Posted on 07/09/2009 8:13:09 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
I haven't commented on Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska since Friday afternoon, when I noted the story and said that her resignation "seems bizarre to me." Here are some additional thoughts on the subject.
I am, to begin with, an admirer of Governor Palin--the real Sarah Palin, not the creature of myth. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Palin phenomenon is that the mythical version, a caricature of Palin as arch-conservative, especially on the social issues, and populist almost to the point of know-nothingism, has been embraced by many of her supporters as avidly as by her enemies.
But the caricature has little to do with Palin's actual record as a public servant. I don't doubt that she is, personally, a conservative, but her record in office has not been particularly conservative and her political career owes little or nothing to the social issues. She represents, rather, an older strand of Republicanism--the reformist, good-government variety.
Given that Palin is now viewed almost exclusively as symbol, it is not surprising that the least-remarked portion of her resignation speech was that in which she recounted her administration's achievements. But those accomplishments are, in fact, considerable:
Here's some of the things we've done:
We created a petroleum integrity office to oversee safe development. We held the line for Alaskans on Point Thomson - and finally for the first time in decades - they're drilling for oil and gas.
We have AGIA, the gasline project - a massive bi-partisan victory (the vote was 58 to 1!) - also succeeding as intended - protecting Alaskans as our clean natural gas will flow to energize us, and America, through a competitive, pro-private sector project. This is the largest private sector energy project, ever. This is energy independence.
And ACES - another bipartisan effort - is working as intended and industry is publicly acknowledging its success. Our new oil and gas "clear and equitable formula" is so Alaskans will no longer be taken advantage of. ACES incentivizes new exploration and development and jobs that were previously not going to happen with a monopolized North Slope oil basin.
We cleaned up previously accepted unethical actions; we ushered in bi-partisan Ethics Reform.
We also slowed the rate of government growth, we worked with the Legislature to save billions of dollars for the future, and I made no lobbyist friends with my hundreds of millions of dollars in budget vetoes... but living beyond our means today is irresponsible for tomorrow.
We took government out of the dairy business and put it back into private-sector hands - where it should be.
We provided unprecedented support for education initiatives, and with the right leadership, finally filled long-vacant public safety positions. We built a sub-Cabinet on Climate Change and took heat from Outside special interests for our biologically-sound wildlife management for abundance.
We broke ground on the new prison.
And we made common sense conservative choices to eliminate personal luxuries like the jet, the chef, the junkets... the entourage.
And the Lt. Governor and I said "no" to our pay raises.
A solid record of achievement in only 2 1/2 years? Absolutely. Red meat for populist conservatives? Not especially.
So I have high regard for Sarah Palin, the effective, good-government reformer. But that brings us to Palin's press conference and her resignation. The biggest problem with her press conference was that her stated reasons for resigning her office didn't make much sense.
She referred to the abuse that she and her family have taken from liberals in the press and elsewhere. No doubt about it: the liberal assault on Palin and her family has been the most despicable I've ever seen. If she had announced that she is leaving politics to return to private life, no one could have blamed her. But that isn't what she is doing; she is resigning as Governor but, evidently, running for President. So the attacks will continue and likely intensify.
She said that she didn't want to continue as a lame-duck governor. But the only reason she was a lame duck is that she had just announced she wasn't running for a second term. If she didn't want to be a lame duck, all she had to do was not hold the press conference.
Recognizing that these themes didn't account for her decision, Palin went on to explain that her real reason for resigning is that she and her office have been fatally distracted by the frivolous ethics complaints that the Democratic Party has mounted against her. She said that most of her time, and her staff's time, is now spent defending against such complaints--successfully, as every one so far has been dismissed. Most of them have been obviously stupid.
So Palin said she was resigning for the good of Alaska, since her successor will be free of this burden. Plus, she has run up a $500,000 legal bill in defending against the Democratic Party's silly charges.
This explanation has a great deal of appeal, but I don't think it holds together. Does Palin really want to set a precedent that a Republican who is unfairly attacked by Democrats will quit? If that principle were followed, the Republican Party would quickly become extinct.
