They Say Governor Palin is "Polarizing" in Order to Marginalize Her

In an effort to frame the narrative, the word "polarizing" has been used by Governor Palin's detractors, political foes, and people who just repeat what they hear, at an ever increasing level since the midterm elections. Wikipedia describes political polarization as such (emphasis mine):

In politics, polarization (or polarisation) is the process by which the public opinion divides and goes to the extremes. It can also refer to when the extreme factions of a political party gain dominance in a party. In either case moderate voices often lose power and influence as a consequence.

The word is being applied to Governor Palin in an effort to marginalize her by people who don't really have her best interests in mind. I've read it more than once from so-called "moderate Republicans," whose main purpose in life seems to be convincing the left that they're not all those nasty things leftists calls conservatives. I have a newsflash for those "moderates"... Leftists still hate you, and I have no idea why you care.

Moderation has nothing to do with kissing the behind of the extreme left. You can be civil with them. Work with them when possible, but when their worldview approaches the territory where their actions (based in good nature or not) hurt the nation, you have to put your foot down. That is not "extreme," that's commonsense for anyone who cares about this nation. If you look at the national debt, health care, economic uncertainty, and a host of other fine examples the Obama administration has provided for us, you can see that my comments pertaining to their worldview are not hyperbole.

Then there is the irony of the Lamestream media placing to word "polarizing" in the headlines of stories they write about Governor Palin. They do this for the same reason you see left-wing pundits touting the "polarizing" meme. It's politics, plain and simple. Marginalizing Governor Palin in a way to make people who consider themselves "middle of the road" want to stay away from her. They want those people to ignore what she has to say, because she's not selling the lefts agenda. It's a play for the middle - the independents. Instead of telling those 'middle of he road' people why they think leftist views are correct, they just tear down their ideological opposition.

How is it possible that this former governor, the subject of the second entry on Google when searching the word "polarizing" (Pelosi in number one), had an 80% approval rating in Alaska, nineteen months after being sworn in? How did someone so 'extreme' manage to gain such high approval numbers and keep them for so long? Is Alaska full of 'extremists?' ... Ah, no it's not. To me, this shows that there is a disconnect between a perception of how "polarizing" Governor Palin is and how non-polarizing a public servant she actually was.

Sheya posted an excellent piece in August titled "The Polarization of Sarah Palin," where he wrote extensively on false perceptions versus reality. You can read that piece here, I highly recommend it.

More proof of the disconnect between perception and reality was the Rasmussen poll that came out back in September that said, "Voters feel closer to Palin than Obama, 52/40." It states:

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Likely U.S. Voters say their own views are closer to Sarah Palin’s than they are to President Obama’s, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Just 40% say their views are closer to the president’s than to those of the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate.

Among the Political Class, however, 68% say their views are more like Obama’s, while 63% of Mainstream voters describe their views as more like Palin’s.

That poll was taken to determine the amount of people who agreed with Governor Palin versus Obama on the issues as opposed to perceptions of each political figure. Clearly the American people are more polarized by government takeover of industry and medicine than say... asking the federal government to live up to it's end of the contract it has with the people. That being the Constitution. You see, commonsense, Constitutional Conservatism really isn't that controversial.

It appears that Governor Palin agrees. When Mary Hart from ET interviewed her last month, the governor spoke about being labeled "polarizing." She said:

"That is a bit perplexing because I think, what is polarizing or extreme about believing, politically speaking, in the United States Constitution? And our Declaration of Independence, and all those things that it stands for? And what our founding mothers and fathers in this country meant for America to keep building upon? Those are the things that I believe in. What's extreme about that? How is that polarizing? So I'm still perplexed by that, that characterization of the polarization."

It's clear that Governor Palin rallies Conservatives, and it is well documented that the far left fear and loathe her. However, I find no reason given the governor's standing on the issues and constitutional beliefs, that people in the middle can't also rally behind her. What matter of substance would keep those people away?

The "polarizing" meme is just another weapon the left uses to try to damage Governor Palin. Hopefully the American people can start to see that the people giving this label to her have a motive to do so. In other words, consider the source. As far as the people who mindlessly repeat the meme go... I can only ask that they look at the issues, the records before you speak. Then you tell me who are the real "polarizing" figures on America's political stage today. Do you call Barack Obama polarizing? If not, why not because his record easily proves that he is.

