Free Republic

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — When tickets to see Sarah Palin in Michigan ran out, people drove to her appearance here, three hours away. Thousands had lined up overnight, starting nearly 24 hours before she was to begin signing books, camping out in 39-degree weather for a moment with the woman many see as the great conservative hope, a role model, “one of us.” They brought their sleeping bags, their children, homemade chocolate Cheerios bars, and balloons to twist into animal shapes and hats for the crowd. And they brought their anger — about bailouts, jobs and health care. If Sarah...

Somewhere in New York, a design genius turned out her light and breathed the long sigh of one no longer burdened by a terrible secret, a secret that had helped ruin the reputation of an amazing woman, a woman she had really liked.

John F. Kennedy believed that being passed over for vice president by the Democratic convention in 1956 saved his political career. That year, Adlai Stevenson, the presidential nominee, had left the selection of his running mate to the convention delegates—the last time a nominee did so. The choice came down to Kennedy and his Senate colleague Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, who had lined up too much early support even for the attractive young war hero to overcome. In the end, Kennedy had it both ways. He benefited from the television exposure and was spared the blame—which as a Catholic, he...

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin officially launched her “Going Rogue” book tour Wednesday in the western Michigan city of Kentwood, and the crowd, somewhat predictably, went wild. More than 1,000 people were waiting in line before Ms. Palin even arrived, according the Detroit News. Many commentators have already compared the aesthetics of Palin’s book tour to a political campaign – the bus she’s using, the buttons for sale, the wild cheers. And looking at her announced tour stops through Patchwork Nation’s 12 community-type framework, there may be other campaign significance. If you were to devise a campaign tour for...

Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said Thursday he has read Sarah Palin's book and has no regrets about picking her as a running mate. (snip) He also said if Mrs. Palin decides to run for president in 2012 and becomes the Republican Party nominee he would vote for her. "I hope she has every success," Mr. McCain said. "She's still pretty popular."

(1) The final stop on the tour is Sandpoint, Idaho, where Palin was born. Almost every stop on the tour has some kind of meaning to Palin (including places the McCain campaign would not allow her and Todd to go during the 2008 race, as well as Phoenix, Arizona, which is McCain’s hometown and the place she was not allowed to deliver a concession speech on Election Night). Stopping off in the place you were born sure feels like a presidential campaign sort of move. It’s also interesting Palin’s hitting Salt Lake City (Mitt Romney’s town), Minneapolis (Tim Pawlenty’s town),...

We may not be sure of Sarah Palin’s ability to assume a political office of national scope, but we can be certain she is polarizing. Obviously there is a gap between left and right, but, interestingly, the conservative commentariat itself is deeply divided. Even within the Weekly Standard crowd, Palin inspires vastly diverging reactions. Matthew Continetti has emerged as a Palin stalwart, while both David Brooks and Charles Krauthammer have taken to criticizing her regularly. The standard reproach against Palin is that she is toxic to the GOP’s brand among independents and unfit for higher office. At the same time,...

WASHINGTON — Palin-Beck 2012? Sarah Palin has suggested Fox News firebrand Glenn Beck could be someone she'd consider as a running mate if she makes a bid for the White House in two years. "I can envision a couple of different combinations, if ever I were to be in a position to really even seriously consider running for anything in the future, and I'm not there yet," Palin told the conservative news agency Newsmax as she promoted her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life." "But Glenn Beck I have great respect for. He's a hoot. He gets his message across...

10 Reasons That Sarah Palin Could Win the Republican Nomination by Nate Silver 1. Enthusiasm. People tend to see electorate through a one-dimensional lens, in which a fixed number of voters are trying to decide between two or more candidates. But that's not really how politics works, especially in primaries. Rather, the playing field is (at least) two-dimensional: people are not merely trying to decide whom to vote for, but also whether to vote at all. Because of the reach of her brand, Palin has the ability to engage the sorts of voters who might ordinarily stay at home. In...

BEIJING (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave his sternest warning yet about the need to contain rising U.S. deficits, saying on Wednesday that if government debt were to pile up too much, it could lead to a double-dip recession. With the U.S. unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, Obama told Fox News his administration faces a delicate balance of trying to boost the economy and spur job creation while putting the economy on a path toward long-term deficit reduction.

