Friday, August 26, 2011

What pundits should be talking about when it comes to Palin

The Daily Caller

By

While some pundits are busy calling Sarah Palin thin-skinned, claiming that there is “no space for her” in the 2012 race and incessantly speculating about her potential announcement date, some of us are sitting by laughing, sufficiently amused by typical establishment tactics that have grown tired, old and frankly a little boring.

Mark Levin addressed the pontification by pundits about a potential Palin announcement on September 3: “They’re throwing that out there because they want to create the impression that if she doesn’t announce by the third, that she’s incompetent or it’s impossible for her to win. And you have to keep in mind all these people you see on TV who are operatives or consultants, they’re working for other candidates behind the scenes. Maybe they’re not on their payroll, but they’re trying to promote them … I also believe that Rove and Dick Morris and some of the others are throwing that out there as a setup to attack her when she doesn’t.”
I couldn’t agree more.

So while the business-as-usual boys and girls play their games, I thought we could do something productive and revisit ten aspects of Sarah Palin’s gubernatorial record worth highlighting. Whether she makes a run for the presidency or not — and I personally believe that she will — let’s take a look at some things the media and the D.C./Manhattan elite haven’t quite gotten around to mentioning.
  1. As governor in 2007, Palin was responsible for the largest veto totals in state history, while investing $1 billion in forward-funding education and fulfilling public safety and infrastructure necessities.
  1. Palin invested $5 billion in state savings during a time of economic surplus.
  1. Palin reduced spending by 9.5% from 2007 to 2010 and slashed earmark requests by over 80% during her time as governor.
  1. Under Palin, Alaska’s total liabilities were reduced by 34.6% overall.
  1. As governor, Palin was the CEO of the state and had substantial authority. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, “In Alaska, the Governor has line-item veto power over the budget and can only be overridden by a three-quarters majority of the Legislature.”
  1. Palin’s free-market approach to AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act) featured full transparency with respect to competitors and no back-door meetings. It also unlocked the ConocoPhillips, BP and ExxonMobil monopoly and marked an enormous step toward energy independence.
  1. Palin tossed out the corruption-ridden, structurally-flawed Petroleum Profits Tax of the Murkowski administration and put forth ACES (Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share), which incentivized development while seeing to it that Alaskans — resource owners as per the Alaska Constitution — would receive “A CLEAR and EQUITABLE SHARE (ACES) of the value of their commonly-owned oil and gas.” The result? Alaska was left with a $12 billion surplus. Also, as reported at Big Government, “The number of oil companies filing with the Alaska Department of Revenue has doubled, indicating that competition has indeed increased. Alaska has the second most business friendly tax set-up — up two spots since the passage of ACES. Additionally, a report from Governor Parnell’s Department of Revenue indicated that 2009 yielded a record high in oil jobs.”
  1. Palin held ExxonMobil’s feet to the fire when it wasn’t abiding by a lease agreement to drill in Point Thomson. (You thin-skinned hockey mom, you!) After over 25 years of sitting on leases with no activity, ExxonMobil finally got to it.
  1. Palin served as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors, chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, vice chair of the National Governors Association Natural Resources Committee and chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
  1. Palin’s commitment to free-market competition and transparency is well-evidenced by her establishment of the Alaska Health Care Strategies Planning Council (HCSPC) and her introduction of the Alaska Health Care Transparency Act. The American Spectator points out that although it didn’t make it through the legislature, “The Alaska Health Care Transparency Act confirmed that Sarah Palin means it when she says she’s in politics to ‘challenge the status quo and to serve the common good.’ Moreover, her push for greater competition also demonstrates that she understands the potential of the free market to cure much of what ails American health care.
Whether you’re supporting her for president or not, Sarah Palin is a woman who has been consistent, tough and principled. In fact, the same woman speaking out vigorously against the Obamacare mandate once spoke out just as vigorously against people being mandated to pay for weekly trash removal!

At a time when the Obama administration is directly inhibiting a successful path toward energy independence, I think there’s plenty of room for a presidential candidate who knows a thing or two about how to tap into our God-given resources in order to spur job growth and protect our national security.

So pundits, take on her record if you’d like to. Ask tough questions. Hold her accountable for what she has said and done. But how about letting her announce when she’s ready?

And as far as the “thin-skinned,” “no space for her” nonsense — give us a break.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

On the Future of Libya

Governor Palin has released a statement on Libya.  ~ teledude

Facebook
Sarah Palin

We join the Libyan people in gratefulness as we hear of Col. Gaddafi’s defeat. The fall of a tyrant and sponsor of terrorism is a great day for freedom-loving people around the world. But the path to democracy in Libya is not complete, and we must make wise choices to ensure that our national interests are protected.

