Fuck you and the horse you rode in on you smarmy Palin-abetting National Guard rape cover-upper.
I hope the door hits you on the ass on your way out tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Governor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Governor. Show all posts
Tomorrow is Captain Zero's last day in office
Fuck you and the horse you rode in on you smarmy Palin-abetting National Guard rape cover-upper.
I hope the door hits you on the ass on your way out tomorrow.
Sarah Palin tries a little reverse psychology
From National Journal
October 23, 2014 Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent the early part of the 2014 midterms traveling the country endorsing conservative candidates in Republican primary races, hoping to leave her mark on the future of the GOP.
But on Wednesday, Palin rebuked her Republican successor in her home state, endorsing independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker, who is running on a "unity ticket" with Democratic running mate Byron Mallott, instead. Palin's endorsement goes against her former lieutenant governor, Gov. Sean Parnell, who assumed office in 2009 when Palin abruptly resigned and is embroiled in a highly contested race for reelection to a second full term.
Palin offered the endorsement at a campaign reception in her Wasilla home, according to apress release issued by Walker.
Parnell's 2013 restructuring of the state's oil and gas taxes dismantled a prior, Palin-championed program that she considered to be one of the greatest achievements of her tenure. That difference of opinion is at the heart of Palin's conflict with Parnell, which resulted in the two campaigning on opposite sides of a ballot measure in this year's primary.
Parnell dismantled Palin's oil-tax increase, called ACES (short for Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share), by signing a repeal of some oil taxes in 2013 that was intended to curb the state's production decline. But many fear the measure will severely diminish the revenue brought in by the state, where oil and gas taxes have accounted for as much as 90 percent of government funds.
Palin backed an initiative to repeal the new law, SB 21, when it appeared on the August primary ballot, which put her at odds with Parnell. (Palin accused Parnell of being "suckered" by "crony capitalists" at the time.) The referendum narrowly failed, garnering 47 percent of the vote as the state's Republican U.S. Senate primary attracted conservative voters to the polls. According to the Walker release, Palin offered her endorsement because she "trust[s] them to develop our God-given resources responsibly and to the maximum benefit of Alaskans."
Walker merged his ticket with Mallott in early September, and polls have since shown the race to be a toss-up. It's unclear, however, how big an impact a Palin endorsement will have on the race. The former governor's local approval ratings have been in decline since she left office.
Hoohah knows her endorsements are the kiss of death so she is endorsing someone she hates. I still endorse Walker and Mallott.South Dakota governor Dennis Daugaard is a crook and doesn't deserve a 2nd term
From South Dacola
Forget EB-5, Dennis is now claiming he is a leader when helping with flooding. Could have fooled me. When Joe Lowe was coordinating the Dakota Dunes flooding fiasco (he worked for Dennis) they had to find ways to distract the governor while he was visiting the site before he made any stupid decisions. I think Joe referred to the experience as ‘babysitting’ the governor, he also had some other ‘colorful’ descriptions of our governor’s brain trust when it came to disaster management and cleanup. Let’s just thank God for one decision Dennis made, keeping Joe Lowe on as his disaster manager.
Another interesting article on Dennis
The governor said that to persuade Bel Brands to invest in Brookings, the state had to offer a mix of economic incentives from the Large Project Development Fund while it still exists, and from the new incentive program that’s future is now in doubt because of the referred law.
Bullcrap. Use your brain.
1) The dairy program at SDSU helps with research
2) There is NO state income tax on corporations
3) South Dakota workers are more productive and work for less then their peers (not that this is a good thing for workers in our state, but an incentive for companies to come here.)
Sarah Palin attacks Wendy Davis for telling the truth about Greg Abbott
From Skanky's Fecebook page
Any wonder why so many Americans are turned off by politics when contemptible ads like this are endorsed by pretty desperate candidates? Greg Abbott will make a great Governor in the great state of Texas, and I am proud to support him. Wendy Davis better strap on those pink running shoes again – the road ahead looks really long for her after this latest stunt:
Yes Sarah people get turned off by candidates that tell the truth!
Yes Greg is paralyzed due to an unfortunate accident. But he sued and got a huge settlement. Now he denies others the same justice.
Why Mark Dayton deserves a 2nd term as governor of Minnesota
From MNgov
ST. PAUL, MN – Surrounded by students, parents, teachers, and school administrators, Governor Mark Dayton today signed the Safe and Supportive Schools Act (HF826/SF783). The new law, authored by state Sen. Scott Dibble and state Rep. Jim Davnie, strengthens protections against the threat of bullying in Minnesota schools. The new measure provides local school districts the guidance, support, and flexibility to adopt clear and enforceable school policies to help protect all children from bullying, and to reinforce the principles of tolerance and respect in our schools.
