Bristol Palin: Bill Maher is More Than a Comedian

Bristol Palin published a new piece today on her blog titled "Responding to the Viral Sensation, Loving my Brother." She responded to some of the numerous comments people left on her "Mr. President, When Should I Expect Your Call?" post, but she also pointed out how the left is giving Bill Maher a pass by stating that he's merely a "comedian." She wrote:

Bill Maher is much more than a comedian. He’s a big-time political player who hides behind the “comedian” label whenever he gets criticized. His guest list represents a huge chunk of the Washington establishment and sometimes even includes prominent Republicans. And as I said in my original post, he’s put himself straight in the middle of presidential politics by giving $1,000,000 to President Obama’s SuperPAC. Bill Maher isn’t just some guy behind a microphone in a seedy comedy club in the middle of nowhere. He’s a comedian and political commentator like Rush is an entertainer and political commentator. He’s a little bit less popular, but his professional failure compared to Rush doesn’t make him any less accountable for his vile speech.

You can read her entire post here.

Also, John Nolte points out Bristol's piece over at Big Hollywood.

Plus, check out this article over at NRO by David French, who is married to the editor of Patheos. It seems they had a little server melt-down yesterday due to Bristol's blog:

Nancy tweeted it to her few hundred followers (she and I have a rather pathetic contest for twitter followers; right now I’m barely in the lead with a whopping 776), and Bristol facebooked it. Within hours, it had been shared 8,000 times. Already it was taking off.

Then Sarah Palin tweeted.

Patheos’s server promptly melted down. One of the most-trafficked religious sites on the web, its server still spontaneously combusted. A small mushroom cloud was spotted over the server farm. Eleven additional servers had to be brought online to handle the traffic flow, and by the end of the day, 8,000 shares had turned into more than 85,000 (update: 100,000), and the story of Bristol’s challenge to the president had been reported not just in the political and mainstream media but also in the Hollywood media as well. Thousands of tweets, and tens of thousands more Facebook shares from Fox to the Huffington Post to the Hollywood Reporter took the post well beyond the familiar and comfortable enclaves of the conservative blogosphere.

That, in essence, is Palin power. No other name in the conservative movement can instantly break through the wall of separation between conservative punditry and popular culture. Bristol powerfully and concisely told the truth — and reached an audience so large it resides only in most pundits’ wildest dreams.

The Reccurring Omission of 'Game Change' Defenders

I have been witnessing a trend with those in the media who are defending HBO's movie, 'Game Change.' They keep repeating the same line about Governor Palin's aides, the ones who stood up for her last week to correct the record, not seeing the film yet. Therefore insisting that these people simply cannot speak on the matter. Never mind the fact that anybody can see from the trailers what this movie is trying to imply, it's funny that these film critics would use this line to defend the movie. Especially when you consider that HBO spoon-fed it to them in a letter that accompanied their copies of the film to screen. Via Politico:

In a letter to news editors that accompanied “Game Change” screeners, HBO’s Executive Vice President for Corporate Communications, Quentin Schaffer, writes:

“There has been some noise about the film … Much of it has come from several Palin aides trying to discredit it even though they haven’t yet seen it.

As Adrienne noted in this fine take-down of Rachel Weiner, "The Fix" writer used the line, and so did David Zurwik from the Baltimore Sun. I'm sure there will be more, if there isn't already. HBO sent it to everyone and considering they're all on the same team, it stands to reason.

The same writers in the media who repeat HBO's talking point regarding Governor Palin's aides not seeing the entire movie, completely omit from their analysis the fact that some of these people asked HBO to screen the film but were denied. Why didn't HBO address this in their letter since their statement was meant to address the comments made by these aides?

John Nolte took HBO to task again, for their latest attempt to save face. He writes:

Before we get to HBO’s latest lame defense, here’s what the network (and Politico) won’t tell you…

Below are the names of eight people who have gone on the record to declare the book “Game Change” a falsehood, and what they’ve seen of the film (HBO refuses to screen it for them — but never mentions that in the statement) is just as false:

1. Governor Palin, who detailed life on the campaign trail in her autobiography “Going Rogue.” (In an obvious attempt at a publicity stunt, HBO did offer to screen the film for the Governor but, for some creepy reason, only at her home.)