First, the White House needs to avoid triumphalism. Gaddafi may be gone, but the fighting may not be complete. As we’ve seen in Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, we must not celebrate too quickly. There are now mounting concerns that we will see tribal and sectarian fighting in Libya like we saw in Iraq. Let’s hope that is not the case, but it must be prepared for.

Second, we must be very concerned about the future government that will emerge to take Gaddafi’s place. History teaches that those with the guns usually prevail when a coalition overthrows a tyrant. We must remember that military power ultimately resides with the rebel commanders. This should be a source of some concern. The armed opposition to Gaddafi is an outgrowth of a group called Islamic Libya Fighting Group, and some rebel commanders admit that they have Al Qaeda links. The rebel fighters are from different tribes, and they have a variety of political views. Some are Islamists, some appear to favor some sort of western democracy. We should work through diplomatic means to help those who want democracy to come out on top.

That said, we should not commit U.S. troops or military assets to serve as peacekeepers or perform humanitarian missions or nation-building in Libya. Our military is already over-committed and strained, and a vaguely designed mission can be the first step toward a quagmire. The internal situation does not seem stable enough for U.S. forces to operate in a purely humanitarian manner without the possibility of coming under attack. Troop deployment to Libya would mean placing America’s finest in a potentially hostile zone that is not in our vital national security interest.

Finally, we must make sure that terrorist groups don’t try to co-opt the revolution, as Al Qaeda is trying to do in Syria. We should continue to use our intelligence assets to monitor the situation in Libya to ensure that potentially dangerous weapons are secured, and that terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda don’t gain a foothold in Libya.

People of Libya, be vigilant. May this opportunity be used to build a free and peaceful country.

- Sarah Palin

Friday, August 19, 2011

Iowa Passion

In case anyone missed it, Governor Palin stopped by the Iowa State Fair last week. This is a great video of her time there.  ~ teledude

SarahPAC



A week later we are still remembering all the great patriotic Iowans we met at the state fair. We are also still trying to work off that delicious fried butter on a stick and red velvet funnel cake. I look forward to being back in Iowa in Indianola on September 3rd. Enjoy SarahPAC’s latest video and thank you Iowa!

- Sarah Palin

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sarah Palin Has Millions Of Reasons For Delaying Her Announcement

Free Republic
By Brices Crossroads

I listen ad nauseam to posters, some who are pro-Palin and some who are anti-Palin, discourse about Sarah Palin's entry (or non-entry) into the 2012 Presidential sweepstakes, generally advising her to "Hurry up!". Those afflicted with PDS (Palin Derangement Syndrome) gleefully proclaim that she is not running. Of course, not only is there no evidence for this proposition, her actions in the last six months, as well as many of her statements, would lead any rational observer to believe that she will run. But leaving aside the PDSers (who are in any case engaging in wishful thinking because they do not want her to run), let me turn to the not insignificant number of Palinistas who are anxious that she should unambiguously announce her candidacy YESTERDAY or, at the very least, today.

They are being taunted by the Establishment and the Mainstream Media over the delay in Palin's announcement. The Establishment is motivated by a desire that Palin, if she means to get in, enter the race sooner rather than later for strategic reasons, as I will explain. The media, always hungry for ratings, is motivated by a desire to have Palin in the race because her presence will juice up their withering balance sheets. The Palinistas merely want to be able to advocate for her as an official candidate and to hurl a collective "I told ya so" at her detractors.

None of these constitutes a valid reason for her to adjust her announcement schedule if she wants to actually increase her chances of winning the nomination. There are many reasons to delay. The other candidates will begin to fade and to drop out, as they have. There is not clear frontrunner, which there isn't. The field is weak, which it is. And the candidates have not been vetted, which will cause their support to erode over time. On the other hand, Palin has 100% name recognition and is very popular with the GOP base. She does not need to introduce herself to them, although she will have to re-introduce herself to the national electorate, a process that she already begun with her bus tour and movie.

The most compelling reason to delay is very simple. Money. Palin will have to run an insurgent campaign. I believe she will have adequate funding, but she will not be able to compete with Establishment candidates like Romney and Perry in fundraising. A longer campaign, while it might warm the cockles of the Palinista heart, plays to the advantage of the well heeled Establishment candidates.

A shorter campaign neutralizes that advantage. Both Romney and Perry will have more money than Palin. That is certain. But it is far from decisive. In 1979, Eastern Establishment scion George Bush outraised Ronald Reagan by a wide margin for his 1980 run, and former Texas Governor John Connally raised more than both, an up to that time unheard-of $11 million (for which he garnered a single delegate, before dropping out after the South Carolina primary).

