When Thomas Schmitz, the O4P California Coordinator and US for Palin writer learned I was going to Paris to celebrate my 15th Wedding Anniversary, he asked that I take an O4P Palm card with me and photograph myself holding it to build a dossier of Sarah images in foreign countries. It would only take a few minutes. I enthusiastically agreed. Over these past three years, I've learned that many things with Gov. Palin are not coincidental. They are Providential.

As I printed out my Eiffel Tower ticket prior to the trip, the location for the shoot jumped out at me. On the ticket in all capital letters, was the word "SOMMET." It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it is French for "Summit". Some colleagues have complained that I have a tendency to put former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on a pedestal. Now, I was going to symbolically put her at the Summit of the tallest man-made pedestal in Europe. Putting Sarah on a pedestal? I proudly say: Guilty as charged!

After our ascent and with a flute of Eiffel Tower champagne in each of us, I begged my wife's pardon and secured it. I had to pick the place to do the shoot. I took a few shots to the west, but they came out poorly. Then, I went to the Northwest. Let's call it 340 on the compass, as I like to say when I'm in New York. Then, I noticed something my wife and I had just descended from the summit of just about an hour prior: the Arc de Triomphe...Providential. Summit. Triumph. Palin.

...Just prior to my trip to Newark Airport, I informed my writers about the failure of at least two GOP candidates to gather enough signatures to qualify to appear on the ballots of the Virginia primary. From Paris, I would learn that all the candidates save for Mitt Romney and Ron Paul failed to qualify. I'll leave it to the readers to decide whether this circumstance is a result of GOP establishment chicanery to benefit Romney, gross incompetence on the part of the campaigns that failed to make the Virginia ballot, or something else. Whatever the root cause, the outcome is an absolute and unmitigated disgrace. I noted with some interest how the mainstream and conservative media seemed to fluff over this rather significant story, indicating a desire to quickly bury it. Of course, if Gov. Palin were a candidate and this circumstance befell her, we would have been treated to a deluge of articles all the way through and past Election Day on how she was "un-electable." She would have been the lightning rod and all the other candidates would have gotten a free pass.

Now, nearly three months later, we can see the genius behind Gov. Palin's decision. You see, all these candidates have been and continue to be vetted before the electorate, something which would not have happened if she were currently on the ticket. The clock is doing its work with every second that ticks by. Passage of time is proving that Gov. Palin's decision does not change the simple fact that she is the best person and most qualified for the job of POTUS. She has the accomplishments; the leadership skills; the executive, command, and financial administration experience; she took on corruption in both parties in every position she held. Yes as a man, I say it's time for a woman to take the helm - and not just any woman, but a woman who is both ordinary and extraordinary.

This is why I find it absolutely ridiculous that anyone speaks of giving Gov. Palin a second-fiddle position such as Vice President or a cabinet position. Gov. Palin is a Transformational Leader - the type who is brought in to fix broken organizations. Her place is not second. It's first. She is to be the dominant one in any relationship. That's why she is called a leader. Period.

Compared to Gov. Palin, the field of declared candidates is Lés Miserables. When your accomplishments are of the size, scale, scope, and frequency of Gov. Palin's, yes you probably are a superhero minus the silly cape. Hero worship? Guilty as charged and proud of it.

Gov. Palin's only proper place is at Au Sommet and her only proper outcome is Triomphe. Failure is not an option. One of the many things I admire about Gov. Palin: she does something right or she does not do it all. Reaching Au Sommet could mean she ultimately runs for POTUS in this cycle of back-loaded primaries. It could mean continuing what she is doing as a private citizen rooting out crony capitalism and endorsing down-tickets ala 2010. It could mean both. It could mean something else. How Gov. Palin reaches Au Sommet does not matter to me - as long as she reaches it - and Triumphs.

As we bid au revoir to 2011, here is the 2011 Master List of Governor Palin's Accomplishments.

The 2012 Master List of Governor Palin's Accomplishments is now open.

Gov. Palin: Sarah,

Grimper au sommet! Climb to the Summit!

