It Seems I Hit A Nerve With NRO’s Kevin D. Williams

By Gary P Jackson

On our nation’s birthday I published my thoughts on all of those establishment types who are continually trying to find Sarah Palin a job, any job, that would keep her from what she is up to.

In particular, I addressed the nonsensical idea thrown out there By National Review Online’s Kevin D. Williams: Make Sarah Palin RNC Chairman, replacing Michael Steele. Now frankly, if he wasn’t such a condescending, uninformed writer, I might have been a little less harsh on the guy. This cat is typical though of the Beltway insider elite.

The way these Beltway insiders think is pretty transparent. They love the fact that she’s out there whipping up the base, who can’t stand them, and see them as the problem, not the solution. They also love that she can raise a lot of money for candidates, as well as pick solid people to endorse. They are also happy that she’s out there doing ALL of the heavy lifting, and taking ALL of the flack, this way they never have to take a firm position on things.

These establishment types are all too happy allowing Sarah Palin to work her butt off, as long as she "knows her place."

The one part Mr Williams wrote that really sent me over the edge is this:

A Chairman Palin would help set the right tone for the Republican party without having to get herself entangled in the minutiae of policy.

As we pointed out at the time, this is a supreme insult to Sarah. What does Mr Williams think she did as the Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission? How about as Chairman of the nation’s Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission? For that matter, what does this fellow think she was doing as the Governor of Alaska?

At any rate Mr Williams wrote a reply to my angry tome, so let’s take a look at it.

There are few more enthusiastic partisans of Sarah Palin than Gary P. Jackson. Palin deserves better hacks.

OK, I deserved that one. I did call this guy a clown. Maybe it was the ridiculousness of his idea that threw me. We all have dumb ideas from time to time. We’ll see.

Writing in response to my suggestion that the RNC dump Michael Steele and hire Sarah Palin, Mr. Jackson launches into an angry, knuckle-draggingly misinformed, conspiracy-minded tirade, the upshot of which is that my proposal must be a naked bid to keep Palin out of the presidential running in 2012 in order to make room for the country-club Republican establishment’s anointed candidate, in whose service I labor so passionately.

Angry, oh hell yes I was. Still am. Mr Williams insulted Sarah Palin, and his reader’s intelligence. His "You’re too stupid to be President, but can we use your skills to rebuild the RNC?" attitude made a lot of people’s blood boil.

People who support Sarah Palin are sick and tired off this sort of nonsense. On the one hand these Beltway types, are all too happy to benefit from Sarah’s skill and wisdom, but find new and inventive ways to put her down at the same time. So pardon the outrage. We don’t put up with this crap from the Marxist-democrats, we aren’t about to put up with it from the supposed intelligentsia on "our" side.

Maybe Mr Williams should inform himself, and review some history of the coordinated attacks on Sarah Palin. Maybe that will help him understand why us hacks push back at people who insult or demean Sarah Palin. Why we are a bit touchy.

As for as Mr. Williams’ thoughts on my assertion that he is part of a "conspiracy" to keep Sarah busy, I would think he would realize that I was making those comments, not just about him, but an entire group of people. He just happened to be the one who stuck his head up and hollered: "Here I am, look at me!"

Last night I read a piece by John Ellis. It was another attempt to do something about the "Palin problem." In this one, Ellis, who is Jeb Bush’s cousin, admits that Sarah Palin is all but a shoe to win the 2012 presidential nomination, should she chose to run. He gets into the thinking behind the Beltway elites, and the establishment Republicans. Mr Williams says he’s not the latter, so I’ll accept that I am an uninformed knuckle-dragger, but he is most certainly the former.

Ellis notes:

Sarah Palin cranked up her 2012 presidential campaign another notch today, with the release of a campaign video aimed directly at women. The basic math is simple. If she gets half of the female primary voters and caucus attenders to support her, then she standing starts at roughly 25% of the total vote. Throw in a third of the male vote and she's at roughly 40%. Forty percent wins the Iowa caucuses, handily.

[ .... ]

Assuming that the race is then reduced to Palin and Romney, the next critical state primary is South Carolina. At that point, I don't think the specifics really matter. The fact is that the Republican Party of 2012 is not going to nominate a Mormon as its standard bearer. And the more important fact is that the base of the Republican Party doesn't just favor Sarah Palin, they love her. She is their standard bearer. And they will not -- this time around -- be denied.

Indeed, this will be like 1980. All well and good, but here’s the part that says it all:

As the Republican avalanche of 2010 builds -- and I saw a poll the other day of a Democratic-leaning state Senate district on Long Island where the "right track" (8%)/"wrong direction" (83%) was unlike anything I had ever seen -- Palin has smartly positioned herself as the champion of the conservative counter-revolution. By December, she will almost certainly be the de facto front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.

By the time the Establishment GOP wakes up to this reality, it may be too late for them to do anything about it. Their view of Palin is that she's useful to the party because she can help keep "the Tea Party types inside the tent." And maybe she can serve coffee while she's at it. Palin's view is that (1) "the Tea Party types" are the party, (2) she is their standard bearer and (3) anyone who thinks "the Tea Party types" are there to lick envelopes and knock on doors should think again. They're there, she asserts, to take back their party and to take back their country.

"She's too stupid" is what the Establishment GOP really thinks about Sarah Palin. "Good-looking," but a "ditz."

In these few paragraphs, Ellis sums up the GOP establishment mentality perfectly. Of course, this isn’t a new phenomenon for the country club set. The last time they were this panicked was when Ronald Wilson Reagan challenged their stranglehold on the party. They were more diplomatic though. They called Reagan an "amiable dunce."

Just like Mr Williams, and others of his stripe do with Palin, they chose to ignore that Ronald Reagan had been Governor of California, and a long time activist for Liberty and Freedom. Nope, they called him a "B movie actor." Never mind he was president of Screen Actors Guild. They do the same with Sarah Palin. She’s a "celebrity" not a former Mayor, chief energy and environmental regulator, or Governor.

Ellis goes on to say this about all of that:

This is unfertile ground, since Palin can turn the argument on a dime and say: "They drive the country into bankruptcy, they underwrite Fannie and Freddie, they bail out Goldman Sachs, they fight wars they don't want to win, they say enforcing the immigration laws is silly and they call me stupid! I'll give you a choice: you can have their smarts or my stupidity, which one do you want?" A large number of GOP presidential primary voters will take Palin's "stupidity" in a heartbeat.

And he’s correct. Of course one needs to substitute "stupidity" for common sense, and you have it right.

All one has to do is go back and review comments from the elites to see this is pretty standard fare though. They are every bit as bad as the Marxist-democrats who, when faced with an actual debate from a superior, blurt out: "Oh yeah .... well .... you’re stupid!" If you can’t compete in the marketplace of ideas ....

One example of this was during the height of the debate trying to stop ObamaCare. Early on, Sarah Palin pointed out that under this unconstitutional mess, there would be massive health care rationing, as there is in every country that has socialized medicine. She went on to talk about Obama’s health care adviser, Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, who had authored the "Complete Lives System." This is a truly alarming document that lays out who "deserves" health care, and who doesn’t. Josef Mengele would have been proud.

In her first writings on this monster, she noted that she did not want to see her beautiful special needs son, or her elderly parents, to have to stand before Obama’s "death panels" and argue their worth, in order to get health care.

With those two words, Sarah Palin summed up the entire concept of ObamaCare perfectly, succinctly, and completely. This changed the entire debate forever, and turned the tide against ObamaCare in a big way.

This is something she is a master at. Few can distill complex issues down to simple words, as she can. This was a trait the great Ronald Reagan had as well. Only a person who deals with (and understands) the "minutiae of policy" can pull this off.

Anyhow, the elites lost their minds. These so-called educated men attacked her as hard as the left. Of course, the left knew she was spot on, and had to discredit her in any and every way possible. The Republican elite are just dumb. They went on and on about "end of life counseling" and other such stupidity. Many didn’t actually read her substantial piece, they just bought into the hype. Of course, these are the same geniuses who allow two and three thousand page bills to come to a vote without ever being read, so one should expect no less.

Others, were offended that Sarah would use such "incendiary language." They would say "this isn’t helpful." In their world, one can’t get too overheated with the rhetoric, not even when the enemy is hellbent on destroying the nation with an unconstitutional boondoggle. To this bunch one must maintain a level of decorum and civility at all costs, even while being destroyed. Charles Krauthammer actually suggested that Sarah should "leave the room." Nothing condescending there at all.

