Sarah Palin

A Horrifying Scenario: Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin! :(

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Chris Matthews on MSNBC today described a possible horrifying scenario in 2012: Presidential nominee Sarah Palin! 🙁

Matthews’ reasoning was that Sarah Palin has a positive image among 76 percent of Republicans, and as the only woman likely to run for President, and with views that place her on the “hard” right of all men who might run, that she would have a decent chance to do well in early primaries and caucuses in 2012! 🙁

The argument is that Palin could win the Iowa caucuses because of the strong evangelical influence in that state! While the theory is that Mitt Romney, as a ‘favorite son” New Englander in the Boston TV market, would win the New Hampshire primary, it would be dismissed as insignificant!

Then, the theory is that Palin would go to South Carolina, a strong evangelical Christian state, and would win over Romney, who is a Mormon (not considered Christian by many evangelicals)!

Then, she would go to Michigan, the home of Romney’s father, who was a potential Presidential candidate in the 1960s, and where Mitt Romney grew up, and in a multi candidate race, in a state with high unemployment and a terrible economy, would pull out a fraction of the vote large enough to be seen as the winner!

If all this happened, the argument of Matthews is that Palin would have “momentum” to win the GOP nomination! 🙁

This scenario is a nightmare, but to believe it would actually happen in a time of disillusionment and bad economic times, is seen as an extremist action of Tea Party Movement types, which could present the country with the most extreme GOP candidate since Barry Goldwater in 1964!

And actually, Barry Goldwater, being intelligent and knowledgeable, and ultimately a social liberal in future years, and a libertarian of substance as compared to Rand Paul, would be preferable to a woman who has no substance, no knowledge, and is truly an example of a KNOW NOTHING mediocrity rising to the top! 🙁

Of course, even if Sarah Palin were to win the GOP nomination, is there any scenario that can imagine her defeating President Barack Obama?

ONLY if one believes that the nation is ready to go down the drain completely, and elect the most incompetent, idiotic candidate that would ever have been selected by a major political party in the history of the United States!

If that happens, the nation is truly doomed in a complex world that requires a person of brilliance and insight, which Sarah Palin has inability to be! And if that were to happen, it would condemn John McCain forever in history for having given us this woman as a legitimate candidate for national authority! 🙁

Fox Propaganda Channel: Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee!

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Fox News Channel claims to be a “news” channel, but what other “news” channel has THREE potential Presidential candidates on its payroll, giving them the ability to spread their propaganda and be given “softballs” by so called “journalists”, such as Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck? 🙁

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee all have tremendous exposure with “friendly” questioning!

Will they be able to keep their positions if they announce for President? How could they, without being accused of conflict of interest, accepting payment, and claiming to be news analysts?

One would think that even to suggest such an arrangement would be totally preposterous, but as it turns out, Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle said on camera in an interview with Carl Cameron that she wanted to have Fox allow her to know what questions were to be asked, to be able to promote raising of funds for her campaign, and to be a friendly interviewer! 🙁

Cameron, one of the very few real “journalists” on Fox, looked incredulous at the suggestions of Angle! It only made her look more crazy and loony than she has ever been before, but it made one wonder about the status, present and future, of the three potential Republican Presidential candidates !

It all just adds up to Fox being more and more a joke of a so called “news channel”, and therefore, justifiably, to be called “Fox Propaganda Channel”!

Alan Greenspan And David Stockman: Tax Cuts For the Wealthy Based On Borrowed Money Are Wrong And Do Not Pay For Themselves!

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Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve Board, and clearly a conservative and Republican in his philosophy, was on the ABC News This Week show yesterday.

Greenspan was asked if a continuation of the Bush tax cuts was a good idea with such a tremendous deficit situation. His response was that, in theory, tax cuts are good, but NOT on borrowed money!

Greenspan also said tax cuts DO NOT pay for themselves in the sense of economic expansion!

