Monday, May 30, 2011

Palin to Visit Iowa as Bus Tour Kicks Into Gear

Great news today from Real Clear Politics! Iowans4Palin get ready...she's coming! ~teledude



Real Clear Politics
By Scott Conroy

WASHINGTON -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will travel to Iowa next month as part of her nationwide bus tour, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan told RealClearPolitics.

Palin's trip to the nation's first voting state -- where she has not yet set foot this year --will further escalate the already feverish speculation that she is leaning toward a White House run.

Though Palin has insisted that her "One Nation" bus tour -- being kicked off from Washington over the holiday weekend -- is intended merely to "highlight America's foundation," RCP has learned that the road trip was designed as a test run to find out whether she can execute a decidedly unconventional campaign game plan.

Palin -- and especially her husband, Todd -- is said to be leaning toward running. But multiple sources said that their foremost remaining concern was whether it would be logistically feasible for their large family to hit the road together for the next several months in a prospective campaign that would rely heavily on bus travel.
The answer to that question will play a critical role in how the 2012 race develops.

For months, the prospective candidates for the Republican nomination for president have methodically lined up donors, hired operatives, and laid the groundwork in early-voting states to set the gears in motion for their painstakingly planned campaigns.

Eager to avoid burning through resources and peaking too early, the GOP White House hopefuls have, for the most part, eased incrementally into a slowly developing race, while eyeing one another warily.

Enter Sarah Palin in a black leather jacket, cruising through the nation's capital on a Harley-Davidson. "I love that smell of the emissions!" she told the crowd as she kicked off her tour at the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally on Sunday.

And with that, the question arises: Could Palin leave some of the less charismatic candidates in the dust?
A political Merry Prankster, Palin clearly relishes her unique ability to confound and surprise her prospective opponents, as she test-drives a possible presidential run that she and her team -- with a discernible wink -- have publicly billed as something akin to a mere sightseeing trip.

Though her weaknesses as a candidate remain evident, Palin's intrinsic strengths are often overlooked by Beltway Republicans and Washington pundits alike. NBC's "Meet the Press" roundtable on Sunday was a case study in how Palin figures to benefit from the GOP establishment's continued capacity to underestimate her unique ability to give a shot in the arm to a snoozer of a campaign season, while simultaneously revving up her fervent political base.

"I don't see Sarah Palin getting into the race at all," Republican consultant Alex Castellanos said of the prospective candidate who has appeared more eager than just about anyone to hit the campaign trail. "I don't think there's a place for her."

New York Times' op-ed columnist David Brooks added that Palin had not even notified key Republican Party figures in New Hampshire about her upcoming visit to the first-in-the-nation primary state. To those familiar with Palin's political rise in Alaska, this lack of a heads-up to local party officials would not come as a surprise. Yet expectations remain in many circles that she must eventually learn to play by the traditional rulebook.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will enter the race officially this week, and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is expected to join them shortly. But as the Palin Express kicks into high gear, the dynamics of the campaign may soon shift entirely.

One candidate who may be particularly threatened by Palin is former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has long been treated as top-tier contender -- even as he has continued to poll in the low single digits both nationally and in the early voting states. Pawlenty has positioned himself as someone who can appeal to a broad range of the GOP electorate, but as a still largely unknown former governor, his efforts to build name recognition and generate media attention have suddenly gotten a whole lot trickier with Palin back in the limelight.

If Palin does enter the race, it is not difficult to imagine a scenario by which Romney -- the presumed national front-runner who already enjoys high name recognition -- might be better able make a case for coalescing the Republican establishment around his candidacy, in an effort to stave off an unpredictable insurgent who figures to "go rogue" on the party machinery that she so detests.

But Romney still has a long way to go before he can claim a stranglehold on the establishment, and Pawlenty and other viable contenders will remain right on his heels.

The level of political momentum that her nationwide bus tour will generate is still unknown, and Palin's image problems with large swaths of the electorate remain glaring. But her reemergence has made clear at least one reality: rumors of Sarah Palin's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Sarah Palin: Laughing all the way into the End Zone

With the kick off of Governor Palin's One Nation bus tour successfully underway, I thought our friend Brices Crossroads came up with an interesting analogy using sports metaphors for how she is outmaneuvering the media and her political opponents. ~ teledude



Free Republic
Brices Crossroads

In the past week, we have witnessed Sarah Palin make the following moves, totally unanticipated by her detractors as well as those of us who are her ardent supporters: She announced the June rollout of a movie reintroducing her from the vantage point of her Alaska Record by a superb filmmaker, Stephen K. Bannon, who has already chronicled Ronald Reagan's single-minded crusade against the Soviet Union in the stunning documentary, "In the Face of Evil; Reagan's War in Word and Deed". She has announced a bus tour that will take her cross country, beginning on the eve of Memorial Day at the Rolling Thunder rally in Washington.

Finally, she kept her itinerary private but the press, ever hungry to cover the most interesting and unconventional political figure in two lifetimes, found her in the midst of hundreds of thousands of bikers and followed her around like sheep. Yet the punditocracy continues to deny that she is serious and even goes so far as to raise the old canard, leveled at Reagan, that she is not to be trusted with "the bomb".

While I normally resort to military analogies in describing Palin's various and sundry maneuvers, over the weekend an analogy of a different sort--a sports analogy--came to mind, one that might not resonate with many of you. But here goes anyway.

The year is 1969. An underdog team from Mississippi, which had already lost three games, is facing what may have been one of the great LSU teams of all time, 6-0, ranked third and headed for the Cotton Bowl to face number one Texas in a showdown for the national championship. LSU leads, and will continue to lead, the nation in rushing defense and sports not one, but two, All American linebackers, George Bevan and Mike Anderson. The Mississippi team is undistinguished, except for its quarterback, Archie Manning (father of Peyton) who is known for his strong and accurate arm and very quick feet and moves.

In its reporting on the game in Sports Illustrated the next week (a 26-23 Mississippi victory, with Manning accounting for every Ole Miss point), the writer observed that football was a team sport, and surely one man couldn't beat a whole team, especially one as strong as LSU. Could he? The question was put to LSU's "bone weary" senior linebacker George Bevan and he gave an answer that I think could be applied to the nimble Palin as well: "You wouldn't think that, the way football is played today. But he is the one who beat us. I thought we had him every time. But he can turn a 15 yard loss into a 25 yard gain. I thought the quarterback from Auburn [1971 Heisman trophy winner Pat Sullivan] was good, but he has only one leg compared with Manning."

The rest of the GOP field, far less talented than the All American Sullivan, must be adjudged as legless, compared with Palin who outshines, outdraws and flummoxes them at every turn.

Palin's audacity and strategic "quick feet" reminded me of an anecdote by someone who knew Bevan, and I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but having seen the game film of the particular play in question, it looks plausible. My acquaintance said that on a particular play (a third down, I believe) from about the LSU ten, Manning executed one of his patented sprintouts to the left. The lightning quick Bevan reacted and was in a position to cut him off, when Manning cocked his right arm. Bevan reacted by jumping to block the pass but immediately thought to himself, "Wait a minute. I am 5'10" ; this guy is 6'4"; There is no way I am going to block his pass." Too late, however, the speedy Manning tucked the ball and ran around Bevan's left, over the flag and into the end zone. Out of the corner of his eye, Bevan saw Manning--who apparently realized the same thing at the same time--laughing as he darted past Bevan and into the end zone.

