Last night, Governor Sarah Palin sent out a nice update about the glories of summer in Wasilla, Alaska: Gardening, lawn mowing, children playing, and a creepy Massachusetts writer with no talent and a wild imagination who has decided to vacation next door to the Palin family home for the next five months.
What was that last part, you ask? Yes. That’s right…we speak of Joe McGinnis. The author of a hit-piece in the now-defunct Portfolio magazine has decided that in order to research his new book (a longer-winded hit piece on the governor?) he needs to be up close and personal with his subject.
Somehow, both Joe and his publisher (Random House) decided that next door to the Palins would be an appropriate place to set up shop. For the rest of the world, however, this new living arrangement is decidedly inappropriate and shockingly invasive. It is truly appalling to see how far some people will go in their obsession with Governor Palin and her family and this situation reeks of harassment!
Creepy McG. has stepped way out of bounds on this one and, despite the Governor’s humorous write-up, the Palins must certainly be ill-at-ease knowing this guy is just a few feet away from their family home. Creepy’s vacation plans may be technically legal, but they are anything but decent. The Palins are average citizens who have a right to some semblance of privacy. Now, it seems, they’ll have to alter yet another aspect of their daily lives to take the time and resources to build a fence between their home and their unwelcome observer.
This whole situation is absurd and Creepy McG. is clearly disturbed. Random House Publishing should be ashamed to have any association with this man and should act immediately to get his backside out of the Palin’s backyard.
- tdc
*Photo by Governor Palin (via Facebook)
Today, via Facebook, Governor Sarah Palin endorsed Carly Fiorina in the race for California’s senate seat currently occupied by Barbara “You Better Call Me ‘Senator’” Boxer. Needless to say, the online universe (especially Twitter) is in quite a tizzy because many conservatives support the other strong Republican candidate, Chuck Devore, and do not agree with Governor Palin’s decision.
Frankly, I don’t know a whole lot about Ms. Fiorina versus Mr. Devore, other than what I see go by in the social media-sphere. But, in reading Governor Palin’s note about her endorsement of Fiorina, I have a couple of observations.
In part, the Governor’s note reads:
Carly is the Commonsense Conservative that California needs and our country could sure use in these trying times. Most importantly, she’s running for the right reasons. She has an understanding that is sorely lacking in D.C. She’s not a career politician. She’s a businesswoman who has run a major corporation. She knows how to really incentivize job creation. Her fiscal conservatism is rooted in real life experience. She knows that when government grows, the private sector shrinks under the burden of debt and deficits. We can trust Carly to do the right thing for America’s economy and to make the principled decisions she has throughout her professional career.
The focus on fiscal conservatism, business experience, and life experience are indications that Governor Palin:
- Weighted fiscal concerns and real-world knowledge quite heavily in making her decision to endorse Fiorina.
- Is making an effort to support a talented team of individuals to take on Washington, D.C. Each of the people she has publicly supported has his or her own strong skillset that will add value to the political discourse that shapes our policies. While in office, Governor Palin demonstrated the fact she evaluates people based on the expertise they have to offer to the task on hand. As governor, she didn’t require that everyone in her administration with agree her on every issue. That philosophy got a lot done in Alaska.
- Is as courageous as ever. She had to have known the backlash that would come from the Fiorina endorsement, and she did it anyway. Agree with her decision or not; but, once again, Governor Palin put her political capital at risk to do what she thinks is right. How many politicians ever do that, let alone with the frequency that Governor Palin is willing to?
It will be interesting to see how this endorsement, and those to come, play out during the election cycle. On the one hand, Governor Palin inspires cheers and kudos for endorsing veterans in their respective races for congress (including conservative rock star, Allen West); and on the other hand, she stirs up controversy with her support of Fiorina and Rand Paul (R-KY). What are we to make of this?
Well, this outsider can only draw conclusions from the evidence presented, and that evidence indicates that Governor Palin continues to prove that she is perhaps the most unconventional politician to hit the U.S. stage in generations. A fact that drives those on the Left and (per today’s chatter) the Right absolutely batty.
While we all continue to discuss the merits of Governor Palin’s endorsement strategies, let’s remember to thoroughly research the candidates we are arguing about, and then make a donation or volunteer for those who represent our values.
