OK, here's the deal. The market is so over-saturated with Sarah Palin stories that even I don't read them anymore. It's time to let the poor woman exit the stage. Let her go make some peanut butter sandwiches for the kids and be a mom. Let her get, what had been, a normal life back.
It's not that Governor Palin was such a great candidate. She wasn't. She was the last slim hope and the most difficult candidate I ever tried to defend. With her resignation, she not only abandons the field, she takes all of our weapons with her.
Those familiar with my political views, know that I separate the Republican Party into 2 major factions; east coast old money and western new money, Wall Street versus Main Street, fur coats and cloth coats. It was a long time between Calvin Coolige and Ronald Reagan. I suspect I have seen the last of the cloth coat candidates, at least on the national stage. Too bad. Life goes on.
Showing posts with label Sarah Palin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Palin. Show all posts
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Palin Hits Back
As if winning the election wasn't enough, the left continues their attacks on Sarah Palin. What are they afraid of?
I have to love the "so-called comedian" bit. Nice shot.
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I have to love the "so-called comedian" bit. Nice shot.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Palin in Carson City
I was hoping to get off this subject for awhile and get back to economic matters, but with Governor Palin's visit to Carson City on Saturday, well, you know I had to go. I'm really getting hooked on seeing candidates in person. Not for the star power, but seeing the human being, as opposed to the flickering image. I should probably leave you in suspense until the end of this story, but the short version is, this lady's no pushover. When she says she's going to Washington to "shake things up", I believe her. I believe she is capable of it.
I got to the Pony Express Pavilion about 12:30, having only a vague notion of when things were going to start. 2 hours standing in line talking with a guy named Jay from Sparks, and people watching. Then another 2 hours standing in the pavilion, mostly trying to guess who was with which security detail. Jay and I had a pretty good spot to the left of the stage and on the "rope line".
One of the more interesting security teams was a group of 5 men dressed in desert khaki with pockets for extra ammo clips. They were big guys, tall and wide. With buzz cuts and wrap shades, they looked like some sort of survival team. The kind of guys who could live for months in the outback, eating bugs and drinking water made from their own urine. When one of them got close enough to read his badge, it said Tahoe-Douglas Bomb Squad. So much for the survivalist thing. Maybe they eat bugs for a hobby.
The highlight of the pre-speech speakers, I think, was Barbara Vukanovich. She's like the Queen Mum of northern Nevada Republicans; the Every-Grandma; the living link to a time when Reno was a truly small town, when Sinatra was driving a Thunderbird and when stealing horses was still a hanging offense. We love her and she loves us.
Missing from this group was Governor Gibbons. Hmmm. I can't imagine what he had to do today that was more important than this. Boy, has his career taken a dive. I sense a coup coming in the 2010 elections, but it's too soon to tell where it will come from. Congressman Heller is the most obvious choice, but he seems too much of a party loyalist to mount an insurrection. I think it will come from lower down in the ranks.
Finally, after Lt. Governor Krolicki's speech and a rousing version of "Johnie B. Goode" and "Pretty Woman" from the band, some really mean looking guys in suits came in and surrounded the stage. It took the Governor and her husband several minutes to make their way to the stage. Of course, they came in from the opposite side from where I was. Todd, her husband, had been up on the stage earlier and nobody recognized him. At least I didn't. He's an easy going guy who has a bemused "I can't believe I'm here" expression.
Governor Palin's speech was a mix of lines from her original speech when she was first picked, some lines from the convention speech, and some new lines. It was a positive speech with no Obama-bashing. There wasn't a single sentence that wasn't met with a loud cheer and extended applause. I don't doubt that she could help a guy pick out a nice quality hunting knife at the local gun show, but she seems more like a business woman to me. The kind of person who could wade through a government accounting report and spot the problems. She's no-nonsense, confident, and direct.
Throughout the audience were a number of teenage girls. Too young to vote, but they all had "the look". It's the look that I used to have when dad would take me to the Giants game to see Willy Mays. This thing is bigger than a single election.
After the speech she came our way. As the crowd surged forward, I dropped my McCain/Palin sign that had been handed out to everyone earlier. There was no hope of bending over to pick it up, so I didn't get her autograph. No big deal. I learned long ago that I'm not an autograph collector. After the crowd thinned out I got my sign back, so I now have a sign with tattered edges and several foot prints on it. I did get to shake her hand and tell her she's terrific, so I was happy with that.
