Sarah Palin--the Galileoan Expo Eraser

Since Deb Fischer won the Nebraska Republican Senate primary on Tuesday, the discussion of the power or intent of Governor Palin's endorsement has been discussed by many in the media. Some have tried to pass off Fischer's win as the result of the fact that her opponents turned their guns on each other, and she escaped unscathed.  In other words, Governor Palin's endorsement had little to do with the victory. The folks at Breitbart, and even some at the New York Times, have recognized the power of Governor Palin's endorsement.  Heck, even, Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post, gave some backhanded credit to Governor Palin for Fischer's win. However, there are those who are questioning not only the power of Palin's endorsement, but the intent. They are trying to imply that Governor Palin primarily endorsed Fischer because she is a woman, when so much of the support for Fischer extended far beyond that.

It's easy to recognize with Deb Fischer's win that Governor Palin endorsement played a big role in  Fischer's campaign, alongside a big grassroots effort in Nebraska. This is the kind of boost that Governor Palin provided that helped Nikki Haley win her gubernatorial primary in 2010.  Governor Palin's endorsement is powerful, but it isn't solely about getting the candidate over the top to win. It's about changing the way the game is played. It is not about gender, though Governor Palin definitely wants to see more conservative women in politics. Remember too that Governor Palin endorsed Rick Perry over Kay Bailey Hutchison and Deb Medina in the Texas gubernatorial primary and Joe Miller over Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska Senate primary in 2010. Really, those two endorsements tell quite a bit of the story when it comes to the meaning of her endorsements.

When Governor Palin released her congratulatory note about Deb Fischer's victory, she noted:

As recently as a week ago, Deb Fischer was dismissed by the establishment. Why? Because she is not part of the good old boys’ permanent political class. The message from the people of Nebraska is simple and powerful: America is looking for real change in Washington, and commonsense conservatives like Deb Fischer represent that change.

This is what Governor Palin's endorsements are about--real change and ridding Washington (or the state halls) of the permanent political class.This is not better seen than her recent endorsement of Richard Mourdock in Indiana to replace veteran Senator Dick Lugar, nor in her endorsements opposite the Bush endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison and coattail riding Lisa Murkowski. While many questioned her 2010 support for Christine O'Donnell, her intention was to send a message to the Establishment and to the permanent political class--which extends beyond those who hold political office. The message echoes Reagan's -- "those voices don't speak for the rest of us".  Suffice to say, Governor Palin is the Expo eraser to Karl Rove's dry erase board. It's about the principles of the party, not the party itself. While the Roves of the GOP want the tent to get bigger, the Palins of the GOP want to ensure that the tent--no matter its size-- has its stakes driven into solid enough ground that it won't collapse.

It's not solely about opposition to Rovian-Schmidtish political strategy though. Governor Palin views politics and policy in a way that very few in politics do-- both politics and policy must revolve around the people, not the party. Governor Palin recognizes that politics is not just a battle between right and left; it's a vertical battle between top and bottom--both within the party structure and as a matter of policy. Governor Palin is the political Galileo ( with Ronald Reagan as Copernicus). You may recall that Galileo was an astronomer who pursued the ideas Copernican  heliocentrism--the concept that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than the other way around. The Catholic church declared him a heretic and put him under house arrest where he continued his work, and of course, he was eventually proven right. This Galileo-Palin comparison may not be perfect in its entirety, but it shows an important point. Those in the permanent political class wish to believe that all political power revolves around them, when it really revolves around the people--the people who vote, not those who pontificate. The same concept is true for policy. The big government views of the Left and the "pro business" views espoused by many in the GOP think that government exists to do things for the people or for businesses. Governor Palin is pro market. Who is empowered in a pro market economy? The consumers (the people). The people determine whether or not a business fails or succeeds by their purchasing power--not by the special loans of the big government Left or the special tax breaks of the pro-business GOPers, but of the the Galileoan pro-marketers.

