Sarah Palin's decision to step down from her governorship and hand over the reigns to Lieutenant Gov. Sean Parnell later this month has once again made her the subject of media attacks.
This time, Palin's decision -- which I believe is the right decision for her -- is being called everything from "illogical" to "flaky." Some are even questioning her mental health.
I personally have seen many of these same bloggers and pundits take criticism for their own work and they just about fall short of a meltdown when they're forced to defend themselves. I think a lot of credit must be extended to Palin for taking as much as she did for as long as she did. When the scales were finally tipped and Palin was spending more time dealing with the accusations and less time dealing with the people's business, she made a sacrifice. Some say she "flaked out," others will say she didn't fulfill her obligation to her constituents, but I feel what she did was in their best interests and not her own.
When someone becomes a lightning rod of the magnitude that she did, it becomes impossible to effectively govern. Some are saying that President Barack Obama is a lightning rod as well, but there's a huge difference between them. Obama's lightning is clean and fair and issue-oriented. And most of the time it is positively charged.
The anointed one also has a huge staff dedicated solely to dealing with negative publicity, as most presidents do. Palin didn't have that as governor, and she refused to spend state resources on a big public relations department to deal with it. Palin had two PR people and was sick about the money being wasted to fight all these stupid allegations.
At some point, the good public servant has to weigh whether his or her personal political stake is more important than the success of the job itself. The people who are saying, "Well, the people hired her to do
a job," are right. Trouble is, the handful of people who keep filing
ethics complaint after ethics complaint, aren't allowing her to do her job. How can Palin effectively do her job if she is constantly being bombarded with reporter questions and false allegations? The latest Internet rumor had her facing murky federal indictments. Had the FBI not taken the unprecedented step of denying the existence of an investigation, she would have had yet another fire to extinguish.
There are, of course, lots of accusations and media requests she can ignore. Most of them, in fact. And I'm sure she did. But
there are some accusations and media requests she could not ignore or simply wish away. Ethics complaints, for example, require not only a public response, but a legal one, as well. Likewise, when someone asks, "Are you going to be indicted?" and you ignore them,
guess what's going to happen? A huge write up ... like the one we saw in Vanity Fair.
Don't think for a moment that the scoundrels who created this nasty rumor are going to apologize. Absolutely not. Instead, they're going to say they have every right to make this stuff up and publish it as if it were fact, because the First Amendment says they can. And they are correct. They do have that right. It's sad that they choose to exercise it that way, but it's their right to do so. Trouble is, if Palin does something the left likes, they won't admit it; if she does something they don't like, they scream about it; and if she does nothing at all, they make stuff up. The ol' damned if she does, and
damned if she doesn't situation.
Admittedly, I never called for Palin to step down. This is because I believed, genuinely, that she was still effectively governing the state. Only recently did I learn that her nominee for Attorney General was not confirmed by the state Legislature. Like other leaders, Palin didn't have the opportunity to defend her nominee because she was too busy defending herself. This is just one example of many, in which the governor hadn't the opportunity to govern. Had I been aware of her situation, I probably still wouldn't have recommended she step down, but only because my political instincts are to stay and fight, regardless of how the job gets done.
This, as Palin explained, is what's wrong with the American political system. Too many politicians put their own future ahead of their job description. Just as South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford should step down because his lascivious behavior has rendered him ineffectual, Palin believed her situation -- brought about through no fault of her own -- has rendered her ineffectual, as well.
Frankly, if she were a Democrat doing the same
thing, for the same reasons, I'd have the same opinion. What's right is right. If a Democrat were facing the same kinds of legal problems and those problems were creating these kinds of distractions, I'd be applauding his/her decision to step down. I may not be as sad about it as I am with Palin, but I'd believe it was the right thing to do.
At this point, Palin can do more for the people of Alaska out of office than she can in office. By getting out now, she hands the reigns over to someone who can realize her political vision in a more focused manner. This way, the concentration is where it is supposed to be: on the people's work.
Would any other political candidate do something like this? No way. But that's why conservatives like Palin. She doesn't do the politically correct thing, she just does the correct thing.
I've defended Palin on a number of occasions, and have no doubt earned a reputation for it. But, know this: when and if Palin ever disappoints me, I will be the first one to be critical of her. So far, she's made a few rookie mistakes, but I don't believe this is one of them.
When she's finally able to take on her critics without worrying about her family or her government, I anticipate a healthy accumulation of flying sparks.
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Comments
All I got to say is thank God she never became vice president.