The dwarfs in the GOP primary hardly compare with a great All American linebacker, nor is the Establishment nearly as formidable as the great LSU team of 1969. But Palin's nimble, unexpected political moves compare quite favorably with the elusiveness and panache displayed by Archie Manning on the College Gridiron of 40 years ago.

Next year, Palin will be the one laughing as she sprints into the End Zone.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Roll On, Rolling Thunder!

A nice note from Governor Palin from today's Rolling Thunder Rally in Washington D.C. I've added some photos below. Looks like a great event! ~ teledude




SarahPAC

By Sarah Palin

There’s no better way to see D.C. than on the back of a Harley! My family may be used to snowmachines more so than motorcycles (though you couldn’t tell it with Todd driving a hog today with Piper on the back and with Bristol riding on the back of another bike). But whether you’re riding the open road or the frozen tundra, you’re celebrating a free spirit. What could be more American than that?

Today’s Rolling Thunder rally in DC is all about freedom. And it’s about duty and loyalty and service. The message heard loud and clear through the roar of tens of thousands of bike engines declared, “We will never forget our heroes left behind!” Truly, our POWs and MIAs honored today are America’s real heroes.

In addition to drawing special attention to POWs and MIAs, Rolling Thunders works to help all veterans, active duty service men and women, and military families in so many ways. Riding with these patriots today reinforced that we must do all we can to remind all Americans that we owe our freedom to our vets and to those missing and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to make this the greatest country on earth. They deserve our debt of gratitude. It’s not the politician or the reporter who makes us free; it is the veteran.
One man who clearly understands this is Rep. Allen West, who was there today to honor our military. I really appreciated meeting him. Thank you for spending your day with the troops, Lt. Colonel West!

Meeting with Blue Star and Gold Star mothers this afternoon puts much into perspective. These beautiful families sacrifice so much for our freedom. This is what Memorial Day weekend is all about. Many of us this weekend are firing up the grill and enjoying time with our loved ones. Remember that we’re able to do that because someone else’s loved one is willing to lay it all on the line to defend our freedom. Someone is willing to re-deploy again and again far from home. Someone is willing to endure the blistering heat of Iraq’s deserts or the brutal cold of Afghanistan’s mountains. Someone is willing to put his or her own life on hold to make sure we’re safe. We never hear them complain, do we? And we never hear their families complain either. That’s what duty and service means. And Rolling Thunder’s commitment to them is what loyalty means.

I’m thankful Rolling Thunder keeps the mission of honoring our vets alive! For in doing so, they remind us what is good and free and worthy in America. So roll on, Rolling Thunder! Like Martin Luther King, Jr. said about the great struggle for civil rights, “we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream...”
Let’s roll on to honor our vets, to secure our blessings of liberty, and to fundamentally restore our proud America!
- Sarah Palin





















Tons of more  pics HERE. (Five pages of them...awesome!)

Do you support a Palin presidential run? Here’s a useful guide to her accomplishments.



The Conservative Diva
By Diva Daria

If you’re like Diva Ellen and me — avidly supporting a Palin presidential run — it can be a daunting challenge to present her many qualifications to your friends and family members who are non-political junkies and thus, vulnerable to the lamestream media/pop culture PDS-infected smear machine. Or if they are registered Republicans, chances are at least a few of them have bought into the establishment GOP nonsense of Palin’s “unelectability”.

So what’s a Palin supporter to do? Get informed and talk to everyone you know about Sarah Palin — armed with facts. Here’s a handy guide, courtesy of our Facebook friend Jelayne Sessler:

What was Governor Palin’s legacy in Alaska?
Before the Obama campaign and their media allies set out to destroy her during the 2008 campaign and beyond, Sarah Palin had earned the highest approval ratings of any governor in the United States of America. See this Weekly Standard article for more information.
Palin was also a courageous reformer and whistle-blower who took on entrenched interests in her own party, most notably the leader of the Republican Party in Alaska — and won. In 2007, she signed ethics reform into law. Read all about it in the Anchorage Daily News.
As governor, Sarah Palin was also responsible for getting the largest energy project in North American history underway after several decades of interminably delays in Alaska. See this piece from JuneauEmpire.com for the full story.
But, but isn’t Palin just another social conservative who only appeals to Christians?

As much as establishment Republicans and the lamestream media like to paint her exclusively as a pro-life, pro-traditional values social conservative (which I also love about her), the fact is Sarah Palin has a proven track record of fiscal conservatism, including:
The ACES program for Big Oil companies, outlined in the Wall St. Journal
Enactment of the largest veto cuts in Alaska’s history, described in this Alaska Journal of Commerce article
Sale of private governor’s jet and firing of governor’s chef after taking office
Savings of millions of dollars for the state of Alaska

In addition to all of the salient points raised by Jelayne, I would also like to add that Sarah Palin has been stalwart and courageous in taking the fight directly to Obama for nearly three years now. She’s also proven her effectiveness and savvy in using social media platforms like Facebook and twitter to advance the cause of conservatism, not to mention getting Tea Party candidates elected in November, 2010.

And while the squishes in the Republican Party sat back and watched, Palin was relentless and falsely savaged in the media for somehow being responsible for the fact that a mentally-ill shooter opened fire on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her constituents in Arizona, resulting in death for some, grave injury for others. Where were Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Michael Steele, Rick Santorum and others? Not one of them came to her defense, which speaks volumes about their character.





So just keep that in mind whenever your hear “Republican operatives” poo-pooing a Palin candidacy or proclaiming her unelectable. 

As for the left, of course they want to promote the fallacy of Palin as a non-serious challenge to Obama. They understand that with one phrase, “death panels” in a 2009 Facebook note, she redefined the debate on Obamacare and helped to motivate citizens to attend town halls to express their opposition. The same is true for just about every other critical issue — from energy to national security to our alliance with Israel. 

The bottom line: We as Palin patriots have our work cut out for us as a result of the relentless media/pop culture character assassination over the past three years. But it can be done successfully, as long as we know the facts about Palin and have the guts, willingness and tenacity to continually confront the uninformed. I firmly believe that once most voters truly know the real Sarah Palin and her record, they will rally behind her — especially with gasoline prices on the rise and the continuing hostility of the Obama administration toward domestic drilling. 


As Rush always encourages conservatives — DO NOT LET THE MEDIA SELECT OUR CANDIDATE!





Furthermore, it might be useful to point out to your GOP friends that no matter who runs with the “R” after their name and challenges their messiah, he or she will be subject to the basest, most repugnant attacks, too. In effect, they will also be “Palinized”. So using that as reason not to support her is highly misguided and simply wrongheaded. When you look at her record, her rhetoric, her charisma and her willingness to confront Obama — fake charges of “racism” be damned — I don’t know how any serious conservative can refuse to support Sarah Palin.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

America

Sarah Palin Speaks the Ultimate Truth


Town Hall

Douglas MacKinnon  


For years, various politicians, "educators," and most in the mainstream media have asked, encouraged, and even demanded that we compromise our very principles. That we betray the ideals we hold dear in the name of expediency or the corrosive "theology" of the far-left.