As Craig Shirley reported in his book, Rendezvous with Destiny, Reagan was cash-strapped when he announced (in November 1979)and did not have enough money to purchase a half hour of broadcast time the night of his announcement. And Reagan was nearly completely broke after the New Hampshire primary, while Bush continued to run a well funded campaign. Bush and Conally used their largesse to run longer, more expensive campaigns, defeating Reagan in virtually every straw poll in the summer and fall of 1979. (In Iowa, among the candidates on the straw poll ballot, it was Bush: 36%; Connally: 15% ; Bob Dole: 14%; Ronald Reagan 11%) The Gipper did worse in others, often finishing in single digits, as he did in an Oregon straw poll won by Bush with 35%. (h/t: Rendezvous with Destiny, Chapter 4)

What nearly cost Reagan the nomination in 1980 was a) the overspending of his campaign BEFORE and after his announcement and b) his failure to compete vigorously in Iowa(he visited the state only once) He lost narrowly to Bush 33-31 on caucus night. Bachmann's straw poll win garnered her some free publicity, but she bought 6000 tickets (@ $35 a pop) and received only 4800 votes.

The delay in Palin's announcement is principally rooted in a desire to neutralize the Establishment's money advantage. She already has a grass roots organization on the ground in Iowa (where she has been observed twice now in the company of Iowa fundraiser Becky Beach). She is not going to play in straw polls which do nothing but swell the coffers of the Establishment state parties, which by and large oppose her, and which garner no delegates. And her two recent visits to Iowa, to Pella and Ames, which were accompanied by raucous receptions, as well as her upcoming speech to the Tea Party activists at Wauka on September 3, indicate that she is not about to repeat the Gipper's mistake of overlooking Iowa.

Her entry in the next few weeks will cut Bachmann's support in the state in half, but she will also draw votes from conservative Catholics (who find Bachmann off-putting) and from the two governors still in the race, Romney and Perry. She is able to draw not just from the Evangelical wing (where she will shrink Bachmann dramatically) but from the CATO economic libertarian wing which finds both Perry's crony capitalism and Romney's statism anathema and which does not like Bachmann's high profile evangelical fervor.

Far from threatening her campaign, Sarah Palin's delay in announcing will prove to have been a brilliant move, as as well as a fiscally prudent one (portending no doubt the kind of Administration she will run), and it will set the standard for insurgent candidates in future races.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Palin Lays Out What Her Campaign Would Look Like

Governor Palin stopped by the Iowa State Fair today and was swarmed by well wishers and press. She was able to interact with many Iowans and looked to be having a great time, including answering  press questions for over an hour. Here is an on the scene report from Scott Conroy. I have included some great photos found at Barbaric Thoughts.  ~ teledude


Real Clear Politics
By Scott Conroy






DES MOINES, Iowa -- Though she said that she has not yet made up her mind about whether to launch a presidential run, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday demonstrated that she has done some serious thinking about her potential strategy, should she launch a campaign in the coming weeks.

Palin answered questions from reporters for over an hour as she strolled through the state fair here alongside her husband, Todd, and prominent Iowa GOP fundraiser Becky Beach. The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee was asked several times whether the decision by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to enter the race meant that the window to throw her hat into the ring has closed, and she was emphatic that it has not.

Asked to compare her record to Perry’s, Palin noted that Alaska’s Constitution provides for a “very, very strong governor’s office,” which she said is not the case in Texas. Though she took issue with the suggestion that she was creating a contrast between Perry and herself, Palin has clearly been thinking about how she would run a campaign against a soon-to-be announced candidate whose base of support might overlap heavily with hers.

One of Palin’s most reflective answers of the day -- and one that seemed especially revealing of her current thinking -- came when RCP asked her what kind of campaign she would run. Her response is reprinted in full below:

“Each campaign that I’ve ever run in these 20 years of elected office have been kind of unconventional -- right, Todd? We’ve always been outspent two to one, 10 to one, five to one; never won any polls heading into election night but usually won the election. So it would be unconventional and very grass-roots. Very grass-roots. And I wouldn’t be out there looking for hires out of that political bubble that seem to result in the same old ideas, the same old talking points, the things that Americans get so sick and tired of hearing and kind of suffering through.

“You know, we want new. We want new energy. We want conviction and passion and candidness -- even if through that candidness you make mistakes and you say things like ‘the executive power in Texas is different than the executive power in Alaska.’ . . . I’m just saying that candidness, not fearing so much what the interpretation is going to be when it comes to the comments and positions you’re articulating but just speaking from the heart and saying, ‘Here’s where I think America needs to head, and here’s how I think we can turn the economy around, and here’s what I’ve done in the past to show you truly a foundation of where my beliefs come from of what works in a small town, in a state, in a big industry like oil and gas -- what is it that can be done to turn things around.’ I’ll express that and not fearing what the ramifications of the expressions would be.”