Sarah Palin certainly turned heads when she made an appearance in springfield just weeks before the 2008 presidential election, and now she's turning pages locally too. Many people in the Ozarks seem to be "Going Rogue. In fact south Springfield's Borders was in the nation's top ten for most copies of Palin's new memoir reserved ahead of Tuesday's release. George Carlin's "Last Words" may very well be forgotten. "Yeah i'm going to get it," one Borders patron says. He's not talking about George, bur rather his shelf-mate- one-time vice presidential hopeful turned best-seller hopeful Sarah Palin's political memoir. "Since we...

...This is Palin Week--days of interviews relating to the publication of her book, "Going Rogue."... Someone will point out that she is even scheduled soon to go to Iowa--and you know what that means. On the other hand, someone else will point out that the very week Palin is promoting her book, the current president is abroad attending meetings in Asia, including a visit with our Chinese bankers. Could those who fault Barack Obama for being callow and inexperienced imagine Palin meeting with the Chinese or, for that matter, conducting a protracted policy review about Afghanistan? As for Pakistan, South...

After the New England Patriots disasterous decision Sunday night not to punt on fourth down with the ball on the Indianapolis Colts' 28-yard line, former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, had every right to be ticked off. Especially considering that the Pats had the lead with little more than 2 minutes left in the game. Is it possible that the team's supposedly brilliant coach, Bill Belichick, got confused and thought the Manning brother waiting patiently on the opposing sidelines was Eli and not Peyton? Whatever the case, the Colts went on to win the game with 13 seconds left in the...

She may be hugely polarizing, but Sarah Palin’s the odds-on favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, thanks to the party’s winner-take-all primary system. The party establishment may not want Palin, but if she can maintain, say, 35% support in a multi-candidate field, she could win a few states and rack up an insurmountable lead early, Walter Shapiro of Politics Daily writes. Normally the GOP counts on South Carolina to weed out fringe candidates, but Palin is mainstream enough to win the conservative state. So if party insiders don’t want another Goldwater on their hands, they’ll either have...

Undoubtedly at this very moment, two saffron-robed monks in a monastery north of Katmandu are earnestly discussing Sarah Palin's presidential prospects. In the favelas of Rio, the normally fierce arguments about the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics are surely taking a back seat to high-decibel debates over the pre-publication excerpts from Going Rogue. This is Palin time whether you believe that she is "The Divine Sarah" (as Sarah Bernhardt was once known) or the 21st century version of Barry Goldwater who will lead the Republican Party into the abyss. True believers stress her megawatt incandescence and her Facebook leadership...

I would not do it. Going to war with the Associated Press is as dumb as going to war with Fox News. Sarah Palin should leave the criticism of the media to others. We like our leaders a little above the fray. From her Facebook: The book tour starts this week, and I look forward to it! I’m most looking forward to meeting many of you, shaking your hands, and telling you, “Thanks for loving America.” I’ll give you a scoop here and tell you what’s on the book’s Dedication Page -– it’s dedicated to you — Patriots -– who...

WASHINGTON - Sarah Palin is embarking on what is likely to be the most commercially successful book tour by a politician since Barack Obama launched The Audacity of Hope three years ago. Obama's book tour spawned a presidential campaign. Will Palin's eventually do the same? Her ultimate ambitions remain a mystery. The opening stage of the tour for her book, Going Rogue, has been marked by the same qualities that have defined the public reaction to her since that morning in Ohio when she was announced as John McCain's choice for vice president: curiosity and controversy. Give Palin credit. She...

Thousands of radical conservatives crowded on to the steps of the Capitol yesterday to voice their anger over Democrat spending plans and yearning for the presence of the one person they really wished was there, but wasn’t: Sarah Palin. The former Governor of Alaska has emerged from Tuesday’s off-year elections as a front runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and the embodiment of grassroots social conservatism in most of the “lower 48” states, as well as her own. The trouble for her supporters is that, for the time being, she is available only as a disembodied presence on her...

I don't typically watch Oprah. But I won't miss Monday's interview with Sarah Palin. The appearance is supposed to be about Ms. Palin's new memoir, but a lot more will be riding on the encounter than book sales. After last year's brutal presidential campaign, Ms. Palin is now reintroducing herself to the American public. Nothing less than her future in American politics—and a possible run for the White House in 2012—hangs in the balance. Ms. Palin has two problems. The first is that she's become one of the most polarizing figures in the country. The second is that voters continue...