The Washington Post today asked several key 2012 hopefuls who had declined to run what the would be campaigning on. Following is the complete transcript of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's response:

Given the concerns I have for some of the Republican field’s focus thus far, I must implore the candidates to do something that sounds self-promoting, but whatever. Candidates, please turn to Chapter Three of “Going Rogue” and read what it takes for our country to step toward energy independence. Note the lesson I share in the same chapter about taking on the “elite,” the crony capitalists and the permanent political establishment to get a job done.

Do you really realize what is at stake? What is at stake is our republic. The gravity of today’s situation is real. We count on you to lead our nation on the right path. Please let us know you realize this. Understand how the left’s terrifyingly naive assault on American industry exposes us to the mercy of foreign regimes whose prime objective is, at worst, our permanent demise and, at best, is stripping away our freedom. God has blessed America with ingenuity, natural resources and the strength of our workforce. Let’s use them. Tell voters that you understand this. Talk about this on the campaign trail. And quit gripin’ and moaning about “inside baseball” partisan machinations and maneuvering. We have other things to worry about. Stay strong. Focus on defending our republic and how we’ll re-industrialize our most exceptional nation in order to defeat the incumbent and win for America.

As published at: Washington Post Opinions December 31, 2011

H/T Ian Lazaran, Conservatives4Palin for Story Lead

Happy Third Birthday, Tripp.

A lot has happened in Tripp's three years. He's seen his mother, Bristol cast with Kyle Massey for a TV show, Dance with the Stars and starred along with his mother and grandmother in Sarah Palin's Alaska.

The staff at US for Palin wish Tripp a life filled with happiness, love, and prosperity.

Following is the email Christmas Card being sent to SarahPAC donors and email registrants. It is similar to the physical card some supporters have received. Thank you, Sarah and Todd. We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Successful New Year.

Governor Palin today posted on Facebook:

My family and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I offer this to all because Christmas is a holiday for all, whether you are a Christian believer or not. The message of Christmas is full of hope, peace, joy, and the fellowship of all mankind; so I find it amazing that every year we hear more accounts of a ramped up “war on Christmas.” How sad and ironic that a handful of grinches are at war with the annual celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, whose coming was prophesied centuries earlier and was then gloriously heralded by the angels with a blessing for “peace on earth” and “good will toward men.” Even if one doesn’t believe the story, can’t one at least recognize the beauty of the message? Or at the very least, let everyone else enjoy the season without throwing a temper tantrum at the sight of a Nativity scene? People who feel affronted by a baby in a humble Manger display or a few Christmas carols have truly lost all sense of proportion and seem to be most in need of some holiday cheer.

At a time when our country is divided on so many things, Christmas unites us. It’s a beautiful part of our culture, and for many of us it’s a beautiful part of our Faith. In fact, for believers it’s “the main thing.” In today’s tumultuous times we can remember the bible’s record of Three Wise Men from the East who received an angelic message of Jesus’ birth. They may have been unsure of the message, so they sought truth. They trekked to Bethlehem to find out more. There, they found Jesus and they honored Him. The story of the wise men reminds us that today wise men still seek Him. So in this season especially, let’s seek truth. Let’s celebrate with family and friends. Let’s shout a cheery “Merry Christmas” to everyone we meet. Let’s remember our brave men and women in uniform defending us far from home. And let’s all pray for a peaceful New Year. From our home to yours, Merry Christmas. -Sarah Palin “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)

 

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150444029133435.

"You know, it's not too late for folks to jump in. Who knows what will happen in the future?” former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said near the close of her two-segment interview with Eric Bolling of Follow the Money from her home in Wasilla, Alaska. Bolling had questioned Gov. Palin if she would be entering the race even after Iowa and New Hampshire. Gov. Palin will not currently endorse a declared candidate.

Ed. Note: Since announcing she would not seek the 2012 GOP nomination on October 5, Gov. Palin's public and written statements on a 2012 run have been a clear and resounding "no regrets," "I can shake things up better from the outside," and "thank you again for your support and respect for this very difficult decision." While tonight's statement does underscore what Gov. Palin could do, we need to keep our powder dry and not jump to conclusions or spread rumors that she will do it. "Could" does not mean "will."