Scott Conroy is a national political reporter for RealClearPolitics. He can be reached at sconroy@realclearpolitics.com.




Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The One Nation Tour keeps on rolling!

Breaking News! The One Nation Tour continues! Governor Palin is coming to the Iowa State Fair!~ teledude

 Email from SarahPac

We are very happy to jump back on the bus for another leg of our "One Nation Tour"! We accept with gratefulness an invitation to meet folks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this week. The heartland is perfect territory for more of the One Nation Tour as we put forth efforts to revitalize the fundamental restoration of America by highlighting our nation's heart, history, and founding principles.



In a grossly weakened economy - especially when recovery is thwarted by today's Obamanomics - prudent Americans make sensible decisions to live within their means. This includes seeking affordable participation in more community events, local patriotic parades, and traditional all-American venues like state fairs. State fairs hold a special place in our nation's history and heritage, so my family is honored to highlight one of them on one stop along the One Nation Tour route - America's historic Iowa State Fair! (I'm also excited to try some of that famous fried butter-on-a-stick, fried cheesecake-on-a-stick, fried twinkies, etc. I'll enjoy them in honor of those who'd rather make us just "eat our peas"!)
Unlike next week's Obama Bus Tour, taxpayers aren't funding our tour, which is why we so appreciate your support in allowing us to be out there on the open road to visit with you to highlight small towns, big-hearted people, and the important role they play in our most exceptional nation.
You can participate with support for the "One Nation Tour" through SarahPAC.com and following virtually by bookmarking the SarahPAC website. We'll have updates from the road as our Constitution-draped bus travels to shine a spotlight on more of our nation's fine history. Watch this video and let the American road inspire you!
Thank you for your continued support of SarahPAC. Let's stay committed to the worthy cause - restoring all that is good and strong and free in America!

Thank you sincerely,










Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Palin knocks it out of the park

Governor Palin's brilliant Facebook post on the debt crisis is still getting rave reviews. She is the only one with the clarity and resolve to address our nations problems. ~ teledude

Hot Air

by J.E. Dyer


Few people in the public eye have said anything useful about the recent unpleasantness with the national debt and the national credit rating.  The president hasn’t.  The vice president hasn’t.  Surprisingly few of the declared Republican candidates have.  The MSM haven’t.  They’re busy trying to make the expression “Tea Party downgrade” go viral.

Indeed, at this hour of reckoning, with the Dow plunging and markets in turmoil around the world, the MSM have achieved another playground-taunt triumph with the silly Newsweek cover featuring an unflattering photo of Michelle Bachmann.  These people seem to have no sense of proportion, no judgment, no recognition that things have become serious and the time for sophomoric media jabs is past.



Who cares how they can make Bachmann look on a magazine cover?  The tabloids demonstrate several times a year that they can make the world’s most beautiful women look like something from the back of the refrigerator, if they photograph them in bad light with a telephoto lens.  The Bachmann cover is the equivalent of a slam-book entry, about as intelligent as holding your nose and chanting “You smell!” at a classmate.  Ridicule is the cheapest thing there is – and in politics, it’s usually deployed to shift the focus from a needed debate to specious topics and emotion.  I’d call it a reversion to high school, but it would be an insult even to middle-schoolers to pin it on their age group.



Meanwhile, Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan have had good, inspiring, on-target things to say about the US fiscal crisis.  Michelle Bachmann has had good things to say.  John Bolton had an important piece making the case that national security is inextricably linked with fiscal security, a much-needed point in the context of the recent debate.



But Sarah Palin came through today with a Facebook post that strikes the right tone and is at once simple, direct, and comprehensive.  It doesn’t rail at past mistakes, nor does it come across as a raised-voice, you’ve-got-to-get-this-people communication.  Palin takes it for granted – with refreshing common sense – that we are in a crisis, its features are obvious, and the task now is to deal with it, not continue to argue whether it’s really a crisis or how big it is or whose name we can pin on it.



She makes no bones about the significance of the problem we face.  I am particularly impressed with her point that if we don’t square ourselves away, the specter hangs over us of IMF staffers showing up on our doorstep with China and France and Germany arrayed behind them, ready to throw folders on a desk and start telling us how much we can spend on cable TV and incidentals each month.  Whether things would really play out for the US as they are playing out for Greece and Ireland is a valid question, but Palin is quite correct that the pitched confrontation is on the horizon now, as it was not six weeks ago – and she has the courage to face that possibility head-on.  It’s not pleasant to mention it, but it’s the right thing to do.



