For many of us, the arrival of Easter means the arrival of a new season of joy – of Easter parades, Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, and sweet Peeps topping off a family meal. Some may wonder why we merrily celebrate at a time when we’re remembering Christ’s crucifixion on the cross. And there is something to that. Good Friday is, after all, about God who became Man, dying on the cross for our sins. And yet we celebrate Easter Sunday, and we are right to do so.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This one verse sums up the miracle that is the Easter season and helps explain the celebration. Yes, Christ died for us, but in the end Easter isn’t a season of sadness. Ultimately, the story of Christ’s rising from the dead three days after the crucifixion is the story of the triumph of hope over despair.
Hope is one of America’s unique virtues. Hope makes us dream and achieve the seemingly impossible. It’s who we are, and it’s why we’re able to always believe that our best days are yet to come, both for our families and for our country. Easter time reminds us that we have every right to believe that this hope is based on time-tested truths and a solid foundation.
On behalf of the Palin family, I wish you all a peaceful and reflective Good Friday and a blessed and happy Easter Sunday.
- Sarah Palin ---------------
I think this is the first time she's ever really talked about Christ in any detail. The underlying message of course is that it's Friday, but Sunday's comin'.
Conservative or Liberal, Right or Left, or somewhere in the vast spectrum of gray between Red and Blue, how on Earth could anyone not like - either be inspired by, bemused by, awed by or appalled by - Sarah Palin?
Not only is she an arousing and invigorating political wonder with evangelistic zeal and the moxie and alluring looks of a 46-year-old youthful cheerleader smartly attired, but Sarah Palin is an entertaining and spirited revolutionary yelling for a return to constitutional government and, were it attainable, self-reliance.
That is an image of the spirited Sarah Palin.
Across the nation (and in Midland last week), Sarah Palin is delivering a hellfire message, laced with homey frills and cutesy phraseology, that evokes attention: "You Betcha!" and "How's that 'hopey-changey' thing working out for you?" and "Our government is supposed to be working for us."
Her tone is upbeat and optimistic, though she does lament the nation's woes.
"We've had enough (of big government and big-government spending), and we want to take our country back," she declares to her exuberant audience. Her political rainbow is a "government that allows us to live as we choose" and does "not tell us how to live...."
Midland's Clayton W. Williams Jr., West Texas rancher, oilman and adventurer who was the Republican Party's 1990 candidate for Texas governor, said Sarah Palin is "presidential material."
Williams, "very impressed" by the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate, said he "liked her wit. I liked her appearance, and I now think she's presidential material. I like her conservative stance. She's definitely got the intelligence and nearly two more years to continue to grow. She's already grown a lot since she was the VP candidate. Her bearing is such that I think she'd make a good president."
Her self-esteem seems intact and booming. As both the literate and unlearned populous surely knows, she is not by disposition a quitter, though she did bow out of the Alaska governorship (2006-2009) to pursue personal and political interests following her bold run for America's vice-presidency in 2008.
One of her favorite poets, Robert Service, the "Bard of the Yukon," penned in the poem "The Quitter":
"It's easy to cry that you're beaten - and die; It's easy to crawfish and crawl; But to fight and to fight when hope's out of sight - Why, that's the best game of them all!
Just have one more try - it's dead easy to die, It's the keeping-on-living that's hard...."
"She's sharp as hell," said Midland investor Tom Sloan, apparently somewhat smitten by this "good, God-fearing lady. Anybody who sits down with her will like her, whether you happen to agree with her or not. I guarantee you: If she runs for president, I will vote for her. She's very conservative and very, very intelligent." Furthermore, "Nobody is going to push her around."
While he noted that he "doesn't know enough to comment about her," retired Midland sports editor Ted Battles said, "All I know, she made quite a splash when she came to Midland."
Last year, Midland ranchers T. O. Midkiff and wife Carol Ann Midkiff invited Sarah Palin and her husband to join them and friends in their annual September Dove Hunt around the Midkiff community southeast of Midland. They couldn't make it. Sarah Palin personally wrote Carol Ann Midkiff, who penned the invitation, and said "I loved the invitation . . . . Thank you so much for thinking of us. All the best . . . . God bless."
"She is the most common-sense person we've had around Washington or anywhere else in a long time," T.O. Midkiff said. "She speaks and talks sense. And she's not hard to look at, either."
His wife agreed with him, saying that Sarah Palin delivered "a wonderful speech" in Midland without benefit of a teleprompter, was "darling with the little children" in a question-and-answer session, and "she has pretty legs." In fact, Carol Ann Midkiff said Sarah Palin is "pretty (all over)."
Connie Harris, who organized a group of youthful "cheerleaders" sporting pink "Palin Event Staff" T-shirts in Midland, characterized Sarah Palin as "fresh" and particularly found her appealing as a "mom."
