Governor Palin’s Policies and the Black Community–Part I

By Adrienne Ross – http://www.motivationtruth.com

February is Black History Month, and as I have already been planning to address how Governor Palin’s principles and policies greatly benefit the Black community, there is no better time than now for Part I.

It is unfortunate that so many on the Left seek to paint conservatives in general, and Governor Palin in particular, as racists at worst and racially out of touch at best. They have created and cultivated the narrative that liberals have the road map for leading Black people to the Promised Land, while people like Palin would much prefer we still worked the plantation. They suggest that the pro-Constitution, pro-limited government, pro-personal responsibility, and pro-fiscal restraint message is one designed to ignore, isolate, or inhibit people of African descent, as if any of those things are anathema to the Black community. They have successfully–at least up until now–managed to convince some 90% of Blacks that they are the answer to their every question and that they can take us where we need to go. On the other hand, conservatives, they say, are committed to forming a blockade to impede our progress, and therefore are our biggest problem.

Their assertions play on the emotions of those who refuse to look at the facts. For too long the far-Left has gotten away with making claims for which they have no evidence. I have dealt with questions about why I, a Black woman, support Governor Palin and what she stands for. I have dealt with some rather unreasonable people who have hurled insults at both the Governor and me. These arguments have no substance, as one surely noticed here when I appeared on Sistah Talk TV and was asked how I could call myself a Black woman when I supported Governor Palin. Not one iota of evidence of racism by Governor Palin, the tea party, or Republicans was offered. All that was presented was a whole lot of attitude.

So let’s move past all the charged unsubstantiated claims and hysterical emotion, and let’s deal with the facts instead.

I have said a multitude of times that what Governor Palin stands for is of benefit to all Americans, but absolutely essential for the Black community. If America is in jeopardy because of the policies of this current administration–and it is–the Black community is at an even greater risk. So how exactly does Governor Palin’s policies, principles, and practices serve the Black community? I will deal with several issues over several posts. Today, I’ll deal with what is, without a doubt, the most important issue of all.

Governor Palin’s name is synonymous with pro-life. Some love her for this, while others despise her for the same. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny this: she has not only talked the talk; she has walked the walk. She has lived out her commitment to the sanctity of human life. I stand juxtaposed with the 90% of Black Americans who vote Democrat every time, but my stand is nothing compared to Governor Palin’s. Her life story stands juxtaposed with the fact that 90% of Down Syndrome pregnancies end in abortion. She has annihilated the argument that was sure to come: “Governor, you have never been in such a situation, so you don’t know what you would do.” She has been there, and we all know what she has done–with no regrets.

Abortion is a world problem, surely an American problem, and most notably a Black problem. Its impact on the Black population is astounding, as it is responsible for the fact that we are on a journey from which we cannot return if we continue at this rate of speed.

BlackGenocide.org shares the following chart and video clip which document the countdown to extinction for Blacks as a result of abortion:

I marvel at politicians and so-called leaders in America who are adamant about supporting Planned Parenthood and the pro-choice movement. Planned Parenthood, of course, was started by Margaret Sanger, racist and eugenicist, who was committed to the destruction of the Black population. Planned Parenthood’s current racist agenda has been exposed several times, yet they still receive federal dollars. Almost 80% of Planned Parenthood clinics are in Black neighborhoods. That was always the plan. Yet we have fallen for it lock, stock, and barrel. Instead of railing against this gross injustice, instead of condemning this blatant racism, and instead of doing everything possible to stop its progress, Black leaders would rather point their fingers at conservatives. They would rather call Governor Palin a racist, even as they align themselves with the anti-Black, dangerous, and mind-blowing game plan of the abortion industry. And yet they ask me how I could call myself a Black woman and support Governor Palin? Perhaps I should pose a question to them: How dare they, purporting to care about the plight of others, accuse anyone of racism when they themselves are participating in the destruction of a whole race of people?