“Minnesota’s schools should be safe and supportive places for everyone,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “This anti-bullying legislation will make it very clear that bullying is not to be allowed in our schools. I thank Senator Dibble, Representative Davnie, Commissioners Cassellius and Lindsey, and the many parents, students, teachers and advocates, who worked tirelessly to write and pass this law.”
The Safe and Supportive Schools Act puts the following measures in state law to help protect Minnesota children from the threat of bullying:
“Minnesota’s schools should be safe and supportive places for everyone,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “This anti-bullying legislation will make it very clear that bullying is not to be allowed in our schools. I thank Senator Dibble, Representative Davnie, Commissioners Cassellius and Lindsey, and the many parents, students, teachers and advocates, who worked tirelessly to write and pass this law.”
The Safe and Supportive Schools Act puts the following measures in state law to help protect Minnesota children from the threat of bullying:
- Locally-Implemented School Policies – The Act directs public and charter schools to adopt local policies to prevent and prohibit school bullying. School districts will also have the option to adopt anti-bullying policy language drafted by the state.
- Defines Bullying – The Act clearly defines what behaviors, and patterns of behaviors, should be considered bullying in Minnesota schools – including online forms of bullying through social media.
- Helps Train Teachers and Staff – The Act designates a staff member at each school to monitor and investigate reports of bullying behavior. It also provides regular training and professional development for teachers and staff to identify and prevent bullying behavior.
- Provides Support for Schools – The Act creates a School Safety Technical Assistance Center at the Minnesota Department of Education to help schools with training for teachers and staff, gather data on bullying in Minnesota schools, review best practices, and help school districts develop and implement anti-bullying policies at the local level.
"No young person should be forced to choose between going to school or being safe. But today, far too many are put in that position,” said Sen. Dibble, who authored the bill in the Senate. “Many of those students courageously stepped forward to share the pain of their experiences and to ask us to do better. Many more continue to feel isolated, afraid and despairing. Today we are able to answer them, and thanks to the amazing work of those students, parents, educators and health care professionals, Minnesota schools will be safer, healthier environments for all kids."
Since 2011, the Dayton Administration and members of the Minnesota Legislature have been working to assess the threats and challenges posed by school bullying, and develop legislation to strengthen bullying protections for Minnesota children. The Safe and Supportive Schools Act is the result of those efforts.
"This new law will empower students, parents, teachers, and administrators to create safe and supportive schools for all Minnesota kids,” said Rep. Davnie, who authored the bill in the House. “That will create an environment where more students can achieve, and more students graduate from high school.”
The Safe and Supportive Schools Act includes the recommendations of the Governor’s Task Force on the Prevention of School Bullying – a group of Minnesota parents, community members, health care professionals, education experts, school administrators, and policymakers convened by Governor Dayton in 2011 to develop legislative solutions to prevent bullying in our schools. The Act is supported by more than 100 advocacy groups across Minnesota, including: Minnesota Parent Teacher Association; Minnesota Association of School Administrators; Minnesota Elementary and Secondary School Principals Association; Association of Metropolitan School Districts; School Nurse Association of Minnesota; Minnesota School Counselors Association; Education Minnesota; and more.
He also cut taxes for the middle class.
Governor Dayton cares about kids and the middle class. I'm glad I supported him in 2010. Go Mark!
Sarah Palin endorses another crook
Just play along ... A debate hosted by Ketelaar Accounting and attended by hundreds of voters and four of the six candidates got rowdy Thursday night after candidate Doug Ducey refused to answer a curve-ball question: If President Obama issued an executive order stating it's illegal to vote for yourself, who in the race would you vote for?
Christine Jones gave her vote to Ken Bennett. Bennett gave his to Scott Smith. But Ducey refused to answer the question and got two sustained boos and shouts.
Frank Riggs, too, refused to answer, saying he doesn't do hypotheticals. But he redeemed himself with the crowd after saying he supports candidates with "ethics and integrity."
Jones won the group's straw poll, earning 43 percent of the vote.
Promises, promises ... Candidates love a good campaign promise, and a favorite among conservatives is to promise to give back all or part of your public salary. But Legislative District 13 Senate Republican candidate Toby Farmer is taking the promise to a new level. He is promising to donate his entire annual $24,000 legislative salary to teachers, if elected.
"As the son of two public school teachers, I know what these teachers go through," Farmer said in a statement. "They're underpaid, underappreciated, and it seems like they are receiving less support from the Legislature every year."
