Is Sarah Palin Secretly Pro-choice?

In another instalment of 'DJ! Visits the Dark Side So You Don't Have To', here's the latest on $arah.

She's secretly pro-choice.

Sarah Palin may be America's pro-life sweetheart, but a story making the rounds on conservative websites paints a different picture. It turns out Palin might actually be pro-choice.

Conservative news website Free Republic made their case against Palin's pro-life claims. They say that while governor she appointed a former Planned Parenthood official to the Alaska Supreme Court and that she supports the use of the abortion drug RU-486.

One of the most damning pieces of evidence against her is her continued claim to be "personally" pro-life. This phrase is generally used by pro-choice candidates to make their views seem more palatable to the conservative Christian voting block. It amounts to agreeing that women should have the right to choose but that the candidate wouldn't personally opt for an abortion.

In Sarah Palin's first book, "Going Rogue," she mentions that when she found out she was pregnant with her youngest child (a son who was born with Down's Syndrome) she briefly considered an abortion.

Additionally Sarah Palin has never supported so-called Personhood amendments, which are attempts by conservative lawmakers to grant personhood to fetuses, thus making harming them (such as would happen during an abortion) illegal.

That link cites Free Republic -- and yeah, I went there too -- but the ultimate source is ProLife Profiles, sponsored by American Right to Life.

And woo baby, this gang is Fetus Fetishists on Steroids! They slam National Right to Life for its 'immoral' incrementalist strategy and offers its own strategy.

ARTL Three-fold Strategy

1. Criminalize: recriminalize the intentional killing of the unborn and other innocents through state and national personhood efforts.

2. Demoralize: create unbearable social tension and ensure that there is no child killing with tranquility in order to coerce the government to correct the injustice of shedding innocent blood.

3. Evangelize: persuade individuals by education and evangelism to honor the God-given right to life.

Is this just FF infighting? Who's holier, more fetus-worshipping, panty-sniffing, slut-shaming, woman-controlling than thou?

Or is it just politics, über-whacky Rethuglican-style?

A commenter at FD named smallLliberal speculates:

Interesting stuff.

What I take from this, the GOP knives are being sharpened to make sure she stays out of the race.

There are all kinds of quotes from Rove, Roger Ailes and the other GOP bigwigs attacking her. They clearly think if she is the GOP nominee then Obama will crush her.

If she does not announce soon that she is not a candidate, this will get uglier. Mark my words.

Woo-hoo!

Getting to Know Her

My respect for the innate sense of Merkins grows with the continuing labour protests and now this.

Sarah Palin's unfavorable rating has spiked to a new high, adding further fuel to the argument that her presidential campaign may be doomed before it begins.

A new Bloomberg poll shows the former Alaska governor is now viewed unfavorably by 60 percent of American adults. That's higher than any other poll has shown, but it's not even the entire picture.

Of that 60 percent, nearly two-thirds - 38 percent of all adults - say they view the former GOP vice presidential nominee "very unfavorably." No other politicians tested even comes close, including President Obama (22 percent). What's more, Palin's unfavorable rating is more than twice as high as her favorable rating, which rests at just 28 percent. Another 12 percent aren't sure how they feel about her.

The poll follows a long and continuous trend in which, as the presidential race nears, people gradually find that they like Palin less and less.

May Scott Wanker feel the love too.

Or as Chad Zdroik tweeted:

PALIN/WALKER 2012: The world's going to end anyway. #wiunion #wearewi #solidaritywi #wi #p2 #democrats

Sarah Palin: the queen of venal mediocrity

According to this, even Newt Gingrich is directing criticism toward Sarah Palin.

[...]Palin needs to "be more careful and think through what she's saying and how she's saying it. There's no question that she has become more controversial," Gingrich said. [...]

The weeks after the November election were notable for an apparent increase in the number of conservative commentators who were suddenly willing to deliver some version of the same basic message: We like Sarah Palin, but we're not so sure nominating her for president is a good idea.

Now, all these months later, there is polling evidence to suggest that the GOP base is embracing this same view. (For what it's worth, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that Palin's unfavorable rating has spiked to an all-time high of 53 percent in the wake of Tucson, although it's not immediately clear what the breakdown among Republicans is.) In this climate, it's safer for Gingrich to join the pile-on when Palin attracts negative press attention [...]

It's unusual for established Republicons to criticize Palin; they know they'll be the target of venomous attacks from her sycophants, even though sane and reasoned objections about her suitability for holding public office are more numerous these days.

