Sarah Palin: Why I'm Speaking at the Tea Party Convention

Complete transcript of Governor Palin's Facebook Note:

Why I'm Speaking at the Tea Party Convention

Today at 9:58pm

Please take a look at today’s USA Today op-ed on what I consider to be an honor to speak with great Americans at the upcoming Tea Party Convention. As noted in the
article, people who are unable to attend the convention will be able to participate and watch some of the speeches online at twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA, or through various news outlets. You’ll be kept posted on which sites will be streaming over the internet so as many interested citizens as possible can participate in this Tea Party event.
Thank you! -

Sarah Palin

A Dead Fish, Expletives and Discriminatory Language: The Tale of Rahm Emanuel- A Post by Conservative Girl with a Voice

It is no secret Rahm Emanuel has a very short fuse and is prone to angrily attacking those around him. Remember the dead fish he sent to a political rival? Yep, he is quite a piece of work. It is what he has done recently that has concerned Americans like myself on fire. A gentleman from the great state of Massachusetts alerted Sarah Palin to an incident between Mr. Emanuel and participants in a strategy session. Instead of instructing the group appropriately, he reportedly referred to the participants as "F---ing retarded." Not only did Mr. Emanuel clearly cross the line, but he did so in a way that was both offensive and derogatory. While you and I know that his words were wrong and should be addressed, the media are once again turning a blind eye to the White House. This isn't the first time a member of the White House has unfairly mocked referred to those with special needs in a derogatory way. Just last year, our very own president made fun of his bowling skills, making fun of the Special Olympics in the process. It took a lot of pressing for the media to finally report the story causing president to apologize for words he NEVER should have uttered in the first place.

You think the Obama Administration would think twice before pulling such a stunt again, but, then again, we are talking about an Administration that prides itself on being a media darling. Can you imagine if President Bush had uttered such a statement on The Late Show? What if Karl Rove had pulled a Rahmbo? I know both of these men would NEVER even think to do such a thing, but if they had, you all know the media would be all over the story, as they should. Where are they now? Where are they to speak out on behalf of individuals with special needs and their families? Then again, who needs the biased media when we have amazing individuals like that gentleman in Mass. and Sarah? Thank God we have a woman who is not afraid to do what the media seem so afraid to do. In calling out Mr. Emanuel, she is literally calling out the entire White House for actions they seem to ignore. Adrienne Ross, my good friend over at the blog Motivation: Truth, has written an excellent post about this incident, and I stand with her and Sarah in calling out Mr. Emanuel for his terrible, disgusting use of words. (I encourage you all to read Adrienne's post here.)

Shame on Rahm Emanuel for using such vulgar language and hurtful words. He obviously thinks he is above any criticism because he seems to make a fool of himself on a regular basis; furthermore, he shows a complete disregard for people in general. Just today, it has been reported the Mr. Emanuel did in fact issue an apology to Tim Shriver, the CEO of the Special Olympics. While I applaud Mr. Emanuel's actions, he shouldn't just be apologizing to the Special Olympics, but to every member of the special need community and their families; after all, his terrible comments effect many. It is only right that Mr. Emanuel right his wrongs and apologize to all, for until he does, people will wonder just how sincere his most recent apology was. Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Emanuel.

Like my friend Adrienne, I too work at a school. When I heard that Mr. Emanuel had made uttered this statement, I immediately thought of the high school students I work with. I work with a variety of students from all walks of life. I would NEVER refer to any one of my students as "retarded." All members of our society should feel welcome and accepted. No one deserves to be called a word that so many have rightfully tried to remove from use. If anyone has the right to speak out in outrage, it is Sarah. As the mother of a child with special needs and an advocate for children and adults with special needs, Sarah understands firsthand how much words like "retarded" hurt individuals.

Individuals with special needs deserve the same amount of respect as you and me. They are hard-working individuals who just want to be treated like everyone else, and when individuals like Rahm Emanuel spew hateful words like that, it is insulting and unfair to these amazing individuals. Wake up, Mr. Emanuel! Wake up, Mr. Obama. Wake up, lame stream media! Wake up and see that by letting comments like this go unnoticed, it seems to insinuate that you welcome dialogue that includes terms like "retarded." One can only hope that you all wise up and become as welcoming and loving as those in our special needs community, for they are true examples of people who exhibit unconditional love, for they live their lives with kind hearts and open minds. They truly do make the world a better place, and for this, the least we could do is show them the respect they deserve!