Sarah Palin's appeal to America is in "her logical, common-sense approach, her viewpoint and her genuinely natural sincerity," said Denise Kelly, conservative Republican stalwart. "She is an encourager and an optimistic problem-solver who has a gift for spreading the conservative message."
Vivacious and personable, Sarah Palin stokes her popularity by staging herself, a one-act political vaudevillian and pacemaker, with grit and flair.
First up, remember those horrible targets Palin put on that poster? Yeah, apparently, it's not a new concept:
You can't even call those surveyor symbols. More information on these images here.
Virginia Governor Bob McConnell does a little backpedaling: ------------
McDonnell also said he would welcome former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to Virginia to campaign on behalf of the state's congressional candidates this year.
"I have a great deal of respect for Sarah Palin,'' McDonnell said. "I thought she added a great deal of energy to the Republican ticket with John McCain. She's a principled conservative. She's not afraid to say some tough things."
McDonnell again denied that he did not want the former vice presidential candidate to come to Virginia to campaign on his behalf last year. "I think you've got that wrong,'' he said. "We could not get her here because she was in such demand."
Last year, Palin's spokeswoman told usthat McDonnell repeatedly and personally asked her for help but then changed his mind. Palin, the spokeswoman said, still offered to come all the way up until Election Day. ---------------
Uh-huh. Got our eye on you, Bobby.
And aaaah, feel that? A breeze of tolerance from the Left:
Um, one thing Monica, she was elected Governor once, not twice. But she got more done in two and a half years than most get done in two terms. And yes, Go, Sarah, Go!
And Palin wants the RNC to take her name off of a poster advertising an RNC fundraiser that she will not be attending. Info here.
And she had a few choice words for the President's new proposal: -------------
Stall, Baby, Stall [Sarah Palin]
Many Americans fear that President Obama’s new energy proposal is once again “all talk and no real action,” this time in an effort to shore up fading support for the Democrats’ job-killing cap-and-trade (a.k.a. cap-and-tax) proposals. Behind the rhetoric lie new drilling bans and leasing delays; soon to follow are burdensome new environmental regulations. Instead of “drill, baby, drill,” the more you look into this the more you realize it’s “stall, baby, stall.”
Today the president said he’ll “consider potential areas for development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic.”
As the former governor of one of America’s largest energy-producing states, a state oil and gas commissioner, and chair of the nation’s Interstate Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, I’ve seen plenty of such studies. What we need is action — action that results in the job growth and revenue that a robust drilling policy could provide.
And let’s not forget that while Interior Department bureaucrats continue to hold up actual offshore drilling from taking place, Russia is moving full steam ahead on Arctic drilling, and China, Russia, and Venezuela are buying leases off the coast of Cuba.
As an Alaskan, I’m especially disheartened by the new ban on drilling in parts of the 49th state and the cancellation of lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. These areas contain rich oil and gas reserves whose development is key to our country’s energy security.
As I told Secretary Salazar last April, “Arctic exploration and development is a slow, demanding process. Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest or the interests of the State of Alaska.”
I’ve got to call it like I see it: The administration’s sudden interest in offshore drilling is little more than political posturing designed to gain support for job-killing energy legislation soon to come down the pike. I’m confident that GOP senators will not take the bait.
Next week I’m headed to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where I look forward to discussing what “Drill, baby, drill” really means. --------------
Is it a coincidence that her remarks to Salazar last April are the featured videos on her You Tube channel? I think not. And I love that she throws all of her credentials on this issue into the mix.
And now for one of my favorite articles of the day, by Dan Calabrese: -----------
Now that Sarah Palin has done what she said long ago she would do – show up and campaign for John McCain’s re-election to the U.S. Senate – conservative activists are beside themselves trying to come to terms with this seeming head-explosion-inducing event.
An interesting debate has begun on HotAir, with Green Room blogger CK MacLeod arguing that Palin really and truly prefers McCain to his primary challenger, “true conservative” hero J.D. Hayworth, while his colleague, MadisonConservative, argues that if Palin really does prefer McCain (which he seems to doubt), then she isn’t a real conservative.
I think MacLeod has the better argument when it comes to understanding how Palin thinks. Palin does what Palin wants to do. Constantly looking for some sort of self-serving, cynical motive, or trying to find some sort of deep, hidden meaning to everything will lead you nowhere where Palin is concerned. This is one of the reasons Palin’s admirers like her.
But MadisonConservative is also twisting himself in knots jumping into the currently in-vogue hunt for the “true conservative,” particularly his lament that Palin, by endorsing McCain, may be proving herself not to be one.
Here is the problem with the never-ending and fruitless quest for the “true conservative”: It is an impossible journey.