BP & Obama Both Pushing "Climate" Legislation

President Obama met Wednesday for the first time since the oil rig explosion in the Gulf, with BP's top executives. Reports show that the meeting only lasted for about twenty minutes. Long enough for my favorite member of the Obama Administration, Pete Souza, to do his job and make it look like Obama was doing executive things. For those of you who don't know, Pete Souza is the White House photographer and I have a suspicion that he may be one of those famous GOP plants due to all those damning photos he takes of his boss. But that's a topic for another blog.

From the meeting today, Politico reports:

Carol Browner, Obama’s energy adviser, suggested the White House had no legal authority to force BP to pay lost wages. “There’s a very significant legal question about their liability,” Browner told reporters.

But BP executives appeared to get something out of their first meeting with the president.

Obama expressed confidence that the company is in sound financial condition – a question raised by a drop in its stock amid tough rhetoric – and he made a rare appeal for BP critics to heed its financial interest, for the good of the people along the Gulf.

“I’m absolutely confident BP will be able to meet its obligations to the Gulf Coast and to the American people. BP is a strong and viable company and it is in all of our interests that it remain so,” Obama said. “So what this is about is accountability.”

What makes Obama so confident that BP (Beyond Petroleum) will remain "strong" and "viable" enough to fulfill their obligations to the folks on the coast that are suffering?

Perhaps his number one priority since this crisis happened, passing climate legislation, has something to do with it. Like my friend Gary pointed out earlier, all of the actions of the administration lately smack of Kabuki theater. There is always more to the story and it usually makes my skin crawl.

Insert "more to the story" here....

An article from June 9th in the Washington Examiner has some rather interesting information about BP's ties to the very legislation Obama has given priority over actually plugging "the damn hole" at this time (emphasis mine):

BP was a founding member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a lobby dedicated to passing a cap-and-trade bill. As the nation’s largest producer of natural gas, BP saw many ways to profit from climate legislation, notably by persuading Congress to provide subsidies to coal-fired power plants that switched to gas.

In February, BP quit USCAP without giving much of a reason beyond saying the company could lobby more effectively on its own than in a coalition that is increasingly dominated by power companies. They made out particularly well in the House’s climate bill, while natural gas producers suffered.

But two months later, BP signed off on Kerry’s Senate climate bill, which was hardly a capitalist concoction. One provision BP explicitly backed, according to Congressional Quarterly and other media reports: a higher gas tax. The money would be earmarked for building more highways, thus inducing more driving and more gasoline consumption.

Elsewhere in the green arena, BP has lobbied for and profited from subsidies for biofuels and solar energy, two products that cannot break even without government support. Lobbying records show the company backing solar subsidies including federal funding for solar research. The U.S. Export-Import Bank, a federal agency, is currently financing a BP solar energy project in Argentina.

[...]

BP has more Democratic lobbyists than Republicans. It employs the Podesta Group, co-founded by John Podesta, Obama’s transition director and confidant. Other BP troops on K Street include Michael Berman, a former top aide to Vice President Walter Mondale; Steven Champlin, former executive director of the House Democratic Caucus; and Matthew LaRocco, who worked in Bill Clinton’s Interior Department and whose father was a Democratic congressman. Former Republican staffers, such as Reagan alumnus Ken Duberstein, also lobby for BP, but there’s no truth to Democratic portrayals of the oil company as
an arm of the GOP.

Something else I found out today of interest is that "well connected" Democrat Jamie Gorelick, who served as a Deputy Attorney General under Bill Clinton, and on the 9-11 Commission (with obvious conflicts of interest) is now 'serving' BP as their attorney. It should also be noted that Gorelick was appointed Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae in 1997 and stayed in that role until 2003. My, what a small world we live in...

The Examiner piece ends with this:

Two patterns have emerged during Obama’s presidency: 1) Big business increasingly seeks profits through more government, and 2) Obama nonetheless paints opponents of his intervention as industry shills. BP is just the latest example of this tawdry sleight of hand.

Yes they are because all day I couldn't help but think about Goldmann Sachs and what we witnessed a couple of weeks ago on Capitol Hill, in more Kabuki Theater.

There is a reason Glenn Beck did a show not too long ago called "Crime Inc." on the topic of the Chicago Climate Exchange. The set-up from the powers that be with their organizations, funded by legislation is nothing short of criminal behavior. The Energy Bill, or whatever name they are calling it these days is still the same. It's still a bill to "cap" energy consumption through regulation, increasing federal tentacles, and then tax the citizens and businesses in this nation to fund their corrupt carbon trading mechanism.