This is what makes Governor Palin's speech in Iowa late last summer so compelling. She laid out a vision of a pro market economy--no corporate taxes, but no corporate welfare, no special tax breaks or subsidies either. In other words, let the people decide what business fail or succeed by their purchasing power. Also, as Governor Palin wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, echoing Peter Schweizer's book Throw Them All Out,  let there be no more crony capitalism and no more special treatment of politicians. This is the very thing that Deb Fischer espouses too. If you look at her campaign website, Fischer notes specifically "reform Congress and Washington D.C." as one of her policy plans. As example, Fischer mentions some of the very same things in this policy plank that Governor Palin did in her WSJ op-ed:

Tighter Ethics Laws

• Prohibit Members of Congress and federal employees from trading stocks based on information obtained on the job that is not publicly available.

• Prohibit Members of Congress, their staffs and federal employees from disclosing nonpublic information for investment purposes.

• Prohibit Members of Congress, their staffs and federal employees from purchasing land based on inside information that is not public available.

• Require Members of Congress to be subject to the same laws and privileges as every citizen of the United States.

This brings everything full circle. Whether it's an endorsement or policy driven speech, Governor Palin's influence is powerful and so is her impact on ridding the political system of the permanent political class and replacing it with what the Founders stated at the very beginning-"-We the People".

Crossposted here and here. 

Governor Palin Rocks the House!

In addition to being loose with the facts and scant on proper nouns, Politico writers have also now proven themselves to be terrible with math.Perhaps a lesson in the three "R's"--reading,'riting, and 'rithimitc--are in order for these "journalists". A Politico piece posted Wednesday wove together the victories of Palin endorsed candidates with knocks at Governor Palin all the while completely miscalculating the number of candidates whom she endorsed and the number of candidates who won in Tuesday's election:

Sarah Palin endorsed 60 candidates this year, but when dust settled Wednesday morning, the biggest beneficiary of the “Sarah Palin effect” was not necessarily the candidates themselves, but the Palin brand.

Of the 34 candidates Palin endorsed for the House, only 15 won, a less-than-stellar average for someone vying to be the difference-maker in Republican politics.

In the realm of non-Politico math where the rest of us live, Governor Palin endorsed 82 candidates (NOTE: these numbers are taken from the candidate list at sister site, Organize4Palin. There are a few candidates whom SarahPAC gave money to or Governor Palin recorded robocalls for that are not listed) in the general election with at least 52 of those candidates winning (as of Wednesday night, 8 races had not yet been called). In a photo caption, Politico also claims that Governor Palin endorsed 34 House candidates with only 15 of these winning. Governor Palin actually endorsed 57 candidates for the House with at least 36 of these candidates winning their respective Congressional seats. In actuality, Palin endorsed Congressional candidates won more seats than Politico claims she endorsed. As usual, facts are irrelevant to the folks at Politico.

One of Governor Palin's goals with her endorsements was to help conservative candidates win seats back from 20 Democrats who voted for Obamacare and represented districts that she and Senator McCain carried in 2008. Thus, she launched the Take Back the 20 initiative. Eighteen of these candidates have won their races, with one race left to be decided. The people of these districts spoke with their vote against the government takeover of health care. So while these 18 representatives didn't hear their constituents in March, they certainly heard them loud and clear in November.

Palin endorsed candidates also had success in blue states like New York and Illinois. In New York, Michael Grimm won the Empire state's 13th Congressional District, defeating an incumbent Democrat. Governor Palin endorsed two House candidates in Illinois, Adam Kinzinger and Randy Hultgren, who were both running against incumbent Democrats. Both of these candidates won their respective races, contributing to a red wave through the Prairie state which included four seat flipping to Republicans, and Illinois House Republicans now have an 11 to 8 seat edge. In Kinzinger's win, he gave a Palinesque victory speech:



Several others House victories for Palin endorsees had unique significances as well. Governor Palin endorsed Sean Duffy to represent Wisconsin's 7th District, a seat occupied by "stimulus" bill author, David Obey. Shortly following Palin's endorsement of Duffy, Obey declared he would retire from Congress following this term. Duffy later went on to defeat his Democratic challenger. Conservative favorites Michele Bachmann and Allen West also won their respective races. Bachmann's race against her challenger drew a lot funding from the DNC and DCCC that could have been used elsewhere, yet despite the smears and massive funding from Democrats, Bachmann won her race by more than 12 points. Allen West, the army veteran whose ability to give a rousing speech is rivaled only by Governor Palin herself, won his race over his Democratic opponent. In fact, every Palin endorsed candidate in Florida, whether for the House, Senate, or statewide races, won their respective races. The same is true for the bellweather state of Ohio. Tim Scott, Congressional candidate in South Carolina became the first African American Republican to represent South Carolina in Congress. Additionally, Dr. Benishek won his race to replace retiring Michigan Congressman, Bart Stupak, whose capitulation on abortion funding ultimately led to the passage of Obamacare. These are just a sampling of the three dozen winning House candidates whom Governor Palin endorsed. Her influence on House races lies both in the quantity and quality of the candidates she supported.

