the Republican party but to a whole new audience as well. And yes, they are one in the same as the Republican’s were complaining about, but she certainly gave them a whole new twist on what may have been much of the same as we have heard since McCain announced her as his running mate. -
Anonymous 18: You mean besides Cheney, Ashcroft, and Rove? That would be straight up corruption of office.
Then there’s the issue of war crimes. I mean the whole DOJ, needs entire gutting, has so far corrupted the Geneva convention. so the idea of war crimes, roping in Bush is an interesting question. I think Andrew Sullivan makes the case:
egal grid, off any zone of public accountability, able to deploy “any means at our disposal” to do what he believed had to be done. Now, you may want to defend this act of radical executive power as a necessary, temporary breach in the aftermath of 9/11, but you cannot, I think, credibly argue that Cheney was unaware of what he was doing. Or that he insisted on retaining this kind of illegality and torture long after the immediate crisis passed. As late as 2005, Cheney was getting Bybee to write legal memos for any combination of any number of torture techniques, long categorically recognized as such by everyone in the field. From a former CIA official in Mayer’s book: “They were torturing people. No question. They did disgusting things to people. Their attitude was, ‘Laws? like who the fuck cares?’”
That being said, incompetence is not a criminal offense, at least not yet. And oh what fun I could have with jail time for incompetence.
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You and the inmates that they would be sharing cells with…
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You did your homework and reported FACTS. Great work, you have my admiration.
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Facts, you mean the opinions that the liberal media was expressing over the speech, or facts, the listing of the liberal media’s fawning over Palin’s sweet sixteen party?
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Diane–dream ticket choice—-Rudy & Hillary or Bloomberg & Hillary Powell sec of Def.
Bush & Chaney on an ice flow.
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Here’s just another example of the “liberal media” and their twisted logic:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card
Did you notice that these are actual video clips of real people?
Next time anyone feels the urge to scapegoat the “liberal media” re-watch this video… and skip over John Stewart’s commentary if you like…
REAL CLIPS. REAL HYPOCRISY.
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From Sarah Palin’s speech:
“I’m a hockey mom. I love hockey moms. Do you know what separates a hockey mom from a pit bull?
Lipstick.”
Gotta love the woman!
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Great joke - so she’s clearly qualified to be the #2 of the free world… is this how we pick leaders now? Gotta love her? Sheesh!
(”I’m a hockey mom. I love hockey moms.” == “I love me!”)
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City Girl: Bush and Cheney on ice flow - rofl!
Even better than a jail stint for crimes against humanity!
I still have not developed my dream team list…stay tuned… -
No matter how you try to spin it, Palin has years more experience than Hillary Clinton ever will.
Palin was a mayor of a city. What has Hillary Clinton been mayor of?
Palin is governor of a state. What state has Hillary Clinton been governor of?
Palin has no skeletons in her closet. Hillary Clinton has Communist connections, Whitewater, Vince Foster, Paula Jones, Troopergate, stealing items from the White House, and Monica Lewinsky. Hillary has a husband who is only the 2nd sitting president in history to be impeached. Hillary has a husband who is a convicted liar and perjurer.
The only “experience” Hillary Clinton has ever had has been as the wife of a president. First Ladies do next to nothing. Ribbon cuttings. State visits to other countries to promote education. Reading to kindergarteners. State dinners.
And that and $2.25 will get her a cup of coffee, but that’s about all. It sure didn’t get her the presidential nomination OR the VP nomination.
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Hillary is the senator from New York…you know, like John McCain is senator from Arizona. I guess senator is not as good as mayor of a town the size of the Norwalk school district.
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Next thing you know they’ll be nominating our own Dick! We can always depend on the GOP to lower the bar for the highest office in the land.
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My mistake. The Norwalk School District is about twice the size of Wasilla. Maybe Sal Corda could run for VP…
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From: Anne Kilkenny
Date: September 1, 2008 12:20:01 AM PDT
Subject: re: SARAH PALINDear friends,
So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .
Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks.
You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .
Thanks,
AnneABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of
property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still
in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The
sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later
fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured
hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.
There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
*”Hockey mom”: true for a few years
*”PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
*”NRA supporter”: absolutely true
*social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
*pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
*”Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
*”Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
*political maverick: not at all
*gutsy: absolutely!
*open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
*has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
*”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
*fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
*pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
*pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
*pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
*pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
Anne Kilkenny
annekilkenny@hotmail.com
August 31, 2008 -
Holy cow. Palin sounds EXACTLY like Karen Doyle Lyons!!!
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Sure took the lead out of my pencil…
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Has anyone nitpicked Obama like that?
Well get ready because “Payback is gonna be a bitch”
SHE WILL BE THE NEXT VICE PRESIDENT.
You can take that to the bank.
The American people Love a WINNER not a WHINER.
McCain and Palin fit right into that spot in Americans hearts.
PS Unless you to Anonymous’s are the same person, would one of you please tack a #1 or 2 on your name. It is getting to be a real PITA to figure out who the hell WE are reply to when there is a long thread. I am sure that one of you has the imagination to come up with something better than “Anonymous.” Lets see which one of you BELIEVES IN REAL CHANGE……….
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Hey, they nitpicked Hillary. And Palin herself started in on snarky comments about Obama. We’ll certinaly see more on both sides. Funny thing, though, all those nitpicky comments only preach to the choir. All they serve to do is reinforce the beliefs of the already committed. Inlfuencing the undecided will happen when one of the guys at the top of the ticket truly gets out there with a message and a PLAN. Neither has really done that yet. Empty rhetoric and promises from both camps — with a bit of sniping from the trenches. No meat yet.
