Sarah Palin strikes back at Journolist's 'sick puppies'

The Daily Caller ^ | July 22, 2010 | Jonathan Strong

[2ndDivisionVet]

From a remote location on an island off Alaska’s coast, former Governor Sarah Palin is blasting what she describes as the “sick puppies” in the media who immediately and ruthlessly attacked her when Sen. John McCain picked her as his running mate during the 2008 presidential campaign.

In exclusive remarks to The Daily Caller, Palin described “hordes of Obama’s opposition researchers-slash ‘reporters’” descending upon Alaska in the days after she was picked by McCain.

She said the media became a key reason she decided not to finish out her term as governor and faults, in part, the McCain campaign for failing to vigorously defend her.

Palin chose to be a public figure at the highest level, as a candidate in a presidential campaign, arguably inviting the most intense scrutiny imaginable.

Yet The DC revealed posts from Jounolist that show liberal journalists coordinating attack lines against Palin from the moment McCain picked her, suggesting she may have had the deck stacked against her.

Palin said she sensed the vitriol coming from campaign reporters at the time.

“It was too obvious to me, my family, my administration and anyone else who knew me (and my record) that we were in a defenseless position the minute I gave my acceptance speech and the hordes of Obama’s opposition researchers-slash ‘reporters’ had descended upon Alaska,” Palin told The DC.

Palin, whose conflicts with key McCain campaign staffers are infamous, said the campaign could have stood by her more firmly.

“To not have had the McCain campaign staff defend my record was an insurmountable challenge, because once a bell is rung, it’s impossible to un-ring,” Palin said.

Regarding a television interview with Katie Couric widely seen at the time as a turning point in the public’s perception of Palin, which critics argued illustrated Palin’s inexperience, Palin said the interview was selectively edited.

“It didn’t help, either, that the hours and hours of interviews with the likes of Katie Couric resulted in a few minutes here and there of selected snippets of my annoyed answers. (I naively had not believed at the time of some of the badgering questions [for example, questioning my pro-life position] that the editing process would fulfill their biased purpose),” Palin said.

Palin says the feeding frenzy culture of the media galvanized her political opponents in Alaska. “The media incentivized political opponents to file false ethics charges and expensive, wasteful, frivolous lawsuits against me, my family and my staff, in an obvious attempt to destroy us,” Palin said.

When those lawsuits — which Palin said she won, but the media didn’t cover — caused legal costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Palin had finally had it, she said.

“I said, ‘Enough. Political adversaries and their political friends in the media will not destroy my State, my administration, nor my family. Enough.’ I knew if I didn’t play their game any longer, they could not win. I would not retreat, I would instead reload, and I would fight for what is right from a different plane.”

(VIDEO AT LINK: WATCH: JONATHAN STRONG ON FOX DISCUSSING JOURNOLIST TARGETING PALIN)

[2ndDivisionVet]

Comments?

[Diogenesis]

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

---

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

---

Kathleen Parker: "[I]t is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem." "Parker ... says something publicly that many of us have thought privately
but lacked the courage to say out loud - Palin should step down:"

---

"Kathleen Parker: After Interviews, Palin Should Bow Out"

---

Kathleen Parker: "Romney would bring more than squeaky clean qualifications
and youthful good looks to the ticket.
Romney would seem a logical choice."

---

"Parker: Romney raised bar on freedoms"
Kathleen Parker: "If Kennedy's speech was an important landmark in American political history,
Romney's was surpassing. With heartfelt humility and poetic eloquence,
he tracked the nation's struggle with and for freedom."

---

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

---

[Carley]

Thank you Sarah, for loving your country. Loving your family, and willingly devoting yourself to making America a better place despite the vitriol heaped on you from the losers on the left.

Our own right side losers are no less to blame for the ugliness heaped on you and your family.

[PAMadMax]

And they accused conservatives of getting marching orders from Limbaugh and Fox. Here we have a clear case of it on the left, complete with a vast “Left-Wing Conspiracy”....

Just damn....

[Mr. K]

GOD BLESS SARAH PALIN!!!!!!!

The ONLY question in my mind is who should be her running mate in 2012

I think Palin/Bachman would be an unbeatable ticket

(Romney? pu-leze... go away)

[jwparkerjr]

The failure of the McCain campaign to recognize her star power and take advantage of it to the fullest extent just tells me what a sorry campaign he ran. He’s simply not a leader. If he were he would have seen the potential she had for boosting his campaign and he would have cleaned house of any aide that failed to cash in on it.

IMHO, the people a candidate chooses to run the campaign tells me a LOT about how fit the person is for the post.

Sadly McCain failed that test miserably.

Even sadder to me is that I have the greatest respect for him and his service to our country. Like so many politicians he simply failed to realize when he got out of his realm.

[ScottinVA]

That is one day-um good photoshop job, whoever did it!!

[jdub]

McCain made a huge mistake in bringing in Romney’s staff. When Romney dropped out, he immediately set his sights on 2012. Why would people loyal to him actually try to help get another Republican elected and ruin Romney’s chances?

[VRW Conspirator]

She said the media became a key reason she decided not to finish out her term as governor and faults, in part, the McCain campaign for failing to vigorously defend her.

Unfortunately, the leftist attack machine scored a victory by motivating her to resign as governor. All in all, I think she made the right move. She is now a moving target. And John Effing McCain is on my permanent do-do list. Why is she now supporting McCain when he failed to support her where she really needed it?

[FrankR]

Romney has all the couth of a union boss...

[Cyber Liberty]

McCain is making up for his miserable campaign in ‘08 right now, with his wall-to-wall, tooth and nail smearing of JD Hayworth. He’s sweet and kind battling Dems, and a junkyard dog when it comes to Republicans. What’s with that?

[bk1000]

They are going to put Romney up as the ‘nominee’ just like they did McCain. The people be damned.

[jwparkerjr]

It was my considered opinion that his campaign was DOA from day one. I never had any hope that he would prevail. I don't think anyone could have beaten Obama. He simply had too much of a cheering section in the MSM, and too many whites who felt it was cool to vote for a black man.

I hate it when an election is over in my mind before it even gets going. Sarah put some hope into my heart,but I soon realized she was going to become a obsession for the MSM and Democrat machine.

I am amazed at how every election can be more critical than the last one. We are not solving any of our problems, just creating more by kicking the can down the road while stuffing their pockets with ill-gotten gains and feeding their already over-stuffed egos.

I can't really believe that things will be any better in two years. In fact, I fear they will be worse, much worse.

[piytar]

Ah, she’s just a quitter. /PDS idiots, including sadly some freepers

[Shelayne]

Sounds like a vast left wing conspiracy to me.

I soooo loathe these scumbags.

[ReneeLynn]

Sarah talks about list ping.

[onyx]

Ok thanks!

[onyx]

Sarah Palin strikes back at Journolist's 'sick puppies'

[SaraJohnson]

Because she was not supported and protected by McLame, she endorced him. That is smart.