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A few things Billy doesn't know about Sarah Palin
As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been
charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard
within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there
has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.
She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.
She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.
If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.
Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.
She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.
As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project.
She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of Palin wasn't scrubbed from her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend.
She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.
She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.
She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.
This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.
No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington.
She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.
She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.
If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.
Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.
She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.
As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project.
She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of Palin wasn't scrubbed from her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend.
She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.
She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.
She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.
This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.
No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington.
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I'll give her this; based on what you wrote, it sounds as if she has a pretty strong grasp of McCain's plan for Iraq.
Apologize in advance for any double posts.
September 3, 2008 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lieberman just shepherded through her first meeting with AIPAC. Apparently, they like her.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/02/1327325.aspx
As I told you at my blog. Congratulations on making a cogent attack on Palin without attacking her family.
If you are going to use my name, you should at least link to my post.
September 3, 2008 11:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here. I'll do it for you.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/09/manifesto.php
Guess you kinda forgot to be polite.
September 3, 2008 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Beat me to it, Billy. I actually figured this as an homage to the type of criticism you were calling for in your post. A pretty cogent and comprehensive one at that.
September 3, 2008 5:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
They like her! And the Jews for Jesus thing that's just now coming out, that's not going to change their minds, is it?
September 3, 2008 5:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
They know it's just b/c she's an idiot. Those folks are harmless.
September 3, 2008 7:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since when do we trust MSNBC?
September 3, 2008 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Rec'd
September 3, 2008 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed, she should choose life outside of Washington. As the Alaskan bumpersticker says:
Focus on your own damn family.
September 3, 2008 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed, she should choose life outside of Washington. As the Alaskan bumpersticker says:
Focus on your own damn family. This can't be good for Bristol Palin.
September 3, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
As if Billy cared for anything other than Billy. He truly does love that one thing a lot.
But it's a great post! Rec'd.
September 3, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think you should just post "Billy" as a title, then post "Billy, Billy, Billy" as the text. See if you can make the recommended list. If that doesn't work, try: "I hate that Billy."
Stop worrying. Peggy Noonan thinks McCain is finished.
September 3, 2008 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
How did "Caddyshack" get into this discussion?
September 3, 2008 7:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lemme see, we got Noonan, the Gopher and - of course -
Billy Billy Billy.
Just waiting for Rodney to show up.
September 3, 2008 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, that was just great. Billy, Billy, Billy, sniff, sniff, sniff.
September 3, 2008 10:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
3 Billy Goats Gruff?
September 4, 2008 4:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think I should just post Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich.
September 3, 2008 11:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your dream post for sure.
September 3, 2008 5:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
:)
September 3, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't for the life of me figure out why this isn't counted as a scandal also ...
http://community.adn.com/node/128527
http://community.adn.com/sites/community.adn.com/files/McLeod%20Ethics%20Complaint1.pdf
It seems like this ethics complaint was filed Aug 6th. It names Sarah Palin, her chief of staff and several other members of her adminstration.
The gist is that Palin used her office to secure a "protected position" with the DOT for a campaign fundraiser/friend in the Alaska. When asked, Palin said nobody got any favors.
The complaint seems pretty well documented, but the person who filed it might have an axe to grind with Palin(but that doesn't seem hard to find in Alaska). IMO this should at least be looked at as a part of a proper vetting.
September 3, 2008 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gaaa ... please ignore assorted illiteracy.
September 3, 2008 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Palin fired top cop in Alaska because he wouldn't play politics with Alaska's equivalent of the US DOJ.
DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR?
September 3, 2008 6:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe the 18 year old who banged Bristol has a plan, McCain shook his hand see link below.
Imagine if Obama had a pregnant 17 year old and the dude who did her showed up to the Democratic Convention to be received like a prince. Its OK with Republicans because they have 'values'.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/09/03/20080903mccain-palin0903-ON.html
September 3, 2008 7:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I keep thinking about that poor boy Levi. Man,talk about fucking it up. He must be crying himself to sleep every night. I mean it sincerely. Poor kid. Then to have to be embraced by that cadaveric old fart McCain on national TV while his future in-laws look on, grimacing and swearing under their breath. It's an American tragedy and I'm sick of the Repubs making it into some freaking fairy tale. It's total exploitation.
September 3, 2008 8:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh please he's gonna get set up for life with one of those part time jobs as a sloper like Todd and be able to afford a family of five if he wants. That's if Bristol doesn't blow him off after the election or he doesn't die mysteriously.
September 3, 2008 11:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Shucks, maybe they'll make a Trooper out of him... although that job hasn't been very kind to some other Palin in-laws.