Most of the interview focused not on 2012 or the the candidates, but on the Keystone XL Pipeline, North Korea and the leftist war on Christmas and Christianity.

About the pipeline, Gov. Palin said, "there is nothing wrong with it, except that Obama would be forced to bend his political will to create these jobs. Look at who is in his administration....Joe Biden voted against the Trans-Alaska Pipeline." The XL Pipeline is "engineered and ready to go," but Obama is beholden to the environmentalist lobby. "Politics is trumping common sense....It's 100% political," she said. Energy independence is a national security, jobs and economics issue, Gov. Palin said.

Shifting to the payroll tax cut, Gov. Palin said it should be extended as long as possible. "Most people are fed up with governments taking more money from our paychecks."

Regarding CBS editing out Obama's statement that he is one of the best presidents Gov. Palin said, "I think there's a reason CBS did him a favor and edited that out....He failed our country and failed our economy. His economic activities have done nothing but fail." She added that "we need to take care of ourselves and make sure our own investments are wise. Never look to the government."

On the death of North Korea's Kim Jung Il and the succession to his son Kim Jong Un, Gov. Palin said, "If you're a praying man, pray for unity on that Peninsula. It's the opportunity for progress and peace across the region." She said North Korea's missile launch after the death of Kim Jung Il "should be all the more reason to be wise in our foreign policy and take care of ourselves." Gov. Palin cautioned against being dependent on foreign nations and reiterated her position that we need to be energy independent using conventional and renewable sources.

"We need a tougher president," Gov. Palin said harkening back to Ronald Reagan's, "we win, you lose." She said, "Obama does not have that in him. We got what we voted for. He said he would sit down with our enemies without precondition."

As with the Shannon Bream interview, Gov. Palin expressed her support of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow's on-field prayers. "I am pro-Tebow. I am proud of him. He is not ashamed of his savior. Jesus will rock your world if you give it all to him. You should try it sometime." Gov. Palin said Tebow is a good role model and thanked him for being bold in his faith. She told an anecdote about a father with his four sons in tow who look up to Tebow. She suggested that those who don't like Tebow's public expressions of faith may be bothered by their own consciences.

About the apparent war on Christmas, Gov. Palin said, "atheists don't need to show up to the party and Christmas is about Christ's birth." She made reference to the Seinfeld episode in which Dave Putty told Elaine Bennis that he was not the one going to Hell. Gov. Palin and Eric Bolling concluded the interview by "Tebowing" - a new verb that has entered our lexicon which means to assume the prayer position Tebow uses on the field.

Video retrieved from SarahNET.

Governor Palin today posted on Facebook:

As Jewish families gather this week to celebrate the Festival of Lights, Todd and I would like to wish them a very Happy Hanukkah. This beautiful holiday commemorates the story of the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, following years of struggle by the Maccabees, when one-day’s worth of consecrated oil miraculously lasted for eight. This story never ceases to inspire because it reminds us of the power of faith, hope, and perseverance.

The modern State of Israel is the living embodiment of the Hanukkah miracle – a country that was not expected to survive the onslaught of its enemies, and which has not only survived but thrived as a beacon of freedom, tolerance, and innovation. In a region consumed by chaos and oppression, Israel continues to be a light of inspiration. As Jews around the world sing “Maoz Tzur,” we remember that our nation, too, was conceived in faith in our “mighty stronghold.” Let us cherish the values and warm bonds of friendship that unite us in this season.

- Sarah Palin

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150438678128435.

"My endorsement will be with sincerity and enthusiasm. I'm not there yet, and a personal endorsement does not amount to a hill of beans compared to the wisdom of the American voter," former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin today said in a telephone interview with Shannon Bream of Fox News.

Gov. Palin said "it is exciting to see what will happen in Iowa," predicting that Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum both of whom she described as "known conservatives" "will do better than RINO pundits predict." Gov. Palin said that Ron Paul with his dedicated, hard-working support base will also do well but predicted that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich will likely remain the front runners after the Iowa caucuses.