Jay, who had his hat signed by McCain at an earlier rally, now has both names on it. He was pretty pleased. Something for the grand kids. There was also a guy there with an old high school yearbook. Palin remembered him. She seems to genuinely enjoy meeting people.
It still seems strange to me that the local politicians don't seem to want to mix with the common folk. All those voters in one place and none of them made any effort at all. They seem to be content with the $100 wine and cheese affairs and the hell with everybody else. They all came in, sat down, gave their speech and went home. Little wonder people think of them as elitist.
Later, Jay and I went around to the exit. Chuck Yeager, of X-15 fame, who had been on the stage earlier was hanging out there. We got to shake his hand too. He doesn't do autographs. At 85 he is one grizzled veteran. Governor Palin probably spent more time shaking hands, signing things and meeting voters, than she did speaking. We didn't get to meet her again, but all in all everyone went home happy.
I got to the Pony Express Pavilion about 12:30, having only a vague notion of when things were going to start. 2 hours standing in line talking with a guy named Jay from Sparks, and people watching. Then another 2 hours standing in the pavilion, mostly trying to guess who was with which security detail. Jay and I had a pretty good spot to the left of the stage and on the "rope line".
One of the more interesting security teams was a group of 5 men dressed in desert khaki with pockets for extra ammo clips. They were big guys, tall and wide. With buzz cuts and wrap shades, they looked like some sort of survival team. The kind of guys who could live for months in the outback, eating bugs and drinking water made from their own urine. When one of them got close enough to read his badge, it said Tahoe-Douglas Bomb Squad. So much for the survivalist thing. Maybe they eat bugs for a hobby.
The highlight of the pre-speech speakers, I think, was Barbara Vukanovich. She's like the Queen Mum of northern Nevada Republicans; the Every-Grandma; the living link to a time when Reno was a truly small town, when Sinatra was driving a Thunderbird and when stealing horses was still a hanging offense. We love her and she loves us.
Missing from this group was Governor Gibbons. Hmmm. I can't imagine what he had to do today that was more important than this. Boy, has his career taken a dive. I sense a coup coming in the 2010 elections, but it's too soon to tell where it will come from. Congressman Heller is the most obvious choice, but he seems too much of a party loyalist to mount an insurrection. I think it will come from lower down in the ranks.
Finally, after Lt. Governor Krolicki's speech and a rousing version of "Johnie B. Goode" and "Pretty Woman" from the band, some really mean looking guys in suits came in and surrounded the stage. It took the Governor and her husband several minutes to make their way to the stage. Of course, they came in from the opposite side from where I was. Todd, her husband, had been up on the stage earlier and nobody recognized him. At least I didn't. He's an easy going guy who has a bemused "I can't believe I'm here" expression.
Governor Palin's speech was a mix of lines from her original speech when she was first picked, some lines from the convention speech, and some new lines. It was a positive speech with no Obama-bashing. There wasn't a single sentence that wasn't met with a loud cheer and extended applause. I don't doubt that she could help a guy pick out a nice quality hunting knife at the local gun show, but she seems more like a business woman to me. The kind of person who could wade through a government accounting report and spot the problems. She's no-nonsense, confident, and direct.
Throughout the audience were a number of teenage girls. Too young to vote, but they all had "the look". It's the look that I used to have when dad would take me to the Giants game to see Willy Mays. This thing is bigger than a single election.
After the speech she came our way. As the crowd surged forward, I dropped my McCain/Palin sign that had been handed out to everyone earlier. There was no hope of bending over to pick it up, so I didn't get her autograph. No big deal. I learned long ago that I'm not an autograph collector. After the crowd thinned out I got my sign back, so I now have a sign with tattered edges and several foot prints on it. I did get to shake her hand and tell her she's terrific, so I was happy with that.
Jay, who had his hat signed by McCain at an earlier rally, now has both names on it. He was pretty pleased. Something for the grand kids. There was also a guy there with an old high school yearbook. Palin remembered him. She seems to genuinely enjoy meeting people.
It still seems strange to me that the local politicians don't seem to want to mix with the common folk. All those voters in one place and none of them made any effort at all. They seem to be content with the $100 wine and cheese affairs and the hell with everybody else. They all came in, sat down, gave their speech and went home. Little wonder people think of them as elitist.