Of course, these are the same sort of brilliant men who lost their minds when Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and sat in stunned horror when Ronald Reagan said "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

In other words, the Republican elites, as well as the Beltway insiders who cover them, are a bunch of squishes who are simply too timid to lead, and deathly afraid of those who aren’t.

BTW, Sarah Palin never backed down when one of these losers attacked her for saying "death panels." In fact, the harder they attacked, the more she talked about them! This woman does not back down. In the end, she has been proven right a thousand times over. The more one learns about ObamaCare, the more we become painfully aware just how right she was!

Oh, and this week, Barack Obama recess appointed Donald Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid. Berwick is a far left loon who has preached health care rationing as a matter of "social justice." He finds the British system, which is a total disaster, "romantic" and "alluring." The reason why Obama abused his power to recess appoint this guy was because the Conservative Republicans were spoiling for a fight, to expose what a radical he is, to the entire nation  Obama wanted to sneak him by under the cover of darkness, to avoid what would be a hard battle to win.

Donald Berwick is "Dr Death Panels" in the flesh!

But alas, Sarah Palin is just a "ditz" who doesn’t understand the "minutia of policy." Maybe if the "brilliant" elites had paid attention to her we wouldn’t be in this mess now. Maybe, just maybe, if the so-called smart guys had been less worried about decorum, and Sarah Palin’s "intelligence" and joined her in the fight against this evil legislation, it wouldn’t be the law of the land now. But proving how smart they are always seems paramount to anything else.

OK, enough bloviating, lets’s get back to Mr Williams. He continues:

Second, Mr. Jackson writes that I am a "clown" for suggesting that policy minutiae is not Palin’s forte. He suggests that I educate myself by checking out her Twitter feed. Egad: When I wrote about the minutiae of policy development, I did not mean thoughts expressed in 140 characters or less. Perhaps I have an unrealistically high bar to clear for "minutiae," but I did not mean right-wing haiku.

It appears that I may have given Mr Williams a tad too much credit in my original piece. When I suggested he follow her various writings, such as her brilliant Facebook posts, and twitter, I sort of assumed he’d know to look elsewhere as well. Of course we know what happens when one assumes, don’t we. Also, outside of cartoon villains, who uses the word "egad"?

It’s funny how Mr Williams blows off such pedestrian venues, and yet others have called her Facebook post that recapped her recent speech in Virginia as "One Of The Most Sophisticated Analysis Of Obama’s Defense & Foreign Policy Ever Published." One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.

Maybe I should have been more specific. Besides looking through Sarah’s many strong Facebook blogs, how about looking at her writings as Governor of Alaska, her many op-eds that have appeared in major newspapers like the Washington Post, Investor's Business Daily, the Wall Street Journal, and so on. I figure Mr Williams does know how to use Bing. Perhaps we are back to what happens when one assumes though. 

Mr Williams might also take a peak at Kay Cashman’s book: Sarah Takes on Big Oil. In this book, Cashman points out some of the "minutiae of policy" that Sarah dealt with, as she took on some of the largest corporations in the world, on behalf of her state.

I could recommend more, but I’ll still risk it all and assume that Mr Williams gets the point. Many apologies to Mr Williams for not spelling it out better the first time.

I kinda love this part:

Writing that policy detail is not Palin’s forte is not the same as writing that Palin is unintelligent, which seems to be what Mr. Jackson and a few other like-minded people took from that self-evidently true observation. Ronald Reagan was a big-picture guy; Newt Gingrich is a devil-in-the-details guy.

The world needs both, and there is no reason to think less of one than of the other. (I do not think that Sarah Palin would object to my suggesting that she is more like Reagan than like Gingrich; just a hunch.) Maybe Sarah Palin has authored a detailed policy paper on what to do about the Af-Pak border situation or the derivatives proposals in Frank-Dodd. If she did, I missed it. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that she hasn’t. And that’s okay. She doesn’t need to. We have people for that. Which is why I didn’t suggest sending Palin to a think tank, but putting her in charge of the Republican party.

It’s kinda sweet that he throws in Reagan now. On this Mr Williams and I agree. I think she is a heck of a lot like Ronald Reagan. In fact, in some ways better. Now this isn’t me trying to be blasphemous here. Sarah Palin is a student of Ronald Reagan, and he’s a political hero to her, like he is to most of us. My point is she’s been able to look back and learn both what he did right, and what he did wrong, and build on that.

Has she written detailed policy papers on Afghanistan or Frank-Dodd, nope. Of course, neither have any of the GOP show ponies who lust after the presidency. With that said, I have no doubt that when pressed, she could manage a coherent word or two.

I do agree with Mr Williams that Sarah, like Reagan, is a "big picture guy." One of the phrases often used when describing her political savvy is: "She’s playing chess, while the others are playing checkers." Few can look at a situation, size it up, and make a stand as well as she can. It’s what leaders do. And that was my real point all along. Sarah Palin is a leader, not a clerk. She’s been a leader all of her life. From her days as captain of her championship basketball team to now.

Mr Williams goes on to say:

I didn’t suggest replacing Steele with Palin because I think poorly of Palin, but because I think highly of Palin. I do not think that she is going to run for president in 2012. In any case, there is no reason for her to fall victim to Giuliani Syndrome — the belief that the only job in politics worth having is the presidency. (Seriously, New York could have used a Governor Giuliani.) I am not at the moment very much interested in the question of whom the Republicans will run for president in 2012; first, because none of the usual suspects are all that interesting, second, because I expect that Barack Obama will be re-elected.

That doesn’t match up too well to his condescending tone, but OK, I’ll give the guy the benefit of the doubt and allow that thinks highly of her. That’s as far as one can go. From there, Mr Williams shows just how disconnected from reality he is.

I know a lot of people think she won’t run. A heck of a lot more know she will. I guess Mr Williams missed events like the launch of this outstanding video. I don’t know, maybe Mr. Williams doesn’t own a television, and doesn’t read much, but pretty much everyone has taken this video as a signal she’s running. The one word used to describe it, and her, is "presidential."

Maybe Mr Williams isn’t one of those who, as Neil Cavuto would say, "demands" the Fox Business Channel. Had he been more demanding, he would have seen this interview with Eric Bolling a few nights ago. If that’s not someone running for President, I don’t know what is!

Oh, and take note Mr Williams, even though she is hammering Obama and his failed policies, and offering up ideas of her own, she is incredibly optimistic, and just oozes confidence. This is Ronald Reagan at his finest. Like Reagan, Sarah is a happy warrior. Oh, she’s as mad as hell, but she knows she has a plan, and she knows we can defeat the evil that has gripped this nation, starting in November.

Even the loons over at MSNBC have resigned themselves to the fact that Sarah Palin will be the Republican nominee! Chris Matthews went so far as to warn her that they’d be out to destroy her. Yeah, like they haven’t since day one! How’s that worked out so far?

This brings me to another point, unlike the GOP show ponies, like Romney, who are maneuvering for 2012, Sarah Palin is focusing on November 2010. It’s all she talks about. She knows if we don’t win, and win big in November, there won’t be anything left of the Republic to be President of!

As far as her "falling victim to the belief that the only job in politics worth having is the presidency," is this guy serious? Sarah Palin is a woman who stood in Anchorage, Alaska in June of 2009, while introducing Michael Reagan, and while addressing the relentless attacks from Obama’s Alaska Mafia, and said:

They want me to sit down, and they want me to shut up. Politically, if I die, I die, but I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up!

Sarah constantly tells everyone that no one needs a title to be effective. This is quite empowering. Remember, Sarah Palin has a record of being incredibly effective as a private citizen, and not just since she resigned as Governor. When she was Chair of the AOGCC, and found massive corruption in her agency, she was stopped by her boss, the Governor, from taking the action needed. She resigned in protest, and as a private citizen saw to it that things were taken care of.

Currently, without any title at all, Sarah is effectively leading the free world, against those who peddle tyranny and oppression. She’s doing a good job too. More importantly, she has emboldened other patriots to jump into the fight. Many great men and women are starting to join in by either running for office, or helping others in their efforts. Many take their inspirations from Sarah Palin. This is where she is effective as a leader.

