Back to Basics

How much is that dogmeat in the window?

CPAC came to a close this afternoon with none other than Sarah Palin bringing down the house. She began with “Obama has transformed a shining city on a hill into a sinking ship” and never let off the gas.

A brief heckler interruption with that annoying “mic check” thing, but otherwise, as they say, this is what they came to hear:

Sarah Palin will continue to be one of the nation’s most powerfully effective voices for grass-roots conservatism.

She is at her best when challenging the Beltway GOP establishment and taking on the corruption and profligacy in both parties. More power to her.

***
Gov. Palin broke the news on the Mark Levin radio show — she will not run for president in 2012.

Levin read her written statement and interviewed her. The Right Scoop has audio (more).

Here’s the full statement:

Wasilla, Alaska

After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.

From the bottom of my heart I thank those who have supported me and defended my record throughout the years, and encouraged me to run for President. Know that by working together we can bring this country back – and as I’ve always said, one doesn’t need a title to help do it.

I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets, including in the race for President where our candidates must embrace immediate action toward energy independence through domestic resource developments of conventional energy sources, along with renewables. We must reduce tax burdens and onerous regulations that kill American industry, and our candidates must always push to minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the private sector to create jobs. 

Those will be our priorities so Americans can be confident that a smaller, smarter government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people can better serve this most exceptional nation.

In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.

Thank you again for all your support. Let’s unite to restore this country! 

God bless America.

- Sarah Palin

For a while there it was so much fun to think about:

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see her get in, if for no other reason than to take the race to a different level, but I agree that she might have more sway offering her opinion and fundraising for others from the sidelines than from within the game.

Here’s Palin’s announcement by way of the Mark Levin Show:

After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.

From the bottom of my heart I thank those who have supported me and defended my record throughout the years, and encouraged me to run for President. Know that by working together we can bring this country back – and as I’ve always said, one doesn’t need a title to help do it.

I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets, including in the race for President where our candidates must embrace immediate action toward energy independence through domestic resource developments of conventional energy sources, along with renewables. We must reduce tax burdens and onerous regulations that kill American industry, and our candidates must always push to minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the private sector to create jobs.

Those will be our priorities so Americans can be confident that a smaller, smarter government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people can better serve this most exceptional nation.

In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.

Thank you again for all your support. Let’s unite to restore this country!

God bless America.

– Sarah Palin

As far as the GOP race goes, this is probably fairly good news to Herman Cain… and maybe Rick Perry.

Some speculated that Palin might consider a third party run, but I never thought there was any chance that Sarah would do anything to help Barack Obama in 2012 — much like Ross Perot helped elect Bill Clinton in 1992.

It’ll be interesting to see who Palin endorses — if anybody.

Here’s a snapshot of the latest hallucination in the head of Sarah Palin’s creepy stalker former neighbor guy Joe McGinniss:

Instead of admitting that his book that is bombing in sales because he’s been exposed as a journalistic hoaxer (worse yet, he exposed himself), McGinniss is trying to get everybody to believe that media outlets are cancelling scheduled interviews with him because they’re trying to, in essence, protect Palin:

Terry Gross [of NPR's Fresh Air] has declined to have me on her show. As have all other NPR shows. My fifteen seconds as part of a report on All Things Considered is all I get from NPR. I’m told they are scared of losing more federal funding if right wing Congresspeople complain that they are “promoting” my book.

FYI, both Morning Joe and Keith Olbermann had me booked for last week, but canceled when they saw which way the wind was blowing.

I’d like people to know that about Olbermann. First, he attacked my book on Bill Maher without having read it–then, when the publicity director of Crown Publishing said to his producer that she hoped he would read it before interviewing me on his own show, he canceled me.

Rachel Maddow also refused to have me on.

Maddow, Olbermann and NPR are protecting Sarah Palin? If McGinniss’s shark jump hadn’t yet completely cleared the dorsal fin, that whopper put enough air under him to make a safe landing on the other side.