Gov. Palin expressed frustration that "some in this field have had the opportunity to engage in sudden and relentless reform at the state and Congressional levels" but did not seize it and then speak about their plans and intentions moving forward. "Without naming names," Gov. Palin said this frustration could apply to the entire field of candidates.

Gov. Palin said the Tea Party remains a strong grassroots movement committed to following the Constitution and that the Tea Party will continue to grow.

When asked about Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow's prayers on the field, Gov. Palin responded, "I am so pro-Tebow. He knows that Jesus of Nazareth will rock your world and I admire his boldness."

Video retrieved from SarahNET.

A federal judge yesterday rejected a plea deal for father and son stalking team Craig (48) and Shawn (20) Christy, because he determined they were a public menace, according to widespread media reports.

The Christys were arrested on August 19, 2011 for violating the terms of a restraining order which barred them from contacting anyone in Alaska except their own legal counsel. The judge rejected the plea deal, because the Christys also harassed Gov. Palin's attorney, John Tiemessen.

"While one person may be the object of their ire at one point, it clearly shifts to others," Burgess said, saying the men had harassed and threatened children, law-enforcement agents and judges. "They seem undeterred," Yereth Rosen of Reuters reported.

Burgess rejected the plea deal, because he did not believe probation would be sufficient to stop the Christys' stalking.

The father and son duo had been harassing and threatening the Palins and Kristan Cole, and made threats against Obama and Senator John McCain, according to widespread media reports. The Christys stalking included vulgar calls to Gov. Palin’s home; sending the Palins receipts from a gun purchase and telling them of his intent to purchase a one-way ticket to Alaska. Shawn Christy in fact made a brief round trip to and from Anchorage at a cost of $700 around the time of Gov. Palin’s birthday. Shawn Christy also threatened to rape the former Alaska Governor.

According to the Reuters report, Shawn Christy suffers from cognitive dysfunction possibly resulting from his brain being damaged by Lyme Disease. The Christys will stand trial on January 3, 2012 unless a new plea agreement is reached.

"[The debates] offer that window into what that candidate stands for. That's very important. It helps the media. It helps us as voters be able to vet a candidate so that we're not stuck with someone like we're stuck with now in the White House - someone who hasn't been vetted - Barack Obama....But, these debates with the 10-second soundbites that we're supposed to be able to describe what our foreign policy is or perhaps what the Palin Doctrine would be in a 10-second soundbite - that doesn't do a whole lot of people a whole lot of good."

-Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin September 29, 2011, Freedom Watch

"The cream of the crop has not risen yet in this very fluid primary process..."

-Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin November 15, 2011, On the Record with Greta Van Susteren

"I think today, my personal endorsement probably doesn’t amount to a hill of beans - today at this point in the race. Maybe, as the weeks progress, it would become a little more significant..."

-Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, December 1, 2011, Hannity

“I am not ready to make an endorsement. This is a long process. Iowa is not the end. It is the beginning."

-Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, December 7, 2011, Hannity

The Clock

One of the best vetting tools in any contested primary is simple passage of time. With this method, you use your eyes, ears, and the clock to observe how a candidate performs in debates, fund-raisers, rallies, and unscripted interviews. When Gov. Palin says it is too early for her endorsement and the "cream has not risen to the top," she is using the clock. You can use the clock to determine if you even want to bother vetting a candidate's voting and financial records, or you can vet records and use the clock simultaneously.

Many aspects of a candidate's suitability for the office being sought are simply not going to be found by vetting records. A person's character, temperament, leadership methodology, impressions of colleagues who have worked with a candidate, and statements that indicate readiness or lack thereof reveal themselves only over an extended period of time.

Voters expect candidates for any office to give a straight answer to a question without hemming, hawing, "stopping to think," double-talking, telling different versions of the same story, rationalizing, back-pedaling, or lying. While gaffes can be distracting trivialities, they can be fatal to a campaign. History is replete with examples of fatal gaffes from failed campaigns of both parties. In this primary cycle, two candidates destroyed their own respective commanding leads, because their gaffes telegraphed both an inability to give a straight answer and rank lack of knowledge of various issues. One of the two candidates has already left the race. His numbers were already in the single digits when he was accused of having an affair, which allegedly ended within the past year. The other candidate is polling in the single digits.