Insider wonders if the move was a jab at opponent Sen. Don Shooter, R-Yuma, who last year faced misdemeanor charges and accepted a plea deal after barging into his grandson's Yuma high-school classroom and confronting the boy's teacher.
Yep when confronted with a tough question Doug runs and hides.
Here's some more info on Doug
The new (and unimproved) Sarah Palin
From Mother Jones
As she likes to tell anybody who'll listen, Susana Martinez, the governor of New Mexico, didn't start out a Republican. She and her husband, Chuck, like most everyone else in Las Cruces, had always been Democrats. But she'd long dreamed of running for office, and when word got out that she had her eyes on the district attorney's seat, two local Republican activists asked her to lunch. At the meeting, the story goes, her suitors didn't talk about party affiliation or ideology. They zeroed in on issues—taxes, welfare, gun rights, the death penalty. Afterward, Martinez got into the car, turned to her husband, and said, "I'll be damned, we're Republicans."
It's a tidy little anecdote, and Martinez has put it to good use. During her prime-time speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention, the biggest stage of her 18-year political career, the I'll be damned punch line brought the crowd to its feet, getting more cheers than anything said by the party's presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.
It's not hard to see why the story is appealing: It suggests that Republican ideas can win over voters, perhaps especially voters who look like Martinez. If only those voters saw through pesky Democratic talking points like the "War on Women" and recognized what the Republican Party actually stands for, the logic goes, they would embrace the party. Just like Susana Martinez and her husband did.
These are trying times for Republicans in search of inspiration. Sure, it looks like they have a shot to take back the Senate. But if the escalating civil war between the establishment and the "wacko bird" tea party wing doesn't tear the GOP in two, changing demographics threaten to push it toward extinction. Every four years, the party turns in poor showings with young people and cedes more ground among unmarried women and Latinos—the fastest-growing parts of the country's population. In the 1988 presidential election, minorities made up just 15 percent of voters; by 2012, that number had risen to 28 percent, and they supported Obama by a 62-point margin. "Devastatingly," the party's 2012 post-mortem concluded, "we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us."
No wonder, then, that many see Martinez, who turns 55 in July, as the party's future. Fox News host Greta Van Susteren touts her "great resume": America's first Latina governor. Former district attorney of a border county. Guardian of her mentally disabled sister. Tax cutter, gun owner, daughter of a sheriff's deputy. The Koch brothers invited her to speak at one of their secretive donor enclaves. Karl Rove singled her out in Time's list of last year's 100 most influential people as a "reform-minded conservative Republican." The Washington Post put her at the top of a list of likely 2016 vice presidential candidates; Romney has boosted her as a presidential contender. "She plugs every hole we've got as a party, and she's got a record to match," says Ford O'Connell, an adviser to the 2008 McCain campaign.
In the media, Martinez is often compared to Sarah Palin—"Susana Barracuda" read the title of a recent profile—a sassy small-town politician with national aspirations, an anti-Washington message, and an everywoman appeal (she loves Taco Bell, shops at Ross Dress for Less, and watches Dancing With the Stars). Her dead certain, with-me-or-against-me governing style draws comparisons to another Southwestern governor who made the leap from the statehouse to the White House, George W. Bush.
But perhaps the best comparison is to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Both are former prosecutors and Republican governors in blue states. They serve side by side on the money-raising juggernaut known as the Republican Governors Association (RGA), and they campaigned together during Christie's 2013 reelection campaign; "Is This Your 2016 Republican Ticket?" was a typical headline.
Their public personas, however, differ in an important way. Christie has made Jersey brashness central to his presentation; Martinez, on the other hand, "doesn't posture, doesn't engage in harsh rhetoric," as one of her fundraisers put it. Since her election in 2010, she and her team have meticulously cultivated the image of a well-liked, bipartisan, warm-hearted governor by avoiding tough interviews and putting her in photo ops greeting veterans, reading to kids, or cutting ribbons. "This administration is very disciplined," says New Mexico pollster Brian Sanderoff.
Despite numerous requests, the governor and her aides declined to comment for this piece. But previously unreleased audio recordings, text messages, and emails obtained by Mother Jones reveal a side of Martinez the public has rarely, if ever, seen. In private, Martinez can be nasty, juvenile, and vindictive. She appears ignorant about basic policy issues and has surrounded herself with a clique of advisers who are prone to a foxhole mentality.
Martinez doesn't look like any of the governors who came before her, and members of her inner circle sometimes feel that she has been subject to unfair attacks. Jay McCleskey, her closest aide, once sent a text message complaining about an opponent's negative mailing: "They're trying to keep the brown girl down!!!"