First, no one is empowered to make a rule book that spells out exactly what a true conservative is. Are there 50 issue positions with which you must agree with no fewer than 47? Are some of those positions non-negotiable? Can your three free points of apostasy include, say, support for mohair subsidies, but never a departure from movement orthodoxy on abortion or taxes?
What if someone takes all the right public stands, but shows signs of being an idiot? What if you worry that he will be ineffective in public office? Do you have to vote for him anyway because he is a “true conservative”? If you don’t, are you required to turn in your own card?
Is Paul Ryan a true conservative? He voted for that stupid 90 percent bailout tax. Is Dick Cheney a true conservative? He favors gay marriage. In the McCain/Hayworth race, one of the candidates has a sterling record opposing earmarks. Are you sure you can guess which one?
It’s not such a bad thing, you know, for a political movement to have a few voices of dissent in the ranks. Sometimes groupthink takes hold even among the smartest of people, and it’s useful to have some dude off in the corner asking, “Have you guys really thought this through?”
A few months ago, I stopped labeling myself as a “conservative” columnist at The North Star National, not because my views have changed, but because I got tired of people telling me I’m not a “true conservative,” because if I was, I would say this or that, or I would write about this or that differently, or I would pay more attention to this person or that issue, or I would read this or that book.
Fine. I guess I’m not a “true conservative.” I’m not really trying to be anyway. I just write what I think. If you disagree, fine with me. Takes all kinds. If I don’t fit your ideological club, I don’t care.
The same applies with Sarah Palin. She should endorse who she wants, not because she’s trying to be a conservative, but because she’s being herself. If you think that’s conservative, fine. If you don’t, who cares? She is a person with great skills, great integrity and an exceptional understanding of the issues facing this country. I have no idea if she wants to run for president, but I want to see her influence grow, because it is good influence, and she accomplishes good things.
If all that is now worth nothing to you because she endorsed John McCain, whom you see as a dastardly RINO and the enemy of conservatism . . . your loss.
I bet you’re a hell of a lot of fun to hang around with. ------------
As for the Cool J thing, apparently the Real American Stories idea is a couple years old, but it never went anywhere until Palin expressed an interest in it. So they dusted off this interview with Cool J, but he must not be Palin's biggest fan, so he got ticked off about it. Fox said, whatever, man. Your loss. Bye.
Tammy reads a report from a Tam who met Palin at the McCain rally in Arizona: Tammy Bruce talks about Palin and Reagan, Palin's Facebook post throwing the metaphors back into the Left's face, the tactics of the Left, and the middle class: And this one is my personal favorite. Tammy Bruce responds to the idea that Palin should wait to run for President:
Palin talks to Griff Jenkins at the rally in Searchlight: Tea Party video: Andrew Breitbart on the rally in Searchlight: And McCain's new campaign manager posts this vid: A guy on the ground reports on a "Riot in Searchlight": Here's Hugh Hewitt on defending Palin: And you can see good videos of the McCain/Palin rallies in Arizona here.
America, if you love your freedom, thank a vet! And if you’re looking for leaders who believe in integrity, service, and country first, look to our veterans.
Last week I campaigned for a true American hero, John McCain, and this week I’d ask you to join me in supporting a new generation of heroes who are heeding their country’s call for leadership in Washington.
There are a number of great veteran candidates running for office this year, and there are some excellent organizations dedicated to helping them, including: Iraq Vets for Congressand Combat Veterans for Congress(please click on the links to visit their websites).
There are three veterans in particular I’ll be supporting this week.
The first is Major Vaughn Ward, a fourth-generation Idaho native who grew up on his family’s farm in Shoshone and is running in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. Coming from a family with a proud military tradition, Vaughn joined the Marine Corps after college and was finishing up his service when the September 11th attacks occurred.
He put his life on hold and heeded his country’s call – serving first as a CIA Operations Officer and later volunteering with the Marine Corps for a combat tour in Iraq, during which he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V. After returning from Iraq, Vaughn went to work for the McCain/Palin campaign.
I was grateful for his support then, and I’m happy to support him now because I know that he believes in the same commonsense conservative ideals that we cherish. Vaughn knows that real job growth comes from the private sector, not government. He believes in free market reforms, tax relief for families and small businesses, and a return to a constitutionally limited government that lives within its means.
He’ll carry the conservative banner to Washington and will rein in the reckless growth of government to get it back on our side. And remember, a vote for Vaughn is a vote to remove the gavel from Nancy Pelosi’s grip.
Please visit Vaughn’s website hereto make a donation to his campaign, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
[This is Vaughn]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.
[This is Adam] The third veteran is Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, a decorated war hero who’s served with distinction in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of you may have heard of Allen from a speech he gave last year that became a viral video on YouTube with over 2 million viewers.