Palin’s base is small and irrelevant as she, herself, desperately seeks relevancy. She’s finished, even though her supporters hang on to hope. Also, there are many people out there more qualified and believable than the moronic Palin who espouse anti choice, anti government rhetoric but, at the least, are also effective, experienced, articulate leaders. If Palin looked like Susan Boyle she’d be nowhere; which is why I have no respect for Palin supporters.
The claim that Sarah Palin is doing something “correct” rather than “politically correct” is incoherent. Sarah Palin is a politician. It is her chosen profession. She was elected by the people of Alaska as governor, a job she is abdicating.
As for the unyielding criticism she has received, she has invited it at every stage. She cannot expect to call Americans who disagree with her un-American and get no response. She has used media outlets to further her political career and then complained when that media dared to criticize her. If Sarah Palin is going to build a political career out of polarization, she should be prepared for some criticism from those she likes to demonize. I quite vividly recall her statements calling Obama a terrorist. Sorry, Sarah, but if you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot, then don’t complain about your limp.
She comes across to me as hysterical, scattered, and nonsensical. She ran the dirtiest campaign I have ever seen, then boohoos when her own track record is questioned. I have no sympathy, at all.
No one could have explained it better. What a shame it is to have our media so distort things and falsely make up things to discredit a Governor to make the right decisions for the good of her state. She has my vote
Is Palin going to run for the Republican nomination in ‘12 election?
Is Palin hot with right wing of the Republican party?
Is now the time for her to hit the fund raising trail? While she’s hot?
Would not doing this preclude her from being an effective Governor?
Would not the right thing be to resign?
Does not Palin want to do the right thing?
Why all this spin about lib media bashing? Sarah Palin wants to run for President. What’s wrong with that?
Think back 10 months, when the first time I became aware of Palin was when McCain’s people thought she would be the perfect woman to woo the disappointed Hillary Dems. I started hearing about this lovely Governor, her kids, her husband, and her stint as mayor. I did some internet research, and found out the truth about the Bridge to Nowhere.
Then, I watched her convention speech and was astounded at the lies she told, the vitriol toward Obama, whom she had never even met, and the obvious toeing of the party line. This was no maverick; this seemed to be an angry woman who would say anything to get applause from conservative Republicans.
As I followed the campaign, I heard more lies about Obama, saw her children used as props on stage while Obama’s kids were back in school, and began to question more and more this woman’s motives. She really lost me with the “real Americans” speeches, and allowing “kill him” at the rallies.
And you call these things “rookie mistakes?” I call it out and out slander and the worst kind of fear-mongering, not to mention questionable parenting. Obama did not mention HER once, and refused to respond to her accusations.
She may be an intelligent woman, but I certainly hope she uses this time to connect with her family, think about how she presents herself, and frankly, learn about this country. If she expects to run for the highest office, she will have to find a way to appeal to people who don’t agree with her every thought, and who also are not captivated by a wink and a shapely leg. It isn’t that we don’t understand her, we just don’t like her very much.
I believe Palin’s reason for resigning is that she, and her state, have become the recipients of the law of unintended consequences. The Ethics Code in Alaska provides that any person can file an ethics complaint against any public official for any reason. The Ethics Board must investigate. The object of the complaint must defend her self. The intention of the law is to protect whistle blowers, which is a good thing in normal circumstances.
I happen to be in the middle of reading the late Saul Alinski’s Rules for Radicals (1971), which has become the playbook for Acorn and others who have a vested interest in promoting Obama’s power. One rule suggests using the tactics of the opponent against them, in unusual and creative and, if necessary, frivolous ways. So it fits Alinski’s rules to a tee to do what the organized folks against Palin are doing.
Palin came into power as a reformer. Ethics was her calling card and it proved to be one of her strongest resume credits. From the moment she appeared on the national scene, the organization took her ethics credentials and threw them back at her with a slew of ethics charges, all of which were fabricated. Alinski encourages that the more outrageous the use of a tactic the better and more effective. Truth and facts don’t matter at all in achieving the goal.
So there have been 19 ethics charges filed against Palin. The first 15 have been investigated, at $2 million cost to the state, and dismissed, at a half million cost for Palin to defend herself. A defense fund was established and even that became another charge. She was charged with wearing a logo on a winter jacket. She was charged with giving a speech in Indiana. There are currently 4 more charges to go through. And it was obvious that as time went on they would keep on coming. Another six months, another 15 charges. Another year, another 50 charges. And so on. There would be no stopping it.
Palin was trapped in her position as governor and at the mercy of this Alinski tactic. The longer she stayed on the job the more legal bills she would rack up, and the more the investigations would cost the state. She was imprisoned like no other governor, because no other state has this kind of ethics system.
She had to resign or go personally bankrupt in the process. This is one of the best examples of the effectiveness of the Alinski method. Alinski writes that the end always justifies the means.