Though character matters, most voters are more concerned with a candidate's ability to discharge the duties of office. In a scientific Fox News Poll which sampled 911 likely voters on Gingrich, Romney and Obama, 64% of the sample responded that they do not consider prior adultery a disqualifying factor. See question 41 on the 14th and final page of the poll. In my observation, when "personal pursuits" affect the job, reveal blatant hypocrisy, result in egregiously bad decisions or outrageous behaviors, voters tend to be far less forgiving. In my opinion, voters tend to be far less forgiving if the behavior is more recent.

If an elected representative or candidate's non-official pursuits involve or reveal illegal activity, it's generally game over.

A Time and a Place...

Voters who live in an early state such as Iowa with its caucuses less than a month away should now be very far along in their vetting process and close to choosing a candidate. With later states, half or more of the candidates will already have been winnowed out and long forgotten. Voters in these states are better served using the clock, then switching to web-based vetting tools around a month before the primary to focus on candidates who are relevant.

Using the clock too late precludes proper vetting of voting and financial records. But, vetting a candidate's records too early can lead to prematurely supporting someone, resulting in time, money, and emotional energy squandered. Why? The candidate may look suitable on paper, but you're not giving the clock a chance to do its work and reveal those things that won't be found in the voting and financial records.

First Time Running for Office?

If your chosen candidate is running for office for the first time, there is no voting record to vet against stated issues and financial data may be sparse. With first-time candidates, their conduct in the private sector and how they perform during the campaign will be about as much as the average citizen has to work with. This is an instance where the clock is the only viable option. Where possible, you want to refer to official public records, not just media reports (witness how many got it wrong with Gov. Palin), but there simply is little the average voter can vet with first-time candidates.

Many public records are either not free to access or require a steep learning curve to learn how to access them. Is it reasonable to expect John or Mary Q. Public to search criminal records, civil court filings - that is conduct a complete background check - on a first-time candidate for any office? Probably not. Is it reasonable to expect professionals to perform such a check, as with a SarahPAC endorsement? Yes.

In the case of the NY-13 Congressional election last year, the GOP ticket during the primary consisted of Michael Grimm and Michael Allegretti. Both men had never held office before, so there was really very little to go on. Grimm had the better message and numerous key endorsements, Gov. Palin's among them. He easily won the primary and I had been campaigning for him since Gov. Palin's endorsement some six weeks before the primary. In NY-13, our 2010 GOP primary vetting was done using the clock. Allegretti made several critical mistakes and gaffes, leading him to a crushing defeat. Grimm went on to win the general, defeating the well-financed and Obama-backed incumbent Michael McMachon (yes, there were three Michaels in this race).

Intellectual Honesty

The point of vetting is to use the mind to make a reasoned decision. When we vet, we must be intellectually honest. For instance, if we have been saying that Obama is a lousy President because he lacks prior executive experience, it is intellectually dishonest to extol candidates on our side who also lack executive experience. Similarly, it is intellectually dishonest to berate one candidate's flip-flopping behavior while ignoring, excusing, apologizing for, or soft-pedaling another candidate's flip-flops simply because we don't like the first candidate.

With Vetting, the Mind Should Lead

Likability is emotion-based; it's a "heart thing." It's also the kind of "heart thing" that easily leads to intellectual dishonesty. It further leads to convoluted and indefensible positions when brought into the vetting process. When we vet using the clock, we need to keep checking ourselves. Are we thinking everything through? If you're talking in terms of "like/dislike," "love/hate," even "support/non-support" - that's your heart talking. When we vet, the heart needs to take the back seat and the mind needs to take the leading role. If you can say, "I've examined 'candidate X's performance on the stump and found he/she does/does not really understand (insert issue here)" that's your mind talking. Most of us say we "feel" a certain way about something, when we should more properly say we "think." Feeling is not synonymous with thinking. Anything to do with vetting should be guided by thought process, not emotion.

In Closing...

