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Several compelling lines on Sarah Palin

Submitted by Soren Dayton on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 15:46
in

I have been floating around the GOP Convention pre-events and talking to people about Sarah Palin. At the meeting of the Convention's Rules Committee meeting, I have heard that women on the committee and female staff were so excited and moved that they literally started crying. The amount of energy from all parts of the coalition here seem very excited.

Over the last 24 hours, I have started to hear some good, positive, fact-driven arguments for her successes. (after all, the optics are great, but lets start proving some details)

First, from a friend in Canada (!), a statement about one of her achievements as Governor. My friend says:

In the past 18 months she's gone toe-to-toe with big oil companies like Exxon, Conoco Phillips and BP to get a $30 billion pipeline deal through that will deliver natural gas to the lower 48 states without being owned by the big oilcartel.

For those who follow pipeline politics, which includes the entire Canadian energy sector, it is well known that Palin has revived the Alaska pipeline project from the grave - this was kicking around going nowhere for years under Knowles and Murkowski - and taken it out of the hands of the multinational companies.   The Alaska legislature just passed Palin's plan this summer.

I don't understand this point. Something to do more research on. What my friend suggests is that she, once again, challenged "Big Oil"

Another point about ethics. She came to power by fighting for ethics in Alaska. She beat the corrupt Frank Murkowski in a primary. She also fought with individuals in the state party:

This is a state party whose chairman, Randy Ruedrich, has been feuding with Palin for years. Palin exposed Ruedrich for ethical violations in 2004 when both served on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — and their relationship has been frosty ever since.

Ruedrich declined to comment at the historic nature of having an Alaskan on the national ticket for the first time in the state’s history.

Contrast this with Barack Obama's failure to challenge Daley corruption, Emil Jones corruption, union corruption, etc.

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Comments

Re: Female candidate

Submitted by Lynn on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 16:45.

First, I'm really excited about her candidacy. It's nice to have a pleasant, attractive, CAPABLE, well spoken person in the VP slot.

I like what I know about her stand on the issues with the exception of the windfall profits tax she imposed on oil companies. I'm not saying she was wrong yet because I think the situation in Alaska may be a bit different. I need to find out more about it and then I may say she was wrong.

I vote issues first and gender is just about at the bottom of my list, but I know it's not that way for all women. I hope her gender does help the McCain ticket, but more importantly, I hope that her experience with energy and her stand on other issues helps even more.

A few points missed by the MSM

Submitted by Ironman on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 16:52.

RE; the "tiny town" angle. First, given the fact voters in rural PA, OH  and MI are rather important to this campaign, I'm not sure implying they are unfit for career advancement is a good liberal argument. Nonetheless, a little perspective is in order. About 1.5% of Alaska's population lives in Willow. Only 1.5% of IL's population lived in Obama's old legislative district. Didn't that make Obama unrepresentative of the state as a whole based on that argument?

as to the "what has she proven" angle, lets again compare her election to statewide office to Obama's. To get elected to the Senate Obama had merely to step over the remains of both a primary and a general election opponent , neither  of whom held elective office and both of whom self-destructed over divorce scandals. (I'm not even counting Keyes, the IL GOP had to be smoking something to think this was a plausible response to Jack Ryan's implosion).

On the other hand, Palin had to defeat the incumbent Governor in her primary and the former Governor in the general election. Had Obama defeated Dick Durbin in a primary and then beat Jim Edgar in a general election he would have matched the "degree of difficulty" Palin surmounted.

  

 The McCain campaign can't

Submitted by dustin on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 17:24.

 The McCain campaign can't possibly run with the ethics line on Palin -- she's actively under investigation herself, in a case that sounds pretty plausible.  How on earth are they going to make that go away, other than closing their eyes and screaming "lalalalala"? I will admit that technique has been pretty effective in the past..

It amazes me how many people know absolutely nothing

Submitted by lagomorph on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 17:41.

about her so-called "ethics" investigation.  She fired someone who refused to fire her brother-in-law, who violated his job in a position of public trust in the following manner:

  • drank openly in his car on the job
  • threatened to shoot Sarah Palin's father if he helped Sarah's sister hire a divorce lawyer
  • TASED Sarah Palin's nephew, who was TEN YEARS OLD

The brother in law should have been fired for any ONE of these violations of his official role as a State Trooper. Refusing to fire him was in itself another violation.

The person who refused to fire this degenerate was an appointed official, serving at the pleasure of The Governor.  She could un-appoint him at any time she pleased.  She's been completely open and cooperative with the investigation, there was no wrongdoing.  And since the brother-in-law was a domestic violence perpetrator, this will not offend any woman I know and very few men.  The thing that does offend me is how people are so willing to throw her under the bus without learning a lot more about her first-hand.

Why not look this up before posting an opinion on it?  It's not that difficult. 

Other things...

Submitted by Sterling on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 23:53.

Alaska has about the same population as Delaware.  

Palin's time as governor of Alaska is three times longer than Obama's time in the Senate when he started his run for the presidency.  And he hasn't spent much time in the Senate since.

Lefties are projecting - complaints that Palin is inexperienced or not accessible to the press are ridiculous given that Obama has a similar level of experience and has been dodging the press for the last year.  The left thinks it is owed a victory this fall and its members are going to totally freak out as McCain & Palin move toward a win.