Politics
More PoliticsPalin Invades New York
Shushannah Walshe is the co-author of Sarah From Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar. She was a reporter and producer at the Fox News Channel from August 2001 until the end of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Carlos Osorio / AP Photo
The superstar ex-governor extended her reach to Staten Island, backing a GOP House candidate in a primary fight. Shushannah Walshe on the party infighting over the surprise endorsement.
You may not think of Sarah Palin when you think of New York City, but the former Alaska governor yesterday announced via Facebook that she was endorsing a New York City congressional candidate. Michael Grimm, an Iraq war veteran and former FBI agent, is trying to win a Republican primary and go after Democratic incumbent Representative Michael McMahon, a first term congressman for a district that represents all of Staten Island and a portion of Brooklyn. While Staten Island is the most conservative borough in New York and went for McCain-Palin in 2008, it’s not clear that her endorsement will have that much influence in the general election.
“It’s such a miscalculation,” Flanagan said. “At this point it looks like he has the primary pretty much locked up and he’ll win, but setting himself up for general election he’s got Palin around his neck.”
Like many Republican primary challengers this year, Grimm had been courting Palin’s support, but her Facebook post yesterday saying she was actually backing him came as a surprise to Grimm, who only found out about it when a staffer saw it on Palin’s page. “I’m humbled that she has chosen to support me of the thousands of candidates that she is inundated with. I am very, very proud and very humbled,” Grimm said in an interview with The Daily Beast.
The courtship for Palin’s support began when Grimm’s staff got in contact with hers and wrote a formal letter requesting her endorsement. They received her response just one day after John McCain also endorsed the candidate. But Grimm says he believes the endorsements were “mutually exclusive.”
But Palin's support might not impress Staten Island voters. Before November, Grimm has a primary race against Michael Allegretti, and it’s Allegretti who has the establishment’s backing. He’s the choice of the Staten Island GOP and endorsed by a majority of Republican politicians of the borough. The SIGOP had some tough words when the decision was announced, stressing that it will be the voters of the district that will pick who wins the primary, not Palin.
“These are just circus antics that are being put on by a certain campaign. This race and this primary is going to be decided on the issues, not the circus-like antics,” said a board member of the Staten Island GOP. “Sarah Palin is old news.”
Allegretti, too, suggested that it will be the people who cross the Verrazano Bridge who ultimately decide the primary winner, not someone from the outside.
“I find it amusing that my Republican opponent has had to go from Washington to Alaska to find an endorsement,” said Allegretti, who is clearly not star-struck by Palin’s blessing. "I want to give some advice to Sarah Palin and I doubt she's ever taken the ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island, but you can't see Russia from the ferry, but you can see Brooklyn so I hope she gets a chance some time."
Palin’s team, unsurprisingly, disagrees, saying those candidates she’s endorsed—including Grimm—are going to barrel through the country come November. “People are claiming Sarah Palin is a polarizing figure,” says SarahPAC staffer Rebecca Mansour. “I laugh because we are in the process of electing numerous candidates just like Sarah Palin. We are about to elect dozens of Sarah Palins so polarize that.”
(McMahon’s camp had no comment on the endorsement.)
This disdain by the establishment for Grimm mirrors Palin’s own standing with the GOP in Alaska. The party didn’t back her in the primary in the Alaska governor’s race in 2006. It’s unclear if either Grimm or Palin know the extent of their shared histories though Mansour says, “She makes her decisions very carefully.”
“When you see the candidates [Palin chooses] they share Sarah Palin’s values. They all are commonsense constitutional conservatives,” Mansour added.
For his part Grimm is hoping that Palin follows up on her endorsement by making an appearance on his behalf. But he doesn’t know if the Republican superstar, whom he calls “a real fighter” like himself, will come to the district to campaign with him, although he’s “very hopeful.”
“I think it goes without saying I would be thrilled to have her come and the residents of Staten Island and Brooklyn would give her a tremendously warm welcome.”
But Staten Island isn’t South Carolina. NY-13 watchers say Palin may receive a decidedly different welcome from the throngs of supporters who typically greet her in red states, and the endorsement could really hurt Grimm, especially in the general election. Grimm already has the backing of the Conservative Party in the district, so it’s unclear how many more Islanders on the right would now support him because of Palin. Meanwhile, in the general election he faces McMahon, a moderate Democrat with solid Republican-voter support especially after he voted against health care reform.
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Rebecca Dana is a senior correspondent for The Daily Beast. A former editor and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, she has also written for The New York Times, The New York Observer, Rolling Stone, and Slate, among other publications.
