Palin's future?

Assuming that Sarah Palin winds up watching the presidential inauguration on TV (an assumption that's looking safer and safer all the time), what will be her future within the GOP? Will she follow Dan (Mr. Potatoe) Quayle's example and fade into politic obscurity? Or will she become the de facto head of the GOP's wacko fringe, a al Pat (Sieg Heil!) Buchanan?

Personally, I hope she becomes a major player within the GOP; it would serve them right.

(I wonder if she'll be able to watch the inauguration on Russian TV, seeing as she's SOOOOO close to the Chukot Peninsula.)

Well bmd I share your hope that the GOP moves even further in that direction.

And I would not be surprised if it happens.

The rightwing fringe is where the energy is it seems.

What exactly differentiates your "right wing fringe" from your "reasonable Republican?"

Surrender in Iraq?
Support of elective abortions?
Voting Obama?

It's a serious question, gents.

Tell me what makes, in your eyes, the difference between the right wing fringe and a reasonable Republican.

tsk, tsk, Sheikben!

Don't you know there is no such thing as a reasonable Republican?

I should really like to hear them give me an example of a Republican TODAY who is not a member of the right wing fringe (it's always easy to speak well of what someone used to be). If they cannot think of anyone, it shows their term "fringe" means nothing.

When they do come up with someone, I expect it will be a RINO in New England who votes with the Democrats.

But Sherm, bmd, prove me wrong. Give me a Republican who is not on the fringe, and tell me what differentiates him or her from the fringe candidates.

SheikBen wrote:I should really like to hear them give me an example of a Republican TODAY who is not a member of the right wing fringe (it's always easy to speak well of what someone used to be). If they cannot think of anyone, it shows their term "fringe" means nothing.

When they do come up with someone, I expect it will be a RINO in New England who votes with the Democrats.

But Sherm, bmd, prove me wrong. Give me a Republican who is not on the fringe, and tell me what differentiates him or her from the fringe candidates.

How about Arlen Specter or Olympia Snowe (or maybe John Warner)? None of them let ideology trump reason.

Actually, I think that McCain is, at heart, much more moderate than his campaign persona. But internal GOP politics appears to have forced him to move far further to the right than he normally would, leaving the center open for Obama. That, in a nutshell, is the "Palin effect". Notice that the only time McCain has led Obama all year was right after the GOP convention. Palin solidified the support of the whack-jobs on the right, giving the McCain-Palin ticket a brief lead in the polls; but as soon as folks closer to the center figured out how nutty Palin actually is, Obama got the lead back and then some. (Of course, the current administration's fiscal policies haven't done McCain any good either.)

Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe both favor elective abortion rights.

I figured that was what qualified for you as "reasonable," that is, someone who agrees with you, while the fringe is anyone who does not.

How exactly has Obama moved to the center. Through his support of partial-birth abortion? Through his call for socialist medicine? Through his support for continuing to drop bombs overseas, just to do it more to different people?

I am not the least bit surprised that you see Obama as moving to the Center, because it becomes obvious that for you the Center is full of reasonable people who believe like you do, and the fringe is anyone who does not.

You know while I'm at it, what exactly makes Palin a whack job?

She is a Christian, is that it? A successful mother who chose not to abort her child (going to call that selfish, perhaps?) She believes that the world is going to end? (so too does Al Gore)

bmd wrote:
Actually, I think that McCain is, at heart, much more moderate than his campaign persona. But internal GOP politics appears to have forced him to move far further to the right than he normally would, leaving the center open for Obama. That, in a nutshell, is the "Palin effect". Notice that the only time McCain has led Obama all year was right after the GOP convention. Palin solidified the support of the whack-jobs on the right, giving the McCain-Palin ticket a brief lead in the polls; but as soon as folks closer to the center figured out how nutty Palin actually is, Obama got the lead back and then some. (Of course, the current administration's fiscal policies haven't done McCain any good either.)