These grand "thinkers" of our time convince millions of Americans every election-cycle that it's okay to ignore commonsense. That’s it’s preferable to disregard right from wrong. That in fact, it's mandatory to send the "lesser of two evils" back to Congress or into the Oval Office of the White House.

Well, how do you like us now? If you are a conservative or one who does espouse traditional values, then take a good look around. View the decay of compromise which is rotting our cities, our states, our republic, our educational system, and our entertainment community. As you ascertain that which threatens to implode our very way of life, ask yourself a question: What role, if any, did such compromise play in my electoral decisions?

While still mercilessly vilified by the corrupt and themselves compromised members of the mainstream media, former Governor Sarah Palin continues to do her best to speak a very plain truth. A truth and a wake-up call aimed this time squarely at those who would run in the upcoming Republican primaries for President and those who would vote for those candidates.

During a recent interview with Sean Hannity on the Fox News Channel, Governor Palin wisely stressed:

"…in this process of assessing, once the lineup is set and the debates begin…we need to look at every one of these potential candidates and declared candidates records. See if they've had opportunity to veto overspending in their city or their state and some governing body. See if they've seized the opportunity to save other people's money and not squander it. See if they've had opportunity to go to the mat in protecting second amendment rights and every constitutional rights. See if they have in their own personal lives lived a physically and socially conservative life and really walked the walk not just talk the talk…We have to do our homework. Don't let the media define who these candidates are. Let us, as constituents, as voters, as potential candidates…do our homework."
 
Indeed. Governor Palin has just spoken arguably the most important truth. With liberty comes responsibility. All too often, too many of us are content to let someone else do the "homework" for us and then profess shock when the wheels very predictably fly off and our favorite politician, program, or entitlement ends up in a ditch.

"Go along to get along" clearly is still the order of the day for many. Power is not easy to wrest from the corrupt, from the entitled, from the lazy, or from the compromised.

That said. We must. At least we must make a good-faith effort to try.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

At what point do we admit we are faltering? At what point do we snap out of it and better vet those who proclaim themselves our "leaders?" At what point do we scream at our politicians: "We will compromise our principles no more."

The next test is upon us. The results in 2012 will speak volumes about where we are as a people and a nation.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and an author.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Rush Limbaugh: GOP and Dems Both Fear Palin


Newsmax
By Hiram Reisner

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh says that, if he were President Barack Obama, he would not want to face a staunch conservative such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin because she carries a frightening message — that he is beatable. Limbaugh also said on Fox News Thursday night that the GOP establishment fears Palin as well.

Fox News’ Greta van Susteren asked Limbaugh whether Palin’s announced bus trip marks the beginning of her presidential campaign.

“I think this bus trip — it’s certainly designed to get people speculating that she’s in,” Limbaugh said. “The thing about Sarah Palin to me is that she has now learned to relish and to profit from all the attention — negative or positive — and she certainly knows negative attention.

“She has suffered slings and arrows — she’s had the media . . . exam — unlike any other Republican candidate,” he said. “And I think she has now come to grips with the fact that that’s part and parcel of the process. And I think one of the things that she enjoys is just rubbing it right back in their face. She knows that they are trying to intimidate her into silence.

Limbaugh said Palin is mastering the things she will have to master if she decides to run. Results of the most recent Gallup Poll that showed her only two points behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney “shocked me” — especially since she still hasn’t made a decision, he said.

“That was startling,” Limbaugh said. “Greta, you’ve asked the question of the day — you’ve asked the question of the campaign: The Republican Party is really royal right now, inside-the-Beltway intelligentsia, power base is not oriented towards conservatism.

“Conservative Republicans make them nervous,” he added. “The inside-the-Beltway ruling class — the elite — they’re more oriented toward candidates they can attach the word ‘serious’ to — which is another way of saying someone who is boring, who doesn’t ruffle feathers, someone who exudes an air of formal education and sophistication — she doesn’t exude that, and I think it’s going to shake a lot of people up.

“You know the effect that she has on establishment Republican people,” Limbaugh continued. “They’re just as frightened in their own way as the Democrats are of Palin and one thing I think is inescapable — particularly in looking at the Democrats — the Democrats and the media will always tell you who they are afraid of by virtue of who they spend time trying to destroy.”

By the same token, when Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was flirting with getting in, The Washington Post and The New York Times were saying “this is the one Obama really fears,” trying to goad him into the race, Limbaugh said.

“It was really convoluted thinking — but the bottom line is she scares them — she also scares the Republican establishment,” he said. “But so does some other potential Republican candidates.”

Van Susteren asked which other conservative candidates are feared.

Limbaugh cited former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, noting, "Bachmann especially. Anybody who is tea party oriented is going to send some chills down the spines of both Democrat and Republican establishments. There’s something about the tea party that frightens them and I think it’s the direct connection with the American people.”

The GOP establishment considers the tea partyers outsiders who are upsetting the entire Washington power and social structure, Limbaugh said .

“They’re outsiders — they’re not considered genuine political professionals,” he said. “By definition: Tea party people, in many cases, have never even been involved in politics. They started going to town hall meetings a couple of summers ago and simply have come to life because they don’t like the direction the country is going.”

The GOP establishment has a “message problem” because of fear and a belief that moderate is the way to go, Limbaugh said.

“And I think that’s always going to be a problem with the Republicans until there is a nominee who is conservative — who is proud conservative, who is passionate conservative — and doesn’t need note cards, and doesn’t need a prompter and can’t wait to talk to people about it.”

Limbaugh added that the reason there was so much excitement for Donald Trump before he ended his flirtation with a 2012 run was because he was taking it to them on the future of the country.”

Obama is beatable because he has taken the moderate tack, he said.

Limbaugh said his "dream candidate" would be Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

"I would love for Rick Perry to get into it or anybody like him," he said. "The more conservatives in this race, the more full-throated, unapologetic, pedal-to-the-metal conservatives in this race, the greater the opportunity one of them is going to be elected."

Sarah Palin might be this Generation’s JFK…

I have been saying Governor Palin has the most charisma of any candidate since JFK. ~ teledude



Red State
By  conservativecurmudgeon

Oh, I know, I know: This opens me up to the hackneyed Lloyd Bentsen trope about knowing John Kennedy, and you, Sarah Palin, are no John Kennedy… To which, one hopes, she would answer, “You’re right. I never cheated on my spouse, got involved with the Mob, and my Daddy never bought me a Pulitzer Prize.”

But, the analogy is this:

JFK created a whole new set or rules, a whole new road-map to the Presidential nomination of his party in 1960. And, we may be witnessing the same thing, fifty years later, from Sarah Palin.

John Kennedy went after the Vice Presidential nomination in 1956, in a failed attempt to be Adlai Stevenson’s running mate. It wasn’t so much that he was unsuccessful (the nomination went to Estes Kefauver instead), but what he learned along the way in setting himself up for his parties’ Presidential nomination in 1960.

What he learned was this: The grandees of the Democrat Party would not, under any circumstances, allow a Catholic on the national ticket. The Dixie-crats in particular where antipathetic. But, even the East Coast Elite found the young JFK too much to take: Elanor Roosevelt, in particular, found him loathsome (as, among other things, the second son of the then-reviled Joseph Kennedy), calling him “that little piss-ant”.

