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Saturday, July 28, 2007

TONIGHT: Steve Maloney on Political Pistachio Radio

One of the leaders of the "Palin Movement", Steve Maloney, will be on Douglas Gibbs' internet talk show Political Pistachio tonight at 7:00 PM Eastern/4:00 PM Pacific (3:00 PM Alaskan) to talk about our efforts.

CALL IN WITH QUESTIONS AT (646) 652-2940

Political Pistachio can be accessed live at www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalpistachio, then clicking over to the the segments tab. The special link they assigned this particular broadcast for now is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=38313 The archived episode may be accessed later on the BlogTalk Radio site, or will play automatically for a week when folks visit www.politicalpistachio.com. [In other words, if you miss the show on Saturday, you can still listen to it later.]

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Gov. Palin in Kuwait!

In case you missed my last post, Sarah Palin is in Kuwait visiting the Alaskan troops stationed there. She arrived today, and some footage is making it's way into the news media. I will continue to post links as more reports become available.

Video from KTUU - This seems to be raw footage and there is almost no sound, but it's still fun to watch. I especially like the clip at the end when the Governor is trying out a military rifle at a firing range....I cranked the volume on my speakers way up, and one of the soldiers behind the Governor says "You're hitting pretty close to dead center" (Please note: Gov Palin hunts and is a lifetime NRA member).

AP Photos (Click to view): 1, 2

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Monday, July 23, 2007

Some Fun Palin Tidbits


"A lot of us are sitting back and waiting to see if there will be new players in there. That's probably why that box that says 'none of the above' is so popular right now"


-Sarah Palin, speaking on the presidential race


If you don't mind, Governor, I have an idea about who one of those new players could be....but I digress.


Anyway, the above comment was given while Palin was attending this week's National Governor's Association meeting in Michigan. She also helped out on a Habitat for Humanity project while there, and the AP got some good pictures:

Photo Credit: AP Photo/John L. Russell

Two other items of note: First, be sure to listen to Palin for VP activist Steve Maloney discuss our budding movement on Douglas Gibbs' internet talk show "Political Pistachio" this Saturday at 7:00 PM Eastern/4:00 PM Pacific (3:00 PM Alaskan). Be sure to call in with your questions, I certainly will. From what I hear, this is one of the better internet talk shows out there (Mr. Gibss' guest last week was former presidential candidate Jim Gilmore, that's not bad.) Second, Governor Palin is traveling to Kuwait today to spend a few days with Alaskan troops stationed there, I will cover that story as extensively as I can.

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Saturday, July 21, 2007

Why Palin? Why Now?

When I started this blog, I knew that most first-time visitors would be rather puzzled by my idea. After all, the idea of a Vice Presidential draft movement is rather unprecedented, especially when is centered on a newly elected governor from Alaska. To nominate Sarah Palin for Vice President of the United States would fly in the face of decades, even centuries, of conventional political wisdom. A skeptic would say that Palin is too undefined, too green, and from too small of a state.

So why are we doing so well? Simple: Conventional political wisdom on VP nominations is outdated, and has been for at least two decades. Let's break down some of the points of skepticism that I just listed.

Lame Argument #1: "Sarah Palin hasn't addressed key national issues (Immigration, Iraq, etc.), do you really know where she stands?"

Answer: I know where Sarah Palin stands on a wide variety of subjects including fiscal policy, abortion, the free market, gun rights, ANWR, the environment, and a host of Alaskan issues. On all of those issues, she has shown herself to be both a fiscal and social conservative. Furthermore, innovative proposals like the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act show that she capable of applying conservative principles in governing and knows how to deduce the conservative solution to a problem without taking a poll. No, she has not said anything about the Mexican border or the War in Iraq, and as Governor of Alaska those issues are totally irrelevant to her job. However, I would much prefer a leader with a defined conservative mindset to one who just knows the "right answers" to questions about individual federal programs.

Lame Argument #2: "Alaska isn't electorally significant!"

Answer: Geographic ticket engineering is dead, and it has been since at least 1992. Where the candidates are from makes absolutely no difference anymore, especially the veeps. Lets review: The 1992 and 1996 elections were won by the all-Southern Clinton-Gore ticket (AR-TN), followed by two victories for the all-Western Bush-Cheney ticket (TX-WY). In the meantime, Al Gore failed to carry his home state of Tennesee in 2000, John Edwards failed to carry North Carolina for John Kerry in 2004, and Jack Kemp didn't deliver New York to Bob Dole in 1996. And while I'm at it, I might mention that Dick Cheney is from a solid red state with fewer people then Alaska. People vote for tickets based on who the candidates are, not where they come from. Sarah Palin could bring in a boatload of votes from women, rural Americans, young people, gun activists, pro-lifers, and others. That's worth more than any one state in the union.

So now that we've laid those arguments to rest, why is Sarah Palin the BEST choice?

Well, if Palin's 90% approval rating and down-to-earth charm aren't enough for you, consider this: Sarah Palin is one of the rare politicians who has the ability to unite the Republican Party and the nation. Nobody has anything bad to say about her, and people from all parts of the GOP seem to love her with equal enthusiasm. The current "Blogs for Palin" roster illustrates this point, especially some of the people who are most active. For instance, consider the alliance between myself and Steve Maloney at Campaign2008Victory. We are both strong Republicans and pretty solid conservatives, but one could say that we represent very different wings of the GOP.

Steve has been around the political scene since the 1970s...I hadn't been born in the 1970s. Steve has a Ph.D.....I'm still working on my B.A. Steve supported the recent immigration proposal....I opposed it (not as vigorously as some, but I opposed it). Steve regularly expresses his distaste for Hugh Hewitt...I was inspired to start blogging by Hugh Hewitt's book. Steve supports Sarah Palin for Vice President...so do I.