Is there any need to go further in seeing that what conservatives and Republicans are enunciating is totally hypocritical? 🙁

We cannot afford, supposedly, to give extended unemployment compensation to those who are long term out of work, even though giving this to them promotes spending and the creation of jobs! But we can give more tax cuts to the top two percent, even though it has been shown that in most cases these people SAVE the money, rather than spend it, and DO NOT create new jobs because of receiving more tax cuts!

To top it off, former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman came up with exactly the same prescription: that tax cuts to the wealthy top two percent on borrowed money does not stimulate the economy! Instead, economists tell us it creates a more stratified society, already the most stratified in the industrial world!

But does this affect Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, or others in the GOP? No, just keep on borrowing money and raising the deficit so that the rich can become richer, the middle class is made poorer, public services are cut, and the poor become even poorer!

Is this the kind of America we want? To think this is justice requires a warped sense of morality! 🙁

Delusions Of Grandeur: Michael Steele And Sarah Palin! :(

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Two of the best known faces in the Republican party are Michael Steele, the controversial and embattled Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP Vice Presidential nominee in 2008!

Michael Steele has been under constant scrutiny for his outrageous and controversial statements as RNC Chair, including his most recent comment which called Afghanistan “Obama”s War”, said it was unwinnable, and that history was the guide of why the war was a lost cause! For that comment, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Liz Cheney (daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney), and Bill Kristol (publisher of The Weekly Standard), called for his resignation, even though the last two points Steele made were absolutely correct!

Despite all the controversy surrounding Steele, he has ignored requests to resign, and will apparently survive to finish his two year term to next winter. But now the rumors are that he plans to utilize the news coverage he has gained as RNC Chairman to seek the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012! Is this not delusions of grandeur? It is argued that he has charisma, but the question is does he have the intelligence, the capabilities, to run for President?

Sure, Steele was Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and ran a losing race for Senator from that state. But what makes this man think he is qualified to be what some have said is the “Republican Barack Obama”?

At the same time, there are rumors flying that Sarah Palin may seek to become RNC Chair to succeed Steele! But why would she want to do this?

Supposedly, it would give her more publicity (as if she needed it), having received plenty of such, plus an estimated $12 million for her memoirs and speeches. But IF she was RNC Chair, she would not have the freedom to make the kind of income she has made, and she would not be free, in the way she is now, to use Twitter freely and back and campaign for selected candidates, and on specific issues!

More importantly, how could she become RNC Chair in the beginning of 2011 and also be able, if she desired, to be a GOP candidate for President of the United States in 2012?

Beyond all this, Palin has the tendency to be controversial, even more so than Steele! Is this what the Republican Party needs: Palin as RNC Chair, and Steele as a candidate for President?

Would either development advance the GOP cause for 2012? To the author, that seems highly doubtful! 🙁

The Potential Influence Of Nikki Haley In GOP Politics In 2012!

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South Carolina Republicans nominated 38 year old state representative Nikki Haley for Governor on Tuesday, and it has attracted a lot of interest!

Why, one might ask? There are several reasons!

First, Haley would be the first woman governor in South Carolina history!

Secondly, she was accused of sexual liaisons with two different men, and denied both, and it had no effect on her being chosen by the voters!

Third, she was backed by outgoing Governor Mark Sanford, whose reputation has been in the toilet since it was revealed he was having an affair with a woman in Argentina, behind the backs of his wife and fellow South Carolinians, who wondered where had disappeared for a period of days last year!

Fourth, she was endorsed by Sarah Palin, and is seen as a similar conservative rallying point for many Republicans nationwide! She could also help Palin in the South Carolina presidential primary in 2012!

Fifth, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney made a major financial and campaigning commitment to Haley, and might also be helped in return by Haley in a 2012 Presidential race!

Sixth, Haley is an Indian American, and would become the second person from that Asian country (after Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana), to become a high ranking leader as the Governor of another Southern state, improving the image of the Palmetto state, which it badly needs!

Seventh, the fact that Haley was born as a Sikh, and converted to Methodism at age 24, became an issue when her primary opponent, and evangelical Christians, brought up the issue of whether she was a “good Christian”! By overcoming that religion issue, the issue of religion mattering in choosing a nominee may have been retired as a controversy, which could help Mitt Romney (a Mormon) if he competed in the Republican nomination contest in 2012!

