Sarah Palin resigns as Governor

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diamond said:
I was wondering if a thread about this would be up, and surprise, surprise there is one.

The speculating reminds me of all the Sarah haters who came in agreeing with the Daily Kos that Sarah's baby was her daughters, spewing and repeating all kinds of untruthful and unsubstaniating hateful rumours-and never apologizing for them.

It's too bad many do not learn from their past mistakes.

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:up:
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Hey kettle...

How do you defend this move? If she were to run for pres, how do you defend her being a quitter?
 
Diemen said:
Wow.
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I think that was about the time you stated The Daily Kos had as much or more credibility than Fox News, but I could be mistaken and it was somebody else.

Regardless of whoever it was, at that point, I knew the discussion of Sarah Palin, and politics in general was futile in FYM.

This is why I rarely post here.

:)


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Diemen said:
You are mistaken.
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Correct, you stated The Daily Kos had more credibility than a certain YouTube.Com video clip.

Context is always important.

The YouTube.Com clip had to do with posting of Barrack's original live birth certificate. A "duplicate birth certificate" of Barrack Obama's was posted instead by the Daily Kos, instead of producing his "live birth certificate" which Obama could have done, because the hospital has it. All hospitals are required to keep them on record. If he wanted to, Barrack could but have obtained that copy of his live birth certificate and posted it- but has chosen not to for whatever reason.

The Daily Kos represented the "dupe" as authentic proof when it wasn't (it's a copy only- different in details from live birth certificates)-and that was the point I was trying to make at the time. Many erroneosly salivated as this being "authentic proof" thanks to the Daily Kos when it fact it wasn't. It was posted to pacify the masses, people gobbled it up here as "proof". Obama has never been compelled to post his live birth certificate legally-and hasn't volunteered it as either, for what ever reason, and one can draw their own conclusions about that.

Happy 4th of July.

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:)
 
Here's the thing, Diamond:

The whole thing is complete bullshit pulled out of thin air by desperate conservatives to try to distract from real issues. If this same thing was happening, but was with John McCain, you would have said it was "complete bullshit made up by liberals sweating now that Palin has been nominated" or something like that. And you won't admit it when you reply to this post, but that's the truth, and most reasonable people on FYM would agree with what I'm saying.

Pretty much every conservative who has posted in this thread so far has the blinders on completely. The world thinks Obama's a moron? C'mon, 2816, you're smarter than that. That's total bullshit and you know it. You won't admit it, but you know it.
 
phillyfan26 said:
Here's the thing, Diamond:

The whole thing is complete bullshit pulled out of thin air by desperate conservatives to try to distract from real issues. If this same thing was happening, but was with John McCain, you would have said it was "complete bullshit made up by liberals sweating now that Palin has been nominated" or something like that. And you won't admit it when you reply to this post, but that's the truth, and most reasonable people on FYM would agree with what I'm saying.

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Youre wrong in both areas re McCain and Obama.

It was tried on McCain, but that McCain was born in Panama and his dad was stationed there at the time it was legal.

The 2nd issue about Obama's birth certificate was filed by a Democrat, a Hillary supporter, sorry no dice.

Go back to your drawing board.

Perhaps the MSM is in the tank for Obama, backroom deals have been made insuring that MSM would never bring it up and this is why Obama has never released his "original live birth certificate".


Think about that for a bit.:hmm:

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diamond said:
Regardless of whoever it was, at that point, I knew the discussion of Sarah Palin, and politics in general was futile in FYM.

This is why I rarely post here.
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A lot of regulars, liberals and conservatives alike, either dropped off drastically in their participation or just stopped posting altogether during the election. Probably because an awful lot of the "discussion"--from both sides--consisted of inane character aspersions, with little in the way of substantive debates about actual policy agendas. And at the same time, little apparent interest in discussing anything besides the American election. All of which is unsurprising, as it's just a microcosm of how American society in general behaves during elections.

In this case, "all the haters" of your imagination in fact consisted of one individual, who at any rate never asserted said rumors were fact and also cited other sources denying them. An argument did ensue at that point about the ethics of even posting such speculations, but not about whether they were true, since no one was asserting they were.

We can all continue to hold grudges against specific posters for hyperpartisan behavior during that time, or we can chalk it up to the usual overwrought election-season emotionality that we see and hear (including in ourselves) offline during that time as well, and move on.


