Leading Without a Title

Twenty-three days after Governor Palin posted a statement to Facebook calling for Eric Holder to be fired in the wake of the "Fast and Furious" scandal, Mitt Romney took the bold step of echoing her call. Just as Rick Perry (using much of her language) did almost two weeks after her statement, Romney said, via The Blaze:

“Either Mr. Holder himself should resign, or the president should ask for his resignation or remove him... It’s unacceptable for him to continue in that position given the fact that he has misled Congress and entirely botched the investigation of the Fast and Furious program.”

This cycle's GOP presidential candidates have a history of echoing Governor Palin, while very few (okay maybe only one of them) actually attributing her as their source.

Back in September, I wrote a piece after a republican debate about this occurrence. I showed examples of Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann taking on crony capitalism, and Rick Perry adopting the governor's language to push for Social Security reform.

During an interview with Greta Van Susteren, Governor Palin remarked:

“I’m getting kind of a kick out of … getting out there, giving a speech, making some statements about things that must be discussed and then the very next day watching some of the candidates get up there and discuss what it was that we just talked about, like the corruption, the crony capitalism, the waste, the fraud – some of those things that are going on right now. It’s like, come on, candidates, it’s about time you started talking about that!”

It's a good thing that Mitt Romney has finally joined the chorus calling for Eric Holder to resign, even though he avoided the topic for weeks. It would behoove candidates to listen to Governor Palin on the issues, and if they have the credibility to do so, take them on for themselves. The earlier, the better. The longer they delay expressing their positions on such blatant examples of Obama administration incompetence like Eric Holder, the more they look like nothing more than politically expedient, issue-polling machines.

Governor Palin has political instincts that are second to none. This is because she understands the concerns of Americans and the problems that we face as a nation. She isn't compromised by being part of the DC 'in-crowd' and she doesn't mind ruffling their feathers. She doesn't conduct surveys across the country telling her how to feel about the topics of the day. She appears to only "poll" her gut, and her gut seems to reflect that of most Americans. Although she is not running in this presidential election, Governor Palin has expressed the desire to continue pushing for reform in government, also keeping issues such as energy and tax reform front and center.

We, her supporters must help Governor Palin continue to define the debate on a national level. We should get behind her when she makes a statement on an important topic or brings matters to light that should be a part of our national discussion. We should also encourage GOP candidates to continue adopting her issues as their platform, truly without even caring too much about who gets credit. The bottom-line is that it is vital that this nation get on track. We can only do that if our elected officials hear our concerns and we as a people, make demands on them to start fixing the problems. The governor has identified and brought to the public's attention many of the larger issues that plague our country. If we join Governor Palin in this fight, we can all make a difference leading from the outside, and without a title.

GOP Candidates Endorse Governor Palin

Some of them endorsed her ideas and words anyway...

For instance, during the GOP debate Monday night in Tampa, Peter Hamby tweeted the following:

Bachmann team sends out press release hitting Perry's "crony capitalism" cc @SarahPalinUSA

After the debate, Michele Bachmann appeared On The Record with Greta Van Sustren, stating the following, as Molly Ball reported:

“This is what the American people don’t want. They don’t want crony capitalism. It infuriates them,” she said, drawing a parallel with Obama’s Solyndra controversy. “It’s no better when Republicans engage in that as well,” she said.

Newt Gingrich also embraced Governor Palin's message of reform and against crony capitalism on Greta's show, saying:

I do want to say by the way, that Governor Palin's speech in Iowa last weekend on crony capitalism and on the problems of both parties, is a very very important speech. I'm going to be tweeting a link to it. I'm also going to be doing some other things with it. I think it was maybe one of the most important speeches she's ever given. And I think it raised a series of very profound questions that all of us, Democrat and Republican, have to wrestle with as citizens. And she did it very well. It's a very very impressive speech.

So impressive that Rick Perry borrowed some of the words from Governor Palin speech in an op-ed he penned for USA Today on Monday. He wrote:

We must have a frank, honest national conversation about fixing Social Security to protect benefits for those at or near retirement while keeping faith with younger generations, who are being asked to pay.

From the governor's speech in Iowa:

The status quo is no longer an option. Entitlement reform is our duty now, and it must be done in a way that honors our commitment to our esteemed elders today, while keeping faith with future generations.

