Sarah Palin on Rusty Humphries Show

By Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts 

Governor Sarah Palin was on the Rusty Humphries Show yesterday in between book signings.  This was a different interview, as he didn’t want to ask her the same questions that she had been asked numerous times already (listeners also submitted questions).  So they discussed ANWR, economy, illegal immigration, Climategate (which she did a Facebook post on yesterday), Obama’s birth certificate and past associations, and much more.

She received some criticism over her answer to Obama’s birth certificate, so she responded via Facebook:

Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child. Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask... which they have repeatedly. But at no point – not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews – have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States.

HT: Josh Painter for the heads up on the interview.

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts.  He loves connecting with fellow Palin supporters.  Feel free to follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.

Palin on Hannity

By Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts 

This afternoon Governor Sarah Palin was on Sean Hannity’s radio show for about 15-16 minutes.  Talked the health care bill, the Obama administration, Ronald Reagan, made a reference to “lamestream media,” federal deficits, 2010 elections, government spending, political party machines, and 2012.

She is also going to be on his Fox News show tonight for the whole hour… will update with video here if/when it becomes available.

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts.  He loves to connect with people so feel free to follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook.

Sarah on Rush

By Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts 

For those of you who were hoping for more policy talk (unlike the Oprah interview) in some of Governor Sarah Palin’s interviews this week for her new book Going Rogue: An American Life.  The interview she did with Rush Limbaugh this afternoon provides that.

The transcript can be found here.  Some excerpts below…

On job creation & the current unemployment rate:

It's over 10%, and in fact it could be closer to 17 or 18 when you consider those who have kind of given up and not applying for unemployment benefits. So it's bad, it's really bad and then of course Fed Chair Bernanke announced that there are still weak job prospects for the very short term and probably long term, and that's an uncomfortable place for our country to be.  What we need to do is shift gears and really head in another direction because what we're doing right now with the fed, it's not working. We need to cut taxes on the job creators.  This is all about jobs, creating jobs.  We have to ramp up industry here in America, and of course reduce the federal debt, quit piling on and growing more.  But those common sense solutions there, especially with the cutting taxes on the job creators, that's not even being discussed.  In fact, increased taxes is the direction it sounds like Obama wants to go.

She pretty much put to rest any speculation that she’ll start or run with a third party:

You know, to be brutally honest, I think that it's a bit naive when you talk about the pragmatism that has to be applied in America's political system. And we are a two-party system. Ideally, sure, a third party or an independent party would be able to soar and thrive and put candidates forth and have them elected, but I don't think America is ready for that.  I think that it is... Granted it's quite conventional and traditional, but in a good way that we have our two parties, and I think that that's what will remain. And I say that, though, acknowledging that I'm not an obsessive panther, I understand why people -- good people like my own husband -- refuse to register in a party. Todd's not a Republican and yet he's got more common sense conservatism than a whole lot of Republicans that I know because he is one who sees the idiosyncrasies of the characters within the machine and it frustrates him along with a whole lot of other Americans who choose to be independent.  But in answer to your question, I don't think that the third party movement will be what's necessary to usher in some common-sense conservative ideals.

Palin on our greatest challenge with energy:

And our greatest challenge with energy is that we're not tapping it to the abundant domestic supplies that God created right underfoot on American soil and under our waters. It's ridiculous that we are circulating hundreds of billions of dollars a year in foreign countries, asking them to ramp up production so that we can purchase it from them -- especially from the regimes that can control us via energy, using it as a weapon against us, potentially. It's nonsense that this administration and past administrations haven't really understood yet that inherent link between energy and security. I think more and more Americans are waking up to the fact, though, and we will hopefully see changes there soon.

On her thoughts on the health care reform bills:

Well, we don't really know, do we, what's in that Senate version, the Senate consideration? It will be soon but we have no idea of costs. We don't know how many will be insured. We're waiting to hear that. We don't know if the tax funding of abortions will be in this new version that's sitting over on the Senate side. We don't know if those who choose not to purchase this government-mandated level of coverage will face jail time as punishment. There are so many questions unanswered. I don't like the idea, in general, of the federal government thinking it needs to take over health care -- which essentially this is -- and control one-sixth of our economy. Not when there are common-sense solutions to meeting health care challenges in our country, like allowing the intra- and interstate competition with insurers, tort reform, cutting down on the waste and fraud that the Obama administration insists if we just did that we'll pay for this one-point-some trillion-dollar health care reform package. So lots of common sense solutions that need to be plugged in before ever considering federal government taking it over.