September 4, 2008 12:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Even better shot of McCain, Levi, and Sarah and her Secession supporting husband. (where is the moose rifle and the preacher?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/us/politics/04repubday.html?hp
September 3, 2008 7:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
That reminded me of a great political cartoon. Too funny (and too true).
September 4, 2008 12:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
McAfee antivirus software is supposed to protect computers connected to the internet. By law under no circumstances are voting machines ever supposed to be connected to the internet. Though if you look at the back of a lot of those machines they have modem ports.
September 4, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
NO RECORD OF PALIN 'SON' TRIG BORN ON THE DATE CLAIMED ... THIS IS BRISTOL 2ND PREGNANCY NOT THE 1ST!!!
http://www.mediatakeout.com/2008/26353-more_palin_drama_no_record_of_palin_son_trig_born_on_the_date_claimed__daughter_supposedly_got_pregnant_while_she_had_mono__attempts_to_force_daughter_to_get_married.html
People's children are off limits? This is not about her daughter bristol, no one is attacking her daughter... this is about another GOP corrupt politician who wants to be vice-president or president.
We don't need it... not another 4 or 8 years of lying corrupt president and vice-president.... we had enough of bush and cheney...
"NICE guys finish last!!!".. this is about palin lies and misconduct.
Gov. Palin needs to take a DNA or blood test to prove that baby trig is hers... all the evidence is supporting that the baby belongs to Bristol, her daughter.
I saw pictures and VIDEO of gov. palin when she CLAIMED to be 7 and 8 months pregnant, AND SHE DIDn't look 7 or 8 months preganant to me... I have six children by two different women so I know what a 7 and 8 month pregnant woman looks like. Palin was not pregnant with trig, bristol was.
Bristol is now pregnant a second time or her 2nd pregnancy is a hoax to force her to marry her boyfriend to cover up for gov palin scandal...... faux-lame and biased news channel and other media outlets who support the GOP are trying to cover-up the scandal... and the oabama campaign is too scared to touch the issue cause they are just scared of being called a sexist for busting palin's chops.
NEWS FLASH: A rumor is not a rumor when evidence to support the claim exist... OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE!!!!
September 4, 2008 2:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
NO RECORD OF PALIN 'SON' TRIG BORN ON THE DATE CLAIMED ... THIS IS BRISTOL 2ND PREGNANCY NOT THE 1ST!!!
http://www.mediatakeout.com/2008/26353-more_palin_drama_no_record_of_palin_son_trig_born_on_the_date_claimed__daughter_supposedly_got_pregnant_while_she_had_mono__attempts_to_force_daughter_to_get_married.html
People's children are off limits? This is not about her daughter bristol, no one is attacking her daughter... this is about another GOP corrupt politician who wants to be vice-president or president.
We don't need it... not another 4 or 8 years of lying corrupt president and vice-president.... we had enough of bush and cheney...
"NICE guys finish last!!!".. this is about palin lies and misconduct.
Gov. Palin needs to take a DNA or blood test to prove that baby trig is hers... all the evidence is supporting that the baby belongs to Bristol, her daughter.
I saw pictures and VIDEO of gov. palin when she CLAIMED to be 7 and 8 months pregnant, AND SHE DIDn't look 7 or 8 months preganant to me... I have six children by two different women so I know what a 7 and 8 month pregnant woman looks like. Palin was not pregnant with trig, bristol was.
Bristol is now pregnant a second time or her 2nd pregnancy is a hoax to force her to marry her boyfriend to cover up for gov palin scandal...... faux-lame and biased news channel and other media outlets who support the GOP are trying to cover-up the scandal... and the oabama campaign is too scared to touch the issue cause they are just scared of being called a sexist for busting palin's chops.
NEWS FLASH: A rumor is not a rumor when evidence to support the claim exist... OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE!!!!
September 4, 2008 2:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently people in the town stood up to Palin when she tried to fire the librarian for not supporting her in trying to ban certain books from the library.. I've seen a rumored list... not sure it was factual...
September 4, 2008 3:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well by all means assume it's factual. Add to it even: "Catcher in the Rye", "The Brothers Karamazov", "For Whom the Bell Tolls"... The great rumored possibly-banned-by-Palin list. And then we set our hair on fire.
September 4, 2008 4:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
She's a freakin' weasel.
She promised the bridge, campaigned in full support of it, and when it became a topic mocked in Washington, she canceled the bridge project... BUT KEPT THE MONEY FOR THE STATE!
That's not change we can believe in.