YADA, .... YADA, ..... YADA, ...... HORSESHIDT.

You wanna see/read a "Palin effect", ........ then here, below, is but one of the latest of thousands which have been submitted ever since she appeared at the GOP convention. To wit:

October 14, 2008
Palin - Abuse of power

Tacky, tawdry, petty behavior was displayed by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin when she used her office to wage a family vendetta against the state trooper who divorced her sister. Palin fired the state public safety chief who wouldn't fire the trooper.

Last week, a special prosecutor found that Palin had legal authority to dismiss the public safety commissioner without cause, but she nonetheless violated Alaska's ethics law that forbids using public office for personal gain. The Washington Post commented:

"The special counsel's report concluding that Sarah Palin engaged in an unethical abuse of power in trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as an Alaska state trooper is a relatively minor event. But the report nonetheless offers a revealing and relevant portrait of the governor. It shows her and her husband pursuing a personal vendetta against the trooper, Mike Wooten, despite repeated warnings that they were impermissibly intruding into internal - and already concluded - disciplinary issues. Likewise, Ms. Palin's decision to repudiate her earlier pledge to cooperate fully with the inquiry does not offer assurance about how she would conduct herself as vice president."

CBS News added: "The report found that Palin, her husband Todd and her subordinates used pressure and intimidation to try to force the firing of Michael Wooten, beginning before her swearing-in ceremony took place, and therefore broke the law."

Oddly, Palin claimed she was vindicated by the finding that her termination of the public safety commissioner wasn't illegal. She told the Anchorage Daily News: "I'm very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing ... any hint of any kind of unethical activity."

That's bizarre. She wasn't cleared. Some Democrats in the Alaska legislature say they may file an impeachment attempt because of the prosecutor's finding.

Meanwhile, other Alaska troubles haunt the governor. Palin angered many by backing huge copper and gold mines that could poison one of the world's largest salmon runs. She favored the mining industry in an August referendum - although state law says the governor mustn't take sides on issues before voters.

Pebble Partnership, composed of two large corporations, plans to develop a giant open-pit mine and build the world's largest dam to hold toxic mining wastes. Alaska's mining industry employs 5,500 workers and spends heavily on political lobbyists and advertisements. It won the August vote.

However, fishing employs more Alaskans than another other industry - 12,000 seasonal jobs in Bristol Bay alone - and anglers fear that the monster mine may damage their livelihood.

Meanwhile, Alaskan women's groups are irked because Palin's town, Wasilla, during her time as mayor, charged rape victims up to $1,000 for medical examination kits used to collect evidence. The custom was so offensive that the legislature passed a law banning such charges.

While Palin is wowing Republican crowds in her nationwide campaign for vice president, she has troubles at home in Alaska.

http://www.wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/200810130521

Another sad case of REALLY DIRTY "yellow journalism" of half-truths being condoned, supported and authorized by the Publisher and Editors of the Gazette.

And of course, all the partisan Democrats believe it, love it and act their normal "bleeting sheep" mimickery to insure a good "suck-up" to their Party bosses.

.

WHERE are the "half-truths", Sammy??????????

Or, is it just that (to coin a phrase) you can't handle the truth?

bmd wrote:WHERE are the "half-truths", Sammy??????????

Or, is it just that (to coin a phrase) you can't handle the truth?

When you act like Sherman or Ziggy .... then I will acknowledge in-kind.

Are you dumber in the head than a hog is in the arse, or what.

Or maybe just color blind, and couldn't see the indigo colored text in my above post.

bmd, if you really don't have a frigging clue what "half-truths" are, ..... go ask some dumb teenager to explain it to you. But I really don't think that is necessary because from the few postings you have made to this Forum I am quite sure you are also an EXPERT purveyor of "half-truths". Most every highly partisan Democrat is. There ain't a single one of them that I've ever heard of that talks/writes ..... fair and balanced and/or truth and honesty ...... about anything involving politics.

