Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

[jimmygu3]

Republican consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist and “1000 Points of Light” speechwriter Peggy Noonan discuss what a poor choice Palin is.



http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmi..._Its_over.html

[Guest]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Would not want to argue with this assessment. It is a blinkered "tactical" choice, rather than a strategic choice with it's eye on real governing issues. It is an "electioneering choice" just like the Democrat's choice was. The tactical electioneering going on here with all the massive decisions our country faces makes me want to sick up my lunch. In seven years of being an agnostic between democrat and republican parties I've never been so alienated from both.

[Rajiv]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Also this - Jittery Republicans scrutinize Palin

Top-ranking Republican powerbrokers have placed current Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin under intense political pressure. Leading Republican strategists feel a growing sense of uncertainty about the judgment of John McCain because of his hasty selection of Governor Palin as his running mate after only a cursory period of casual consideration.

The Governor cancelled her busy schedule today allegedly to prepare her acceptance speech, but insiders report that she is now consumed in dealings with powerful Republicans who want to oust her.

A consensus appears to be growing that John McCain appointed Governor Palin prematurely without proper scrutiny prior to naming her as his Vice-Presidential running mate in a surprising announcement last Friday.

Initially, many conservatives were thrilled with McCain's selection because Governor Palin is a devout evangelical Christian, a pro-life politician and a prominent gun enthusiast with a membership in the National Rifle Association (NRA). However, the mood of many of the party's faithful is changing with the emergence of new and troubling reports about hitherto obscure details lurking in her background.

Today, many Republican heavyweights are becoming increasingly concerned about Governor Palin's controversial record in Alaska as a growing number of conservative strategists are coming to the conclusion that she will be a burden for their beleaguered party in the November election.

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Raj, Not sure which "Republican heavy weights " you may be referring to but the leadership here at the convention seems delighted.

The only thing controversial in her Alaska record she has is of holding the the good ol' boy network accountable.

What struck me during her speech tonight were two things:

1) She put everyone on notice she is not to be messed with

2) She did something that only a woman can do: she emasculated her opponent and did it with surgical efficiency.

I said it last week and I will say it again: Anyone who underestimates Sarah Palin does so at their own peril.

[Rajiv]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

One more reference - The "Eagleton Scenario"

Barring a dramatic reversal, Sarah Palin will formally become the Republican vice presidential nominee Wednesday night. Since Friday, when the pick was announced, news surrounding Palin has been almost uniformly negative: the initial focus on her lack of experience quickly gave way to reports of her involvement in the Troopergate scandal, the “Bridge to Nowhere” earmark, an Alaskan separatist party, a 527 group organized by recently indicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, and, on Labor Day, her teenage daughter’s pregnancy.

Here in St. Paul, talk of Palin has dominated the Republican convention—even more so than cable news—and by Monday night discussion among Republican operatives and reporters had turned to whether Palin would survive or become the first running mate since Thomas Eagleton in 1972 to leave a major-party ticket. On Monday, the InTrade futures market opened trading on whether Palin would withdraw before the election.

With reporters and opposition researchers crawling through Alaska, and with the McCain campaign having dispatched its own team of lawyers to re-vet Palin, Republicans are wondering what shoe might drop next. If further revelations prove damaging enough, McCain could decide to replace Palin or she could choose to withdraw. While such an event seems unlikely given her popularity in some quarters of the party—Jacob Heilbrunn has suggested that social conservatives would view her ouster as “political infidelity”—her rocky reception makes the “Eagleton scenario,” and how it might unfold, a subject of more than academic interest.

[Forrest]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Having watched Palin's speech...it will not be the media who define her, and there will be no 'Eagleton Scenario'. Sorry...she made a hit.

[don]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

The Politics of Distraction in full bloom.

[sn1p3r]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Pop Quiz: When was the last time we had a true convention where the delegates were free to vote their choice rather than a coronation?

[BiscayneSunrise]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Pop Quiz: When was the last time we had a true convention where the delegates were free to vote their choice rather than a coronation?

Eisenhower era?

[doharra]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

OK, here's a reality check....

What struck me during her speech tonight were two things:

1) She put everyone on notice she is not to be messed with

...

I said it last week and I will say it again: Anyone who underestimates Sarah Palin does so at their own peril.

Writing as an Alaskan, I have to totally agree with the two statements above. Sarah is politically very, very smart. She's also very likable in first impression. And telegenic. And she did sign a bill that increased taxes on the North Slope profits. And she has gotten some traction toward getting a natural gas pipeline built....

However ....

Raj, Not sure which "Republican heavy weights " you may be referring to but the leadership here at the convention seems delighted.