The Politico piece also attempts to relegate Governor Palin to the role of Republican cheerleader:

Late Tuesday evening, Palin took to Twitter — where she has found a quick and easy way this cycle to wield her influence 140 characters at a time — to praise her victorious candidates.

“As always, proud to be American! Thanks, Commonsense Constitutional Conservatives,u didn't sit down & shut up...u ‘refudiated’ extreme left,” she wrote.

The note was emblematic of her presence in the elections: part cheerleader for the conservative cause, part affirming voice for the candidates who have followed in her footsteps.

While Politico may state that Governor Palin is a "cheerleader for the conservative cause", she actually is the point guard of the conservative cause. While others choose only to endorse when it is politically expedient or when an electoral victory is evident, Governor Palin was and is willing to lead and support candidates on principle and is willing to take political risks in her endorsements. Beyond the 2010 elections, Governor Palin has led on the issues as the strongest voice against the Obama administration's policies on health care, cap and tax, and the Bush tax cuts. She has been the one voice who has been willing to speak out against the Obama administration's handling of the war in Afghanistan, nuclear discussions with Russia, and the Gulf oil spill. Yes, her support of conservative candidates helps bring them to victory, but her leadership and action are what truly have bolstered the conservative cause.

Crossposted here and here.

Governor Palin Takes on the "Bitter Clingers"

On the campaign trail in 2008,Governor Palin embraced the idea of being a "bitter clinger"--one who clings "bitterly" to guns and religion--a reference to a remark by then candidate Obama. Now Governor Palin is one who speaks out against bitter clingers. She doesn't speak out against those who embrace both their first and second amendment rights; she speaks out against those who bitterly cling to power and to the ideals and mindset of the Establishment and of entrenched politicians in both parties. This is clearly marked by many of her endorsements, the of events that have followed the primaries, and her own political career.

One of Governor Palin's first endorsements in the 2010 elections was of Texas Governor Rick Perry against challenger Kay Bailey Hutchison. Hutchison has been a member of the Senate for 17 years, and in spite of a promise to her constituents to resign her position to run for Governor, she did not do so. After her loss in the gubernatorial primary, she still sits in the U.S. Senate as one who voted for the bailouts, earmarks, and numerous large spending bills, and she is one who seeks to "moderate" the Republican party at the expense of conservative ideals.

In one of her written endorsements on Facebook, Governor Palin laid out the desire for a businessman to defeat an entrenched bureaucrat when she endorsed Tim Burns in a special election against a Democratic congressional aide:

In a year when Americans are desperate for job growth and frustrated with the reckless spending in Washington, the candidates running in the special election in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District epitomize the problem and the solution. It’s a race between a career Washington bureaucrat and a small business entrepreneur.

This is also seen her Governor Palin's reaction to Senator Murkwski's (sic) write in campaign for Senate, where she has expressed a desire for Senator Murkowski not to launch a write in campaign, but also "welcomed" such a bid, calling such an effort "futile". While Murkowski bitterly clings to power, so does the Republican Establishment when they voted to allow Murkowski to maintain her position of seniority on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in spite of her choice to ignore the will of her fellow Alaskan Republicans.

Governor Palin's stance against the bitter clingers also extends to those Democrats who a clinging bitterly to power and titles, such as in her endorsement of Carly Fiorina as the "only conservative in the race who can beat Barbara Boxer". Of course, you remember that Senator Boxer "worked so hard for that title", a point that Fiorina has hit on very effectively:



This attitude is also seen in how Governor Palin has conducted herself throughout her political career. As an Oil and Gas commissioner and as Governor, she sought to break the connections between entrenched politicians and oil companies--people who took joy in their back room dealings and lined their own pocketbooks when casting their votes. For Governor Palin, it has never been about clinging to power, a title, or a self-serving political relationship. This is a point she has hit on time and time--from her first announcement of her resignation to her most recent appearance "On the Record". Governor Palin isn't one who clings bitterly to titles or power, but happily embraces the opportunity to take on the Establishment in both parties. For her it isn't about clinging to a title,but about making a difference.