The following is Sarah's note to Mr. Emanuel:
Are You Capable of Decency, Rahm Emanuel?

The newly-released mind-boggling, record-smashing $3,400,000,000,000 federal budget invites plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of incurring more and more debt that will drown the next generation of Americans. Never has it been possible to spend your way out of debt. So... let the debate begin.

Included in the debate process will be opportunities for our president to deliberate internally the wisdom of this debt explosion, along with other economic, military and social issues facing our country. Our president will discuss these important issues with Democrat leaders and those within his inner circle. I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm’s recent sick and offensive tactic.

The Obama Administration’s Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, “F---ing retarded,” according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

A patriot in North Andover, Massachusetts, notified me of Rahm’s “retarded” slam. I join this gentleman, who is the father of a beautiful child born with Down Syndrome, in asking why the Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and other groups condemning Rahm’s degrading scolding have been completely ignored by the White House. No comment from his boss, the president?

As my friend in North Andover says, “This isn’t about politics; it’s about decency. I am not speaking as a political figure but as a parent and as an everyday American wanting my child to grow up in a country free from mindless prejudice and discrimination, free from gratuitous insults of people who are ostensibly smart enough to know better... Have you no sense of decency, sir?”

Mr. President, you can do better, and our country deserves better.

- Sarah Palin

UPDATE: Yesterday, I posted a piece about why I am pro-life. I learned this afternoon that phenonmenal blogger, Robert Stacy McCain, was inspired by my post, so he wrote his own post in support of life and mentioned my post. I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. The Other McCain is THE REAL DEAL FOR SURE!!! Read his must-read post here.


(Click here to visit Conservative Girl with a Voice and become a follower. Click here to follow me on Twitter.)

We want to trust you Washington, we really do!

Once again the president and his administration seem to be missing the boat. We need focus on job creation and to get a handle on the out of control spending. Instead, we are being led to slaughter by the way of Obamacare, cap and trade and taxation.We want to be able to trust our leaders in Washington, please Washington, help us trust you! Sarah Palin uses her words, as always, to bring the issue that concern true Americans to the forefront. Please read her most recent FaceBook note below:

The White House recently announced its pricey Childhood Obesity Initiative to tell us what we should feed our kids. Helpful I’m sure – but most Americans would rather see government focus on other important areas right now. We know what our kids should eat: more healthy food, less junk food. There – we just saved Washington a ton of money by announcing that finding on personal responsibility.

What does demand our full attention is the newly released $3,800,000,000,000 federal budget. The president and Congress have a huge job tackling the problem staring right at us as we look at a budget we obviously can’t afford. America’s freedom and security are endangered as we become beholden to other nations, thanks to ballooning deficits and debt. One congressman just warned that our nation may become insolvent if we don’t make better decisions starting now. As noted in
a New York Times article today, unless “miraculous growth” or miraculous unforeseen change is on the horizon, America’s freedom, influence, and security will continue to erode. (Personally, at this point I believe it wouldn’t hurt to ramp up our nation’s humble request for the divine miraculous change and wisdom we’ll need to see us through.)

Getting our arms around this will take all of us working together, making sacrifices, taking more personal responsibility, and sending elected leaders to Washington that we can trust. That’s why some of us may come across as strident in our efforts to call out the White House and Congress. We want to trust you, Washington; we want to work with you, but we cannot stomach some of the things being rammed down our throats. Your actions to pile on more debt make no sense, so we must question your motives and intentions. For instance, there’s just no room for expensive, dangerous, and unsustainable new initiatives like Obamacare, Cap and Tax, and a
dramatically expanded federal payroll. These government-growing proposals will obviously cause more problems than they’ll solve. They are just further steps towards insolvency.

Steps towards insolvency are steps away from freedom. They’re steps towards destruction. It’s the reason we ask why we should swallow what's coming out of Washington.

The Wall Street Journal has a brilliant
column by Gerald Seib today. It reads in part:

The U.S. government this year will borrow one of every three dollars it spends, with many of those funds coming from foreign countries. That weakens America’s standing and its freedom to act; strengthens China and other world powers including cash-rich oil producers; puts long-term defense spending at risk; undermines the power of the American system as a model for developing countries; and reduces the aura of power that has been a great intangible asset for presidents for more than a century.

