GOPollster Luntz finds most don't like Palin

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Another week, another Frank Luntz/AARP focus group of undecided voters--this one in Minneapolis and with some bad news for John McCain: they don't like the choice of Sarah Palin for vice president. Only one person said Palin made him more likely to vote for McCain; about half the 25-member group raised their hands when asked if Palin made them less likely to vote for McCain. They had a negative impression of Palin by a 2-1 margin...a fact that was reinforced when they were given hand-dials and asked to react to Palin's speech at her first appearance with McCain on Friday---the dials remained totally neutral as Palin went through her heart-warming(?) biography, and only blipped upwards when she said she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere--which wasn't quite the truth, as we now know.

Then there was this, from a woman named Teresa, who went to the Democratic Convention as a Hillary delegate and is leaning toward voting for McCain--obviously the target audience for the Palin pick: "His age didn't really bother me until he picked Palin. What if he dies in office and leaves us with her as President? Also she leans toward the rigid right, and I always thought he was a moderate...You know, I change my mind almost every day, but right now I"m wondering where the John McCain I really liked in 2000 went, what happened to the moderate? This John McCain has the look of someone who is being manipulated--probably by Karl Rove."

Read the whole story here.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Palin's Trouble with the Police

By Robert Parry
September 1, 2008

You have to admire the Republican chutzpah. Still confronting a national scandal about packing the Justice Department with “loyal Bushies,” they pick a vice presidential candidate who – in her two executive jobs in Alaska – ousted top law-enforcement officials because they were insufficiently loyal or not malleable enough.

One of those firings has put Gov. Sarah Palin at the center of an ongoing legislative investigation that presumably will require her to testify about whether she was behind efforts by her husband and senior staff to pressure the state’s public safety commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law from the state troopers.

When the commissioner, former Anchorage police chief Walter Monegan, refused to go along, he was summarily ousted by Palin without much explanation.

Unless the Republicans can figure out a way to block Palin’s sworn deposition, she will have to either admit that she used her political influence to wage a family vendetta or she must face the risk that her continued denials of involvement will be contradicted by her own staff or by some other evidence.

However, if Palin admits that she did use her government office to punish a personal enemy – or that she fired the public safety commissioner because he refused to join in her family feud – the Republicans may have trouble continuing to sell Palin as a reform-minded governor.

Instead, Palin would appear to fit more neatly with Bush administration operatives who engineered the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and who employed ideological litmus tests in deciding who to hire for career jobs at the Justice Department.

As Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, famously put it: the motive for purging the federal prosecutors was to eliminate those who were deemed not “loyal Bushies.”

Some of the U.S. Attorneys, such as New Mexico’s David Iglesias, had balked at political pressure before Election 2006 to bring what the prosecutors considered flimsy voter-fraud cases against prominent Democrats.

Now it appears that Sarah Palin shares the Bush administration's view about putting cronies in key law-enforcement jobs, making hers act like “loyal Palinistas.” As mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla and as governor of Alaska, she fired two top law-enforcement officials when they didn’t show sufficient loyalty or obedience to her.

Ousting the Chief

In 1996, after winning the election to be mayor of Wasilla then with a population of about 5,000, Palin sought to oust six department heads because they had signed a letter supporting the previous mayor, their old boss. Palin ultimately fired two of them, including the police chief.

Wasilla’s ousted police chief, Irl Stambaugh, sued Palin in 1997 for alleged contract violation, wrongful termination and gender discrimination The police chief claimed Palin fired him not for cause but for being disloyal and because he was a man whose size – 6 feet and 200 pounds – intimidated her.

However, a federal judge dismissed Stambaugh’s lawsuit.

So, having escaped any serious damage for punishing Wasilla’s police chief for a supposed lack of political loyalty, Palin had little reason not to throw her weight around when she became Alaska’s governor in December 2006.

By then, Palin was deeply involved in her family’s vendetta against her sister’s ex-husband, trooper Mike Wooten. Through complaints to his superiors, Palin already had helped engineer Wooten’s five-day suspension from the state police earlier in 2006 for various examples of personal misconduct.