Sarah Palin's Going Rogue: An American Life (HarperCollins) is being pitched by her publisher as "one ordinary citizen's extraordinary journey." That's about right. Palin is ordinary -- remarkably, overwhelmingly, mind-numbingly ordinary. Back in the day, it seemed as if she might be extraordinary. When I started writing about her in 2006, the year that Palin took on the good old boys of Alaskan Republican politics, she seemed intriguing -- even a little, dare we say it, rogue. The story of a small-town mayor mounting a primary challenge to a sitting governor of her own party -- who also happened to...

Firebrand conservative commentator Ann Coulter says she hopes Sarah Palin uses her forthcoming book to get "payback" against the McCain campaign for the way it treated Palin, McCain's running mate during the 2008 presidential campaign. The Associated Press, which bought a copy of the book, reports that, in it, Palin confirms reports of tension between her aides and McCain's, and that she writes about the "jaded aura" of professional campaign aides, and how McCain's entourage limited her access to the media-- leading many to think that she was avoiding reporters. Coulter made her remark on "The Early Show" Friday --...

Conservatives win many votes saying that liberals are elitist. I am here to tell you that the liberal movement is indeed very elitist. Its organization's staffs are composed mainly of Ivy leaguers whose life experiences are dramatically different than the 70 percent of Americans that never graduate from college. Very few of them have any actual experience living with or knowing working-class people. As a graduate of Bucknell, I still feel out of a place and most glaringly underdressed when I get in a room with the Ivy Leaguers running our movement. As garbageman turned United Electrical Workers (UE) in...

Video: Sarah Palin's new book releases Nov. 17. Will she be a GOP contender in 2012?......duh!!

All the talk in Washington is surrounding a government health insurance plan, but there’s a little discussed insurance plan in the Boxer-Kerry cap and trade bill that’s worth some attention. The Senate version of the cap and trade bill includes a section that grants the President the authority to “direct relevant federal agencies” to impose additional greenhouse gas regulations. Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and John Barrasso (R-WY) have been working assiduously to uncover the true costs of cap and trade legislation. Greenhouse gas concentrations are measured in parts per million (ppm). Many global warming alarmists believe that upper limit on...

It starts in Michigan. Our good buddy Josh Painter over at the Texas for Salin Palin blog, a must-bookmark for SP fans, has assembled the schedule for the ex-gov's upcoming book sales/autographing tour and we have some of it below. You'll note that the tour starts in Michigan. Get it? Oh, c'mon, sure you do! Longtime Ticket readers will recall it was the stumbling McCain campaign's decision to, in effect, forfeit Michigan to the Obama Democrats a year ago and stop campaigning there. Which caused McCain's Republican pitbull partner to grumble about giving up anywhere so easily. Which caused those...

Former President Bill Clinton told a room full of Democratic senators Tuesday that passing health care reform — which he failed to do 15 years ago — is not only a moral issue but also “an economic imperative.” Clinton argued that even “the most cold-hearted person” ought to support health care reform simply from an economic standpoint. He reminded Democrats of the political momentum their failure to pass reform in 1993 delivered the House of Representatives to the Republicans the following year… Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Clinton described the ongoing tea party protests against the Democratic agenda as a...

I am noticing an increasing number of anti Palin comments among Republicans. I think this is a good time to filter the trash out of our party. We Republicans tend to tip toe through the tulips. But if we want to get our party back, we need to do it now. As much as I dislike Obama. and many of us mocked his "get in their faces quote". I want to ask you. How did we dominate the healthcare debate in August ? We stood up and got in their faces. It worked. You can do this without being violent,...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says she's back on Twitter. Palin took to the social networking site earlier this year, tweeting about state government, national politics and everything in between. When she quit as Alaska's governor in July, she promised to keep her fans updated through tweets. But that didn't happen, and Palin instead posted regular updates on her Facebook page, which has nearly 1 million followers. In a Facebook posting Monday announcing more dates on her book tour, Palin said she'll provide Twitter updates from the tour. Her Twitter feed is SarahPalinUSA.(continued)

Matthew Continetti has a piece in this weekend’s Weekly Standard hailing Sarah Palin as the ideal leader of a new populist uprising. One obvious objection to his thesis: The populist Sarah is in fact one of the most unpopular figures in American life. According to Gallup, 63% of Americans say they would never consider voting for her. By a margin of 62%-31% Americans rate Palin “unqualified” to serve as president – by far the worst score for any leading Republican. In comparison, only 51% of Americans say they would never consider voting for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee – and...