Crossposted here and here.

Palin Endorsed Candidate Gets "Palinized"-Depicted as Hitler

In late March, Governor Palin endorsed a trio of veterans running for Congress. Among these was Adam Kinzinger, who is running for the 11th District seat in Illinois:

The second veteran is Captain Adam Kinzinger, a decorated special-operations pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adam is running for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District against a freshman incumbent congresswoman who seemed to pull a bait and switch on voters to get elected. She sounded like a blue dog on the campaign trail, but didn’t vote like one in Washington. Instead, she voted in lockstep with the Pelosi agenda – on Obamacare, the stimulus, cap-and-tax – and the list goes on. She’s part of the reason for Congress’ 11% approval rating. Adam is a strong fiscal conservative with a proven track record as a reformer from his years serving on his local county board. Adam started out in local office, and, like many of us, believes in making government more accountable to the people. When you serve in local office, your constituents truly are your neighbors. Adam understands this, and I know that he will listen to his constituents and work for us, not against us, in Washington. Please visit Adam’s website here to make a donation to his campaign, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

It isn't too hard to see why Governor Palin endorsed Kinzinger:




Kinzinger is running against Democratic incumbent Congresswoman, Debbie Halvorson. Halvorson has voted lock-step with Speaker Pelosi despite the fact that she ran as an "independent" thinker when elected in 2008. Although more than a month old, the most recent polling data show that Kinzinger has an eleven point lead over Halvorson. Just over a month ago, though claiming no ill will, Halvorson fired her campaign manager, former Clinton campaign worker, Travis Worl. As a side note, Worl had falsely accused Kinzinger of lying about his military record. Halvorson then hired Julie Merz, a member of Halvorson's campaign team since March, as her campaign manager.

Apparently, when some are trailing in a tough campaign, they feel the need to resort to extreme, horrific, and completely uncalled for measures, such as depicting your opponent and other conservatives such as Governor Palin and Glenn Beck as Nazis and chanting out, "outsource Adam, not our jobs". The Left proves its again as possessing no scruples. From Big Government:




Gateway Pundit has identified one of the protesters as none other than Halvorson's newest campaign manager, Julie Merz, who, by the way, also once worked for Speaker Pelosi. Other protesters include Missouri Deputy Field Director for Obama's presidential campaign, Anna Markowski. The protesters, who were picketing against the Americans for Prosperity group in Joliet, ended their night by walking across the street to one of Halvorson's campaign offices.

Pamela Gellar at Atlas Shrugs has a good refudiation of this campaign "tactic" and the complicit media (which Newsbusters also takes on). After all, if it wasn't for double standards, some liberals wouldn't have standards:

The Nazis are coming! That's what the national socialist party is howling. And that which they falsely accuse us of, they do with reckless abandon, painting leaders of the rational as Hitler. They painted Bush with the Hitler brush, and the shill media said nothing, did nothing, saw nothing. But they were only too happy to lie, manipulate images and photoshop pictures to smear and slander good people, accusing us of doing it to the sainted failure in the White House (go here and here). I vlogged their slander (go here to watch video with fauxtography and screenshots back in August 2009).

But now they are actually doing it, gleefully rubbing their hooves, and the silence of the media is deafening. They have no shame. When they deliberately won't report the news because it refudiates their narrative, they lie about it. Take a good hard look around, people: the enemy within, the fifth estate are destroying this country brick by brick, line by line, freedom by freedom.

This is Goebbels-style propaganda. Big Media is going down in flames.

The Kinzinger campaign has also responded to this horrible display:

“It was shocking to see the images displayed by protesters in Joliet this week. When I decided to run for office, I understood the nastiness of politics but never envisioned this kind of attack. Congresswoman Halvorson’s campaign has denied involvement, but video of protesters retiring to her office following the demonstration indicates otherwise. The campaign’s spokesman stated that Halvorson shares my concerns about the public display. If that is indeed the case, I respectfully ask that she use the evidence at hand to launch an investigation into the activities of her campaign and its participation in the Joliet protest, and take appropriate action.The following are questions that Congresswoman Halvorson and her campaign need to answer truthfully:

*Was the protest organized or sanctioned by Halvorson, the Illinois Democratic Party or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee?

