Blogs and Stories
Palin's Final Insult
Scott Olson / Getty Images
It wasn’t enough to quit on Alaska mid-term. As The Daily Beast’s Max Blumenthal reports, Sarah Palin’s strange exit strategy could cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars as it tries to sort out the mess she left behind.
Since her sudden resignation from the Alaskan governor’s office on July 3, Sarah Palin has created a constitutional crisis that could cost state legislators hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayers' money to resolve. Palin appointed Lt. Governor Sean Parnell to succeed her, and tapped Lt. Gen. Craig Campbell, the commissioner of the Alaskan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, to fill Parnell’s post. However, the state legislature had already chosen someone to succeed Parnell in case of an emergency: State Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt. To resolve the conflict Palin created, the legislature will almost certainly have to call a special session, an event that could require at least $200,000 to administer.
“Nobody really understands why she tried to appoint Campbell, but nobody understands why she resigned either,” one Alaskan Democrat said. “That’s just Sarah—she’s always been this way.”
The legislative sources heaped scorn on Palin for saddling them with a new and potentially expensive crisis while she made plans to pursue lucre and celebrity in the lower 48.
“Honestly, Sarah’s resignation was complete bullshit and I’m saying that as a Republican,” a Republican political veteran working in the legislature told me. “In all my years in politics, nobody has left Alaska in such a mess. Everyone here is just shocked.” The Republican added, “There’s no choice but to hold a special session. The conflict has to be handled in an orderly way.”
“Sarah [Palin] just out of the blue picked a new person [for lieutenant governor] without even conceding that this was a new pick,” said Democratic Rep. Les Gara. “She has offered no explanation for doing this, which is like not turning in your homework and not saying why you didn’t turn it in.”
“Nobody really understands why she tried to appoint Campbell, but nobody understands why she resigned either,” Ethan Berkowitz, the former Democratic minority leader in the Alaskan House of Representatives, told me. “That’s just Sarah—she’s always been this way.”
The legislators said they would also use the special session to recover $29 million in federal stimulus grants Palin rejected in May. At the time, Gara and other lawmakers accused Palin of rejecting the money to further her national political ambitions. “I’m worried that the governor has taken this sort of national political stance, which is that she’s going to be the opposite of Barack Obama on everything,” Gara said in May. Now that Palin is on her way out, a bipartisan consensus seems to have emerged on retrieving the funding, which would enable the state to fulfill weatherization and energy-efficiency priorities.
According to Gara, if the legislature did not call a special session to restore the stimulus grants, the state would not be able to recover the money until January, when the legislature returns to its normal duties. “The mess continues,” he said with a tone of resignation.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
Geithner's Stock Plummeting
Jeff Madrick is a contributor to the New York Review of Books and a former economics columnist for the New York Times. He is editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at Cooper Union, and senior fellow at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. He is the author of Taking America, The End of Affluence (Random House) and The Case for Big Government.
Un-Pelosi: The Senator Who’ll Kill the Stupak Amendment
Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast, writing fellow at The Nation Institute and author of Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books). Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
Palin's Noxious Ghostwriter
Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast, writing fellow at The Nation Institute and author of Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books). Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
Did Women Beat the Right's Point Man?
Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast, writing fellow at The Nation Institute and author of Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books). Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
Even with this mess, Palin's resignation means it is time for the state of Alaska to start to heal.
Good article, much more reasonable than you usually are, Mr. Blumenthal.
This user is no longer registered.
Hold on...who created this mess? Could it be the cronyism of the Bush years? Palin is from the same stew, but with a dash more 'maverick' and a pinch less discipline.
You might want to do your homework. The ethic complaints were not made by democrats.....they were made by Republican citizens of Alaska. And some were certainly trivial, but some did have merit. One republican citizen made a complaint about the "travel expenses" charged to the state for her children. Also, the 3 person panel that judges these complaints was named by Governor Palin. Not exactly an objective group.
So before making "partisan" statements about the complaints being made by democrats, be fair and do your homework. Thanks.
You are wrong on this, not all the charges came from Dems. In fact, she filed one or two herself in Troopergate, and the most recent one, about the money she got for living in her own home (the per diem issue) was brought by a Republican. The fact is that the Dems sided with her more often in her first year, but once she became a national figure and bashed the Dems, she lost them in AK. I am SO sick of the right saying the Dems brought all the charges!!!
So typical of those wanting to hold on to the false perceptions fed by the Repubs in order to stay in power and have to agree with other replies; plz get informed and start doing your homework!
Not all those ethics complaints were filed by Democrats - a few were filed by Republicans, including the latest one regarding her per diem for living in her own house. Oh, and let's not forget her little Troopergate strategy of filing an ethics complaint against herself. Most of the money spent on ethics complaints came from Troopergate.
I agree with you for the most part!!! All those Obama lovers cant handle any one who doesnt agree with them. Congress spent way too much money under Bush, and now Obama and his party are spending 3 times as much in give aways and pay backs. Thats why this stimulous bill wont work, or any of their PORK FILLED, in the middle of the night, never read, sneaky, and pressured or we wont give you anything, or support to get re elected crap works.
