So Palin quit as governor

[mountaingal]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kia</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pepper</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gone_Clear_ILP</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> </div></div>

I haven't heard about this either. Makes no sense, she isn't known for her brilliance. </div></div>

but can anyone convince her otherwise? </div></div>



i wish there was a way to post the transcript of her news conference speech. she thinks she's the bees knees.

[mountaingal]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<span style="font-style: italic">sounds like she decided to break up with alaska first, before alaska broke up with her.</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">In Alaska, many pine for the old Palin</span>

The governor is a hot ticket in the Lower 48, but her in-state approval is sagging.

By Yereth Rosen | Correspondent/ July 2, 2009 edition
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Anchorage, Alaska

In the Lower 48, Alaska’s governor has been basking in the white-hot celebrity spotlight, leading parades, signing autographs, blasting President Obama, appearing on news shows and in national magazines, and, most famously, feuding with talk-show host David Letterman.

Back home, meanwhile, some Alaskans are feeling neglected by Sarah Palin, the governor catapulted from obscurity to fame when she became the Republicans’ vice-presidential candidate.

Recent polls put Governor Palin’s in-state approval rating in the low or mid-50s, respectable but a far cry from one-time ratings near 90 percent.

Some tie the drop to what they say is her newfound proclivity for “red meat” conservative issues over pragmatic Alaskan interests. Others cringe at the family melodramas that have become tabloid fodder. Either way, the loss of support for “Sarah-dise” – the nickname used for Palin’s smooth-running early tenure – includes some notable figures.

Take former Gov. Wally Hickel, the elder statesman who co-chaired Palin’s gubernatorial campaign and to whom Palin referred as her mentor. He broke with his protégée months ago.

“When Governor Sarah Palin was elected in 2006, we believed she would put Alaska first. But once elected, she put Sarah first,” he said in a statement June 11. “Because of her national ambitions, she is promoting an agenda that will allow outside corporations to dominate Alaska’s resources, including our energy and the jobs it provides.”

Pushback in the Legislature

Take the once-compliant state Legislature, now pushing back against Palin. Lawmakers in April blocked her choice for state attorney general, making controversial Anchorage lawyer Wayne Anthony Ross the first cabinet nominee ever rejected in Alaska. Now, lawmakers have gathered near-unanimous support to override Palin’s veto of $28 million in federal stimulus funding for energy-conservation projects. The veto, critics say, was calculated to appeal to her conservative base in the Lower 48.

Take Alaska Natives, who say their interests are more ignored than ever.

“She can see Russia out of her house, but she can’t seem to see the things that our villages are dealing with,” says Myron Naneng, president of the Association of Village Council Presidents, a tribal group serving the poverty-stricken Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska. Palin’s nomination of Mr. Ross, who has spent much of his career fighting native hunting, fishing, and tribal interests, added “insult to injury,” Mr. Naneng says.

Native fishermen along the lower Yukon River in the past week protested with their nets, illegally catching salmon they believe has been unfairly denied to them by a neglectful governor and her administration.

A critics’ refrain

Dissatisfaction is summed up by one bumper sticker: “Hey Sarah … the job’s in Juneau.”

In Palin’s defense, she spent most of the past legislative session in the capital, says John Bitney, a high school friend who was her legislative liaison until a falling-out with the governor got him fired.

There is also the challenge of balancing parochial Alaskan issues with the demands of being a national Republican star. “She’s focused on the national level now, and she’s playing in a league that’s pretty big,” says Mr. Bitney, now a legislative staffer.

If some constituents have soured on Palin, she might feel the same way about some of them. Her selection to the GOP ticket alongside John McCain thrust Alaska’s low-key and insular politics onto the national stage, subjecting her to piercing scrutiny. On top of the “troopergate” investigation launched before she joined the top GOP ticket, a wave of ethics charges has dogged her, socking Palin with personal legal bills topping $500,000. Many have been hypertechnical complaints that probe the gray area between her in-state duties and national activities. So far, at least a dozen complaints have been dismissed, including one Palin deemed “bogus” that concerned her logo-adorned attire at the Iron Dog snowmobile race.

