Sarah Palin

[JeffL]

Yes, it’s clearly ridiculous for a woman who wants to be elected Vice President to discuss policy at a nationally televised political convention.

But to be fair - Biden spent half his speech talking about his background. Then he spent most of the rest of the speech talking about how bad McCain is. I guess if you say “We’re going to put the “security” back in Social Security!” and “We’re going to make alternative energy a national priority!”, OK, that’s not exactly meaty policy. Palin described her background, defended herself against all of the attacks in the last week, then did what most speakers at conventions do, say our guy is so much better than the other guy and describe the bad things about the other guy. Biden did it, she did it.

What will be interesting is McCain. I don’t know how in the hell he can rise to the level of Obama’s speech. Part of my 17 year old’s daughter assignment is to watch Obama’s speech on Tivo, then McCain’s, back to back, and write a comparison and who she believes would make the best president, just based on the speeches. I wish all of America had the same required assignment.

[JeffL]

Well, she put it up on eBay but it didn’t sell. She had to lower the price and go with a private buyer after all the eBay hype.

Still, selling off the private jet and getting rid of the private jet is pretty cool, as is just the idea of putting it up on eBay.

Heck, if I was the governor of a state as wild as Alaska, I’m not sure I wouldn’t kinda like having a private jet. ;)

[MattKeil]

Part of my 17 year old’s daughter assignment is to watch Obama’s speech on Tivo, then McCain’s, back to back, and write a comparison and who she believes would make the best president, just based on the speeches. I wish all of America had the same required assignment.

Technically, we do, it’s just that Americans are notorious for not doing their homework.

[Machfive]

Interestingly enough, a lot of what she said about those topics is simply untrue. Shrink spending bloat? Alaska takes more federal money per capita than any other state but New Mexico, and under her governorship they have asked for the most of any state. Despite her claims to the contrary, she supported the bridge to nowhere right up until Congress said that they wouldn’t fund it (now she just lies about it to avoid embarrassment), and she supported (and presumably still supports) other similar pork barrel projects like a $375 million dollar highway connecting Juneau to a pair of townships that are home to just over 3000 people. Combined. As mayor, she employed federal lobbyists–for a town of 6000 people!–to secure around $27 million in federal funds. And even with that, she left the town $20 million in debt. As I pointed out earlier in this thread, that’s pretty close to the sum total of Rochester’s current budget shortfall, which is a really big deal in here, and a major issue in local politics. Rochester is home to about 300,000 people.

Then there are the reports of her firing various people for lack of loyalty and not banning books in the local library, and the issue over whether she abused executive power in an attempt to get her ex-brother-in-law fired. An investigation which is still pending, but which she has now decided to stonewall on, which is going to force the state legislature to issue subpoenas to get her and her former aid to testify. And we haven’t even known this woman for a week.

So maybe someone can explain which part of her executive experience I should be excited about, because aside from selling some jet on eBay, it seems eerily similar to president Bush’s. As in, primarily composed of acting like a petty dictator, abusing power, and spending money like a college kid with a new credit card. Firm stance against wasteful spending? There’s not much I can say to that other than to laugh. Yeah, right.

Ben, can you point me to any sources that are reputable enough to help me convince some moderate Republican friends of mine (especially my grandfather) who have drank the Palin kool-aid? They keep telling me what a maverick she is, and how she clamps down on porkbarrel spending and SHE OPPOSED THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE as if that wasn’t the very LEAST we’d expect any non-fuckheaded elected official to do.

I really need to show them her true colors, but they’re getting their ammo from talk radio, so the last place I want to send them to is KOS or something.

[Bahimiron]

jeff lackey lives in such an affluent area that the schools assume all the kids have tivos.

He’s such an elitest. :(

[TimJames]

Ben, can you point me to any sources that are reputable enough to help me convince some moderate Republican friends of mine (especially my grandfather) who have drank the Palin kool-aid? They keep telling me what a maverick she is, and how she clamps down on porkbarrel spending and SHE OPPOSED THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE as if that wasn’t the very LEAST we’d expect any non-fuckheaded elected official to do.

I really need to show them her true colors, but they’re getting their ammo from talk radio, so the last place I want to send them to is KOS or something.

Point out that she agreed to be the VP candidate for the Republican Party.

[magnet]

Q: How many orders has Sarah Palin issued to the Alaska National Guard?

A: Zero! Zero!! Zero!!! Zero!!! Zero!!!

[extarbags]

Ben, can you point me to any sources that are reputable enough to help me convince some moderate Republican friends of mine (especially my grandfather) who have drank the Palin kool-aid? They keep telling me what a maverick she is, and how she clamps down on porkbarrel spending and SHE OPPOSED THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE as if that wasn’t the very LEAST we’d expect any non-fuckheaded elected official to do.

I really need to show them her true colors, but they’re getting their ammo from talk radio, so the last place I want to send them to is KOS or something.

You could send them to the New York Times or, shit, Fox if they accidentally reported it honestly, and it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. If they’re drinking the Kool-Aid being served by Rush Limbaugh, they’re deliberately blind to reason.