This is why I wrote originally that you don’t take the Commander-In-Chief off of the battlefield and make them a clerk. While I am absolutely sure Sarah Palin would make an excellent RNC head, that would have to be one of the most complete wastes of talent ever.

Like I said before, call up Ken Blackwell. He is a solid administrator, and would make an excellent RNC Chairman. Even better, he actually wanted the job!

I stand by my statement that this is nothing more than an attempt to find Sarah Palin a job, any job, to keep her from running for President, and winning. I’ll take Mr Williams protests that he isn’t part of the GOP elite, at face value, but we know what the country-clubbers know. They know what Sarah did in Alaska. They know she took on corrupt members of her own party. They know she teamed up with the FBI, and sent some to the gray bar hotel for an extended vacation. They know if Sarah becomes President, whatever shenanigans they are engaged in will come to a loud, grinding halt, because that’s how she rolls! Many in the GOP are more interested in holding on to their own little fiefdoms, their own power, than what’s best for the nation.

Case in point, John Ellis’ piece I referenced wasn’t so much in praise of Sarah Palin, and a take down of the GOP elite, as it was a warning to the GOP elite to take a look at his cousin Jeb if they want to stop that "crazy moose woman" from upsetting the apple cart.

If people think the only problem in this nation are the rabid Marxists that have seized control of the democrat party, they are mistaken. There are more than a few Republicans that need to be taken out of positions of power as well. While not as bad, and certainly not as evil, these progressive Republicans act as enablers to the Marxist’s agenda. They must go.

Mr Williams says he’s not interested in 2012 because "none of the usual suspects are all that interesting, second, because I expect that Barack Obama will be re-elected." Now he’s partially right. None of the usual suspects are interesting at all, except Sarah Palin. She’s the only true leader in the bunch. She’s the only one out of the lot who is inspiring the nation.

As for Mr William’s idea that Obama will be re-elected .... it’s painfully obvious just how out of touch with reality Mr Williams truly is, but typical of the Beltway elites. Mr. Williams seems oblivious to the fact that Americans oppose absolutely everything Obama is doing, at a gut level. I guess Mr Williams just sees this as politics, and thinks Obama can do some sort of pivot come 2012 and win. Maybe "clown" wasn’t the right word after all. 

It seems, just like Mr. Williams hasn’t done his homework before commenting on Sarah Palin, he hasn’t paid a hell of a lot of attention to Barack Obama either. (Or the mood of the American people!) Everyone I know has been buying stock in companies that make fine products like tar, feathers, pitchforks, and torches!

Between all of his criminal activities, insane moves like suing Arizona for enforcing the Rule of Law, and having his Justice Department overturn the voter intimidation and civil rights convictions of two members of the racist domestic terror group, New Black Panthers, Obama will be lucky to escape without impeachment.

Obama has his party on a suicide mission. Many of these cats ended their careers the second they voted yes on ObamaCare. I guess Mr. Williams thinks Americans are just gonna let all of that go.

Obama is a committed Marxist. The man was raised by communist parents, and communist grandparents. Active communists, who supported the Soviet Union at a time America was trying to defeat the "evil empire." Obama was mentored by hard core communists and 60's radicals. He’s surrounded himself with this sort all of his life. It’s who he is. He’s not going to change.

The chances of Obama winning are slim, and none. Mostly none. That Mr Williams doesn’t grasp this really puts this entire episode in context, doesn’t it.

Mr Williams finishes with this:

On the other hand, I am very much interested in the size and character of the Republican congressional majorities that are expected to emerge in the next couple of elections, and having Palin at the RNC to help recruit, fund, and motivate the candidates who will constitute those majorities probably would be an excellent thing.

Palin is often accused of being poorly informed and overly defensive. I do not think that is true of her, but it certainly seems to be true of her loyalists. Happily, there is no transitive property of buffoonery.

I agree, there is no shortage of buffoonery, or jackassery, for that matter. What does this glittering jewel of colossal ignorance think Sarah Palin has been doing for the last year, selling Tupperware? She’s inspired any number of candidates to run for office. Good ones. She’s been supporting strong candidates who are winning. As Rick Santorum recently said, her's is the only endorsement that matters.

If Sarah endorses a candidate money comes flooding in to their campaigns. I can’t think of a single instance where donations, after her endorsement, haven’t exceeded whatever the expectations were.

Past that, Sarah has fired up the nation. She has people involved and engaged. Mr Williams, in his original attempt at this nonsense, called her polarizing. Yeah, she’s polarizing, in so far as she has galvanized the nation to stand up and take our Republic back from those who would destroy it.

Only a true buffoon, or an elite with an agenda, would think it would make sense to take the leader, our Commander-In-Chief, out of the fight, off the battlefield, and make her a clerk. Being RNC chair is a fine job .... for someone. It’s an administrator’s job. The ideal candidate needs to be smart, and in touch with the American people. Obviously, Sarah Palin is that. But the RNC Chair also needs to be a bit of an insider as well. Sarah is far from that.

As much as we all detest the GOP elite, who ever is running the RNC will have to deal with them. Somehow I picture an RNC led by Sarah, or any other strong Conservative, being an exercise in futility. Past that, this is quite the insult. It goes back to the same old idea that this bunch wants to use Sarah’s incredible talent to help them out of a jam, as long as she "knows her place" and stays the hell in it! "Don’t get too ambitious there little lady."

Now this isn’t really a girl thing, completely, I imagine if this genius was around in 1977 or 1978, he’d be begging Reagan to take over the RNC and help that version GOP mediocrity out.

There are plenty of great people who would make a solid RNC Chair. Again, call up Ken Blackwell. He is a serious guy who would do the job better than most. He should have been in this job to start with.

As for Sarah Palin, well .... let me paraphrase what Lincoln once said of U.S. Grant: We just can’t spare the woman, she fights!

Oh Noes! Sarah Palin Is Human!

By Gary P Jackson

Yes, yes, I know when we see Sarah Palin we see a strong, powerful woman. We see a warrior. A woman who takes no prisoners and gives no quarter. We see an accomplished leader with an incredible record of reforming and streamlining government.

Knowing all if this, and much more, it’s sometimes easy to forget she’s only human. Yes Sarah, like the rest of us, is capable of making mistakes, especially when speaking off the cuff. Having done it for years, I can tell ya, it ain't as easy as it looks.

It seems that when Sarah visited California State University at Stanislaus last week, she miss-spoke while talking about her hero, and mine, Ronald Reagan. During her speech, while talking about Reagan, small town values, and trying to tie that together with the fact Reagan moved to California, and how that shaped him, she got ahead of herself. Sarah was talking about Eureka College, which of course is in Illinois, but it came out "Eureka, California" as you’ll see in the video below:







Now obviously, as a student of Ronald Reagan, Sarah knows he went to Eureka College in ILLINOIS. How do I know this for a fact? Well it’s easy, not that long ago Sarah was in Illinois, speaking at Five Points Washington.

Karen McDonald from Peoria’s Journal Star reported at the time:

Palin commented on the Land of Lincoln having a "most diverse political scene" and referenced the "Will it play in Peoria?" cliche.

"Nobody here is ordinary. ... Much of the eyes of America are on this part of our nation because this is a representation of good, hard-working, grounded, unpretentious, patriotic Americans," she said.

One of those people, Palin said, is former President Ronald Reagan, a Eureka College graduate, who believed in limited government in order to expand opportunity and prosperity. Reagan was a Midwestern boy who understood the importance of work ethic, not entitlement, she said.

"We need a dose of that Midwestern common sense now more than ever," Palin said.

John Morris, director of development for the Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program and Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College, said remarks about the college by a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012 are "thrilling."

"Eureka College is a national living legacy to this story that in America you can come from anywhere and with the right values you can go on to help change the world. Eureka College is the living legacy to the story of Ronald Reagan," Morris said.

You can read the entire article here.

Now that should be that, end of story, but of course, it isn’t.

Evidently the left wing in this country is just as shocked as we are to find out that Sarah Palin is indeed human, and capable of miss-speaking. Now I get that, considering she has been kicking their tails from one end of this country to the other for the last year or more.

The woman has laid bare their Dear Leader for all to see. She’s exposed Obama for what he is: a corrupt, Chicago street thug, and nothing more.

So shocked are the Marxist-progressives to learn Sarah Palin, their  bête noire, is but a mere mortal, they can’t stop talking about her gaffe. It’s understandable.

