If You're Taking Flak, You're Over the Target

A lot has already been written about the John Avlon piece at the Daily Beast that casts Governor Palin as some kind of hypocritical charlatan who exploits donors to her PAC. I don't want to re-hash what has already been said too much.  Please just read here, here, and here.

I do want to make a few points though. Please excuse this atypical format. I'm writing after a long work day combined with overindulgence in caffeine. If it's not too violence inciting, I just want to make a few bullet points. I'm italicizing my sarcasm to avoid confusion:

* John Avlon is the co-founder of No Labels, an organization that is supposedly centrist, but stands for nothing in particular. This No Labels organization is classified as a 501c4, which is not required to itemize their disbursements nor reveal their donors. While Avlon is decrying SarahPAC's FEC report, he himself doesn't even have to report anything specific. No labels, no transparency. (By the way, Avlon's wife is Margaret Hoover, former staffer in the Bush White House and in Bush's 2004 campaign, meaning she worked with the likes of Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace).

* Avlon also tries to conflate a PAC with a political campaign. When Governor Palin called for consultants to be fired and pollsters to be furloughed, she was referring to the types of overweight consultant schmucks who told her what to eat, micromanaged her every move, and suggested to her running mate that suspending his campaign was a good idea in 2008.  If you want to look at the kind of "consultants" Governor Palin hired, consider the following descriptions.  The speechwriter she hired, that Avalon snarkily blasted, is as grassroots as you can get, yet could run circles around Peggy "Thousand Points of Spite" Noonan. This speech writer is a from far outside the beltway and started as #justablogger who started a site you may have heard of with a $10 domain name purchase. Other "consultants" the Governor hired include advance people. You know, the people who ensure that all the logistics are worked out when she stumps for candidates. Yes, those are the real entrenched guys who corrupt the political process that the Governor called out--the guys who make sure that she gets from the airport to the stump, make sure her notes are on the podium, and usher the Governor through rope lines, among a lot of other tasks. But wait, weren't we told earlier this week that the Governor never talks to the grassroots? Additionally, there are those who do things like assist with clerical and administrative things like websites and mailing lists, and of course, a treasurer. But, no, Palin should not pay a treasurer to make sure she's in compliance with the oh-so-simple FEC regulations! She should just use TurboTax, just like that smart guy who used to be a Cabinet secretary. 

*Avlon also mentions that Governor Palin spent a chunk of change on postage for direct mailings. What's that? A political figure sends out direct mailers. That never happens! It's amazing that Governor Palin employed a government agency like the post office as a "consultant"! Shouldn't the Left be praising the Governor for being so generous to an agency that is essentially bankrupt? Or are they saying that Governor Palin should hand deliver her mailings by snowmachine? This piece at RedState, written by a fellow Illinois conservative, goes into more details on specifics. Yes, I'm recommending a piece at RedState. They're few and far between, but there are some good ones.

*Avlon also whines about the return on investment of Palin's endorsements and the amount of overhead, but he fails to mention the limits that PACs have on giving. He'd rather take advantage of the fact that casual readers won't know the FEC caps on giving. The maximum amount a PAC can give is $5,000 per election (general and primary are counted separately). Even if the Governor devoted one-third of her spending to candidates, she would have to give the maximum to both the primary and general elections to over 150 candidates, but even then I suppose she would be criticized for hiring any staff and not supporting 450 candidates.  She should have endorsed every GOP Congressional candidate! However, Palin is a force multiplier (h/t RefudiateGOPe). When Governor Palin gives an endorsement, the phone rings off the hook  for those candidates. Perhaps we should just ask Senator Dewhurst how effective Governor Palin's endorsement? No? 

* A final point. Social media is not the absolute barometer of what we loosely call the "conservative movement", but it is a barometer. People who decried this news are the same ones who tongue lashed conservatives who were critical of Romney in 2012. They certainly didn't have a problem when news came out weeks before the 2012 general election that Governor Romney's campaign invested over a hundred million dollars in consulting firms owned by his senior staffers and he lost! No circular firing squads, they say! Unless they're the ones who get to hold the gun. This is par for the course in the "conservative movement" though. When Governor Palin worked her butt off to try to get McCain elected generating more excitement in the GOP than had been there in over 25 years, she ultimately got blamed for the loss. When Governor Walker was getting hit with a recall, the GOP and "conservative movement" was eager to help, but when Governor Palin got inundated with dozens of frivolous ethics complaints, crickets. When Governor Palin was cast as accomplice to murder in Tucson, there were conservative bloggers and some media personality who defended her, yet again, overwhelming crickets from her own party machinery. However, when Ann Romney was told "she never worked a day in her life", you couldn't get Mr.overgrown college Republican and the RNC to calm down in demanding an apology.  Today, you certainly didn't hear outrage when Marco Golden Boy spent over 90K of his PAC donors' money on political consultants in just the month of February alone, did you?

I'm tired of this. Tired of the lies. Tired of the finger pointing and intellectual dishonesty. Tired of the attacks. However, as the World War II saying goes, "if you're taking flak, you're over the target", which is good if you're loaded for bear:

 

Crossposted here and here.