Governor Palin has endured unseemly criticism, verbal attacks, and character assassination, yet she has stood up for life. She has challenged America to embrace a culture a life. In so doing, she has proven herself to be more a lover of Black people than the 90% of Blacks who seem unconcerned about this issue and continue to vote for other unconcerned people in their Party.

And where does President Obama, so loudly praised as the first Black president, stand on this issue? Surely he, of all people, knows the facts, the statistics, the history behind the abortion industry. Surely he stands up for the Black community. Think again.

Take a look at then-candidate and Senator Barack Obama addressing Planned Parenthood about his commitment to abortion and the Freedom of Choice Act, which is just sick–at least to anyone who has a modicum of respect for the sanctity of life.

President Obama, who is brilliant, or so his supporters daily tell us, doesn’t bat an eye giving his blessing to a practice that has snuffed out more Black lives than the various other dangers and causes of death in the Black community–combined.

Now watch Governor Palin as she addresses Obama’s radical view on abortion. The difference is glaring. As you listen to her, ask yourself the following question: which one of these leaders do you think is more a friend of the Black community? President Obama’s Harvard University education, with all its prestige, still left him void of the basic understanding of when a baby is entitled to human rights. Such an answer, he says, is above his pay grade. Give me Governor Palin anyday, for my people’s very survival depends on it.

Abortion is an issue of humanity and morality for all people, yes. Life must be deemed valuable, no matter the color. However, with a mere cursory research into the facts, no one can deny its impact on the Black community in particular–a systematic impact that has proven successful because we, as a people, have done what Governor Palin will not do: we’ve sold out and locked arms with others who have sold us out. I’m reminded of the classic, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. When Ruth discovers she’s pregnant, she goes to see the “doctor” about an abortion because her marriage is already strained. Lena, the matriarch of the family, expects her grown son, Walter, to put a stop to it. So consumed with his own dreams, Walter remains silent. Lena then declares:

I’m waiting to hear how you’d be like
the man your father was.

Your wife said she’s going to
destroy your child.

I’m waiting to hear you talk
like your father…

…and say we’re a people who give
children life, not who destroys them.

I’m waiting to see you stand up
and look like your daddy…

…and say, we gave up one baby
to poverty. We ain’t giving up another.

I’m waiting!

If you be a son of mine,
you’ll tell her.

Walter never does say anything, and in disgust, his mother spits:

You’re a disgrace
to your father’s memory.

This is where I come from–a people who believed in life, ancestors who, more than anything, wanted life for their children, who risked their own lives for it. How far we have fallen. And to the extent that we have allowed the horror of abortion to set us on the path of extinction, we, too, are a disgrace to the memory of our forefathers and foremothers.

Later, when offered money not to move into a White neighborhood, Lena tells her son:

Son – I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor…We ain’t never been that – dead inside.

Planned Parenthood offers us close proximity, what they call health care, and a way out. They offer us a service, tell us it’s for our own good. All it costs us is our soul–and our future. I’m inclined, however, to agree with Lena: surely we ain’t that poor or that dead inside.

As a people, we have many challenges to overcome, obstacles to climb. Governor Palin would call this “less than ideal circumstances.” We must, nonetheless, stop these voices from speaking death and destruction into our lives, and still the hands so ready to perform it. Race baiting liberals, quick to call out racism where it does not exist, have shown their true colors, and have assented to the racism that does exist. yes, Black people have agreed with those who have deemed us unfit to walk the earth. We may never say so, but the old adage still rings true: actions speak louder than words.

I honor Governor Palin because in her fight for life and in her refusal to sit down and shut up on this issue, she has shown herself to be a friend of the Black community in ways that even the Black community has not been a friend to themselves–and surely the people they’re voting for have not been friendly. We’ve been duped, bamboozled, played.

Why is Governor Palin good for the Black community? It should be obvious. You can keep the Left’s racist agenda, you can keep Al Sharpton and Company, you can keep Hillary Clinton, and you can surely keep President Obama, who ought to know better, as Rick Santorum pointed out and was excoriated as a result. Santorum stood by his comments and took Al Sharpton apart in a debate on “Hannity.” What a shame that Sharpton was calling Santorum’s comments racist when all he was doing was fighting for the lives of Black babies. It’s sickness to the nth power when the self-appointed civil rights activist is arguing with Rick Santorum’s support of the rights of Blacks within the womb. Can you say hypocrisy?