The last third of Palin’s post is devoted to laying out what we need to do.  Grow the economy by releasing the regulatory clamps on it, starting with the energy sector.  Cut spending and reform entitlements.  She doesn’t pretend the latter would be easy, but she faces head-on the fact that it is inescapably necessary.  I urge you to read her post for the discussion of particulars.  It is material and convincing without being in the weeds.



The piece is positive and encouraging for its forthrightness.  There is nothing “clever” to be done in this situation; it’s all straightforward.  The US federal government has to cut spending and let the economy grow, even if that means breaking the stranglehold of unions on the public trough and overruling advocacy groups and government bureaucrats who don’t want the economy to grow.  Pretending that the federal budget is too complex to be governed by the ordinary rules of accounting – or that the US is too special to be limited by the ordinary definition of fiscal solvency – is a dodge, not a sign of insight or expertise.



Palin focuses like any good executive on the big picture.  We have to cut spending and get government out of the economy’s way so it can start pumping out revenues again.  These things are increasingly obvious to everyone, and moreover, they constitute a plan.  Talking ourselves into corners about other, tangential things isn’t even interesting any more.  It feels so wrong that it’s hard to watch anyone’s news program at the moment: no one seems to be talking about what matters.



What is interesting is how few in our national political life have put the case together, as Palin has, without temporizing or bloviating.  I haven’t heard anyone else do what she does with this post.  She acknowledges the actual, enormous scope of the problem, envisions a solution, and outlines what to do to achieve it, with encouragement that it can be done.  It is sad and a little frightening that so many Americans have become unable to see this for what it is:  leadership.  Almost everyone else is focused more narrowly, on one aspect of the problem or another, and a good few commentators don’t seem to even have the vocabulary or the mental infrastructure to address the problem itself; they can only express opinions about the impossibility of the politics surrounding it.



It is the opposite of stupid to recognize the problem’s stark and simple outlines when all around you are swinging blindfolded at piñatas.  We spend too much, and we suppress economic growth and revenues with regulation.  Palin articulates that clearly.  Her ability to reach out directly through social media, and put her case in her terms, is a net positive for our current political climate.  She remains one of the best reasons to not let the MSM dictate our ideas and preferences to us.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Conquering the Storm

Governor Palin took to facebook today to address our current economic situation and the S&P downgrade of our countries credit rating. Her clear minded leadership  is so needed at this time.  ~ teledude





Facebook
Governor Sarah Palin



In the coming days we’ll sort through the repercussions of S&P’s downgrade of our credit rating, including concerns about the impact a potential interest rate increase would have on our ability to service our suffocating $14.5 trillion debt.

I’m surprised that so many people seem surprised by S&P’s decision. Weren’t people paying attention over the last year or so when we were getting warning after warning from various credit rating agencies that this was coming? I’ve been writing and speaking about it myself for quite some time.

Back in December 2010, I wrote: “If the European debt crisis teaches us anything, it’s that tomorrow always comes. Sooner or later, the markets will expect us to settle the bill for the enormous Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending binge. We’ve already been warned by the credit ratings agency Moody’s that unless we get serious about reducing our deficit, we may face a downgrade of our credit rating.” And again in January, in response to President Obama’s State of the Union address I wrote: “With credit ratings agency Moody’s warning us that the federal government must reverse the rapid growth of national debt or face losing our triple-A rating, keep in mind that a nation doesn’t look so ‘great’ when its credit rating is in tatters.”

One doesn’t need a Harvard Law degree to figure this out! Just look across the pond at Europe. European nations with less debt and smaller deficits than ours and with real “austerity” plans in place to deal with them have had their ratings downgraded. By what magical thinking did we figure we could run up perpetual trillion dollar deficits and still somehow avoid the unforgiving mathematics of a downgrade? Nothing is ever “too big to fail.” And there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Didn’t we all learn that in our micro and macro econ classes? I did at the University of Idaho. How could Obama skip through Columbia and Harvard without learning that?

Many commonsense Americans like myself saw this day coming. In fact, in June 2010, Rick Santelli articulated the view of independent Tea Party patriots everywhere when he shouted on CNBC, “I want the government to stop spending! Stop spending! Stop spending! Stop spending! STOP SPENDING!” So, how shamelessly cynical and dishonest must one be to blame this inevitable downgrade on the very people who have been shouting all along “stop spending”? Blaming the Tea Party for our credit downgrade is akin to Nero blaming the Christians for burning Rome. Tea Party Americans weren’t the ones “fiddling” while our country’s fiscal house was going up in smoke. In fact, we commonsense fiscal conservatives were the ones grabbing for the extinguishers while politically correct politicians and their cronies buried their heads in what soon became this bonfire.