The only thing controversial in her Alaska record she has is of holding the the good ol' boy network accountable.

There's gobs of controversial stuff in her Alaska record, much of it so disturbing that it ought to squeeze the air from the breathless response seen at the convention.

A few items:

On the 'Bridge to Nowhere.'

Sarah says her position on this Bridge to Nowhere was "thanks but no thanks."

Not true.

She championed the earmarks that would have built two bridges connecting Kethikan to its airport on Gravina Island, and connecting Anchorage with mostly undeveloped land across a tidal arm. In fact, I think she was the only major candidate for the Alaska governor's office two years ago who didn't question the wisdom of these proposals.

From an election Q&A published Oct. 22, 2006 in the Anchorage Daily News:

Question: Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

Palin: Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later . The window is now - while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

Later, when she yanked her support for the Ketchikan bridge, she spent the money on other projects. Yes, that's right. She sent the money elsewhere in the state budget.

Here is her explanation, appearing in a press release distributed on September 21, 2007.

“Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer,” said Governor Palin.

“Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island,” Governor Palin added.

“Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.”

One might ask: What does Palin's repeated and much applauded statement of 'thanks but no thanks' mean exactly? That she took the money and spent it on less controversial projects because no more earmarks would be coming? It certainly suggests to the L48 audience that she turned the money down, doesn't it?

For Alaska news coverage of this disconnect between statement and record, see this story from the Anchorage Daily News, an AP story and, maybe the best and most sober all, this Reuters story.

There's much more out there to consider. For instance --

Did Sarah lie to Alaskans about pressuring (and then firing) the Public Safety commissioner when he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law as a state Trooper? This issue has prompted an investigation by the Alaska Legislature. See the latest on this from the Washington Post and the Anchorage Daily News.

What books did Sarah want to ban from the Wasilla Public Library after she was elected mayor? (Sarah has said this was a "rhetorical" issue on her part.)

Does she really think the war in Iraq and the proposed natural gas pipeline from Alaska across Canada are expressions of God's will?

And how much earmark money did she request from Congress since becoming governor? $750 million?

And so on. Some of us in Alaska feel we've been plunged into a skit on SNL. Or Monty Python.....

[Forrest]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

What is being described here are the actions of a canny and active politician.

I don't expect Sarah Palin or John McCain to be anything else, and Obama and Biden are no different...just less experienced, and less focused on what they want to get done.

I may be a tad cynical, but when in the history of the country has it been otherwise?

All I hope for from those who inhabit high office is to not break the law while they get what they can done, and to attempt to do what they promised to do, where it is within their power.

[Jim Nickerson]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

What is being described here are the actions of a canny and active politician.

I don't expect Sarah Palin or John McCain to be anything else, and Obama and Biden are no different...just less experienced, and less focused on what they want to get done.

I may be a tad cynical, but when in the history of the country has it been otherwise?

All I hope for from those who inhabit high office is to not break the law while they get what they can done, and to attempt to do what they promised to do, where it is within their power.

Forrest, you should look around on the web and see if you cannot find some food supplements that would get you over the affliction of being "a tad cynical." In my opinion, you and any others would be safest to be totally cynical all the time.

Normally, it is a good convention to put prayers in double quotes: ""prayer.""

[doharra]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Here's more to ponder about Sarah --

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/130537

It's a letter written by a Wasilla resident familiar with Palin's civic roots. Posted on the Anchorage Daily News newsblog. Apparently it's been forwarded all over.

[Forrest]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Forrest, you should look around on the web and see if you cannot find some food supplements that would get you over the affliction of being "a tad cynical." In my opinion, you and any others would be safest to be totally cynical all the time.

Normally, it is a good convention to put prayers in double quotes: ""prayer.""

As I appreciate understatement where possible, I may have been a bit more understated than usual, lest I sound as jaded by political realities as I am.

As for prayer, I generally don't bother God this early in the election season.

[Forrest]

Re: Hot Mic Captures Republicans' Disappointment with Palin

Here's more to ponder about Sarah --

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/130537

It's a letter written by a Wasilla resident familiar with Palin's civic roots. Posted on the Anchorage Daily News newsblog. Apparently it's been forwarded all over.

After reading the statement, and all the comments, I see only that Ms. Kilkenny, and others that have some knowledge of Gov. Palin don't like her very much, and consequently are saying so.

This is not in the least unusual for anyone who enters hometown politics.

I don't particularly care if Palin is liked by all, or has ticked some people off along the way. I would only be concerned if Palin had made no waves, and disturbed no one in her personal life or political career, as this would mean she had refrained from disturbing the status quo in order to please everyone.