Still, interviews with former Martinez aides, state lawmakers, Democratic and Republican officials, fundraisers, and donors show a governor whose prosecutorial style and vindictiveness have estranged her from leaders in her own party and from the Democratic lawmakers she must work with to get anything done. Martinez and her staff, they say, have isolated themselves in her fourth-floor office inside the modest state capitol known as the Roundhouse. As one major Republican donor in New Mexico puts it, "They've got this Sherman's march to the sea mentality, burning everything in sight until they get to the finish."
Martinez grew up among fighters. Her father, Jake, boxed in the Marines, served as a deputy sheriff in El Paso, and later started his own private security company. Her mother was a telephone operator and bookkeeper. Susie, the youngest of three, worked for her dad as a teenager, patrolling the parking lot and guarding the register at church bingo nights. The .357 Smith and Wesson Magnum she packed was, she once said, "bigger than the hip bone I was carrying it on."
The Martinezes were Democrats, and Jake was active in El Paso politics (though his daughter proudly notes that he voted for Reagan). He and Susie volunteered on campaigns, stuffing envelopes and walking precincts. When a teacher at Riverside High School asked about Susie's career dreams, she mentioned one day running for mayor. "Well, why not president?" her teacher replied.
The politicians Martinez saw on the nightly news all seemed to be lawyers, she once told an interviewer, so after getting her degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas-El Paso, she enrolled at the University of Oklahoma's law school, where she became president of her second-year class. In 1986, fresh out of school, she went to work for Doug Driggers, the Democratic district attorney for Doña Ana County in southern New Mexico. He hired her as the only female prosecutor in his office, and Martinez quickly carved out a reputation for handling tough cases involving sexual and child abuse. She was an aggressive prosecutor with an unwavering sense of right and wrong, Driggers recalls, a woman who saw the world in black and white and often won. In one case, she told the same interviewer, a father who had drowned his two-year-old in front of his four-year-old brother testified that he'd only held the boy down for a minute. Martinez kept the court in silence for one long, agonizing minute to make her point. "She could sing to the jury," says Michael Lilley, a criminal defense attorney in Las Cruces.
When voters tossed Driggers out in 1992, his replacement, a local defense attorney named Greg Valdez, fired Martinez after she was asked to testify against him in an internal grievance case. She sued for wrongful termination—in the process, she says, she learned that Valdez had put a note in her personnel file complaining Martinez was a poor dresser—and settled out of court for about $120,000. In 1996, she ran against him on the Republican ticket. Local pols remember her as a skilled campaigner with a knack for pressing the flesh, and she won by 18 points.
As district attorney, Martinez displayed the kind of hard-driving tactics that would come to define her. She was known for demanding harsh penalties, and didn't hesitate to lock up defendants awaiting trial. (In 2012, the county said that Martinez's office was partially responsible for an incident in which a mentally ill man named Stephen Slevin was left in solitary confinement for nearly two years without trial, and later agreed to pay a $15.5 million settlement.)
In 2002, the kind of case that makes celebrities out of DAs landed on Martinez's desk. Five-month-old Brianna Lopez had been raped, bitten, dropped, and abused to death by members of her family in one of the worst child abuse cases in state history. "Baby Brianna" dominated the headlines for months, and Martinez ultimately secured convictions sentencing Lopez's father to prison for 57 years, her uncle for 51, and her mother for 27. Believing that the existing statute wasn't strong enough, Martinez lobbied the state Legislature for three years until it passed a law permitting life sentences for child abuse resulting in death.
People who worked with Martinez or squared off against her in the courtroom praise her conviction and commitment, especially on behalf of the most vulnerable. "But if you ran afoul," says Darren Kugler, a state judge who once worked as a prosecutor under Martinez, "you were pushed off into purgatory or oblivion or Siberia. If you cross a certain line, you're beyond redemption."
It wasn't long before the zealous, popular prosecutor caught the state party's eye. In 2001, McCleskey, the New Mexico GOP's executive director and a canny Republican operative with a record of scorched-earth wins, gathered a group of Republicans to talk about improving the party's Latino outreach. But when Martinez stood up to speak, she blasted Gov. Gary Johnson's push to relax penalties for minor drug infractions. "The way we attract Hispanics is we don't talk about legalizing heroin and cocaine," McCleskey recalls her saying.