Vetting candidates is our responsibility as voters. Because Gov. Palin has referenced vetting numerous times, as Palinistas, we have an elevated responsibility to vet candidates for all offices and to do so in a way that to the best of our knowledge aligns with her methodology. This series gave you the general principles and some tools to vet voting records, financial data and observe candidate performance on the stump to make a reasoned and informed decision.

This year, we have the entire House up for election and 33 Senate seats. That's 488 people aside from the President and Vice President. We also have state and city elections. See the big picture and not just POTUS. Proper vetting is one of the underpinnings of sudden and relentless reform. If we truly want better government, the onus is on us to make it happen. We make sudden and relentless happen by our vetting process and at the ballot scanner.

It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen this kind of crony capitalism before. It’s is the same good old boy politics-as-usual that I fought and we defeated in my home state. I took on a corrupt and compromised political class and their backroom dealings with Big Oil. And I can tell you from experience that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. So, please you must vet a candidate’s record. You must know their ability to successfully reform and actually fix problems that they’re going to claim that they inherited.

-Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin September 3, 2011, Indianola, IA

If you've vetted a candidate's voting record, the next step is to vet financial records. "Forensic accounting" is a discipline unto itself, and while the average voter cannot be expected to be the next Peter Schweizer, we can examine some basic records and apply common-sense. We are looking for:

• Expenses reasonable and customary vs. outlandish and extravagant.
• Irregularities that could suggest embezzling funds.
• Irregularities that could suggest cloaking sources of income.
• Understating income or expenses.
• Income from trade, industry or interest groups who benefit from legislation sponsored or voted on. This is a tell-tale sign of reg neg and possible crony capitalism.

To keep this simple, three websites are key to vetting financial records to the level of a very well-informed voter if not a semi-professional level.

Federal Election Commission Disclosures

The Federal Election Commission website houses income, disbursement and other financial data pertaining to candidates, campaigns, 527 organizations and Political Action Committees. Palinistas who donate to SarahPAC (listed as "Sarah PAC" - two words - Committee Number C00458588), should be familiar with its filings. Just as investors should understand that in which they invest, donors should understand that to which they donate. For instance, Palinistas should know that SarahPAC stumps for candidates who support its principles and that monies from the PAC cannot legally be used for purposes outside SarahPAC's purview, such as a campaign for any office by Gov. Palin. A campaign would have to be done with separate monies.

Like all government sites, the FEC site has a bit of a learning curve, before you are able to find the desired information. If you are comfortable navigating the FEC site, reading and understanding SarahPAC's filings, you are ready move on to other candidates and committees to apply what you've learned from reviewing SarahPAC's filings.

FEC Website

Open Secrets

Open Secrets is operated by the Center for Responsive Politics and is an excellent way to vet financial information pertinent to federal candidates and committees. Being privately owned and operated, it is somewhat easier to navigate than the FEC site. I used it almost three years ago for a campaign financing study and it is a goldmine of valuable information. Considering that I had only been supporting Gov. Palin all of six months at the time and was a complete newbie to elective politics, the site is easy to use.

Open Secrets

Follow The Money

Follow the Money is used for vetting financial records of state candidates. Like Open Secrets, Follow the Money is a non-partisan organization. The website has several tools that help you see who is lobbying to include well-heeled individuals. Tools of particular interest include:

• Independent Spending - track independent spending on elections.
• Industry Influence - see how different industries influence candidates and legislative action.
• Legislative Committee Analysis Tool (L-CAT) - "illustrates the intersection of campaign money with the laws that affect everyday life." If you're seeking evidence of crony capitalism, L-CAT will most likely find it.
• Lobbyist Link - see what lobbyist's employers gave to candidates.
• Point of Influence - shows if a campaign gets most of its funding in-state or from out-of-state sources.
• Top 10,000 Donors - top 10,000 donors to federal and state campaigns.

Follow the Money

The Final Installment

We'll discuss using the clock as a vetting tool in our final installment of this candidate vetting series.

Candidates "can't just be preaching to the choir...Candidates should not be afraid to debate in front of the nation regardless of who the host is," former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said tonight in a wide-ranging two-segment TV interview with Eric Bolling of Follow the Money from her home in Wasilla, Alaska.