The details were on NPR just now. Here's a Reuters story on how people in Alaska are pissed about it all:
September 4, 2008 8:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why do you not just tell us about Governor Palin? Why include "Billy's" name in the title of the post? Not everyone has skin as thick as Billy's. I submit the practice of focusing on an individual poster's name is cheesy, and potentially stifling of those who are into free and uninhibited discourse.
I think people who focus on individual posters in situations like this are acting like poopyheads. Not that you're a poopyhead, mind you. :) But do better next time; show some class. Do the dignity thing.
September 4, 2008 8:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Billy's little concern troll post echoing McCain campaign mgr Steve Schmidt's line about Palin's family being attacked deserved a response.
If that makes me a poopyhead in your eyes, too bad. Palin is a diehard wingnut ideologue and was a lousy mayor who took a town with $0 debt and left it $22 million in the hole. As governor she is borrowing from Alaska's future while she wants to give away today's Alaskan windfall oil taxes and the huge surpluses they've generated in bread and circuses tax rebates.
Her fiscal policy is a disaster in the making up there which won't happen til she's left the governor's office. She'd be a disaster as Vice President especially to a President who despite his grevious wounds and type A personality is already past the age his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks.
September 4, 2008 12:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
How smart do you intellectuals feel this morning?
At this point, she is completely the creation of the McCain campaign. Whether she is anyone in her own right we'll find out as we go along. My point is she is an unusually effective creation, both for what she does to them and what she does to us. The reaction of the pro-Obama media has been disastrous. They set the bar so low for her that she could have crawled over it. And McCain's slap down of Larry King already has Brown falling over herself to defend Palin from old boy Harry Reid. Believe it or not, at this stage, the Obama campaign is in shambles.
And believe it or not, the Republicans have already put forward their economic recovery plan. Some of us don't like it. Some of us don't like it so much we can't even hear it.
What did Axelrod forget? You can't be a populist without a rural American base.
You people dig deep and volunteer. It's what we have left.
September 4, 2008 8:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm still a bit astonished that so many at TPM are surprised by these events. The GOP has been using the "lie big" strategy for some time now.
I disagree a bit, Billy, since I think Obama and Axelrod KNEW this was SOP and the only effective counter is a legion of volunteers on the streets and on the phones. I also think opening so many campaign offices in rural and small town areas can be a winning strategy.
I really like this sentence. "Some of us don't like it so much we can't even hear it." I think that deafness applies to more than GOP economic plans.
September 4, 2008 9:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't think I need to get all hand-wringy.
At the end of the day, her political views are more odious than McCain's. And that's all anyone needs to worry about regarding her, and her appeal to anyone but the religious right.
Is anyone surprised by any of these dynamics? The Republicans continue the culture wars, as they're bereft of ideas for anyone but big capital. So, McCain doubled down on it. Here comes plucky, common-sense white mom to stand next to white dad, and tell everyone that things are just fine, we don't need any change, especially the black-guy kind.
But these currents were always what this was going to be about, and it was always going to be close. And there's plenty of stuff out there undermining Palin's credibility. Doesn't matter to the base, but it will matter to the middle, just like her politics.
September 4, 2008 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
The Obama campaign is "in shambles"? I think not. Example, they have opened 31 offices in Indiana, and are making a platy for a state which hasn't voted Democrat since forever. This is hardly a rickety organization. McCain is running ads in Red States to shore up his flanks for goodness sakes. That is why he picked Palin, to energize the base, red state America. That showed nothing but weakness.
It's the middle of the Republican Convention, if they can't get good press this week, they never will.
And are we shocked she's confident and poised? She's running to be VP, she sure as hell better be able to give a speech. This rank amateur is now the #1 surrogate for McCain, and the Republicans' chance to keep the White House, and we are supposed to be biting our nails and wringing our hands? Her mocking, condescending tone is her introduction to the nation? That went over like a lead balloon with undecided voters. Write it down. By picking her and lurching to the Right, McCain doomed his own candidacy.
If we work hard, this is over. Chicken Little need not apply. Obama and his team will roll out a series of tough, serious responses that will get the conversation off the tabloids and back on to the realities we are facing. The shelf life of the Palin drama is another week or two, at which point the Republicans will still have no plan for the country beside Taxes BAD, War GOOD.
September 4, 2008 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Palin met all my expectations--all politician, no policies. Meanspirited shill for the party of meanspiritedness. I heard that the VP speech was written months ago. They just needed to find someone to give it. And she did, like nails on a chalkboard.
Obama campaign in disarray? Hardly. The RNC has been a dismal failure, sad, like a wake without the booze.
September 4, 2008 10:53 AM | Reply | Permalink