Thanks for the Memories

A brief look back....

Alaska didn't know what it was in for when a former mayor and hockey mom from Wasilla decided to run for Governor.

Despite being an outcast of the party establishment, she defeated the incumbent governor in the Republican primaries.
And moved on to the general election.
She ran a hard-fought and underdog campaign.

And in the end, it paid off.

The new Gov's first order of business - Get rid of that jet!

Next up, let's get that pipeline! She led the way with AGIA and ACES.

She embraced her role as workin' mama.
She stayed in touch with her constituents.



And she went fishing now and then.

She showed continuous love and support for the Alaska National Guard.


And in April, 2008, the Palins welcomed a new little one into the world


When she got tapped to run for VP, her hometown cheered her on.

And after the campaign, her staff welcomed her back to her office...

And the workin' Mama kept on truckin'!

The state finally awarded the AGIA license to TransCanada.

The Gov stood toe to toe with some new critics...

And took the time to lend a helping hand.

On July 26, 2009, after nine months watching state resources go down the drain because of personal political attacks, Sarah handed the reins over to Sean Parnell.

All in all, it's been a good journey.

And maybe a Palin will sit behind the Governor's desk again someday...

Ya never know!

Sarah Puts Down the Baby and Passes the Ball

"Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports. Basketball. I use it because you're naive if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now." - from Governor Palin's resignation announcement.

I want to post a few things, although I'll probably only get through one today. First, an explanation and a some analogies of Sarah Palin's decision to take this step. Second, a tribute to the door that's being closed. Third, a look to the door that's being opened.

1. THE DECISION.

A "full court press" was coming down on Sarah Palin, I believe, from higher up the food chain. Her continuous references to "The Thumpin'" and her knowledge of Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" shows that she too believes it was coming from higher up.

After the election she went back to be the Governor of Alaska and at the same time expected to be able to exercise her right to free speech to weigh in on the issues now and then. When she got home, the legislature had turned on her and the local press was arguably worse than the national press. The entire game had changed. But she's tough; she could deal with that.

Then, she did an interview in her office with Greta van Susteren, and she got slapped with an ethics complaint. It was dismissed, but she shelled out a few thousand dollars to defend herself. Ethics complaints soon started coming out of the woodwork.

Every time she opened her mouth or tried to go somewhere she risked paying tens of thousands of dollars for the ethics complaints that were surely coming.

It was about getting her to not do anything on the national stage that could be a threat to Obama and it was an attempt to break her financially. Within the system, there was nothing she could do about it. Like she said, there's no penalty or cost for them to waste time and money. They're going to just keep on doing it.

She was getting the business of Alaska done the best she could, but much of her time and her staff's time was taken up with frivolous lawsuits and FOIA requests.

And by the way, the FOIA requests weren't all for a day or a specific communique between two individuals, some of them were for all emails sent for a period of months. That's alot of emails. Not to mention you probably have to have them all read and reviewed to make sure nothing in there is confidential.

They had her cornered and her staff was feeling the wear and tear probably more than she was. And every time she wanted to travel, she practically had to crawl on her hands and knees for permission, and then she got slapped with ethics complaints for traveling anyway.

Before she did or said anything she had to consider her pocketbook first: "I could go here and do this, but it will probably cost me $20,000." She's not rich. She's middle class with five kids and one grandkid. There's alot of expenses there.

Personally, the expenses didn't matter so much though. Through the legal defense fund and other avenues (like her book) she could have dealt with the debt. But it was ridiculous that the state should have to suffer for really what boiled down to people having a problem with her. There was an agenda against her from a foe that she could not fight from behind the Governor's desk, and the people of Alaska were getting hurt in the process.

Not to mention Governor Palin's obvious desire to see somebody take up the mantle of defending what Obama is destroying was being frustrated since nobody seemed willing to do it. So, she finally decided that she was just going to have to do it herself.

Governor Palin did not promise to serve any certain amount of time. She promised to serve. When it became impossible for her to do so, she "passed the ball" to Parnell because she was rendered ineffective by forces she could not fight from where she was at the time. She can serve better now in another capacity.

2. TWO ANALOGIES: THE POINT GUARD AND THE MAMA GRIZZLY

One analogy to explain Sarah's decision is that of a Mama Grizzly. In her Inauguration speech, Palin said that she would look out for the state like a Mama Grizzly protecting her young.

Think of it like this: She's holding and taking care of a baby called "Alaska," and some thug comes up and starts picking on her. The thug doesn't care about the baby, he wants to mess with her. The attacks get more and more fierce, but she can't fight back because she's holding the baby, and the baby is in danger of getting hurt.

What's the best course of action? Keep holding onto and shielding the baby as best she can, knowing that inevitably the attacks will get her and harm the child in the process? Or should she hand the baby to someone else who is equally as concerned for the child's welfare, pick up a brick instead, and bean the thug on the side of his head? I'd vote for the latter.

She had to put down the baby before she could pick up the sword. She is now taking the fight to its source.

The analogy that Sarah herself used is that of a Point Guard.

Imagine Palin on the court with the ball and every member of the opposing team surrounding her trying to get the ball away from her. She can still hold on to the ball because she's good at this game, but there's no way she can make any forward progress down the court.