Gov. Palin was referring to Donald Trump's proposed debate which Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman both declined. She said both candidates should reconsider their attendance and if she were a candidate would be attend so as to get her message out to a diverse audience which includes independents and those who are "not into the inside baseball."

Bolling said that he does not consider either Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney true conservatives and queried Gov. Palin as to how someone like him should proceed with the field of candidates. "You and so many Americans are in the same boat," she said. Our choice is between "being socialist" or "being a nation of free men and free markets."

"You are looking for the perfect candidate," she continued. "We're going to have to support the GOP nominee."

Like Hannity before him, Bolling asked Gov. Palin if she was going to endorse a candidate before or after Iowa. She reiterated that her endorsement will not come before Iowa and that Iowa is the beginning, not the end. She said that Gringrich has risen in the polls because he has reached out to Tea Party and Constitutional conservatives, who in turn have forgiven some of his past political sins. Romney has yet to reach out conservative voters.

But, Gov. Palin warned that Gingrich cannot pretend to be a DC outsider when he was an insider. She said that he had in fact done good things as an insider, such as balancing the budget during the Clinton administration, and he needs to remind voters what he has done to reform corruption.

Gov. Palin said whoever rises to the top must campaign on sudden and relentless reform. "If you've been part of the problem, you are not going to get my support or the support of Constitutional Conservatives."

"Any of the candidates would be infinitely better than Obama." Further, Gov. Palin noted that all the candidates have cut budgets, taxes or fought for smaller, more limited government. "I have studied their records." She said a good bellwether on where conservatives might go would be to see who Ron Paul endorses if he leaves the race. Though Gov. Palin disagrees with Paul's foreign policies, she agrees with his domestic spending policies.

Gov. Palin also again said that she did not believe this had become a two-candidate race. "History shows that the winner or second place in Iowa doesn't necessarily get the nomination."

In the second segment, Gov. Palin said that it was typical that Nancy Pelosi and others in Congress would lie about their insider trading - a practice that is illegal for every US citizen outside of the Congress. She said that this activity is appalling and accounts for why people of modest means leave the Congress unusually wealthy. Bolling spoke about how Senators and Representatives were calling and trading stocks after meeting with Treasury Secretaries - accessing both tax payers' money and inside information.

The loans given by the Obama administration to campaign bundlers and friends are also a form of crony capitalism. Gov. Palin referenced Peter Schweizer's Throw Them All Out and said it's time to do precisely that.

About Obama's forthcoming 17-day trip to Hawaii, Gov. Palin said he is "deaf, dumb, and blind" to what is going on in the nation. She predicted "he threw the number 17 days out there just to tick people off, then will come back in 15 days to address some issue in the White House and look like the hero."

Video retrieved from SarahNET

"I'm very encouraged by these poll numbers and we will have a candidate rise to the top to beat Obama. We want passion...solutions proposed...to undo what Obama has done to this country," Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said tonight in her single-segment TV interview with Sean Hannity as her fireplace roared in her Wasilla, Alaska home. Gov. Palin was referring to a poll in which a generic GOP candidate would beat Obama 49% - 41% if the election were held today.

Hannity recited a list of Obama's negative statements about the Republican Party and Gov. Palin responded, "you gave examples of more of Obama's hogwash. He doesn't mean it and he doesn't walk the walk. He is a phony. Obama is a phony."

Gov. Palin acknowledged that her ticket "missed the boat during the last go-around," but said unlike in 2008, Obama does have a record.

Hannity asked Gov. Palin if she ready to make an endorsement.

"I am not ready to make an endorsement. This is a long process. Iowa is not the end. It is the beginning. We can't be complacent with this poll....Obama will have $1 billion 90% of the lamestream media in his back pocket," Gov. Palin said.

He followed up by asking Gov. Palin specifically if she would support either Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney.

"At the end of the day, I will support the GOP nominee," Gov. Palin said, adding that any of the independents and unsung candidates would be better than Obama.