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Alaska GOP Civil War
Shushannah Walshe is the co-author of Sarah From Alaska: The Sudden Rise and Brutal Education of a New Conservative Superstar. She was a reporter and producer at the Fox News Channel from August 2001 until the end of the 2008 presidential campaign.
DicedPeas
Palin, the albatross.
susangalea
Yup, and this ever-so-humble twit was clearly not paying attention. I say Mr Grimm, be careful what you wish for. Hilarious.
johnnynyc
Staten Island eh?
WE CAN SEE NEW JERSEY FROM THERE!!!
Ritarita
All you need
Is to say the name
Palin-
And whatever you write
Will get thousands of eyeballs.
It's becoming the cheapest trick
In journalism.
Like a bloody train wreck
Strewn with body parts-
Nobody can
Look away.
AlanD2
Including us, Rita...
Go Palin 2012!
elixelx
Sarah, WOW, Eishet Hayil, Jewel in the Crown!
MotherofThree
Um, Palin and McCain won Staten Island in '08, and carried the 13th congressional district in a year when Republicans were getting slaughtered all over New England. Why would a Palin endorsement be a bad thing in a year when Democrats are running scared. As I understand it, that swing district went for Gore in 2000, so they must have liked what they saw in Palin vs. Obama.
And millions of us are SICK of hearing about how polarizing Palin is. How about talking about how polarizing our president is? His approval rating is trending in the low 40s but apparently because he is a MAN, that doesn't mean he is polarizing. Stop being so sexist. Polarizing is only used on female candidates and we're SICK of it.
Oh, and as for Mr. Allegretti's snide comment about Palin being old news and then proceeding to bring up the OLD Tina Fey quote about seeing Russia? Maybe Allegretti is old news, because he sure isn't following Palin's string of endorsement successes. Even the NY Times gave her credit recently for making a huge impact so far in the midterm primaries, including the California Senate race.
Wake up!
susangalea
Thanks for the early morning call. You are however, sadly out of touch with the facts on the Palin effect. She is becoming more and more of a liability and while enlightenment is always a good thing, it is a direct contradiction to the point you are trying to make which is yesterday's news. Please catch up now.
LOL @ the left
Oh don't you just wish that were true, but keep dreaming, baby !
Jimbo123
Don't kid yourself, both are very Polarizing but for different reasons.
Since the article is about Sarah, I'll stick with her:
She only has appeal to the small but powerful Christian right, no ethnic support whatsoever, nada, none. This is great for low turn out mid turns but will kill her and her minions in a general election.
Women for the most part don't like her although white males do (now that's what we call reverse sexism, or maybe not?).
She has no platform, I've been listening to her for years now and just hear run of the mill mostly negative rheteric played to white audiences. At least Mccain had the guts to meet with black and Hispanic community groups, Sarah not even a drive by.
This huge impact you speak of only relates to Rep primaries, and for the most part coinsides with the tea party pick, it has no lasting national significance.
The Old Tina Fey quote you speak of was in fact an old Sarah Palin quote, how do I know, because I heard it from her mouth.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a different president but Sarah, well.... It just ain't gonna happen.
One last thing ' Palin vs Obama in your first paragraph, when did that happen?
RevPettibone
to MotherofThree....
Kudos to you ma'am....you've hit the nail on the head.
And to all you nay sayers, nothing is more heartening than to read your continuous discounting of Sarah Palin. It only serves to evidence the naive understanding people like you have of politics.... and for a select few, it really proves how badly you've been dumbed down by the talking heads you gaze at with adoration. Either way, it's clear you don't know jack about the positive effect Sarah Palin is having across the country.
The woman's staying power alone is proof of the positive impact she has in today's political arena. Further more, some of the hate filled things you say, like when you discount the faithful as you often do.... those particular words, borderline bigotry in the way you suggest Palin appeals only to the Christian Right. Yeah I know women of your "glean" do not like the former governor, but at most rallies, it's women who are in the majority.... not men.
Again I have to stress the obvious, how blind you are to the positive impact this Alaskan has made on any campaign she endorses... Win or lose, the woman rallies support for a candidate that wouldn't have been there otherwise.... There are scores of people out there teetering on the edge and wanting to make a difference.....Palin gives them the nudge they need to get moving.
Oh and lastly, it was Tina Fey who famously coined a distorted version of a Palin comment about Russia ..... if anyone thinks otherwise, I suggest you get you're hearing tested.
