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Friday, August 31, 2007

A testimonial

My last post contained a lot of photos taken by Tricia Ward of Dillingham, AK (www.triciaward.com). I also asked Tricia for her permission to post a portion of her email discussion with me, as I think that her experiences with the Governor illustrate the type of person and leader that Governor Palin is. So, without further ado, here is the story behind the photos in my last entry (comments inside brackets are added by me as explanations).

"What happened was the Palins came in for Dillingham's first wild fish festival, and while meeting with the locals at the boat harbor, I asked her if I could give her a tour of the UAF Bristol Bay campus with the director, Debbie Mclean-Nelson. The Palins didn't have any real set schedule and she was more than happy to have me (along with Debbie and a few other local students) show her our new facilities. I had promised Apayo [local mural creator Apayo Moore] that I'd try to get her to paint a tile [for the mural], so i asked her if she wanted to take part in a community art project happening at the high school. Of course she was stoked, so we continued our walk up to the high school. Piper really had a good time painting, she didn't want to leave! But yeah, sarah is a very nice woman, i was impressed with her willingness to listen to everyone ask her questions. I was also impressed that she was willing to let some random student/wannabe photojournalist drag her around for a couple hours...Sarah said the time she spent at the campus and the school painting is what she appreciated the most about her trip to Dillingham because she usually doesn't get to see that side of the local life."

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

More Great Pics

These pictures of Gov. Palin were referred to me by a supporter in Dillingham, Alaska. They were all taken by Tricia Ward during the Governor's recent visit to Dillingham.

Many thanks to Mrs. Ward for granting us permission to post her photos, you can find more of her work online at www.triciaward.com.

Gov. Palin meets Alaska's 2007 Teacher of the Year, Ina Bouker


More of the Palins with Ina Bouker

The Governor paints a tile for Dillingham's new mural with daughter Piper (right). The woman at left is Apayo Moore, the creator of the mural.



The Governor with State Troopers.


The Governor with local kids.

Again, Thanks to Tricia Ward for allowing me to put up these wonderful photos, which I think help illustrate the "down to earth" qualities that endear Gov. Palin to those of us who want her in national office.

Tomorrow will be a big day, as Gov. Palin will be holding a press conference regarding the state-owned Matanuska Maid Dairy and it's impending sale.

Monday, August 27, 2007

The Dreaded Post About Gov. Palin's Looks

As I said yesterday, I generally avoid the subject of Sarah Palin's looks like the proverbial plague. However, while I was watching KTUU's excellent news report about the Palin Movement on Friday, I realized that I was going to have to talk about the issue.

Many bloggers who support Sarah Palin (and a number that don't) often refer to her using words such as "hot" or "gorgeous". Now, I have no intention of telling others how to run their blogs, and if they think that mentioning the subject will benefit Gov. Palin, then more power to them. However, I will not do so and I feel a need to make that fact clear along with the reason behind it.

I do not dispute that the governor is photogenic and that good looks are always helpful to a candidate for office (which is as true for men like Mitt Romney and John Edwards as it is for Gov. Palin). One of our supporters, Sanity102, has rightly asserted that Palin's photo-friendly face, combined with her spunky personality and her equally camera-ready husband and family, would make her a dream candidate from a pure marketing standpoint. That said, I think that support for a candidate should be based primarily on the substance of that person's views and their leadership abilities. Anything beyond those two points is, to me, icing on the cake and not worth devoting a lot of attention to.

I strive very hard to maintain the credibility of the Palin Movement, because our idea is so outside-the-box that it could be easily dismissed if the main bloggers promoting it were anything less than professional at all times. Gov. Palin's appearance is irrelevant to me, and I think that mentioning it too often can cheapen the tone of the discussion about her political future.

This is a serious blog, and I intend to keep it serious. Hence, my policy is to talk about Sarah Palin's photogenic qualities only to the point where they are politically relevant, which means little or never. The rest of the blogosphere can stand where it wants and I won't hold it against them. But just for the record, that is where I stand.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Media frenzy continues: Take a bow, Palin fans!

The Palin for VP movement was on KTUU's evening newscast for the second time on Friday. This go-round featured the Palin Movement's National Coordinator, Steve Maloney, in addition to WorldNetDaily White House Correspondent Les Kinsolving and Weekly Standard Editor Fred Barnes. Palintology.com has the video posted as it's top story (I'm not in the mood to dink around with YouTube at the moment.)

While we're talking about Steve Maloney, I think now would be a good time to thank him for his contribution to our budding movement. Steve has heaped a lot of praise on me, but the fact is that most of the gains we have made would not have been possible without him. He says that he has put a thousand hours of work into the Palin Movment, and I believe him. He has sent hundreds of emails, commented on more blogs than I can count, and written extensively on Sarah Palin on his own blog. Steve is one of the rare people in politics who has been around long enough to know how the game works (starting with Newt Gingirch's congressional campaign in 1974) but is still idealistic enough to think he can change the way it is played, and he's done his darndest to learn new technologies in order to make his voice heard. I can only hope that I'm still going that strong when I'm 67 years old!