“We’ve reached a point now where there’s an intimate link between our solvency and our national security,” says Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior national-security adviser in both the first and second Bush presidencies. “What’s so discouraging is that our domestic politics don’t seem to be up to the challenge. And the whole world is watching.”

In the 21st-century world order, the classic, narrow definition of national-security threats already has expanded in ways that make traditional foreign-policy thinking antiquated. The list of American security concerns now includes dependence on foreign oil and global warming, for example.

Consider just four of the ways that budget deficits also threaten American’s national security:

• They make America vulnerable to foreign pressures.

The U.S. has about $7.5 trillion in accumulated debt held by the public, about half of that in the hands of investors abroad.

Aside from the fact that each American next year will chip in more than $800 just to pay interest on this debt, that situation means America’s government is dependent on the largesse of foreign creditors and subject to the whims of international financial markets. A foreign government, through the actions of its central bank, could put pressure on the U.S. in a way its military never could. Even under a more benign scenario, a debt-ridden U.S. is vulnerable to a run on the American dollar that begins abroad.

Either way, Mr. Haass says, “it reduces our independence.”

• Chinese power is growing as a result.

A lot of the deficit is being financed by China, which is selling the U.S. many billions of dollars of manufactured goods, then lending the accumulated dollars back to the U.S. The IOUs are stacking up in Beijing.

So far this has been a mutually beneficial arrangement, but it is slowly increasing Chinese leverage over American consumers and the American government. At some point, the U.S. may have to bend its policies before either an implicit or explicit Chinese threat to stop the merry-go-round.

Just this weekend, for example, the U.S. angered China by agreeing to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion in arms. At some point, will the U.S. face economic servitude to China that would make such a policy decision impossible?



Please read the rest of Seib’s column
here. Our out-of-control spending is weakening our country. We can no longer afford to kick the can down the road to the next generation. We need to have a serious discussion about our spending priorities before it's too late. Commonsense conservatives have a sincere desire to work with the White House on these challenges, and we’re thankful for those in Congress making the offer to help.

- Sarah Palin

SarahPAC Fulfilling its Mission

Book Purchases Proper, Customary and Routine

Governor Palin's enemies take Baskin Robbins approach to the drivel they spew on her with "flavor of the day" manufactured scandals. Today's flavor is that SarahPAC - drum roll please - bought copies of Going Rogue - to fulfill a promotion in which donors at the $100 level or greater got a signed copy of the book. This "scandal" is laughable. Was Harper or a bookseller supposed to give away thousands of books? Or maybe, Governor Palin was supposed to front the cost of them out of her income? As Kevin McCullough noted in his excellent article on the subject, SarahPAC likely bought the copies at a significant discount and minus royalties to the author (McCullogh, 2010, ¶12), meaning she did not profit from the sales of this lot. McCullough does a fine job in establishing that there was no attempt to "rig best seller status," so I won't belabor that point here. I got my second signed copy of Going Rogue via this promotion.

Furthermore, the Republican Governors Association also ran the same promotion concurrent with SarahPAC's, and that was promoted on the forerunner to this blog, "Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Accomplishments."

As a Donor

I am a mid-range donor to SarahPAC, and I am listed on the FEC disclosures. I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. As a donor, I have a vested interest in the organization's success, and how the money I have entrusted is used. As a donor, I have the obligation to know and understand what I am donating to. As a donor, I have a financial interest in Gov. Palin's success. I donate, because quite frankly, Governor Palin has given me something to believe in again. I want her to succeed in all that she does. I do it, because there is one person in politics -- not just in the United States, but on the entire planet who I trust unconditionally with the use of my hard-earned money. She is Sarah Louise Heath Palin. I trust her, because I have followed her work for well over a year now and she is a far better financial administrator than some crackerjack MBAs out there. Many of us feel a tight bond with "our Sarah", so we do symbolic donations reflective of our bonds, both public and private. Regular readers of this blog have seen the promotions for those. Strong hint: there's one coming up for her 46th Birthday on February 11, 2010.

Even though I trust her unconditionally, as a donor, I have the right and obligation to ensure that my donations are being used correctly. I do this by reading every FEC disclosure filed by SarahPAC. I am 100% satisfied that the money entrusted to SarahPAC by every donor, including myself is being used correctly and for its intended purpose. I have seen nothing untoward, unreasonable or out of the ordinary on the PAC's expense (disbursement records). The PAC's expenses have been reasonable, customary, and appropriate to its operations in my assessment. I have seen the candidates supported in the latest iteration of disclosures and I am very pleased with what I saw. Governor Palin and her organization are honoring their word. SarahPAC is fulfilling its vision and mission.