Jimbo123
RevPettibone:
Yes you are correct, those were not her exact words.
Funny though the rest of your words speak to my point.
She has a small powerful base filled with crazies like you but, she will always be rejected by mainstream America. She quit on Alaska and she will quit on you.
RevPettibone
to Jimbo123...
I ain't the crazy one here ... crazy would be believing someone doesn't have the right in this country to disagree with you..... and from the sound of things, you've been teetering on the verge of insanity for a while now.
Jimbo123
RevPettibone:
retract, not crazy just delusional.
susangalea
RevPettibone
You're having a laugh , right? Or are you like Sarah and opine that if we only spoke in tongues. If you are as barking as you seem, I'm not going to argue with you. The sane members of society know it is so: and you will be treated kindly I hope. Just try to remember we have an enlightened government now, no more theocratic murderous and vengeful assaults. We'll get out of Afghanistan asap: Obama will admit he made a mistake there trying to appease the theocratic American warmongers. Nil desperandum, Rev.
elixelx
The proof of the pudding will come in November, when the Beastly buzzards will have to eat crow!
Hanson/Palin 2012
Desertpenguin
The same right-wing whiners who clog up every single thread stamp their feet, cry about the new turn of events, and predict a future where they win and everyone else loses.
The usual anger.
The usual insults.
The usual hatred.
And they contribute absolutely nothing.
susangalea
Yep, because Sarah doesn't want to bore her audience with those pesky fact things. She is sure her charisma will win the day. Couldn't make it up really. The dumbing of Americu by the woman who disdains facts and is a complete stranger to the truth. I have an inkling she will be back where she belongs but not through want of trying. Three quarters of those in Alaska rate her poorly and that is Republicans and Democrats. Sarah is not a keeper she has proved that.
elixelx
Frankly I think that "Beastly Buzzards eating Crow" was rather clever! In any case it's hardly as whiny as "usual..usual..usual..they contribute..."
I think you're the clod clogging the cloaca!
elixelx
Nattering Nabob!
Jimbo123
Who the H...l is Hanson, can anyone tell me?
susangalea
haha ; no idea!
chiefbigknife
The approval of Populist Princess & Conservative Queen Sarah Palin is the Holy Grail of endorsements, and is eagerly sought after & cherished by any conservative candidate who hopes to win an election. Also, Ms. Walshe ekes out a meager living writing snide, supercilious, shallow articles & poorly-selling books about Gov. Sarah Palin.
baxter99
Nice article. Reminded once again that all politics is local.
I think in this case, Palin's endorsement is polarizing the Republican party in Staten Island. Obviously, this lessens the chance of them beating a "conservative" Democrat in the general. And all the millions of SICK supporters of Palin and all the snide, supercilious and shallow posts supporting her here won't change that fact.
susangalea
Indeed. Quite so.
Jimbo123
baxter99:
To support Palin is to be 'sick'.
Misinformed, ignorant, maybe even a bit dumb. But sick,? Now that screams bias and intolence worthy of Sarah herself.
baxter99
Tell that to Motherofthree above, Jimmy.
Jimbo123
baxter99:
extremely naive, yes.
CitizenBloggerX
People are just starting to realize that this woman has scrambled eggs for brains, She lies adnauseum and will stab even her closet of friends if it advances her goals one inch, She faked a pregnancy, Bankrupted Wasilla, turned Alaska into a Socialist state and oh yeah ? Where did those big ole boobs go she was sporting a week or so ago ? Fake too ?? You betcha !!
Michigan
"She faked a pregnancy, Bankrupted Wasilla, turned Alaska into a Socialist state?" Where are you sources for any of these claims sparky? Oh and none of that European run palingate site. I am sure you also think she aerial hunts too, right?
Now who has scrambled eggs for brains? You're the one believing all the lies being told. You and all the Palin haters on here...crazies.
amanda07070
Michigan - She denigrates her President with alarming frequency. What is the need for her to do that? What is her specific solutions and plans to improve our nation? People who HAVE no solutions distract from the point by denigrating the person from which they're trying to usurp authority. Of course, only fools don't recognize this glaringly obvious, childish ploy.
Regardless of whether she was found guilty of all or none of them, twenty-one ethics complaints were filed against her. That's a heck of a lot of ethics complaints.
The Alaskan Legislature can only proceed with Ethics charges against a person currently IN office. Hmm. How coincidental that she resigned.
On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release the Branchflower investigative report[2] which found that Sarah Palin "abused her power as governor [in] attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired."