Yes, you can keep all these people who ignore the horrors of abortion and the effect it has on the Black community; I’ll take Governor Palin’s policies, principles, and practices anyday.

It’s Black History Month, and as you see the commercials, hear the music, and watch the celebrations sure to come, even as the Left continues to masquerade as the pro-Black Party, and even as they persist in painting Governor Palin and conservatives as racist conspirators of hate, wade through all of the nonsense and you’ll see the truth. America needs Governor Palin, and the Black community needs her even more–for many reasons. Her respect for the sanctity of all human life is just one of them, but what an important one it is.

Take some time to digest more information from BlackGenocide.org:

Minority women constitute only about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the United States, but they underwent approximately 36% of the abortions.

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion

On average, 1,876 black babies are aborted every day in the United States.

This incidence of abortion has resulted in a tremendous loss of life. It has been estimated that since 1973 Black women have had about 16 million abortions. Michael Novak had calculated “Since the number of current living Blacks (in the U.S.) is 36 million, the missing 16 million represents an enormous loss, for without abortion, America’s Black community would now number 52 million persons. It would be 36 percent larger than it is. Abortion has swept through the Black community like a scythe, cutting down every fourth member.”

A highly significant 1993 Howard University study showed that African American women over age 50 were 4.7 times more likely to get breast cancer if they had had any abortions compared to women who had not had any abortions.

Check out this short video at BlackDignity.org.

REAGAN FLASHBACK: President Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address

Video and transcript of President Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address in 1981.  If Governor Sarah Palin is elected President in 2012, she will face similar problems to those President Reagan discussed in his inauguration speech. Will President Palin’s speech express the same conservative principles? You betcha!

Transcript from Bartleby.com:

Ronald Reagan

First Inaugural Address

Tuesday, January 20, 1981

For the first time, an inauguration ceremony was held on the terrace of the West Front of the Capitol. Chief Justice Warren Burger administered the oath of office to the former broadcaster, screen actor, and Governor of California. In the election of 1980, the Republicans won the White House and a majority in the Senate. On inauguration day, American hostages held by the revolutionary government of Iran were released.

Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O’Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and my fellow citizens: To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.

Mr. President, I want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition. By your gracious cooperation in the transition process, you have shown a watching world that we are a united people pledged to maintaining a political system which guarantees individual liberty to a greater degree than any other, and I thank you and your people for all your help in maintaining the continuity which is the bulwark of our Republic.

The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.

Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children’s future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?

We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding—we are going to begin to act, beginning today.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem.

From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and our factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we are sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, “We the people,” this breed called Americans.

Well, this administration’s objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunity for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this “new beginning” and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world.

So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work—work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why, for so many years, we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here, in this land, we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we are too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We are not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope.

We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we are in a time when there are no heroes just don’t know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter—and they are on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They are individuals and families whose taxes support the Government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet but deep. Their values sustain our national life.

I have used the words “they” and “their” in speaking of these heroes. I could say “you” and “your” because I am addressing the heroes of whom I speak—you, the citizens of this blessed land. Your dreams, your hopes, your goals are going to be the dreams, the hopes, and the goals of this administration, so help me God.

We shall reflect the compassion that is so much a part of your makeup. How can we love our country and not love our countrymen, and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they are sick, and provide opportunities to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory?

Can we solve the problems confronting us? Well, the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic “yes.” To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world’s strongest economy.

In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity. Steps will be taken aimed at restoring the balance between the various levels of government. Progress may be slow—measured in inches and feet, not miles—but we will progress. Is it time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise.

On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of…. On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.”

Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for ourselves, our children and our children’s children.

And as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not now have freedom.

To those neighbors and allies who share our freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for our own sovereignty is not for sale.