Back to the thread topic, please.
 
so um Palin was laughed at throughout the world. I mean no offense to her supporters, but in what I have seen from her, she may be dumber than Bush (I know, I didnt think it was possible!)

Palin/Gingrich '13 ! or... Palin/ Limbaugh, Palin/ Cheney, Palin/ Beck... Wouldnt be surprised.

and actually the world loves Obama! I was just in Italy and I say over 20 different italians wearing Obama shirts.
 
Bluer White said:
The states who have given America trouble in the past, continue to give us trouble.
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A distinction needs to be made between governments and their respective population's popular opinion. Are there government's around the world who dislike, even hate Obama and everything he represents? No doubt. But much of the popular opinion of citizens in many of these countries around the globe is thus far favourable towards Obama. This makes it more difficult for governments to foment discontent and unite the country in their distaste and distrust towards 'The Great Satan'. Say what you will, but Bush was a lightening rod for critcism around the world and this, in turn, made it much easier to hate America.
 
I'm inclined to doubt that she's actually decided yet whether to run in 2012.
 
Earnie Shavers said:
He would barely have to campaign.

Wait - can you imagine an Obama/Palin debate? :applaud:
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Anyone vs. Obama would be funny. Obama knows more about everything than almost every other person. and not just because he is president and gets secret intelligence, but because he is probably one of the most educated and smartest people I have ever met.

Rush Limbaugh would never be able to debate Obama. In fact, one day I hope to witness a debate between Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Obama. :lol:
 
There was actually an article in the Christian Science Monitor on Thursday about divided reactions in Alaska to Palin's performance (as governor) since the campaign ended.
In Alaska, many pine for the old Palin

By Yereth Rosen
July 2, 2009


In the Lower 48, Alaska’s governor has been basking in the white-hot celebrity spotlight, leading parades, signing autographs, blasting President Obama, appearing on news shows and in national magazines, and, most famously, feuding with talk-show host David Letterman. Back home, meanwhile, some Alaskans are feeling neglected by Sarah Palin, the governor catapulted from obscurity to fame when she became the Republicans’ vice-presidential candidate.

Recent polls put Governor Palin’s in-state approval rating in the low or mid-50s, respectable but a far cry from one-time ratings near 90%. Some tie the drop to what they say is her newfound proclivity for “red meat” conservative issues over pragmatic Alaskan interests. Others cringe at the family melodramas that have become tabloid fodder. Either way, the loss of support for “Sarah-dise”--the nickname used for Palin’s smooth-running early tenure--includes some notable figures.

Take former Gov. Wally Hickel, the elder statesman who co-chaired Palin’s gubernatorial campaign and to whom Palin referred as her mentor. He broke with his protégée months ago. “When Governor Sarah Palin was elected in 2006, we believed she would put Alaska first. But once elected, she put Sarah first,” he said in a statement June 11. “Because of her national ambitions, she is promoting an agenda that will allow outside corporations to dominate Alaska’s resources, including our energy and the jobs it provides.”

Take the once-compliant state Legislature, now pushing back against Palin. Lawmakers in April blocked her choice for state attorney general, making controversial Anchorage lawyer Wayne Anthony Ross the first cabinet nominee ever rejected in Alaska. Now, lawmakers have gathered near-unanimous support to override Palin’s veto of $28 million in federal stimulus funding for energy-conservation projects. The veto, critics say, was calculated to appeal to her conservative base in the Lower 48.

Take Alaska Natives, who say their interests are more ignored than ever. “She can see Russia out of her house, but she can’t seem to see the things that our villages are dealing with,” says Myron Naneng, president of the Association of Village Council Presidents, a tribal group serving the poverty-stricken Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska. Palin’s nomination of Mr. Ross, who has spent much of his career fighting native hunting, fishing, and tribal interests, added “insult to injury,” Mr. Naneng says. Native fishermen along the lower Yukon River in the past week protested with their nets, illegally catching salmon they believe has been unfairly denied to them by a neglectful governor and her administration.

Dissatisfaction is summed up by one bumper sticker: “Hey Sarah…the job’s in Juneau.”

In Palin’s defense, she spent most of the past legislative session in the capital, says John Bitney, a high school friend who was her legislative liaison until a falling-out with the governor got him fired. There is also the challenge of balancing parochial Alaskan issues with the demands of being a national Republican star. “She’s focused on the national level now, and she’s playing in a league that’s pretty big,” says Mr. Bitney, now a legislative staffer.