Allen’s personal story is a testament to the commonsense conservative belief that our nation’s greatness is rooted in freedom, because with freedom comes equal opportunity, and that, coupled with hard work, leads to success. Allen is a small government fiscal conservative running against a leftwing ideologue who’s marched to the beat of Nancy Pelosi on every issue from cap-and-tax to the stimulus, TARP, and, of course, Obamacare. It’s time to send Allen to Washington in his place.
Please visit Allen’s website here to donate to his campaign, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
[Here's Allen West's viral video] I believe that these great veterans will fight for us in D.C. to uphold and defend our constitution as courageously in the halls of Congress as they did on the field of battle. I’m so honored to offer my support to these American heroes, and I hope you’ll join me in helping them so that they can serve us all in Washington.
Given what I outlined in the post below, the utter ridiculousness of this latest media meme, the question has to be, why does the Left do this stuff?
Their strategy is to go after anything that's effective.
Guess what? That "call to arms" of Palin's after the health care vote was effective. Twenty vulnerable seats highlighted by the 'Cuda + an electorate eager to kick the bums out, especially on the heels of the passage of the healthcare bill = score one for Palin.
Look at the surge of support that went in Benishek's direction after the vote. And he's pretty much just a guy who isn't Bart Stupak.
So they see an effective strategy and they seek to neuter it by forcing us to quit using it. They try to cow us into laying down that "weapon" that they know can beat them.
Too many times in the past we have fallen for this because, hey, we don't want to be mean. We're not trying to be mean. So if someone points out that "Hey, you have to quit saying that because bad things might happen," oftentimes we would back down because we don't want bad things to happen.
But they've played that hand one too many times. We see through it now. It wasn't Sarah Palin or anyone else who made someone throw a brick through Slaughter's campaign office window. It was a Congress who pushed and pushed and pushed on the American people and finally passed a bill that we turned out over a million American voters to peacefully protest, assuming that it was even a right-winger who did it - nobody knows.
But are we dangerous? You bet we are. We vote!
There's also a bit of denial going on here. The American people LOVE this bill. But wait, why are they so upset? It's that Sarah Palin! Everything is her fault! If she would just "shut the tweet up" the American people would embrace us with open arms!
Of course, there's nothing about the bill itself that would make people mad...
There's a running joke over on C4P called "VIOLENCE!!!!" I don't remember how it started, but to the best of my memory, there was a troll who took a metaphor literally and started whining about it. So to tease him/her/it we started linking bad kung fu movie scenes and other random stuff to the word "VIOLENCE!" The troll threatened to turn us in to the FBI.
Now that's just funny.
There's been quite a bit of talk the last few days about all of the "violence." Apparently, the Tea Partiers are two pitchforks away from an armed revolution and members of Congress just now started receiving nasty phone calls and threats.
And, of course, the media enables this stupidity.
First of all, people in Congress get threats ALL THE TIME. I'm not saying that this is a good thing, but it's practically a daily occurrence. What, you think GOP congresspeople never get a nasty phone call? This is ridiculous. I don't see the GOP calling press conferences demanding that Nancy Pelosi call off her attack dogs. That is, until the Democrats made fools out of themselves demanding that John Boehner do it and that Sarah Palin tone down her rhetoric and "shut the tweet up."
I seem to recall members of Congress calling the President of the United States a war criminal during the previous administration. I also recall signs at DC protests that said, "Kill Bush." Perhaps Pelosi and her comrades should have toned down the rhetoric. Perhaps MSNBC was to blame as well.
A movie was made about assassinating the President. (crickets from the media)
The President had a shoe thrown at him and the Left laughed their butts off. Can you imagine if someone threw a shoe at Obama? Oh, my word. We'd all be thrown in jail.
Now the Far Left continues to foment the hatred by posting articles asking if Right-Wingers are domestic terrorists. Headlines stem from top Democrats who claim that Palin is not only an idiot, she's also dangerous. Her mind is twisted and evil. She's practically Hitler reincarnated. To top it all off, she said "RELOAD." Aha! We have proof that she wants to kill us all!
On the heels of such fabulous "reporting," the rhetoric against the Palins and the Tea Party attendees has reached a fevered pitch. Just click on a few You Tube videos and you'll find people wondering why nobody has killed the Tea Partiers or Palin yet. Some on Twitter say that Palin and her children should be gunned down. The Left's rhetoric is obviously fanning the flames of violence against the Right and Palin in particular. I wonder when Michael Steele will demand that the Left STTU.
As far as death threats are concerned, conservative talk show hosts get them every single day. I'm sure Palin has received her fair share since this whole thing started. The Left and the Democrat party have no right to even open their mouths about this sort of thing after the way they openly wished that George W. Bush would keel over.