Palin's ignorance and inarticulacy are so constantly on display that she can't just be simulating them to strengthen her popular appeal. They are also attributes in which she takes pride. As Jacob Weisberg writes in the introduction to his new anthology, Palinisms: The Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin: "Palin's exuberant incoherence testifies to an unusually wide gulf between confidence and ability. She is proud of what she doesn't know and contemptuous of those 'experts' and 'elitists' who are too knowledgeable to be trusted."

From here. And also: check out the photo of Leila Ben Ali - doesn't she look like $arah's younger muslim sister?

The search for a blogging topic.

The 2010 banning of polyurethane suits in swimming competition? All you need to know, here.

Tunisia? My virtual roomie is working that corner, but here's an update.

Gabriella Giffords' medical condition? I'd be willing to bet that even in her current condition, the US congresswoman would score winning points in a political debate with Sarah Palin.

Though the rehab process Giffords faces is daunting, her possibilities for learning anew the knowledge and the skills lost when the Glock bullet damaged brain tissue are excellent.

Palin's cerebrum, however, is an entirely different kettle of ... ah, barracuda. While there's no evidence of physiological impairments, it appears the only thing that $arah has learned recently is a range of new techniques for separating the suckers who support her from their cash.

Never responsible, always the victim - update.

$arah Palin, of course.

As others quicker off the mark than I these days pointed out, Palin and her sycophants produced this map, as well as reams of political eliminationist discourse directed at ideological opponents.

Palin has a history of evading responsibility for her actions, as well as shirking her obligations. Over and over, she's blamed others for everything that shines a spotlight upon her intellectual laziness, her egotism, the fabrication of her image and her greediness. Couric allegedly ambushed her; though she (and family members) preened in clothing and luxury items bought by the Republican party during the presidential campaign she refused to wear the issue; she abandoned her job as Governor of Alaska to pursue lucrative proposals yet said it was the media's fault she quit, etc. etc. etc.

Some political observers think Palin's bid for the presidency will be damaged by the Tucson carnage, others believe she'll bounce back.

Andrew Sullivan:

"There is no way to understand the politics of this without Palin. She has long been the leader of the movement that drapes itself in military garb, that marinates in violent rhetoric, that worships gun culture, that has particular ferocity in the state of Arizona, and that never ever apologises for anything." He adds: "My hope is that this horrifying momentary conflation of politics, guns and mental illness will lead responsible figures on the right to eschew the path of Palin."

David Frum:

[...] Palin's response – condolences to the victims and a simple denial of any responsibility – was perfectly fair in reply to opponents who suggested the crosshairs contributed to the shooting. But if she wanted to be a leader, she had to go beyond that, he said. He called on her to express real grief and sincere compassion, be visible, engage in the debate, and challenge opponents [...] "Palin is splashed by that history [the build-up to the Tucson incident] and the challenge is to find something big and generous to speak of in a larger way. So far, she has opted not to do so."

Expect the usual whining from Palin and her die-hard supporters. It will be difficult for Palin to spin that she is - not Gabrielle Giffords and the citizens killed or injured by the shooting - the "real" victim of this tragedy. Nonetheless she'll exploit her own brand of truthiness in her favour.

And also, go read Dr Dawg, Audrey II, Buckdog and Simon.

Update: Palin responds, not as Frum suggested, but in her habitual 'Pit Bull with Lipstick' attack form. Republican Jewish leaders choose to remain silent on Palin's opportunistic appropriation of the term "blood libel".

Grand merci to Jymm.

So Sarah Palin is off to Haïti.

Somebody in her entourage believes it's time $arah's fashion portfolio contained a sprinkling of "humanitarian" pictures. "Candid" photo opportunities in Haïti are being arranged for her; I suggest a drama coach to ensure she wears the appropriate look on her face.


The evangelical Christian organization paying for sponsoring her appearance describes itself:

As our teams work in crisis areas of the world, people often ask, "Why did you come?" The answer is always the same: "We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Our ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always. As the Apostle Paul said, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake".

Any bets on what will be featured in the background while Sarah preens and performs? Pregnant women? Orphans?

At least she won't be hunting down, killing and gutting some poor animal just because she can.

Oh, wait. Perhaps Caribou Barbie will float off the coast of Haïti on a luxurious yacht lent to her by one of her tea-bagger benefactors, stalk a dolphin or two, cook 'em up in a stew and bring it to shore to feed starving and demonstrably grateful folks.

Of ignorance and truthiness ...