If some constituents have soured on Palin, she might feel the same way about some of them. Her selection to the GOP ticket alongside John McCain thrust Alaska’s low-key and insular politics onto the national stage, subjecting her to piercing scrutiny. On top of the “troopergate” investigation launched before she joined the top GOP ticket, a wave of ethics charges has dogged her, socking Palin with personal legal bills topping $500,000. Many have been hypertechnical complaints that probe the gray area between her in-state duties and national activities. So far, at least a dozen complaints have been dismissed, including one Palin deemed “bogus” that concerned her logo-adorned attire at the Iron Dog snowmobile race.

Hard feelings have emerged. Belligerent, defensive missives from Palin’s office include statements urging Alaskans to rise up in a “backlash” against citizens filing ethics complaints and ridiculing lawmakers for criticizing her Lower 48 trips. “We did not anticipate that the governor’s political opponents would want their hands held in the final hours of the session,” an April 13 press release said. During the legislative session, Palin even came to the House speaker’s office and scolded his top aide. It was “a terrible breach of respect of the Legislature by Gov. Palin. This kind of lack of decorum has never happened before,” opined the Alaska Legislative Digest, a newsletter co-written by a former House speaker.

Stephen Taufen, a fisheries activist who was once a staunch Palin supporter but is now “un-enamored with her,” questions her emotional state. “I don’t know how much to blame her or stage-show politics,” he says, but adds, “I’m not going to join the masses of people who want to psychoanalyze her.”

Less reluctant is Bob Poe, a former state trade official and former head of Anchorage’s economic-development corporation. A Democrat, he’s already launched a gubernatorial bid. “I’m certainly not qualified to say she has a narcissistic personality disorder,” Mr. Poe says. But actions that aid her national quest at the expense of Alaska interests, such as the rejection of federal funds, are “narcissistic by definition, because it’s all about her; it’s not about Alaska,” he says.

It wasn’t always this way. Back in Palin’s honeymoon days in office, she struck a centrist tone. One of her first actions was to veto a bill that blocked health benefits for same-sex domestic partners of state workers. She allied with Democrats to raise taxes on oil companies and chart what she and supporters said was a path to a natural-gas pipeline that would not be controlled by the dominant oil producers. She signed robust budgets that boosted spending on education, capital projects, and other services and facilities that lawmakers agreed had languished during the penny-pinching, low-oil-price years. She and lawmakers collaborated to pass an ethics reform package, amid a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation of Alaska’s politicians.

Some of her policies irked businesses, especially Big Oil. Critics likened her to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. But overall, the early Palin days were hopeful, says state Sen. Lesil McGuire (R). “Everybody was behind this governor--the first female, the youngest, a lifelong Alaskan, her family--what is there not to like?” Now, she says, “I see a lot of squandered opportunity.” Senator McGuire is among many who doubt that Palin will run for re-election. “Every indication points to the governor doing something in the next couple of years between 2010 and 2012 that’s going to prepare her for running for president,” McGuire says. But governing Alaska “really takes somebody who’s willing to make this their full-time job every single day.”

Dave Dittman, an Anchorage-based Republican pollster and consultant, predicts that Palin will run for reelection--and win easily. It’s only natural that her high ratings have deflated somewhat, he says. But he says he can’t understand why she told Fox News host Sean Hannity, during her East Coast trip last month, that less oil revenue for Alaska “is good for our families and for the private sector.” That contradicts her prior position and the views of most Alaskans, he notes. “There must be a context,” Mr. Dittman says. “I don’t think less oil revenue would be good for Alaska.”

Palin fever remains strong in Wasilla, the rough-edged suburb that is the governor’s hometown. On a recent afternoon at the Mug Shot Saloon, an Old West-style bar in the midst of the strip malls that line the Parks Highway, the smoke was thick, cowboy music played in the background, Fox News was on the TV, and locals were defensive of their hometown girl. “She’s a great person. We love her. And they missed their chance. She should have been in there. And leave her alone now. That’s my opinion,” says bartender Dana Rush. John Schwochert, a Palin family friend, acknowledges that the governor’s in-state popularity has diminished, but that is probably because she has settled into her job. “Everybody here’s pretty satisfied with what she’s done for the state,” he says. If Palin doesn’t run for the US Senate next year, she is a “shoo-in” for reelection and will rise from there, Mr. Schwochert predicts. “I’m really quite sure she’s being groomed for a higher office.”
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I'm thinking this reporter's got to be feeling pretty miffed right now...he went and did all that work interviewing people, only to have it rendered irrelevant 24 hours later. :lol:
 
yolland said:
Erm, that's a bit of a stretch. :wink: No one can be all things to all people.
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of course it's a stretch! but he does know a lot more than most people. I didnt really understand until I sat down and had a conversation with him, and that single conversation is perhaps the main reason I trust most of Obama's judgment and the decisions he has made. He is a really impressive, and intelligent person.
 