So far, the only things I can name that have actually happened are a brick smashing a window in Louise Slaughter's campaign office and the brother of a Congressman had his barbecue sabotaged.
The grill incident was reported by the MSM as "brother of a Congressman has his fuel lines cut."
Nobody knows who perpetrated those two incidents, or why. Yet it is assumed that it was some right-winger who must have read Palin's Facebook page or Twitter account.
I would like to remind the unbiased, fair, and open-minded media that upwards of 1 million Tea Partiers marched on DC last fall. A million gun-toting, rhetoric-spewing Tea Partiers. Not one arrest. Not one.
And every incident where the media has tried to smear us has fallen flat. The racial epithets story proved to be untrue, as well as the "he spit on me!" story. We wait patiently for the day the news anchors present the truth.
We'll be waiting for a long time.
CNN's slogan must be, "We give you one side of the story." - So CNN wasn't interested? Surprise, surprise. I am shocked.
Now, in all fairness, it's just eggs. I know Palin had some eggs thrown in her general direction at a book-signing as well. Not to mention tomatoes. The Left has a penchant for throwing food, apparently.
Whatever. I think I would laugh if someone threw an egg at me, but that's not the point. The point is, imagine the media uproar if someone hit Obama with an egg. "Double standard" doesn't begin to cover it.
Of course, none of this is serious anyway. It's all misdirection by the Left and an attempt to not only smear the Tea Parties, but eventually crack down on them.
And it's also to provoke us. Be especially aware of this last point. Two rules to remember from here on out:
1. Always take a camera to every rally and record, record. They won't report accurately, so we may have to.
2. Don't let them provoke you. The object of a lot of the intimidation and in-your-face stuff is to get a rise out of you. They want the reaction so they can take it and run with it. Don't give them what they want.
More clips for your viewing pleasure:
Watch Laura Ingraham take down Matt Lauer on this issue here.
And for the record, the little symbols on Palin's map were technically surveyor symbols. See here.
*Note: I don't put the recent arrest of those "Christian militia members" into the same realm as the health care protest. These guys were obviously whack jobs. And idiots to boot. "Yeah, let's go kill a bunch of cops, and post all over the internet that we're going to do it."
This was just too good not to post. The Hillbuzz boys: -----------------
On Friday, we happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch a little of CNN covering Sarah Palin’s speech for John McCain in Arizona.
We just want to speak from the heart for a minute here, and say how much we truly love hearing Sarah Palin speak. Seeing Palin up there with McCain behind her made us remember one of our favorite days of all time: August 29th, 2008, when McCain introduced Palin in Dayton, Ohio as his running mate.
Great Merciful Zeus, that was a wonderful day.
As we’ve told you before, we watched the announcement live on Pioneer Square here in Chicago, seeing Palin speak on the big TVs the NBC affiliate has for the public. All around us a big crowd of Chicagoans gathered, and as Palin delivered a fantastic speech, we heard many of them grumble, “she’s too good…we’ll have to destroy her…she could win this for him”.
It has been the Left’s unrelenting, obsessive goal to do just that — to destroy Sarah Palin — ever since....
Seeing McCain behind Palin last night, and Cindy McCain up there on the dais too, reminds us we did everything humanly possible to stop what’s being done to our country by the Left today. We did something we never thought we’d do by becoming Democrats for McCain. And we are so proud of that.
But, we have to say now, and we hope this does not hurt any feelings of McCain supporters, that he was a bad candidate to run for Republicans. We like the man. We are awed by the strength he showed as a POW. We ADORE Cindy McCain and her unbelievable philanthropic works around the world. And Roberta McCain — HELLO — Roberta McCain rocks like nobody’s business. Love. That. Nanagenarian.
To be honest, Meghan McCain we can do without. The less time in front of the microphone for her, the better for everyone.
But, put the McCain sons in front of the camera any damn time you want. Preferably shirtless in boxer briefs at charity car washes, where water fights are most apt to break out.
The MSM pushed McCain’s candidacy, and while we think he would have been a good president, and Cindy would have been one of our best First Ladies ever — with the smarts and policy focus of Hillary Clinton, the kindness and grace of Laura Bush, and the passion to make life better for the struggling and hopeless of Eleanor Roosevelt — looking at McCain, so pale, with his shock white hair, and his timid nature on the national stage, we’re heartbroken the GOP couldn’t send a real fighter into battle in 2008. Ironic, we know, because McCain was a fighter pilot.
But, on the campaign trail, he always pulled his punches. He should have eviscerated Obama as the socialist he is, and exposed everything the American public STILL doesn’t know about this man and his agenda. McCain should have hammered home every day what America would be in for in the The Golden Age of Hope and Change, and he should have smacked Obama with a metaphoric two-by-four 25 hours a day.
