Palin Targets Boccieri, Let's Back Him!

It seems that the half-term governor of Alaska, or the half-wit governor, whichever you prefer, has targeted Representative John Boccieri with defeat in the 2010 elections. This is, of course, because Boccieri decided to stand with the people of the 16th Congressional District and not the insurance companies in the recent vote on the House floor.

As readers of this blog know, we were pretty critical of Borrieri when he voted against the health-care reform plan when it first came up for a vote. We thought that his vote was a betrayal of promises he had made to Medina County Democrats when he asked us to support him in 2008. We weren't happy with the explanations he gave to a group of Democrats who met with him in December in Medina.

We were very pleased, therefore, when he voted for the health care bill when it came back from the Senate. We were happy when he voted for the bill amending the act, and we were happy when he voted for the final package of amendments late Thursday.

Us being happy, however, isn't going to help him win re-election. What will help him win re-election is Democrats supporting him, both financially and with time. This morning, we donated to his campaign. We urge all Medina County Democrats to do the same.

You can donate to Boccieri's campaign by clicking here. You can sign up to work for his re-election by clicking here. Don't let Palin win this November! Let's tell her that it is our district, not hers.

Great Clip on Alaska Pork from Talking Points Memo

This is a very good video clip from Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo about the bs that Sarah Palin is putting out about earmarks. The Obama Campaign should make this into a thirty second ad.

Mrs. Maverick Billed Taxpayers for Staying at Home

What do you think your boss would say if you asked him or her to reimburse you for staying at home? Do you think that you would get away with that? Well, according to an article in the Washington Post, that's exactly what Governor Sarah Palin did to the taxpayers of Alaska. This is a quote from the article:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

The amount of the reimbursment was $16,951. This was in addition to her annual salary of $125,000.00. She also charged Alaska taxpayers $43,490.00 for trips her family took and many of those trips were between her home in Wasilla and Juneau, a trip of some 600 miles.

Among the trips that her daughter Bristol took and that the state's taxpayers paid for was a trip with her Mom to New York City to attend Newsweek magazine's Women and Leadership Conference. All in all, Bristol's trips have cost the taxpayers $3400.00. The other daughters, Piper, age 7, and Willow, age 14, have cost Alaska $11,000.00 and $6,000.00 respectively.

Ted Palin, aka "First Dude", has also been reimbursed for trips that he took, including $1371.00 for a flight for attending the National Governors Conference with his wife.

Alaska taxpayers can be relieved about one thing, though, she rarely sought reimbursement for meals she ate at home.

"George W. Bush in Lipstick"

This is a great line: "Sarah Palin is George W. Bush in lipstick". The line appears in this article on Huffington Post. Here is a quote from the article:

A core Democratic talking point against Sarah Palin is beginning to take shape: she is, critics say, the female counterpart of the current President of the United States, not only in terms of policy and social conservatism, but even personality.

"She's not a pitbull in lipstick," said one female Democratic operative, referencing a line from Palin's convention speech. "She's George Bush in lipstick."

From her hard-right stances on abortion and contraception and the deep affection she engenders from conservative evangelical leaders, to her involvement in a possible "abuse of power" scandal in Alaska and even her charming demeanor, some see in Palin the second coming of the 43rd president.

This line is one that all Democrats should be pushing.

Reader Submission on Sarah Palin

I can’t possibly take John McCain seriously and no one else should. Does he really think that Sarah Palin can run a country? If anything just by accepting the nomination she is making a joke of it. At least Obama has the guts to surround himself with a running mate who has experience where he may be lacking. McCain surrounded himself with a hockey mom. Give me a break. I really don’t want a hockey mom leading my nation. This isn’t the Wild West any more. We don’t need an Annie Oakley riding shot gun over a nation that is at this moment the laughing stock of the world. I would have a problem with Palin going into negotiations with another country when she doesn’t know what her own kids are doing. Don’t call her super mom. I’m sure someone else is taking care of the kids. If she is, how can she devote herself to running a state full-time? The super mom is the single parent living below the poverty level working two jobs to make ends meet AND taking care of her kids. I doubt that parent has time to run a country. Please don’t call her courageous for having a Down Syndrome child either. Risks of parents over forty having a Down Syndrome child goes up dramatically. I call it irresponsible.

As for her pregnant daughter; if the shoe was on the other foot I’m sure the self-righteous conservatives would have a field day with it. All is game when you are in the public eye. Ask any movie star or Bill Clinton, for that matter. How do you think the seventeen year old, unwed, woman living in poverty reacts to an unexpected pregnancy? She may not have such an “understanding” or well off family to support her. I thought Palin was in favor of abstinence for teens. What is that old saying; do as I say, not as I do? So sorry Sarah, I would rather my daughter have a better role model.