Those who want everything for nothing keep on supporting Obama, He is a ONE TERM PRESIDENT!
Well, funny thing is that REPUBLICANS in Alaska filed most of the complaints against Palin. As far as Obama, he told us that this is a TWO-YEAR plan and that you can't undo Bush's mess overnight. I guess you are using selective hearing?
night dragon, you penned a good piece there, except you need to substitute Republicans for Democrats. The Repubs filed ethics charges idiot.
I'm still angry at Palin for saying that us Americans who live someplace other than small rural towns don't live in "Real America," for hypocritically accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists" when her own husband was a member of the militant separatist Alaska Independence Party, for defying Alaskan voters by continuing to promote the aerial hunting of wolves, etc., etc., etc. Yet, like Bush & Cheney, she has never admitted any fault, or apologized for any of her offensive actions or statements. Instead, she is sainted by the hateful, idiotic right wing for being some kind of a martyr to their reactionary cause. It's really just sad and frustrating to see people defending someone who is so fundamentally despicable and morally impaired as Sarah Palin.
The upside of this for progressives, however, is that the more attention people pay to Palin, the more marginalized the Republican Party will get. On the other hand, the divisions in this country seem to be preventing us from solving our real problems, from the environmental crisis to the economic slump. Yet when most Republicans deny that global warming is caused by humans and claim that the economy can be fixed with tax cuts, it makes it hard for anyone to have a rational discussion with them about anything that matters.
IF I had supported Barack Osama Obama like most of the left and the duped who were too stupid to see a wolf in sheep clothing, I suspect I would still be lost in the grandeur of the last election, still sucking on that straw, or trying to wipe that white powder off my nose. I suspect if I had voted for "that one" as the House leadership dubbed him, I would have trotted to the local gun show so I could purchase the weapon of my choice, so my gene pool could no longer be spread. Rather than do something productive, they still want to whine about the last 8 years. Wake up, and smell what is now being shoveled your way. You voted for "that one". You earned every bit of misery that he is going to bring everyone on this planet.
You are an idiot. I live in Alaska and Sarah Palin is the one who doesn't give a shit about Alaska. She came into office on the pledge of an open and transparent office. Ethics charges have been proven against her, from the misuse of office in Troopergate, which was prior to being picked by Mccain to the misuse of funds in traveling her children. They have been brought by both parties. Get the facts. She brought this upon herself by lying and welcoming the main stream media into her life.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
cahuber007: Every bit of misery is already here, courtesy of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. It will take years to put this country back together again, especially with people like you fighting against it every step of the way.
So Obama is to blame for the current mess yet he's only been in office for seven months. Yet you want us to forget the last eight years? I don't know how time works in your world but in mine seven months is a far cry from eight years.
The ethics charges were brought by "Republicans". They were not all found to be "false". That's what she told you "nimbnods".
And meanwhile back to reality of Nov. 4, 2008. "Zero" as you refer to our POTUS.
Obama/Biden "victorious". Palin/McCain "Zero"
cahuber007
It's amazing how the "miserable" people who lost keep projecting misery on everyone else.
You lost, you're still miserable. We're "NOT".
Palin is a Dumb Arse"
LOL sure.... you are just fishing around to find an excuse to bash our new President. I smell the same old stuff that comes from tr011s. sad but true.
and btw, the Republicans in Alaska Do want to stimulus money. and its Not going into the pockets of supporters of Obama. and if you are a working person, your paycheck reflects some of that same money every payday.
Anyone who begins a post "LOL" is begging not to be read.
oh nightdragon- i guess you believe the reason there are no dinosaurs left is that they didn't fit on the ark, right? As far as trashing Palin- basically if anyone chose to quote her verbatim (this means without editorializing her words- simply repeating them) it should be construed as trashing her because almost everything that comes out of her mouth is nonsense.
Alaska will not heal until the true reason that Sarah resigned,is revealed.
I SUPPORT SARAH PALIN !!!
you support quitters.
I'm glad to hear you support Sarah. So far, she's about 2 for 2 on quitting.
BTW: How do you define "lame duck"? The American Heritage dictionary defines lame duck as "1. an elected officeholder or an assembly continuing in office during the period between the election and the inauguration of a successor. 2. An ineffective or helpless person; a weakling." The New Oxford American Dictionary says: "An official (esp. the president) in the final period of office, after the election of a successor and 2. an ineffectual or unsuccessful person or thing."
Either way, not very flattering toward our Sarah, is it? And what makes it better is that she was NOT EVEN A LAME DUCK! A lame duck is traditionally inelligible to be re-elected; the governor of Alaska is able to serve two terms. She was still in her FIRST term. The only reason she was a lame duck is that SHE said she was. She didn't want to leave Alaska to bear the weight of a governor galivanting around the state on junkets and getting nothing done. That seems to be the description of her first term, so why any different?