McCleskey was smitten. He kept in touch with Martinez, nagging her every election cycle about running for higher office. Martinez didn't bite, even as the Baby Brianna case and standout speeches at campaign rallies for Bush in 2004 and McCain in 2008 elevated her statewide profile. Then, on July 14, 2009, she celebrated her 50th birthday and decided to run for governor. Almost from the start, national Republicans backed her, quietly providing her with support her primary opponents could only have dreamed about, sending her policy briefings and polling data and giving her access to advisers to major party figures like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Still, Martinez struggled to stand out. Her fundraising was mediocre, and she lacked the wealth to self-finance like her main rival, a former Marine colonel and state party chairman named Allen Weh.
Weh believed the job was his, according to an email McCleskey sent to campaign staffers, and at one point suggested Martinez was better suited for lieutenant governor. "What a narcissistic grandiose 'tool'!" she replied.
But things began to turn around as major party figures from outside the state put their weight behind Martinez. In May 2010, Texas megadonor Bob Perry and his wife, Doylene, cut the first of several checks that would eventually total $450,000, making them her biggest individual donors by far. And then, on a Sunday morning just two weeks before the primary, Sarah Palin rolled into Albuquerque at the behest of the RGA. As "Start Me Up" pumped out of the hotel ballroom speakers, Palin walked onstage with Martinez and declared to a crowd of 1,300 screaming fans, "You have a winner right here." The endorsement got more press than anything Martinez had said or done in the race to that point. "This event was a grand slam," McCleskey wrote to the campaign that night. "Let's get some rest tonight and then fix bayonets at sunrise."
Martinez easily won the Republican primary in June, and then money began pouring in. Over the summer and fall, according to a copy of the 2010 campaign calendar obtained by Mother Jones, her usual diet of small-town meet and greets made way for fundraisers in Austin, Los Angeles, New York City, and DC. She flew on private jets and met executives at Fortune 500 companies (Intel, UnitedHealth Group, ExxonMobil) and powerful corporate lobbyists.
In the general election, Martinez ran as the clean-government advocate who would do away with everything New Mexicans disliked about her predecessor. Once hugely popular, Bill Richardson had been dogged by grand jury investigations, corruption allegations, rumors of sexual misconduct, and growing disenchantment over his perennial presidential aspirations. Martinez's campaign slogan ("Bold Change") was straight out of the Obama playbook, and it was all the more cutting given that her Democratic opponent, Diane Denish, had spent eight years as Richardson's lieutenant governor.
On policy, Martinez drew on borrowed ideas (her education plan largely came from Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education) and flashy initiatives such as repealing a law allowing undocumented immigrants to get state driver's licenses.
Internal campaign records and interviews with former aides suggest that she didn't dig too deeply into the details of her own proposals: "Aren't we the ONLY state in the US that provides a NM drivers license to illegal aliens?" she asked in a November 24, 2009, email. (At the time, seven other states had similar policies.)
In another email, in August 2009, she asked an aide, "What is podash? Or ashpod? WIPP?" Potash mining is a multibillion-dollar business in New Mexico, and WIPP refers to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nuclear waste storage site for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has been a topic of statewide controversy for decades.
During an October 2010 campaign conference call, Martinez said she'd met a woman who worked for the state's Commission on the Status of Women, a panel created in 1973 to improve health, pay equity, and safety for women.
"What the hell is that?" she asked.
"I don't know what the fuck they do," replied her deputy campaign manager, Matt Kennicott.
"What the hell does a commission on women's cabinet do all day long?" Martinez asked.
"I think [deputy campaign operations director Matt] Stackpole wants to be the director of that so he can study more women," Kennicott said.
"Well, we have to do what we have to do," McCleskey chimed in, as Martinez burst out laughing. (As governor, she would line-item veto the commission's entire budget.)
Listening to recordings of Martinez talking with her aides is like watching an episode of HBO's Veep, with over-the-top backroom banter full of pique, self-regard, and vindictiveness. As Martinez and her campaign staff rewatched a recent televised debate, Martinez referred to Denish, her opponent, as "that little bitch." After Denish noted that the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce had given her an award, McCleskey snapped, "That's why we're not meeting with those fuckers."
In a September 2009 email mentioning one of Martinez's 2010 primary opponents, a former state representative named Janice Arnold-Jones, McCleskey wrote: "I FUCKING HATE THAT BITCH!" And in yet another debate prep meeting, Kennicott mocked the language skills of Ben Luján, a former state House speaker and a political icon to New Mexico Latinos: "Somebody told me he's absolutely eloquent in Spanish, but his English? He sounds like a retard."
Martinez's crew saw enemies everywhere. A former staffer recalls the campaign on multiple occasions sending the license plate numbers of cars believed to be used by opposition trackers to an investigator in Martinez's DA office who had access to law enforcement databases. In one instance, a campaign aide took a photo of a license plate on a car with an anti-Martinez bumper sticker and emailed it to the investigator. "Cool I will see who it belongs to!!" the investigator replied.