As for the enemies of freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not surrender for it—now or ever.

Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.

Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors.

I am told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer.

This is the first time in history that this ceremony has been held, as you have been told, on this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand.

Directly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man: George Washington, Father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence.

And then beyond the Reflecting Pool the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.

Each one of those markers is a monument to the kinds of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.

Under one such marker lies a young man—Martin Treptow—who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.

We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, “My Pledge,” he had written these words: “America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.

And, after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans. God bless you, and thank you.

Politico makes things up, blames Reno reporter

– by Josh Painter
*
Politico has been making things up about Sarah Palin again:

Palin’s putting the safety catch on her references to weapons in the wake of Rep. Giffords’s shooting.

Her speech last night to the Safari Club in Reno was closed press, but thanks to the Reno Gazette-Journal’s David Jacobs putting his ear to a closed door, we’re hearing the former Alaska governor’s new line.

Palin dropped the “reload” phrase from her routine, telling the audience of hunters “don’t retreat, stand tall” — a shift from her now infamous and well-known “don’t retreat, reload” line that played on a loop on cable in the after the Tucson shooting.

In the wake of the tragedy, Palin came under attack for having put Giffords’s district in crosshairs on her website.

Andy Barr wrote the brief article from which the excerpt above was taken. Notice that Politico makes the assumption, based on what another reporter wrote after trying to listen to Gov. Palin’s address through a closed door, that the Mama Grizzy had somehow been forced to retreat from her often used “Don’t retreat, just reload” phrase. Barr or his editors had titled his piece “Palin retreats, won’t reload”, and published it on Politico’s website.

But SarahPAC’s Rebecca Mansour wouldn’t let Politico get away with making things up, and she showed just how unfounded was the website’s assumption when she tweeted:

For the record, this story is inaccurate http://j.mp/h5g5xG Yesterday in Reno Gov. Palin did say her trademark line “Don’t retreat, reload.”

Politico quickly scrubbed Barr’s article and then posted a rewrite to the original story’s url:

Palin’s firing back after a Nevada newspaper reported she put a muzzle on her trademark “Don’t retreat, reload!!” phrase in the wake of Rep. Giffords’s shooting.

Her speech last night to the Safari Club in Reno was closed press, but the Reno Gazette-Journal’s David Jacobs put his ear to a closed door.

He reported Palin dropped the “reload” phrase from her routine, telling the audience of hunters “don’t retreat, stand tall” — a shift from her now infamous and well-known “don’t retreat, reload” line that played on a loop on cable in the after the Tucson shooting.

But Palin aide Rebecca Mansour denied that the former governor dropped the line, suggested to her by her father.

“The governor actually did use the phrase ‘Don’t retreat, reload,'” Mansour told POLITICO in an email. “She also said, ‘Don’t retreat, stand tall.'”

“Her father, Chuck Heath, was present at the speech yesterday, and the crowd cheered when she pointed to her Dad and repeated this favorite saying of his,” the aide added.

The rewritten article is titled “Palin retreat? She’s reloading,” and Poltico never printed a retraction or an apology. Politico’s editors instead are trying to put the blame on the Reno Gazette Journal’s David Jacobs. But here’s what Jacobs wrote:

“Don’t retreat, stand tall,” Palin told the crowd as she emphasized the importance of “responsible conservation.”

Jacobs never mentions in his article that Gov. Palin also said, “Don’t retreat, reload” in her speech, but he also never implied that she didn’t say it. There was no reason for Barr’s editors to make that assumption, but make it they did. Why? Because Politico is also looking for an angle on a Palin story where Gov. Palin can be portrayed as inconsistent, weak, backing down, etc. In other words, any type of negative spin the leftist website can try to associate with the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate, it will pursue.

Bad enough that Politico scrubbed the original article, but pointing a finger at a local reporter is really unprofessional, not to mention low down. We couldn’t find a cache of the original Politico article, so thoroughly was the scrub job, but fortunately some newspapers and associated websites republish Politico news articles. One of those sites is Philly.com, where we found the original piece intact.