Believe me, pre-1964, you went absolutely nowhere in national Democrat politics without the blessing of Elanor Roosevelt. Think of her (before her death) as Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, Pinch Sulzberger and John Kerry all rolled into one big, fat ball of influence.

This put the entire power structure of the old New-Deal bosses out of reach to Senator Jack Kennedy. Now, remember, this was in the days before the ubiquitous state primary elections. Roughly half the states chose their nominee based on a caucus of the party bigwigs, New York in particular. Chatting up the friends of Elanor Roosevelt called for the retail politics that JFK and his family money had a hard time acquiring. So, JFK, having learned that his resources were better spent on the Wholesale politics of advertising, media manipulation and advance men, focused instead on the Wholesale politics– the popular elections held in Primary states.

Prior to JFK, most serious presidential politicians rather avoided the primary states. They accounted, at that time, for a minority of the delegates, and it made the election season somewhat longer and much more expensive. It required actual campaigning, movement, travel and advertising– things most presidential aspirants in the mid 20th-century had little of. JFK changed all that. Among other things, Jack Kennedy was the first to introduce the phenomenon of his own Campaign Jet, the “Caroline“. He could go as easily between Washington and San Francisco as Hubert Humphrey could go from Madison to Milwaukee.

Kennedy by-passed paying attention to Roosevelt and her tong. Instead, he spent his time in Wisconsin and West Virginia, slurping up chits in the form of donations to local races, and flooding the field with advertising and public relations. Hubert Humphrey complained that going up against JFK and his money made him feel like “a mom and pop grocery store going up against A&P”. These were the two states with early significant Primaries, and he knew he’d have a shot in heavily Catholic Wisconsin, which came first on the slate, and a week later in West Virginia, where his World War Two veteran status would come in handy. If he could make a big stink out of winning these primaries early, he’d have a shot at convincing the party leaders in the other, non-primary contests.

He won both states handily, and changed forever the way the public, and the party big-shots, looked at presidential primaries. And Elanor Roosevelt was politely shown the back of the bus.

* * *

Sarah Palin knows that any conservative won’t get an even break in the national press and media. She knows they despise not only her –and they show their contempt gleefully and openly with Sarah– they hate all conservatives. So trying to suck up to them can only lead (sooner or later) to any conservative’s Katie Couric moment. It is assured.

So, in watching her in the news coverage over the last forty-eight hours, we might be witnessing a “revolutionizing” of the way the whole process is done–; Just like JFK.

Just as JFK knew he’d never get the Elanor Roosevelt gang on his side, and he would thus have to figure out how to get the nomination without it, Sarah Palin knows she can’t use the old routes that involve the national press and media. They are off-limits to her. She must plow a new and untrod road.

I have sense, too, that this might be all very deliberate, cunning, and months in the planning. And in this thought process, she might actually be ten steps ahead of all the other potential candidates.

If I were her, and had the name recognition, the league upon league of mis-perceptions, and the financial and personnel resources, I think I might try to fashion a similar approach– that is, something that up-ends the way a nominee is chosen in totality.

In especial, I find it fascinating that all the Ed Gillespies, and the Karl Roves, and all the other antique professional party-men had already decided she wasn’t running because she was evidently eschewing the fifty-year old nostrums that simply everyone must follow to the nomination. It reminds me of the Polaroid people telling everyone not to buy a digital camera because you’ll need a computer to use it: They couldn’t see the future while it was happening in front of their faces.

Wouldn’t it be fascinating, though, to see Sarah Palin completely revolutionize the way a candidate connects with the public, and change forever the 2-year long process of finding a nominee. I don’t know what she’s got up her sleeve, but, I will say this:

It could be damned fun to watch, especially if she leaves the national, old-geezer media gasping for air in her wake… Just like Elanor Roosevelt was left by JFK back in 1960.

One Nation

Nice video to launch Governor Palin's bus tour! ~ teledude

Palin To Go On Bus Tour, May Add Fuel To Fire In Her Belly

Governor Palin has dominated the news cycle since announcing her bus tour. She knows what she is doing! ~ teledude


Human Events
by  Tony Lee

And just like that, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin proved yesterday how she can dominate a media cycle, as she again stoked speculation about whether she will run for president.


Yesterday, Palin announced she would embark on a bus tour that would begin Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., as she joins the Rolling Thunder bikers. The tour will take her along the east coast and will take Palin to historical sites in the New England area and areas near New Hampshire, site of the nation’s first primary. She will visit other sites like Gettysburg and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

“I’ve said many times that America doesn’t need a ‘fundamental transformation,’ instead we need a restoration of all that is good and strong and free in America!” Palin said in a statement on her political action committee site.

“As we look to the future, we are propelled by America's past,” Palin said, in reference to the historical sites she will visit on her “One Nation” bus tour. “It's imperative that we connect with our founders, our patriots, our challenges and victories to clearly see our way forward.”

The bus tour is likely to show Palin in the element in which she feels most comfortable -- retail politics. It will also again display how Palin can dominate a media cycle and is most likely to remind the media and other potential GOP candidates of the huge crowds that Palin can command and draw.

The bus tour announcement comes in the wake of a report by Scott Conroy of RealClearPolitics that a documentary showcasing Palin’s record of pragmatic and conservative reforms while she was Alaska’s governor would debut in Iowa next month followed by showings in Nevada, South Carolina, and New Hampshire.

According to RealClearPolitics, “the film will also appeal to staunch Palin supporters who have long celebrated her biting rhetoric and conservative populism yet know little about her record in Alaska and have perhaps written her off as presidential material.”

The film’s director and producer, Steve Bannon, told RealClearPolitics that, “this film is a call to action for a campaign like 1976: Reagan vs. the establishment … Let's have a good old-fashioned brouhaha."

According to RealClearPolitics, in the film influential conservative talk show host and scholar Mark Levin compares Palin to Reagan, who was also an insurgent distrusted by the GOP establishment . The film, according to RealClearPolitics, has a caption that reads “From here, I can see November” and ends with the iconic scene from a Tea Party rally in Madison, Wisconsin in April in which Palin urged the GOP establishment to try to “fight like a girl” and said to President Obama, “Mr. President, game on!”

Further, last week on “On The Record” on Fox News Channel, Palin told Greta Van Sustern that she had the “fire in the belly” to run for president. She also then told Judge Pirro of Fox News that her goal was to make Obama a one term President. And numerous outlets confirmed that the Palins had bought a home in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a potential presidential campaign would be headquartered. Arizona would represent the exurban frontier ethos that Palin personifies.

Palin has also reiterated the insinuation that the last hurdle between her and a run for the presidency was how the process would impact her family.

But could her family have already decided in the affirmative regarding a presidential run?
When Palin stepped down as Alaska’s governor, Palin said she decided to resign after polling her children. Palin said she asked them if they wanted her “to make a positive difference and fight for ALL our children's future from OUTSIDE the Governor's office?"

Palin said the response was “four ‘yes’s’ and one ‘hell yeah!’”

“The ‘hell yeah’” sealed it, Palin then said.    

Palin also said “someday I’ll talk about the details” of the vote; this week’s announcements indicate Palin may soon reveal that the “hell yeah” was in reference to a run for the presidency.