2. Meg Stapleton, the Governor’s former spokeswoman.

3. Jason Recher, who handled vice presidential road operations for the McCain-Palin campaign and was with the governor during nearly every waking moment of the campaign.

4. Tim Crawford, Treasurer of Governor Palin’s PAC.

5. Randy Scheunemann, foreign policy adviser who advised Palin during the ‘08 campaign and who vigorously disputes the book and film’s portrayal of her as anything other than engaged and informed on foreign policy matters.

6. Thomas Van Flein, the Governor’s former lawyer, who was in almost daily contact with Palin during the ‘08 campaign.

7 and 8. Aides Doug McMarlin and Andy Davis.

That’s EIGHT people declaring on the record that it’s all a load of bull.

Here’s all HBO has:

1. Steve Schmidt, a top adviser to the McCain-Palin campaign who only now has come out as one of the book’s “background sources.” This was the genius who suggested McCain suspend his campaign during the financial crisis which, as we all know, is one of the main reasons for the loss. Furthermore, even before the campaign ended, both Schmidt and Nicholle Wallace were openly suspected of leaking lies meant to embarrass the Governor and blame her for their mistakes. Today, both are considered pretty toxic in party circles.

2.Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s, the authors of “Game Change” who never spent a moment with Palin during the campaign.

3. An untold number of background sources (Schmidt? Wallace?). The book is about 450 pages long and somewhere around 10 percent of it is about Sarah Palin, and yet….

There is not a single on-the-record source with respect to anything written about her. Not one.

—–

Both HBO and the authors had the choice of choosing between telling the story told by those willing to stake their reputations and word on the record, or those who chose to throw rocks while cowering behind a cloak of anonymity. And we all know which way they chose to go.

So here’s the latest from HBO’s Executive Vice President for Corporate Communications, Quentin Schaffer:

“There has been some noise about the film … Much of it has come from several Palin aides trying to discredit it even though they haven’t yet seen it. HBO has a long track record of producing fact-based dramas, going to great lengths to get the story right. I want you to know about the efforts taken on this film.

That’s because HBO is afraid to let them see it. What the Palin aides are disputing is both the book and what they have seen of the film in the form of the trailer and other snippets that have been released.

If the 90 seconds or so that these aides have seen are filled with falsehoods, what will the entire film look like?

If the book upon which the film is based is all falsehoods, what will the film look like?

“It is based on the acclaimed book by well-respected veteran political reporters Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, both of whom served as consultants, checking every draft of the script to ensure its historical accuracy and thoroughness. When their book came out in 2010, it went unchallenged and unrefuted by the Palin camp. The script for Game Change was written by Danny Strong who also wrote the HBO Film Recount which was praised by both sides for its accurate portraits.

First off Halperin and Heilemann weren’t with Governor Palin during a single moment of the campaign and they are CHOOSING to rely on sources who refuse to go on the record as opposed to those willing to go on the record.

What does that tell you?

Secondly, to say that the book went unchallenged is provably false. Governor Palin

“In the process of writing Game Change, Strong spoke to 25 people intimately involved in the campaign, including the most senior advisors. He also reached out to Governor Palin and Senator McCain who declined to talk to him. They were also offered a chance to see the finished film but again declined. Secondary sources included Palin’s own memoir ‘Going Rogue,’ a beat-by-beat account of how she felt throughout the race, as well as other books on the campaign and many newspaper and magazine articles.

Who are these 25 people? Are they willing to go on the record? Because the eight people who are on the record have only seen about 90 seconds of the film and that was enough for them to cry foul.

More and more it is becoming glaringly obvious that what HBO and the book’s authors did was to CHOOSE who they were going to listen to based on what they wanted to hear.

