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The Patriot Post Brief 08-36
From The Federalist Patriot
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THE FOUNDATION: POLITICAL LEADERS“The great principles of right and wrong are legible to every reader; to pursue them requires not the aid of many counselors. The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest.” - Thomas Jefferson
FOR THE RECORD“I never really set out to be involved in public affairs, much less to run for this office... I was just your average hockey mom in Alaska... busy raising our kids. I was serving as the team mom and coaching some basketball on the side. I got involved in the PTA and then was elected to the city council, and then elected mayor of my hometown, where my agenda was to stop wasteful spending, and cut property taxes, and put the people first. I was then appointed ethics commissioner and chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. And when I found corruption there, I fought it hard, and I held the offenders to account. Along with fellow reformers in the great state of Alaska, as governor, I’ve stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies, and the good-ole-boy network. When oil and gas prices went up so dramatically and the state revenues followed with that increase, I sent a large share of that revenue directly back to the people of Alaska. And we are now... embarking on a $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence. I signed major ethics reform. And I appointed both Democrats and independents to serve in my administration. I championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. In fact, I told Congress... ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said we’d build it ourselves. Well, it’s always... safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But I didn’t get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why the ship is built. Politics isn’t just a game of competing interests and clashing parties. The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons. And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good. Now, no one expects us to agree on everything, whether in Juneau or in Washington. But we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions, and a servant’s heart.” - Alaska Governor and Republican VP Nominee Sarah Palin
THE GIPPER“‘Trust me’ government asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man; that we trust him to do what’s best for us. My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. The trust is where it belongs - in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship, between the people and their elected leaders, is a special kind of compact.” - Ronald Reagan
POLITICAL FUTURES“Bingo. For weeks, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been the Republican whom conservatives barely dared to hope could become John McCain’s pick as his running mate. For Republicans angry at Washington’s big-spending bonanza when Republicans controlled the White House and Congress, Palin, like McCain, is an antidote. She is the Alaskan who pulled state support for the infamous Bridge to Nowhere and bucked Alaska’s congressional and state Republican leaders. For social conservatives, the mother of five has impeccable credentials. She’s a member of Feminists for Life, who walked the walk in April when she gave birth to a son, shown by genetic testing to have Down syndrome... For conservatives, who felt that McCain has been at times too cozy with the Washington left, Palin is a conservative’s conservative - a moose hunter and co-owner of a commercial fishing operation. As an Alaskan, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her husband works for BP on an Alaska oil field... McCain has been too much of a wishful thinker when it comes to energy policy. Palin could champion a more grounded approach to energy. As a female candidate, Palin just might attract disgruntled Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters - or at least give them pause before voting for the Obama-Biden ticket... Is she short on experience? Yes. Voters will have to watch her performance on the campaign trail to judge how she responds to high-stakes politics and the international arena. That said, as a governor, Palin she has more experience running a government than Obama, who began serving his first term in the U.S. Senate in 2005. And unlike Obama, Palin has shown herself willing to challenge [the] jaded ethical policies within her party. That’s change.” - Debra Saunders
RE: THE LEFT“Moments after the media confirmed McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin, the Obama campaign released an obviously hastily composed statement claiming that experience was no longer ‘on the table’ as an issue for the duration of the campaign. Setting aside the arrogance of dictating what will and will not be an issue, the Democrats claimed that a two-year governor of a small state (which happens to be bigger than half the continental U.S.) whose previous offices were that of mayor and city council member is not qualified to be Vice President of the United States. This charge was made by the campaign of a candidate who has only been in the United States Senate for four years and has spent two of those running for president; all the while studiously avoiding any legislative issues that may have hampered his effort or ambition. The Obama campaign’s initial reaction, however, was telling. Having spent the last month unable to drive a message, they immediately attacked their new opponent and denigrated her experience as a small-town mayor. One could venture a guess that most folks in Kansas or similar places know who their mayor is far better than they know their U.S. Senators. Continuing a narrative that will haunt the Obama campaign into the fall, they turn their noses up at ‘regular’ Americans, who have worked hard for what they believe in and reached great heights. Apparently you’re only allowed to pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you’re at the top of the ticket.” - Rich Galen
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