With S&P and others now warning that we could face another downgrade if we don’t get serious about our debt problem (i.e., recklessly spending money we don't have), Washington needs to wake up before things get worse! We’re already hearing murmurs about QE3, which is just madness and will further debase our currency at a time when the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency is already being questioned. The loss of the dollar’s reserve currency status would adversely impact us in every conceivable way. Our standard of living would decline as imports become more expensive (including imports of foreign oil), government wouldn’t be able to finance deficits as cheaply, and American corporations – employers – would lose a competitive edge. It would be another crack in our status as a financial superpower.

Last May, I gave a speech at Westhills Community College in Lemoore, California, to an audience that included farmers from California’s Central Valley. I tried to paint a picture for them of where all of this was heading. The following is an excerpt from my prepared remarks:

Now we’re all getting hit with rising food prices too. Back in November of last year, I predicted this would happen when the Federal Reserve dropped a $600 billion money bomb called QE2 on us! That’s short for “quantitative easing 2.” It’s a fancy term for running the printing presses and creating money out of thin air – which drives down the value of the dollar and makes the price of everything more expensive.

As I predicted six months ago, these policies will lead us down a path where for the first time in our history our fate will be taken out of our own hands and placed in the hands of the world’s capital markets. They will force us to make the responsible decisions that our leaders are unwilling to make. Just as the destinies of the Central Valley farms have been taken out of your hands by the federal government’s overreach into your water rights, so the destiny of our nation will be taken out of our hands because our leadership has failed to get our financial house in order.

This isn’t some theoretical threat any more. It’s already happening. The world’s biggest bond investment fund PIMCO announced last month that it was dumping U.S. Treasury bonds. The head of PIMCO, Bill Gross, one of the world’s preeminent debt investors, warned that the U.S. is in serious risk of default with our trillion dollar deficits and no end in sight. And last week, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded our credit outlook to “negative” – that’s the first time that has happened to us since the attack on Pearl Harbor. The IMF has even given us formal notice that, unless we do something to deal with our debt problem, we could tip the world economy into another recession.

It is a disgraceful and embarrassing situation when the United States finds itself justifiably chastised in the same tone normally reserved for near-bankrupt economies.

And in this, like in shutting off your water, the federal government has failed you. Their reckless spending and destruction of the dollar will make access to available credit for farmers and small business owners harder to get. And it will make transportation costs higher because it will hit everyone at the gas pump. You see, because the Obama White House won’t let us drill domestically, we’re forced to import oil that we pay for in dollars. So, when the value of the dollar drops, the price of gas goes up. And if you think $4 a gallon is bad, wait till you see what life is like at $6 or $7 a gallon.

Last November, the so-called smart people all laughed at me when I warned them of this. They told me not to make such a big deal about rising prices. Well, guess what – it became a big deal all on its own.

In fact, there was an editorial in the New York Sun that said – and I quote: “As gasoline is nearing six dollars a gallon at some pumps, the cost of groceries is skyrocketing, and the value of the dollars…has collapsed to less than a 1,500th of an ounce of gold. Unemployment is still high. Shakespeare couldn’t come up with a better plot. But how in the world did Mrs. Palin, who is supposed to be so thick, manage to figure all this out so far ahead of the New York Times and all the economists it talked to?”

Well, I’m sure the New York Times writers will remember the famous line: “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” And right now the American economy is in the howling, hot headwinds of a gathering storm. We’re printing up and buying up our own notes at an unprecedented rate, and the Fed is artificially holding interest rates down to nearly zero. Anyone with commonsense could see what was coming. Unfortunately, common sense is in short supply among our leaders. It’s like they never believe that the rules of common sense apply to them. They think somehow we'll escape from the consequences of their policies. It’s the same magical thinking that allows them to run up trillion dollar deficits and still think that we can “win the future.”

Every other generation has weathered recessions by sacrifice and belt tightening. But our leaders today decided that they could magically paper over the tough decisions by running the printing presses. A little history lesson might have showed them how well that worked out for Germany in the 1930s. The Weimar Republic inflated its currency so much that it took a wheel barrel full of paper money to buy a loaf of bread. That might be the main thing I remember from Mr. Crum’s history class at Wasilla High, but it told me all I needed to know about the inflationary dangers of a weak currency and why we must avoid it. What a shame Mr. Crum didn’t teach at Harvard.

That was just three months ago, and things have already gotten worse. We have to face this storm head on. It won’t be easy, but there are real solutions to grow our economy and reduce our debt.