I'm almost reluctant to post this, given the distaste some have expressed for the whole "rumour mill" side of things playing out, but I find this really compelling. It has an almost soap opera-ish quality to it. I'm not sure if it's because Alaska is such a relatively small community, and therefore things become magnified, or what it is, but it seems almost like a high schoolish squabble.

Alaskan blogger and radio show host Shannyn Moore was interviewed by MSNBC Friday evening, in the wake of the resignation notice. She spoke of the rumours about the Wasilla home and the sports complex, stating unequivocally that they are rumours. Since then, Palin's attorney has written a letter to Moore, threatening legal action. While I'm certainly no legal expert, it seems to me that this hardly qualifies as defamation.

Palin attorney decries 'defamatory' rumors: Gov. Sarah Palin | adn.com

Palin attorney decries 'defamatory' rumors

LEGAL ACTION: Speculation flies in wake of governor's resignation.

By SEAN COCKERHAM
scockerham@adn.com

Published: July 4th, 2009 07:54 PM
Last Modified: July 5th, 2009 12:35 AM

Gov. Sarah Palin's personal attorney issued a statement Saturday denouncing rumors that Palin resigned because she is under criminal investigation and threatening legal action for publishing "defamatory" material about the governor.

"I can say definitively I am aware of no criminal investigation whatsoever involving Sarah Palin. Zero," Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said in a phone interview as he attended the Fourth of July festivities on the Delaney Park Strip in Anchorage.

Earlier in the day, Palin's personal spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, sent out a statement from Van Flein attacking "false and defamatory allegations that the 'real' reasons for Governor Palin's resignation stem from an alleged criminal investigation pertaining to the construction of the Wasilla Sports Complex."

Rumors that Palin steered contracts for the 2003 construction of the Wasilla Sports Complex before leaving office as Wasilla mayor the previous fall, in return for work building her home about the same time, have been around at least since the vice presidential campaign last fall. They've resurfaced on many Web sites this weekend following her abrupt announcement she will resign from office in three weeks. Palin's house, almost 3,500 square feet with four bedrooms and four baths, is on a two-acre site along scenic Lake Lucille in Wasilla and is assessed at $532,500.

Van Flein wrote in his Saturday letter that the Palin family built the Lake Lucille house using Palin's husband, Todd, as general contractor. It said Todd "is no stranger to construction."

"The Palins used a combination of personal savings, equity from the sale of their private home, and conventional bank financing to build the house, like millions of American families" Van Flein wrote.

Van Flein's letter threatening legal action specifically pointed the finger at Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore as "most notably" claiming as "fact" that Palin resigned under federal investigation.

Van Flein, asked why he singled out Moore, said it's because she went on national television and talked about it. Moore was on with MSNBC's David Shuster on Friday, the day Palin said she will resign.

"There is a scandal rumor here that there is a criminal investigation into some activities and that's been rumored for about, I don't know, probably six weeks or two months," Moore told him.

She said she's never seen Palin appear as nervous as she did at the press conference announcing her resignation and "I think she was actually doing damage control for news that's coming up later."

Van Flein wrote that "we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation." In an interview, Van Flein said it's not clear what those options might be. His letter cites the freedom of speech clause in the Alaska Constitution, and its statement that "every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right."

Anchorage attorney Peter Maassen, who last fall successfully defended legislators sued in an effort to stop the "Troopergate" investigation of the governor, said Van Flein would have an extremely hard time winning any legal action.

"If (Palin) is actually a public figure, which clearly she is, there has to be actual malice involved, in my understanding of defamation law. That would be very hard to prove. ... It's a very, very high bar if it is a public figure," he said.

Moore said she always characterized it as rumors and never claimed it was fact. She said she has no idea if Palin is under investigation for the construction of her house or anything else, but that the governor's resignation from office was so out of character it's raising questions about what's going on.

