Thread: Sarah on Saturday

I'll look for a link to the transcript of her 40 minute speech to the Iowa Tea Party rally. What's interesting from the soundbites on TV this morning is her populist message of criticizing both parties over career polititians and "crony capitalism." As you may know, Rick Perry has an extensive record in Texas of rewarding businesses who donate to his campaigns with State funds and contracts.

The big question on C-Span was "Should SP run for President?"

Any opinions?

Here's a portion of this speech, linked below.

Governor Palin’s Speech at the "Restoring America" Rally Transcripts | US for Palin

"We sent a new class of leaders to D.C., but immediately the permanent political class tried to co-opt them – because the reality is we are governed by a permanent political class, until we change that. They talk endlessly about cutting government spending, and yet they keep spending more. They talk about massive unsustainable debt, and yet they keep incurring more. They spend, they print, they borrow, they spend more, and then they stick us with the bill. Then they pat their own backs, and they claim that they faced and “solved” the debt crisis that they got us in, but when we were humiliated in front of the world with our country’s first credit downgrade, they promptly went on vacation.

No, they don’t feel the same urgency that we do. But why should they? For them business is good… business is very good. Seven of the ten wealthiest counties are suburbs of Washington, D.C. Polls there actually – and usually I say polls, eh, they’re for strippers and cross country skiers – but polls in those parts show that some people there believe that the economy has actually improved. See, there may not be a recession in Georgetown, but there is in the rest of America.

Yeah, the permanent political class – they’re doing just fine. Ever notice how so many of them arrive in Washington, D.C. of modest means and then miraculously throughout the years they end up becoming very, very wealthy? Well, it’s because they derive power and their wealth from their access to our money – to taxpayer dollars. They use it to bail out their friends on Wall Street and their corporate cronies, and to reward campaign contributors, and to buy votes via earmarks. There is so much waste. And there is a name for this: It’s called corporate crony capitalism. This is not the capitalism of free men and free markets, of innovation and hard work and ethics, of sacrifice and of risk. No, this is the capitalism of connections and government bailouts and handouts, of waste and influence peddling and corporate welfare. This is the crony capitalism that destroyed Europe’s economies. It’s the collusion of big government and big business and big finance to the detriment of all the rest – to the little guys. It’s a slap in the face to our small business owners – the true entrepreneurs, the job creators accounting for 70% of the jobs in America, it’s you who own these small businesses, you’re the economic engine, but you don’t grease the wheels of government power.

So, do you want to know why the permanent political class doesn’t really want to cut any spending? Do you want to know why nothing ever really gets done? It’s because there’s nothing in it for them. They’ve got a lot of mouths to feed – a lot of corporate lobbyists and a lot of special interests that are counting on them to keep the good times and the money rolling along.

It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen this kind of crony capitalism before. It’s is the same good old boy politics-as-usual that I fought and we defeated in my home state. I took on a corrupt and compromised political class and their backroom dealings with Big Oil. And I can tell you from experience that sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power-brokers. So, please you must vet a candidate’s record. You must know their ability to successfully reform and actually fix problems that they’re going to claim that they inherited.

Real reform never sits well with the entrenched special interests..."

I like Sarah Palin and I think that she's absolutely correct in what she said in the part you quoted. I also believe that, if elected, she would dedicate herself to doing just what she said she would do.

BUT.....

I don't want her to run for president.

I think that if she ran she'd do well but she'd also be fighting not just against the Democrats but also against the GOP establishment. See, Sarah Palin actually believes what she said up above there and the GOP know that she believes it. They'd never willingly put her in a position where that kind of ideology HAS to be taken seriously.

Sarah Palin is better off....at least for now...by doing what she is doing and keeping TEA party heads in the game.

Originally Posted by lutherf

I like Sarah Palin and I think that she's absolutely correct in what she said in the part you quoted. I also believe that, if elected, she would dedicate herself to doing just what she said she would do.

BUT.....

I don't want her to run for president.

I think that if she ran she'd do well but she'd also be fighting not just against the Democrats but also against the GOP establishment. See, Sarah Palin actually believes what she said up above there and the GOP know that she believes it. They'd never willingly put her in a position where that kind of ideology HAS to be taken seriously.

Sarah Palin is better off....at least for now...by doing what she is doing and keeping TEA party heads in the game.

A lot of people don't think she should run.

Fox Poll: Palin Should Stay Out of Race

Originally Posted by wooyarn

A lot of people don't think she should run.