I sincerely doubt that any of these candidates would be talking about crony capitalism before the governor gave that speech in Iowa. Whether she's defining the debate, or helping candidates learn how to talk, Governor Palin is shaping the primary race just by sharing her opinion on the issues that effect this nation. The candidates are certainly following her lead, and I commend them for doing so.

Governor Palin understands that she's having an effect on the race, as she stated on Monday (also on Greta's show):

"I’m getting kind of a kick out of … getting out there, giving a speech, making some statements about things that must be discussed and then the very next day watching some of the candidates get up there and discuss what it was that we just talked about, like the corruption, the crony capitalism, the waste, the fraud – some of those things that are going on right now. It’s like, come on, candidates, it’s about time you started talking about that!"

How to Win the Social Security Debate

Rick Perry has come under a considerable amount of scrutiny after the debate last Wednesday night for stating that in his view, Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme." Social Security is most certainly broken but veteran politicos, Mitt Romney's campaign, the left, and the media all took Perry to task for his remarks.

As the site GOP12 noted yesterday, Governor Palin 'clarified' Perry's Social Security comments during her Friday interview with Megyn Kelly. They wrote:

On Fox News today, Sarah Palin offered Rick Perry a more gentle way of talking about Social Security.

"What Rick Perry was trying to say, I believe, is that there needs to be reform. Status quo is not acceptable, because these programs are insolvent.

.... So he's saying reform is necessary."

Perry has written that Social Security is a "failure" and "Ponzi Scheme", and returned to those themes in Wednesday night's debate.

If Perry were really just saying "reform is necessary", then pretty much everyone, including Romney, would agree. Palin's suggested rhetoric is much less controversial than Perry's.

Governor Palin has consistently addressed the Social Security debate responsibly by highlighting the fact that the program has to be reformed, while also insisting that we must not hurt those who have paid into the system throughout their adult lives and now depend on it.

Back in December of 2010, Governor Palin addressed the Social Security issue while endorsing the Paul Ryan roadmap. She wrote (emphasis):

On Social Security, as with Medicare, the Roadmap honors our commitments to those who are already receiving benefits by guaranteeing all existing rights to people over the age of 55. Those below that age are offered a choice: They can remain in the traditional government-run system or direct a portion of their payroll taxes to personal accounts, owned by them, managed by the Social Security Administration and guaranteed by the federal government. Under the Roadmap's proposals, they can pass these savings onto their heirs.

And as recently as last Saturday, during her speech at the tea party rally in Indianola, Iowa she said:

The status quo is no longer an option. Entitlement reform is our duty now, and it must be done in a way that honors our commitment to our esteemed elders today, while keeping faith with future generations.

Michele Bachmann also weighed in on the issue yesterday during an interview with Radio Iowa. Katrina Trinko reported:

Without naming competitor Rick Perry (although I did in the questions), Bachmann said federal policymakers have to “keep faith” with current Social Security beneficiaries. ”That’s wrong for any candidate to make senior citizens believe that they should be nervous about something they have come to count on. We need not do that, but I think at the same time we also outline our positive solutions,” Bachmann said. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

It's very encouraging to see some of the GOP candidates take on the Social Security during the primary season. It ensures that the topic will be an issue during the 2012 general election debate. It is important however, for republicans who wish to see true reform of our nation's entitlement programs, do so in a manner that allows independent thinkers to actually hear our side of the debate. With an issue as sensitive as Social Security, we must not allow the left any leverage to deflect the issue, while painting conservatives as out of touch or heartless to the elderly - who as I stated above, have already paid into the system. We must be clear that reform must take place, or as Governor Palin said in Iowa:

We either do it ourselves or the world’s capital markets are going to shove it down our throats, and we’ll have no choice but to reform our entitlement programs.

Responsible, honest debate is what the American people need if we are to make the reforms that are necessary a reality.

Sarah Palin is Right to Call Out the Lamestream Media

Chris Cillizza published an article on Tuesday titled "Why Michele Bachmann is no Sarah Palin, part 2" (part 1 indicates that Bachmann's use of DC-based, GOP insiders for her campaign as a plus, I kid you not). While I agree with the title of the piece, I certainly disagree with Cillizza as to why Bachmann is no Palin, a topic I have written about before. He starts off:

The controversy over a photo of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann that appears on the cover of Newsweek magazine this week has drawn comment from people all over the political world.