In another eye-opening piece, Big Hollywood writer Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, does some more digging into the political donations of HBO management. He turns up some pretty predictable information. You can check it out here.

This whole thing boils down to credibility. The people who spoke in defense of Governor Palin last week, consisted of both current and former aides. Objectively speaking, it's safe to say that her former aides had nothing to gain or lose by speaking in her defense. They spoke for the sake of the truth and if you read Meg Stapleton's words, with much conviction. These are people who dealt with Governor Palin for long stretches of time, on a close, personal basis. They have credibility. The two jokers on this video, don't. Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace said one thing to cameras and something different to leftist authors behind the scenes, once they knew they weren't going to win. They certainly had something to gain by trashing Governor Palin. That being, her as their scapegoat for a failed campaign.

Bill Maher is a National Disgrace

Last Friday, Bill Maher did what he has to do to get attention and that is to cross the line of basic human decency. Lacking any actual talent or ability to convince people that a massive centralized government and perpetual race-baiting are the answers, Maher's stock-in-trade is to insult people who are better than him. He obviously lacks the mental fortitude (as does his audience) to make an intellectual argument backing up his beliefs. No, instead he sinks to the gutter to trash children (some small and one disabled) to tear down the other side. During his last show on HBO he said:

Now, I’m not saying that sexism doesn’t exist and isn’t real. And we can’t, but we can’t throw around the word “sexist” just to stop people like me from pointing out that Michele Bachmann, now running second for the Republican presidential nomination, isn’t a dangerous nincompoop. And when I point out that Sarah Palin is a vainglorious braggart, a liar, a whiner, a professional victim, a scold, a know-it-all, a chiseler, a bully who sells patriotism like a pimp, and the leader of a strange family of inbred weirdos straight out of “The Hills Have Eyes,” that’s not sexist. I’m saying it because it’s true, not because it’s true of a woman.

John Nolte, took Maher to task for his comments, but he also took the "eunuchs" of the Republican establishment to task for once again, remaining silent in the face of the most despicable attacks against Governor Palin and her family. John wrote:

But from everything I’ve seen — including most of the paragraph quoted above aimed at Governor Palin herself — all of those comments were directed at adults perfectly capable of defending themselves. No one will argue that any and all of those comments were in poor taste, even for a HBO program proud of such things, but the real line that was crossed Friday night was Maher’s astonishingly obscene attack on Sarah Palin’s family — which obviously includes her children.

 

For all intents and purposes, on national cable television, Bill Maher called a Down Syndrome child an “inbred weirdos straight out of ‘The Hills Have Eyes’”.

This is beyond the beyond and yet we’re hearing nothing about it — even from our side.

You’d probably hear more from our side if someone had launched a similar attack on Barack Obama’s family.

In “The Undefeated,” Andrew Breitbart famously and perfectly labels a Republican establishment — that has for years refused to defend Palin against the most vile attacks, as “eunuchs.” This refusal is mainly due to the fact that they want her destroyed. They’re all well aware of what she did to Alaska’s corrupt, fat, and lazy good ole’ boys’ club and for that reason a “President Palin” terrifies them (and should).

But what’s most troubling is how too many on our side mostly ignore these constant attacks on Governor Palin’s family — especially her children.

This isn’t just unchivalrous, it’s an act of depraved indifference.

I couldn't agree more. You can read John Nolte's entire piece here.

In fairness, since the time Nolte published his article on Big Hollywood, the new Fox show called "The Five" (with two panelists I would consider "establishment," albeit of the non-official variety) also addressed Maher's comments. Frances Martel noted:

Greg Gutfeld opened the floor on the matter with a scathing monologue attempting to figure out what Maher was up to with his comments. “I’m sure that slur is a lurid explanation for a family with a disabled child,” he noted, though argued that Maher would never admit it– as he has similarly done with other comments. If Maher contends that his opinion’s aren’t sexist, he asked, “are they just hate?” Gutfeld left that question unanswered, but went further to examine Maher’s character. “So what do you make of a guy who says wrong things and then runs scampering from them?” he asked.His initial answer was “a coward,” but he passed that label on to his audience for listening to his say what he said without protest– in fact, with applause. For them he had his harshest words: “After all, his awful statements fester unchallenged in an echo chamber, and effusive slophouse of flapping, approval-seeking seals. So let’s keep him there, just to remind us that they still exist.”