Her thoughts on National Security, our threats:

Well, I think domestically a threat that we're facing right now is the dithering and hesitation in sending a message to the terrorists that we're going to claim what Ronald Reagan claimed. Our motto is going to be: "We win, you lose." The way that we do that is allow McChrystal to have the reinforcements that he's asking for in Afghanistan. That sends that message to the terrorists over there that we're going to end this thing with our victory. We need to start facing Iran with tougher and tougher sanctions that need to be considered. We need to work our allies with the Iranian issues, like Britain and France and not allow access to favorable international monetary deals. That's a great threat that I think would kind of shake up Ahmadinejad and get him to listen. We need to look at halting Iran's imports of refined petroleum products. They're quite reliant on imported gasoline, and we need to use that hammer to wake up the leadership there, too. Those are two big challenges that we have right now, domestically and in naming those two countries, Afghanistan and Iran. Two big challenges there, too.

For a an interview that was less than 20 minutes they covered a lot of ground.  Be sure to listen (above) or read the whole thing.

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts.  Feel free to friend him on Facebook or  follow him on Twitter.

Sarah on Oprah

By Shane Vander Hart, Caffeinated Thoughts

Governor Sarah Palin was on Oprah today to kick off her the book tour for her first book, Going Rogue: An American Life.  It was the first time since at least college I’ve sat down to watch a show.  Some thoughts & highlights:

• There was no snubbing, that was something that was overblown by the media.  Governor Palin said that during the campaign she wasn’t aware of the controversy, she said, “no offense, but you weren’t the center of my universe at the time.”  Oprah confirmed that she never asked to come on.
• It was a fair interview with questions covering Bristol’s pregnancy, how she was handled during the campaign, the Katie Couric interview, election night, Levi Johnston, & 2012 aspirations.  No policy discussion, but I didn’t expect that from Oprah.
• Governor Palin seemed pretty at ease with the only exception being when they were discussing Levi Johnston.
• I appreciate the way she handled Johnston.  Saying she’d rather not comment.  She seemed to me more disappointed and in her words “heartbroken” by the choices he was making and was being handled.  She said that he is heading down an unhealthy road.  She was mostly conciliatory in her comments saying that she continues to hope for the best and that she prays for Levi.  She also said he needs to know that he is loved.
• She flatly denied that Levi and Bristol ever lived together, and that many of his claims (Vanity Fair piece of fiction) were inconsistent.  She again pointed to the fact that he is a teenager is being mishandled.
• She was very transparent about when she found out Trig was going to have Down Syndrome and how she broke that news to Todd.
• She said that her interview with Katie Couric was bad.  She said that she was annoyed by the questioning (we only saw a few minutes of hours of taping), and that “it wasn’t professional to wear her annoyance on her sleeve.”  Which is why she didn’t list what she read because the question annoyed her – she did say looking back she wish she did to avoid the controversy that ensued.  She did say that if the Couric interview was the only way people got to know her that she wouldn’t “blame them for thinking I was not qualified or well prepared.”
• Oprah sent a crew to her home in Wasilla on Halloween, that was a great video showing some behind the scenes in the Palin home.  It reinforced that they are a mainstream family, which is why so many relate to them.
• She was very complementary of Todd and talked about the strength of their marriage, and at the end of the interview that she wouldn’t have been able to get through the challenges she has faced if it wasn’t for “God and Todd.”
• Regarding 2012, she said it wasn’t on her radar, but when Oprah asked, “If you were planning on running would you tell me?”  She quickly said no.  She said right now she’s thinking 2010, so it’s safe to say she’ll be out stumping for conservative candidates.
• Oprah says that Going Rogue was “fascinating read.”

In all I think it was a great interview, and I think will be a positive for her with some who may have been on the fence.

Shane Vander Hart is the editor of Caffeinated Thoughts.  Feel free to follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.

Forget Oprah! It's ALL About "The Hammer" and "The Cuda"! : A Post by Conservative Girl with a Voice

Sarah Palin kicks off her book tour on Monday, and what a better way to help kick it off than appearing on non other than Eddie Burke's radio talk show? Now, while many of you cannot wait for Sarah's Oprah interview on Monday, I, for one, am really looking forward to Eddie's interview with Sarah. For the few of you out there who don't have the pleasure of knowing who Eddie Burke is, you're missing out. As Alaska's number one radio talk show host, Eddie has always supported Sarah, standing by her through the good times and the bad. Eddie has lived in Alaska since he was a young child, so his knowledge of Alaska politics runs through his veins.