In 2008, a charismatic right-wing populist Republican governor won the heart of the party's base despite being forced to take a backseat to a more respectable "moderate" Republican. He was Mike Huckabee, and he is sad, and mad. Ben Smith followed Mike Huckabee around for a while as he sold his new Christmas book. Huckabee was the governor of Arkansas. He used to be fat, and then he got skinny, and now he is getting fat again. He's also basically as crazy Christian as they come, but he masks this with a genuinely likable sense of humor, which is why...

Just had the 218th vote, which is what they need to psas th ebill

President Barack Obama will leave the country for a four-nation tour of Asia starting Wednesday despite a host of domestic concerns, including the massacre at Fort Hood, a sharply rising jobless rate, his health care legislation stalled in the Senate and his Afghanistan troop decision still pending. He planned his Nov. 11-19 trip around the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore, but added stops in Japan, China and South Korea. The itinerary reflects the growing importance of East Asia — especially China — to everything from financing U.S. debt and powering the global economic recovery to climate change, disease...

Any judgment of Barack Obama’s presidency based on a handful of off-year races is overstating the case. Trying to decipher the real meaning is something like reading tea leaves, and just as reliable. Still, they are clues and warnings, at least, for the national parties. My reading of the leaves: independents flexed their muscle and gave Obama a warning, passing health care reform is going to be a little harder but still in the cards, and New York voters deepened the Republican identity crisis. You could say this was in a part the opening blow of Obama vs. Sarah Palin...

Tuesday night the plans of Barack Obama and the democrat/communist party took some severe blows in New Jersey and Virginia. A strong message was sent by the American people that we are not pleased with Obama’s perverted vision for America. That he and his democrat/communist party are on the wrong track. So who is the focus of White House greaseball David Axelrod? Sarah Palin! That’s right, Palin; the so-called supposed insignificant, washed up “quitter.” I mean that’s what the democrat/communists and their lap dogs in the media shout all day every day. For such an insignificant woman, Sarah sure does...

Democrats have some thinking to do after Tuesday's elections, but Republicans don't have time to think. They're too busy trying to survive the party's internal purge and avoid being shipped off to political Siberia. Will loyal members inform on others for harboring suspiciously moderate views? Will anyone judged guilty have to wear a sign saying "Republican In Name Only" as penance? Will there be re-education camps? Will deviationists face the Enhanced Interrogation Technique of being forced to listen to the wit and wisdom of Glenn Beck, at ear-splitting volume, for days on end? Or worse: When Sarah Palin's memoir, "Going...

For all that's transpired since his election as president, public opinion has not moved on the big issue, the current economy. The question a year later is how long Obama's got until it goes up, or he goes down – possibly with his party in tow. Health care reform draws a divided public response as well, with support for a variety of initiatives coupled with significant concern that they could do more harm than good. Some of Obama's best ratings lately have been in handling international affairs, contrary to questions during the 2008 campaign about his readiness for the global...

IBD has a very important article on the fool Biden and how Governor Palin could not be more correct on US energy needs and reserves. This is the most significant security issue facing America and demonstrates why the left is so dangerous and anti-American. Leadership: As Palin jousts with Biden on energy independence, the government reports that we lead the world in energy reserves. From oil to gas to coal, we are sitting on prosperity. So why are we importing anything? One of the interesting sidelights of the NY-23 race was an exchange on energy independence between Vice President Joe...

Leadership: As Palin jousts with Biden on energy independence, the government reports that we lead the world in energy reserves. From oil to gas to coal, we are sitting on prosperity. So why are we importing anything? One of the interesting sidelights of the NY-23 race was an exchange on energy independence between Vice President Joe Biden and the former governor of energy-rich Alaska, Sarah Palin. Biden, who came in to campaign for Democrat Bill Owens, was reminded of the issue of energy. "The fact of the matter is that Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy was 'Drill, baby,...

WASHINGTON – Ignoring a Republican boycott, Senate Democrats pushed a precedent-setting climate bill through a key committee Thursday. Rep. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, had delayed the crucial vote for days because of a Republican protest over whether the cost of the legislation had been fully examined. But the California Democrat moved quickly to pass the bill, which for the first time would set mandatory limits on heat-trapping gases, without any of the seven GOP senators on the panel present. The measure cleared the panel on a 11-1 vote. Boxer said the Republican demand...