Since Sarah has started the trend of not even serving the complete first term and not even running for re-election (does that perhaps say anything about her effectiveness?), does this mean that we will have a new race among Republican leaders of states to quit in their second terms (because MOST can serve 2 terms...that's specifically to help ensure they AREN'T lame ducks in the first term) long before their time is up? One can only wish. Maybe they'll even start quitting before the end there terms. A few come to mind: How about Gov. Perry of Texas..that would end the successionist discussion. How about...Governor Sanford. Would save anyone from runing against him. Isn't the Lt Gov a Dem, come to think about it?
You gotta admit, she sure gave entertainment. In fact, I think she thinks she's still some sort of "reporter" instead of a governor...you betcha!
I thank God every day that we did not get her as a possible President. Had McCain won, I think it might be questionable if we had gotten to the midterms before a change of leadership occurred. Now, all we have to say is that Sarah is a quitter--not once, but twice! [the first time, for any that question, was her appointment as Commissioner of Gas and Oil...she quit that before she had to, as well.] That ought to dampen any remaining enthusiasm among any sane members of the population still remaining in her camp. In time, she'll just be a footnote to the 2008 elections.
PR Chris
People who default on their obligations rarely see the consequential damages and financial loss they create for months or years to come.
Money be damned. My only fear is that she will back track and decide to stay.
Country...errr...wallet first!
It's OK though, I mean personally I'm convinced that Barack Obama only ran for President as free publicity for his own memoirs.
What would make you say this?
I hope your being sarcastic..
Wow, that's a very intriguing suggestion... Have you told Glenn Beck?
HA, I should let him know. It'll be tomorrow's lead-in.
Free publicity for his memoirs? Check under you bed pillow to see if your brain's there.
If that were the case he would not have tried, and succeeded, beating Hilary Clinton. He would be much freer as a senator than as president to cash in on his visibility.
Yup, another cynic. How many campaign promises has Obama already broken? 9. More than one per month.
Please list how many promises Bush broke? How many did he keep? For that matter, how many PRESIDENTS keep all their promises during a campaign?
I guarantee you, no one has kept more in such a short time as President O.
Do your homework first.
No president in history ever did ebrything he said he was going to do. He first has the deal with the bloods gang oh I mean Republican party to get his agenda's out. He gives me something I neer had in politics, Hope.
Like his first memoirs was a literary success...apparently noone reality cared about the confessions of a coke user.
George W. beat him to that one on the bestseller list.
What a tacky, petty little comment! Since McCain is the only one with a known coke habit and Mrs McCain faced felony charges for stealing from her charity to supply her drug habit maybe you should clarify to whom you are referring. Our president had two books on the best seller list and received a Grammy for the audio of one of them.
before you become critical of another's literary work. work on your grammar
rahrah: You gotta be careful with irony on this site. Folks here are way too literal minded. (But I have to admit, these will be presidential memoirs which will actually be readable!)
Irony and Wit are dying arts among the masses, and I claim not to be a survivor, but I expect near everyone else isn't either.
Well, he certainly is paying a high price for publicity. I personally think that anyone who accepted the presidency in the fall of 2008 should undergo a thorough physcological examination to determine if they are a danger to themselves.
Hey rahrah, ever think that he could have done much better at your beloved WS, GS or AIG? You really think that a person would run for president in order to sell books?
Perhaps Mr. GWB became president so that he could unleash his holy hell inability to run anything to a bigger audience? Texas was not a big enough train wreck legacy?
Ms Palin is an interesting character. She draws attention for the silliest things. The question is how much media can she attract and in what domain will it settle in. While she seems to be an individual who has morals, there doesn't seem to be any substance to it, especially as it relates to her decision making practices. It will be interesting to watch her as she continues grasping attention and to what levels she will stoop to. The media is attracted to her because she is interesting, unfortunately not in a positive way.
A woman who had a restraining order against her by an Alaskan judge and who has had to repay the state for misappropriation of funds and tax evasion is your idea of an individual who has morals.
Yuh. Morals when convenient and not when they are not so convenient. LOL!
Yeah, claiming our current president "hung around with terrorists", in her campaign speeches and saying nothing when the audience shouted "kill him" are the kind of morals I can do without.
Palin seems to regard "not playing by the rules" as a character attribute rather than a flaw, and she remains as undisciplined as ever with her "fly by the seat of her pants" decision-making style.
How mavericky of her.
Palin Haters!
Why the outrage? If she is so inept, stupid, ignorant, unqualified and a slut with no future, why all the pages and pages on TDB dedicated to her?
I do despise her. But it's because I can't figure out how someone so fucking dumb could get so far in life. Not only is she dumb, but wrong -- everything she says, does, thinks -- dumb and/or wrong.
She was never ambushed or setup by the media. she is just dumb. And without proper handlers she will implode soon enough. But please we want her to run for office. We truly do. And I want every Republican to hitch their wagon to her. Keep supporting her, it sure as hell doesn't scare me -- we could put a box of Jujubes up against her and win.
This user is no longer registered.
