Caffeinated Thoughts Honored Governor Palin as the Caffeinated Conservative of 2008

This is sixth in a series of earlier articles of Governor Sarah Palin as she emerged on the national scene. Shane Vander Hart of Caffeinated Thoughts writes an interesting article about Governor Palin and the honor that his group bestowed upon her and her response to it. There are abundant links to additional material in the original article (link below) and in the copy of the article that we have archived on the Sarah Palin Information blog.

Caffeinated Conservative of 2008: Sarah Palin

CAFFEINATED THOUGHTS
Dec 29th, 2008

by Shane Vander Hart.

Human Events gave out a conservative of the year award. I thought - hey why shouldn’t CT have an award as well?! So I bring you the first ever Caffeinated Conservative award. This year I concur with Human Events that the conservative most worthy of receiving this most “prestigious” award would be Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.

I choose Governor Palin for a number of reasons:

I have never thought I’d see Bush Derangement Syndrome eclipsed so quickly and with so much vitriol, as what I saw after Senator McCain selected the Governor to be his running mate. She’s got to be doing something right.

I mentioned in my endorsement of Governor Palin as a VP candidate that she is a solid conservative - socially, fiscally and with defense. I especially appreciate her putting her pro-life beliefs into practice with her fifth child, Trig, who was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. Also seen with the news of her oldest daughter, Bristol, being pregnant - contrast that with President-Elect Obama.

Continuing to be a reformer - she is turning down a pay raise. She is the 24th lowest paid Governor, and has said that it is inappropriate for her to take a pay raise in the midst of her current term.

She absolutely rocked at the RNC. Wow! video

I believe that if it were not for Governor Palin, Senator John McCain would not have even been remotely in the race. She helped the ticket.

Her noteworthy debate against Vice President-Elect Biden.

She’s still a rock star. She is still one of Google’s top internet searches. Also her presence at rallies for Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss allowed his campaign “to peak.” He had thousands attend his rally which would have been unlikely otherwise.

She is also a great role model for girls who can see that you can be a real feminist, and pro-life. My kids and I enjoyed seeing her come speak in Des Moines.

For some not so serious reasons:

SNL was actually funny for a change. I love her line to Alec Baldwin, “Stephen is actually my favorite Baldwin.”

She taught us the difference between hockey moms and pit bulls.

Her defense against “some bloggers sitting in their parent’s basement wearing their pajamas blogging some kind of gossip.“ For the record, though I am a blogger - I own my own home so I blog in my own basement and only part of the time wearing pajamas ;).

Do you know of any other conservative who is the focus of a calendar. For anyone who wants to send me a late Christmas present or early birthday present. (HT: David Brody)

Then very fitting for being a Caffeinated Conservative - a coffee lover.

Update 1/28/09: Talking with Eric (one of the contributors here) we thought it would be fun to send her a letter to inform her of her selection for this “honor” since it was pretty unlikely she’d hear about it any other way. I included a certificate and a Starbucks gift card as a token of our appreciation (It is the Caffeinated Conservative award after all). I was pleasantly surprised by a thank you card from the Governor today when I got the mail.

“Thank you so much for the Starbucks gift card and for selecting me as your “Caffeinated Conservative of 2008″ award recipient. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. God bless.”

No, thank you Governor for your commitment to conservative principles and for being an incredible role model for young women, as well as, those who have special needs children. I wish I could do more, but I already blew my annual budget on the card, LOL. We appreciate you and wish you the best! Like I said in the letter - you can count on my prayer support.

http://caffeinatedthoughts.com/?p=1884

Thirteenth Ethics Violation Against Governor Sarah Palin Dismissed

Thirteen of the ethics complaints filed against Governor Palin have now been dismissed. The anklebiters in her home state have repeatedly filed these complaints in an effort to discredit her. It is obvious that they are trying to prevent her from running against Obama in 2012. They know that Sarah Palin has strong potential as a contender against Obama in the 2012 elections. Meg Stapleton discusses these tactics in the audio of her telephone conversation with Eddie Burke here.

Here is the Governor's press release:

Another McLeod Ethics Complaint Fails: Officially Found to Lack Merit Printer Friendly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-134 Another McLeod Ethics Complaint Fails

May 27, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today welcomed the news that yet another ethics complaint against her has been officially found to lack merit and has been dismissed.

Michael Geraghty, investigator for the State Personnel Board, concluded that there is no need for a hearing on the complaint filed in March by Andree McLeod, who has been a vocal critic of the governor since being denied employment with the state last year.

This is the 13th ethics complaint against the governor or her staff that has been resolved with no finding of a violation of the executive ethics act. A few more are pending.

“While the complaint process under the ethics act can be a useful tool for holding state officials accountable, it’s obvious that political opponents of the governor have been abusing the system, attempting to turn their resentments into legal issues,” said Bill McAllister, the governor’s communications director. “We’re grateful that the personnel board and its investigators have taken a rational approach to these matters, finding that the vast majority of the complaints did not even warrant the collection of evidence because they failed to assert any violation of the law.”

McLeod’s complaint, amended several times since it was first filed, made eight separate allegations against the governor. McLeod said that there were two matters showing an improper connection between the governor’s office and her political action committee; that two comments made by McAllister about the governor’s travel plans were political in nature; that the governor’s trip to Evansville, Indiana, for a right to life event used state resources, and that she improperly accepted gifts there, including chocolate, baked goods and a hockey stick from a youth hockey group; that the governor’s daughter, Bristol, used state resources in her efforts on behalf of the Candies Foundation; and that the governor’s press release concerning her selection as a vice presidential candidate was improper. Geraghty found all of the allegations to be baseless and not worthy of an investigation.

http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1869