Just like, we’re sure, Sarah Palin would have done had she been in the driver’s seat in 2008....
If McCain had introduced anyone but Palin on that Friday in August, we’d feel very pessimistic about America’s chances for survival today. There would be no one on the field who we believe will defeat Dr. Utopia in 2012....
Say what you will about John McCain, but he kicked off something momentous on August 29th, 2008. He set in motion a chain of events that will lead to our first female president, who will be elected in a landslide if she sets her mind to rallying Americans to take this country back from the collectivists.
When America needs it most, John McCain indeed had a hand in creating the hero whose time and place has come.
That’s what we kept thinking of over and over watching Palin campaign for her former running mate in Arizona. And then Todd would enter the frame, in all his awesome Todd-ness, and we’d be rightfully distracted for a moment.
We just love the Palins.
And no matter what he does, we’ll always like John McCain for putting them on the national stage.
We were never McCainiacs. We supported him because he was the better choice over Obama. But once he picked Palin as his running mate, we were all-in for that campaign, because of HER.
Just as we’ll be all-in whenever Palin needs it, in whatever she does. Today, tomorrow, and in 2012. ------------
They crack me up. I just have to throw in this spoof of Meghan McCain:LOL! I love the guy interviewing her. Hilarious!
You know, I haven't really had a horse in this Arizona Senate race. I don't really like McCain myself. But now (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I truly hope that he wins. I won't tell you why. But I have my reasons.
I will say that I was a tad uncomfortable with Palin selling McCain using phrases like, "We're all part of the Tea Party now." But now it seems as though she was saying, "John, you WILL embrace these values now. If I have to drag your butt over the finish line, you'd better live up to what I'm saying about you."
Great college basketball this week! Dad just reminded me: coaches refer 2 rebuilding & gearing up 4 new season as "Reloading"! Enjoy the Final Four.
Sarah packed so much into a space so little with her last Facebook post, I fear that some of the subtlety might be lost on her critics. So, allow me to translate.
“March madness battles rage!”
Politics is a basketball game. And I’m a Barracuda.
Apparently, the intellectually superior media elites find this concept very hard to understand:
“My family and I join millions of Americans enjoying college basketball’s finest through March Madness. Underdogs always get my vote as we watch intense competition bring out the best in these accomplished teams.”
I’m on the side of the little guy, the kind of person who goes to Tea Parties and is looked down on by the elites of the world. I’m rooting for them. And I welcome the opposition. Come on, fight us. It only makes us stronger.
“The Final Four is an intense, contested series (kind of like a heated, competitive primary election), so best of luck to all teams, and watch for this principle lived out: the team that wins is the team that wants it more.”
Good luck to everyone running in the primaries, especially John and JD. Battle it out and may the best man (or woman in some cases) win. As for the elections in November, remember this: the team that wins is the team that wants it more. And make no mistake; we want it more. Stay focused, stay driven, work your butts off, never let up, and victory will be ours.
“To the teams that desire making it this far next year: Gear up! In the battle, set your sights on next season’s targets! From the shot across the bow – the first second’s tip-off – your leaders will be in the enemy’s crosshairs, so you must execute strong defensive tactics.”
Oh, you heard me. Eat those metaphors, Chris Matthews!
Remember that it will be a constant battle and the leaders, like me, will be on the receiving end of shelling that will grow increasingly heavier as the game goes on. Play good defense, but remember that defense alone won’t win you the game.
“You won’t win only playing defense, so get on offense! The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons – your Big Guns – to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win.”
There is only attack, attack, and attack some more. Don’t fall for the liberal media’s sob stories. Call their bluff and turn the tables back on them. The press is the enemy.
Hey, GOP, I’m your Big Gun. I’ll break through the media for you, you wimps. I’ll get you to the basket since no one else is willing to play tough enough to get you there. No victory comes without sacrifice. Quit worrying about how you’ll be received at cocktail parties and man up, already.
“If the gate is closed, go over the fence. If the fence is too high, pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, parachute in."
(ht/ Stretch Pelosi)
“If the other side tries to push back, your attitude should be “go for it.” Get in their faces and argue with them. (Sound familiar?!)”
Oh, that's right. I'm calling your bluff, media and Democrat leaders. Where was the outrage when American citizns got beaten up by SEIU thugs? Where was the media calling out their beloved Obama for encouraging his followers to get in people's faces?
Your recent "concern" about anything I've said or posted is complete and total BS, and you know it. Just know that if you blame me for any "violence," I can turn those tables right back on you. And I haven't even brought up the best oneyet.
You won't cow me with your tactics. I'm onto them. I'm not like most of the spineless males in the GOP. I fight back.
“Every possession is a battle; you’ll only win the war if you’ve picked your battles wisely.”