Meanwhile, she's got a teammate named Sean Parnell who's standing under the basket wide open. Which would you rather she do: Hold on to the ball to the bitter end, even if it means missing the shot and Alaska losing the game? Or would you rather she pass the ball to someone else who has a clear shot? In an interview on July 17th, Palin said this:

"I love Alaska too much to scratch and claw my way to hold onto the title of governor when I know it is best to continue to make progress with the same Cabinet members and the same agenda, but under the leadership of (Lt. Gov.) Sean Parnell."

Now, you can agree or disagree that she could have still gotten stuff done, but we can't see behind the closed doors of the daily business of governing to know how her staff and those around her were or weren't coping with the ridiculous FOIA requests and extra stupid work they had to do in addition to trying to get work done for the state.

She loves Alaska. She wouldn't have done this if she didn't think it was the right thing to do for the state and for America. After her announcement, she said this in her Facebook letter:

"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it’s about country."

Sarah Palin is thinking about the team, not herself. She has also stated that she believes every politician to be replaceable. So much for the narcissistic Palin many in the media would like us to buy into. The point isn't that Sarah Palin makes the shot, but that the shot gets made. She puts the mission over her own personal gain. She concludes her basketball analogy:

"A good point guard drives through a full-court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket...and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can win. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory."

Here Sean!

Catch!

Larry Kudlow, July 4th, 2009:

"Freeeedom!"

That's the word that I imagine is running through Sarah Palin's mind these days. "Only a few more weeks of this craziness and I am outta here! All you anklebiters just try and mess with me now!"

I don't know about my previous speculation about the other shoe (it is after all, speculation), but I do know that the more time that passes since the resignation, the better I feel about it. I feel like I can breathe again.

Whether there was a coordinated effort to break Sarah Palin by using the constraints of her office or not, the result was the same as hog-tying her and then telling her to climb a mountain. Not gonna happen.

So, I'm getting happier and happier with the idea of Sarah Palin, Private Citizen. And it looks like she is too:

Resigning was what was best for her state (Alaska already looks like it's breathing a sigh of relief), what was best for her and her family, and (I think) what was best for the whole country.

And if it didn't follow the political playbook of what a politician is supposed to do, so what? Who wrote that stupid playbook anyway? Maybe it needs to be torn up.

And for her critics out there who just don't understand why she would "step down" from a position of power to go back and mingle with the "lowly masses," I have this to say: In the United States of America, the People have the real power. Elected officials are merely our servants.

In that case, I say she took a step up.

One Crazy 4th

Sarah, I'll make you a deal. I'll donate money to SarahPac and you never scare me like that again. How does that sound?

Of course, I know it'll never happen. One thing you know when you jump on the bandwagon with Sarah is that there are bound to be a few twists and turns, so just hold on tight and have a little faith.

I don't know how your weekend went, but here's a rundown of mine:

Friday, around 2:00 in the afternoon, Central Time, my Aunt called me up.

Aunt: "Are you watching Fox News?"
Me: "No."
Aunt: "Sarah's going to make some sort of announcement."
Me. "Thanks, bye!" (Rush to the TV, make sure I'm taping it, turn on FoxNews and watch with a growing knot in my stomach as they speculate on her announcment.)

TV: "Sources say that she will not seek a second term."

Phew, okay. I can deal with that.

TV: "Wait a minute, now sources say that she may be resigning."

What!

At this juncture the knots turned into sailboats and a panic attack nearly came on. (I'm exagerrating, but only slightly.)

I believe my coherent thoughts were: "I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick..."

Followed by a few prayers: "Please don't let her quit, please don't let her quit, please don't let her quit...."

And then as confirmation came down that she was in fact resigning, the anger began to seep in, not at her, but at a system that would destroy such a good person. There were whispered vows to carry on in her name and an image of saluting a fallen general.

And then Fox News finally got the tape of her speech.

I should have learned by now to never take the media's word for anything when it comes to Sarah Palin. As I listened to her speak, the knot in my stomach began to slowly untie itself. I realized that she was not quitting; she was saying, "Forget the frying pan, show me the fire!"

We've all heard the cliches by now:

"She declared her independence."
"She has crossed the Rubicon, etc..."

Cliches they may be, but they're true.

This was an amazing act of courage, faith, and yes, even selflessness. I believe that she truly loves Alaska, and if you think for one minute that this was an easy decision for her to make, you're insane.

And just a sidenote here, don't think for one minute that she hasn't set Alaska up beautifully through this. How? Allow me to explain:

1. She has handed things off to people who share her exact same vision and who are loyal to her, so policy-wise nothing will really change.

2. She has taken the partisan political heat off the state that was directed at her and was rubbing off on the taxpayers.

3. She has set up Parnell and Campbell (both excellent guys who love her to death) as incumbents for the next election, thus avoiding a 2010 free-for-all in the state.

4. As she pursues her national voice she will continue to push for things like ANWR development and off-shore drilling.

She did Alaskans a huge favor on Friday, though many don't even know it yet.

Her critics are celebrating her demise and the political pundits are spinning as fast as they can the idea that she'll never be able to come back from this.

Garbage.

Let the Beltway Boys say she's done and let the critics think they've won, but something shifted on July 3rd, 2009. Sarah Palin threw down the gauntlet, and a new chapter began.

She burned her bridges. She can't go back now. Nowhere to go but forward. And I say, "Bring it on!"