Except for one: Bachmann herself...

That (relative) silence affirms a simple but important truth of this campaign: Michele Bachmann is no Sarah Palin...

Palin, the former governor of Alaska, has spent the last several years pursuing an aggressive strategy aimed at villainizing the lamestream, er, mainstream media — insisting that they regularly print inaccuracies about her and her family

Her no-grievance-left-unanswered approach has won her kudos among her supporters but has left voters outside of the base confused as to what issues she truly cares about besides the alleged bias of the media.

Here he suggests that Governor Palin responds to ALL instances of media bias. That simply isn't true! If Governor Palin responded to every garbage-filled, biased article from the press, she literally would have no time for anything else in her life. And that includes eating and sleeping.

Then Cillizza writes that Palin's "approach... has left voters outside of the base confused as to what issues she truly cares about besides the alleged bias of the media." Honestly, only self-absorbed members of the media are "confused" on that matter. Americans in the know understand that Governor Palin cares deeply for this country's state of affairs. They have read her insight on issues such as the nation's downgraded credit rating, raising the debt ceiling, the deficit, the Obama administration's distribution of missile defense secrets, the war in Afghanistan, borrowing money from foreign lenders, respecting our allies, health care, energy development, fiscal prudence, the list goes on and on. For Cillizza to not acknowledge any of that, is in itself, another example of media bias. But then again, his whole article is.

He continues:

Bachmann’s refusal to engage in an extended back and forth over the Newsweek cover coupled with her approach to stories raising questions about her ability to cope with migraine headaches suggests she is taking a very different tack.

During the migraine episode and now with the Newsweek flap, Bachmann is hewing rigidly to her economic/jobs message — knowing that the vast majority of people who will vote for her in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina have the economy and not much else on their minds right now.

That's why, as I just wrote (complete with links) that Governor Palin has focused most of her recent statements on the economy. Everybody is concerned about our economic conditions, because everybody feels the effects of the reckless fiscal policies of the current administration.

That said... didn't Bachmann's staff get in a little trouble for pushing around Brian Ross from ABC for asking a question about those migraine headaches? Seems they were taking a "no-grievance-left-unanswered approach" if you ask me.

Cillizza ends by writing:

What Bachmann grasps that Palin either didn’t/doesn’t (or chose not to) is that by commenting on these questions of media bias only leads to more and more stories. It’s like pouring a can of lighter fluid on a small fire...

The broader strategic calculation Bachmann appears to have made is that she needs to expand beyond her political base rather than simply deepen her supporters’ connection to her in order to be something more than a sideshow in the nomination fight.

It’s the right one.

Is it? I don't think so...

He writes that "by commenting on these questions of media bias only leads to more and more stories. It’s like pouring a can of lighter fluid on a small fire." But in the beginning of his piece he wrote that the Newsweek cover of Bachmann had "drawn comment from people all over the political world." So, no, ignoring constant attacks, hit-pieces, etc. does nothing to make them go away. Bachmann has ignored the "Queen of Rage" Newsweek article, yet it was still talked about on every news channel, and on every political news site. Are there "inaccuracies" in the Newsweek article? Probably, but really I don't know because I never heard Bachmann's take. It should also be noted that the women's group "NOW" spoke out against the Newsweek cover photo

Something Governor Palin wrote to the freshman members of Congress came to mind as I was reading Cilizza's piece. She wrote:

When the Left in the media pat you on the back, quickly reassess where you are and readjust, for the liberals’ praise is a warning bell you must heed.

This applies to 3rd term congressional members as well. You see, the liberal press will praise any conservative who permits their attacks. When they are not in the process of attacking them of course, and only when they are using their lack of response to attack another conservative.

I have worked in a media environment for well over a decade. I watched all eight years as the press annihilated George W. Bush's reputation and he never fought back. In all honesty, I lost a certain amount of respect for Bush for not standing up to the corrupt media. He allowed them to define him and the issues his administration were coping with. Which, whether Bachmann knows it or not, she is allowing them to define her as well. The Bachmann camp may think it makes her look "presidential" or some such nonsense, but the damage is already being done.