Actually, the Democrats' frivolous ethics charges represent an opportunity. Alaska is a Republican-leaning state. If Palin were to push back against the Democrats--locally, not nationally--she could make them pay a price for their indefensible tactic, and likely cause them to back off. As for the $500,000, that is a minimal amount for a politician of Palin's stature to raise by setting up a defense committee. Donors would quickly furnish a war chest. On a worst-case scenario, Todd Palin could sign a book contract tomorrow for a $500,000 advance. The facts just don't support the idea that quitting as governor is a reasonable response to the Democrats' vicious but entirely unsuccessful ethics-complaint strategy.
Here is why I think Palin quit: she wants to be the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012. No surprise there, she currently has more support than any other contender in the polls. But she has a serious problem. Her rivals for the nomination are beginning to make the circuit of Republican and conservative grass-roots groups. They are able to criss-cross the country, building up support, establishing campaign committees, speaking to Republican groups on an informal basis, supporting other Republican candidates, laying the foundation for a 2012 run.
Palin, on the other hand, is isolated in Anchorage. It takes longer to get to and from Alaska than most people realize. Palin can't zip into Chicago, deliver a speech to a Republican conference and be back in her office in time to sign a bill. If she starts spending 75 percent of her time in the lower 48, she might in fact be able to carry out her gubernatorial duties via Blackberry, but she would be crucified for abandoning the state of Alaska in favor of her national ambitions. So she resigned, in order to free up her time to campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination.
That is, I think, the only explanation that fits the facts. I still think Palin's resignation was a mistake; it will make the logistics of campaigning much easier, but her failure to complete the only major government job to which she has been elected will haunt her.
What is most sad about this, in my opinion, is that Palin herself seems willing to play the role of the symbol she has become, no matter how at odds it may be with her actual record. I doubt that the old, pre-August 2008 Sarah Palin--the real Sarah Palin, in my book--would have quit.
I find the ever earlier start to the Presidential race annoying.
2012 started before Obama even won, as it was clear that he would. Or even months before that on the part of Mitt Romney.
Same is true of Jindal: conservative talk, liberal inclinations on spending in office
Please tell me in 1000 words or less where Mitt Romney was mentioned in the Palin article. I am not making a case for Romney one way or the other. I just find the level of MDS on this site to be fascinating. Those afflicted with it find a way to insert his name, in a negative way, into every single Palin post whether he is mentioned or not in the article. You seem to all be terribly afraid that Mitt might be too much for Sarah to handle and feel the need to build her up by bashing him 24/7. Personally I think Sarah can handle herself just fine, but if you believe Sarah is not woman enough to hang with the big boys then maybe it was good she quit her job in Alaska. At least Mitt completed his term in Massachusetts, and before that was very successful in every other area of his life. Who knows maybe having someone in the White House who understood business and the economy might have saved us from the crap being shoved down our throats by Bambi, Nancy and Harry.
[she resigned, in order to free up her time to campaign for the 2012 Republican nominatio] is, I think, the only explanation that fits the facts.-- And for that simple observation, well rooted in logic ... --
Whatever it's rooted in, it amounts to calling Palin a liar. Now, a liar she may be, but as a well-practiced lawyer, he knows full well he is stirring a hornets nest with that conclusion.
I'm not impressed at all with the contents of Mr. Hindraker's article. It's more of the same old "she's cooked her own goose" medicine; topped with a "she's not much of a conservative anyway" sauce.
Hindraker is, of course, entitled to his opinion. Mine is that it's too early to tell how Palin will act, and how the public will respond. That future isn't yet written. But as for the past, I take her at her word that she determined she will more effective at advancing her personal goals, and her sense of where the government ought to be going, by resigning. I think that conclusion is correct; and I think the calculus was not focused on obtaining the presidency in 2012.
You state many here saw what happened, but what they really saw were unsubstantiated allegations. Libs fall for that stuff, not us.
I was a Fred Head as stated here on numerous occasions. I switched after seeing Fred didn't have the fire in the belly & after having researched Romney more fully. I reserve comment on who I will back in the next go around, but it will be the best candidate, whether that's Romney or not.