With the historically themed bus tour it may not be too crazy to wonder if Palin will explain that her family said “hell yeah” and gave her the green light to run for the presidency in an announcement on the fourth of July.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Money Bomb!

With all the exciting good news this week, lets celebrate by supporting SarahPAC with a donation of $20.12 to give the hint (Run, Sarah, Run!) or $30.00 for hitting 3 million Facebook followers. ~ teledude

Restoring the Good in America!



"We need a restoration of all that is good and strong and free in America!"

via SarahPAC

Our nation is at a critical turning point. As we look to the future, we are propelled by America’s past. It’s imperative that we connect with our founders, our patriots, our challenges and victories to clearly see our way forward. A good way to do this is to appreciate the significance of our nation’s historic sites, patriotic events and diverse cultures, which we’ll do in the coming weeks on our “One Nation” tour.

We’ll celebrate the good things that bring Americans together; those things that will give us the needed strength to meet the heady challenges ahead. I’ve said many times that America doesn’t need a “fundamental transformation,” instead we need a restoration of all that is good and strong and free in America! So, together let’s prepare ourselves for the days ahead by reminding ourselves who we are and what Americans stand for.

We’ll celebrate the meaning of our nation’s blueprints, our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, which are the threads that weave our past into the fabric necessary for the survival of American exceptionalism. Our founders declared “we were born the heirs of freedom”, and despite our difficulties and disagreements, we remain one nation under God in freedom, indivisible. Through visits to historical sites and patriotic events, we’ll share the importance of America’s foundation.

We encourage you to support the pro-America events we’ll be privileged to participate in during these coming weeks. Discover the ties that bind Americans, our history, our traditions, and the exceptional nature of our country!

Follow the One Nation tour at www.sarahPAC.com

-Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin to Launch Multi-State Bus Tour As She Contemplates Presidential Bid

Exciting news for  Palinista's! Fresh off of hitting the 3 Million mark on Facebook, Governor Palin announced a multi-state bus tour of historic sites in the Northeastern states. The 'One Nation Tour' will  be in connection with Rolling Thunder  motorcycle rally in Washington D.C. I just can't stop smiling! ~ teledude

The Note
By ABC's Sheila Marikar

Sarah Palin announced on Thursday that she’ll embark on an east coast bus tour, kicking off Sunday, May 29 in Washington, DC and going up the northeast coast.

Called the One Nation Tour, a post on the website of Palin's political action committee said the former governor of Alaska and her bus will visit “historical sites that were key to the formation, survival, and growth of the United States of America.”

Its goal, according to a message on the SarahPAC site, is “to educate and energize Americans about our nation's founding principles, in order to promote the Fundamental Restoration of America.”

The bus boasts a triumphant One Nation Tour logo (a drawing of the Liberty Bell sits in place of the “a” in nation), a rendition of the constitution, Palin’s signature and a quintessential American landscape. It’s visually stunning.

Fox News first reported the news on Friday. Host Greta Van Susteren wrote on her blog that the tour “will be in connection with the Rolling Thunder festivities in DC this Memorial Day weekend, either starting or ending with the festivities at Rolling Thunder.”

Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle rally held in Washington, DC over Memorial Day weekend that calls for the government's recognition and protection of prisoners of war and people missing in action.

The tour is the latest sign pointing to a possible Palin run for presidency, on top of reports that she’s reshuffled her staff of aides, bought a house in Arizona and supports a documentary about her that’s due out next month.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Herman Cain was favorite at Pottawattamie GOP dinner, but Sarah Palin took surprising 2nd

This is actually great news that brightened my morning! Yes, Governor Palin came in second, but it was a very strong second and she only lost to the candidate who was there as the keynote speaker. You can just imagine the results had she been there to wow the crowd as only she can. With the announcement of the Palin movie debuting here next month, it looks like the momentum is starting! Nice mention of O4P and the efforts of our brave foot soldiers in Western Iowa too!  Good job! ~ teledude



The Des Moines Register

by Jennifer Jacobs

The runaway favorite of the western Iowa crowd at a Republican fundraising dinner Friday was Georgia Republican Herman Cain – the guy everyone was there to hear.

But even in absentia, Alaska’s Sarah Palin claimed a surprising second place in the Pottawattamie County GOP’s dollar poll, with 38 percent of the votes to Cain’s 55 percent.

“Of the approximately 230 people in attendance, 153 people voted,” said Jeff Jorgenson, the county party chairman. “Of course these results are not scientific, but I am going to say they accurately reflect the mood of the evening.”

Nineteen names were listed on the ballot, but only six got any votes, Jorgensen said in an e-mail this morning.
Minnesota’s Michele Bachmann earned 5 percent and three Republicans – Utah’s Jon Huntsman, Texas’ Ron Paul and Indiana’s Mitch Daniels – each took 1 percent.

Ignored were: Haley Barbour, John Bolton, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Gary Johnson, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, David Petraeus, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, John Thune and Donald Trump.
Romney is the presumed national frontrunner and makes his first visit to Iowa this year this Friday, while Barbour, Daniels, Huckabee, Pence, Petraeus, Thune and Trump have officially declared they’re not going to run.

Cain was the keynote speaker at the event in Council Bluffs last Friday evening, and gave the enthusiastic audience a sneak preview of his formal presidential candidacy announcement the following day.

Organize4Palin, a grassroots group not affiliated with Palin, has been active in Iowa since last fall, and has gained energy in western Iowa. Members of the group predict Palin will announce in July, but they don’t have any insider information.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Palin's Secret Weapon: New Film to Premiere in June

This is exciting news! A new movie about Governor Palin that will premier in IOWA next month! Woot! ~ teledude

Real Clear Politics
By Scott Conroy


Shortly after Republicans swept last November to a historic victory in which Sarah Palin was credited with playing a central role, the former Alaska governor pulled aside her close aide, Rebecca Mansour, to discuss a hush-hush assignment: Reach out to conservative filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon with a request. Ask him if he would make a series of videos extolling Palin's governorship and laying to rest lingering questions about her controversial decision to resign from office with a year-and-a-half left in her first term. It was this abdication, Palin knew, that had made her damaged goods in the eyes of some Republicans who once were eager to get behind her potential 2012 presidential campaign.

The response was more positive than Palin could have hoped for. He'd make a feature-length movie, Bannon told Mansour, and he insisted upon taking complete control and financing it himself -- to the tune of $1 million.
The fruits of that initial conversation are now complete.

The result is a two-hour-long, sweeping epic, a rough cut of which Bannon screened privately for Sarah and Todd Palin last Wednesday in Arizona, where Alaska's most famous couple has been rumored to have purchased a new home. When it premieres in Iowa next month, the film is poised to serve as a galvanizing prelude to Palin's prospective presidential campaign -- an unconventional reintroduction to the nation that she and her political team have spent months eagerly anticipating, even as Beltway Republicans have largely concluded that she won't run.

Bannon, a former naval officer and ex-Goldman Sachs banker, sees his documentary as the first step in Palin's effort to rebuild her image in the eyes of voters who may have soured on her, yet might reconsider if old caricatures begin to fade. The film will also appeal to staunch Palin supporters who have long celebrated her biting rhetoric and conservative populism yet know little about her record in Alaska and have perhaps written her off as presidential material.

"This film is a call to action for a campaign like 1976: Reagan vs. the establishment," Bannon told RealClearPolitics. "Let's have a good old-fashioned brouhaha."