Of course, it just might be a bit of misdirection on their part. You see for all of the insanity, brought on by the left before her incredible speech that night, in the end, Sarah Palin raised more money than any speaker in CSU Stanislaus history!

After the dust settled, and all bills were paid, the university netted $200,000. That’s big money in anyone’s book, and again, a record for the university.

Now this is Northern California. The university, which is located in Turlock, is less than 100 miles from San Francisco. I mean this is right in the belly of the communist beast! This is serious business.

How would the Marxists in San Francisco ever be able to explain how that moose huntin’ hockey mom from Wasilla, Alaska was such a hit in own their backyard?

Think about it. If Sarah Palin can raise more money than any speakier in history, in the shadow of the most Marxist-progressive city in the country, that means come 2012, Barack Obama wouldn’t have a prayer against her in the state, IF (more like when) she runs for President.

One can only imagine the cold sweats Marxists all over the country broke out in once they realized this.

Now this is before we even talk about the speech itself! A lot has been made about the "reporters" caught on tape after the speech, but again, that’s just mis-direction. The radicals will do absolutely anything to keep you from actually listening to Sarah Palin’s words.

This was a great speech. Different than some of her latest. She wasn’t there to rip Obama apart, she would do that the next night in Tyler, Texas and over the weekend in Virginia! No, this was a speech about American values, American exceptionalism, and the need to get back to the basics in education. Three more things that make the left break out in a cold sweat.

So .... it’s kinda understandable that the Marxists and their media partners would make a big deal out of all of this.They absolutely must take your mind off the fact that Sarah Palin kicks ass!

Of course, the Dear Leader, Captain Kick Ass, and his lovable side kick, Vice President Smart Ass would never screw up, ever .... or would they.



Here Obama says he’s been to 57 states, with one, possibly two, that he wasn’t allowed to see.







Here’s the most gifted speaker that ever breathed not only speaking rather incoherently, because he was working without his trusty TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States) by his side, but also claiming a child, suffering from an asthma attack, needs a breathalyzer for treatment. In all fairness, after stumbling, he gets it right, but this still makes for great TV!







And who could forget when this genius claimed that doctors were taking out children’s tonsils to make more money.




Even better, here he accuses doctors of allowing obese people to become diabetics, so at some point, they can make $30,000 .... $40,000 .... or possibly $50,000 by amputating their feet!







According to Cheryl Clark, at HealthLeaders Media:

"President Obama got his facts completely wrong," according to a statement from the ACS, whose 74,000 members make it the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

"In fact, Medicare pays a surgeon between $740 and $1,140 for a leg amputation," sais ACS, which is care that includes evaluation of the patient the day of the operation and follow-up care that is provided for 90 days after the operation.

Private insurers pay a variation of the same amount, said the group, adding that it is "deeply disturbed" over the President's "uninformed public comments."

Of course who could forget that Obama thinks people in Austria speak "Austrian" (about 1:33 in)







For the record, Austrians speak German!

Here’s another classic from the Harvard educated President. Obama thinks Europe is a country!







Now right about now, any left wingers reading this are going to shout: "Oh yeah! Well that crazy moose lady didn’t know Africa was a continent .... So there!"

On thing wrong with that, as Frank James noted in the Chicago Tribune, on November 13, 2008, a whole bunch of people, including Fox New’s "Campaign Carl" Cameron, owe Sarah Palin a HUGE apology. (Of course, as of this writing, June 29, 2010, she is still waiting for it)

You see the whole thing was a HOAX uncovered by, of all places, the New York Times!

It was among the juicier post-election recriminations: Fox News Channel quoted an unnamed McCain campaign figure as saying that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.

Who would say such a thing? On Monday the answer popped up on a blog and popped out of the mouth of David Shuster, an MSNBC anchor. "Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks," Mr. Shuster said.

Trouble is, Martin Eisenstadt doesn't exist. His blog does, but it's a put-on. The think tank where he is a senior fellow -- the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy -- is just a Web site. The TV clips of him on YouTube are fakes.

And the claim of credit for the Africa anecdote is just the latest ruse by Eisenstadt, who turns out to be a very elaborate hoax that has been going on for months. MSNBC, which quickly corrected the mistake, has plenty of company in being taken in by an Eisenstadt hoax, including The New Republic and The Los Angeles Times.

BTW, "Martin Eisenstadt" was the source of a few more BS stories about Sarah, including the one about her greeting people in a bathrobe at her hotel. It’s sad enough the media fell for the Africa story, but as anyone with any amount of experience, or has ever seen a movie or TV show, would know, the Secret Service would never allow a protectee to open their own door, especially not in a hotel.

Read more here.

Now I promised you some Joe Biden, and God love the man, if we tried to show you all of Joe in his gaffetastic splendor, I fear our servers would explode, so here’s just a few of the thousands that will live on as classics forever.

First off, remember the Vice Presidential debate? The moderator Gwyn Ifel, alluding to the fact that Dick Cheney had been a strong Vice President, asked Sarah if she would carry on in that vein, which she said she would. This caused Biden (and the media) to lose it, as she cited the Constitution. Biden, who actually teaches the Constitution, got it all wrong. They chastised Sarah for weeks though.

Article I, Section 1 makes it clear that the Vice President is the President of the Senate, and while only having a vote in case of tie, has actual powers within the Senate. In fact, during the last hours, when the Marxists were shoving ObamaCare down America’s throat, Biden stood ready, in his capacity as President of the Senate, to overrule the Senate’s parliamentarian, had the Marxists’ plans been thwarted by him.

Of course, that’s heavy stuff, and why should a man who had only been in the Senate for 35 years, and taught the Constitution on weekends, know all of this. Of course, Sarah Palin, the Governor from way up there in Alaska knew it!

Again, that’s heavy stuff. Sheriff Joe does a lot better when you just let him talk!

Here’s Vice President Smart Ass talking about that three letter word J-O-B-S







And who could ever forget Chuck Graham? Stand up Chuck!







While we could do this for hours!

I want to leave you with one of my all time favorites. Knowing she would be interviewing Sarah Palin, and taking a break from her anti-Palin advisers former Senator Sam Nunn and Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haas, who coached her for the Palin interview, the Perky One did a softball interview with Joe Biden. This is Joe at his absolute gaffetastic best, just makin’ it up as he goes!

As Couric stares lovingly into his eyes, Good old Joe says:

When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed,. Look, here’s what happened.

Now I love this one on many levels. First, you got a two-fer. Both Biden and Couric are as clueless as they come. Can you imagine if that was Sarah Palin babbling that nonsense? Couric would have lost her mind right then and there! Instead, she studied up hard on Sarah and was aided by top Marxist-democrat operatives. It’s was almost like the Perky One worked for the DNC. Oh, wait ....

Anyhow, back to the fun. Biden got this so wrong it’s truly phenomenal. I mean a lesser person would have to work hard to do what just comes natural to Biden.

First off, when the Stock Market crashed, in 1929, Herbert Hoover was President. FDR was still the Governor of New York. Roosevelt wouldn’t take office until March of 1933. (presidential inaugurals used to happen in March)

Second, while television was in the concept stage, no such thing, in workable form, existed. FDR’s famous "fireside chats" were all broadcast over the radio. Radio was the way most Americans got their news and entertainment at home. This was true into the 1950's.

Roosevelt would indeed go on to be the first President to appear on television though. On April 30, 1939 NBC started broadcasting. This was opening day of the New York World’s Fair. This was a weak signal, and there were around 1000 viewers total.

NBC's experimental New York City station was licensed for commercial telecasts beginning on July 1, 1941.

Read more here.

In case you are wondering, the first televised presidential inaugural was Harry S Truman’s in 1949

As one can see, as shocking as it is to learn that Sarah Palin is a mere mortal, and stumbled while speaking, in the grand scheme of things, others have done far worse.

Don’t let the left wing and their media partners distract you from Sarah Palin’s strong and powerful message, or the positive contributions she is making to our world.

The Arctic Fox And The Iron Lady .... Sarah Palin To Visit Margaret Thatcher?

But, as it happens, I know Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher is a friend of mine. And as a matter of fact, Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin have a great deal in common.

~ John O’Sullivan

According to a report by the notoriously left wing UK Mail Online, Sarah Palin will visit Margaret Thatcher in the near future. They report this like it is some sort of photo op, the kind of thing that only a shallow person, like say, Barack Obama, would try and pull off.