One thing is for sure however, I will not make my decision on info from the MSM or some of the whack jobs here that just stir the pot. My research will be done w/ those behind the scenes, those that actually know, rather than the pretenders & narcissists so easily found.
I had to read that a couple of times. It sounds like they put government back into private-sector hands - where it should be, but I think the writer is saying that the dairy business is what was put back into private-sector hands.
It's a shame DC isn't being cleaned up right now instead of the 24/7, next couple of generations train wreck that's actually happening.
The "writer" is Sarah Palin. This sentence, like the entire list of accomplishments, is taken verbatim from Palin's exit speech, FWIW. There seems to be some confusion about this.
I agree entirely. The 2008 race set a new high-water mark (or perhaps low-water mark is more appropriate), for the beginning of the presidential campaign season.
We become artificially focused on the presidential race, when we should be entirely focused on the mid-terms.
Sadly, short of a constitutional amendment, I can't see any way of turning this trend, or evening slowing it. The best idea I've heard is to divide the country into districts, or regions and have those districts rotate with respect to the order that their primaries are held. That way, the candidates would no longer be held hostage to the Iowa corn-mafia and the near criminal farm subsidies that they demand. What we have now is almost a payola scheme by Iowa.
Drama Fatigue [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
I’m hearing from Alaskans who wish the Palins well but are ready to “welcome Sean and move on.”
07/10 01:25 PMShare
Perhaps Sarah decided to quit while she was ahead. Play the martyr for the Right and endear herself to conservatives like us. If she served two terms as governor, then perhaps the constant ethics battles may have dragged her approval ratings to George Ryan levels by 2014.
Drama Fatigue [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
I’m hearing from Alaskans who wish the Palins well but are ready to “welcome Sean and move on.”
07/10 01:25 PMShare
Perhaps Sarah decided to quit while she was ahead. Play the martyr for the Right and endear herself to conservatives like us. If she served two terms as governor, then perhaps the constant ethics battles may have dragged her approval ratings to George Ryan levels by 2014.
If you’re not a RINO McRomney-bot, I don’t know what one looks like.
The Romney backers are coming out of the woodwork to try to clear the field for him in 2012.
Note to my friends who back the Mitt-ster:
This conservative will not vote for Mitt in the primaries.
And I will not guarantee him my vote in the general just because he’s the (R) nominee.
I am not alone.
For the Huckabites ... read the above as though I were talking to you.
It's possible that the AK public schools needed it. Not ALL public school budgets are as bloated as those in large urban areas.
Republicans and Conservatives LOVE to eat their own.
Don’t know who this guy is, don’t care.
Compared to all those characters slithering around out there, Sarah Palin stands far above them. Love her and hope and pray she becomes the next President.
LLS
Shhhh....! Don’t tell anybody, but I have Populist tendencies, and tend to be on the side of us people-instead of echoing the assorted shills mindlessly ,or whining about how badly the Media, etc., etc. treat us.
Does that put YOU on the other side of the fence ?
LLS
GregH,
The legal bills are now 500k (and climbing) the legislature is stalling and not working with the governor, hard logistics travelling in the 48 were hard, a press that has an agenda and so on an so forth.
If she wants to be prez in 2012 and by the time she left the governor’s chair it will be early 2011. This leaves her with little time to form an exploritory committee, hit the fundraising trail, do the rubber-chicken speaking circuit with the early primary groups and so forth. She was speding too much time fending off these Bogus ethics complaints (have you even read them?) and could no longer do her job as governor. Her status as a possible 2012 candidate caused too much of a distraction (outside and inside forces mucking up the system).
She has essentially thrown her critics a loop by going full time into campaign mode (or GOP building mode for 2010)
In the last few days, Sarah had to fight back a BOGUS rumor that shoud was under an FBI investigation as well as two new ethics complaints (one of them being a rehash of a complaint from last year...which was dismissed).
The plan is simple, simply wear Sarah down, tarnish her reputation and bankrupt her.
Sarah wasn’t going to play that game. She’s free to maneuver now. Right now the GOP groups in Iowa and New Hampshire are quite receptive to her.
Well, let’s see how it works out.
There are now reported to be 14 outstanding ethics complaints.
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