In January 2007, a month into Palin’s term, her husband, Todd, invited Palin’s new public safety commissioner Monegan to the governor’s office, where Todd Palin urged Monegan to reopen the Wooten case. After checking on it, Monegan informed Todd Palin that he couldn’t do anything because the case was closed.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Monegan said that a few days later, the governor also called him about the Wooten matter and he gave her the same answer. Monegan said Gov. Palin brought the issue up again in a February 2007 meeting at the state capitol, prompting his warning that she should back off.

However, Monegan said Gov. Palin kept bringing the issue up indirectly through e-mails, such as comparing another bad trooper to “my former brother-in-law, or that trooper I used to be related to.”

Monegan also began getting telephone calls from Palin’s aides about trooper Wooten, including from then-chief of staff Mike Tibbles; Commissioner Annette Kreitzer of the Department of Administration; and Attorney General Talis Colberg.

Questioning ‘the Process’

Colberg acknowledged making the call, after an inquiry from Todd Palin about “the process” for handling a threatening trooper, and then relaying back the response from Monegan that the issue had been handled and nothing more could be done.

Monegan also told the Post that he warned each caller about the risk of exposing the state to legal liability if Wooten filed a lawsuit.

However, Todd Palin continued collecting evidence against Wooten and lobbying for his dismissal. The governor’s husband acknowledged giving Wooten’s boss, Col. Audie Holloway, photos of Wooten driving a snowmobile while he was out of work on a worker’s compensation claim.

Alaska’s Deputy Attorney General Michael Barnhill told the Post that a member of the governor’s staff, personnel director Diane Kiesel, also made at least one call to Col. Holloway about the snowmobile incident. [Washington Post, Aug. 31, 2008]

On July 11, 2008, Palin abruptly fired Monegan, saying only that she wanted to take the public safety department in a different direction.

Monegan then went public with his account of the mounting campaign against Wooten from the governor’s family and staff. Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News that Todd Palin showed him the work of a private investigator, who had been hired by the family to dig into Wooten’s life and who was accusing the trooper of various misdeeds, such as drunk driving and child abuse.

Though Palin insisted she wasn’t involved in the pressure campaign, a review by the Attorney General’s office found that half a dozen state officials had made about two dozen phone calls regarding Wooten.

A tape recording of one conversation – between Palin’s chief of boards and commissions Frank Bailey and police Lt. Rodney Dial in February 2008 – revealed Bailey saying, “Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, ‘Why on earth … is this guy still representing the department?’”

Expanded Investigation

On Aug. 2, the state legislature launched its own investigation into whether Palin “used her public office to settle a private score.” A bipartisan panel appointed special prosecutor Steve Branchflower to investigate and report back in a few months.

After Palin learned of Branchflower’s appointment, she questioned whether the investigation would be fair and objected to a comment from Democratic state Sen. Hollis French about the possibility that the case might lead to the governor’s impeachment.

Palin’s spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said, "Publicly elevating this to 'impeachment' raises doubts as to how fair a process some senators may intend for this to be." [Anchorage Daily News, Aug. 2, 2008]

However, with Palin now Sen. John McCain’s choice to be the next Vice President of the United States – and with much of the national news media hailing McCain’s “bold” choice of a fellow “maverick” and “reformer” – it’s unclear how far the state investigation will be allowed to go.

Still, there is a risk to McCain’s campaign that a deposition will either draw out from Palin an admission that she abused her office to pursue a personal vendetta or she will put herself at risk of having a sworn statement contradicted by others.

For a Republican Party that impeached – but couldn’t ultimately remove – President Bill Clinton for lying about a sex act, there might be some discomfort about having to justify any false statements by Sarah Palin.

But the Bush administration has demonstrated how well it knows how to frustrate investigations into Republican wrongdoing. For seven years, the administration has deployed its expansive claims of executive privilege and other obstructive tactics to thwart all kinds of fact-finding, including the probe into the firing of the nine U.S. Attorneys.

Presumably, a similar cloak of protection will now descend around Sarah Palin’s shoulders.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/090108.html

[Hogan11]

Has anyone ever checked out this Frank Luntz guy? I've seen him on Real Time a couple of times and he was hilarious enough for me to buy his book. A true master twister of words, his book, Words That Work, is pure comedy.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Hogan11

Has anyone ever checked out this Frank Luntz guy? I've seen him on Real Time a couple of times and he was hilarious enough for me to buy his book. A true master twister of words, his book, Words That Work, is pure comedy.