But just for kicks, here’s an article from Reuters about how she originally supported TEH BRIDGE TO NO MAN’S LAND, then recanted her support once that became the politically expedient thing to do, then took the money anyway, then stopped the project partway through and kept the money. That was the first hit on google for “palin bridge,” so I suspect the other stuff should be similarly easy to dig up. For instance, here’s the Washington Post reporting on the massive federal earmarks Palin secured for the tiny hamlet that elected her mayor.

And for additional lulz, here’s an article from the moonbat insane right-wing Washington Times about how close her ties to the oil industry are.

[Jakub]

In my experience, Republicans are more likely than not to be determined to ignore the truth for sake of party loyalty. It’s really weird to see.

[Damien_Neil]

Ben, can you point me to any sources that are reputable enough to help me convince some moderate Republican friends of mine (especially my grandfather) who have drank the Palin kool-aid? They keep telling me what a maverick she is, and how she clamps down on porkbarrel spending and SHE OPPOSED THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE as if that wasn’t the very LEAST we’d expect any non-fuckheaded elected official to do.

They probably won’t consider a TNR blog “reputable”, but this one cites an Anchorage Daily News article:

5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now–while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

Or, as the kids are saying these days, she was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it. She eventually changed her mind–after Congress had already killed funding for it.

Obsidian Wings has some more fact checking of Palin’s statements.

[Adam_Eayrs]

And for additional lulz, here’s an article from the moonbat insane right-wing Washington Times about how close her ties to the oil industry are.

Lobbyists made up about 2 percent of total donations to her 2006 campaign for governor
[…]approximately 90 percent of contributions to Ms. Palin´s gubernatorial campaign came from individuals, as opposed to groups or political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Of the PAC money she did receive, much of it came from groups that represent the travel industry, including cruise companies and airlines.

…

[Machfive]

Awesome. Thanks guys!

[extarbags]

…

Yeah, I didn’t actually read it. It’s the Washington Times, for fuck’s sake… I’m not going to poison my pea brain with that crap. I was just drawn to it because it had a headline that seemed vaguely critical of a Republican, and it is, as mentioned, a right-wing rag. Apparently it’s just that the headline doesn’t match the article. Disregard; the two from real news outlets were the important ones anyway.

[JeffL]

jeff lackey lives in such an affluent area that the schools assume all the kids have tivos.

He’s such an elitest. :(

At the risk of being roasted alive here (eh) we are homeschooling her this year.

Nothing to do with religion, etc.

[BlueJackalope]

Ben, can you point me to any sources that are reputable enough to help me convince some moderate Republican friends of mine (especially my grandfather) who have drank the Palin kool-aid? They keep telling me what a maverick she is, and how she clamps down on porkbarrel spending and SHE OPPOSED THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE as if that wasn’t the very LEAST we’d expect any non-fuckheaded elected official to do.

I really need to show them her true colors, but they’re getting their ammo from talk radio, so the last place I want to send them to is KOS or something.

A start would be to take the daily show clips of FOX commentators contridicting themselves. Cut out Stewart’s mugging and it would make for a pretty non-partisian critique.

[Adam_Eayrs]

At the risk of being roasted alive here (eh) we are homeschooling her this year.

Nothing to do with religion, etc.

How do you homeschool? Do you have to liaise with your local school board in any way? Are you getting lesson plans, textbooks etc from them, are you getting them from another source, or are you going from scratch? Does homeschooling affect your daughter’s chances for postsecondary admissions? Is it something you’ve done before?

This is definitely a derail, but if it’s too much of a pry please ignore it.

[Qessinge]

It took me two days but I finally read this whole thread. Boy was that stupid.
The speech last night wasn’t a “Home Run”

We’ll all know next week if the speech was a home run or not based on the bounce (or lack thereof) the republican ticket gets in the battleground states…

[magnet]

In my experience, Republicans are more likely than not to be determined to ignore the truth for sake of party loyalty. It’s really weird to see.

The exception that proves the rule:

Ben Stein’s head explodes. He says real economists will need to be around Sarah Palin “every second”, and Henry Kissinger should “babysit” her on foreign policy. Hilarious clip, and the Superman reference makes it even more awesome.

[BlueJackalope]

The exception that proves the rule:

Ben Stein’s head explodes. He says real economists will need to be around Sarah Palin “every second”, and Henry Kissinger should “babysit” her on foreign policy. Hilarious clip, and the Superman reference makes it even more awesome.

Wow. In case anyone is wondering, Ben Stein is a former Nixon speechwriter and conservative. Its like a honest, funny, Peggy Noonan, except on camera.

[BlueJackalope]

Man, almost as many people watched Palin speak than Obama speak.

I thought your guy was a rock star. Palin has been around for, what, a week and draws those numbers?

Yikes, bad news for you guys.

Yep, that was some terrible news Bob.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080905/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_obama_money

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Barack Obama’s presidential campaign said it raised $10 million Thursday following the Republican National Convention speech by rival John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said Palin’s address, heavily laced with digs at Obama, prompted an outpouring of donations from more than 130,000 donors.