Defensive missives from Palin’s office

Hard feelings have emerged. Belligerent, defensive missives from Palin’s office include statements urging Alaskans to rise up in a “backlash” against citizens filing ethics complaints and ridiculing lawmakers for criticizing her Lower 48 trips. “We did not anticipate that the governor’s political opponents would want their hands held in the final hours of the session,” an April 13 press release said.

During the legislative session, Palin even came to the House speaker’s office and scolded his top aide. It was “a terrible breach of respect of the Legislature by Gov. Palin. This kind of lack of decorum has never happened before,” opined the Alaska Legislative Digest, a newsletter co-written by a former House speaker.

Stephen Taufen, a fisheries activist who was once a staunch Palin supporter but is now “un-enamored with her,” questions her emotional state. “I don’t know how much to blame her or stage-show politics,” he says, but adds, “I’m not going to join the masses of people who want to psychoanalyze her.”

Less reluctant is Bob Poe, a former state trade official and former head of Anchorage’s economic-development corporation. A Democrat, he’s already launched a gubernatorial bid.

“I’m certainly not qualified to say she has a narcissistic personality disorder,” Mr. Poe says. But actions that aid her national quest at the expense of Alaska interests, such as the rejection of federal funds, are “narcissistic by definition, because it’s all about her; it’s not about Alaska,” he says.

In earlier times, a centrist tone

It wasn’t always this way. Back in Palin’s honeymoon days in office, she struck a centrist tone.

One of her first actions was to veto a bill that blocked health benefits for same-sex domestic partners of state workers. She allied with Democrats to raise taxes on oil companies and chart what she and supporters said was a path to a natural-gas pipeline that would not be controlled by the dominant oil producers.

She signed robust budgets that boosted spending on education, capital projects, and other services and facilities that lawmakers agreed had languished during the penny-pinching, low-oil-price years. She and lawmakers collaborated to pass an ethics reform package, amid a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation of Alaska’s politicians.

Some of her policies irked businesses, especially Big Oil. Critics likened her to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

But overall, the early Palin days were hopeful, says state Sen. Lesil McGuire (R). “Everybody was behind this governor – the first female, the youngest, a lifelong Alaskan, her family – what is there not to like?” Now, she says, “I see a lot of squandered opportunity.”

Senator McGuire is among many who doubt that Palin will run for re-election.

“Every indication points to the governor doing something in the next couple of years between 2010 and 2012 that’s going to prepare her for running for president,” McGuire says. But governing Alaska “really takes somebody who’s willing to make this their full-time job every single day.”

Dave Dittman, an Anchorage-based Republican pollster and consultant, predicts that Palin will run for reelection – and win easily. It’s only natural that her high ratings have deflated somewhat, he says.

But he says he can’t understand why she told Fox News host Sean Hannity, during her East Coast trip last month, that less oil revenue for Alaska “is good for our families and for the private sector.” That contradicts her prior position and the views of most Alaskans, he notes.

“There must be a context,” Mr. Dittman says. “I don’t think less oil revenue would be good for Alaska.”

Back in the governor’s hometown

Palin fever remains strong in Wasilla, the rough-edged suburb that is the governor’s hometown. On a recent afternoon at the Mug Shot Saloon, an Old West-style bar in the midst of the strip malls that line the Parks Highway, the smoke was thick, cowboy music played in the background, Fox News was on the TV, and locals were defensive of their hometown girl. “She’s a great person. We love her. And they missed their chance. She should have been in there. And leave her alone now. That’s my opinion,” says bartender Dana Rush.

John Schwochert, a Palin family friend, acknowledges that the governor’s in-state popularity has diminished, but that is probably because she has settled into her job. “Everybody here’s pretty satisfied with what she’s done for the state,” he says.

If Palin doesn’t run for the US Senate next year, she is a “shoo-in” for reelection and will rise from there, Mr. Schwochert predicts. “I’m really quite sure she’s being groomed for a higher office.”

[Gen]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

i swear i wanted to reach through the screen and strangle her for that ridiculous way of talking she is BEYOND speech therapy

I am still waiting for her to actually say WHY she quit

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jeezam piece!!! how can anyone stand listening to her for more than 30 seconds!!!!

serious - if i were her image consultant i'd get her into some kinda speech therapy right away. </div></div>

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

She is done, no more politics, no more.
Something reall devastatung seem to be just about ready to make the news. And it seem like somebody is running before they are investigated and then shoved.