“Frankly, if she were a Democrat . . . I’d have the same opinion.” I wonder if that is true. If so, you are different than 99% of conservatives I know who not only attack Obama for less strange behavior but who even claim that he is some kind of evil dictator. “So far, she’s made a few rookie mistakes, but I don’t believe this is one of them.” So whining, acting confused and criticizing everything Obama has done does not rise to the level of major mistakes? I guess Obama’s mistakes, rookie or not, must include being able to construct coherent sentences that actually address real issues.
I think Sarah will seek and get the Republican nomination and win in 2012.
Sarah will be our most powerful president ever, because Congress and the Supreme Court will know that if they oppose her she will quit, and they will have to answer to the American People.
“Hasn’t She Been Picked on Enough? Palin 2012!” will be her slogan.
Other nations will be on notice, that The Queen of The Quitters, The Wasilla Weeper, will just walk away from her office of they bring nuisance wars or any pressure on her, and then, those of us who love this Holy Woman, will raise a powerful Crusade type Army and get back her honor!!!!
Give her what she wants, or she will quit!
What a powerful leader, title or no title.
Glen, Alinsky (not Alinski) does not say that the ends always justify the means; he says “the real and only question regarding the ethics of means and ends is, and always has been, ‘Does this particular end justify this particular means?’” That’s in the first paragraph of the chapter titled “Of Means and Ends” (page 24 in the edition I own).
I can’t speak one way or the other regarding the accuracy of what you have to say re: Alaska’s ethics complaint process, but what you have to say about Alinsky indicates that either you haven’t been reading the book, or you haven’t been reading it very well.
Close examination of her original speech text leads me to believe that Governor Palin is quitting to play for the WNBA, or maybe to swim upstream and spawn.
See:
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/great-decisions-2009
Deal with facts folks.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-palin5-2009jul05,0,7018263.story
Special Agent Eric Gonzalez told the Los Angeles Times: “There is absolutely no truth to those rumors that we’re investigating her or getting ready to indict her. It’s just not true.”
Legitimate news sources should simply report the facts and leave it at that. Unfortunately, with online and televised advertising there is no end to the sensationalized ‘news’ that uses agenda and bias to shock and awe us into bleating sheep.
Justin, you get paid by page views so I can’t even determine if your slant or bias is purposeful or not. Your article contains an obvious bias that purportedly is opposite the mainstream media response but the, and I shudder when I use the word, ‘blogosphere’ is likely split 50-50. After all you wouldn’t get page views, links, and therefore web-crawler hits if you aimed for middle ground.
Call a spade a spade; Palin resigned after 2 and half years of a four year term. She hasn’t given much of a reason other than she’s doing what’s best for Alaska. What that means is open for debate and the only ones who care are polarizing figures in the media. If one were to speculate, and everyone talking is purely speculating, the fame is not making it easy to focus on Alaska’s issues. That is if we were to take what she said at face value.
I am who I am because I grew up in a small town. I don’t think that should be a strike against Sarah. I also don’t agree that simply because she’s a woman, and for some an attractive woman, she deserves more loyalty from constituents or media. If she did a good job as councilwoman, mayor, and governor than let that be the measure. The need to find ‘the one’ in both parties sickens me and typifies the polarity in our country.
What America needs is a safe middle ground that we can once again discover our common goals rather than highlight our differences.
I have even more respect for her, since she stepped down. She has more integrity & intellegance than Joe Biden. I wish Joe had become VP.
I think the sad part of it is that the people who were attacking her now feel empowered because in their minds, they won. Next time they don’t like someone, they will be even more aggressive toward them.
Good article, Justin.
As is evident from the attacks on Sarah Palin, the Big Lie is as effective now as it was when Joseph Goebbels (“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State”) was alive. My wife, for example, a very bright woman who should know better, believed the scandal story to be true until discredited by the FBI. While unfortunate, the success of politically motivated disengenuousness and prevarication is, however, understandable. The general public seldom attempts to look beyond political verisimilitude.
I want to thank you, Justin, for your efforts. I read your stuff regularly. Well written, timely, and informative. Your efficacy is also made evident by the nonsensical flack your articles receive; you’re obviously doing your job well. Keep up the good work.
CJM
Thanks, Chuck.
Sarah is a hero in her own mind. There has never been a more twisted, self-centered, unethical politician unless you compare her to Mr. McCarthy. Her quest for power is amazing. Her tactics are the same as the Carl Marks dictum of KGB propaganda. She has done her homework using the Russian model as her text. You who are still enamored of her are terribly and psychotically deluded. Thank goodness the American people see through her ruse.