Which is why I resigned as Governor. The enemy had the high ground. Legally, there was nothing I could do to fight back. I was a sitting duck, and about to be a lame one at that. They had me hamstrung by the system. It was a losing position. So I decided to take a chance and pick another battleground.
It’s why I quoted MacArthur in my resignation speech: “We are not retreating; we are advancing in another direction.” Now I set the rules. Now I’ve got the high ground. Now, you all respond to me; to us.
“No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!”
They will intimidate you; they will marginalize you. They will try to provoke you. Don't lose control and give them what they want. Fight them with all of your strength and fight smarter. Make them pay dearly for each victory.
The tide has turned. We the People are awake. It's taken the thugs 100 years to get this far, and they won't give up easily. But we will never give up; we will never surrender.
Nothing annoys certain of my fellow conservative intellectuals more than when I remind them, as on occasion I mischievously do, that the derogatory things they say about Sarah Palin are uncannily similar to what many of their forebears once said about Ronald Reagan.
It's hard to imagine now, but 31 years ago, when I first announced that I was supporting Reagan in his bid for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, I was routinely asked by friends on the right how I could possibly associate myself with this "airhead," this B movie star, who was not only stupid but incompetent.
They readily acknowledged that his political views were on the whole close to ours, but the embarrassing primitivism with which he expressed them only served, they said, to undermine their credibility. In any case, his base was so narrow that he had no chance of rescuing us from the disastrous administration of Jimmy Carter.
Now I knew Ronald Reagan, and Sarah Palin is no Ronald Reagan. Then again, the first time I met Reagan all he talked about was the money he had saved the taxpayers as governor of California by changing the size of the folders used for storing the state's files. So nonplussed was I by the delight he showed at this great achievement that I came close to thinking that my friends were right and that I had made a mistake in supporting him.
Ultimately, of course, we all wound up regarding him as a great man, but in 1979 none of us would have dreamed that this would be how we would feel only a few years later.
What I am trying to say is not that Sarah Palin would necessarily make a great president but that the criteria by which she is being judged by her conservative critics—never mind the deranged hatred she inspires on the left—tell us next to nothing about the kind of president she would make.
Take, for example, foreign policy. True, she seems to know very little about international affairs, but expertise in this area is no guarantee of wise leadership.
After all, her rival for the vice presidency, who in some sense knows a great deal, was wrong on almost every major issue that arose in the 30 years he spent in the Senate.
What she does know—and in this respect, she does resemble Reagan—is that the United States has been a force for good in the world, which is more than Barack Obama, whose IQ is no doubt higher than hers, has yet to learn.
Jimmy Carter also has a high IQ, which did not prevent him from becoming one of the worst presidents in American history, and so does Bill Clinton, which did not prevent him from befouling the presidential nest.
Unlike her enemies on the left, the conservative opponents of Mrs. Palin are a little puzzling. After all, except for its greater intensity, the response to her on the left is of a piece with the liberal hatred of Richard Nixon, Reagan and George W. Bush. It was a hatred that had less to do with differences over policy than with the conviction that these men were usurpers who, by mobilizing all the most retrograde elements of American society, had stolen the country from its rightful (liberal) rulers.
But to a much greater extent than Nixon, Reagan and George W. Bush, Sarah Palin is in her very being the embodiment of those retrograde forces and therefore potentially even more dangerous.
I think that this is what, conversely, also accounts for the tremendous enthusiasm she has aroused among ordinary conservatives. They rightly see her as one of them, only better able and better positioned to stand up against the contempt and condescension of the liberal elites that were so perfectly exemplified by Mr. Obama's notorious remark in 2008 about people like them: "And it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
***
But how do we explain the hostility to Mrs. Palin felt by so many conservative intellectuals? It cannot be differences over policy. For as has been pointed out by Bill Kristol—one of the few conservative intellectuals who has been willing to say a good word about Mrs. Palin—her views are much closer to those of her conservative opponents than they are to the isolationists and protectionists on the "paleoconservative" right or to the unrealistic "realism" of the "moderate" Republicans who inhabit the establishment center.
Much as I would like to believe that the answer lies in some elevated consideration, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the same species of class bias that Mrs. Palin provokes in her enemies and her admirers is at work among the conservative intellectuals who are so embarrassed by her.
When William F. Buckley Jr., then the editor of National Review, famously quipped that he would rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the combined faculties of Harvard and MIT, most conservative intellectuals responded with a gleeful amen. But put to the test by the advent of Sarah Palin, along with the populist upsurge represented by the Tea Party movement, they have demonstrated that they never really meant it.
Whether Buckley himself really meant it may be open to question, but it is certain that his son Christopher (who endorsed Mr. Obama) does not now and probably never did. Listen to the great satirist who blogs under the name of Iowahawk, writing in the fictional persona of T. Coddington Van Voorhees VII, son of the founder of The National Topsider, which he describe as a "once respected conservative magazine" now controlled by a bunch of "state college neanderthals."