Cross-posted from Texas for Sarah Palin

– JP

Hotline: Gov. Palin outraises Mitt Romney, rivals at year’s end

– by Josh Painter
*
National Journal’s Hotline On Call reports that Sarah Palin led all of her potential rivals for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination in end-of-the-year fundraising, even finishing ahead of her closest competitor Mitt Romney:

Both Palin and Romney filed impressive year-end fundraising reports, due Monday at the Federal Election Commission. From Nov. 23 and Dec. 31, Palin’s Sarah PAC hauled in $279,000. She finished the year with $1.3 million in her campaign account.

Palin’s total is particularly striking because she outraised Romney using only a federal political action committee. Romney’s series of state level PACs set up in Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina, detailed in a New York Times report last year, allows big donors to max out both to Romney’s federal committee, the Free and Strong America PAC, and to his state organizations, which often have higher contribution limits.

That state network helped Romney outraise Palin in the previous reporting period, which covered mid-October to the end of November. He wasn’t as fortunate in the final reporting period of the year. In the last five weeks of 2010, Romney’s federal PAC raised almost $175,000 and his state PACs hauled in $36,000, bringing his total haul to almost $211,000 — less than Palin’s take for the same period.

[More]

Hotline’s Jeremy P. Jacobs says Gov. Palin’s fundraising success shows that she has cultivated a dedicated network of contributors, most of them small donors. As for the other potential GOP candidates, none of their fundraising efforts even came close to those of the two front runners.

Cross-posted from Texas for Sarah Palin

– JP

Senator Schumer: Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? A Post by Conservative Girl with a Voice

Remember how a large number of House of Representative members took the time to read the Constitution on the House floor? Well, it looks as if the members of the Senate should consider doing the very same, well at least if your name is Chuck Schumer, that is. Recently, on CNN‘s State of the Union, he said the following about the three branches of government:

We Have three Branches of Government. We Have a House, a Senate and a President.

The House, the Senate and the President- yes, you read it right. Is that your final answer, Senator Schumer? Because if it is, you’re wrong. Perhaps if you were listening in history class or even to your constituents, you would realize that the three branches of government are the legislative, executive and judicial. I know this, and I bet if you asked a fifth-grade class, the majority of them would know this too, but do the media choose to report this misstep? If you said, “no,” then you are exactly right. Now, imagine if the tables were turned and Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann had said such a thing. The media would turn around and make it the top story on the five o’clock news. Leftist so-called journalists like Chris Matthews would get all giddy and develop a tingling all over just describing every epic detail of what was said- everything from the way they said it, to whether or not they were looking at the camera. I guarantee it!

This is yet another example of the world we live in today. While it is perfectly all right for a liberal, senior member of the Senate to screw up, it is intolerable and down-right unintelligent if a member of the Republican party were to so much as utter the occasional “umm” during an interview. This is the world we live in today. A world in which liberals can mess up and misstate elements of American history, but everyone else better watch their “p’s” and “q’s.” How ironic is this coming from a man who said this shortly after Palin was selected to be John McCain’s running mate:

After the great success of the Democratic convention, the choice of Sarah Palin is surely a Hail Mary pass. It is a real roll of the dice and shows how John McCain, Karl Rove et al realize what a strong position the Obama-Biden team and Democrats in general are in in this election. Certainly the choice of Palin puts to rest any argument about inexperience on the Democratic team and while Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling. I particularly look forward to the Biden-Palin debate in Missouri.
Well, Senator Schumer, I guarantee Palin never will utter the same gaffe you made this weekend. Instead of uttering ridiculous statements, I suggest Senator Schumer take a play out of Palin’s playbook and brush up on the history of government- maybe it is time to brush up on the Constitution because until you do, I will be left wondering if you are smarter than the fifth graders you represent…

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Media Adds Huntsman To GOP “Possible Candidate” List Of 17.Don’t Miss Your Chance for 15 Minutes Meaningless Speculation Fame

Just these last two weeks the media has run articles on Daniels/Pence/Barbour/Bachman as 2012 likely Republican candidates for the presidential nomination with all ensuing breathless analysis. Then this week they had a field day with the news that Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman may be making his moves and produced screeds of analysis on how that may hurt Romney’s chances.