"I haven't defamed the governor, I reported on speculation and rumor in Alaska. ... It's not my rumor; it's been out there for 10 months and the First Amendment protects me," Moore said. "Even if I didn't say it's 'rumors and speculation,' I'm still protected -- I would just lose credibility, which I'm not willing to do."

Van Flein wrote that his letter "is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish this defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and the Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law."

The New York Times and Washington Post haven't written anything about this, but Van Flein said he believed they were asking questions. "What I've been informed is that they've been interviewing people in Wasilla about this, and have tried to interview the governor's parents about it," Van Flein said.

His letter said the Wasilla sports complex project was publicly bid and that having Spenard Builders Supply involved in the complex work as well as being a source of materials for the Palin home proves nothing. "Prior to the construction of Lowe's and Home Depot within the last few years in Wasilla, Spenard Builders Supply was the primary building supply company in Wasilla. It can hardly come as a surprise that it would sell materials to small homeowners or that it would also bid to supply commercial contracts," the letter said.
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Moore's response:

Shannyn Moore Will Not Be Muzzled! � SHANNYN MOORE: JUST A GIRL FROM HOMER

I’m holding a press conference today at 2pm ADT/6pm EDT in front of Governor Palin’s Anchorage office. My prepared statement is below. I will be taking questions.


On the Fourth of July, when Americans everywhere were celebrating our most sacred national holiday with parades and barbeques, Governor Sarah Palin was busy having me, Shannyn Moore, declared an Enemy of the State.

In a rambling quasi-legal letter, the most powerful person in this state accused me of defaming her for pointing out the fact that there have been rumors, -rumors- of corruption, rumors that have been around for years.

When Sarah Palin gave her three-weeks notice to the people of Alaska, aborting her term as Governor, a lot of people wondered why she quit. Mid-level managers turn-in their notice, not elected public officials. It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t. People have been trying to guess why she really quit, and everyone in Alaska has been playing the guessing game. They’re rumors. There are a lot of rumors. And with all the corruption we’ve had here in Alaska, of course we wonder what’s really behind her resignation.

Governors don’t just quit. But Governor Palin did.

The governor’s massive overreaction -on the Fourth of July no less- should make any reasonable person wonder what’s wrong with her. The Lady protests way too much. Eventually we’ll all find out why she really walked off the job.

Sarah Palin is a coward and a bully. What kind of politician attacks an ordinary American on the Fourth of July for speaking her mind? What’s wrong with her? The First Amendment was designed to protect people like me from the likes of people like her. Our American Revolution got rid of kings. And queens, too. Am I jacked-up? You betcha.

Sarah Palin, if you have a problem with me, then sue me. Shannyn Moore will not be muzzled!
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Meanwhile, reaction to this turn of events is raising hackles in the blogosphere. Alaskan bloggers seem to be a close-knit group:

AKMuckraker: Huffington Post Blogger Shannyn Moore in Palin's Cross Hairs (UPDATED - Press Conference in Anchorage)

There is an old expression which says, "In a crisis, do nothing." Wise words indeed, which means that soon-to-be-ex-governor Sarah Palin no doubt would never heed them. She's sort of adopted another philosophy. It's more like, "In a crisis, fly off the handle, be reactionary and threaten to sue someone for defamation in the hopes of intimidating the entire blogosphere and all national print and televised media into not talking about something." I'm not an oddsmaker, but this strategy seems destined to become a crumpled up tin can on the refuse pile of epic failure.

There's no doubt that the week has been a bad one for the governor. It started with an unflattering Vanity Fair article. This was followed by a CBS piece detailing several leaked emails in which she asked the McCain campaign to lie about Todd Palin's 7-year membership in a secessionist party. McCain strategist Steve Schmidt responded to her request saying that Todd was a member, and it was a secessionist party and he wasn't going to create an issue in the media if it didn't exist already, nor would he lie for her.

"The statement you are suggesting be released would be inaccurate. The inaccuracy would bring greater media attention to this matter and be a distraction. According to your staff there have been no media inquiries into this and you received no questions about it during your interviews. If you are asked about it you should smile and say many Alaskans who love their country join the party because it speaks to a tradition of political independence. Todd loves his country.


We will not put out a statement and inflame this and create a situation where john has to adress this."

Palin's week culminated, of course, in a strange, twitchy, impulsive announcement from her home on the shore of Lake Lucille, that she would be stepping down from office, and resigning. The last time Alaskans were this gobsmacked by the governor was when she said 'yes' to John McCain when he popped the question back in August.