Once again I ask... Outside of Glenn Beck, FOX News, the internet, and Sarah Palin's Facebook page, where is the media? We currently have the biggest environmental disaster this nation has ever seen unfolding, and with the President's speech Tuesday night, he made clear what his priories are. Passing a bill that will enrich BP, not to mention Shell, and a whole host of oil companies (see USCAP) and break Americans backs financially, if not rob us of more of our freedoms. All in the name of the environment, while the Gulf of Mexico sits in ruin. You think there might be a story there, "Lamestream" press?

Sarah Palin's Energy Tax Warning

Sunday, Governor Palin posted the following message on her Twitter page:

"So..because BP, subcontractors & govt screwed up WE get punished w/energy tax that jacks prices & kills jobs & opportunity?Nope,wrong answer"

Roger Ebert, being the brain of the left, had no idea what she meant. I doubt he ever will but if he does ever connect the dots, he'll never admit it. Moving right along...

Most of us are familiar with the energy legislation that has been a primary goal for the Obama Administration since day one. It was known in the beginning as "Cap and Trade," or as Governor Palin liked to call it, the "Cap and Tax" bill. The title got a bad rap (thanks in part to Governor Palin) so they have repackaged it, like they always do, and now it is called the "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act." Failed presidential candidate and current Senator for Massachusetts, John Kerry is sponsoring the new effort. The premise remains the same however, this is nothing more than an attempt to tax the air we breath.

Governor Palin is very savvy. She knows the left's playbook like the back of her hand. She understands that they actually do adhere to the words of Rahm Emmanuel, to "never let a serious crisis go to waste.” With the ongoing Gulf oil leak, this could mean very bads things on the horizon for Americans. Which translates to very good things in the eyes of the administration when it suits their agenda.

Last week, I was stunned (shouldn't have been) when I saw this ad play on CNN. In fact it made me so angry, I posted a tweet about it at that time.




Ah, very deceptive isn't it?

The group calls itself "VoteVets" and has connections to many big players on the left. It is a Soros backed group that was originally started to attack President George W. Bush in 2006 and in my opinion, undermine the war effort in Iraq. Jon Soltz, the Co-Founder and Chairman actually worked for the Kerry Campaign back in 2004, so this group that tries to portray itself as some sort of honest player on any matter, is anything but. In short, 'don't believe the hype.'

There is a game being played right now by the Obama Administration, and they are using this crisis and their cronies to play it. We all need to be very watchful and cognizant of the methods they will use to gain their end goal. Look out for the spin that comes from their offices and the offices of their friends in the media.

I'm concerned that the Obama administration in all their socialistic glory, may also consider nationalizing much of the energy sector because 'BP failed so badly, you see.' His complete 'hands-off' approach to dealing with this crisis may just be a way to highlight a private sector failure. A private industry that is "too big to fail." I don't know, it's just a theory but it does worry me. For now, perhaps Obama could forget about his golf, his parties, and his politics and give Tony Hayward a call. The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20th and Obama has yet to even talk directly with the CEO of BP about it.

The writing is on the proverbial wall. Sarah Palin is trying to warn Americans what the left's plans are. The health care bill was an indicator of how this government will ignore any public dissent on the matter too. That does not matter, we must press on anyway. We still have to get the word out, educate people, make a stink by contacting our representatives, and just do anything we can to stop this "energy" bill from passing.

Obama's Energy Theories

Last week President Obama made some astonishing moves concerning the nation's energy policies. First there was the revelation that Obama may be trying to take credit for the AGIA natural gas pipeline in Alaska. A deal that in reality was brokered by his perceived adversary, Governor Palin along with TransCanada and Exxon-Mobil to build a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48 states. The Alaska Gasline Inducement Act had taken thirty years and Governor Palin's leadership once in office, to get closer than it had ever been to a reality.

Personally, I think Obama would love to federalize this project because it's pretty obvious that the man loves big centralized government. It's also painfully obvious that Barack Obama has ZERO accomplishments since he took the oath of office and this would appear to those unfamiliar with AGIA, to be his success. It would also take away from Governor Palin something she worked so hard on, something I'm sure his political staff thinks would be a big score for them. Nevertheless, the nomination and subsequent confirmation of Larry Persily for the new "Pipeline Czar" position in the White House, along with Persily's former boss, Mike Hawker's defunding of AGIA from within the Alaska Legislature, sent a loud message. Things may not be going as planned with AGIA and the free market principles that accompanied the original plan may be taking a back seat to whatever Obama and Persily, a former journalist, have planned.