Steve and I disagree on some current issues of division within the party, but we agree on a great many issues that form the basis of what it means to be a Republican: small government, free markets, protecting life, supporting our troops, law and order, etc. Those are a some of the main, defining principles of the Grand Old Party; and in her short time as Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin has articulated and implemented those principles with a resolve matched only by Reagan himself. That's why Steve and I are pushing for Palin, along with the EXTREMELY diverse group of supporters on our blog roll, and that's why you should join us in this effort.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

Pittsburgh Pundit Praises Palin!

Yet another non-Alaskan pundit has taken notice of Sarah Palin. This time, it's columnist Dimitri Vassilaros of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. His Monday column, titled "Palin is GOP's beacon", begins with a very simple, yet extremely powerful statement about the Governor, "Sarah Palin can teach Republicans how to be Republicans."

I couldn't agree more, and thats's why whe can't wait until 2012 or 2016 to push her onto the national scene. And if you thought that an Alaskan governor couldn't be relevant in the lower 48, a growing number of bloggers and columnists would disagree with you.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Video: Another Side of Sarah Palin

If you need any more proof that Sarah Palin is not your average politician, click here to tag along with the Palin family as they work their salmon fishing site in Bristol Bay. (Note: The Palins do not appear until a minute into the video, but the rest is devoted to them.) Her devotion to keeping in touch with the "Alaskana" lifestyle very much reminded me of Ronald Reagan's desire to spend time at Rancho Del Cielo in California, keeping himself in touch with who he was and what he stood for.

Yes, you read that correctly, I just compared Palin to Reagan. Get used to it, because Palin reminds me of President Reagan more than any other politician that I have ever seen - and I have every intention of continuing to highlight her Reaganesque qualities.

The video also illustrates Palin's tireless commitment to free-market ideals - notice that she proposes opening the Alaska fish processing market to more competition in order to remedy the fact that there aren't enough processing outfits to handle the plentiful supply of fish. And if making it easier for fishermen to sell their goods means allowing (gasp!) foreign companies to set up shop, then Sarah Palin is all for it. Bravo, Governor; keep fighting the good fight!

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Saturday, July 7, 2007

Fred Barnes Praises Palin!

Now this is cool!

Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard devoted his entire column in this weeks issue to heaping praise on Sarah Palin. (Click here to read) Referring to her as "the GOP's newest star", Barnes did everything except come right out and say that the woman should be drafted for national office ASAP (though I kind of got that vibe from his subtext).

Here's my favorite passage, I think it illustrates in very blunt terms why Palin could be a major force on the national scene: "In the roughly three years since she quit as the state's chief regulator of the oil industry, Palin has crushed the Republican hierarchy (virtually all male) and nearly every other foe or critic. Political analysts in Alaska refer to the 'body count' of Palin's rivals." Yes, the analogy is a little morbid, but the point is a good one. Standing in Sarah Palin's way is political suicide, and you'll have to forgive me for wishing that fate on the 2008 Democratic ticket.

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Thursday, July 5, 2007

It's not just for bloggers!

So, you want to draft Sarah Palin for Vice-President, but you don't have a blog....Well, welcome aboard. Starting today, this draft movement is open to everybody.

In order to make this possible, two new "Draft Palin" ventures are being launched:

1) The Draft Palin Mailing List: If you want to stay up to date on everything being cooked up by the "Draft Palin Movement", sign up for the new mailing list. I will provide a weekly email mailer with updates on the state of the movement, action alerts, and links to Draft Palin discussions around the web. To get on the list, just shoot an email to palinforvp@gmail.com.
(Note: I wouldn't know how to sell your personal information even if I wanted to, so rest assured that the only email you will ever get will be from me).

2) The Draft Palin MySpace Headquarters: That's right, I am now on MySpace...so send me a friend request. I am planning some cool promotions using this new site, so stay tuned. (Note: MySpace being what it is, you may want to accompany friend requests with a message or comment to help me filter supporters from spammers and other assorted nuts.)

This page will continue to be my main hub of activity, but I would encourage you to check out the new features, as they will likely become increasingly important in this draft campaign.

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Sunday, July 1, 2007

Sarah Palin: Fiscal Conservative Extraordinaire!

If you don't like excessive government spending, then you should love the idea of Sarah Palin as your next Vice President. Why do I say this? Well, on Friday, she used her line-item veto pen to shave nearly a quarter of a billion dollars off of the $1.8 billion capital budget passed by the state legislature. (Click here for a video report from KTUU.)

Yes, you read that correctly...a grand total $231,000,000 of big government spending was sent swirling down the proverbial toilet. If you want to know exactly what that looks like, here's a PDF detailing the cuts...it's 19 pages long! The part I like is the "veto reason" column, where a large number of the cuts are marked "not a state responsibility". If you are a fiscal conservative or libertarian, that way of looking at spending should excite you (as it does me).

Now, I know there there are a decent number of Alaskan politicians (notably Democrat Anchorage mayor Mark Begich) who are vocally bashing these cuts. However, an online poll by KTUU TV showed that 78% of respondents thought that the governor either vetoed the correct amount (35%) or didn't veto enough (43%). While this poll is obviously not scientific, I think it shows that Alaskans don't like big-spending government, and that Palin quite frankly let the legislature off easy by vetoing ONLY a quarter-billion (as a plurality of her constituents wanted her to cut more!).

If you haven't already figured it out, one of the primary reasons I like Sarah Palin is that she is willing to take bold and drastic action when she thinks that it is in the best interest of the state - regardless of how many feathers it ruffles. Leaders like that, in the tradition of Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt, are rare in today's America - and that's why I'm pushing so hard to get Sarah Palin elevated to national politics as quickly as possible.

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