In reality, if this meeting happens, it will be the event of a lifetime for all of those involved. Think about it, along with the great Ronald Reagan, Maggie Thatcher was part of the conservative leadership that won the Cold War. Like Reagan, Thatcher understood the meaning of "peace through strength." as does Sarah Palin.

Simply put, Reagan and Thatcher strengthened both of our countries’ militaries to the point that the Soviet Union just couldn’t keep up, and ultimately sought a peaceful end to the nearly 50 year stand-off between Freedom and communism, between Liberty and oppression.

Sadly, no one can sit down with Ronald Reagan and learn from him, but the opportunity to sit and visit with Mrs. Thatcher, and discuss those amazing times is an opportunity of a lifetime that no one could pass up.

Since Sarah Palin has come on the national scene, the comparisons to her and Margaret Thatcher have been inevitable. Both are strong Conservative women, with solid records of achievement. Back in December of 2008 John O’Sullivan, a long time aide to Mrs. Thatcher, wrote about this very comparison in the Wall Street Journal:

Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin

I know Maggie Thatcher. The two women have a lot in common.

By JOHN O'SULLIVAN

Being listed in fourth place for Time magazine's "Person of the Year," as Sarah Palin was for 2008, sounds a little like being awarded the Order of Purity (Fourth Class). But it testifies to something important.

Though regularly pronounced sick, dying, dead, cremated and scattered at sea, Mrs. Palin is still amazingly around. She has survived more media assassination attempts than Fidel Castro has survived real ones (Cuban official figure: 638). In her case, one particular method of assassination is especially popular -- namely, the desperate assertion that, in addition to her other handicaps, she is "no Margaret Thatcher."

Very few express this view in a calm or considered manner. Some employ profanity. Most claim to be conservative admirers of Mrs. Thatcher. Others admit they had always disliked the former British prime minister until someone compared her to "Sarracuda" -- at which point they suddenly realized Mrs. Thatcher must have been absolutely brilliant (at least by comparison).

Inevitably, Lloyd Bentsen's famous put-down of Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice-presidential debate is resurrected, such as by Paul Waugh (in the London Evening Standard) and Marie Cocco (in the Washington Post): "Newsflash! Governor, You're No Maggie Thatcher," sneered Mr. Waugh. Added Ms. Coco, "now we know Sarah Palin is no Margaret Thatcher -- and no Dan Quayle either!"

Jolly, rib-tickling stuff. But, as it happens, I know Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher is a friend of mine. And as a matter of fact, Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin have a great deal in common.

You can read all of John O’Sullivan’s essay here.

Interestingly, in September of ‘08, Janet Daley, writing in the decidedly more conservative UK Telegraph, compared the treatment Sarah was getting from the radical left in America, and some on the right, to the "spiteful treatment of Margaret Thatcher" which you can read here.

It would seem Marxist-progressives world wide have a long history of hating women who don’t tow their liberal party line.

Those snobs among the Republican elite and the "Good Old Boy Network" haven’t changed either. They still remain blissfully ignorant, and educated well beyond the level of their actual intelligence. It so happens that Stacy Drake has just published a brand new article on this very subject and takes these clueless GOP snobs to task. You can read Stacy’s Sarah Palin vs Snobbery here.

More thoughts on Sarah visiting Great Britain and possibly Israel come from an article Ted Belman wrote for the American Thinker back in May:

Sarah Palin Is On A Roll

Since resigning from her governorship last July, Sarah Palin hasn't made a false move. This is surprising for someone who is more passionate than cautious and one reputed to be...well, you know, a dummy.

Her book tour went exceedingly well. She has received thousands of invitations to speak, notwithstanding her $100,000 price tag. She continues to raise huge sums of money for her sponsors and draw sellout crowds. Her policy announcements have been spot-on, whether delivered in her speeches, interviews, or Facebook posts.

Because of her charge of "death panels" to decry Obamacare, she more than anyone is responsible for the overwhelming majority now opposed to the law. Although Obama's supporters denied such "death panels" at first, many experts now openly admit to them.

In foreign affairs, she coined the Obama Doctrine as "coddling your enemies and alienating your friends." This characterization is now commonplace. Palin also decried Obama's statement that the U.S. would not retaliate with nuclear weapons if it were attacked by WMDs and suggested that the U.S. was asking to be hit. Obama, in his non-response, replied with "I really have no response to that. The last I checked, Sarah Palin is not much of an expert on nuclear issues." And "What I would say to them is, is that if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin." Palin came back, quick as a flash, sarcastically honoring "the vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer, part-time senator, and full-time candidate." Within hours, Obama was retracting his original statement.

Finally, Palin has come down squarely on the side of Israel, Israel's right to expand, and a united Jerusalem. She fully supports Israel's right to self-defense and said that we shouldn't be second-guessing her. Such policies are the polar opposite of what Obama is pushing for, and the former enjoy the support of a large majority of Americans.

Palin's energy policy of "Drill, Baby, Drill" and "all of the above" also has broad support. She was the first to attack Obama's proposed drilling legislation that she characterized as "Stall, Baby, Stall." This support is rapidly decreasing in the wake of the disastrous explosion or malfunction of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which promises a looming environmental disaster for America's southern coastline. But Palin is sticking to her guns, if you'll pardon the expression. She didn't retreat. She reloaded and reaffirmed her support for drilling despite the risks. Sarah Palin lived through the Exxon-Valdez disaster that devastated her home state of Alaska. As fate would have it, she was responsible for finally bringing Exxon to judgment when she was governor after a twenty-year battle. So she knows the devastation firsthand and will do everything she can to minimize the risk. But still, she wants to "Drill baby drill."

[ .... ]

During the next six months, Palin will continue making speeches and supporting candidates of her choice. She will be coming out with a book on policy in the fall and will do another book signing tour. Then she will be off to Europe to visit with political leaders and stir up the people. I predict that huge crowds will embrace her and her message. No doubt, she will also visit Israel with her entire family, where they will be mobbed. It will be a media feeding frenzy.

A strong embrace in Europe and Israel will give her an enormous boost in America.

You can read more here.

We think this is an excellent plan. One simply cannot pass on the chance to visit with such an iconic figure as Maggie Thatcher, someone who absolutely changed the world for the better. As for Israel, Sarah has shown such strong support for our friends there, and most certainly is on the side of the Israelis as they struggle for survival against pretty much the rest of the world. Her visit would signal, that even though the Obama regime is siding with the terrorists of the world against Israel, the American people support Israel, and the Israeli people.

Nothing has been officially announced, and we have absolutely no idea when these trips to Great Britain, and possibly Israel may happen, but one thing about it, if there is an exchange of gifts, I doubt Sarah will be handing out iPods loaded with her speeches, or DVDs that aren’t formatted for their machines, .... like someone else we all know.

Ronald Reagan: These Are The Boys Of Point-du-Hoc, A D-Day Remembrance

I came across this wonderfully produced video several years back. Wyatt McIntyre, the creator, says it was his first attempt at editing. All I can say is he captured the very essence of the events surrounding the greatest amphibious assault in human history, and the turning point of WWII. The beginning of the end.

The speech, delivered as only Ronald Reagan could, was given on June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. President Reagan was standing at Point du Hoc with the surviving Rangers who defied certain death and scaled those cliffs, defeating the Germans.

It's rather bittersweet, that as we remember this great triumph of good over evil, that we must also remember that we lost Ronald Reagan on June 5, 2004. Listening to this great speech, we remember why he is so missed.


There will no doubt be any number of WWII flicks on television honoring those who fought on this day in history, but if you don't watch any other movie,  watch Darryl F. Zanuck's masterpiece, The Longest Day. This is a big movie, told from both the Allied and German point of view. It has an all star cast, and is one of the best WWII movies ever made.

As you go through your day, remember these great heroes who fought on the beaches of Normandy. Many died so that we remain free today. It's easy to sit back and take it all for granted, but on this day, the 6th of June, 1944, the entire world was in peril, and victory was still a long way away, and not at all certain. We own these men everything. We must never let their memory fade. 

This really doesn't have anything to do with D-Day, but it is so moving, nonetheless. Everyone knows the Star Spangled Banner, but how many know the part we sing is only the first of  four verses?