Could Sarah Palin run for AZ governor?
This article is from three years ago but worth repeating:
From Biz Journals.
Sarah Palin’s apparent purchase of a home in North Scottsdale has fueled plenty of speculation she will run for president in 2012 and base her campaign out of Arizona. Palin’s also going on bus tour that is almost certain to include a stop in New Hampshire (an early presidential primary battleground). There’s also talk that Palin could come to Arizona and run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Jon Kyl.
But Arizona political commentator Anna Johnson has come up with a third option: Palin running for Arizona governor in 2014.
Johnson’s idea has some merit save for the fact Palin would have to live in the state for five years before being able to run. But Palin may be looking for a way to stay relevant nationally while not running for the White House next year.
The main quandary for Palin is whether she’s willing to give up an estimated $20 million a year in pay she gets for books, Fox News analysis, speaking gigs and other appearances, and whether she can win a run for the White House this go around.
Palin has big negatives not only for Democrats, but also some in the Republican Party. There’s a crowded Republican primary field, and right now Obama has a decent enough chance at reelection as long as the economy doesn’t stumble again and voters remember the Pakistan raid that got Osama bin Laden.
Palin would be formidable in a Senate race here in Arizona, and it could show voters a more serious public policy side of her rather than the conservative celebrity side she showcases now.
Palin could want to keep her celebrity status, and set herself up for a 2016 presidential run if Obama wins in 2012 and is then term-limited.
Palin could use an Arizona base also take over from Gov. Jan Brewer as a chief conservative needler of Obama on immigration, Medicaid and mandates. That would keep her in the spotlight -- which is good for Sarah Palin “Inc.” and a 2016 White House run.
Of course, if she really wanted the highest-profile job in the state, she could ask Joe Arpaio if he’s running for sheriff again.
I don't think she will. Too much baggage and it would give credence to the comment that she told John McCain she didn't want to return to Alaska.
Sarah Palin will never hold a candle to Bill Clinton
From Capitol Hill Blue
Interesting that one of the most vocal and often-quoted supporters of controversial “Duck Dynasty” reality show star Phil Robertson is another figment of celebrity-fantasy — failed Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the one-time sex symbol of the rabid right.
In politics, where hypocrisy abounds, Palin is a standout when it comes to being everything she rants and raves against. The self-styled defender of family values is a female Bill Clinton: Someone who sleeps around. While dating future husband Todd Palin, the then-Sarah Heath, a sports reporter for an Alaska TV station, reportedly shacked up for a night in a dorm room with a college basketball star in what those close to her say was just one of a string of casual flings by a sexually-adventurous woman.
In college, Palin was known as a wild child who attended five
After marriage, she also reportedly embarked on a six-month affair with Palin’s partner in a snowmobile
business and news of his wife’s amorous activities led an angry husband to dissolve the partnership.
Some close to Palin claim that while the one-time vice presidential candidate who became a political joke likes to spend time in bed with a variety of men, those who now sample her favors do not include husband Todd. The Palins, they say, have slept in separate bedrooms for years now.
After her aborted run for vice president with running mate John McCain, whose advisers picked her because they wanted “a celebrity” on the ticket, Palin ended up on
They weren’t talking about her political appeal.
Author Joe McGinnis, whose string of best selling books about politics and politicians have led to more than one downfall of those who claimed to be what they are not, documented Palin’s fling with basketball star Glen Rice while she was dating her future husband as well as her six-month dalliance with Todd’s business partner Brad Hanson after they married.
Although Sarah and Todd talked about having a traditional wedding, they eloped and their son was born less than nine months later, suggesting the purveyor of family values was practicing acts that produce families before marriage.
McGinnis also discusses use of cocaine by the Palins. Palin denies the drug use, along with reports of her rampant sexual adventures.
On his web site, McGinniis says of his book, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin:
The Rogue, a startling and penetrating examination of the illusion and reality of Sarah Palin, also presents an illuminating portrait of the Alaska and the America that produced her. Sometimes funny, sometimes frightening, always provocative, The Rogue answers the questions: “Who is she, really?“ and “How did she happen?”
And while Sarah Palin loudly threatened to sue McGinnis and his publisher over what was reported in the book, she never did. Lawyers probably advised Palin that, in libel suits, truth is an absolute defense and, is the case so often with her, truth is not on her side.
The fact that they are horndogs and were governors of states that begin with the letter A is the only thing this have in common.
Bill was a president. Sarah never will be.
Bill was a Rhodes Scholar. Sarah never will be.