Another bit of hair-raising news in regards to Obama's energy policies was last Friday when Ken Salazar told reporters that the administration would be implementing a three-year total ban on all new offshore drilling leases in federal waters. According to the latest Rasmussen poll 68% of the American population supports offshore drilling. So once again, Obama chooses to go against the will of the people and adhere to his ultra left-wing ideology. He is also going back on what he told the American people just last January during the State of the Union address. He said:

"But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies"

What a liar... It's like when he told voters during the campaign that he wouldn't raise taxes on the middle class and would give 95% of all American's a tax cut. Obama's budget revealed that he intends on letting the Bush tax cuts, which affect all working people, to expire. So-called "backdoor tax hikes" will be implemented as of January 1st, 2011. A good breakdown of the numbers can be found here.

Last week was also "CERAWeek 2010," which was an energy industry conference held in Houston. Obama sent his Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu to discus his administrations policies. Investor's Business Daily put out an editorial absolutely skewering Secretary Chu. It states:

Our secretary of energy pushes bio-refineries and windmills to oil executives at an energy conference as the administration announces a three-year offshore drilling ban. This is a policy for economic suicide.

They continue:

With an economy struggling to regain sound footing, Chu advocated a starvation diet devoid of additional fossil fuels that are to remain under the ground and seabed. Instead, he supports 53% more funding for wind research and a 22% jump for solar research.

Subsidizing alternative energy fits the classic definition of insanity. Despite huge subsidies, it has proved to be neither cost-effective nor a reliable, significant contributor to our national power grid. Yet we keep subsidizing it, expecting a different result.

"Oil is an ideal transportation fuel, so it will be with us for decades," Chu conceded, even as the administration forbids us from getting more of it here, creating energy jobs, lowering energy costs and cutting our trade deficit. Instead we'll rely increasingly on foreign and often unfriendly suppliers.

Chu acknowledged the role cleaner-burning natural gas can play in electricity generation, but only as a "transition to other fuels" in coming years. And the administration continues to gobble up lands where it might be found and impose environmental regulations that curtail the use of new technologies such as fracking to get more oil and natural gas from America's vast shale deposits.

Equally unimpressed with Chu's presentation was another speaker. "Gas is more than a bridge fuel," said James Mulva, CEO of Houston-based ConocoPhillips, noting that huge gas discoveries in recent years in North America in shale and other unconventional rock formations could provide more than a century of supply. "It is part of the long-term energy solution."

"We must overcome the opposition of the 'hydrocarbon deniers,'" Mulva said, playing off Al Gore's term for climate-change skeptics. Hydrocarbon deniers, he said, are those who "believe that renewable energy will quickly and easily replace hydrocarbons and cure all that ails us."

The headline above a story in the New York Times read, "Oil Execs Chortle as Obama Admin Promotes Renewables." Except that it's not funny; it's tragic. To leave vast stores of domestic energy untapped while Americans are looking for cheap energy and jobs is irresponsible. Unfortunately, this administration has no long-term energy solution, other than hoping for a lot of cloudless and windy days.

You can read the rest here.

Secretary Chu was also the man that wanted to "paint the world white" to "fight global warming." He actually advocated building codes that would mandate painting all flat roofs white "visible tilted roofs could be painted with “cool-colored” paints.

The president and his administration operate on theories, not proven solutions. Governor Palin worked tirelessly to get this nation a healthy supply of it's own natural gas as an avenue towards energy independence. The Obama administration appears not to be too concerned with energy independence, which might help the jobless rate by the way. Governor Palin just released a new Facebook statement on the topic of Obama's misguided energy policies. In it she addressed the jobs associated with domestic energy production. She states:

According to a study by the American Energy Alliance, opening the OCS to drilling could create as many as 1.2 million new jobs and add hundreds of billions of dollars annually to the US economy. Those are real American jobs – and great American opportunities – that can’t be outsourced. Offshore drilling would provide billions in revenue for our states, allowing them to reduce their budget deficits without raising taxes. It would help reduce our trade deficit, which spikes with each rise in the price of oil because we’re so reliant on foreign sources of energy. And because we have some of the best environmental standards in the world, we should be drilling for our own oil instead of buying it from countries with less stringent standards.

Instead of setting his administrations priorities on jobs and the economy, Obama focuses his policies towards growing federal regulations to meet the requirements set forth by questionable science. Then they throw large amounts of tax payer dollars to fund unproven methods of development and completely ignore, penalize, and shut down those that are proven.