During this period the running attacks on Palin’s possible candidacy, Huckabee’s sojourns to Israel and Alaska, Romney finally lifting his profile, Pence out of the running carried on relentlessly.

But why should these 17 have all the fun-since the media seem determined that anyone is a possible candidate,given some of these putative “candidates’ are pretty far-fetched? Why shouldn’t the man/woman in the street get their 15 minutes of media speculation? Go on,send an email to your local newspaper announcing you too are a candidate.

That would be taking things just as seriously as they are now.

Here’s the latest list of the 17 people the media have designated as running

Donald trump
Herman Cain
Mike Huckabee
Sarah Palin
Mitt Romney
Newt Gingrich
Chris Christie
Rick Perry
Mitch Daniels
Tim Pawlenty
Mike Pence
Haley Barbour
Jim DeMint
Jon Huntsman
Rick Santorum
John Thune
Michele Bachman

PALIN FLASHBACK: The Most Popular Governor

The article that introduced then Governor Sarah Palin to the Lower 48:

The Most Popular Governor

Alaska’s Sarah Palin is the GOP’s newest star.

Jul 16, 2007, Vol. 12, No. 41 • By FRED BARNES

Juneau

The wipeout in the 2006 election left Republicans in such a state of dejection that they’ve overlooked the one shining victory in which a Republican star was born. The triumph came in Alaska where Sarah Palin, a politician of eye-popping integrity, was elected governor. She is now the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and probably the most popular public official in any state.

Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle–especially to transparency and accountability in government–can produce political success. And by the way, Palin is a conservative who only last month vetoed 13 percent of the state’s proposed budget for capital projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, “may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history.”

As recently as last year, Palin (pronounced pale-in) was a political outcast. She resigned in January 2004 as head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission after complaining to the office of Governor Frank Murkowski and to state Attorney General Gregg Renkes about ethical violations by another commissioner, Randy Ruedrich, who was also Republican state chairman.

State law barred Palin from speaking out publicly about ethical violations and corruption. But she was vindicated later in 2004 when Ruedrich, who’d been reconfirmed as state chairman, agreed to pay a $12,000 fine for breaking state ethics laws. She became a hero in the eyes of the public and the press, and the bane of Republican leaders.

In 2005, she continued to take on the Republican establishment by joining Eric Croft, a Democrat, in lodging an ethics complaint against Renkes, who was not only attorney general but also a long-time adviser and campaign manager for Murkowski. The governor reprimanded Renkes and said the case was closed. It wasn’t. Renkes resigned a few weeks later, and Palin was again hailed as a hero.

Palin, 43, the mother of four, passed up a chance to challenge Republican senator Lisa Murkowski, the then-governor’s daughter, in 2004. She endorsed another candidate in the primary, but Murkowski won and was reelected. Palin said then that her 14-year-old son talked her out of running, though it’s doubtful that was the sole reason.

In 2006, she didn’t hesitate. She ran against Gov. Murkowski, who was seeking a second term despite sagging poll ratings, in the Republican primary. In a three-way race, Palin captured 51 percent and won in a landslide. She defeated former Democratic governor Tony Knowles in the general election, 49 percent to 41 percent. She was one of the few Republicans anywhere in the country to perform above expectations in 2006, an overwhelmingly Democratic year. Palin is unabashedly pro life.

With her emphasis on ethics and openness in government, “it turned out Palin caught the temper of the times perfectly,” wrote Tom Kizzia of the Anchorage Daily News. She was also lucky. News broke of an FBI investigation of corruption by legislators between the primary and general elections. So far, three legislators have been indicted.

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. “The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah,” says pollster Dave Dittman, who worked for her gubernatorial campaign. It includes Ruedrich, Renkes, Murkowski, gubernatorial contenders John Binkley and Andrew Halcro, the three big oil companies in Alaska, and a section of the Daily News called “Voice of the Times,” which was highly critical of Palin and is now defunct.