Bye, Daily Beast... Stupidity like nightdragon83's simply is too much for someone such as myself.
Better luck next universe!
@night
Defending someone by blaming someone else. The classic strategy of a weak mind.
Nightdragon - Uh....think again:
Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and also taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.
Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.
Obama ran for and won United States Senate in 2004
Obama ran for and won the Presidency of the US 2008
I'm sorry...you want to try that again???? Night, night!
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
I concede the point that Bush was an
awful President, an incurious buffoon, second worst only to Carter.
Was Sarah Palin qualified for V.P. ? Absolutely NOT.
However, why do you liberals direct so much overt hatred towards
people who disagree with you ?
I'll give you credit though.
You Liberals are always willing to be so generous
. . . with OTHER PEOPLE"S MONEY.
Jujubes only if you can make them wink, wave, fish, ride motorcycles and look cutesie in general - plus you'd have to dumb them down a bit; they're more intelligent than SP.
Sophie, you're right, the liberals are generous with our money, just like the conservatives....only the liberals don't spend the money on bogus wars
What's up with nightdragon83? "At least Hitler didn't require a teleprompter to get his message across". Are you really that ignorant?
This user is no longer registered.
Arrogant, obnoxious but not stuipid. That is reserved for all the people who look up to her and lap up the shit she spews like it's chocolate pudding. She's smart enough to cash in on the stupidity of others while she can.
"But it's because I can't figure out how someone so fucking dumb could get so far in life."
So true. So short. So perfectly written...
nightdragon83
Find her perplexing and a bit amusing. She likes to talk a lot, yet doesn't seem to say much. She is a good finger pointer about how awful everyone else is and those kind of people always tend to be hypos (and I hate hypos). She is like a mean soap opera baddie - so, we just look for her next hiccup!! Join us, why don't you?
empulse:
I agree with you. The real danger of Sarah Palin is that she has no substance (substance is not intelligence...she might be "bright" but she doesn't know much, and she has no idea what she doesn't know). The biggest danger to the country is someone who doesn't know anything. The Presidency is not something you can cram for in a couple of months. Sen. McCain, and frankly any military officer of about LtCol/NavyCommander or up has had a heck of a lot more qualifications than she does. They, at least, have commanded people, spent time thinking of issues, and understand how the US government works. That is true of ALL military...they spend an entire career dealing with questions of policy and how to get things done. Sarah Palin is as qualified as any mother of a student in the fourth grade of the elementary school down the street from my house...and that is scary! That someone who doesn't even have a clue what she doesn't understand could be anywhere near the Presidency is very frightening!
Nightdragon:
Your claim that President Obama never ran anything, and has no experience is a complete fallacy. Try running major community organizing operations...you'll find out it is a very complex process. You've got to enlist people from all over, with differing educational levels and stages of commitment to carry through a bunch of tasks, and you can't hand pick your "troops"--you take what comes, and have to deal with grant processes, various levels of government, etc. Not only that, you've got to turn them out, over and over, to meetings, planning sessions, etc, after regular working hours, during their precious free time. It is very energy and skill-intensive, Palin's jokes about "community organizers" to the contrary. It is community organizers who get the stop light put in at a dangerous intersection, get additional police assigned to neighborhood trouble areas, get additional schools built, etc. They have a disproportionately positive effect on a neighborhood. Where communities don't care enough to try, the quality of life is pretty low.
Had you spent some time on the Obama web site during the campaign and read the materials posted, you would at least understand that--contrary to Sarah Palin, who has NEVER thought anything about policy, international relations, etc.--Senator Obama has spent years thinking and writing about what he'd like to do, where he'd like to lead the country, etc.
And finally, I'd suggest reading some details about the campaign process he led. It was nearly flawless across 50 states, enlisting 10s of thousands of volunteers and equipping them with millions of dollars, and teaching them the leadership skills they needed to deliver the election. What do you mean never done anything?
As to Sarah Palin's "experience"...the population of the entire state of Alaska is no larger than the county I live in, and the county supervisor here has a much more complex task than she did. When she was mayor of Wasilla she had to get a town manager. For a town of somewhere about 7500 people???!!!! So much for leadership.
Pr chris
Because, sad to say, she is one of the Republican Party's only hopes in 2012. It only makes sense to keep an eye on her.
RIP GOP
People like to report on car accidents and train wrecks. When you see these types of disasters, you can not help but talk about it.
They will actually pay to see a two headed cow, however, that doesn't mean they would buy one.
What's your theory?
Because I love reading about the state of the Republican party. They deserve all the credit they get..(being sarcastic). I would rather have her lies pointed out than ignored personally. Im sure alot of people feel the same..
Its not her we are afraid of.....Its you! its people like you who would willingly endanger our country by electing this incompetent woman.
Fear,dear, of the same voters who brought us four years of G Bush.
Because we worship the cult of celebrity.
This user is no longer registered.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
One word: schadenfruede.
I agree.
Sarah gets far too much press time. The press should be more productive with their story ideas.