As a Publisher and Promoter

As the editor and publisher of a blog, which among other things supports, and promotes SarahPAC, and routinely runs items encouraging people to donate, I have a fiduciary responsibility to read and understand these disclosure statements. I am, after all representing all over the Internet that money spent on SarahPAC is money well spent. So, I have a responsibility to my readers be 100% certain that their money is going to a worthy cause that is being operated ethically.

Donor Incentives are Proper; SarahPAC Should do More of them

SarahPAC should be encouraged, not discouraged from doing these donor incentives. Other PACs on both sides of the aisle do it. I would like to see routine incentives offered at various strata in a manner akin to that done by Public Broadcasting Corporation TV channels such as Thirteen. I'd like to see these incentives not just for the one shot/manual donors, but for the monthlies. SarahPAC is fertile ground for branded merchandise and (lower strata), VIP privileges (mid- and upper-range). SarahPAC has raised over $2 million dollars without even trying very hard. I want SarahPAC's staff to fund-raise till they drop from exhaustion, and when they get back up to fund-raise even more. I want to see SarahPAC flush in money that Governor Palin can use to get her message out, and support conservative candidates nationwide over the next three election cycles.

These cycles are crucial and SarahPAC is on the front lines of stopping the Obama administration's evil agenda.

References:

McCullough, K. (2010, February 2). "MEDIA EXPOSE: *SHOCK* Palin did what?" TownHall, Kevin McCullough, Musclehead Revolution. Retrieved February 2, 2010 from: http://kevinmccullough.townhall.com/blog/g/21513ad5-c4f1-4298-8c1e-1dfa0d491de3

Saul Alinsky disciples are driving Palin backers batty

Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose. —Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

All that Sarah Palin and her conservative, Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party patriot brethren want to promote is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness via limited, responsive government and low taxation. Their political opposition counters by talking about everything but: Bristol and Levi, ethics complaints, Palin's clothes and hair, Trig, Tina Fey satire as documentary, and now, SarahPAC's purchase of Going Rogue to give as a premium or thank-you gift to $100 donors ("so that explains how the book became a best seller!" anonymous Palin-haters breathlessly proclaim on Twitter and in the comment sections of countless obscure web sites). Palin backers in turn parry every thrust, some even drawing fire (and ire) on themselves.

"The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition," said Alinsky in his seminal Rules for Radicals. "It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.

"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it...as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the 'others' come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target." Sound familiar?

The radical left is using the 24/7 nature of Internet communications against Palin supporters and other conservatives, by implementing Alinsky's rules to a degree that he could not have imagined when he published them in 1971. Expert negotiators understand that a tactic perceived is no longer effective. Conservatives must study how Obama's camp is using Alinsky's rules, or risk becoming casualties of them.

Sarah Palin To Barack Obama: "Hey Pal, It’s Time For Rahm Emanuel To Go!"

By every account Rahm Emanuel is a nasty little man with a bad temper and a chip on his shoulder. Your basic Chicago street thug. A little bully in the finest traditions of mobsters like Al Capone. It’s no wonder that he fits in so well with his Chicago street thug boss.

You see, Rahm Emanuel, the petite ballerina, is Barack Obama’s chief-of-staff. He’s the guy that basically run’s Obama’s agenda. Now granted, even in good times, with a capable president, not an easy job. But most men who have had this job have been able to perform it with a sense of dignity, and even style. But not old Rahm "dead fish" Emanuel.




Emanuel got this nickname, by the way, because he actually mailed a dead fish a pollster who didn’t give him the results he wanted. Hmm, didn’t the white House just attack pollster Scott Rasmussen? I’ve got a revolutionary idea for you Rahm: How about instead of attacking the messenger, you figure out a way for Obama not to suck at his job!

To give you a little taste of what Rahm is about Foreign Policy ran a story a while back on "The five most infamous Rahm Emanuel moments."

Today, former Clinton advisor and Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel accepted Barack Obama's offer to be chief of staff for the incoming president.

The pick of Emanuel is our first glimpse into the future Obama White House, and it has already thrown apprehensive Democrats and jaded Republicans alike into a tizzy.