One of her first acts as governor was to fire the Alaska Board of Agriculture. Her ultimate target was the state Creamery Board, which has been marketing the products of Alaska dairy farmers for 71 years and wanted to close down after receiving $600,000 from the state. “You don’t just close your doors and walk away,” Palin told me. She discovered she lacked the power to fire the Creamery Board. Only the board of agriculture had that authority. So Palin replaced the agriculture board, which appointed a new creamery board, which has rescinded the plan to shut down.

In preserving support for dairy farmers, Palin exhibited a kind of Alaskan chauvinism. She came to the state as an infant, making her practically a native. And she is eager to keep Alaska free from domination by oil companies or from reliance on cruise lines whose ships bring thousands of tourists to the state.

“She’s as Alaskan as you can get,” says Dan Fagan, an Anchorage radio talk show host. “She’s a hockey mom, she lives on a lake, she ice fishes, she snowmobiles, she hunts, she’s an NRA member, she has a float plane, and her husband works for BP on the North Slope,” Fagan says. Todd Palin, her high school sweetheart, is a three-time winner of the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. It’s the world’s longest snowmobile race.

Gov. Palin grew up in Wasilla, where as star of her high school basketball team she got the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” for her fierce competitiveness. She led her underdog team to the state basketball championship. Palin also won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest, in which she was named Miss Congeniality, and went on to compete in the Miss Alaska pageant.

At 32, she was elected mayor of Wasilla, a burgeoning bedroom community outside Anchorage. Though Alaskans tend to be ferociously anti-tax, she persuaded Wasilla voters to increase the local sales tax to pay for an indoor arena and convention center. The tax referendum won by 20 votes.

In 2002, Palin entered statewide politics, running for lieutenant governor. She finished a strong second in the Republican primary. That fall, she dutifully campaigned for Murkowski, who’d given up his Senate seat to run for governor. Afterwards, she turned down several job offers from Murkowski, finally accepting the oil and gas post. When she quit 11 months later, “that was her defining moment” in politics, says Fagan.

Her campaign for governor was bumpy. She missed enough campaign appearances to be tagged “No Show Sarah” by her opponents. She was criticized for being vague on issues. But she sold voters on the one product that mattered: herself.

Her Christian faith–Palin grew up attending nondenominational Bible churches–was a minor issue in the race. She told me her faith affects her politics this way: “I believe everything happens for a purpose. In my own personal life, if I dedicated back to my Creator what I’m trying to create for the good . . . everything will turn out fine.” That same concept applies to her political career, she suggested.

The biggest issue in the campaign was the proposed natural gas pipeline from the North Slope that’s crucial to the state’s economy. Murkowski had made a deal with the three big oil companies–Exxon, BP, ConocoPhillips–which own the gas reserves to build the pipeline. But the legislature turned it down and Palin promised to create competition for the pipeline contract.

She made three other promises: to end corruption in state government, cut spending, and provide accountability. She’s now redeeming those promises.

Palin describes herself as “pro-business and pro-development.” She doesn’t want the oil companies to sit on their energy reserves or environmental groups to block development of the state’s resources. “I get frustrated with folks from outside Alaska who come up and say you shouldn’t develop your resources,” she says. Alaska needs to be self-sufficient, she says, instead of relying heavily on “federal dollars,” as the state does today.

Her first major achievement as governor was lopsided passage by the legislature of the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, which is designed to attract pipeline proposals this summer. The state is offering $500 million in incentives, but the developer must meet strict requirements. The oil companies have said they won’t join the competition.

Palin’s tough spending cuts drew criticism from Republican legislators whose pet projects were vetoed. But her popularity doesn’t appear threatened. “It’s not just that she’s pretty and young,” says Dittman. “She’s really smart. And there’s no guile. She says her favorite meal is moose stew or mooseburgers. It wouldn’t shock people if that were true.”

Fred Barnes is executive editor of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.