"For more than a year," Van Voorhees tells us, "I have warned that . . . the conservative movement risked abandonment by its few remaining serious intellectuals"—"luminaries" like "the vivacious [Washington Post columnist] Kathleen Parker, Dame Peggy Noonan, and those two mighty Davids of conservative letters, Frum and Brooks"—and "being overrun by the unsightly hordes of Wal-Mart untermenschen typified by the loathesome 'Tea Party' rabble" with their "base enthusiasms and simian grunts. As is now obvious, events have proven me right."
I fear that the attitude satirically exaggerated here by Iowahawk is what underlies the rejection of Sarah Palin by so many conservative intellectuals. When push came to shove, they could not resist what Van Voorhees calls Mr. Obama's "prodigious oratorical and intellectuals gifts" and they could not resist attributing Sarah Palin's emergence as a formidable political force to "the base enthusiasms and simian grunts" of "the loathesome Tea Party rabble."
As for me, after more than a year of seeing how those "prodigious oratorical and intellectual gifts" have worked themselves out in action, I remain more convinced than ever of the soundness of Buckley's quip, in the spirit of which I hereby declare that I would rather be ruled by the Tea Party than by the Democratic Party, and I would rather have Sarah Palin sitting in the Oval Office than Barack Obama.
--------------------
I only have one thing to add: Would you have thought that this guy would be one of the greatest Presidents America has ever had?
March Madness battles rage! My family and I join millions of Americans enjoying college basketball’s finest through March Madness. Underdogs always get my vote as we watch intense competition bring out the best in these accomplished teams.
The Final Four is an intense, contested series (kind of like a heated, competitive primary election), so best of luck to all teams, and watch for this principle lived out: the team that wins is the team that wants it more.
To the teams that desire making it this far next year: Gear up! In the battle, set your sights on next season’stargets! From the shot across the bow – the first second’s tip-off – your leaders will be in the enemy’s crosshairs, so you must execute strong defensive tactics. You won’t win only playing defense, so get on offense! The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons – your Big Guns – to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win.
Focus on the goal and fight for it. If the gate is closed, go over the fence. If the fence is too high, pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, parachute in. If the other side tries to push back, your attitude should be “go for it.” Get in their faces and argue with them. (Sound familiar?!)
Every possession is a battle; you’ll only win the war if you’ve picked your battles wisely. No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!
Thank you, Tea Party Americans! A big thumbs up to the attendees, organizers and volunteers at yesterday’s inspiring Tea Party Express rally in Searchlight, Nevada. Take a look at these aerial photos from yesterday. What an amazing sight to see thousands and thousands of Americans show up in the middle of the desert to freely assemble and have their voices heard. In Harry Reid’s hometown (while he may have been doing a victory lap over the passage of Obamacare), more than 10,000 concerned citizens rallied to tell him and Speaker Pelosi that we’re ready for November.
We’re ready for a fundamental transformation of Washington – no need for their desired “fundamental transformation of America.”
The Tea Party Express rolls on... can’t wait to see you all in Boston on April 14th!
Hmmm. What could I possibly post that could rival the videos of recent events? How about in honor of the Searchlight event yesterday, we go back to Nevada in 2008? Here is a playlist, starting out with Lee Greenwood at the Palin rally and followed by her speech. This contains her "Women in Politics" speech:
I'm kind of old-fashioned. I don't really like CCM. Okay, I will listen to Casting Crowns, but that's because my college roommate played it all the time so I got used to it. And I have to say, their songs actually have substance. I hate the watery.... anyway, it is Palm Sunday:
And no Palm Sunday would be complete without this:
God: Judeo-Christian principles and, yes, how they have applied to our system of government. Guts: Those intrinsic things that we feel down in our inner-most being; the things we know are right, and the courage to defend them. Sarah Palin: The name speaks for itself.
"It requires a terrible effort to remain a civilized man." - Woolf
LOTUS - Sarah's Facebook Notes
Laptop of the United States
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time" - Gen. Puller
Conservatives4Congress
Sarah's Twitter
My Twitter
Palin TV
Followers
Contact Me
If you write me, please mention something about the blog or my name so I know you're not spam. Thanks!
Disclaimers seem to be fashionable these days, so here's mine:
If you think that anything on this blog is in any way connected to Governor Palin herself, you're nuts. These are all my own stupid opinions. Palin probably doesn't even know I exist, nor does she care.
There, that should do it.
Oh, and don't assume that my posts from a year ago reflect the exact same opinion I hold now. I don't have time to go back and update every time I change my mind for the one or two people who are going to click on that post in the future.