This Marine knew, and simply stunned the audience at a recent Tea Party event:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Here's the entire poem, as written by Francis Scott Key:

First Verse

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Second Verse

On the shore dimly seen, thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines in the stream;
'Tis the Star-Spangled Banner, Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Third Verse

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Fourth Verse

Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, "In God is our trust"
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

Video and verse courtesy of The Right Scoop. 

A Move Toward a Better Way for America: A Post by Conservative Girl with a Voice

Sarah Palin ROCKED the Southern Republican Leadership Conference this past Friday. Once again, she spoke so articulately that common sense conservative message- a message that is so needed today. Sarah is not afraid to stand up and speak out, and I am so glad that she is unafraid to tell it like it http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifis. Like Ronald Reagan before her, Sarah gives us hope that America will once again take its place as that Shining City on a Hill. Thank you so much, Sarah, for speaking the truth and doing so with such emotion, conviction and pure common sense. This Conservative Girl with a Voice thanks you for what you're doing and continue to do in the name of the First Amendment, freedom and liberty!!!

Make sure to check out two great blogs fohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr more on this: The Design Conservative and Motivation: Truth.

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

Conservative Girl with a Voice and 25,000 of her Closest Friends Invade Harry Reid's Hometown

What a sight to behold. Men and women of every age, race and color. Children, some of whom were not yet old enough to walk. Moms pushing strollers along a never-ending, bumpy road along side a two lane traffic-filled highway. Dads educating their sons about America and what she stands for. Grandmas waving flags patriotically while their husbands talked about the good ol' days when men and women strived to achieve the American dream. Individuals with special needs who smiled and held out a hand whenever a new friend passed by along the way. The veterans, many of whom wore veteran caps, whose love for their country was clearly evident in the way they talked about the wars in which they fought for the freedoms we now enjoy and hold most dear. The dogs, many of which were dressed up in patriotic t-shirts happily wagged their tails and licked the hands of children nearby. My fellow Americans, the Tea Party Express event that took place in Searchlight, Nevada, this passed Saturday March 27th was truly a modern-day Conservative Woodstock. An event so huge that people parked and walked what seemed like miles just to get in. I have always been a proud American, and I love my country, but what I experienced this past Saturday has made me an even prouder American and even more grateful to our founders and the Constitution to which our country is based.

For those of you who have never been to Searchlight, Nevada, you need to realize that this little town, population 798, is in the middle of the desert. Picture a deserted area somewhere in the desert and then picture a small town in the middle of this deserted land, and fellow readers, you have Searchlight U.S.A. For one day, for a brief moment in time, this little town became a monument for the Conservative Movement and the future of the tea party movement as a whole. This little desert became the location of an event so huge that its effects will be felt for days. For just a few hours, people from all walks of life, gender and faiths trekked up a deserted highway as if they were apart of a parade, or better yet- a pilgrimage through a desolate land. I will never forget the line of vehicles with the most patient of people inside, many of whom were in awe at what they were witnessing. Like them, I couldn't believe the enthusiasm around me. Like many, I have attended tea parties for months dating back to April 15th, 2009, but the Searchlight Tea Party was different for many reasons. Sure, it was being held in Harry Reid's hometown and the intensity level was at an all-time high at the thought of booting the Nevada senator's tush to the curb, but what really got me was the distances some traveled just to be there in this promise land of sorts where everyone gathered for a common purpose, a common goal. I met people from all over our great country. A woman from Anchorage, Alaska, a couple who, like me, traveled from San Diego , a family from Utah and even a woman from Georgia. I wouldn't be surprised if each and every one of our 50 states was represented there. This voyage united us all, for we were all there as Americans- Americans concerned about the direction our country is headed.

The multitude of signage was phenomenal. Signs with phrases like Real Men Honor the Constitution, God is in Control, Harry Reid has Taxed Me to Death, Sarah is Right, and the classic Don't Tread on Me were just some of my favorites. As I watched everyone around me, the media repeatedly came to my mind. The media and liberal left who continually try to act as if the tea party movement is an Astroturf movement in which people are basically bribed to show up and participate. Let me tell you something: The event I witnessed this past Saturday was as far from an Astroturf event as they come. Astroturf is fake, hard and cold. The tea party movement is a grassroots movement that is authentic, real and growing hotter by the day. There is no denying the fundamental point that Astroturf DOES NOT grow, and if the Searchlight tea party event is any indication, this grassroots movement IS growing and will continue to do so. The difference between liberals and tea party attendees is simple: When liberals get mad, they resort to lying, name-calling and violence. When tea party attendees get angry, they take peaceful action. They gather their loved ones together, and they set out on a voyage where they meet like-minded individuals who love their country and want to set it back on the right course toward fiscal conservatism and smaller government. They chart a course because they want the day to come when their elected officials will actually start LISTENING to them instead of IGNORING them. This is a course that adheres to the constitution instead of ignoring it. This is a course that promotes the use of an individual's First-Amendment right as the fundamental way in which individuals have the ability and the right to stand up and speak out without being told to sit down and shut up. Fellow readers, the left wants us to do just that. They want us to forfeit and take our flags and go home. They want us to roll up our signs and throw them in the recycling bin, but we know better. We know change- real change- is coming, and we know the only way to succeed is to keep up the good and noble fight and not fall prey to the left's attempt to bury us into the earth so many among us have fought to protect with their own sweat and tears.

The men, women and children who attended the Searchlight rally came because they WANTED TOO. They felt compelled to come and witness history in the making. The people I spoke with each had his or her own reason for being there. The majority of individuals came out on this windy, cold day and gathered on this dusty desert floor to let Harry Reid know that they were no longer going to let him abuse his senate powers and the constitution to which our country is based. To put it kindly, these people are pissed off. They are sick and tired of the fat cats in Washington. Our elected officials should be working FOR us, not AGAINST us. One gentleman whom I spoke with believes that Washington changes elected officials. Whether or not we want to admit it, this gentleman is right. Many politicians run with good intentions. They run with the hope of representing their constituents to the best of their ability, but as soon as they get to Washington, the power and greed overtake them. They lose sight of why they were elected, and they let the power and greed seep deep into their veins. Now, I don't know Harry Reid. Maybe he ran for office because, like me, he wanted to make a difference. Although this may have been his intention, it is no secret that he has lost his way. His hometown of Searchlight, Nevada, is a humble place people usually drive right by without a second thought. Just like many other small mining towns in America, it gets overlooked. It is in an isolated part of Nevada, which ironically seems to symbolize Harry Reid- a man whose approval rating is at around eight percent. Perhaps Harry Reid should do what I, and thousands of others did yesterday, and pay his hometown a visit. Maybe he'd learn a thing or two. Visit the corner gas station, or maybe grab a coffee in the cafe. Perhaps he should stop by the casino for a bite to eat. Would he learn what I learned yesterday? Would he learn that those who live in his little hometown and little cities like it all around America are hard-working family types who are living paycheck to paycheck. Sure, he has his supporters. We were all welcomed to such a large outpouring of Harry Reid supporters- 30 in all (and that's being generous) as we made our way through one of the town’s only four-way stop signs. After rolling down our windows, waving and telling the protesters "God bless you" and " Isn't it great we live in a place were we can voice our First-Amendment right," we couldn't help, but giggle at the jeers we got back. I found it ironic that these same people who call us angry mobsters, were the individuals who illustrated the most anger. These same individuals who call us violent right-wing extremists and racists were the same individuals who decided to throw eggs at the Tea Party Express bus as it departed Searchlight. I guarantee the mainstream, or as Sarah Palin correctly calls them "lamestream media" were not going give this insane act the attention it correctly deserved. Instead, they would rather accuse tea party attendees like myself of being racist and anti-American. Well, maybe they should listen to what Sarah told that heckler in Arizona: "Stick around, maybe you'll learn something." I, for one, sure learned something yesterday. I learned how much I love my country. I learned about how beautiful, how authentic the entire tea party movement is. This is a movement that started small and has grown to a massive movement without a single leader. This movement doesn't need a leader because it has thousands of leaders all over this great land. Men, women, children and their pets. These same individuals who walked in from miles back just to gather peacefully and speak out about the fears they have for the direction this country is headed.