I also want to give a shout out to Trish Houser of Palintology.com. Trish has done a spectacular job providing news about Gov. Palin to the outside world, and I will admit to getting a lot of my news from her. She has also been a great friend to this website (that lovely new banner at the top of the page was a gift from her), even though she has told me that she would prefer to see her Governor fix up Alaska before thinking about national office. Since I'm not offering Palin for Veep t-shirts yet, I would highly suggest that you have a look at her CafePress store and "Palintologist" and "Sarah-bot" apparel that you can order there. I'm personally partial to the hilarious "Sarah-bot" graphic.

Well, I think that's enough for one night. Tomorrow I will be writing my first column about a subject that I have avoided like the plague up to this point....Gov. Palin's looks and whether or not they are relevant.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Smear Campaigns Begin....

This post is primarily about Gov. Palin's "First Dude" going back to his job with a major oil company in Prudhoe Bay and her opponents' kvetching about how that might create a conflict of interest. However, before i get into that, I want to adress another smear campaign that is slightly more personal to me:

I consider Trish over at Palintology to be one of my better friends in the blogosphere. She is a stand-up individual, and she runs a great website. She recently had a run-in with the Anchorage Daily News' Sheila Toomey, who wrote a article which essentially asserted that Trish was being paid by someone to run her Palin fan site. Here's the problem: Trish had been contacted by Toomey via email before the article was written, and had made it known that she had not recieved one red cent in for her efforts. Please take the time to read about this situation further at Palintology.com, then (if you subscribe to adn.com) please take a few minutes to tell Ms. Toomey to learn some ethics by commenting on her article.

Okay, now we can talk about Governor Palin.

The big news out of Alaska this week is that "First Dude" Todd Palin is returning to his job as a North Slope oil worker for BP after taking a leave of absence. (Please check out this video news report for details). As BP is a major oil and gas producer, some are arguing that Todd Palin's job could create a conflict of interest for Sarah Palin's administration. I personally think that such arguments are ill-informed.

First off, it is worth noting that Mr. Palin is a "production operator" not a manager or an executive. As a blue-collar worker on an hourly wage, there is little chance that his job will be affected by any of the interactions that his wife could have with the BP company.

In fact, Gov. Palin specifically requested a report from Alaska's attorney general regarding whether her husband's return to work would cause any conflicts of interest under the state's ethics laws. You can click here to view that report, and I think you will find that it repeatedly states that no conflicts of interest would exist unless the Governor had
to deal with an issue that directly impacted her husband's performance of his job.

My question is why this story has only now materialized. No one complained about potential conflicts when Sarah Palin chaired Alaska's oil and gas commission, but now it's suddenly a BIG deal. Personally, I think it has to do with the fact that Palin has become far more popular an prominent than anyone could have ever expected. She's pushing through her agenda like gangbusters, polls show that she could beat Sen. Ted Stevens if she challenged him, and a bunch of crazy bloggers are enjoying a good deal of success in their efforts to make her Vice President. If you are a Palin opponent or a partisan Democrat, your worst nightmares are coming true, and you are probably feeling the need to try to take care of your "problem" before it becomes even more dangerous. Hence, Palin's detractors have now decided to conjure up a way of associating Palin with the sort of corrupt politics that she fights so hard against.

Of course, the problem with such a smear campaign is that it is not based on fact, but rather on an emotional desire to see the Gov. Palin fail. For instance, consider that the main Palin detractor in the video that I linked is Ethan Berkowitz. Mr. Berkowitz was the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor in 2006, when he and his running mate (Tony Knowles) were squashed by the GOP ticket of Sarah Palin and Sean Parnell, now THAT'S a conflict of interest. . While I respect the fact that he helped author an ethics white paper for the Governor, I think that asking Ethan Berkowitz for an objective view of the Palin administration is like asking a salmon for an unbiased assessment of the grizzly bear that's about to eat it.

A word of caution to the purveyors of this nonsense: Taking shots at Sarah Palin is somewhat akin to playing Russian Roulette. Remember what happened to the Voice of the Times and the State Ag Board? Please don't make fools of yourselves, you may regret it.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

We Respond to R.A. Dillon of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Last night, I sent the following letter to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in response to R.A. Dillon's recent column, "Cheers to the Cult of Palin". I also must give credit to Steve Maloney of camp2008victorya.blogspot.com, who helped in the writing of this piece and would have been listed as a co-signer were it not for the idiosyncrasies of the Daily News-Miner's online submission form for letters to the editor. The Palin Movement has no issues with Mr. Dillon or his view that our movement is beneficial to both Sarah Palin and Alaska. However, we felt compelled to respond to the assertions of people quoted in the article that Governor Palin would not be a good national candidate or a qualified Vice President.

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"Vice President Palin" not a far-fetched idea

As founder of the “Draft Palin for VP” blog, I’d like to respond to R.A. Dillon’s recent column “Cheers to the Cult of Palin”, which brought up several points that the members of our Draft Sarah Palin effort have been discussing for some time.