Perhaps for good reason. With the nickname "Rahmbo" and a disposition likened to that of a mobster, Emanuel, though widely respected for his moxy and get-it-done record, isn't exactly Mr. Nice Guy. A dynamic mix of talent and brawn -- he was offered a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet company and volunteered for the Israeli Army during the Gulf War -- Emanuel's the real-deal pitbull Democrat (lipstick not included).

What follows is a list of the five most infamous Rahmbo tales. It's the stuff legends are made of:

1. Mailing a Dead Fish

Emanuel is known for his panache for treating donors right. He sends them cheesecakes from Eli's, the famous Chicago bakery. But the one pollster who notoriously ticked off Rahmbo received a 2 1/2 foot decomposing fish in the mail -- ripe, stinky, and to the point.

2. Fundraising the Bugsy Siegel Way

His foray into fundraising started in Chicago while campaigning for Mayor Richard Daley's reelection, when Emanuel raised a record number of donations. His sales pitch was simple enough: He'd tell contributors he found their offers so low it was embarrassing and then hang up on them. Mortified, the donors were shamed into calling back and giving more.

3. Nearly Losing His Finger

When he was a senior in high school, he sliced his finger while working at Arby's. But instead of seeking medical attention, he decided to celebrate prom night by swimming in Lake Michigan. The bone and blood infection that resulted was so severe it practically killed him. Scrappy and determined, even at death's door with a fever of 106 degrees, he pulled through, only losing part of his finger.

4. Threatening Tony Blair

Never a mincer of words, Emanuel didn't couch his meaning when he offered Tony Blair counsel just before the then British prime minister appeared with President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal: "This is important. Don't f@ck it up."

5. Knifing the Dinner Table

The most infamous Rahmbo story of them all is the one that begins with the dinner the night after Bill Clinton was elected in 1992. Among those present at the dinner table was ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who watched while an overwrought and clearly exhausted Emanuel began ranting at a long list of Clinton "enemies." As he shouted each name, he stabbed the table with his steak knife: "Nat Landow! Dead! Cliff Jackson! Dead!" Apparently, others joined in.

The bottom line: If Emanuel's appointment is a signal of anything, it is that the genteel, arugula-eating president-elect is coming to play hardball.

This guy reads like a true psychopath. (Of course, so do most of Obama’s people) Not sure which is more insane though, the dead fish story or the stabbing the table story.

By the way, psychopathic behavior runs in the family, as Rahm’s brother, Ezekiel is none other than the infamous "Dr Death" Obama’s "health care advisor" who literally wrote the book on setting up the "death panels" that Sarah Palin made famous last summer. A real sick man. You can read more here.




So why is Sarah Palin upset at Rahmbo? Let’s read on, shall we:

Are You Capable of Decency, Rahm Emanuel?

The newly-released mind-boggling, record-smashing $3,400,000,000,000 federal budget invites plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of incurring more and more debt that will drown the next generation of Americans. Never has it been possible to spend your way out of debt. So... let the debate begin.

Included in the debate process will be opportunities for our president to deliberate internally the wisdom of this debt explosion, along with other economic, military and social issues facing our country. Our president will discuss these important issues with Democrat leaders and those within his inner circle. I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm’s recent sick and offensive tactic.

The Obama Administration’s Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, "F---ing retarded," according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the "N-word" or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

A patriot in North Andover, Massachusetts, notified me of Rahm’s "retarded" slam. I join this gentleman, who is the father of a beautiful child born with Down Syndrome, in asking why the Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and other groups condemning Rahm’s degrading scolding have been completely ignored by the White House. No comment from his boss, the president?

As my friend in North Andover says, "This isn’t about politics; it’s about decency. I am not speaking as a political figure but as a parent and as an everyday American wanting my child to grow up in a country free from mindless prejudice and discrimination, free from gratuitous insults of people who are ostensibly smart enough to know better... Have you no sense of decency, sir?"

Mr. President, you can do better, and our country deserves better.

- Sarah Palin

I’m with Sarah on this one. Of course I’m not sure if she’ll get much of a response from a guy who said this:







I’m sure Obama gets this honestly. After all, he’s from a degenerate movement, the "progressive" movement which brought us such lovely people as Margaret Sanger, the Ku Klux Klanner who brought us Planned Parenthood and said this of the disabled:

"More children from the fit, less from the unfit -- that is the chief aim of birth control."