Now is not the time for pushovers. Now is also not the time to sit back and act like we have an objective media in this country. Americans have a right to know when the media is lying, being lazy, or just plain left-wing ideologues. There is nothing wrong with Governor Palin defending herself, she should! After all, as you may recall from the beginning of this piece, she doesn't have all those respect-worthy GOP insiders going to bat for her. Governor Palin does just fine without them.

Does Michele Bachmann 'Walk the Talk?'

It's common these days to hear media talking heads refer to Michele Bachmann as the "Tea Party favorite" in the upcoming 2012 GOP primary race. Unlike Governor Palin who has always stated that the Tea Party doesn't need one specific leader, Bachmann has tried to cast herself into such a role. She created a "Tea Party Caucus" in congress, and gave the "Tea Party response" following Obama's State of the Union Address last January.

The Tea Party is comprised mainly of independent minded, small government activists who are sick and tired of the way Washington is operating. These are people who are fed up with DC insiders cutting deals with officials at the expense of this country's future. A bloated, centralized system of government with too many payout, has spawned the biggest grassroots movement in recent history. A person who professes to speak for such a group of patriots at the highest level, had better "walk the talk."

While Bachmann may talk a good game, her actions are leaving many with questions that she has yet to adequately answer. Steve Bannon discussed one of these questions during a recent interview with PV Radio that Ian posted on Friday, concerning her family receiving large sums in Medicaid payments for their clinics.



(Partial transcript excerpt, emphasis mine)

"And I think quite frankly, she's got to learn to answer questions. Like Chris Wallace asked a very straightforward question, she had every opportunity to explain this. And she gave quite frankly, an unacceptable answer. The answer was very misleading. And that's just not going to wash, particularly if you want to hold the banner of the Tea Party, you've got to almost be a purist. That means, if you believe in limited government, then you've really got to believe in limited government. You can't talk about limited government and take the benefits from the large state."

Despite being an unlicensed "therapist" practicing a controversial form of counseling, Marcus Bachmann received more than $137,000 in Medicaid payments for his clinics in Minnesota. According to Michael Isikoff:

Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has forcefully denounced the Medicaid program for swelling the "welfare rolls."

The amount is a much higher than the previously reported sum of $24,000 that she answered for during that interview with Chris Wallace. Isikoff writes:

The previously unreported payments are on top of the $24,000 in federal and state funds that Bachmann & Associates, the clinic founded by Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist, received in recent years under a state grant to train its employees, state records show. The figures were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The $161,000 in payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to her husband's clinic appear to contradict some of Michelle Bachmann's public accounts this week when she was first asked about the extent to which her family has benefited from government aid. Contacted this afternoon, Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Bachmann, said the congresswoman was doing campaign events and was not immediately available for comment.

Questions about the Bachmann family's receipt of government funds arose this week after a Los Angeles Times story reported that a family farm in which Michelle Bachmann is a partner had received nearly $260,000 in federal farm subsidies.

When asked by anchor Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" about the story's assertion that her husband's counseling clinic had also gotten federal and state funds, Bachmann replied that it was "one-time training money that came from the federal government. And it certainly didn't help our clinic."

At another point, she said, "My husband and I did not get the money," adding that it was "mental health training money that went to the employees."

But state records show that Bachmann & Associates has been collecting payments under the Minnesota's Medicaid program every year for the past six years. Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the state's Medicaid program is funded "about 50-50" with federal and state monies. The funds to Bachmann & Associates are for the treatment of low-income mentally ill patients and are based on a "fee for service" basis, meaning the clinic was reimbursed by Medicaid for the services it provided.

By stating that the payments were a "one-time" payment, Michele Bachmann was dishonest with the audience. She was clearly trying to downplay the issue, perhaps knowing that it hurts her credibility with that large group of grassroots conservatives across the country that she seeks support from.

Medicaid payments to her husbands business isn't the only issue the congresswoman is going to face tough questions about. Michele Bachmann waves the Gadsden flag and calls herself an "outsider," yet she hired many DC "insiders" to run her campaign. She came under some heat for hiring Ed Rollins, but most of those criticisms died down when her people had stated that Bachmann forced Rollins to apologize to Palin's staff. I never heard one way or the other whether Rollins actually apologized, or if those where just more empty words from Team Bachmann. Perhaps someone in the press will look into that one day.