Specifically, I am intrigued by the opinions of pollster Ivan Moore, who provided a prime example of “conventional political wisdom.” He argued that vice presidents are chosen to bring in electoral votes, and that Alaska was too small and “too far off the beaten path” to be relevant. The Draft Palin Movement realizes that such thinking is outdated and demeaning to smaller states, especially Alaska.


No vice presidential candidate has truly helped a campaign win in a state since Lyndon Johnson delivered Texas to JFK in 1960. Also, the current VP is, like Sarah Palin, from a solid red state with only three electoral votes.

Presidential nominees should instead pick running mates that appeal to large sections of country and fill the gaps in their own experience. Sarah Palin could appeal to women, Westerners, young people, rural Americans, pro-lifers, and gun rights advocates among others. Combined, those groups hold far more clout than even the largest states. Furthermore, the idea that voters in the lower 48 would reject an Alaskan candidate is balderdash. If folks down here thought your state was “too far off the beaten path”, then they wouldn’t take Alaskan cruises or watch “Northern Exposure”. If anything, we romanticize Alaska.


As for the idea that a future “Vice President Palin” would be unable to assume the Presidency upon the death of the President, we ask “Why not?” Governor Palin’s career has proven that she is a quick learner, a person of great character, and a decisive leader. In fact, “President Palin” would have more executive experience than John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton combined.

When it comes to vice presidential nominations, “conventional wisdom” has been useless for decades, and its time that we relegated it to history’s ash heap. The next President would be well served to select someone like Sarah Palin.

Adam Brickley
Falcon, CO

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Palin for VP on TV!

This story aired Saturday on KTUU, Anchorage's NBC affiliate. It features quotes from both myself and a Palin spokesperson. For the record, I do not expect Gov. Palin to ever openly embrace what I am attempting to do here. Her focus as Governor should be on Alaska and the solutions to that state's problems, and she had no reason to express interest in an office for which she is not yet running (that would be very bad politics). My goal is to convince Republicans that it is in their (and the country's) best interest to BEG her to join the national ticket in 2008.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

More Palin Praise: SJ Reidhead of BlogCritics Magazine

Yet another article promoting Sarah Palin for Vice President has surfaced, this one from SJ Reihead of BlogCritics Magazine, who also authors the popular political blog "The Pink Flamingo". Reidhead calls Gov. Palin "ethical to the point where it almost cost her a political career" and "in all likelihood, the new face of the GOP." I highly recommend that you all read the complete article, as it makes yet another compelling case for why Sarah Palin could be the next great Republican leader.

Governor Palin will also appear (along with the nation's other female governors) in next week's edition of Self Magazine as part of their yearly list of "most inspring women".

Thursday, August 16, 2007

We're Front Page News!

On the heels of Les Kinsolving's endorsement yesterday, the Palin for VP movement has now become a front page story at the Anchorage Daily News' website....I guess that means that we are now being taken seriously.

Since we happen to be getting a lot of traffic today, I figured that this would also be a good time to open the Palin for VP Facebook Group. If you're on Facebook, then you need to stop by and join....and if you're not on Facebook, get an account and THEN join.

One last note, the Facebook group was created by an "Adam Brickley" who attends the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Yes, that is me; and yes, that is my real name. There comes a point where blogger anonymity creates more problems than it avoids, and this blogger passed that point a long time ago.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Les Kinsolving Plugs Palin for VP!

This morning, WorldNetDaily's White House Correspondent, Les Kinsolving, wrote a glowing piece about Governor Palin as a potential candidate Vice President. "2008, in Minneapolis, could be vice-presidentially electrifying ," he says, "if they choose Alaska's gorgeous and gutsy governor". Mr. Kinsolving also notes that Palin would be "an absolutely devastating addition to the GOP ticket – particularly if the Democrats nominate Hillary."

Les Kinsolving is a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, the only member of the White house Press Corps to host a radio talk show, and has been ranked in Talkers Magazine's Top 100 talk show hosts for seven years running.

Kinsolving is, by far, the most prominent individual in the media to mention Gov. Palin as a viable VP option in 2008.

CLICK HERE TO READ HIS ARTICLE

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Palin on National TV?

According to Palintology.com, Governor Palin could soon be making appearances on national television as a spokeswoman for Alaskan seafood. Currently in the works is an appearance on Food Network with food-guru Alton Brown (who I also happen to be a big fan of), but this could reportedly spiral out into other appearances with notable Food Network personalities on major-network shows such as "Good Morning America" , "Today", and even "Oprah".

Now, I realize that being a pitchwoman for fish products is not the same as giving a speech to the Republican National Convention. However, these appearances will give Palin much more national exposure than most governors could dream of. After all, when was the last time you saw Ruth Ann Minner on "Oprah" promoting Delaware?

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Saturday, August 4, 2007

Back in Action!

I apologize for having been away from my computer in recent days. I have been attending the Young America's Foundation's National Conservative Student Conference, and have had absolutely no free time. However, I am back online and ready to continue rolling. This budding movement is picking up support at what I would consider breakneck speed, and we are successfully inserting Sarah Palin's name into the discussion regarding the 2008 Vice Presidential nomination.