Here bmd, ..... even though I know you are not the least bit interested in anything that might be ...... fair and balanced, ..... true and honest ..... or the rest of "the story" that the Gazette excluded from their Opinion piece of above, .......... I will still post "the facts" so that if per chance there are any honest, decent folks viewing this Forum they can read what they are.

Governor Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan because of an honest disagreement over budget priorities — thats it.

Though Governor Palin had differences of opinion over department policy, she valued Monegans talents and offered him another position in the administration that was consistent with Monegans skill set and that was in an area where the two shared the same policy goals.

The allegation that Governor Palin retaliated against Commissioner Monegan for not firing Trooper Wooten is cut from whole cloth. In fact, it was first made, without any evidence, by a blogger who, as Governor Palins opponent in her 2006 gubernatorial race (receiving nine percent of the vote), has blasted the Governor ever since she turned down his request for a government job.

Former Public Safety Commissioner Monegan stated that at no time did Governor Palin, her husband, or anyone on her staff tell him to fire trooper Mike Wooten. Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News, for the record, no one ever said fire Wooten. Not the governor. Not Todd. Not any of the other staff.

After initially saying he was not certain why he was dismissed, Monegan later said he felt pressured to do something about Wooten, but had no knowledge that pressure was connected with his later dismissal. Gov. Palin stated that she had not pressured Monegan or his Department to fire Wooten, and that she had asked Monegan to take a different position in her administration because she wanted a new direction in the Department.

The questions related to threats made by Governor Palins ex-brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten, arise from a particularly contentious divorce between Wooten and the Governors sister, Molly McCann, a dispute that began in 2005 (prior to her becoming Governor).

Mike Wooten, the former husband of Governor Palins sister, was a state trooper who made threats against his wife and father-in-law and used a taser against his 10-year old step son.

These threats, which resulted in a court-imposed Domestic Violence Protective Order, included telling others that his wifes father would eat a f***ing lead bullet if he helped his daughter get an attorney for the divorce. As a result of these actions, Wooten was suspended from duty with the State Police. In suspending the state trooper, the State Police cited the state troopers serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable and at times, illegal activity, and threatened to fire him if his behavior continued. Following this, he issued continuing threats against the Governor and her family. Since his January 2006 divorce from Molly McCann, Wooten (age 35) has married and divorced again — his fourth divorce.

http://ridgeliner7.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/governor-palin-and-that-trooper-investigation-a-full-disclosure/

bmd, are you also a retired WVST like Shermmy baby? If so, I can see why you would ALSO be really pissed at Sara Palin for having the audacity to accuse any State Trooper of doing anything illegal, bad, wrong or whatever. "Honor among ....??..", ya know.

Me thinks that .... state trooper Mike Wooten from Alaska ........ could probably move to WV and be IMMEDIATELY HIRED by the WVSP because he seems to have the "right credentials".



.

Well bmd I would submit that I have been here in the same little house. With the same little spouse for 31 years.

Unlike my slanderous accuser, who says he has been divorced numerous times and even rejoiced on the previous forum at the death of one of his ex-wives.

And gloated at the deaths of at least three troopers that I know of.

Sam would not make a good pimple on a trooper's ass.

In my opinion...

I'm glad that you are loyal to your wife, Sherm.

The bearing that has on socialism is what?

Well that is irrelevant to me right now Mike.

this is ridiculous.

What is ridiculous is that a man can use a taser on a 10 year old child, threaten to shoot a senior citizen, have a restraining order placed against him for domestic violence and retain his job in law enforcement.

THAT is ridiculous.

Stephanie wrote:What is ridiculous is that a man can use a taser on a 10 year old child, threaten to shoot a senior citizen, have a restraining order placed against him for domestic violence and retain his job in law enforcement.

THAT is ridiculous.

My understanding is that the kid asked (literally, not figuratively) to be Tasered. Apparently he wanted to know what it felt like. Granted, it was still pretty dumb for Wooten to do it, but (apparently) not malicious.