*Who are the individuals leading the protest and later seen with Team Halvorson?

*Are the individuals leading the protest staffers or volunteers for Debbie Halvorson?If not, why are they seen entering the Halvorson office after their protest and laughing with Campaign Manager Julie Merz?

It seems that more and more often Palin endorsed candidates have been"palinized"--maliciously treated, maligned, and misrepresented. We have said there are no more free shots allowed at Governor Palin. Shouldn't the same be said regarding those commonsense conservatives whom she supports? If you are able, please take the opportunity to support Kinzinger's campaign and signup at Organize4Palin to assist with Adam Kinzinger's and other Palin-endorsed campaigns.

Crossposted here and here.

Governor Palin: A Year as a Titleless American

It's July 3rd, 2010. Governor Palin is in Wasilla with her family making plans for the Independence Day holiday. She has just been informed that a 40th frivolous ethics complaint has been filed against her for talking with reporters at an Anchorage 5K race about her best selling book that was released just in the Spring. Things are still moving forward with the transcontinental gas pipeline, and after a fierce battle with the obstructionist Alaskan legislature, a prudent FY2011 budget has been passed.

On the national political front, President Obama and VP Biden are hitting up the links trying to decide if the administration should meet with the head of BP more than 2 months following a massive oil spill. The administration had passed its first major piece of "reform" legislation --a government take over of health care--during the Fall of 2009 in spite of the protest of a sincere,bold, but somewhat faceless group of Tea Party Patriots. President Obama is on near cruise control with his agenda, with few prominent, outspoken, well known critics of his administration. Tom Campbell had recently defeated Carly Fiorina and Chuck DeVore for the GOP nod in Califorina. Nikki Haley had recently returned to the South Carolina legislature as an up-and-coming reformer who had a strong showing in the primary for governor, but didn't have quite enough to make it over the top.

Such may have been the Alaskan and American political scene had Governor Palin not stepped aside from the governor's office. As Governor Palin stated when she made that famous, shocking announcement a year ago, she had no intention of running for a second term, nor did she want to waste countless hours of staff time and hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer monies fighting the ridiculousness of unfounded lawsuits, so she resigned. She no longer wanted to be relegated to spending the majority of her time battling dozens of baseless frivolous ethics charges which was not productive for her state. She instead knew she could fight for Alaskans and Americans outside of office, and she knew the man who would fill her place would follow the same agenda as she had.

It's hard to delve into alternative history, but one has to wonder how the political landscape would appear if Sarah Palin was still the governor of Alaska. I don't think it would be too far from the aforementioned scenario. She would have made progress on the pipeline (as is being done anyway) and would have continued to battle with legislators to ensure a modest budget was passed. President Obama would be gliding through his first term tone deaf to the voices of the American people. The tea party would still be strong and vocal, but it would not have such a powerful voice, nor widespread coverage, had Governor Palin still been in office. The health care reform bill, stymied enormously by two words and a pair of quotation marks from the Governor, would likely have passed in the Fall of 2009, rather than the Spring of 2010. Aside from Governor Palin, there has not been a voice that has consistently, boldly, and unabashedly spoken against the overreach of the federal government, the reckless spending, and enemy centric foreign policy of the Obama administration. Had Sarah Palin remained governor of Alaska, she could not speak in such a way without an ethics complaint being levied at her. She likely could not have been a vocal supporter of candidates for office, and no one knows about the power of a Palin endorsement better than two fellow mama grizzlies-- Carly Fiorina and Nikki Haley. Both of these women are definitely strong candidates in their own right, but without the endorsement of Governor Palin, they may not have received the visibility and campaign funds to put them over the top. The same could be said of many other candidates.

When Governor Palin uttered the words, " I never thought that I, nor anyone else, needs a title to do this--to make a difference, to help people" just one year ago, in her signature display of self-confident humility, she likely did not know just how great her influence would be. Sarah Palin, without the official title of current governor, has been a voice for everyday Americans, speaking against progressivism, speaking for the principles of our Constitution and supporting those candidates who stand for those conservative principles. The anklebiters and the Left may have thought temporarily that they had won a great victory, but time has most definitely proven otherwise. What do we have left to say but thank you?



Cross posted here and here.