New SarahPAC Video Shows the Best of Illinois' History

Today on President's Day, SarahPAC released a video which honored two of the nation's presidents  who  have ties to Illinois--Presidents Lincoln and Reagan. In a state whose recent claims to fame ( or perhaps better said infamy) include our most recent governors either in jail or soon-to-be in jail and a president whose policy have contributed to a credit downgrade, massive debt, and pervasive green cronyism, this recent video highlights what's right about Illinois' past,when so much is wrong about our present. The transcript of the video I believe is from Governor Palin's "Restoring Honor" speech given about a year and a half ago in Washington D.C., but the images highlight her visits to Ronald Reagan's boyhood home and his alma mater as well as her visit to Abraham Lincoln's presidential museum--all in Illinois. Governor Palin's words and the great video and editing by the guys at PassCodeCreative  speak volumes of Governor Palin's appreciation for the great character and accomplishments of these great leaders:

 

 Over the summer, our Illinois Organize4Palin group put together a heartfelt, but much less well produced and moving video indicating our support for Governor Palin because we saw, and still see, in her connections to those great men who are the best of our state's history:

 

While the words of support may have been in the context of what we anticipated would be a presidential run in 2012, our support still remains strong for Governor Palin, and we wish to continue to support the principles she espouses and the candidates who espouse those principles themselves.

Thank you, Governor Palin, and happy Presidents Day!

Mama Grizzlies Roar! -UPDATED!

Last night, Governor Palin posted a SarahPAC video on her Facebook page. I have to say it is extremely well done. Watching this campaign-feel video, you have to wonder why the idiots in the McCain campaign didn't use Governor Palin in their 2008 campaign ads?! With this message, it can be effectively argued that Governor Palin is helping to lock up the "mom" vote specifically and the female vote in general for 2010 elections and, Lord willing, for herself in 2012.



UPDATE: How does a mama grizzly react when her cubs are endangered? See here.

UPDATE II: Here is a good take on the "mama grizzly" from Michelle Malkin.

Governor Palin and the Constitution

A couple of weeks ago I received a mailing from SarahPAC with the following text:

Dear Whitney,

I am inspired by the American patriots across our nation who want to bring Congress back to the ideals of our Founding Fathers.


The White House and Congress need to hear that Americans don't want cradle-to-grave government control of our lives. We don't want government bureaucrats deciding what kind of light bulbs we should use, what kind of cars we should drive, and which doctors can and can't care for us and our families.


Liberal politicians should not be trying to re-write the U.S. Constitution. Our Constitution is a centuries-old gift from our steadfast Founding Fathers. We cannot sell out our sovereignty, surrender our God-given rights, or falter in the War on Terror.


Republicans recently took victory away from liberals in three states and sent a message to Congress and the White House that Americans are fed up with politicians trying to impose more big-government policies on our nation.

Now I'm asking for your help to carry that momentum across the country.


What Americans want is a return to the values our Founding Fathers fought and died for. Government should get out of our way so we can raise our families, run our businesses, and keep more of our hard-earned money.


So many people have asked me what can we do to save our country from politicians who want to take away our basic rights. What we can do, Whitney, is join the effort and help send pro-family, pro-American patriots who share our beliefs to Congress.


If you're ready to join the movement, please use the enclosed reply form to send your best gift possible to SarahPAC today. We'll use it to change our nation to the ideals that matter to all of us. Thank you for joining me to keep America the country we know and love!

With an Alaskan heart,
Sarah Palin

Emphasis mine.

I was particularly struck by her emphasis on the words "Founding Fathers" and "Constitution". While the current administration is operating with the goal of fundamentally transforming our nation, through her endorsements and her voice, Governor Palin is operating with the goal of fundamentally restoring our nation to the principles it was founded upon.

Our Constitution has three main themes woven throughout its text:a limited federal government, appropriate powers given to states, and emphasis on individual freedoms. These are all themes upon which Governor Palin has build her political philosophy. Governor Palin is a very strong advocate for 2nd amendment and 10th amendment rights. She believes that the branches of government must not be twisted. In her speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Convention, she has called out the EPA, an agency of unelected bureaucrats housed executive branch, for legislating from the executive branch. She does not believe judicial officials should legislate from the bench. She does not believe the federal government should go beyond its powers to infringe upon states' powers. However, she is not only going to speak out when the federal government overreaches, she is also going to speak out when the federal government is not fulfilling one of its Constitutional roles, as she has done by standing with Governor Brewer with regards to border insecurity in Arizona.

If one examines the premise of the writing of the Constitution--the Preamble--one can see that Governor Palin is lock step with every principle in that famed, beautifully simple paragraph. Governor Palin believes that it is "we the people", not the "we the governing authorities" that make have founded and maintain this country. Governor Palin believes that justice must be established and domestic tranquility ensured by properly prosecuting terrorists, securing our border, and taking our enemies seriously. She believes that the common defense must be provided for. She has spoken out against the President for drawing back nuclear weapons and cutting funds for missile defense.Governor Palin believes in promoting the general welfare, not by creating and perpetuating entitlement programs, but by removing burdensome regulations and taxation from businesses, families, and individuals so that they have the opportunity to better provide for their own welfare. Governor Palin supports securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. She understands that in order to have such liberty, government must not impinge upon individual freedoms, nor should our nation become beholden to foreign countries because of a dependency upon foreign fossil fuels, when America has abundant sources here. She sees that the current trajectory of our nation's spending puts us on a path towards insolvency,and she has even called such spending generational theft. Blessings of liberty will not be passed on to our posterity if our nation is drowning in debt.

I support Governor Palin because she stand for the Constitution and the principles of the Founders, and she supports candidates who do the same. While time will tell if she runs for President, she has my support if she does. There is no one else out there who, upon taking the oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, will mean every word of that oath and will not risk perjuring herself by uttering those words. For those reasons alone, she has my support.


Crossposted here and here.