First, those darn funny Republicans.

Exhibit 1: Barbara Bush claims that fetus-in-a-jar that George W remembers was not hers. It was the housekeeper's.

George W. Bush had written in Decision Points that his mother had showed him the dead fetus of a potential brother or sister when he was a teenager, and that the incident had helped implant in his mind the belief that abortion was fundamentally wrong.

So if that was a "potential brother or sister" of Dubya, who's his real mother? (We know who's his daddy - the ressemblance is frightening.)

Exhibit 2: Palin accuses the media of picking on her - again.

[...] Sarah Palin found time to lash out at her political foes - in this case the media for blowing out of proportion her gaffe on the Korean crisis. [...]

Of the media reports that followed her little mix-up, she said, "Obviously, I would have been even more impressed if the media showed some consistency on this issue. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn't resist the temptation to turn a simple one word slip-of-the-tongue of mine into a major political headline." And for her part, Palin couldn't resist firing back.

As this political observer notes out, the specific gaffe is not the point, it's Palin's proud, happy-as-a-pig-in-shit ignorance that's the problem.

Oh. And also. Too.

Exhibit 3: Pope Maledict and the Vatican Taliban now claim condom use by men during "not-normal sex" to prevent HIV transmission is OK.

Renowned moral theologian Janet Smith makes an analogy in her essay on the current controversy. “If someone was going to rob a bank and was determined to use a gun, it would better for that person to use a gun that had no bullets in it. It would reduce the likelihood of fatal injuries.”

Once more, the twisty logic demonstrates that catholic dogma and ideology is all about controlling female sexual and reproductive power. Condom use by women to prevent pregnancy and protect themselves from disease is still a CAPITAL sin.

Dancing with the Duds

When Andy Warhol said this, did he anticipate it would apply to critics as well as performers?

In the gun-toting US this guy gave in to an action that many viewers could only imagine.

[A] 66-year-old Wisconsin man was arrested after he allegedly became so angry watching Bristol Palin on "Dancing with the Stars" that he fired off his shotgun at his television, leading to a 15-hour standoff with state police. According to the criminal complaint, [...] "Steven was upset that a political figure's daughter was dancing on this particular show when Steven did not think she was a good dancer."

Some might opine that Bristol is not particularly skilled at promoting abstinence either. And also.



This awkwardly choreographed message may succeed in promoting abstinence, thanks to the clumsy dialogue, zero chemistry and fake charm of its two chromed-to-the-gills 'stars'.

One antidote against this cloying PSA might be "porn-in-a-cup".

Feminist Sarah Palin

This is fun.

Remember when women in general and feminists in particular were being taken to task for not automatically supporting Sarah Palin because she has a uterus?

Remember all those tedious opinion pieces about whether Sarah should/could call herself a feminist?

Well, it seems that she has gone too far with this fake feminism meme for her base base.

Last week on Fox News, Palin praised Geraldine Ferraro for "breaking the glass ceiling," saying that ”Neanderthals” focus on issues like whether mothers should work outside the home, which Palin says is “petty, little, superficial, meaningless." Ferraro, who ran for U.S. vice president alongside Walter Mondale in 1984, was criticized at the time by Catholic bishops for her pro-choice stance.
. . .
Over at the blog Thinking Housewife, Laura Wood isn't too pleased:

Palin says she cheered Ferraro when she ran for vice president, as if every female candidate feels automatic solidarity with any other female candidate. How “great for our nation” it was that Ferraro ran. Golly gee willickers. The supposedly pro-life, small-government Palin applauds the efforts of someone with an entirely different political philosophy simply because she is a woman.

Golly gee willickers. Sarah supporting a woman 'simply because she's a woman' is WRONG but that's exactly what her supporters demanded of progressive women and feminazis.

IOKIYAR.

Palin in Lotusland

Barbara Yaffe wonders if there's an appetite in Canada for $arah's politics.

But first this stunning note:

An Angus Reid poll reported Thursday that fully one half of Republicans regard her as "intelligent, down to earth, strong and honest."

Fully. One. Half.

Oh. Wait. Half of ReThuglicans. Never mind.

We continue.

The Vancouver event, organized by the Mon Bot book club, will pay Palin $75,000. Tickets to the Oct. 13 Vancouver Club session, by invitation only, are $500.

Yaffe reminds us that 900 turned up in Hamilton, Ontario, paying $200 to listen/watch as the nitwit served up the word salad.