These are the same individuals who cheered, laughed and cried when Sarah addressed the crowd. Sarah's speech was phenomenal. While I have met her in the past, this was the first time, I had the honor to see her speak live. It was so amazing! As soon as they began to address her as "Todd's wife; Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig's mom; and Tripp's grandma, the crowd erupted with the loudest cheers and applause. You had to be there, for it was a moment that I will NEVER forget. People were there to voice their First-Amendment right AND to see her; she was truly the woman of the hour. Woodstock may have had Joe Cocker, but the tea party movement can say they have Sarah Palin, and boy, did she give a great speech. She spoke for about a half hour about the importance of love for God and country, for the need to boot Harry out, for the importance of the tea party movement, and for the unfortunate way in which tea party attendees are being unfairly attacked. She thanked us for attending and continuing to stand up and speak out. It was so cool to be there. As she spoke, five jets wrote messages in puffy, white smoke above in the crystal-blue sky. One of the messages read Thank you, Sarah Palin. Another read, God bless Sarah Palin. I learned later that night from a friend that Sarah looked up to the sky at one point and blushed, and I have a feeling she was looking at what was being written. She was overwhelmed at just how amazing the whole event was. It was during her speech that I developed shivers and had tears in my eyes. It finally hit me, and I was overwhelmed at just how BIG this movement really is. There were many other great patriots who spoke that day. People like Andrew Breitbart, Hannah Giles, Victoria Jackson, Joe the Plumber, Danny Tarkanian (whom I’m trying to get on Camille Friend and my radio show), as well as many other great Americans. It was truly a great day. I even ran into California Senate Candidate Chuck Devore and his family as I was walking into the event. We had been tweeting back and forth the whole morning, and I had been passing along traffic updates to them as well, so we laughed about how many people showed up and how windy and chilly it was.

Don't let the pundits and msm tell you that only 7,000 people showed up yesterday. I was there, and I can testify that there were at least 20,000 people there if not more. This is huge when you take into account that this event was held in the boonies, in the desert, in the middle of nowhere right to the side of a two lane road. I will never forget the excitement level. I will never forget how safe I felt with those around me. I bonded with the individuals I spoke with, and while I will probably never see them again, we will forever be connected. Another thing I want to mention is just how patriotic and kind those in attendance were. One incident comes to mind. Being the high-energy girl I am, I didn't bring a chair, and the gentleman next to me asked if I wanted to sit in his. This one person is an indication of just how great the people in attendance were. We were even lucky enough to see a protester, and you know how violent and angry us tea party attendees are, right? We were so mean that we allowed the guy to parade his sign around, and no one confronted him or threatened him because like us, he was there voicing his First-Amendment right, and fellow readers, that is our beautiful God-given right; that is what makes America-America. Yeah, based upon this event, I’d say us tea party folks are pretty downright evil aren't we? Were so evil that we give up our seats for our fellow man and allow others to protest us. So much for the media even attempting to get it right. If the media wanted to report their stories in a straightforward, objective manner, they would be reporting just how neat, polite and intelligent we really are, but the media do not want the truth out there because they know that if the real story got out, they would be toast. Millions would learn how corrupt and biased the lamestream media really are.

I thank God each and everyday that I live in a country where I can stand up tall and freely speak out. Nobody should be told to shut up and sit down if they are simply speaking out on policies to which they disagree. The people who gathered yesterday gathered together in a united front. Whatever the media report, know this: There were no acts of violence yesterday; there were no threats, only promises. We CAN guarantee that come this November, the democrats WILL be shaking in their boots. The democrats WILL lose seats, and the democrats WILL finally realize they were downright WRONG when they called the tea party movement a fringe group that will have no effect on upcoming elections. I'm predicting right now that if the Republicans continue to listen to the American people and chart a course back down the path of Ronald Reagan, we WILL win. In the end, Sarah Palin is right: "No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!”

I hope you enjoy all of these photos my photographer (aka Dad) was nice enough to take. Make sure to click here and here because there are many more photos that I did not have room enough to include here.

Oh, and one more thing. I gotta take a minute to network a little bit: Griff Jenkins of FOX News Channel, my dad met you and gave you my business card. If you read this, Camille and I would LOVE to have you on our show!!!!

My friend and fellow blogger Robert Stacy McCain was at the Searchlight event as well, so make sure to check out his blog here because his stuff is always a MUST READ!!!

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

Can We Beat the Reagan Odds?

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

Ronald Reagan was born 99 years ago today--and boy, is he missed! Americans are crying out for the common sense conservatism he embodied. We're gravitating toward those leaders who share those priciples while voting out those who do not.

Burt Folson wrote an article for Big Government called "Why Was Ronald Reagan the Greatest President of the 20th Century?" He stated:

Reagan had three parts to his genius. First, he was a visionary; he believed that people wanted freedom and would do well when more of it was given to them.

[...]

Second, Reagan had character, and in the eyes of America’s Founders, character was a necessary ingredient for greatness. Reagan stood for a set of ideas, and when trouble came he looked not to polls, but instead he applied courage, kindness, and persistence to achieve his ends.

[...]

Third, Reagan was teachable. That trait was essential. If one has vision and character, he must also be teachable to make his life flow in a constructive direction.

Publius, also of Big Government, chimed in with this:

Today, in 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in rural Illinois. He’s the kind of leader who ordinarily comes along only once in a life-time. We’re hoping we can beat those odds.

Now, we have all heard the President Reagan-Governor Palin comparisons. I've heard such things as "If Ronald Reagan is the mind of conservatism, Sarah Palin is the heart" and "Sarah Palin is Ronald Reagan in a skirt."

The governor surely exemplifies the characteristics Folson presents. It is her vision for the nation's purpose and potential that Americans have embraced. Her character rained down upon her the ire of the good old boys in the state of Alaska, while granting her the respect of those on the right side of ethics and reform. Her willingness and ability to continue learning and evolving have awarded her the reputation of being the quick study that she is. The similarities are obvious.

I'm currently reading Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America by Craig Shirley. Nothing has illustrated the Reaganesque Palin to me more than this book. I plan to provide an essay on this when I've completed it.

It may be too early to say for sure how it will all unfold, but I'm leaning toward telling Publius we've beaten the odds.

Crazy Like An Arctic Fox: Sarah Palin Joins Fox News

OK, I’ll admit it, when I first got the news that Sarah Palin was signing on with Fox News to be a commentator and analyst, I was kind of like...huh(?), but that faded fast. Like many, it came at me from out of the blue, and I follow Sarah pretty closely.

Also, like many, I was concerned about the other efforts she has going on: Things like giving speeches, campaigning for Conservatives, doing charity work, and smacking Barack Obama upside the head on a regular basis. You know, saving the world stuff!

Of course, after the few minutes it took for all of this to sink in, and for me to process it all, I realized that this was, after all, Sarah Palin, the ultimate multi-tasker. Sarah Palin, the woman who is known to have a Blackberry in each hand, and her beautiful son Trig in her arms, all the while being briefed on something else. This is Sarah Palin, who reportedly has a photographic memory, and likes her briefings rapid fire!

The Fox News gig may be the easiest, least taxing job she’ll have!

My second thoughts went to the Great Ronald Reagan, my political hero, and well, one of Sarah’s, as well. Once again, one sees Sarah as nothing less than Reaganesque with this move.

Sarah’s life really does parallel Reagan’s in many ways:

Both grew up in small towns in modest surroundings.

Both played sports and played them well. Reagan played football, Sarah is a championship winning basketball player, and now a competitive runner.




Both went to small, "no name" colleges. And yes, as the left points out, Sarah went to several. Took her 5 years to get her 4 year degree in journalism. That sort of thing is rather common in America, among those who work their way through college, and pay for it all with the sweat of their brow.

Even more interesting, at least to me, is both were sportscasters. Reagan did radio, and Sarah did television, anchoring the local sports desk. In fact, as she pointed out in her book, it was her dream to go to work at ESPN.

Of course, Reagan had a long career as an actor before jumping into politics, though he was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Sarah got involved at a lot younger age, working her way up from one of the lowest elected offices, to the highest a state has to offer.

Even there, their career paths cross, as Reagan was the Governor of a large western state, California, and Sarah was Governor of our largest and most western state, Alaska.

This deal with Fox News is just another move that has Reagan written all over it, and likely smiling down in approval.

Ronald Reagan lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Gerald Ford. During a period of time that some describe as Reagan’s "time in the wilderness," Ronnie spent his time writing op-ed’s for newspapers, giving speeches to any and every group possible, spreading the words of conservatism, and doing regular radio commentary.

When 1980 rolled around, Reagan had build an incredible grass roots following, a group of devoted supporters that would see him win two historic landslide victories.