Answer: All the pages and pages on TDB dedicated to her because "she is so inept, stupid, ignorant, unqualified and a slut with no future." She is the prototypical Republican.
For similar reasons that there is coverage of Lindsay Lohan, Brittney Spears etc...
It sells.
People will always gather to watch a train wreck.
I guess Palin figures she is too hot for such a cold state, even when wearing her bear skin.
It seems like people who allegedly do these kind of things, actually do better than people that play by the rules. That is why, in my opinion, the public system isn't as successful as the private system, in the long term.
Sad.
More muckraking. I don't believe any of it.
Shes such a side show clown, I love every minute of it. I hope she stays in the news forever because I love to hate this mess of a person. Move over Paris and Ms. Spears! No way Dem's are scared of her, shes just an easy target and fun to hate!!
Religious nut she is
opedanderson,
read Ithinktoomuch.
its another good answer to your theme song we see on every palin blog.
palin is what a great carnival used to be.
the house of mirrors
the two headed fetus in a jar
the bearded lady
She is also "a mess of a person"
you know
carnivals extinct but we have so much in Sarah Palin
She is
"The Desperate Housewife from Wasilla" !
Then you should have nothing to worry about.
Shes a nut and will go away.
Why are you so angry?
See?! Sarah just proved that Republic talking point about government being wasteful and inefficient. And that's why you should vote Republican. ;)
If you want to know which states are in the worst financial difficulties and have amassed the most debt, check out states with a GOP governor.
What the heck does she have to write about that we don't already know? Its not like she has a lifetime of achievements to record for history. The only thing I can think of that would make sense is a cookbook: The Joys of Moose!
Brace yourself for that "memoir". It will be full of self-vindication and self-pity about how the media attacked her and her children. Palin obsesses about stories in tabloids and blogs instead of keeping her eye on the prize. ALL politicians get hammered with accusations, but she never learned "not to sweat the small stuff." I'm betting that, as we speak, her ghostwriter is trying to spin gold from straw.
Whatever Palin includes in her memoir, you can bet that she won't be writing about Thomas Muthee, the Kenyan witch doctor who drove the demons out of her before she ran for governor.
I think she really believes that her folksy manner and down home attitude are universally appealing. She is the type of person that leaves chaos in her wake and just glides through life without thinking. And, without thinking of anyone but herself. If she is purported to be the "face" of the Republican Party then the party is really over... http://newsy1.wordpress.com
The big worry is that so many people feel comfortable with just that kind of 'folksiness'. On the surface, it's much less threatening than a well-educated black man with international appeal and a sound, inclusive platform. In truth, she is a big threat--not because she's intelligent or coherent or wise or educated or caring or empathetic--Palin is a threat because many people are uncomfortable having assumptions challenged, intellect sparked, politics transformed. It's sad. Any success she might have is a lost opportunity for the country.
I believe Palin is a bigger threat than just the intellectual case you put forward here. She invokes all the anger that the unemployed, blue-collar worker feels towards Wall Street and D.C. for their miserable economic status. That anger is dangerous and delusional. I only hope that the FBI is watching the rabid racism and anti-intellectualism that are pillars of that anger. And the fact that the Republican Party is full of such thinking -- witness the new president of the Young Republicans -- demonstrates that she can foment institutional beliefs on her behalf.
I'm sure all of us have at one time or another experienced people with Palin's temperament. People who are on a trajectory but don't know exactly WHERE to go. Except up or, barring that, out. They opine flamboyantly, are given to tropes, think highly of themselves though their skills are mediocre. They play favorites, collect and discard people then complain about and demonize them. Palin manages to do these but without aplomb which is an attribute the counter-intuitive wholly lack. They think they can see the horizon but it only exists at the end of their noses. Palin even uses her kids and family as excuses/explanations for her myopic ambition. Like most of her ilk, Palin has little intelligence to back up her hype and will ultimately wind up back in Wasilla on her porch overlooking Lake Louise and Russia.
It's the "ultimately" that bothers me. Between now and "ultimately" Palin is capable of spearheading the growth of anti-intellectualism, a movement for which we have Bush to thank. He started it and was the poster-child for it; Palin now wants to legitimize it as a national standard.
Indeed, the GOP has proudly embraced the "know-nothing" approach & she fits their mood perfectly. Led by the screeching of the Fox Propaganda Network, she will be sold to the "Real Americans" as their savior, a chance to once again avoid having to face tough realities. That will enable her to sell a ghost-written piece of crap for millions, give talks filled with outright lies & focus group-tested cliches for millions more, & even get her own show on FAUX, alongside the other well known intellectual flyweights like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, & Coulter. It might even give her votes in 2012 primaries, where she could be competing with Huckabee for the evangelicals. Every Democrat would love to see her on the GOP ticket, as she has so many negatives that we could see a bigger landslide than we've seen in a long time. Unless she implodes spontaneously, which is far from unlikely. She truly is the heir to the political legacy of the worst POTUS in history, W 43. Not a pedigree for success!