Fox Poll: Palin Should Stay Out of Race

Palin is in an interesting position. Her ideology is spot on but her image hasn't been well enough developed to garner the public support she would need to really turn the tide of public opinion. In some respects it's a lot like the situation Ron Paul is in.

The scope of government in the US needs to be drawn back while being replaced by the ingenuity and vision of the private citizen. That change is going to require either a complete collapse of government or a gradual, sustained campaign of unlearning the methods of dependence. Palin's election to the position of President would push those politically opposed to her more toward the former scenario.

She was successful in changing that paradigm in Alaska because she pretty much came out of nowhere and there were no preconceived expectations. It's different now and that same shock value can't be duplicated.

Originally Posted by mahayana

The big question on C-Span was "Should SP run for President?"

Any opinions?

Yes. She would add a needed bit of seriousness and intellectual depth otherwise lacking in the current stable of GOP candidates.

Originally Posted by lutherf

Palin is in an interesting position. Her ideology is spot on but her image hasn't been well enough developed to garner the public support she would need to really turn the tide of public opinion. In some respects it's a lot like the situation Ron Paul is in.

The scope of government in the US needs to be drawn back while being replaced by the ingenuity and vision of the private citizen. That change is going to require either a complete collapse of government or a gradual, sustained campaign of unlearning the methods of dependence. Palin's election to the position of President would push those politically opposed to her more toward the former scenario.

She was successful in changing that paradigm in Alaska because she pretty much came out of nowhere and there were no preconceived expectations. It's different now and that same shock value can't be duplicated.

ahoy Lutherf,

two questions, me hearty.

1) ye say Mrs. Palin's ideology be "spot on", but do we really need yet another Republic candidate fer POTUS who says we need "lower taxes and smaller government"? imma not seein' what be unique in her position, unless ye see the regurgitation 'o boilerplate talkin' points somehow compellin'.

2) by all means, i'd like to hear ye expound a bit on her administration made lastin' changes to the "paradigm in Alaska"...because i really don't know what yer referrin' to.

- MeadHallPirate

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

2) by all means, i'd like to hear ye expound a bit on her administration made lastin' changes to the "paradigm in Alaska"...because i really don't know what yer referrin' to.

- MeadHallPirate

The answer to this one is about the paychecks which every Alaska resident gets from the State's oil company profits, which SP helped pass into law during her brief sojourn as Governor.

It's not what you'd call a typical Republican program (some say socialist), but does offer one insight into her popularity there. A lesson that could be applied nationally would be to make oil company subsidies depend on the price of oil.

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

ahoy Lutherf,

two questions, me hearty.

1) ye say Mrs. Palin's ideology be "spot on", but do we really need yet another Republic candidate fer POTUS who says we need "lower taxes and smaller government"? imma not seein' what be unique in her position, unless ye see the regurgitation 'o boilerplate talkin' points somehow compellin'.

We don't necessarily need another candidate who says those things but we do need a candidate who, if elected, will actually work diligently toward doing those things

Originally Posted by MeadHallPirate

2) by all means, i'd like to hear ye expound a bit on her administration made lastin' changes to the "paradigm in Alaska"...because i really don't know what yer referrin' to.

- MeadHallPirate

Her two biggest accomplishments in Alaska were rooting out ethical problems with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and working on getting the Alaska Gas Pipeline deal moving.

Both of these accomplishments were the result of a process of putting government into the role of regulator/negotiator rather than into the role of facilitator. It was a big step toward separating the influence of big business from the responsibilities of government. She also made substantial cuts to the Alaska budget for 2007 and 2008 while preserving many infrastructure projects which would lead to the opportunity for growth in developing areas.

In a nutshell, MHP, she, as governor, did what she said she was going to do and stuck to her guns whether her support was coming from Republicans or Democrats. Her stated goals and actions were consistent and it's pretty much undeniable that her focus was on making government responsible to the people of Alaska rather than responsible for those people.

Originally Posted by lutherf

We don't necessarily need another candidate who says those things but we do need a candidate who, if elected, will actually work diligently toward doing those things.

ahoy Lutherf,

aye?

what does that have to do with Sarah Palin, exactly? i don't mean to be discourteous, but i have no idear what yer talkin' about.

i have to go do a photoshoot to earn me monies, but do ye really want to get into the nuts 'n bolts 'o the "rooting out ethical problems with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission"? i'll take ye up on that, but yer not goin' to leave our discussion with some glowin' review on her role as a reformer. i'll be back later, matey.

- MeadHallPirate