I had the pleasure of getting to know Eddie personally back in May of this year through the networking site Twitter. I sent him a tweet to let him know how much I appreciated his on-going support of the Gov, and I commended him for always telling it like it is. He tweeted me back, and we have been friends ever since. Unlike other radio hosts, Eddie is not afraid to ruffle some feathers; he is a true straight shooter, a true conservative. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his no-nonsense approach, Eddie is not afraid to take on liberals and Rinos like. He is a phenomenal conservative who truly believes in God, family and country. Like Sarah, he DOES walk the walk and talk the talk. Eddie isn't fake, which is another trait that makes his show so great. His support for Sarah and his belief in the importance of conservatism make him an asset to the conservative movement, not to mention America!



I really admire how Eddie looks out for us "Mainstreet U.S.A." folks too. Not only does he look out for us, but he truly understands what everyday Americans are going through because he is one himself. When some people think of big-time media personalities, they sometimes think these individuals don't care about folks- Eddie does! He cares about the issues and how they effect people. He cares about our troops because he has served in the military himself. He cares about the constitution because he lives his life according to it. He is as honest and straight forward as one can come. As he has told me many times, he sees what he does as not about him. He loves his country and cares about what happens to it.



Perhaps what makes Sarah's interview with Eddie so symbolic and special is the fact that Sarah was the first caller to ever appear on Eddie's show when his show first aired on 720 KBYR two years ago December. He believed in Sarah then, and he believes in her now. I only wish the same could be said for Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters. When these women were falling head over heels in love with Barack Obama, Eddie was sticking with his friend. I guarantee Eddie and Sarah will have the REAL interview on Monday. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to watch Sarah appear on Oprah Monday, but I know Eddie is interviewing Sarah for the right reasons, not for the ratings. While Eddie's show is number one, he is there to spread the truth and fire up conservatives and independents alike, just like the "Cuda" herself.


I have had the honor of regularly appearing as a guest on Eddie's show. As a regular guest, I come on to discuss Sarah and national issues. Having studied Journalism and English in college, I always tell people that it was Eddie who gave me my first big break on the air as a political analyst. While I have been on TV before as a college newsroom intern at a local news station, here in San Diego, it was through Eddie that I was given my first real break. There are hundreds of bloggers out there to whom Eddie could turn to inform viewers about important issues, and I am one of a select few that he chooses to call on. I will forever be grateful to him for believing in me. He is an awesome mentor and friend.


I guarantee you will all thoroughly enjoy listening to Eddie and Sarah on Monday. Also, Eddie's show would not be complete without a little liberal fun, and this is where Rishi comes into play. As Eddie's producer, Rishi works closely with Eddie to make sure the show runs smoothly. I refer to Rishi as my favorite liberal, so contrary to what many people may think, this conservative girl does play well with liberals too. I do have liberal friends, Rishi being one of them. Although he is a socialist, I still call him a friend; he's just a little off course. Maybe one day Eddie and I will convert Rishi over to the conservative side, but, then again, I'm not holding my breath. I may give Rishi a hard time A LOT, but he knows I adore him- wink, wink.


See, with a show like the fabulous one I have described above, who needs Oprah? Eddie is entertaining and Rishi adds to the fun; it's one of the best three hours of radio around. So pop some popcorn, crack open an ice-cold beverage, and listen to Eddie on Monday, well make that everyday for that matter. The show airs Monday-Friday from 2-5 p.m. AK; 3-6 p.m. PST; 6-9 p.m. EST. Sarah will be calling in on Monday sometime during the show!!! If you live in Alaska, tune your radio dial to a.m. 700 KBYR. If you're outside Alaska like me, listen online at KBYR.com. Follow me on Twitter for updates @rachellefriberg regarding this and other topics. So fellow readers, as the famous lyrics of Eddie's show theme song goes, "Let's get it started...." Amen to that!!!

I encourage you to follow Eddie @talkradiohost and Rishi @reeshman on Twitter too. They are well worthy of the follow! Make sure to tell them that I sent you their way.


(I'm a Conservative Girl with a Voice!!! Visit Conservative Girl with a Voice and become a follower. I'm on Twitter too.)