[Magician]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

She's having McCain's baby in August (Nov+9)

BBQ cassava chips

[halfwaytree]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body">She is done, no more politics, no more.
Something reall devastatung seem to be just about ready to make the news. And it seem like somebody is running before they are investigated and then shoved. </div></div>

Agreed! Someone is about to spill the beans and she is beating them to the punch by stepping down. It's been a bad few months for U.S. governors.

[Pepper]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gone_Clear_ILP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i thought down syndrome is common in older mothers.
dont they check for it in that exam...wah it name? di one weh dem tek fluid fram you belly, while you pregnant.
</div></div>

Yes she had the amnio, but remember she is pro-life. She carried the baby full-term knowing he had downs.

I doubt the baby is her grandchild. Her daughter was never missing from school. That story would have broke a long time ago...instead of just being speculation.

[mountaingal]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pepper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">[quote=Gone_Clear_ILP]Her daughter was never missing from school. </div></div>

actually she was. the story is that she got preggers, got pulled out of high school, family was making plans to have the baby adopted, until amnio showed the presence of downs syndrome, at which point the mother took over the pregnancy, so to speak.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

Wow did not see this one coming. I wish she had stayed there was news daily about her and the Wasilla HillBillies it was better than any suicidal Lifetime TV movie ever made.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: So Palin quit as governor


<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Here's the full text of her statement, via the Governor's office</span>.

* * * * *
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Hi Alaska</span>, I appreciate speaking directly TO you, the people I serve, as your Governor.

People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska. Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.

I want Alaskans to grasp what can be in store for our state. We were purchased as a territory because a member of President Abe Lincoln's cabinet, William Seward, providentially saw in this great land, vast riches, beauty, strategic placement on the globe, and opportunity. He boldly looked &quot;North to the Future&quot;. But he endured such ridicule and mocking for his vision for Alaska, remember the adversaries scoffed, calling this &quot;Seward's Folly&quot;. Seward withstood such disdain as he chose the uncomfortable, unconventional, but RIGHT path to secure Alaska, so Alaska could help secure the United States.


People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska.

Alaska's mission - to contribute to America. We're strategic IN the world as the air crossroads OF the world, as a gatekeeper of the continent. Bold visionaries knew this - Alaska would be part of America's great destiny.

Our destiny to be reached by responsibly developing our natural resources. This land, blessed with clean air, water, wildlife, minerals, AND oil and gas. It's energy! God gave us energy.

Story continues below

So to serve the state is a humbling responsibility, because I know in my soul that Alaska is of such import, for America's security, in our very volatile world. And you know me by now, I promised even four years ago to show MY independence... no more conventional &quot;politics as usual&quot;.

And we are doing well! My administration's accomplishments speak for themselves. We work tirelessly for Alaskans.

We aggressively and responsibly develop our resources because they were created to be used to better our world... to HELP people... and we protect the environment and Alaskans (the resource owners) foremost with our policies.

Here's some of the things we've done:

We created a petroleum integrity office to oversee safe development. We held the line FOR Alaskans on Point Thomson - and finally for the first time in decades - they're drilling for oil and gas.

We have AGIA, the gasline project - a massive bi-partisan victory (the vote was 58 to 1!) - also succeeding as intended - protecting Alaskans as our clean natural gas will flow to energize us, and America, through a competitive, pro-private sector project. This is the largest private sector energy project, ever. THIS is energy independence.

And ACES - another bipartisan effort - is working as intended and industry is publicly acknowledging its success. Our new oil and gas &quot;clear and equitable formula&quot; is so Alaskans will no longer be taken advantage of. ACES incentivizes NEW exploration and development and JOBS that were previously not going to happen with a monopolized North Slope oil basin.

We cleaned up previously accepted unethical actions; we ushered in bi-partisan Ethics Reform.

We also slowed the rate of government growth, we worked with the Legislature to save billions of dollars for the future, and I made no lobbyist friends with my hundreds of millions of dollars in budget vetoes... but living beyond our means today is irresponsible for tomorrow.