Sarah Palin in a nutshell. And yet, a threat. The GOP needs a face to mask its agenda, and hers may still serve. She tells the base what they want to hear, and the party leaders tell her what they want her to do. No wonder we who watched 8 years of this dynamic, and the disastrous results, are paying attention.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
I hope it's chillier in the lower 48 than Palin expects.
If we could just get Palin to crawl back under that rock from which she emereged, we would be in good shape!
RT
Please. We have a progressive socialist as president leaving us with trillion dollar deficits and you dive in her dumpster to find that? The final insult to the American people is that the press is the 4th branch of government.
Another convenient accusation, built on memory loss. Who started the deficit with two wars and an ineffective economic policy? BUSH. Who started the stimulus? BUSH.
Let's get real. You don't pull out of a worldwide recession in months. Get used to it. We have a long slog ahead of us, thanks to the Republicans. And no tax-saving for small business can turn this around. (Boehner's claim is bogus because small-business is not the 'engine' of an economic turnaround...anywhere. He's grasping at the last straw he has.)
This argument is so baseless. Our progressive tax rate schedule is a form of socialism. Sharing oil revenue in the state of Alaska with its citizen is a form of socialism.
George W. Bush inherited 350 billion federal deficit surplus. How long did it take him to waste it? How much of this surplus in sitting behind concrete blast wall in baghdad? How much went into the pockets of Bush/Cheney friends at Haliburton? Blackwater?
Stick with the facts. The federal fiscal year began in on October 1, 2008. When Obama took office on January 20, 2009 he inherited 1.2 trillion dollar deficit for the year and the national debt doubled during the 8 years of the Bush administration. We accumulated more debt under Bush than we had accumulated over the course of our entire history. Where were you when all of this was happening. Under the constitution the press is suppose to be the public watch dog not to be silenced by the government. However, I will agree that today's media is more propoganda than news. If the press had been on the job, the problems were are now facing as a nation could have been averted.
"She only has the smallest grasp. You know?"
Again, hear it from the horse's mouth:
http://tinyurl.com/3pakpz
Thanks for this still relevant YouTube moment in which two young, well-spoken women from AK talk about Palin. They 'nail' the discrepancy between Palin's appearance vs.Palin's governance since she was mayor. They are suprisingly insightful, given that one would have expected: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20bL0VbVCaA
OK- in addition to the special session costs, add the extra costs of relocating her out of the offices and governor's housing and putting someone in there for a potentially short term as well as all the adjustments required for the changeover. Gee, we already know the attorneys for all her ethics issues were already on retainer to the state and we know much of her personal defense bills were paid by her defense fund, so really, what is she saving Alaska by resigning? She costing them money-another cover blown as she goes in search of money and celebrity in the lower 48. What a sham-but you can't count her out politically and she must be kept in check as we see the debacle that was George Bush and who would have thought so much of the electorate could have been so duped twice! And now we all pay the price....
Hey Max, you have nothing better to do?
I've got some better material for you....how about Barney Frank trying to add to his destruction of our banking system?
how about 70% of americans losing their health care to pick up Obamacare?
how about the stupidity of global warming and the hoax being played on us by Waxman, Pelosi and Obama?
how about Obama's blatant racism is his description of judges temperment and "make up".
Everything is blowing up so Dems go after Palin, Bush and Cheney. No sense being grownups.....it is soooo not the 60s.
Great statement.
Now, can you go clean up your room before Suzzie comes over for your playdate?
You must be Carl Rove's illegitimate 13 year old child, trying to pass off as an adult, ha!
You are one scary dude.You leave me wondering where you get your "facts".
* Barney Frank destroying the banking system? You mean helping to put in regulations that will prevent a repeat of the meltdown caused by the lack of regulations over complex trading that had no transparency?
* Losing healthcare? Which ads from the insurance industry are you watching? Get a grip. Lobbyists from insurance and other self-interested groups are leading this charge.
* Global warning a hoax? If so, you'd best write to the hundred of scientists from the international community who are in consensus that climate change is real: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/06/health/06iht-web-0406climate.5172025.html And the CIA considers climate change to have national security implications so call them about it too,
* Obama's racism in description of judges' temperament? What about Justic Scolia and Souter who both agreed that one's background informs one's current lens as a judge? Your racism is showing, not his.
* Dems go after Palin, Bush and Cheney? Don't you believe in accountability and transparency? You LIKE the idea that a politician (regardless of party) quits a job mid-term without a life-important reason? Or that a vice president kept a counter-terrorism under the radar of Congress, which is supposed to provide oversight? If the tables were turned and Dems were being investigated by Repugs, you'd be all over the Web inciting an investigation so ultimately your ill-tempered, ill-informed postings reflect on you, not on your target.
I like that a point for point shoot down.
Good Job
I've got nothing nice to say about Palin, I'm a Dem and for sex education in the schools. But that's not what this article is about. Tell me, how is this a "final insult"? What, is it against the law to quit your job?