Have to check that out.

[Smiling Assassin27]

Ah, the media's just ticked that McCain showed uncharacteristically great smarts and political savvy with the Palin pick.

It's a master stroke. Absolutely brilliant. Conservative. Woman. Inexperienced in big time politics. The last bit is maybe the best, politically speaking, because the Democrats have to hit her on it, and every time they do, they're hitting their own guy twice as hard. I'm dazzled by how clever this choice is.

The Palin thing is the first time I've noticed the McCain campaign doing something politically brilliant. But then I haven't really followed the campaign all that closely. Couple that with Obama's campaign basically floundering all summer long and you have a contest that has no business being this close. While i still ain't ready to pull the lever for McCain, I gotta say he's got the best of this fight thus far.

p.s. Palin's a quantum leap better than that dinosaur Joe Biden.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Smiling Assassin27

Ah, the media's just ticked that McCain showed uncharacteristically great smarts and political savvy with the Palin pick.

It's a master stroke. Absolutely brilliant. Conservative. Woman. Inexperienced in big time politics. The last bit is maybe the best, politically speaking, because the Democrats have to hit her on it, and every time they do, they're hitting their own guy twice as hard. I'm dazzled by how clever this choice is.

The Palin thing is the first time I've noticed the McCain campaign doing something politically brilliant. But then I haven't really followed the campaign all that closely. Couple that with Obama's campaign basically floundering all summer long and you have a contest that has no business being this close. While i still ain't ready to pull the lever for McCain, I gotta say he's got the best of this fight thus far.

p.s. Palin's a quantum leap better than that dinosaur Joe Biden.

Just one question:

Can you see our solar system from the planet you live on?

[Rohirrim]

McCain has been selling himself out so much since 2000 that I doubt he has a grasp on who he is anymore. He's a tool. I actually used to admire the man.

[Drek]

Originally Posted by Smiling Assassin27

Ah, the media's just ticked that McCain showed uncharacteristically great smarts and political savvy with the Palin pick.

It's a master stroke. Absolutely brilliant. Conservative. Woman. Inexperienced in big time politics. The last bit is maybe the best, politically speaking, because the Democrats have to hit her on it, and every time they do, they're hitting their own guy twice as hard. I'm dazzled by how clever this choice is.

The Palin thing is the first time I've noticed the McCain campaign doing something politically brilliant. But then I haven't really followed the campaign all that closely. Couple that with Obama's campaign basically floundering all summer long and you have a contest that has no business being this close. While i still ain't ready to pull the lever for McCain, I gotta say he's got the best of this fight thus far.

p.s. Palin's a quantum leap better than that dinosaur Joe Biden.

Its basically a fact now that McCain wanted Lieberman and had to be talked out of it at this point, namely by Charlie Black, FYI.

Also, the polling numbers don't paint the rosy picture you see here. And any woman who is swayed by Palin is either part of the right wing already or very much out of touch with the issues. Funny that surveys show women historically have a much better understanding of the issues and vote accordingly.

Of particular note is a lot of recent polls showing some pretty damning numbers in regards to Palin's appeal to female democrats (Hillary's supposed base). By and large it has pushed them AWAY from considering a McCain leap.

The real problem is that Palin does nothing to flip Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Colorado and at the same time doesn't help protect Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, or Ohio. McCain needs to pick off one of the first three without losing any of the later four. Palin is a push for national attention as a whole but there is nothing about her to suggest that kind of appeal.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by Drek

Its basically a fact now that McCain wanted Lieberman and had to be talked out of it at this point, namely by Charlie Black, FYI.

Also, the polling numbers don't paint the rosy picture you see here. And any woman who is swayed by Palin is either part of the right wing already or very much out of touch with the issues. Funny that surveys show women historically have a much better understanding of the issues and vote accordingly.

Of particular note is a lot of recent polls showing some pretty damning numbers in regards to Palin's appeal to female democrats (Hillary's supposed base). By and large it has pushed them AWAY from considering a McCain leap.

The real problem is that Palin does nothing to flip Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Colorado and at the same time doesn't help protect Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, or Ohio. McCain needs to pick off one of the first three without losing any of the later four. Palin is a push for national attention as a whole but there is nothing about her to suggest that kind of appeal.