It's hard to know whether that bit of Canadian attention was borne of admiration for her political philosophy or simply curiosity.

Because the smart money says Palin's political style would flop here.

"My instinctive reaction is to hope Palin is unique to Alaska and the U.S.," says University of Victoria political science professor emeritus Norman Ruff.

Whew, that's a relief.

But just a minnit. Looky here at what my Facebook friend Connie has to say:

I would fly to Vancouver to see her if I could afford it. [Very Happy smiley]

They walk among us. *shiver*

California (State University) Wants Her.

After months of requests from reporters, a California university has agreed to allow members of the media to attend a fundraiser next week featuring Sarah Palin.

Officials with California State University, Stanislaus issued an e-mail advisory Friday announcing that the June 25 gala at its Turlock campus would be open to the press. The Associated Press has been requesting access to the event since mid-April.

Palin's appearance has generated widespread coverage and criticism since it was announced in March. University officials have refused to divulge the terms of the former Alaska governor's contract or her speaking fee for the event, where the least expensive tickets cost $500.

From here.

$arah Palin continues to feather her nest with wide-ranging speaking engagements as well as to demonstrate some pickiness with regard to which Republican candidates (and for which political office) she will actively support. This has not pleased some of her supporters.

In choosing Branstad, Palin skipped over businessman Bob Vander Plaats, a tea party favorite, in favor of a former governor with a strong chance of returning to office - and wielding political power when the Iowa presidential caucuses roll around.

"She's playing her cards, and trying to set herself up" for making a push, should she run, said Dante Scala, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire who is watching to see who, or whether, Palin endorses in his state.

Palin also backed former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina in the California Senate primary, and got a backlash on Facebook, a preferred way for Palin to communicate with supporters.

To critics who said Fiorina was a Republican in name only, Palin countered: "Most importantly, Carly is the only conservative in the race who can beat Barbara Boxer. That's no RINO. That's a winner."

For some conservatives, that's also a problem. Shelby Blakely, executive director of the Tea Party Patriots' online publication, New Patriot Journal, said Palin's endorsement has become "so undependable, it's marginalized itself." While she once thought highly of Palin, Blakely said that during the past two years the "Going Rogue" author has gone more establishment, and Palin's failure to criticize her own party is bothersome. [...]

Whatever the impact on her wider public, Palin's endorsement translates into crowds and valuable media attention for her preferred candidates, and her message - flowing via her social networks - reaches millions of people.

From here.

It will be interesting to watch, from the outside, who will come out in support of Palin, if she is indeed planning to launch a run for the presidential nomination in 2012. Truthiness, expediency and opportunism are the guideposts she consistently follows. Whether that spells trustworthiness for potential supporters remains to be seen.

Wasilla mayor: "No crime has been reported."

JJ was faster than DJ!, blogging about $arah Palin's latest battle with the media - that would be those she doesn't like and doesn't get money from (I hesitate to use the word 'work' to describe whatever it is Sawah does when she shows up at Fox).

According to many shrieeeking headlines, Palin is allegedly being "stalked" by a political writer who has rented a small house next door to hers, on Lake Lucille.

McGinniss, author of such best-selling books as "The Selling of the President," "Blind Faith" and "Fatal Vision," is planning a book, tentatively titled, "Sarah Palin's Year of Living Dangerously." It could be on book shelves next year.

The town's republican Mayor, Verne Rupright, said: "No crime has been reported." If Mrs Palin wants to build a fence on her property, he said, that's her right.

Mr Rupright said McGinniss met with him and told him he was researching his book and moving to town. He even told the mayor where he'd be living. "I was a little surprised by it, but I said, 'That's fine."

From here.

In this political blog at Time, a number of views are presented, regarding McGinniss' up close and, some say, invasive strategy in doing field research on the subject of his next book.

Taking up residence next to Palin doesn't even approach violating her legal right to privacy. She has no legal right to blind eyes looking at her property from an adjoining property or even from the street. If McGinniss didn't live next door, he'd be completely within his rights to interview Palin's neighbors about her. In fact, he'd be remiss if he didn't grill them about her. [...]

I'll predict that McGinniss' deck-side observations of the Palin family will not likely turn up much beyond atmosphere for his book. But that's not the reason he rented the house. It's his way of skywriting for all of Alaska—and America—to see that he's on Palin's case and that he's very available to sources if they want to share with him.

Here's hoping that McGinniss interviews the blogger of The Mudflats!