So the government of Alaska has to fork over $200,000 (according to your totally not-at-all biased figures) to deal with a change of leadership. That's what, 30¢ per Alaskan? Oh no, now families won't be able to buy a pack of chewing gum for their children!
Seriously, how can you pretend not to understand this situation? Palin was, by most accounts, a decent governor. Then she became a celebrity national politician and was hailed as either a hero or villain by everyone in the country, when she (like Obama) is just a person. The melodrama followed her back to Alaska after the election and started interfering with her job and life. So she's quitting, she's probably going to become a media personality.
Again, how is that an insult? You've never quit a job because of extenuating circumstances before? Were your circumstances as intense as hers? If you think that's irresponsible, and I agree, don't vote for her next time. I won't. But this is America, we've all got the right to say, "Take this job and shove it." She gave her two weeks notice. Deal.
I'm over it. I'll never vote Palin for dog catcher, but if she joins FOX News, or runs for President, or starts her own Church of the Immaculate Pro-Life Hockey Moms, fine. Whatever. I'm not taking it as an insult. I take this article as an insult, because it makes us anti-Palin Democrats look petty and stupid.
Yikes. You think it's okay for a person who campaigned for a four-term job to quit in the middle because it didn't suit her any more? Yes, people quit jobs regularly, but they hadn't COMMITTED to serving a constituency for four years. BTW, there's no precedent for a politician quitting when they didn't have a job to go to (such as a university or Cabinet appointment). What "extenuating circumstances"? Oh, do you mean "writing" a book to earn millions that would have been a conflict of interest had she remained in office?
And you don't know the temprament of the times if you don't recognize that people of Alaska feel betrayed by this move. Alaskans of both parties believe that Palin left them in the lurch. Her unexpected appointment of a Lt. Governor other than the one in the queue already, requiring a special session is an unnecessary cost to a state that is struggling with high unemployment and major social issues (alcoholism, domestic abuse and high h.s. dropout rate) -- and wants that stimulus money she rejected, is the last straw to most Alaskans. Read www.adn.com for their sentiments.
Now she makes more money.
And her religion is still asshat insane.
See: "monotheistic religions of the 'new' world i.e: 'Jesus era': (i.e.2000 years since death?)"""
You've stolen my modern world Jesus. I want it back! I declare today 3.14 years after the birth of someone born 3.14 years ago.
If anyone is reading this... get a life. Why are you reading so deep into comments on a website. Go hug your kids. Even the pregnant ones. :insert smiley face:
I think her explanation of why she left was bogus; there is always a lame duck period. Love the "Church of the Immaculate Pro-Life Hockey Moms". Very creative. I think some dems pick on her because she is such an easy target. For all her bluster, nice suits, and cute family, she does not come across as that smart, or even that politically aware. Did she ever really think she was going to get elected? Give me a break. She would have been (and still will be) a foreign policy disaster. I don't buy the final insult title either, although I have a hard time understanding why she appointed him, knowing there was another choice, and hopefully knowing what it would cost to solve the problem.
We like Palin, and we hate snobs.
Who would you rather see run the world's most powerful nation?
A) A top of his class Harvard graduate snob.
or
B) An incoherent beauty queen who cannot name a single newspaper or magazine she reads.
The way you answer this simple questions says a lot about you.
Like minded folk are usually drawn together.
Is that a good thing?
"Insert lengthy rebuttal here"
You don't mean snobs, you mean intelligent, educated, worldly folks living in the 21st century. And I think you also mean non-white, non-Christians.
As a pink, (less melanin flavored human), you have offended me.
Show me a white person and I will show you the rose colored something that someone something-ed my something with, then the color of a rose against a white backdrop.
Elitist, white, SNOB!! Show me a black man against the sky...I may ask why you have suspended a person from ropes to make your point.
Palin/Cheney 2046.57849!!!!!
As a pink, (less melanin flavored) human and more-or-less functional Christian, whatever...
"Snob" is code for well-educated, articulate, visionary, strategic and all those other attributes that we need in leaders of a complex country in a complex world. Shame on you for thinking that an anti-intellectual stance is okay in those who would have public office today. Have you read anything at all about the founders of the U.S.? They were ALL intellects. You owe them.
You are one with truthiness.
Truthiness is what you want the facts to be, as opposed to what the facts are. What feels like the right answer as opposed to what reality will support.
So much for 'Country First'...More like 'Bank Account First'.
And Dgteaneck, the only things that is blowing up is this country after the 8 years of incompotence, cronism, outsourcing and oh yeah, the TRILLIONS of dollars of debt left by Bush-Cheney. Lest we forget the 4,000 soliders dead from invading the WRONG COUNTRY.
We should turn over every rock, dig up every document and leave NOTHING behind to insure that it never happens again. Bush, Cheney and their ilk get to enjoy their wealth and privledge and Americans are stuck with the check. Haul all of those chickenhawks into court and put them in JAIL where they belong.
'Destruction of our banking system' - Barney Frank, Obama and others are putting systems in place that will stop the banks and Wall Street from robbing and raping the American public as they have - and continue to do - for the last 8 years (coincidence that all of these things happened from 2000-2008? I think not). Even Bush compared these CROOKS to 'drunken sailors on shore leave'...