RealClearPolitics was recently given an exclusive screening of a rough cut of the now finished film, which Bannon designed, in part, to help catapult Palin from the presidential afterthought she has become in the eyes of many pundits directly to the front lines of the 2012 GOP conversation.

Palin initially learned about Bannon's work after she saw one of his previous films about the origins of the tea party movement, "Generation Zero," which premiered last year in Nashville and was later aired in prime time on the Fox News Channel. Impressed, Palin promoted "Generation Zero" via Twitter before later reaching out to Bannon about creating something to highlight her record in Alaska, where her performance in office was overshadowed by her resignation eight months after the 2008 presidential election.

Though she did not have any editorial role in the project, Palin facilitated access for Bannon and his film crew to key Alaskan defenders who were involved with the major achievements of her administration, and the filmmaker spent several weeks in the 49th state gathering archival film and conducting research and interviews for the project. He and his team took extraordinary measures to keep their endeavor secret.

When they requested from Alaska's TV news stations footage that was shot during Palin's political rise, they asked for additional tapes containing subject matters that were irrelevant to their project, in order not to raise suspicions. And rather than staying at the well-appointed Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, they instead took up temporary residence in low-key motels.

"We shot on the weekends, and we shot in locations that weren't being used during those weekends," Bannon said. "I did it with a handpicked crew of people I know and trust, and we were able to stay under the radar. The planning for the secrecy of this took many, many weeks."

Bannon originally titled his film "Take a Stand," which was the campaign slogan for Palin's 2006 gubernatorial run when she defeated incumbent Republican Frank Murkowski in the primary before cruising in the general election to become Alaska's youngest -- and first female -- chief executive. But in order to give it a more triumphant punch, the filmmaker changed the title to "The Undefeated."

Bannon acquired the audio rights to Palin's 2009 bestseller, "Going Rogue," and the former vice-presidential nominee's voice guides the film through the various stages of her career in Alaska.

Although Palin is not interviewed directly, the film features on-camera interviews and commentaries from 10 Alaskans who played different roles in her political rise, as well as six Lower 48 denizens who defend her in more visceral terms, including prominent conservative firebrands Mark Levin, Andrew Breitbart and Tammy Bruce.

Divided into three acts, the film makes the case that despite the now cliched label, Palin was indeed a maverick who confronted the powerful forces lined up against her to achieve wide-ranging success in a short period of time. The second part of the film's message is just as clear, if more subjective: that Sarah Palin is the only conservative leader who can both build on the legacy of the Reagan Revolution and bring the ideals of the tea party movement to the Oval Office.

Rife with religious metaphor and unmistakable allusions to Palin as a Joan of Arc-like figure, "The Undefeated" echoes Palin's "Going Rogue" in its tidy division of the world between the heroes who are on her side and the villains who seek to thwart her at every turn.

To convey Bannon's view of the pathology behind Palin-hatred, the film begins with a fast-paced sequence of clips showing some of the prominent celebrities who have used sexist, derogatory and generally vicious language to describe her.

Rosie O'Donnell, Matt Damon, Bill Maher, David Letterman, and Howard Stern all have brief cameos before comedian Louis C.K. goes off on a particularly ugly anti-Palin riff.

"I hate her more than anybody," C.K. says at the end of his tirade, the rest of which is unfit to print here.
Bannon intends to release two versions of the film. An unrated edition will contain some obscene anti-Palin language and imagery, while the other is targeted to a general audience and will seek a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America.

The Making of a Politician
After a brief interlude featuring some old Palin family home video footage, Act 1 begins with Sarah as narrator, recalling the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, when she was a young pregnant wife married to a blue-collar husband working on the North Slope.

"I hadn't yet envisioned running for elected office," Palin says in the audio taken from "Going Rogue," as images of the environmental disaster unfold on the screen. "But looking back, I could see that tragedy planted a seed in me. If I ever had a chance to serve my fellow citizens, I would do so."

Over the next hour, the crux of the narrative is taken over by Palin's Alaska backers, with former spokesperson Meg Stapleton and attorney Tom Van Flein leading the charge. Other more unfamiliar faces who uphold Palin's Alaska legacy include former Wasilla Deputy Mayor Judy Patrick, former gas pipeline adviser Marty Rutherford, longtime confidantes Kristan Cole and Judy Patrick, and former state Sen. Gene Therriault -- one of the few Alaska legislators who has remained vocal and consistent in his praise of Palin.

The recounting of Palin's earliest years in public office relies on a treasure trove of rare and never-before-seen video obtained by Bannon, including shots of Palin breaking ground on a construction project with her fellow Wasilla City Councilors, waving signs for her mayoral reelection campaign, and reacting acidly to a comment made by John Stein -- her predecessor in the mayor's office and one of the film's villains, who compared her to a "Spice Girl."

As the documentary transitions to Palin's ascent to statewide office, it dramatizes the culture of corruption that permeated Alaska, with images of fat men smoking cigars in dark rooms and the infamous Suite 604 at the Baranof Hotel in Juneau, where the FBI secretly videotaped executives of the oil services company VECO in a corruption scandal that would shake the foundations of Alaska government just as Palin was making a name for herself as an ethics crusader.

"The Undefeated" conveys the dramatic extent to which Palin's world has changed in just a few years, as it shows her announcing her gubernatorial campaign not at a massive rally but at a sparsely attended press conference in her kitchen. Those unfamiliar with Palin's political background will be surprised to learn that the woman who has become one of the nation's most boisterous press critics was once such a media darling that two of the Alaska TV news correspondents whose highly favorable reports are shown in the film ended up leaving their jobs to join the Palin administration.

Palin's charisma has in recent years often been overshadowed by the more unforgiving side of her personality, but one scene from the film illustrates how she has long used her personal charm to disarm and discombobulate her competitors.

"Oh, this will be fun," Palin says to her soon-to-be vanquished Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Tony Knowles, during a brief encounter in Anchorage on primary night in 2006. Knowles remains speechless, while Palin smiles and adds an "Oh, golly" for good measure.

Mining the ‘Maverick' Label
Palin's stint as a hard-charging reformer in Juneau won her approval ratings that consistently topped 80 percent and made her the most popular governor in America, catching the eye of the McCain campaign. It was the "maverick" label that piqued McCain's interest in 2008 -- far more than Palin's supposed purity on social issues -- just as it does the filmmaker's.

The movie focuses on Palin's triumphs on fiscal and energy matters, while ignoring hot-button topics like abortion. Indeed, although she was always identified as a staunch social conservative, Palin often worked more closely with Democrats than Republicans in Juneau and largely avoided ideological fights during her first two years in office.

Yet Palin the Fighter is an ever-present theme in the documentary; one of its most memorable moments occurs when Meg Stapleton recalls an encounter at the Fairbanks airport when Palin literally stared down an oil executive who told her, "You don't know who you're messing with."

The film's third act puts a positive spin on Palin's 2008 vice presidential run, reminding viewers of her initially valuable impact on the McCain campaign by showing the Gallup poll trend lines that had the Republican ticket taking its first lead over the Democrats before the collapse of Lehman Brothers on Sept. 15.

It also gives an extended treatment to Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., her finest hour politically.