Most importantly, though, let’s all remember to get out the vote. Ultimately, those are the only endorsements that will really count.
- tdc
Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives voted to approve the Senate health care bill that has been winding its way through the legislature for months. As a result, our country has been cast down an uncertain path that leaves many of us apprehensive about the future stability of our nation.
The health care debate has been personal for all of us, albeit in different ways, because health care is personal. Every citizen is at the mercy of the system in which he finds himself. It can takes months or years to find a health care provider with whom one is comfortable, and the idea that the government might somehow impede this relationship is daunting to say the least. Thus, the intricacies of the health care bill(s) have been the subject of passionate debate on both sides.
The difference between those two sides, of course, is that the opposition of (primarily) Republican and Independent representatives was based upon sound economic and practical reasoning, while those in favor of the health care overhaul almost uniformly resorted to tales of “a woman in my district” or “a man who wrote me a letter” to make their arguments. All of these individuals were said to be at death’s door with an ill-intentioned, scalpel-wielding doctor on one side of the hospital bed, and an Armani-suit clad insurance agent on the other.
Needless to say, many of us found ourselves frustrated with the superficial nature of the debate and, now that the bill has passed, we have awakened the morning after, wondering where to go from here.
A New Day and Renewed Faith
Thankfully, Governor Sarah Palin has, once again, stepped in to offer guidance, inspiration, and optimism - characteristic traits that have endeared her to millions of people across the country. Today, on her Facebook page, Governor Palin described the current state of things, writing:
We’ve been reminded many times that elections have consequences. Yesterday we saw the consequence of voting for those who believe in “fundamentally transforming” America whether we want it or not. Yesterday they voted. In November, we get to vote. We won’t forget what we saw yesterday. Congress passed a bill while Americans said “no,” and thousands of everyday citizens even surrounded the Capitol Building to beg them not to do it. Has there ever been a more obvious exhibition of a detached and imperious government?
As usual, she succinctly spoke for millions of like-minded citizens who continually feel as if they have no voice in the halls of Congress or the White House. Having eloquently underlined the issue at hand, though, Governor Palin also demonstrated the grit and perseverance that have served her so well in her life and career [emphasis mine]:
Though they’d like us to forget, we will remember the corrupt deals, the corrupt process, the lack of transparency, the deceptive gimmicks to game the CBO score, and the utter disregard for the will of the American people. Elections have consequences, and we won’t forget those who promised to hold firm against government funding of abortion, but caved at the last minute in exchange for a non-binding executive order promised by the most pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White House.
All along we’ve said that we want real health care reform, but this isn’t it. We mustn’t be discouraged now. We must look to November when our goal will be to rebuke big government’s power grab, reject this unwanted “transformation” of America, and repeal dangerous portions of Obamacare that will bury us under more Big Government control.
This is just the beginning of our efforts to take back our country. Consider yesterday’s vote a clarion call and a spur to action. We will not let America sink into further debt without a fight. We will not abandon the American dream to government dependency, fewer freedoms and less opportunity. Change is made at the ballot box. If we work together, we can renew our optimistic pioneering spirit, revive our economy, and restore constitutional limits.
Stand tall, America. November is coming!
It is difficult to say whether Governor Palin is truly aware of the comfort and encouragement her voice - and pen - offer to disenchanted citizens across this country. Perhaps she does know. Or, as many of us believe, perhaps she simply says what is on her heart and happens to speak for all of us…because she is one of us.
On a day like today, when despair, exasperation, and anger could prevail, Governor Palin’s words are a welcome call to remember from wherest we came. The United States was built upon the fortitude and love of country that is so simply expressed by this woman whom many would like to call “Madame President” one day.
Let us heed her challenge and utilize the power of our collective voices and the privilege of our vote to restore the promise of our country. November is, indeed, coming…let’s be sure to be ready.
- tdc
*Photo courtesy www.floppingaces.com
Governor Palin at the Daytona 500 - February 14, 2010 - via Facebook
On a day when the Family Guy takes a pot shot at the governor and her son, Trig, she spends her time doing what really matters - enjoying the company of the world’s greatest drivers, sports fans, and of course, those serving in our military. It looks like a great time was had by all! Governor Palin continues to be a class act…
- tdc
*Photo credit by the supremely-talented Shealah Craighead (I wonder if she does weddings…hmmmm…)