I think as more of the facts come out about Palin Americans will really begin to question McCain's judgment. The only question you are eventually left with is, "What was he thinking?" The only benefit to the McCain campaign is that the Radical Right is increasing their fund raising for him. Other than that, it's a wash.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Drek

The real problem is that Palin does nothing to flip Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Colorado and at the same time doesn't help protect Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, or Ohio.

But hey - she's got the caribou vote all sewn up.

[TailgateNut]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

I think as more of the facts come out about Palin Americans will really begin to question McCain's judgment. The only question you are eventually left with is, "What was he thinking?" The only benefit to the McCain campaign is that the Radical Right is increasing their fund raising for him. Other than that, it's a wash.

What was he thinking? He was thinking that women, in general terms, are just plain gullible enough to vote for him/ her because she's a woman.

Sorry DUDE, women ARE informed and quite intelligent. You (McStain) lose!

[frerottenextelway]

l_ 0 l_

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

I think as more of the facts come out about Palin Americans will really begin to question McCain's judgment. The only question you are eventually left with is, "What was he thinking?" The only benefit to the McCain campaign is that the Radical Right is increasing their fund raising for him. Other than that, it's a wash.

The question that's foremost in my mind is "will the GOP, true to form, find a way to make troopergate go away before November?"

I read that McCheese had already dispatched a team to Alaska to "investigate" (read: spread enough cash around to nip this thing in the bud.)

If there's one area where the Bush Crime Family excels, it's in covering up Republican wrongdoing.

In any event, should the rethugs somehow fail to squash the investigation and Palin makes it to that deposition, then it's game over for Turtle Head and the Prom Queen.

Caribou Barbie would face a catch-22 where she either has to admit she abused her powers or perjure herself.

[baja]

Originally Posted by TailgateNut

What was he thinking? He was thinking that women, in general terms, are just plain gullible enough to vote for him/ her because she's a woman.

Sorry DUDE, women ARE informed and quite intelligent. You (McStain) lose!

McCain has stopped calling the shots on his campaign a long time ago, it happened when he was "chosen" for the nomination. He is now, like Bush before him, a stooge of the dark forces.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

But hey - she's got the caribou vote all sewn up.

Yeah, but she has no chance with the Bullwinkle vote.

[snowspot66]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Caribou Barbie

That is pure gold right there.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by snowspot66

That is pure gold right there.

You know, I thought I was the first person on the web to use the name, but I Googled it and found this.

[Drek]

Originally Posted by baja

McCain has stopped calling the shots on his campaign a long time ago, it happened when he was "chosen" for the nomination. He is now, like Bush before him, a stooge of the dark forces.

Pretty much.

Everyone overlooks that he replaced his primary campaign director with Schmidt, a guy who in 2000 was directly involved in the smear ads that sunk McCain's primary bid back then. He sold out, its obvious to anyone who looks.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Drek

Pretty much.

Everyone overlooks that he replaced his primary campaign director with Schmidt, a guy who in 2000 was directly involved in the smear ads that sunk McCain's primary bid back then. He sold out, its obvious to anyone who looks.

Just in case there are folks out there who still need reminding, the Dems should plaster this photo on every billboard between Tallahassee and Tacoma:

[baja]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Just in case there are folks out there who still need reminding, the Dems should plaster this photo on every billboard between Tallahassee and Tacoma:

Notice that old left handed prison hand shake.

[W*GS]

Why isn't the original:



good enough?

Clearly, LABF belongs to the "if it wins us an election, even if it's a lie, that good enough for me" party-before-principle mindset.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

W*GS to the GOP's rescue - just like old times.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by baja

Notice that old left handed prison hand shake.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Actually, I didn't notice the Photoshopped "handshake" when I grabbed that pic off Google - honest!

Anyway, W*GS, little is lost in translation when you post the original.

In any case, I'm sure ol' Johnny Boy appreciates you having his back.

[W*GS]

The original is incriminating enough without having to lie.

That puts you into Rovian territory, LABF. Given that you advocate abandoning the rules of decency, honesty and integrity when it comes to the dirty aspects of politics, I don't get why you b**** about Rove and his ilk.