As expected ... (with update).

assorted righwingnutz, teabaggers, hatriots and various Republicon ideologues are busy spinning conspiracy theories and blaming .... well, read the shrieeeks and judge for yourselves.

From Mother Jones: Rash 'Fatboy' Limbaugh suggests the explosion of the oil rig was a deliberate sabotage.

It appears the Wall Street Journal has determined the environmentalists are at fault (and not deliberate cost-cutting, shoddy, dodgy practices by the drilling companies) for insisting that rigs be located as far as possible from populated areas and fragile eco-systems.

There's even fatuous glurge from $arah Palin.

Finally, the Boston Globe has heart-wrenching photographs of the calamitous oil deluge slip-sliding its way towards Louisiana.

Lunatic rightwing conspiracy theory alert - fern hill found this gem. A grim report circulating in the Kremlin today written by Russia’s Northern Fleet is reporting that the United States has ordered a complete media blackout over North Korea’s torpedoing of the giant Deepwater Horizon oil platform ...

As if world politics were not murky enough. Nonetheless, a more interesting plot device than those plaguing season 8 of 24.

Sarah Palin VS Reality.

This is one of those 'Whatever shall I blog about today?' moment. But I believe that I shall eschew Mags Wente's strategy, described by balbulican in the combox after this blogpost.

The time-honoured tradition here at DJ! when drawing a blank is to ask oneself: WWSD? So I searched her name on Google News.

There's a lot of material to mine there. Where to start? Palin asking $1 million per episode of reality series? Or about this, from here:

Sarah Palin, a woman who's never allowed a deep thought to get between her brain and her tongue, recently remarked how her family in Alaska "used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse... and I think, isn't that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada."

Yeah, how ironic. The former governor of Alaska holds out our healthcare system as a nightmare example of the Nanny State morphing into the Big Bad Welfare Wolf. Palin's Tea Party fan base has slammed the Obama administration for its efforts to reform the broken U.S. health care system.

Goaded over the past two years by the Fox News network and rage radio shock-jocks like Rush Limbaugh, they have gathered across the U.S. for oxymoronic protests against federal plans to "socialize" Medicare--a government-run program kept afloat by taxpayer dollars. The tentative
inclusion of a rider in the health care reform bill, which would require at least one meeting between doctors and family to address the wishes of a loved one in terminal condition, was somehow transformed into "death panels" intent on heaving grandma into a casket as fast as possible.

But back to the notion of a reality show scripted and based upon Sa-wah's concept of Alaska.



OR

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too.

Irony: one of them evul librul polysyllabic words.

From CC's Irony, one learns that $arah Palin does not actually know or understand the meaning of the term ironic. Otherwise she might not have chosen to share that personal tidbit of information about herself. From here:

The vocal opponent of health care reform in the U.S. steered largely clear of the topic except to reveal a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse.

"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," she said. "And I think now, isn't that ironic."

One wonders if the Palin family hustle also included providing false information in order to receive "free" benefits from the Canadian publicly funded health care program. If Palin's parents paid cash for the medical services they got for themselves and their children, what motivated them to travel to Whitehorse? Superior quality of health care? Convenience? Anonymity?

The real story behind Palin's extemporaneous comment could possibly be quite revealing.

How's That Mavericky-Roguey Thing Going for You, $arah?

Not so well, seemingly.

Sarah Palin has hit a low point in polling, The Washington Post reports in its latest survey, but the Post also brings some good news for the Tea Party movement as it heads into the 2010 elections: it's perhaps not as far outside mainstream opinion as it's made out to be.

Palin's favorability is at its lowest point since the 2008 campaign, according to the Post/ABC's numbers: 37% view her unfavorably, while 55% view her favorably (in November the Post put her at 43% favorable, 52% unfavorable), and only 26% of respondents said she was qualified to be president (a drop of 12 percentage points since November), vs. 71% who said she's not.

Looks like people weren't all that impressed with her Hillbilly Palm Pilot trick.



See the whole poll at Washington Post.

OOPS! JJ in the comments noticed an error in the quote. The author transposed some pretty important figures. It should be 55% unfavourable, 37% favourable.

Hillbilly Palm Pilot

I know I'm late to this party, but this cracked me up.

They’re calling it the “Hillbilly Palm Pilot”.

Sarah Palin’s detractors have been handed a new stick to beat her with: during her lucrative appearance at the first convention of the Tea Party, the former Governor of Alaska was caught sneaking a peek at notes she had scrawled on the palm of her left hand.