Whatever happens tomorrow in the NY-23 race will be anticlimactic. Now that Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate, has dropped out, there has already been a clear and historic victory for the Conservative Party. The Republican Party is now a third party in NY-23. The Conservative Party of New York was formed in 1962, but is the focus now of national interest. And it cannot be denied that Sarah Palin was the first major national political figure to cross the river to NY-23. The new energy heading to NY-23 is formed out of the Tea Party and Town Hall movements. We...

He was called a dumb actor -- a mere mouthpiece for wealthy controllers on the right, who fed him lines and pointed him toward a lectern to deliver them. He communicated well and knew how to act the part, having trained in those arts. But he was really an empty suit. Today, many rank that man -- Ronald Reagan -- among our greatest presidents. That he was not the derogatory things he had been called was a matter of record. Well before running for the presidency he had wedded himself to the core ideas he espoused in that office --...

Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson had the guts to do what Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and the entire Republican Party would not do. One month ago, Thompson became the first prominent national Republican to endorse Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the New York District 23 Congressional race. Palin made an even bigger impact by endorsing Hoffman a week and a half ago. In doing so, Palin lived up to her penchant for going against the mainstream and taking on powerbrokers inside her own party. For those who have not heard about this race, local and national Republican...

Rush Limbaugh appeared on "Fox News Sunday" today, and said Sarah Palin is ready to be president. He also predicted a revolt against Democrats in 2010, and a loss for President Obama in 2012: (VIDEO AT LINK)

To those here who watched this happen, this is a great moment. For those of us here that root for Sarah and all she brings to America, this is an example of the strength she has in her words and abilities already.... There can be NO question in the power elites of either party, and even in the White House, what happened: Sarah Palin endorsed a candidate and changed the out come of an election. Period. Others can say what they will, but those are the facts, as they happened: 1. Sarah Endorsed Hoffma 2. Money flowed in from HER...

Palin says 'not now' to Iowa invite

She’s not coming, but would like to in the future. She’d also come for free. Bryan English at the Iowa Family Policy Center just sent the following press release: "10/30/09 Pleasant Hill, IA – Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION received word this morning that Governor Sarah Palin is unable to accept our speaking invitation due to her book tour contractual commitments, which cannot be changed. We extended our invitation knowing she would be in the middle of her book tour and the chances of her being able to accept any invitations were extremely slim. She has asked if she could...

The Iowa Family Policy Center makes official what Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton suggested to me earlier this week: that the former Alaska governor won't be appearing before the social conservative group later this month. Apparently, issuing a statement before she commits suggesting she may be coming and dangling $100,000 at her isn't the way to coax Palin into an appearance. "Iowa Family Policy Center ACTION received word this morning that Governor Sarah Palin is unable to accept our speaking invitation due to her book tour contractual commitments, which cannot be changed. We extended our invitation knowing she would be in...

Is the New IRS Wealth Squad Coming for You? Smart Money, Oct. 27, 2009 Being wealthy has its downsides, chief among them the higher risk of an IRS audit. Now, amid the continuing debate over whether the government is doing enough to combat financial fraud, comes news that gives the uber-wealthy – or maybe even the “merely” wealthy – yet another reason to fear Uncle Sam’s attention. In a speech before the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or AICPA, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced the recent formation of a new unit, dubbed Global High Wealth Industry Group, which will focus on the...

WASHINGTON (CNN) - More than seven in 10 Americans think Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president, according to a new national poll. Seventy-one percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning believe the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee is not qualified to be president, with 29 percent saying she does have the credentials to serve in the White House. Republicans appear split, with 52 percent saying she's qualified and 47 percent disagreeing with that view. The poll indicates that about half of the country, 51 percent, has an unfavorable...

Huckabee cannot win in 2012 for many reasons, but one reason stands out above all others. Huckabee simply cannot appeal to voters outside of his Evangelical base. In a national election he would be a certain loser. Romney also has many reasons he cannot win, but one really stands out. ROMNEYCARE. One of the biggest, if not the biggest weapons the Republicans are going to have in 2012 is going to be the attempt of the democrats to push through OBAMACARE. Republicans will be able to draw a stark contrast between them and the democrats over health care. Unless of...