Her reason for resigning? Here's where it got really strange. The media was unfair. People were filing ethics complaints against her. Bloggers were making silly photoshops. She didn't want to be a lame duck. The state would be better off without her. We kept waiting to hear the real reason, the reason that would explain it all. We waited for the reason that would come at the end, after all the silly stuff. But it never came. That was it.

We were left scratching our heads. A woman who was the Vice Presidential candidate for the Republican Party, and who has been deemed in some circles to be a plausible contender for her party's presidential nominee in 2012, is quitting her job as governor, 17 months before the end of her first term, because people are picking on her? This just didn't compute. Even in the wildest contortionist spin of her most ardent supporters, this was not going to improve her chances in 2012.

What this means is that now, the line on her resume right underneath "Almost-one-term governor" reads "Mayor of a small Alaskan town with a population of 7000 people." This is not the way to be taken seriously. Yes, she draws crowds, but so does Britney Spears, and I sure wouldn't vote for her to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Naturally, with the overwhelming doubt in the minds of the public that these could possibly be the real reasons she was stepping down, questions were asked. Phones started ringing in Alaska from friends and relatives who wanted the "real story." Alaskans were even asking each other what they thought was really going on. Questions were many and answers were few.

There seemed to be dozens of rumors circulating about the governor at any given point in time, and this week was no different. People were muttering about personal family problems, about new ethics complaints, about legal cases involving her use of personal off-the-radar Yahoo email accounts to conduct state business. Then there was talk about the legality of her legal defense fund which is currently being questioned, or maybe even personal illness. But the ones that seems to have gotten under the governor's skin were reports involving rumors floating about town that there was some kind of shenanigans going on with the simultaneous building of the governor's house, and the Wasilla Sports Complex, and a supposed IRS investigation. Was this the infamous rumor of an "iceberg" that could sink the S.S. Palin as had been reported on another Alaskan blog? Are any of these rumors actually true? Who knows. Are they being talked about in open conversation at holiday barbeques all over the state today? Oh, yes.

And all this brings us to the issue at hand which involves Palin, her attorney Thomas Van Flein, and a certain Shannyn Moore. Moore is a radio personality, a Huffington Post blogger, and frequent guest on MSNBC''s Countdown with Keith Olbermann. There were scads of blogs, both local and national that reported on the rumors above, many in greater detail and with more certainty than Moore did. But Moore really got under the soon-to-be-ex governor's skin. Why? Presumably because Palin watches TV more than she reads.

Today Van Flein issued a four page letter regarding the reporting of these rumors and it was sent by SarahPAC spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton to media outlets across the state.

Van Flein's letter threatening legal action specifically pointed the finger at Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore as "most notably" claiming as "fact" that Palin resigned under federal investigation.


Van Flein, asked why he singled out Moore, said it's because she went on national television and talked about it. Moore was on with MSNBC's David Shuster on Friday, the day Palin said she will resign.

"There is a scandal rumor here that there is a criminal investigation into some activities and that's been rumored for about, I don't know, probably six weeks or two months," Moore told him.

Despite the fact that she specifically refers twice to the report as a "rumor," Van Flein says she portrayed the story as fact. The only fact is that there are rumors. I know because I've been hearing them since last October. They even have a name - "Housegate." If you Google "Palin Housegate," you get 8,600 references, beginning back with an article that appeared in the Village Voice. Googling "Palin sports complex scandal" gets you 230,000. How many mentions are required to constitute a rumor? It's probably less than 230,000. I'm not exactly sure how the legal dynamic duo of Palin-Van Flein is planning to un-rumorize almost a quarter of a million online references to a rumor that started 8 months ago, but it will be interesting to watch.

"I'll sue you for defamation!" is the toothless wonder of the legal world. The bluster is meant to scare people, intimidate them, and get them to be quiet. In this particular case, it's not going to work. Moore has already discussed the threat on her radio show, where she said emphatically, "Bring it on." She said she already gotten legal advice, and has a long list of attorneys who had emailed her, stepping up and eagerly offering to depose Sarah Palin in such a case. Now that would make for some damn good blogging material.

So why would this bizarre comical scenario be taking place at all? Remember how McCain strategist Steve Schmidt had to intervene and explain to Palin that it just wasn't a good idea to over-react and start making grand statements to the media about negative things being said about her? He firmly told her no. And he had to do it twice. Her personal attorney, on the other hand, is being paid to do what she wants. After a recent online fundraiser, Palin's legal defense fund may be well stocked, so it's no skin off the nose of her legal counsel who has been appearing on talk radio shows, and now writing intimidating letters. And there's obviously nobody in Palin's inner sanctum who feels like telling her it's a really bad idea. So she marches on.