More specifically, McGinniss is saying that Olbermann, NPR and the rest are refusing to let him promote his “expose” because the book proves they failed to properly vet Palin before the 2008 election (because of all that, uh, right wing mainstream media bias or something). In other words, Maddow, Olbermann, NPR, et al are protecting themselves, and ergo Palin.

The lefty media didn’t look deep enough into the background of Sarah Palin? The same MSM that recruited an army of volunteers to sift through her emails?

Come on, Joe… everybody knows that’s because in 2008 the MSM was way too busy digging into Obama’s past. Give ‘em a break!

Last summer, as you know, author Joe McGinniss earned his place in the annals of literary stalkers by moving in next door to the Palin family, ostensibly to “research” a book. Well, that book is now out, and so far it has the makings of what could end up as an expensive disaster for author and publisher:

Attorneys representing former Alaska governor Sarah Palin have written to Crown Publishing, a division of Random House, serving notice of possible litigation for defamation in connection with Joe McGinniss’s recent anti-Palin biography, and warning the company not to delete or destroy relevant documents.

The letter (see below) reads, in part:

Enclosed is an e-mail by your author Joe McGinniss. In this e-mail, Mr. McGinniss admits that your own lawyers instructed him that “nothing I can cite other than my own reporting rises above the level of tawdry gossip.”….Indeed, Mr. McGinniss admits that the allegations are false unless he can find someone or something to show they are true. We know from the final book that he was unable to do so.

It is malicious for your company to publish a book wherein it, and the author, admit that they were fully aware the statements in the book were false, intended to be false, and were intended to harm…

The rest of the text including a copy of the letter is at Big Government.

Over the weekend McGinniss was reportedly complaining that even outlets like Olbermann, Maddow and NPR are canceling his scheduled appearances or refusing to have him on at all. The above might offer a clue as to why. Not many media suits right now are going to want to take part in helping push a bombing book that could end up as an expensive and/or embarrassing legal headache.

The Joe McGinniss Sarah Palin book, “The Rogue” is the left’s latest hate letter to God fearing patriotic Americans. Make no mistake about it folks. The McGinniss attack along with the other numerous attacks on Sarah Palin are really about attacking you; mainstream Americans with traditional values.

Since her extraordinary upbeat VP nominee acceptance speech in 2008, I have wondered. What did Palin specifically say to prompt such immediate visceral hatred from the left? I have come to realize the answer is her celebration of God, family and country.

How dare Palin praise traditional marriage, motherhood, Christianity and American exceptional-ism; all of which are an anathema to the left. Thus, the left’s hatred of Palin is really hatred of mainstream America; particularly tea party patriots.

That is it in a nut shell and explains why the left so desperately seeks to destroy Palin. They hate America and all who love our extraordinary country.

The left is indoctrinating our kids into believing America is the greatest source of evil in the world; all other religions are superior to Christianity and homosexuality is superior to heterosexuality. During the “Gay Pride Day Celebration” at a middle school, kids were taught to give things a try before deciding whether they like it or not.

Apparently, Obama agrees.

Palin in the White House would be a major fly-in-the-ointment toward furthering the left’s secular/progressive agenda.

In typical left wing fashion, McGinniss attacks Palin for her Christian faith and then accuses her of not being Christian enough. Thus, trying to portray Palin to be a hypocrite. It is pretty obnoxious when godless liberal progressive zealots accuse godly people of falling short of Christ’s standards. This tactic is satanic and evil.

Even some liberals say the McGinniss Sarah Palin book scrapes the bottom of the barrel of indecency by showcasing undocumented allegations from weak anonymous sources. The McGinniss book is simply another sleazy hit piece to destroy this extraordinary Christian woman who is to the left’s horror, admired and loved by millions.

Like every other attempt to destroy Palin, the McGinniss vile piece of trash will fail. Yes, if you believe the liberal mainstream media, it would appear the left has won the PR battle convincing folks on both sides of the political aisle that Palin is unelectable.

The Bible speaks of evil appearing to be all powerful spreading itself like a huge oak tree only to crumble and disappear in an instant. Palin is a Christian. God’s Word promises, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper.”