Bill graduated from Georgetown and the Ivy League. Sarah went through five colleges in five years.
Bill completed his terms as governor. Sarah bailed out halfway through.
Bill is a humanitarian. Sarah wants to know what is in it for her.
Bill is highly respected. Sarah is not.
Bill's daughter is educated, married, and successful. Sarah's kids are 0-3.
Hillary is educated and successful. Todd runs a hooker ring.
2014 is a midterm year so lots of elections going on
House of Representatives
all 435 members up for re-election
Senate:
Alabama-Jeff Sessions-R
Alaska-Mark Begich-D
Arkansas-Mark Pryor-D
Colordao-Mark Udall-D
Delaware-Chris Coons-D
Georgia-Saxby Chambliss-D
Brian Schatz-D (was appointed after Daniel Inouye died)
Idaho-Jim Risch-R
Dick Durbin-D
Tom Harkin-D (retiring)
Kansas-Pat Robets-R
Kentucky-Mitch McConnell-R (get this scumbag out!)
Maine-Susan Collins-R
Michigan-Carl levin (retiring)
Minnesota-Al Franken-D
Mississippi-Thad Cocoran-R
Montana-Max Baucus-D (retiring)
Nebraska-Mike Johanns-R
New Jersey-Cory Booker-D (won special election after Frank Lautenburg died)
New Mexico-Tom Udall-D
North Carolina-Kay Hagan-D
Oklahoma-Jim Inhofe-R
Oregon-Jeff Merlkley-D
Rhode Island-Jack Reed-D
South Carolina-Lindsay Graham-R (this asshole needs to go too)
South Dakota-Tim Johnson-D (retiring)
Tennessee-Lamar Alexander-R (why is this old fossil still around)
Texas-John Cronyn-R
Virginia-Mark Warner-D
West Virginia-John Rockefeller IV-D (retiring)
Wyoming-Mike Enzi-R
Governor
all 435 members up for re-election
Senate:
Alabama-Jeff Sessions-R
Alaska-Mark Begich-D
Arkansas-Mark Pryor-D
Colordao-Mark Udall-D
Delaware-Chris Coons-D
Georgia-Saxby Chambliss-D
Brian Schatz-D (was appointed after Daniel Inouye died)
Idaho-Jim Risch-R
Dick Durbin-D
Tom Harkin-D (retiring)
Kansas-Pat Robets-R
Kentucky-Mitch McConnell-R (get this scumbag out!)
Maine-Susan Collins-R
Michigan-Carl levin (retiring)
Minnesota-Al Franken-D
Mississippi-Thad Cocoran-R
Montana-Max Baucus-D (retiring)
Nebraska-Mike Johanns-R
New Jersey-Cory Booker-D (won special election after Frank Lautenburg died)
New Mexico-Tom Udall-D
North Carolina-Kay Hagan-D
Oklahoma-Jim Inhofe-R
Oregon-Jeff Merlkley-D
Rhode Island-Jack Reed-D
South Carolina-Lindsay Graham-R (this asshole needs to go too)
South Dakota-Tim Johnson-D (retiring)
Tennessee-Lamar Alexander-R (why is this old fossil still around)
Texas-John Cronyn-R
Virginia-Mark Warner-D
West Virginia-John Rockefeller IV-D (retiring)
Wyoming-Mike Enzi-R
Governor
Travelgate summary
While Governor of Alaska Sarah charged the state 40 times for travel expenses for her children.
From Mudflats
Governor Sarah Palin yesterday agreed to pay an estimated $6800 for what she charged the state for her children’s travel expenses and related costs since assuming her role as governor.
This all came about as the result of an ethics complaint filed against Palin by Frank Gwartney, a retired electrical lineman who had had enough of Palin’s hypocrisy regarding cleaning up government, and stopping abuses. The complaint, which was filed in October after new information came out about her state paid family travel, was sent to the Personnel Board and investigator…..(wait for it)…..Tim Petumenos. You remember him. He’s the one that said (despite the Legislative Investigation into the Troopergate ethics scandal, and their finding that Palin was guilty of abuse of power under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act) that Palin was innocent of any wrongdoing. And the fact that there was contradictory testimony from Palin and Walt Monegan? Well….that just wasn’t worth pursuing in his humble opinion.
So now, after looking at FORTY examples of the state paying for Palin’s children to travel with her, he’s come up with 9 instances where he found the personal benefit outweighed the benefit to the state, and Palin has agreed to pay for these 9 occasions in exchange for getting to say “I did nothing wrong!” and for Petumenos agreeing not to file a formal accusation or take the case to a hearing. Not a bad deal. Palin get’s to pay a small amount in order to stop an investigation, and also gets to claim, according to her attorney that she was “exhonorated.”