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Hey, at least McCain/Palin have a platform and a plan. Obama’s got nothing but “hope and change”. And “hope and change” won’t put food on the table, gas in your tank, or get you a job.
But it sure sounds all starry-eyed and romantic, doesn’t it?
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I have no special feelings about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but so far the Republican ticket has failed to provide any specifics about what they would do. They talk about change, without saying how change might look. They talk about the inadequacies of their Democratic opponents, without talking about what they themselves have to offer the American people.
I have seen a document that shows a LOT of additional dirt on Governor Palin. It will not doubt be all over the internet before long.
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Before you all go jumping on that letter from Anne Kilkenny you may want to know she is a registered Democrat who is an Obama supporter and therefore couldn’t help herself when it came to telling “the truth” Ok and I believe in the wizard of Oz and that Jimmy Hoffa is still alive and living in downtown Burbank. Try googling city records from when Palin was mayor and see the financials etc. before you go taking the word of one women. googling Mrs. Palin’s accomplishments/truths isn’t real.
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That is an eyewitness account, composed with caveats. No way to verify the veracity of everything she said, but it lacked hyperbole and accounted for motives. Pretty credible, and should get picked up and picked apart by the professionals, since few people in Wasilla, reportedly, are willing to say anything critical.
It’s understandable that the Republicans are so pumped up this week. It is predictable that it won’t last; and likely that the enthusiasm will prove unjustified.
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I bet if it had been a man the Dickless one would have had second thoughts…
Norwalk Mayor Tackles Protester
By
Mark Pazniokas
on September 4, 2008 11:23 PMThe woman who tried to run onto the convention floor during John McCain’s acceptance speech was tackled by the mayor of Norwalk, Richard Moccia.
“First tackle I made in 40 years,” Moccia said.
Moccia said the woman came running the down the stairs.
“She was screaming, ‘Stop the war! Stop the war! Murders!’ That kind of stuff,” Moccia said.
Moccia, a delegate, wondered how the Connecticut delegation came to intersect again with protesters. On Monday, the state’s delegates were jostled and doused with a diluted bleach solution, a confrontation that brought them national attention.
“Something must be in the water in Connecticut,” Moccia said.
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Probably mistook her for his ex-wife.
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See the Dick works out of Norwalk,Norwalk never sees the Dickster work here.Trusting this will take front row away from any problems Norwalk has,good for you Dick someone has to steel the show might as well be you.John who?
Now we know why cablevision has had every city every town around preparing for the storm but Norwalk on the midday news,why would it concern Norwalk its not headlines for Dick.
We certainly have Dick in Norwalk.
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Actually, we are Dickless in Norwalk, at the moment. Not that it’s making much difference.
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Debunking Caribou Barbie’s Speech & Other Republican Talking Points
Posted on September 4th, 2008 by Dan ChmielewskiThe Associated Press did a little fact checking into claims made by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in her VP-nomination acceptance speech last night. And they went after other statements Republicans are making about her. And what a surprise; she (and they) got a lot of stuff wrong or told outright lies.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.
Some examples:
PALIN: “I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending … and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress ‘thanks but no thanks’ for that Bridge to Nowhere.”
THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a “bridge to nowhere.”
PALIN: “There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform _ not even in the state senate.”
THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.
PALIN: “The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.”
THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama’s plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain’s plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.
Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.
He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.
MCCAIN: “She’s been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America’s energy supply … She’s responsible for 20 percent of the nation’s energy supply. I’m entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America,” he said in an interview with ABC News’ Charles Gibson.
THE FACTS: McCain’s phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she’s no more “responsible” for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state _ by population.
MCCAIN: “She’s the commander of the Alaska National Guard. … She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities,” he said on ABC.
THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under “federal status,” which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska’s national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.
FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin “got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States.”
THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor’s election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: “We need change, all right _ change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington _ throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin.”
THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.
The McCain camp is going to war with the press over their coverage, mainly because its not the flattering stuff they’ve come to expect.
Roger Simon of Politico.com offered this satirical apology from the press:
It is not our job to ask questions. Or it shouldn’t be. To hear from the pols at the Republican National Convention this week, our job is to endorse and support the decisions of the pols.
Newsweek’s Joe Klein wrote this:
“The second thing is more insidious: Steve Schmidt has decided, for tactical reasons, to slime the press. He wants the public to believe that there is an unfair–sexist (you gotta love it)–personal assault going on against Palin and her family. This is a smokescreen, intended to divert attention from the very real and responsible vetting that is taking place in the media–about the substance of Palin’s record as mayor and governor.
There is a tendency in the media to kick ourselves, cringe and withdraw, when we are criticized. But I hope my colleagues stand strong in this case: it is important for the public to know that Palin raised taxes as governor, supported the Bridge to Nowhere before she opposed it, pursued pork-barrel projects as mayor, tried to ban books at the local library and thinks the war in Iraq is “a task from God.” The attempts by the McCain campaign to bully us into not reporting such things are not only stupidly aggressive, but unprofessional in the extreme.”
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Barac Obam has NO experience that qualifies him to be president . Although I supposed walking on water and turning water into wine may qualify him.
Please do yourselves a favor and go look at his voting record. As a State Rep he voted “Present”? on key issues. Last I heard the voting proces was Yea, Nay or abstain..what the heck does “present” mean? Again, he has absolutely no executive experience. He has only risen in the ranks by celebrity status and is Messiah like adoration by those who would have us all believe he is the next coming.