---Birth Control Review, May 1919, p. 12

She also said this:

"The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."

---Margaret Sanger, Women and the New Race (Eugenics Publ. Co., 1920, 1923)

Then, of course, there is Rahm’s brother, Dr Death, who says medical care should be reserved for the non-disabled:

not given to those "who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens . . . An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia"

—(Hastings Center Report, Nov.-Dec. '96).

In contrast, from all of that ugliness, here is a video Sarah made for the 2009 Special Olympics. Quite a different outlook.







I understand where Sarah is coming from here. Thanks to the "progressive" movement, we have becme a society that no longer values human life and actually looks down on those with any sort of disability, as burdens on society.

Somewhere between 80 to 90 percent of women who are told their babies will be born with Downs Syndrome chose to kill their babies rather than give birth. This is a real tragedy, but just part of what modern "progressive" living has brought us.




In the end, this isn’t just about the hateful ramblings from a truly disgusting little man. No, this is about a society, and a political movement that has been destroying our nation, and the values it was built on, for over a century. It’s time for the entire "progressive" movement to be dismantled and destroyed. Time to send this vile and disgusting ideology into that big old dumpster full of failed, evil dogma in the sky!

Sending Rahm Emanuel packing is a good place to start the house cleaning!

Alaska Senator Mark Begich: Ritz Rendezvous with Lobbyists

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Alaska Senator Mark Begich, who is already under investigation for not disclosing budget shortfall information during his tenure as Anchorage mayor, doesn't seem to be too worried about it.

In fact, the Senator spent his weekend whining and dining in Florida with lobbyists.

Conservative blog, Doctor Bulldog and Ronin, reports:

The guest list for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s “winter retreat” at the Ritz Carlton South Beach Resort doesn’t include the price tag for attendance, but the maximum contribution to the committee, typical for such events, is $30,000. There, to participate in “informal conversations” and other meetings Saturday, were senators including DSCC Chairman Robert Menendez; Michigan’s Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow; Bob Casey of Pennsylvania; Claire McCaskill of Missouri; freshmen Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Begich of Alaska; and even left-leaning Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

[...]

The retreat’s guest list is a marked contrast to Menendez’s recent rhetoric, which has echoed the White House denunciation of “special interests” and “fat cats.”

“In the upcoming elections, voters will face a choice between Republicans who are standing with Wall Street fat cats, bankers and insurance companies — or Democrats who are working hard to clean up the mess we inherited by putting the people’s interests ahead of the special interests,” Menendez said in a press release last Wednesday.

Really? And was he working to clean up this "inherited" (sound familiar?) mess during his soiree with lobbyists and special interests?

About a month ago, in the midst of the controversy about Begich's actions as mayor, infamous Dan Fagan hammered the press for their overprotection of the senator. He mockingly writes in The Alaska Standard:

Why is everybody being so mean to Mark? He’s doing everything Harry Reed and Barack Obama are asking him to do. If it weren’t for Mark we wouldn’t have a government takeover of health care. So what if he snuck through an extra $200 million in raises for unions as mayor by lying about the budget? What’s the big deal? The rich under burdened taxpayers can afford it. Why are so many picking on Mark Begich? Why won’t they just let it go and move on?

The editorial writers at the Daily News make it clear they want people to start being nice to their favorite senator. They even put their wish in the form of a new year’s resolution.

They write,

“Here's something we would like to see in the New Year. How about if the Assembly and Mayor Dan Sullivan stop arguing with Sen. Mark Begich about his performance as mayor and criticizing his performance as a U.S. senator?”

I am not making this stuff up. The Daily News love fest with Mark Begich has reached such a crescendo, the paper is now calling on some to stop criticizing him. You can’t make this stuff up.

So will certain members of the press rush to his side concerning this weekend retreat as well? It must be nice to be the senator from Alaska and have people in your corner like this.

Unfortunately, a certain public servant was not afforded the same devotion during her tenure as governor, and she was on the right side of ethics and reform. Governor Palin spent much of her political career fighting corruption in the state of Alaska, no matter what side of the aisle it came from. The thanks she received, as we are all aware, was the vitriol of so-called activists who habitually filed bogus ethics complaints that wasted taxpayers' money and state employees' time.

Senator Begich, on the other hand, deserves to be called out for rendezvousing with lobbyists in a posh Florida hotel. Such behavior is certainly questionable, if not sleazy.