She actively campaigned in support of the Bridge to Nowhere when she ran for Governor. After it became a national issue she opposed it.
Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, twice registered as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a states' rights group that wants to turn all federal lands in Alaska back to the state. What's that called again? Oh yeah, secessionism
Palin hater? No. Person with an ounce of common sense? Yes.
Michigan
Amanda,
Your post is filled with lying media talking points from 2008. And we all know how honest they all really were, right:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/politics/4149-journolist- story-confirms-liberal-media-bias And here: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/26/raw-journolist-emails-on-palins-downs-chi ld/1/
Let's see:
"Michigan - She denigrates her President with alarming frequency. What is the need for her to do that?" ---She disagrees with his policies and is courageous enough to speak up. When you pay attention, you'll notice that she sides with the majority of Americans on the issues. Also, among American's, there's a mounting displeasure with Obama: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval- 1044.html (Do you see the declining black line, Amanda?)
And it's not just Palin who calls "her president" out, these guys do it too:
- Chris Matthews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0xF4y7DeIg
- James C. : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO1lO1CVkTE&feature=related
- And again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp-_u2e3rCM
- Brian Lamb called his president out on this: http://vodpod.com/watch/2047004-obama-on-c-span-and-transparency
- Maureen Dowd also called the president out multiple times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/opinion/16dowd.html?_r=1&hp
- I could on and on, but you get the idea here. It's not just Palin, it's the left, right and middle. However, she's the one who doesn't delay and/or beat around the bush. That's what leaders do. Also, when has Palin falsely accused the president? yeah, I can't think of any either.
"What is her specific solutions and plans to improve our nation?" ---What a great, loaded question. She's answered this question in a facebook post after facebook post: http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin
"People who HAVE no solutions distract from the point by denigrating the person from which they're trying to usurp authority." ---It's typical for the uninformed to assume. That's human nature and I guess that's ok. But to get informed, read her facebook posts, and oh and visit www.palintv.com to view all her speeches and interviews :)
---and "usurp authority"? um, she's claiming authority over who? over what? She's currently a private citizen who knows what needs to implemented to put our country back on the right track. She speaks out against policies she disagrees with and she's successfully supporting candidates who can do something about it. That's why she has support and it is growing daily (facebook support just hit 2 million). There's no "authority" over anyone...this isn't Obamaland.
"Of course, only fools don't recognize this glaringly obvious, childish ploy". ----Ooooh, I am actually an independent who immigrated here, legally, and my parents have voted democratic in the past. Of course, they disagree with Palin on some issues but will they vote for her if she runs? You betcha.
"Regardless of whether she was found guilty of all or none of them, twenty-one ethics complaints were filed against her. That's a heck of a lot of ethics complaints." ----The fact that she was found not guilty on ALL of them speaks volumes and screams: Not Guilty (I mean come on they couldn't even win on one complaint? that's weak :) ). These ethics violations were filled by only a couple of individuals and one was even filled under the name of a fake British soap opera character. Tell me though, how is accepting a chocolate gift box and a kid's hockey stick from Indiana an ethics violation? How is holding a fish in a picture an ethics violation? How is having a yahoo account an ethics violation? How is wearing a coat with a logo, out in the cold, for an interview an ethics violation?
Do you think it is coincidental that before Palin was announced as VP candidate, she didn't really have complaints filed against her? After she returned to do her job as before, she's suddenly being unethical in doing exactly what she did before? I don't think so. Besides according to your flow of logic, when someone is accused of multiple crimes and is acquitted based on hard evidence, they still must be guilty because of the number of crimes? Give me a break and try to use that ounce of common sense that you claim you have.
Oh, and let's not forget that she was a darling of the left because as governor, she worked to uncover corruption within her own party. In March of 2008, Newsweek even wrote a piece praising her as one of the new, up and coming governors and interviewed her along with Napolitano: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mc943ltXMQ). How times have changes and why? Oh yes, she joined the ticket running against Obama, the liberal agenda.
"The Alaskan Legislature can only proceed with Ethics charges against a person currently IN office. Hmm. How coincidental that she resigned." ---Duh. Yes, she resigned to stop the insanity, personal financial bankruptcy and the ridiculous waste of time and money the complaints were causing her staff and the State. Palin said she wanted to "positively effect" the elections and policy on the national level. She definitely stayed true to her promise don't you think? Thank God she resigned or who else out there will keep Obama, Pelosi and Reid in check? The cowards on the left or the pathetic boys on the right? No.