Now let me see, whom do I choose to believe, a despicable ungodly evil liberal mainstream media or God?

As I have stated on numerous occasions, the political battle in America today goes beyond Republican vs Democrat. It is a spiritual battle of good vs evil; right vs wrong.

The left is repulsed by all things decent, godly and patriotic. Palin, like all of us, is far from perfect. However, she still symbolizes goodness and embodies wholesome traditional American principles and values. Thus, the light which emanates from this American icon is as repulsive to the left as showing Dracula the cross.

Mr McGinniss you and your fellow progressive Obama minions are pitiful.

While I was sitting on roller coasters on Saturday, Sarah Palin was in the running — just not in the political sense:

The morning after Palin’s speech at a tea party rally in Indianola, Greta Van Susteren of Fox News posted a photo she said was snapped of Palin during the “Jump Right in and Run” half-marathon organized by the Storm Lake Running Club.

Hannah Campbell, webmaster of the Storm Lake Running Club, confirmed the former Alaska governor’s participation in the event. She said Palin’s official time was 1 hour 46 minutes 10 seconds.

Palin ran under “Sarah Heath,” her maiden name (if I ran in a half marathon the record would show my name as “dead on arrival”). She finished second in the 40-49 division, running an average eight minute mile for 13 miles.

Did anybody see her speech Saturday? I watched it last night and thought I missed an announcement earlier, because she was talking about “my plan,” which makes it sound as if she’s leaning towards a run, but there was no announcement during that event.

Palin is in New Hampshire today for a noon speech in Manchester, and possibly an appearance in Nashua later on in the afternoon. If she hasn’t announced a run officially by the end of the day, it’s highly unlikely she’ll be entering the race. A Fox News poll found that 74% of Republicans don’t want her to enter the race — but maybe that’s why Palin’s speech Saturday included the following homonym play to dismiss that: “Polls are for strippers and cross country skiers.”

Happy Labor Day all! We’ll be back up and running full speed as the week goes on.

Every time I’m ready to predict she’s not going to run I see a web ad like this new one from SarahPAC and am tempted to change my mind:

*****

Mark Levin predicts she’ll run. The line at Intrade doesn’t seem as confident right now.

Palin’s September 3rd event in Iowa has been moved to a larger venue due to demand — no doubt a lot of people going think there’s going to be an announcement of some sort.

I’m still leaning toward the “not running” direction, but I just can’t say that with confidence as long as these really well-done campaign-style videos keep being churned out.

(h/t RCP)

Next stop, an announcement?

Sarah Palin’s rolling menace will fire up again today for a run through Iowa just as eight GOP candidates will be having a debate in Ames.

Politico:

In an email to supporters Wednesday, Palin said she’s accepted an invitation “to meet folks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this week.”

Palin doesn’t say which day she plans to appear at the fair, which coincides with the straw poll but is a separate event about half an hour away. An Iowa GOP activist who is close to Palin, Becky Beach, told the Des Moines Register the visit was slated for Friday.
[...]
Asked by Fox News’s Sean Hannity about her presidential intentions last week, she said, “Getting closer to making a decision, of course, for legal reasons, for practical reasons. But I still haven’t made up my mind yet, Sean.”

Naturally, Palin’s email about the trip to the fair includes a dig at President Obama. She writes, “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’!”

Oh if only Sarah could have convinced Green Giant to sponsor this leg of the tour.

The Ames Straw Poll is taking place on Saturday, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that reportedly write-in votes will be allowed for the first time.

Palin will also speak at a Tea Party event in Iowa on Labor Day weekend. Does all this equal a run? No idea yet… but here’s a video by way of Conservatives 4 Palin on the bus tour re-launch in Hawkeye country:

*****

Further fragmenting the media, President Obama is kicking off his own bus tour and will be in Iowa on August 16th (don’t miss the top 20 names for his “jobs” bus tour — my favorite: “Titanic on Wheels”).

The president’s bus tour will also roll through areas hard-hit by the economy, such as parts of Illinois and Minnesota. And of course the tour will end in a place that serves as a monumental symbol of these tough economic times: Martha’s Vineyard.