Finally, Haley is another attractive conservative woman, just like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, but it is hoped she will come across as more substantive and less divisive than her cohorts! 🙁

Some feel that IF she is elected Governor, she could be a candidate for Vice President, and in the long term, the Presidency!

Imagine–a young, attractive woman of Asian Indian heritage–as a possible future national leader! Certainly, she will be worthy of notice and attention! For her sake, hopefully, she will not self destruct as others have been prone to do! 🙁

British Petroleum’s Arrogance And Those Who Defend Them! :(

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British Petroleum, and the oil industry in general, has been running amuck over our country, buying up politicians such as Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Louisiana Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, and is now gaining backing from Tea Party Movement candidates, including Sharron Angle in Nevada and Rand Paul in Kentucky!

BP has made no plans for safety of its workers, and lost eleven of them in the April 20 explosion that led to the Gulf Oil Crisis! It has made no plans ahead of time to react to an industrial accident, and has only been concerned to maximize profits at the expense of workers, consumers, and the environment! 🙁 They have no clue as to how to resolve the crisis and have proved to be highly arrogant in their approach to the media and the public! 🙁

The idea that ANY politician could continue to back the oil industry in its rapacious disregard for the American people is an outrage, and the idea that deregulation is still being promoted after years of abuse, makes one wonder how any sane American could back any of these politicians and those who, like Sarah Palin, endorse “Drill, Baby, Drill”! 🙁

Is there any sense of responsibility to the American people by oil company leaders and their political “prostitutes”? Apparently “NO” is the answer! 🙁

Sarah Palin: Earning Tons Of Money, But Learning Nothing! :(

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As Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post points out today, former Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska has become quite a star in the country, between her best selling book, her political appearances and endorsements, and her public speeches!

But what has NOT happened is a learning curve, the gaining of knowledge and facts about public affairs!

This is a woman who resists gaining information about public issues; has her own distorted view of reality; and loves to blame the media for her plight of being seen as a KNOW NOTHING, when it is all due to her own unwillingness to LEARN and become INFORMED, as any potential Presidential candidate must be!

Palin is milking the system as any good “capitalist” would do, earning an estimated $12 million so far this year, but she has done absolutely nothing to contribute anything positive or enlightening to public discourse! She has her “fans”, and knows how to play to the “crowd” for her own financial enrichment, but she utilizes “applause lines” without realizing that she often has a detrimental effect on dealing with the many public problems we face!

Rather than having an open mind, she is only comfortable in interviews on her sponsoring news channel, Fox News! She avoids interviews with anyone considered mainstream, or those who might challenge her world view or her ego!

To imagine such a vacuous individual as a serious presidential candidate, or God forbid, as our President is enough to engender nightmares, and this is not said to promote laughter, but serious consideration by the Republican party! This is not an issue of being “fair”! It is an issue of considering the interests and security of the American people!

We are NOT a nation who can experiment with someone who has less curiosity and interest than the average community college student or high school graduate! We NEED the BEST among us to lead our nation, not the so called “average Joe or Sally”! 🙁

John McCain: Sarah Palin, Oil Drilling, Illegal Immigration, And Charlie Crist!

Ronald 3 Comments

Senator John McCain of Arizona has really lost ALL credibility on anything he has said or done since the beginning of his presidential campaign in 2008!

When Obama was inaugurated, McCain promised cooperation with the new President, but has proceeded to be totally destructive of unity, and demonstrated absolutely no sense of principle!

It was his independence and principled stands that made McCain so appealing to many liberals and progressives during the Bush Administration!

But then he selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate during his Presidential campaign, and unleashed this unqualified woman on this nation, and we cannot rid ourselves of her presence on our political scene! Will we ever be able to forgive McCain for this? 🙁

Then he backed oil drilling during his campaign, promoting “Drill, Baby, Drill”, after years of advocating environmentalism and being against off shore oil drilling in the Gulf states region. Now in the midst of the Gulf Oil disaster, he looks totally terrible!