We took government out of the dairy business and put it back into private-sector hands - where it should be.

We provided unprecedented support for education initiatives, and with the right leadership, finally filled long-vacant public safety positions. We built a sub-Cabinet on Climate Change and took heat from Outside special interests for our biologically-sound wildlife management for abundance.

We broke ground on the new prison.

And we made common sense conservative choices to eliminate personal luxuries like the jet, the chef, the junkets... the entourage.

And the Lt. Governor and I said &quot;no&quot; to our pay raises. So much success in this first term - and with this success I am proud to take credit... for hiring the right people! Our goal was to achieve a gasline project, more fair oil and gas valuation, and ethics reform in four years. We did it in two. It's because of the people... good public servants surrounding the Governor's office, with servants' hearts and astounding work ethic... THEY are Alaska's success!

We are doing well! I wish you'd hear MORE from the media of your state's progress and how we tackle Outside interests - daily - SPECIAL interests that would stymie our state. Even those debt-ridden stimulus dollars that would force the heavy hand of federal government into our communities with an &quot;all-knowing attitude&quot; - I have taken the slings and arrows with that unpopular move to veto because I know being right is better than being popular. Some of those dollars would harm Alaska and harm America - I resisted those dollars because of the obscene national debt we're forcing our children to pay, because of today's Big Government spending; it's immoral and doesn't even make economic sense!

Another accomplishment - our Law Department protected states' rights - TWO huge U.S. Supreme Court reversals came down against that liberal Ninth Circuit, deciding in OUR state's favor over the last two weeks. We're protectors of our Constitution - federalists protect states' rights as mandated in 10th amendment.

But you don't hear much of the good stuff in the press anymore, do you?

Some say things changed for me on August 29th last year - the day John McCain tapped me to be his running-mate - I say others changed.

Let me speak to that for a minute.

Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I've been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations - such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters' questions.

Every one - all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We've won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted THOUSANDS of hours of YOUR time and shelled out some two million of YOUR dollars to respond to &quot;opposition research&quot; - that's money NOT going to fund teachers or troopers - or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the &quot;politics of personal destruction&quot; ... Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn't cost them a dime so they're not going to stop draining public resources - spending other peoples' money in their game.

It's pretty insane - my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with THIS instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more &quot;politics as usual,&quot; but THIS isn't what anyone had in mind for ALASKA.

If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!

And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose NOT to tear down and waste precious time; but to build UP this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!

Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: &quot;Sit down and shut up&quot;, but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and &quot;go with the flow&quot;.

Nah, only dead fish &quot;go with the flow&quot;.

No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP.

And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them.

I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska - or Outside Alaska.

But I won't do it from the Governor's desk.

I've never believed that I, nor anyone else, needs a title to do this - to make a difference... to HELP people. So I choose, for my State and my family, more &quot;freedom&quot; to progress, all the way around... so that Alaska may progress... I will not seek re-election as Governor.

And so as I thought about this announcement that I wouldn't run for re-election and what it means for Alaska, I thought about how much fun some governors have as lame ducks... travel around the state, to the Lower 48 (maybe), overseas on international trade - as so many politicians do. And then I thought - that's what's wrong - many just accept that lame duck status, hit the road, draw the paycheck, and &quot;milk it&quot;. I'm not putting Alaska through that - I promised efficiencies and effectiveness! ? That's not how I am wired. I am not wired to operate under the same old &quot;politics as usual.&quot; I promised that four years ago - and I meant it.

It's not what is best for Alaska.

I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and not so comfortable.

With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election... I've determined it's best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell; and I am willing to do so, so that this administration - with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future - can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success.

My choice is to take a stand and effect change - not hit our heads against the wall and watch valuable state time and money, millions of your dollars, go down the drain in this new environment. Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, on another scale, and actually make a difference for our priorities - and so we will, for Alaskans and for Americans.

Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're na&amp;#65533;ve if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory.

I have given my reasons candidly and truthfully... and my last day won't be for another few weeks so the transition will be very smooth. In fact, we will look to swear Sean in - in Fairbanks at the conclusion of our Governor's picnics.

I do not want to disappoint anyone with my decision; all I can ask is that you TRUST me with this decision - but it's no more &quot;politics as usual&quot;.