And what did Palin have to say about this? What is her justification?
Nothing works out like it should for the governor, does it?
The policy found on the official state web site says that travel expenses by a state employee’s spouse, children or companions “are not reimbursable.” But somehow when applied to the governor, the rules become “dizzying and circular” according to Petumenos. And the other side agrees as well that things need to be “clarified”.
Palin keeps saying she did nothing wrong. But when one governor’s actions constantly tiptoe over the line, meaning that ethics rules need to be “clarified” and reevaluated at every turn, and when public opinion sees the obvious lack of ethics that went into the decision making process, then it means they did do something wrong. Whatever leads a governor to say “It’s OK to charge the state to live and eat in my own home” and
“Sure, the state should pay for my huge family to travel with me everywhere because I shouldn’t have to give anything up like other people do” shows a basic disconnect, hubris, and a sense that the person feels that they are owed something.
From Mudflats
Governor Sarah Palin yesterday agreed to pay an estimated $6800 for what she charged the state for her children’s travel expenses and related costs since assuming her role as governor.
This all came about as the result of an ethics complaint filed against Palin by Frank Gwartney, a retired electrical lineman who had had enough of Palin’s hypocrisy regarding cleaning up government, and stopping abuses. The complaint, which was filed in October after new information came out about her state paid family travel, was sent to the Personnel Board and investigator…..(wait for it)…..Tim Petumenos. You remember him. He’s the one that said (despite the Legislative Investigation into the Troopergate ethics scandal, and their finding that Palin was guilty of abuse of power under the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act) that Palin was innocent of any wrongdoing. And the fact that there was contradictory testimony from Palin and Walt Monegan? Well….that just wasn’t worth pursuing in his humble opinion.
So now, after looking at FORTY examples of the state paying for Palin’s children to travel with her, he’s come up with 9 instances where he found the personal benefit outweighed the benefit to the state, and Palin has agreed to pay for these 9 occasions in exchange for getting to say “I did nothing wrong!” and for Petumenos agreeing not to file a formal accusation or take the case to a hearing. Not a bad deal. Palin get’s to pay a small amount in order to stop an investigation, and also gets to claim, according to her attorney that she was “exhonorated.”
The charges at issue include the cost of airfare and one meal when daughter Bristol to accompanied Palin to New York City in 2007 for a women’s leadership conference, according to the settlement agreement. State travel forms put that cost at about $1,400.
There’s also airfare and hotel costs for daughters Bristol and Piper to travel with their mother to the National Governors Association meeting in Philadelphia last July. State travel forms say the flights and hotel room at the Ritz Carlton cost more than $2,500.So, what were the other 31 trips, where the presence of the Palin children had more benefit to the state than to them, or the governor personally? I’d like to hear what compelling reasons Mr. Petumenos found, that would make me feel good enough about the benefit to the state of Alaska that I’ll pony up money to send her kids along on the trip.
Other questioned trips were in Alaska, including one last year to the start of the Tesoro Iron Dog snowmachine race, in which Palin’s husband, Todd, was one of the contenders.
And what did Palin have to say about this? What is her justification?
“This is a big state, and I am obligated to — and intend to — keep Alaskans informed and meet with them as much as I can, from Barrow to Marshall to Ketchikan,” Palin said in a written statement. “At the same time, I am blessed to have a large and loving family, and the discharge of my duties should not prevent me from spending time with them.”So, she thinks that her job as governor shouldn’t prevent her from spending time with her family. And it shouldn’t keep her from living in Wasilla, rather than the state capital, Juneau. And it shouldn’t prevent her from taking per diem payments to live there and work in Anchorage. And it shouldn’t mean she has to pay taxes on that per diem, and her state vehicle, and on and on.
Nothing works out like it should for the governor, does it?
The policy found on the official state web site says that travel expenses by a state employee’s spouse, children or companions “are not reimbursable.” But somehow when applied to the governor, the rules become “dizzying and circular” according to Petumenos. And the other side agrees as well that things need to be “clarified”.
Palin keeps saying she did nothing wrong. But when one governor’s actions constantly tiptoe over the line, meaning that ethics rules need to be “clarified” and reevaluated at every turn, and when public opinion sees the obvious lack of ethics that went into the decision making process, then it means they did do something wrong. Whatever leads a governor to say “It’s OK to charge the state to live and eat in my own home” and
“Sure, the state should pay for my huge family to travel with me everywhere because I shouldn’t have to give anything up like other people do” shows a basic disconnect, hubris, and a sense that the person feels that they are owed something.
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