McCain promoted a reasonable immigration bill, also backed by Ted Kennedy and President Bush, but now he has backed the discriminatory, unconstitutional Arizona law, in a desperate attempt to save his seat in the Senate!

McCain has also showed no loyalty to his “friends” who helped to make him the GOP nominee for President in 2008, specifically Florida Governor Charlie Crist. Without Crist”s support, it is likely that Mitt Romney would have won Florida, and might have been the Republican choice for the Presidency in 2008.

One wonders how John McCain can sleep at night, having given us the “gift” of Sarah Palin, abandoned his views on oil drilling and illegal immigration, and betraying Charlie Crist! All of this makes him look much worse in history, and it would be very appropriate if his actions lead to his defeat for another Senate term.

John McCain once was a “Profile in Courage”, but NO MORE! 🙁

Tea Party and Militia Right Wing Extremism On Display! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Today was the anniversary of Oklahoma City, and right wing gun toting militias and Tea Party activists were demonstrating in Arlington, Virginia, fully armed, and in the District of Columbia without arms because of DC restrictions. There were also demonstrations all over the country by people seeing conspiracy, and concerned about “internment camps”, and spouting racism in many cases, unwilling to accept the Obama Presidency as legitimate.

All kinds of wacky statements were made by so called “preachers” and right wing radicals across the country, including former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo stating that we needed to send Barack Obama back to his “homeland”, Kenya; and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann referring to the Obama Administration as the “gangster” government in a weekend speech. Recently, Sarah Palin spoke about “reloading” to promote and protect basic constitutional rights.

The failure of these politicians to realize that they are helping to create and light the fuse of potential violence, and to create a toxic political atmosphere is extremely disturbing. Talk radio and Fox News Channel also continue to encourage propaganda and lies to further their agenda of making it impossible to unify the nation around anything the Obama Administration proposes, or attempts to accomplish.

And when Rush Limbaugh asserts that the Iceland volcanic ash is God’s way of punishing America and the world for the passage of the Health Care Reform legislation, what can one say except that rhetoric is becoming more ridiculous and loony! There is absolutely no sense of responsibility or culpability in Limbaugh or other talk show hosts realizing the deleterious effect they have on millions of easily manipulated listeners and watchers who could be provoked to disastrous actions that we would all mourn, if god forbid they were to happen! 🙁

Senator John McCain Losing His Dignity And Good Sense!

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Senator John McCain of Arizona is a very admirable person in many ways.

He has been often seen as a man of principle and independence, and even if one has disagreed with him at various times in his 28 years in Congress, one can always admire him for his courage, his convictions, and his decency.

But now that he is seeking another term in the Senate, and is facing a conservative revolt led by former Congressman J. D. Hayworth, he is conducting his campaign in a way that is causing him to lose his dignity and good sense!

First, as reported earlier, he claims that he is not now, and never has been a “maverick”, despite his regular use of that term over the years, and the reality that he has written his own memoir of earlier years with the word “maverick” in the title. Additionally, Sarah Palin called him a “maverick” when campaigning for him a few weeks ago, and this was constantly emphasized during his 2008 Presidential campaign!

Now, McCain is suggesting that the danger of Iran requires that we “pull the trigger” and go to war with that nation, to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons!

While Iran is certainly a worrisome situation, how can Senator McCain suggest we go into a third war when we cannot deal with the dual wars of Iraq and Afghanistan? And the likelihood is that if we were to go to war with Iran without being provoked, China and Russia, who are considering going along with sanctions on Iran, would likely condemn us and back Iran politically if we invaded that country. Plus we would turn off the large number of Iranians who don’t like their government, but do not wish to be bombed and invaded by any other nation. This is what we call the power of nationalism!

So McCain is making one wonder about his sanity and stability, something always worried about regarding him, because of the torture and imprisonment he experienced long ago during the Vietnam War.

John McCain may be a hero, but he may be showing evidence that he is no longer fit to serve in the Senate, based on his trying to revamp his image in ways that are troublesome! 🙁 It is really a very sad situation regarding Senator McCain! 🙁