Some Alaskans don't mind wasting public dollars and state time. I do. I cannot stand here as your Governor and allow millions upon millions of our dollars go to waste just so I can hold the title of Governor. And my children won't allow it either. ? Some will question the timing. ? Let's just say, this decision has been in the works for awhile...

In fact, this decision comes after much consideration, and finally polling the most important people in my life - my children (where the count was unanimous... well, in response to asking: &quot;Want me to make a positive difference and fight for ALL our children's future from OUTSIDE the Governor's office?&quot; It was four &quot;yes's&quot; and one &quot;hell yeah!&quot; The &quot;hell yeah&quot; sealed it - and someday I'll talk about the details of that... I think much of it had to do with the kids seeing their baby brother Trig mocked by some pretty mean-spirited adults recently.) Um, by the way, sure wish folks could ever, ever understand that we ALL could learn so much from someone like Trig - I know he needs me, but I need him even more... what a child can offer to set priorities RIGHT - that time is precious... the world needs more &quot;Trigs&quot;, not fewer.

My decision was also fortified during this most recent trip to Kosovo and Landstuhl, to visit our wounded soldiers overseas, those who sacrifice themselves in war for OUR freedom and security... we can ALL learn from our selfless Troops... they're bold, they don't give up, they take a stand and know that LIFE is short so they choose to NOT waste time. They choose to be productive and to serve something greater than SELF... and to build up their families, their states, our country. These Troops and their important missions - those are truly the worthy causes in this world and should be the public priority with time and resources and NOT this local / superficial wasteful political bloodsport.

May we ALL learn from them!

*((Gotta put First Things First))*

First things first: as Governor, I love my job and I love Alaska. It hurts to make this choice but I am doing what's best for Alaska. I've explained why... though I think of the saying on my parents' refrigerator that says &quot;Don't explain: your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.&quot;

But I have given my reasons... no more &quot;politics as usual&quot; and I am taking my fight for what's right - for Alaska - in a new direction.

Now, despite this, I don't want any Alaskan dissuaded from entering politics after seeing this REAL &quot;climate change&quot; that began in August... no, we NEED hardworking, average Americans fighting for what's right! And I will support you because we need YOU and YOU can effect change, and I can too on the outside.

We need those who will respect our Constitution where government's supposed to serve from the BOTTOM UP, not move toward this TOP DOWN big government take-over... but rather, will be protectors of individual rights - who also have enough common sense to acknowledge when conditions have drastically changed and are willing to call an audible and pass the ball when it's time so the team can win! And that is what I'm doing!

Remember Alaska... America is now, more than ever, looking North to the Future. It'll be good. So God bless you, and from me and my family - to ALL Alaska - you have my heart.

And we will be in the capable hands of our Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell. And Lieutenant General Craig Campbell will assume the role of Lieutenant Governor. And it is my promise to you that I will always be standing by, ready to assist. We have a good, positive agenda for Alaska.

In the words of General MacArthur said, &quot;We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.&quot;

[twiney]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Pepper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">[quote=Gone_Clear_ILP]Her daughter was never missing from school. </div></div>

actually she was. the story is that she got preggers, got pulled out of high school, family was making plans to have the baby adopted, until amnio showed the presence of downs syndrome, at which point the mother took over the pregnancy, so to speak.
</div></div>

why would they do amino on a teen? They dont even really want to do it unless you are 35 or older unless u really high risk cause it increase the risk of miscarriage that argument full of holes.

[CeaBee]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

i think first they do the blood test and if that shows possibility of downs..then they go on to do amnio.

but mi memory mighta fuzzy.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: So Palin quit as governor



Maybe nothing but this just now on Twitter:

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Aceman808: RT @JimAlger: ... and the other shoe just dropped... Sources: PALIN TO BE INDICTED
less than a minute ago from TweetDeck
</div></div>

[Peasie]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"> Maybe she's the biological mother of Michael Jackson's children and she's coming into some $$. Cha-ching</span>

[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: So Palin quit as governor

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Roland_Hedley: Palin gives incoherent 2,606-word speech in 14:20, or 192 wpm. I've said this before, folks: meth. People laughed. Now?</div></div>