Using the substantial might of the Executive branch of government to bring down unenforceable legal threats on a private citizen in Alaska, and attempting to curtail free speech through intimidation on the Fourth of July? Not a particularly brilliant PR move. By specifically singling out and naming Moore, Palin has done two things; she has shown herself to be a reactionary immature politician, and she has made Shannyn Moore a lot better known. And she is not the only one in Sarah Palin's crosshairs, mind you. You stand warned Huffington Post, New York Times, MSNBC and The Washington Post! You just better knock it off!

The New York Times and Washington Post haven't written anything about this, but Van Flein said he believed they were asking questions. "What I've been informed is that they've been interviewing people in Wasilla about this, and have tried to interview the governor's parents about it," Van Flein said.

OK, in the case of The New York Times and the Washington Post, you'd better stop even thinking about asking questions about it.

In solidarity with my friend and fellow Alaskan blogger, may I be the next to report to the team of Palin-Van Flein, and to the entire blogosphere at large:

THERE ARE RUMORS.

There. I said it.

Sue me.
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There are times when Palin and her advisors seem to be her/their own worst enemy/ies, and this is one of them.
 
It's probably less of a PR risk for a governor (or however I should classify her now, haha), especially one from a well-off-the-national-radar state like AK, to have her/his lawyers toss around threats like that than it would be in the case of a President or VP, where many people would be likely to identify with the blogger. Granted, Palin's not just another governor, but the average American isn't going to care about or follow an investigation into some governor's allegedly improper house-construction contract regardless (even assuming such an investigation existed--and in fact, quite a few governors have been investigated for precisely that). Of course, that could equally be a good reason why Palin and her lawyers should've just left it alone, but I suppose there might've been a calculation here that this could have the side benefit of attracting some sympathetic attention from a national audience to one of her stated reasons for resigning ("See what I mean?!? This is the kind of thing I've had to deal with daily back in Alaska, and I'm not going to take it anymore!").
 
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diamond said:
The speculating reminds me of all the Sarah haters who came in agreeing with the Daily Kos that Sarah's baby was her daughters, spewing and repeating all kinds of untruthful and unsubstaniating hateful rumours-and never apologizing for them.
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she likely hid the pregnancy until the 7th month because she was seriously debating whether or not to have an abortion.

that's about as substantive as the Obama birth certificate issue.

regardless, i'm very glad she won't be making any more decisions as an elected official, and the people who said the absolutely nastiest things about her were her own fellow Republicans.

her appeal to some kind of sentimentalist know-nothing Republican base will forever mystify me, but that's how it goes i suppose.
 
Ah ok. I don't pay much attention to these things but wouldn't it be unusual for a sitting governor to publish a memoir? That sort of thing takes a great deal of time and effort I imagine.
 
Hmm, well yes it's uncommon (though not unprecedented), but then most governors don't have the incentives she did/does to get a book out soon. She'll have a coauthor, of course--already announced who, some evangelical-conservative journalist--so that presumably eases the burden somewhat.
 
VintagePunk said:
Oh my... :lol: A March '08 clip of Palin saying that Hillary Clinton was doing women a disservice by whining about media criticism, that she should suck it up and realize it comes with the territory. Irony ftw!

YouTube - Sarah Quitter Palin Said Hillary Clinton Should Not Whine About The Media.
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I've heard very little "whining" from Palin about the media attacks on herself. What should rightfully be "whined" about is the unfair, unnecessary, irrelevant attacks on her children, which is what a very large part of the Palin criticism from the far-left is focused on.
 
2861U2 said:
I've heard very little "whining" from Palin about the media attacks on herself. What should rightfully be "whined" about is the unfair, unnecessary, irrelevant attacks on her children, which is what a very large part of the Palin criticism from the far-left is focused on.
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it's really not, though.

most people on the "far left" are concerned that she has no coherent view of foreign policy, no background in national policy, no real interest in foreign policy, no experience, has no interest in renewable energy, and is anti-choice.

her children have virtually nothing to do with why the "far left" doesn't like her.

it's how she's trotted her family out and paraded them around at the Convention combined with a dash of Levi's hotness and tabloid-cover sex appeal that has made Palin fodder for comedians.
 
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