The former vice presidential candidate breezed through a speech to delegates from the radical grassroots movement, mocking President Obama's heavy use of the autocue. “This is about the people. And it's a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter."

Go read some excellent snark at Unrepentant Old Hippie and Canadian Cynic.

Who's The Best, the Most Beautiful Fetus©™ Fetishist of Them All?

JJ's blogpost about $arah reminds us that it's been a number of days since we've mined that mother lode of rightwing political humour.


It appears that Palin is reminding her admirers who made the best, the most saintly choice of them all. Not one to languish in the shadow of another woman's moment of glory, $arah uses Trig as leverage to keep her name in the news. After all, part of the agreement she has with FoxNews is to to keep promoting herself so that viewers will click on to see what's the latest buzz in her life.

Did she really just call for Rahm Emanuel to be fired because he allegedly used the term "fucking retarded" to refer to fellow Democrats in a private meeting? Last summer? Did she really?

[...] does anyone actually believe that Palin's name for the child of miraculous provenance was found by her deep knowledge of ancient Norse as she claims in her magical-realism novel, "Going Rogue"? I mean, seriously. She knows about as much ancient Norse as she does English grammar.

Meanwhile, you'll also find Palin in her habitual power-red jacket while you wait in the check-out line at the supermarket, on the cover of a glossy tabloid magazine virtually enthroned as the anti-abortion matriarch.

The mother-daughter exclusive, which reportedly earned the duo $100,000, has commentators asking: Is Sarah Palin further squandering her political cred to cash in on fame — or is this latest move a savvy play to broaden her base?

Palin’s turning celebrity — and why not? Palin earned almost as much in the eight hours it took her to pose for ‘In Touch’ as she did governing Alaska for a year [...] “With payouts like this,” it’s hard to imagine why she'd ever return to the difficult, unremunerative job of public service.

$arah's certainly not letting Pam Tebow steal her thunder!

Some media are more worthy than others.

JJ reported in her blogpost 'Teabagging Behind Closed Doors' that the organizers of the upcoming February convention were not giving the media access to events.

Today a different story is told.

The Tea Party Convention put out a press release today announcing that they were packed and had space for just five news outlets: "Everyone from a small town newspaper in Iowa to Fox News has asked for press credentials. We have had requests from Canada, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, Croatia and Japan. We have been hard pressed to accommodate all of these requests and do not have the space or resources to support the entirety of the press corp. Indeed, we have asked the hotel if they would be willing to provide a press room during the convention.

However, given these practical limitations, we have approved the following press organizations: Fox News, Breitbart.com, Townhall.com, The Wall Street Journal, World Net Daily."

From here. A Nashville news source is saying that Sarah Palin will allow other media during her speech too. And also. Unless of course it's those narsty Alaskans she had banned from her book-signing shindig last month in Wasilla, you betcha.

You have to wonder how the organizers plan to control the bloggers and exactly how TPN credentials can be determined, for those who aren't part of the establishment. Spell checks?

Yeah, that's probably the ticket in. Anyone who can prove they're grammatically challenged and can pay the $549. to attend (plus $349 for the banquet), as well as spew the standard anti-healthcare reform barking points on command will be allowed in.

Lyin' like a rug.

From Mudflats and Andrew Sullivan, a reminder regarding some of the big whoppers Palin has said, and keeps saying.

Alright, you’re going to need lots of equipment for this one. [...] Protective forehead padding? Check.

Has the cumulative effect of people lying to save their ass, whether in court or on television or speaking to an audience created an environment in which politicians who don't lie seem bizarre or possibly something worse than a liar?

Or do some people lie all the time, whether they're politicians or not? Do they believe their lies, even when there is proof to contrary? Or do they continue to prevaricate, as someone who knows they've done something unethical or committed a crime will proclaim their innocence because they can?

Many organizations - hospitals and professional associations for example - now affirm that honesty is the best policy and they have research to back them up. Let's hope that personal responsibility and institutional accountability are coming back in style - the sooner the better.

Update, from here:

Sarah Palin was an unprepared, uninformed Vice Presidential candidate who repeatedly made false statements in public, according to a top McCain campaign aide.

In a 60 Minutes segment based on John Heilemann's and Mark Halperin's new book, "Game Change," McCain's senior adviser Steve Schmidt recounts some devastating anecdotes about Palin from the campaign trail.

How will $arah's sycophants and admirers explain away these statements from a Republican political operator? It could be difficult to attack Steve Schmidt by claiming he's an unattractive, jealous feminazi who regrets not having babies.