"The Undefeated" eschews less flattering topics, such as the Troopergate saga -- which had little effect on the VP campaign but left a lastingly negative impression of Palin in the eyes of many Alaskans -- and her unimpressive series of interviews with Katie Couric.

Bannon dramatizes the theme of Palin's persecution at the hands of her enemies in the media and both political parties, a notion the former governor has long embraced. Images of lions killing a zebra and a dead medieval soldier with an arrow sticking in his back dramatize the ethics complaints filed by obscure Alaskan citizens, which Palin has cited as the primary reason for her sudden resignation in July of 2009.

Fighting Words
The film's coda is introduced with an on-screen caption that reads, "From here, I can see November." It is here that Mark Levin alludes to Ronald Reagan as a Palin-like insurgent who was also once distrusted by the GOP establishment.

Palin is then shown firing up a rally that occurred just last month on the steps of the state capitol in Wisconsin. "What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight," Palin, in vintage campaign form, shouts to the crowd. "Maybe I should ask some of the Badger women's hockey team -- those champions -- maybe I should ask them if we should be suggesting to GOP leaders they need to learn how to fight like a girl!"

Following an extended in-your-face riff by Andrew Breitbart in which he repeatedly denounces as "eunuchs" the male Republican leaders who decline to defend Palin, the film ends with one last scene from the April rally in Madison: "Mr. President, game on!" Palin shouts before a martial drumbeat ushers in a closing quotation by Thomas Paine, which also appeared in "Going Rogue." The implication is neither subtle nor easy to dismiss.
In a telling sign of how the film's message has already resonated with her own thought process, Palin made reference to the Paine quotation during an appearance on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show last week shortly after she viewed a rough cut of the film for the first time.

"It's like Thomas Paine said, Greta, one of our founders. He said, ‘If there be trouble, let it be in my day that my child may have peace,'" Palin said. "I think of that when I consider whether running for office or not."
SarahPAC's treasurer Tim Crawford confirmed that "The Undefeated" was a hit with Palin.

"The governor thought it was great," Crawford said.

Bannon's film also resonated with members of Palin's staff, including Mansour.
"I'm a huge fan of Steve's work," Mansour said in a statement to RCP on Tuesday. "His film on President Reagan, ‘In the Face of Evil,' is my favorite documentary, and his ‘Generation Zero' was a rallying cry for the Tea Party movement early on. I think his new film really captures the essence of Governor Palin's stewardship of Alaska, and I think people will be really surprised by it. It shatters so many false stereotypes because it shows what she actually accomplished as governor. You can't leave it thinking the same way about Sarah Palin."

In the last couple of months, Palin has delivered major policy speeches, hired a chief of staff, made a well-publicized foreign trip that included a visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all the while remaining consistent about her vow -- first made just days after the 2008 campaign ended -- that she would "crash through" any of the "open doors" that might lead to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Bannon intends to premiere the film in Iowa late next month before expanding the release to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. After the initial rollout in the four early voting states, the filmmaker will eventually release it to somewhere between 50 and 100 markets nationwide.

Palin aides have not yet decided whether the former governor will play an active role in the film's premiere, but there has been some preliminary discussion of purchasing copies of the film from Bannon to distribute as gifts to SarahPAC donors.

Bannon is also working out a video-on-demand deal that will make the movie more widely accessible.
Palin has been tight-lipped about which way she is leaning in regard to running for president next year, but her team of advisers is operating under the notion that they are laying the groundwork for a future campaign, until they are told otherwise.

Palin's future presidential bid might be based in the Phoenix area-where Bristol Palin also recently purchased a new home-but Palin's aides have yet to reach out to potential venues for a campaign headquarters in Arizona.
Despite Palin's apparent desire to wait as long as possible before making her decision, aides acknowledge that they will soon have to establish a more campaign-like operation in order to begin a more concerted effort to raise money and take other steps that would be required-even for a potential candidate as unconventional as Palin.

Meanwhile, the news about Palin's initial effort to commission a film project to highlight her political record is sure to put additional pressure on Fox News to demand an answer from one of their star contributors on whether she intends to run for president or continue working as a political analyst on the network that may soon find itself reporting on her campaign.

Palin and her aides have appeared to recognize that despite some recent polls showing her near the top of the prospective Republican field, she still has substantial problems with independent voters and large swaths of the GOP. Even more daunting will be finding a way to explain persuasively just how it was that ethics complainers and liberal bloggers -- whom others politicians in her shoes might have largely dismissed as relatively minor nuisances -- succeeded in forcing her of office.

But coming on the heels of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's decision not to join the fray, many grassroots conservatives are clamoring for a candidate who has both the stature and the sizzle to compete with President Obama.

If she does decide to run, "The Undefeated" will be the key element to her initial coming-out party. The film's impending release -- and the frenzied media attention that it is sure to generate -- will serve as a vivid wake-up call that despite the many obstacles in front of her, Palin's entry into the race would turn the campaign on its head in an instant, just as it did in 2008.

As she mulls her decision in the coming weeks, the other Republican candidates in the field will be left to prepare for a hibernating grizzly who appears poised to rise up once again.

Poll Confirms Palin Top GOP Pick-Leads All In Texas



M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD’S "A POINT OF VIEW"
By M.Joseph Sheppard

 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll of 800 registered voters in Texas has Sarah Palin the leader. Palin out polls Romney by 5% and, perhaps surprisingly two Texans Ron Paul 12% to 10% and the media's latest speculation-Texas Governor Rick Perry who only scores 4%.


This poll was taken just before the cascade out of contention of Palin's possible rivals Huckabee,Trump and Daniels and before Gingrich apparently self destructed.


If the Gallup poll which reallocated preferences subsequent to these changes has its findings, which put Palin tied with Romney within the margin of error for the lead then her lead in Texas should be substantial.


Once again the media gets it wrong by pointing out Palin's supposed "unpopularity' in nationwide polls. What matters for the present is her standing with the only people who will choose the republican candidate-GOP voters.


These voters have Palin's favorables at 72% and have her tied with Romney for the lead-those are the only facts worth noting as is Pawlenty's 4% and Huntsman's 1% support.


The Obama team have made noises about Texas being a viable state for 2012-not according to this poll which had only 30% of voters saying they would wish to re-elect the president and 48% saying they would vote for any republican who opposed him


The link to the poll data is HERE

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Coming Storm—Sarah Palin Versus the Establishment…What Kind of Campaign Will She Run?

Brices Crossroads weighs in with an insightful piece about a potential Palin campaign. She has stated often it would not be a conventional campaign. I believe we, her supporters, are legion, and will rise up as soon as she makes her announcement to propel her to the nomination.  ~ teledude


Free Republic
by Brices Crossroads

As even the pundits are beginning to acknowledge, their two year long campaign to keep Sarah Palin out of the 2012 Presidential election has failed. She is going to run. Even the likes of Karl Rove acknowledge it at this point. Their strategy for stopping her will now shift in focus, but it will remain essentially the same. Smear and distract. The Establishment of both parties will continue the relentless ad hominems against her that have so far fallen like spent bullets at her feet. And they will try to distract her in any way possible by raising issues of their choosing and framing every issue through their leftist/politically correct prism. Their collective lack of imagination and creativity is, and always has been (at least as far back as 1976), their Achilles heel. Bound tightly to the conventional wisdom it produces, the Establishment is a mass of lummoxes, thinking and acting with a single, addled brain. The Beltway hive is essentially, and collectively, dead from the neck up. But enough about them.