'70% of Americans losing their health care' is A LIE. Time and time again, Obama has presented in CLEAR TERMS, that Americans can CHOOSE this plan or KEEP THE COVERAGE THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE.
'Stupidty of global warming' - Look at the ice caps, look at all of the areas that were once wetlands that are now trying up. OPEN YOUR EYES AND THINK FOR YOURSELF INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO THESE TALKING HEADS!
'Obama's blatant racism'? Uh, read a census report - Latinos are the fastest growing and largest population in the country and deserve to have ONE representative in the historically and largely while Supreme Court. Like it or not, get used to the idea of having Latinos, Blacks, Asians, etc gettting into positions of power since they are becoming THE MAJORITY of those living here!
Dgteaneck - the only one stuck in a time warp is YOU. The GOP way of thinking is so over. Get over it dude. YOU LOST.
Even Bush compared these CROOKS to 'drunken sailors on shore leave'...
come on...don't compare these crooks to sailors! Some of these guys have been to sea for more than a month..or even longer. They're weaving around 'cause they don't have their "shore legs"...on the other hand, the first drunk made it back to the ship within two HOURS of liberty call in Alexandria, Egypt....
like most caricatures...there's more than a kernel of truth there.... ;-)
Pr Chris
What is really sad, is that if our country were not so divided over issues of whose a Republican and whose a Democrat, and used common sense to decide how issues should be taken care of instead of trying to prove which political philosopy was better- no one would be paying any attention to this silly, self-possessed woman whose only real political clout is that conservatives notice that liberals can't stand her. Please people start choosing candidates for their ability to use good common sense not for what political party they've joined. As an independent voter, working mother who has raised six children - I based my opinions of whether Ms. Palin was a good candidate on this premise: this woman already had a very demanding full-time position, her youngest child was only a few months old and has special needs, one of her children was a pregnant teenager who definitely needed her mother - and this woman decides to join a demanding national campaign - SHE LACKS ANY COMMON SENSE AND TOTALLY IGNORED WHAT HER TOP PRIORITY SHOULD HAVE BEEN WHICH WAS HER FAMILY!!! Yes, my fellow Americans, human beings have limits to their time and should have the common sense to know what those limits are - even women. I'd like to add that our government definitely does not need another person who doesn't have any common sense and is conceited and self-obsessed. So please start voting for the person not the political party they're affiliated with!!!
"Over who'se a republican and who'se a democrat"
Fight the language machine!
:raises fist, pounds a cheap domestic beer, effs a prom queen:
You betcha. Attention deficit disorder is Palin's diagnosis. You know with the dead fish, and Russians swimming the bering sea and so and so and this and that and .......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Isabell
Right on!
She seemed to think she could just add it to her "to do" list, and she could do anything. But the entire proposition: that McCain would choose someone who already had so much on her plate (and moving to DC would have only made it worse), and such limited exposure to US government and policy issues made it totally inexplicable to me. I hope she goes back and spends the majority of her time in support of her kids; they need her. It is not a coincidence that in a recent poll the most strongly recommended career path for her was "housewife". She just doesn't seem temperamentally suited to doing the sort of in-depth thinker we need in the Presidency. Surely GWB showed the problems that come from an incurous person who knows only that he is "the decider". The issue isn't whether a person can make a decision, it is WHAT decision he or she will make.
Pr Chris
Why is anybody who questions Sarah Palin's policies or political actions automatically a "Palin hater"?
I certainly do not hate Sarah Palin. I deplore the personal attacks against her and her family, as much as I deplore the personal attacks against President Obama.
If I disagree on Governor Palin's politics, that certainly does not make me a "Palin Hater". I wish her all the best in her pursuits, but if she should decide to run for President, I want reporters to do their jobs and report on her abilites, or lack of, to become the Commander in Chief.
It is clear that Sarah is addicted to being the centre of attention - for whatever reason. One can only speculate what she will come up with next.
Go Girl! You are one of the few people on this planet that can equally surprise, shock and humor me all at the same time.
"centere of attention"
This is america.
On the internet.
Word to your mother.
I live in the state of Alaska and do not go for the left or the right. I feel that Palin has and will continue to be a very selfish person as are ALL politicians. If she really cared about the state of Alaska, she would stay and office and fix her mess, but all she cares about is making money and trying to be a nation-wide sex symbol. By the way for all of you down in the lower 48, she didn't start taking pictures of herself with Carharts until the presidential elections in order to attract the working man crowd. For us Alaskans who are not blinded by her beauty, we know that she has not done much for our state. Also, I thought it was a pathetic plot for her to try and get my vote by sending me a card saying congrats on my baby soon after she ran for vice president, little did she know or care that by that time my baby was already 8 months old. Alaska is not a very populated state, the public health sent me a congrats on my infant a week after I had her. OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE, she's an racist idiot.
"Centre of attention"
Centre being the british spelling of center
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.