Even the lamestream media might be souring to Obama. A coworker informed me about a hard-hitting column written on October 30 by Matt Patterson, a columnist for the Washington Post, the New York Post and the San Francisco Examiner, in which he refers to Obama as an "Affirmative Action President" and discusses Obama's lifelong lack of accomplishment in all of his pursuits.

Video retrieved from SarahNET.

H/T Michael Monahan for lead to Affirmative Action President article.

Governor Palin today posted on Facebook:

For anyone following the Obama administration's scandalous cluster-of-an-operation Fast & Furious, which resulted in the deaths of innocent people, please see the article excerpted below. (And in my humble opinion, I do believe the anti-2nd Amendment characters working in the Obama administration purposefully used their Fast & Furious gun walking operation to propose more gun control regulations.)   Scour this article and let me know if you too think this might be a “smoking gun” in the Fast & Furious case.  

ATF officials didn't intend to publicly disclose their own role in letting Mexican cartels obtain the weapons, but emails show they discussed using the sales, including sales encouraged by ATF, to justify a new gun regulation called "Demand Letter 3". That would require some U.S. gun shops to report the sale of multiple rifles or "long guns." Demand Letter 3 was so named because it would be the third ATF program demanding gun dealers report tracing information.   On July 14, 2010 after ATF headquarters in Washington D.C. received an update on Fast and Furious, ATF Field Ops Assistant Director Mark Chait emailed Bill Newell, ATF's Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious:   "Bill - can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same (licensed gun dealer) and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks."   On Jan. 4, 2011, as ATF prepared a press conference to announce arrests in Fast and Furious, Newell saw it as "(A)nother time to address Multiple Sale on Long Guns issue." And a day after the press conference, Chait emailed Newell: "Bill--well done yesterday... (I)n light of our request for Demand letter 3, this case could be a strong supporting factor if we can determine how many multiple sales of long guns occurred during the course of this case."   This revelation angers gun rights advocates. Larry Keane, a spokesman for National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun industry trade group, calls the discussion of Fast and Furious to argue for Demand Letter 3 "disappointing and ironic." Keane says it's "deeply troubling" if sales made by gun dealers "voluntarily cooperating with ATF's flawed 'Operation Fast & Furious' were going to be used by some individuals within ATF to justify imposing a multiple sales reporting requirement for rifles." The Gun Dealers' Quandary   Several gun dealers who cooperated with ATF told CBS News and Congressional investigators they only went through with suspicious sales because ATF asked them to.   Sometimes it was against the gun dealer's own best judgment.

 

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150414989148435.

SarahPAC Supporter,

We stand at the edge of an uncertain future. From the uncertainty of the millions of unemployed to the uncertainty of future tax burdens for small business owners, it is clear that we must now fight against the fundamental transformation taking place against all that has made America truly exceptional. We must bring certainty back into the lives of the American people.

To do this, SarahPAC will continue to be a driving force in the discussion for reforms that tackle the problem of crony capitalism and promote free markets, smaller government, domestic energy development, and removing the excessive tax and regulatory burdens that have left American industry more uncertain and less prosperous.

With the 2012 elections right around the corner, now is the time to join Governor Palin and SarahPAC’s continuing efforts to take our country back.

If you give a gift of $100 or more to SarahPAC, we will send you a copy of "The Undefeated" DVD signed by Governor Palin to show our appreciation for your ongoing support.

With the holiday season upon us, this collector's item is the perfect gift for a friend or family member and if your gift is received by December 18th, we guarantee delivery of the DVD by Christmas!

With your donation of $100 or more to SarahPAC, you will not only be receiving this exclusive signed copy of "The Undefeated," but you will also have a direct impact on the 2012 election cycle by ensuring that Governor Palin and SarahPAC have the resources needed to help elect conservative candidates and send them to Washington.

The future of our country belongs to those who are willing to fight for it, and with your vital support we can continue to help elect commonsense conservatives who will do what is necessary to ensure that America’s prosperity is renewed.

Once again, I ask you to take this stand with us.

Thank you for all you do for Governor Palin and SarahPAC,

Tim Crawford Treasurer, SarahPAC

 

P.O. Box 7711 Arlington, VA 22207