This entire episode is absolutely shameful. From Bill Maher, to his vile guest, to his screeching audience, to the silence of women's groups and most of GOP establishment, it was an utter disgrace.The fact that this country rewards people like Bill Maher with fame and fortune should give us all pause.

Governor Palin has taken abuse of this kind for a long time now. The left has indicated that anything goes when taking shots at her and/or her beautiful family. The left will attack her children and get paid handsomely for their efforts. Enough is enough... I don't generally push boycotts, but if you're paying to have HBO in your house every month, you're also paying for Maher's car and rewarding him for being a scumbag. Just keep that in mind.

Update: Jedediah Bila and Andrea Tantaros appeared on Hannity's show to discuss Maher's comments.

Media Brews Phony ‘Undefeated’ Narrative on Opening Day

There's been a lot of news today about the phony narrative started by a Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic regarding the opening of The Undefeated in Orange County. John Nolte covered this sham over at Big Hollywood, he writes:

One writer. One article. One screening. Apparently, what we used to consider anecdotal now equals news. And as a result you have a genuine media narrative being brewed with headlines intentionally written to create the perception that the “The Undefeated” is DOA — in the Republican stronghold of Orange Country, no less.

Translation: It’s over, Palinistas! Please form a single-file line to the right where all your hopes and dreams will be stripped and burned.

Except…

If you read the fine print…

“The Atlantic” writer is reporting on his experience at a midnight screening … on a Thursday night.

No.

Really.

Read the story again and you’ll see that the emptiness of a midnight screening on a work night is not only worthy of 950+ words and a wildly misleading headline, but also all these subsequent MSM stories filled with similar headlines.

And you can bet there will be more stories to come.

This is how the corrupt MSM works.

This is how they create phony narratives out of nothingness in order to attack and undermine their ideological enemies.

Dan Riehl also quite bluntly covered this story, noting that the theater didn't advertise the 12:45 AM showing. In fact, Conor Friedersdorf seems to be the only person on the planet who knew about it. Riehl writes:

Here are the appropriate theater listings via The Undefeated site. Keep in mind, The Undefeated only opens today, July 15th. The new Harry Potter movie is showing on a few screens at the pertinent multi-plex, including multiple showings at midnight and later. Down below are the show times listed for The Undefeated. I called a contact linked to promoting The Undefeated, they didn't even advertise the 12:45 AM showing, saying, basically the theater was probably just keeping all screens open only because of the Harry Potter opening, so it likely ran given the release date. But, who cares?

Well, Conor with one N, of course, along with some clown from the Hill - who also looks like he might one day be caught wearing a trench coat in a movie theater ala Pee Wee Herman, btw.

BUY TICKETS - 10:15am, 1:10pm, 4:05pm, 7:00pm, 9:55pm, 12:45am

Given Sarah Palin's advocacy of common sense Conservatism, is it really surprising that an un-advertised throw away screening at 12:45 am in a multi-screen theater with multiple opening night screenings of the new Harry Potter movie might not be their preferred showing? Duh!

So, this numb-nuts Friedersdorf, while visiting his grandparents, heads out at 12:45 AM on, technically speaking, an un-advertised first extremely early morning showing of The Undefeated to write a hit piece on it. And he does that while the nation is trillions in debt leading to the on going monumental debates and events playing out in DC, of which he can't manage a single thought. What's amazing is that the Atlantic would even take Conor with one N seriously. They must have been truly desperate to find a false flag conservative and alleged pundit.

Also of note, C4P has been receiving ground reports of solid attendance at the theaters around the country. That says a lot considering it's still the middle of a workday.