Wooten denies threatening Palin's father, and there has never been any substantiation of the threat. My guess is that there was some sort of argument between them and some sort of "threats" were exchanged on both sides. But, since it's a "he said, he said" situation, the exact nature of those threats will probably never be known.

Newsflash!! If either party in a divorce/custody situation asks for a TRO, it is almost automatically granted. Little or no proof need be offered. The concept of "better safe than sorry" almost always prevails in such situations. After all, what judge wants to open the morning paper to see a picture of the person who had requested the order, with a story underneath about how she/he would be alive today if only the judge had given her/him some protection?

Is Wooten a nice guy? or even a good cop? I have no idea. Then again, that isn't what is at issue here. The really issue is whether Sarah Palin used her authority (or had her husband use her authority) to carry out some sort of personal vendetta against a state employee. The only official investigation (by a panel of the Alaska legislature dominated by Republicans) into this matter comes to just that conclusion. And, for that, she might very well be impeached and/or come under criminal indictment. Granted, this all pales in comparison to the crap Cheney has been pulling for the last seven and a half years (in fact, it reminds me more of that other "great" GOP VP, Spiro T. Agnew); but do we really want someone that petty and vindictive one 72 year-old heartbeat away from the nuclear (or is it nucelar?) "football"?

What is ridiculous is that a man can use a taser on a 10 year old child, threaten to shoot a senior citizen, have a restraining order placed against him for domestic violence and retain his job in law enforcement.

The kid asked to be tasered as he was thinking about becoming a cop and wanted to know what it felt like.

The rest of the accusations are hearsay.

In divorces, people lie all of the time about the injustices the ex-spouse to be perpetuated.

The drinking in the squad?

The poaching? Ask the moose if it's hearsay.

The poaching? Ask the moose if it's hearsay.

They caught him?

Poaching is a minor crime, like jaywalking.

The drinking in the squad car? Didn't he get punished for that? A suspension, wasn't it?

Sure, but those are both, in fact, crimes. Minor ones, sure, but you make it sound like all Wooten did was get divorced and taser a child who asked to be tasered.

Did Palin, like a great many politicians, overstep her bounds? Sure. I don't think she was informed enough (as having been mayor of a small town) to know where the line was when she crossed it.

I do find it fascinating that this doesn't come out until she wants to be vice-president. Is asking a trooper to be fired the same kind of thing as having "sex" with an intern?

I do find it fascinating that this doesn't come out until she wants to be vice-president. Is asking a trooper to be fired the same kind of thing as having "sex" with an intern?

What does one have to do with the other?

The trooper was punished for his infractions. It wasn't until the divorce that Palin decided his punishment wasn't "severe enough".

This was knowledge before she got tapped.

The fact that she overstepped her bounds, whether out of ignorance or ego makes her a risk as a politician, no?

Sure it's a negative. It's just not enough of a negative to make the alternative better.

Given the state of Chicago politics, which Obama has perhaps once taken on, the "good government" issue is not with the Democrats.

To change the subject ever so briefly, in Chicago the sales tax is 10.25%, gun violence is through the roof (despite crippling gun laws), and there is STILL a 400 million dollar budget. Why McCain hasn't brought that up is anyone's guess. Obama should be doing more for his back yard. Even if he is not to blame (and as a US Senator he isn't to blame, but he could be helping), Chicago is a lovely example of where liberal policies take us.

To change the subject ever so briefly, in Chicago the sales tax is 10.25%, gun violence is through the roof (despite crippling gun laws), and there is STILL a 400 million dollar budget. Why McCain hasn't brought that up is anyone's guess. Obama should be doing more for his back yard. Even if he is not to blame (and as a US Senator he isn't to blame, but he could be helping), Chicago is a lovely example of where liberal policies take us.

Chicago is an example where corruption can take you. Are you implying that only democrats are corruptible?