Barack Obama has lied to the American people more than once. His administration is headed in the wrong direction in regards to energy and a host of other issues. Energy is actually tied to most issues. Governor Palin has stated that over and over again. That is the central reason I began to support her in the first place, back before she was a household name. This issue is too important to lend out to these theories. The economy and the state of the world are in no condition to be a test lab for Utopian principles. We need to apply the knowledge and resources we already have at our fingertips to save this country from an economic fall and raise it back up to where it belongs.

The Left Attacks Sarah Palin to Distract Their Base

Earlier this week the left went into full attack mode against Governor Palin after she revealed in a speech that her family had been given medical treatment in Canada when she was a young child. Neglecting all the facts of her story, left-wing blogs, media types, and even congressmen put out a barrage of hit pieces dedicated to painting Governor Palin as some sort of "hypocrite." The hits were well defended in the Palin blogosphere along with other rational sites. Even a writer from Esquire felt the need to defend the governor after witnessing the lack of any damning evidence coupled with the knowledge of the geographical area in which she grew up.

Just to clarify, in case there is still any question about the story Governor Palin shared to her audience in Canada, NO she in not a hypocrite. Aaron Goldstein wrote a great piece laying out the facts of the Canadian health care system, the time frame, and also pointing out once again that Sarah Palin was five years old at that time. Aaron writes:

Canadian Medicare was in its infancy in the mid-1960s. It was in 1966 when Canada's Parliament passed the Medical Care Act to provide coverage for doctors' services. Although the federal government set the standards it was left up to the provincial and territorial governments to administer the program. Not all jurisdictions joined the program right away. The last hold out would not join until 1972. That holdout was none other than the Yukon Territory.

Simply put, at the time Sarah Palin's parents sought medical treatment in Canada, the Yukon Territory was not part of the Medicare program. But even if the Yukon had been integrated into Canada's health care system, since the Heaths were U.S. residents they presumably would have been required to pay a fee for any medical services obtained in Canada. Indeed, the U.S. Embassy's Consular Services advises Americans planning to travel to Canada, "Tourists and temporary visitors do not qualify for this health care plan and should have their own insurance to cover medical expenses."

The fact that that so many on the right who don't usually weigh in on all things Palin, felt the need to say something, says something about this attack. It was so over the top and devoid of historical facts and common sense. It really made those pushing it look foolish and uneducated but they persisted nonetheless.

Baseless attacks on Governor Palin and/or her family are nothing new. There was something a little different about this one however. On Monday morning I noticed that the Huffington Post version of this non-story was on the Yahoo "Most Emailed" list. By the end of the day it had worked it's way on to the Top Story page under "Most Popular." That made me a bit suspicious recognizing that a large scale email campaign had been pushing the story all day. When I saw DNC representatives tweeting about it and then later a congressman post an OP-ED on the subject, I knew the left-wing establishment was running with the meme at full speed.

If you look at the major headlines this week and understand the political position the democrats find themselves in, it's easy to see why the left's establishment would unleash this 'weapon of mass distraction' upon their own base. For starters, Barack Obama's polls numbers are in the toilet. He matched his low of a 43% approval rating in a Rasmussen poll taken on Wednesday and he hit a new low for his Gallup numbers at 46% on Thursday. His signature issue, the health care bill polls even lower with the American people.

This was supposed to be the week he got his base "fired up!" Making trips to friendly districts, giving campaign style speeches. The DNC sent out numerous emails to supporters directing them to "call their representatives in support of Health Care Reform."

Obama tried to give congress a deadline in order to expedite the process and frankly get it out of his hair... What he has left of it anyway. As of this moment, it looks like the week did not go as planned. The Democrat Congress has already burned through one of their options to move forward on the bill. Obama had lack-luster rallies, with small turn-out considering the event was free. To top it off, local democrats up for election avoided Obama's visits like a virus.

Ace summed up the last 24 hours in regards to the health care push this way:

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus makes a demand that already derailed healthcare reform once. The Congressional Black Caucus complains that Obama isn't listening to them. The co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus announces that the President's stumping across the country isn't doing a lick of good. The Stupak Twelve announce that there will be no deal. And now the Parliamentarian makes it that much harder to get wavering Congressmen on board.

Stick a fork in it.

I find it ironic that the left began their week trying to rally its base by attacking their most feared boogey-hockey mom on the subject of health care. Just a few short days later, the bill the president has put all of his presidential stock in, is on life support. While the left-wing base seems always in the mood to post dirty, hateful, and often untrue comments about Sarah Palin on internet forums, they have to realize that Dr. Hopenchange isn't delivering their Utopian goods. His presidency is in serious trouble and the base he needs to get back on his feet isn't "fired up!" They're just easily distracted.