First, we need to get serious about our deficit. No more accounting gimmicks. No more cuts in “out-years” that never materialize. The permanent political class in D.C. might be fooling themselves with these Enron-like accounting games, but they’re not fooling the world’s capital markets. And we don’t need any more happy talk from the White House about “investing” in solar shingles and really fast trains. The White House shouldn’t even bother floating these new spending programs. We can’t afford them. Period. We need to stop this deficit spending, balance our budget, repeal Obamacare, cancel all unused stimulus funds, and reform our entitlement programs. We have to have an adult conversation about our spending commitments; circumstances have changed, and we must adapt. I know none of this will be easy, but, “thick” or not, the average American outside the D.C. politico bubble knows that we no longer have a choice! We will have entitlement reform and a balanced budget; it’s just a matter of how. We can do it ourselves in a calm, methodical, and responsible manner, or we can wait for the world’s capital markets to ram it down on us. Let’s be responsible and do it ourselves. And let’s get serious about reducing the size of government across the board and rooting out waste. How many more reports (that today are destined to merely gather dust on the shelf) do we need about duplicative and unnecessary programs before we actually do something about government waste?

We need to get this economy moving again, and the real stimulus we’ve been waiting for is domestic energy development. We must reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil by responsibly developing natural resources here. This will provide good paying jobs, reduce our trade deficit, increase federal and state revenue, ensure environmental standards, and actually stimulate our economy without incurring any debt. That’s real stimulus! Affordable, plentiful, and secure energy is the foundation of every thriving economy. Let’s make it the foundation of ours. Let’s do the opposite of President Obama’s manipulation of U.S. energy supplies. Let’s drill here, build refineries, and stop kowtowing to foreign countries in asking them to ramp up energy production which makes us even more beholden to them as we rely on their foreign product. Let’s move on tapping our massive domestic natural gas reserves. Natural gas is the perfect “bridge fuel” to a future when more renewable sources are available. It’s clean, it’s green, and we’ve got a lot of it. Let’s drill. Let’s build an infrastructure for natural gas cars and power plants. Energy development can help kick start our economic engine.

In addition to energy security, I embrace a pro-growth agenda that can make American corporations far more competitive on the global stage. (I will be writing more about this in the coming days.) We need to tell the world, “America is open for business again!” And let’s welcome industry by reducing burdensome regulations. The Obama administration keeps strangling businesses in red tape. From the EPA’s rulings to that nightmare known as Obamacare, the Obama administration is hanging one regulatory albatross after another around the private sector’s neck. Let’s get government out of the way and give the private sector room to breathe, grow, and thrive. We can provide businesses confidence to expand and hire Americans in a stable environment.

Be wary of the efforts President Obama makes to “fix” the debt problem. The more he tries to “fix” things, the worse they get because his “solutions” always involve spending more, taxing more, growing government, and increasing debt. This debt problem is the greatest challenge facing our country today. Obviously, President Obama doesn’t have a plan or even a notion of how to deal with it. His press conference today was just a rehash of his old talking points and finger-pointing. That’s why he can’t be re-elected in 2012.

Our economic news is disheartening and the task before us can seem daunting, but we must not lose our sense of optimism. People look around today and may see only the negative. They see a culture and a nation in decline, but that’s not who we are! America must regain its optimistic pioneering spirit again. Our founders declared that “we were born the heirs of freedom.” We are the heirs of those who froze with Washington at Valley Forge, who held the line at Gettysburg, who freed the slaves, carved a nation out of the wilderness, and allowed reward for work ethic. We are the sons and daughters of that Greatest Generation who stormed the beaches of Normandy, raised the flag at Iwo Jima, and made America the strongest and most prosperous nation in the history of mankind. By God, we will not squander what has been given us!

Our destiny is still in our own hands if we pick ourselves up and act responsibly and quickly. We must all get involved. Concerned Americans must seek truth, work harder than ever, and be willing to sacrifice today to ensure freedom tomorrow. Please get engaged in 2012 electoral politics and support experienced, vetted, pro-free market fiscal conservatives who will dedicate all to preserving our Republic and protecting our Constitution.

- Sarah Palin

Friday, August 5, 2011

My response to the 'quitter' meme

I came across a posting on the internet today...it was another old worn out attempt to bash Governor Palin as a quitter for resigning as Governor. At first I wasn't going to respond, but I feel we need to put these mindless posters in their place. I guess this is one 'battle' that will have to be waged over and over, one groupthink imbecile at a time. Here was my brief response...maybe it will help some people view it in a different light. ~ teledude



People are so used to politicians fighting to remain in power no matter what for their own personal political ambitions (see: Weiner, Rangle, etc.) that when a true public servant comes along that has the best interests of their constituents at heart, it looks unusual.

Governor Palin was a target and her office was hamstrung by the legal attacks (directed from the White House) that were costing the state millions in legal fees and lost productivity.