Later, Jay and I went around to the exit. Chuck Yeager, of X-15 fame, who had been on the stage earlier was hanging out there. We got to shake his hand too. He doesn't do autographs. At 85 he is one grizzled veteran. Governor Palin probably spent more time shaking hands, signing things and meeting voters, than she did speaking. We didn't get to meet her again, but all in all everyone went home happy.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Reality Check
Good speech. Not great, but certainly good enough to rally the Republican faithful. No doubt a lot of independents are taking notice. The combination of McCain's foreign policy hawks and Palin's small town values only partially address the economic issues. The reform of the discretionary spending free-for-all is a good sign, but the missing link is still entitlements. Social Security reform is the subject left unspoken. President Bush dropped privatization early in his first term and no-one has picked it up since. McCain, by his own admission, is no economic wizard. It will be interesting to see if he mentions entitlements tonight.
Also of interest is whether all this is a rebuilding of the Reagan coalition, or a realignment within the Republican party. I think the jury is still out on that one. A good article on the political/economic trends can be found here. A good idea of where we've been and where we're going is here.
Also of interest is whether all this is a rebuilding of the Reagan coalition, or a realignment within the Republican party. I think the jury is still out on that one. A good article on the political/economic trends can be found here. A good idea of where we've been and where we're going is here.
Monday, September 1, 2008
More on Palin
I just returned from a trip to mom's place in the People's Republic of California, and two things about the Palin pick are now clear. The right loves her and the left hates her. The vitriol coming from the left, like the scene from "The Exorcist", tells me Palin was the right pick at the right time. The party of peace, love and the common man, who now have two machine-built Harvard lawyers on their ticket, can't stand it when those snobby, rich Republicans elevate a commoner to high office. They just can't get themselves to admit that the Republican party is full of commoners. It's usually just the leadership that's snobby and rich.
It's funny how they're talking about all those great Republicans who should have been picked. As if they would have liked anyone else. They were calling Kay Bailey-Hutchinson a female impersonator when she ran for the senate. Elizabeth Dole was Helmet-Head, among other things. Would anyone not have produced these wretched, rumor filled diatribes? Not likely.
The University of Idaho? Not exactly the fast track. Wasilla, Alaska? You won't find many Harvard lawyers looking to make a name for themselves in Wasilla. The PTA? Can you name one person in Washington DC who has ever served, or knows anyone who has served, on the PTA? The fact is, she's one of us, and that's plenty of reason to give her a chance. In a word; Authentic.
It's funny how they're talking about all those great Republicans who should have been picked. As if they would have liked anyone else. They were calling Kay Bailey-Hutchinson a female impersonator when she ran for the senate. Elizabeth Dole was Helmet-Head, among other things. Would anyone not have produced these wretched, rumor filled diatribes? Not likely.
The University of Idaho? Not exactly the fast track. Wasilla, Alaska? You won't find many Harvard lawyers looking to make a name for themselves in Wasilla. The PTA? Can you name one person in Washington DC who has ever served, or knows anyone who has served, on the PTA? The fact is, she's one of us, and that's plenty of reason to give her a chance. In a word; Authentic.
Friday, August 29, 2008
The Palin Pick
Hot-Diggity-Dog! I didn't think the old man had it in him. This pick makes sense for several reasons. The main reason I like it is it brings the Reagan coalition back off the mat. Palin represents all three major groups, values voters, defense hawks, and even us limited government types. The big-government-neocons are headed for the exits, and small government conservatives have somebody besides Ron Paul to rally around. The GOP may be down, but we're not out.
She lives what she preaches on abortion, having given birth to a child she knew would have Downs Syndrome. Her oldest son, is on his way to Iraq. The famous "Bridge to Nowhere" went nowhere because Palin cut off state funding. She's not just from small town America, she still lives there. There are plenty of reasons to like this pick. It will be interesting to see what lame excuses the ladies at NOW come up with to not endorse her.
Can she give a good speech? Can she whip up a crowd? Can she debate? Don't know. Never heard her voice. But, a lot of Republicans who were soft on McCain are feeling pretty good tonight.
She lives what she preaches on abortion, having given birth to a child she knew would have Downs Syndrome. Her oldest son, is on his way to Iraq. The famous "Bridge to Nowhere" went nowhere because Palin cut off state funding. She's not just from small town America, she still lives there. There are plenty of reasons to like this pick. It will be interesting to see what lame excuses the ladies at NOW come up with to not endorse her.
Can she give a good speech? Can she whip up a crowd? Can she debate? Don't know. Never heard her voice. But, a lot of Republicans who were soft on McCain are feeling pretty good tonight.
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