Wake up America ! We need to get back on track. We need a leader, not a cowboy, a maverick or a hockey mom. Let’s put the United States back on the world map as a world class leader of nations again.

Vicki Luschek

Can You See Sarah Palin Doing This?

Vice-President Lyndon Baines Johnson being sworn in as President on Air Force One following the asassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.

Political Irony Watch: McCain & Palin Oppose Government Programs to Fight Teen Pregnancy

We have stayed away from talking about the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter because it didn't seem particularly relevant to her mother running for Vice-President. That was before we read an article by Associated Press writer, Sharon Theimer. Her article is titled "McCain Fought Money on Teen Sex Programs" and was put out by the AP on Tuesday, September 2, 2008.

In the article, Theimer wrote the following:

Republican John McCain, whose running mate disclosed that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, has opposed proposals to spend federal money on teen-pregnancy prevention programs and voted to require poor teen mothers to stay in school or lose their benefits.

The article goes on to explain that not only does McCain oppose such programs, but so does Sarah Palin. This is from Theimer's article:

McCain's record on issues surrounding teen pregnancy and contraceptives during his more than two decades in the Senate indicates that he and Palin have similar views. Until Monday, when the subject surfaced in a deeply personal manner, teen pregnancy and sex education were not issues in the national political campaign.

Palin herself said she opposes funding sexual-education programs in Alaska.

"The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates.

Conservatives often say that parents, not the government, should be the ones to educate their children about the consequences of having sex before marriage. They are absolutely right. In an ideal world, every parent would sit down and rationally discuss sex with their children, and parents would give their children comprehensive sex education. Here's the problem: A lot of parents don't do it. A lot of parents are embarassed to have such discussions with their children. The result is too many teen pregnancies, and too many children raising children.

Allowing schools and other governmental agencies to educate teens about contraception is not condoning teen-age sexuality, it is realizing that someone has to provide such information. So, the question is, was such information provided in the Palin household, or did the parents just pray that their daughter knew not to engage in premaritial sex and hope for the best?

For Dems is Sarah Palin the Gift that Keeps on Giving?

Okay, so here's what we know so far about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin:

She was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it; she has had to hire a lawyer to represent her in what the media is now referring to as the Troopergate incident, (that's where she allegedly tried to get her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper by pressuring his boss); she was involved in a similar situation when she was Mayor of Wasilla, (that time citizens were organizing a recall drive); and now ABC tells us that in the nineties she was a member of a group called the Alaska Independence Party, whose slogan is "Alaska First, Alaska Always."

Apparently some members of this group want Alaska to become an independent nation; others want it to give up its statehood and become a commonwealth, and apparently all of them want Alaska to grab every bit of Federally owned land up there.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is in the process of becoming a late night comedy routine all by herself. Just what the Republicans need. It will be interesting to see if she survives this coming week.

Conservatives Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan Dis Sarah Palin As VP

This is what conservatives Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan thought of McCain selecting Sarah Palin as VP before the pick:

Does McCain Make Reckless Decisions?

McCain has made it a point to argue that he has the better judgment and therefore we should elect him president. So, let's see if the facts bear that out.

This is from an article on Think Progess about McCain:

The New York Times runs a lengthy article today on how the 9/11 attacks contributed to Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) foreign policy, particulary his aggression towards Iraq. “A terrorist resides in Baghdad,” he said in Feb. 2002, adding, “A day of reckoning is approaching”:

Within a month he made clear his priority. “Very obviously Iraq is the first country,” he declared on CNN. By Jan. 2, Mr. McCain was on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea, yelling to a crowd of sailors and airmen: “Next up, Baghdad!” […]

“These networks are well-embedded in some of these countries,” Mr. McCain said on Sept. 12, listing Iraq, Iran and Syria as potential targets of United States pressure.

In written answers to the Times, McCain blamed “Iraq’s opacity under Saddam” for any misleading remarks he made about the threat. Weeks after 9/11, McCain told Larry King that he would have named Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell to a McCain cabinet. “Oh, yes, and Cheney,” McCain added, saying he would have offered Dick Cheney the vice presidency.

Does wanting to start a war in Iraq, appoint Rumsfeld, and make Cheney Vice-President show sound judgment? Or are they examples of emotional, implusive decision-making?

Now, we have the choice of Gov. Sarah Palin for Vice-President. A woman who, to quote the Associated Press, has "spent more hours fishing than dealing with issues of national security." A woman who. two years ago, was the Mayor of a city of less than 7,000. A woman with two years of gubernatorial experience.

Given this kind of decision making, how can anyone think that McCain has sound judgment?