"On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release the Branchflower investigative report[2] which found that Sarah Palin "abused her power as governor [in] attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired." ----I did research and I haven't found a legitimate source backing this claim. Where is your legitimate source?
"She actively campaigned in support of the Bridge to Nowhere when she ran for Governor. After it became a national issue she opposed it" ---I love this talking point and how it is used over and over again. um, where is your source that she actively campaigned for the bridge? Good luck finding it because she never did and she actually canceled the project before it became a national issue. The project's funds were somewhat used to fund other things.
"Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, twice registered as a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, a states' rights group that wants to turn all federal lands in Alaska back to the state. What's that called again? Oh yeah, secessionism" ---This is my second favorite lying talking point. It's over used and I haven't found a legitimate source for this either.
"Palin hater? No. Person with an ounce of common sense? Yes." Amanda, having only an ounce of common sense is actually your problem. Advice for you though, don't just pick up new talking points from the DNC or the RNC, get informed with facts.
Here's what I, a "foolish Palin supporter", know about Palin in a nutshell. She has resigned over year ago and was declared politically dead at the time. However, today she is anything but and that in itself is very impressive. Her facebook posts and tweets rattle the political arena, are reported on major news networks and even cause our president to react (ex. Met with BP CEO, addressed "death panels"). In addition, it's safe to say that today, Palin dominates the news and influences debates. She's also one of the most sought after speakers and endorsers (if not the most sought after), she's still considered a serious 2012 presidential nominee (Just ask Chrissy Matthews), she's a bestselling author, a ratings magnet, filming a new documentary, and she's a contributor for the #1 cable news channel in the nation. The media continues to vehemently attack her and people like you take the time to comment about her to attempt to communicate how irrelevant she is. Do you see the irony here.
Have a good night and best wishes. Sorry for the long post, I hope you read it :)
susangalea
amanda, you make a very good point , elegantly. Cheers!
susangalea
Michigan
Palin falsely accused the president of trying to introduce 'death panels'.
I'll carry on another time gtg right now. Suffice to say you have opposition to your post for now.
Michigan
Susan,
No, she didn't falsely accuse Obama of that. I guess I will wait and further respond to what you have to write. Should be interesting because you happen to think that Citizenblogger responded with lies "elegantly."
threesides2everystory
Platform? Sarah don''t need no stinkin' platform!
She just needs to keep squealing out Bumper Sticker Quotes to to the Sore Looser Crowd and she'll remain a-buzz. God Bless America.
She does have a great rack. She'd be smokin' hot if she didn't open her mouth. I wonder if anyone would know her name if she wasn't a MILF. Sexism? Reverse Sexism? You Betcha! God Bless America.
susangalea
Aaaaargh hahahaha. There be some truth there in that ol' boys drools...
notdanorm
OH GOD! SHE IS HERE IN NEW YORK!!!!!!! EVERYONE EVACUATE THE CITY IMMEDIATELY!!!!! GO, GO, GO!!!!!!
LMAO
susangalea
Hope she minds the traffic....
jus1drun
only 23 comments so far...........................dang
Holyterror44
Somehow it doesn't surprise me that a Palin staffer would say something as completely meaningless as "polarize that," and think it was a clever riposte.
co-intheknow
Hey Holy...better watch out criticizing princess palin's staff or they'll "refudiate" you! Bwahahahahaha
Holyterror44
"Holyterror was found dead this morning, brutally refudiated from a passing helicopter ..."
susangalea
Hmm, you're good you, you. She's bonkers and it would be fun if she ran. I am just not feeling strong enough to gamble because there are so many loony fruitcake, climate denying , talking in tongues , devil expelling weirdos around.... I am not really thinking that it's a gamble if she runs: just feel it so humiliating to a hitherto quite reasonable electorate...
LOL @ the left
I just love a slobbering lib pity parties. 2010 is just the beginning of your deathnell so deal. When you all finally figure out just what this administration has taken from you, it's going to be amusing to watch you all suddenly deny your part in electing this bunch of left wing crooks.
Benny Hill
Not surprising. Staten Island is a haven of apartheid and segregation. Palin would not be well received in the other boroughs of New York City.
amanda07070
Amen Benny
Benny Hill
Sieg Heil, with the appropriate goose steps!
UNIVERSALIS
there are idiots to milk everywhere! Go Palin! Go stupidity!
bosatsu
"Sara Palin is old news".... And "You can't see Russia from the (Manhattan) ferry".... Meowww. Cat fight in GOP country.
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