She recognized that by removing the target (her) the Governor's office could get back to it's normal responsibilities.

She had already fulfilled all of her campaign promises and had made such unprecedented reforms the state of Alaska was set on a course of fiscal solvency for decades to come.

Alaska has a $12 Billion dollar surplus now due to the reforms and frugal government she instituted.

Her resignation was a selfless act of courage. She put the people of Alaska ahead of her own personal ambitions, she had already accomplished all she set out to do...and she could have stuck around drawing a salary and milking the system while the state suffered as most typical politicians do, but instead, by resigning, she won a victory against her political enemies and went on to help engender the Republican landslide in 2010.

This is why the left hates her so...she is effective. The fact that they have been reduced to calling her a quitter shows they have nothing of substance against her.

She is the exact opposite of a quitter, which they will see very shortly. Soon they will be wishing she would 'quit'.


~teledude

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Road to Waukee: August 2nd


Organize4Palin
Peter Singleton and Michelle McCormick

Dear friends,

We just got back from another extended walk-through of the September 3 Rally site with one of the event organizers.  Everything we said in our initial post still stands–we feel even more strongly now that this will be an extraordinary, even epochal, day.

We’ve had the chance to read some of the initial comments on our “Road to Waukee: July 31″ post, and appreciate so much everyone’s thoughts, heart, and insights.  We did want to respond to the several of the comments which addressed the timing of the Governor’s announcement regarding 2012.

We, like most people in our broad network of folks who support Gov. Palin, believe it is a certainty she will run.  But just as certainly, we have no idea when she will announce, other than what she told Hannity the other day–that she would likely announce her decision with respect to 2012 in August or September.

But we have no expectation that the Governor is going to announce on September 3.  We counsel you against coming to Waukee on September 3, and rallying other people to do likewise, if that is your reason for coming.  You will only be disappointed if she does not announce, and may miss what is going to be a deeply meaningful event.

Labor Day weekend will arguably kick off the primary campaign for what may be the most important election in American history–an election where, if we offer a principled vision of America’s founding principles, the American people will choose between two radically different visions of who we are as a people.  This weekend, and this event, will prepare us on for what may be climactic battle for the survival of everything we hold most dear in this great land–a battle that will be fought in the realm of ideas, and in the forge of personal character and commitment to our ideals and principles.

The rally on September 3 will provide an opportunity for liberty-loving, patriotic Iowans to gather with one another, and with like-minded people from around the country, and prepare our hearts for the challenges straight ahead.

So come, do come, but come for the right reasons, and with an open heart and spirit for what will likely be an incredible moment of fellowship, and commitment, and resolve.
Let’s all of listen to and heed Mary Jane’s prescient, simple, and powerful words from the comments on our earlier post:
“I am guessing as [you both] “walk the grounds” you are praying with each step you take for godly principles and leadership to come back to America… that is my prayer, and [the prayer of] many here too . . . “
Amen.  We look forward to seeing many of you in Waukee on September 3 . . .

Peter and Michelle

The Road to Waukee: July 31st

 Organize4Palin
By Peter Singleton

We sat in on a meeting this evening held by the event organizers as they were going over the infinite details that go into planning an event of this complexity and size. We’ve become dear friends with these great folks–this has been one of the blessings of being involved as this event unfolds.
While the schedule for the day and the program itself are still being developed, there’s a tentative, draft program that the organizers went over in careful detail tonight. From the looks of things, it will not simply be a great event–there will be something magical that happens that day. You can also tell this by walking the grounds of the property where the event will be held, which I did on Friday, and we will do again tomorrow morning.
We are not expecting the Governor to announce a presidential run that day. Rather we simply don’t know what day or venue she is going to announce her decision with respect to 2012, which we believe will be a run. We do, however, suspect the Governor may use the opportunity of September 3 to speak to not only the people of Waukee and Iowans in general, but to the American people.
The Governor’s speeches at important moments have often laid out a case and engaged in a conversation with the American people about the pressing issues we are facing. At the National Tea Party Convention in February, 2010, she talked about restoration rather than “fundamental transformation.” In Madison earlier this year, she stood down the corrupt nexus of government sector unions and their wholly-owned politicians.
Now, We the People are beginning to turn our full attention to the 2012 election. This may be the most important election in American history. The Governor’s public statements and Facebook notes in recent weeks have increasingly made the case for what’s at stake in this election, and have begun to define the terms of debate on our side. No candidate, or other potential candidate, has come remotely close to doing this.
We don’t know what the Governor will speak about on September 3, but knowing the Governor’s character and commitment to the American people and our core values and principles, she will have something to say on that day, and it will be memorable.