This brings us to Sarah Palin, post governorship.

Sarah has written op-eds for numerous publications, much to the radical left’s chagrin. I n fact, an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in July of 2009 on climate change and energy independence was the third most read of the year. And one she wrote early December, demanding Obama boycott Copenhagen was in the top 25. This is out of literally thousands of the opinion pieces published by WaPo in 2009.

Something Sarah has that Reagan did not, as Al Gore had not invented the internet yet, is social networking. Sarah has proven to be quiet adept at using Facebook and Twitter. I can’t think of anyone else on the planet who could write two words on Facebook, and absolutely change history, as Sarah was able to do when she took on ObamaCare and pointed out that in every nation with socialized medicine there is major rationing of care.

Her "death panels" was a stroke of metaphoric genius that still has tongues wagging on both sides of the argument, and really knocked the shine off of hope and change. With those two paragraphs, Sarah changed history, and forever wounded the Obama presidency, some say mortally. One thing is for certain, history will look back at that Facebook post as a seminal moment in time, a point where Mr Obama saw his presidency slowly start to slip away.

Sarah is also giving speeches to diverse groups. From business folks like she did in Hong Kong, to Conservative groups, to charities. Looking at her line up this spring and summer, it is a diverse group indeed.

Then there is the book. Going Rogue, An American Life was a number one best seller a month before the public could ever hold one in their hands. Pre-publication sales broke all records. In fact, the day the book was first offered for pre-publication sale, it became the number one best seller at all of the major online book retailers.

The book debuted number one on the New York Times Best Seller List, and in the end, was the best selling book of 2009, causing the publisher, HarperCollins, to order a second printing, with 3 million total ordered, so far.

So....moving over to Fox News is the next logical step for Sarah Palin. Had there been 24/7 cable news in Reagan’s day, that’s where he would have been. But until Reagan himself repealed the so-called "fairness doctrine" a tool used by the democrat/communists to control the message for decades, (something they’d love to bring back) talk radio didn’t even exist!

When one realizes what the political/media landscape looked like in Reagan’s time, where all media was firmly in the hands of the left, one really understands the powerhouse Conservative that was Ronald Reagan.

As was expected, Sarah’s first week on the job was hyped to the absolute max by Fox’s P.R. machine, and rightly so, as Sarah Palin is a ratings bonanza, just as Oprah, or the folks at Saturday Night Live will attest. Her appearances on both shows saw ratings these shows hadn’t seen in over a decade.

Also, as expected, the far left pulled out their tired, shop worn Saul Alinsky tactics and hooted and hollered. This was a twofer for them, as they could go after both of their bete noires at the same time.

They were aghast that a news organization would hire a former successful Governor, and vice presidential candidate as an analyst. I mean why on earth would a news organization ever hire someone with a degree in communications and journalism!

As our friend The Mighty Serf puts it: "Nothing says ‘patriot’ like being attacked by a bunch of dirty, lying communists!"

Now I’ll kind of let the reader do their own analysis of how Sarah did in her first week. And bear in mind, these appearances were more "get to know you" sort of deals, not anything indicative of what she will be doing at Fox, although, with Sean Hannity, they did sort of jump right in to work.

In order, here’s how Sarah’s week went:

First up, Bill O’Reilly. It went as expected, it was all about Bill O’Reilly, with O’Reilly going so far as to have people on right after Sarah to analyze his interview of her. (And praise him) He spends most of the time going over the attacks against her, and of course, Fox, seemingly unable to grasp that the left hates her simply because she exists. It really isn’t any more complicated than that.







BTW, Sarah added a solid one million extra viewers to Billy’s already ratings giant, The O’Reilly Factor.

Next up is Hannity. This is a pretty good session of analysis, which is why you haven’t heard the corrupt Obamacentric media say a single word about it!







Good solid work, in my opinion, probably the best of the three, if one is to evaluate Sarah’s capabilities as a journalist. You can watch the rest of the interview courtesy of our friends at Conservatives4Palin here.



The last interview of the week comes from Glenn Beck. This one is the most curious, and the one I personally liked and sort of didn’t like. It’s complicated....

As both Glenn and Sarah are lightning rods for all of the hate that defines the left, one shouldn’t be surprised that this is the interviewed that caused controversy.

In fairness to Glenn, he was pretty sick when they did the interview. As one could tell by his performance the next day, when he hosted his second forum of prominent black leaders, including our friends Adrienne Ross and Clifton Bazar. Glenn had Charles Payne on to act as his "voice" and to help moderate.

I say this to point out that Glenn, who usually does very well in these personal style, one on one deals was not at his very best. But this is an incredibly interesting interview, as Glenn asked questions that are just never asked. It also gives you an incredible insight into Sarah.







You can watch all of the hour long interview over at The Right Scoop, here.

Now most Palinistas already know about the "controversy" thanks to a highly edited hit piece by Media Matters, the group funded by Nazi collaborator, and self proclaimed "owner of the democrat party," George Soros.

As you see, Glenn asks Sarah who her favorite founder was, and she answers "all of them" leading up to say that they are all important, but it was George Washington who she admires the most. The essential man. For the Record, this was Beck’s choice, as well.

Media Matters, which sent their butchered video, taken out of context, to the media outlets, who dutifully played the clip ad nauseam, tried to not only misconstrue the conversation, but compare it to Sarah’s "all of ‘em" answer to that hack Katie Couric, on what newspapers she reads.

Yeas, the left really is that desperate!

Clearly, anyone with an ounce of intellectual honesty will listen to the unedited exchange, and understand where Sarah was going with this before Glenn jumped in. Also, just as clearly, if one pays attention, is the fact that Beck was leading up to the real point of the entire interview, and that was asking Sarah Palin if she, indeed, was our generation’s George Washington.

With all of this in mind, Glenn devoted his radio show the next day to further discussing this interview with Sarah. In fact, one really can’t fully "get" Beck’s interview with Sarah without also watching this companion video. Beck’s commentary is fascinating here. What’s interesting is how he says that he wasn’t doing the interview for the viewers, but for himself. He truly wanted to see if Sarah, in his mind, was for real.

He gives us further insight into Sarah, talks about how guarded she is, and how she really goes out of her way to be prepared for "gotcha" questions these days. But he boils it all down to the real point of doing this interview. Again, I’ll let the reader be the final judge if he made his point here or not. But one simply must watch this video, to understand the interview.

Watch it all, for sure, but at about 20 minutes in is where Beck talks about the founding fathers, and when he sort of comes to his conclusions.







BTW, when I was growing up, we were taught in school that Washington was the "father of our country." Past that, if someone held a gun to my head, and I had to honestly answer who my favorite founding father is, I’m not sure I’d have an answer any better than "all of the above."

Each man gave their unique contribution. But more poignantly, and this is something we often forget, all of these men, all of our founding fathers, risked it all. Remember, all of these men were committing treason. Each and every one had a price on their head and faced certain death had they failed.

In the end though, I enjoyed the Beck interview, because...though they had never met....in person, Glenn has the longest history of any of the major media interviewing Sarah, having done many interviews with her over the years, and they have a good rapport with one another. It was nice to see her and Glenn get tickled at each other.




The fun part though was their open offer to Saturday Night Live for them to co-host the show. I’d be willing to bet someone is already working on that deal, as the last time Sarah appeared, SNL had it’s best ratings in 17 years, and by all accounts, both Loren Michaels and his producers were very pleased to have her. With NBC’s current sad state of affairs, I think this one is a no brainer!

I know this is a tad bit long to just sit back and say that overall, Sarah Palin had a very good debut on Fox News. Frankly, I think there is a whole lot more to it than that.

First, I am totally convinced that Sarah will run for President in 2012. She may not even know this yet, as even Glenn Beck suggests, but Sarah is that "essential man." That reluctant servant America needs.

One thing I have learned about Sarah, after watching her and studying her career. Sarah Palin does not lust after power, Sarah Palin lusts after results. There is simply no one else out there that has this essential quality. This is why I believe with all of my heart and soul that Sarah will find herself compelled to run, compelled to step in and do what is right for our nation. There is simply no one else out there with her character that is up to the task.

In the mean time, Sarah is taking a proven path, a path that saw Ronald Reagan win two historic landslide victories and become one of America’s greatest Presidents.

H/T: Karen Allen for the artwork.