What kind of campaign can we expect from Governor Palin? No doubt it will be unconventional. She has said as much. She does not operate by consulting a playbook or according to the conventional wisdom. Her campaign will likely be a slash and burn operation against her opponents, replete with driving raids against sacred cows long held inviolable by the hive, with the Establishment moving its slow thighs in a vain effort to keep up. But these generalities aside, has Governor Palin, in her recent pronouncements, provided anything more specific? Do we have any ideas how she will operate both strategically and tactically? Having read and re-read some of her recent statements, I believe we do.

With regard to her strategic approach, I think a window into her strategy can be gleaned from her very well received speech at the Reagan ranch, on the occasion of the Gipper’s 100th birthday in February. Her warm embrace of Ronald Reagan, which was so appropriate to this occasion, somewhat obscured the clues she very clearly delivered about the kind of campaign she intends to run. I myself believe that she intends to run not just against Barack Obama’s domestic policies, but against all of the domestic policies, especially fiscal ones, since Reagan’s term ended in 1989.

And while there was no direct reference to the two Bush Administrations or to the Clinton Administration (which was spawned by the missteps of the first Bush), Palin very adroitly took them both to task and, at the same time, defended the Gipper. Noting that, by the time he left office, President Reagan had defeated the expansionist ideology of the [big government] Great Society, she lamented that: "If history teaches us anything, it is that bad ideas are never gone for good. FOR THE LAST TWO DECADES, WE HAVE SEEN BIG GOVERNMENT SLOWLY ENCROACH ON US. IT WAS SUBTLE AT FIRST, COUCHED IN THE LANGUAGE OF PROGRESS AND COMPASSION. But when the financial crisis erupted in 2008, big government rose up and presumptuously declared itself the answer to our problems...."

Palin deftly juxtaposed Reagan's success in defeating the expansionist ideology of big government with the current failures of the same big government ideology, which BEGAN under the guise of "compassion" (whether "kinder and gentler" or "compassionate conservatism") during the first Bush Administration. In labeling this so-called "kinder and gentler" euphemism for what it is: the old "big government" bad idea dressed up in drag, Palin at once mounted a long overdue defense of Reagan's real legacy and separated herself not only from the crescendo of this ideology, personified in Barack Obama, but from the "two decades" of its "subtle encroachment" by Bush-Clinton-Bush, without which Obama would never have been possible in the first place.

As far as her tactical approach is concerned, I believe that her recent comments concerning Newt Gingrich’s latest case of “foot in mouth disease” on Meet the Press provide some answers as well. By “tactical approach” I mean her approach to the forensic art of politics: debates, interviews, reactions to unexpected events, etc. Her responses on Sean Hannity’s May 18, 2011 program confirm what most of us already know about her. She has a firm, fixed set of beliefs (as did Reagan) and so is able to answer questions directly and avoid the foot faults of politicians who are always trying to please some crowd rather than just “saying what they mean and meaning what they say”. She will be the first serious candidate since Reagan who is not “focus testing” a message. She is not trying to please the crowd. She is trying to LEAD the crowd. And like any great future President, she realizes that the President’s power is preeminently to PERSUADE and then to LEAD, not principally to PLEASE.

She gave a hint of her tactical approach as well in the manner in which she critiqued Gingrich for allowing the NBC newsreader to frame the issues. This is a typical affliction of the garden variety politician who essentially believes in nothing and, instead of listening to the question posed, is neurotically trying to frame an answer that will please or at least not offend. Palin, supremely confident in her beliefs, does not suffer from such neuroses, and she is able to focus entirely on the question and to edit it or correct its premise as needed. Sarah Palin will not be led down the primrose path by the likes of Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney or Obama. She will be rocking them back on their heels from the jump.

This campaign, strategically, may bear some resemblance to the great Reagan insurgencies of 1976 and 1980, but it will not be encumbered with the Establishment baggage of a John Sears (whose mistakes sank the Reagan’s 1976 campaign and very nearly did the same in 1980 before Reagan marginalized, and then fired him). The 2008 campaign taught Palin a lesson, which she probably already knew, but which she---as McCain’s loyal number 2, was not free to embrace: With most politicians, there is less there than meets the eye. With so-called campaign gurus (are you listening Rove and Schmidt?), there is less there than that. Hers will be a Reagan style insurgency without the “guru generated” foot faults of 1976 and 1980.

There is another reason I believe that her campaign will be strategically similar to the Reagan insurgencies. Governor Palin is the first major GOP figure since Reagan left office to step forward and defend President Reagan and his administration, albeit subtly, from the “kinder and gentler” dig at his Administration delivered by his Vice President, George H.W. Bush, at the 1988 Convention and repeated only two years ago by Jeb Bush, who advised the GOP to move past its “nostalgia” for Reagan.

In defending Reagan’s real legacy, she separates herself from the Establishment that always reviled Reagan and now reviles her. At the Ranch, she noted that the conservative movement, which Reagan birthed and to which she belongs: "has never been more engaged... and more willing to put up with what it takes to serve." Observing that Reagan was unique, she freely conceded that: "No. There is not one replacement for Reagan, but rather an army of patriotic Davids who are not afraid to stand up and speak out in defense of liberty. These Davids aren't afraid to tell Goliath, 'Don't tread on me.'"

The battle lines are drawn, and the Governor has drawn them, aligning herself firmly with the successful ideas of Reagan and against the carnage wrought by his successors' expansionist Great Society ideology of the last two decades. In 2012, it will not just be Sarah Palin versus Barack Obama, but Palin versus the Establishment-sponsored, Bush-Clinton-Obama "hydra of big government" that has grown at a gallop since the Gipper left the scene in 1989.

David versus Goliath, huh? Looks like she is reaching into her pouch for a smooth stone...

Friday, May 20, 2011

Video: Mama Grizzly has a fire in her belly


Hot Air 
by Tina Korbe

By now you’ve heard it: Sarah Palin yesterday told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren she has “a fire in [her] belly” about 2012.

“I think my problem is I do have the fire in my belly,” she said when Van Susteren asked whether she wants the White House.

What Palin does with that fire, of course, remains to be seen. As she acknowledged to Van Susteren, she has plenty of practical, pragmatic factors to consider. Regardless, she’ll surely play a part in the 2012 election, as she suggested the second time she used the expression in the segment.

“I am so adamantly supportive of the good, traditional things about America and our free enterprise system,” she said. “I want to make sure America is put back on the right track and we will do that by defeating Obama in 2012. I have that fire in my belly.”

She’s not the only one to have that particular fire in her belly. Here’s hoping that’s where the focus of the 2012 GOP primary season remains … on the “good, traditional things about America and our free enterprise system.” It’s encouraging to know Palin will lend her considerable voice, charm and cheerfulness to the cause of the GOP regardless of whether she throws her hat in the ring as a candidate. And if all the GOP candidates shared the graciousness Palin displayed when she said last night, “We all stumble; we all make mistakes,” the Republican nominee — whoever it might be — would be in great shape. That kind of politeness could only make it easier for the base to coalesce around one candidate later.