Steve Bannon was right when he spoke about holding the banner of the Tea Party. The people within the movement won't allow politicians to use their cause to simply advance themselves. They are aware and educated activists who are not easily fooled. When an elected official stands with them and speaks their language, they had better back it up with their actions.

The Matter of Bachmann's Record

Monday, Matt Lewis wrote a piece for The Daily Caller that received a lot of attention concerning Michele Bachmann's record. He covered some territory regarding the congresswoman's background that had until now, gone unnoticed and unreported in most conservative circles. In fact, Lewis begins the last paragraph in his column by saying:

To be sure, most of Bachmann’s potential problems and challenges have been reported in the past, but they are not widely known by grassroots conservatives.

Conservatives appreciate Michele Bachmann because she speaks their language on many issues. However, saying the right things only matters if your words match your actions. Unlike the liberals of 2008, conservatives are far too smart to nominate a potential presidential candidate on rhetoric alone. A politician can say they are against government excess and waste, and preach about reform, but what have they ever done while in office to prove it? What does Michele Bachmann's record say about her, above and beyond the speeches to the base?

Lewis' piece breaks down many aspects of Bachmann's short political history. His piece begins:

When it comes to Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party rhetoric doesn’t always match the record. Should she launch a serious bid for president, Bachmann would likely find herself defending a slew of questionable votes and decisions, including on earmarks, pardons and farm subsidies.

Bachmann’s penchant for earmarks dates back to her days in the Minnesota state Senate. Despite her reputation as a fiscal conservative, from 2001-2006, then-state Senator Bachmann proposed more than $60 million in earmarks, including a $710,000 “Bond For Centerville Local Improvements Around Highway 14″ and a $40,000,000 “Bond for Lino Lakes And Columbus Township Highway Interchanges.”

Bachmann's communication director attempted to paint such action on earmarks as being something voters approved of because they "expect that things like road projects should be done at the state level, where voters can have a say through the selling of bonds.” As Lewis points out, that's a fine argument, but it isn't consistent with other facets of Bachmann's record. For instance:

[S]ince joining the U.S. Congress in 2007, Bachmann has appropriated more than $3.7 million in earmarks. What is more, when Republicans sought an earmark moratorium, Bachmann pushed to exclude transportation projects from the ban.

Aside from earmark spending and federalism vs. statism hypocrisy, there is also the matter of the Bachmann collecting farm subsidies on some family property. Lewis wrote:

Bachmann’s fiscally conservative positions will also need to be squared with the fact that from 1995-2009, the Bachmann Family Farm (still listed as being owned by her deceased father-in-law) collected $259,332 in federal farm subsidies. According to financial disclosures, Bachmann has personally reported income of between $15,001-$50,000 from “Bachmann Family Farm LP. Bachmann & Associates.” (Additionally, the Christian psychology clinic run by Bachmann’s husband, Marcus,
has received nearly $30,000 in state funding since 2007.)

Bachmann's office claims that she is merely a trustee on the farm, and has no operational control over the decisions made regarding it... Okay, if they say so, but her office never mentions the state funding that her husband's clinic receives.

Matt Lewis' column also discussed Bachmann's involvement with a controversial request for a presidential pardon. He writes:

In 2007, Bachmann wrote a letter requesting a presidential pardon for a convicted drug-smuggler and money-launderer named Frank Vennes. Vennes was convicted of money laundering in 1988 and pleaded no contest to a cocaine and weapons charge. Making matters worse, he and his wife donated a total of $27,600 to Bachmann’s 2006 and 2008 election.

Bachmann's camp said in response to Lewis' inquiring on the matter, that the congresswoman "too hastily accepted his [Frank Vennes] claims of redemption." Unfortunately, they did not address the $27,600 in campaign donations from a money-laundering drug-smuggler.

That leads us up to the part where Lewis writes about Bachmann's record in the House of Representatives. While the congresswoman should be credited with the forming of the Tea Party Caucus, I have yet to see her take a leadership position with that group of legislators, within the body of the House itself. Time may tell a different story, but it would certainly help push the stated agenda of the caucus, if the founder spent more time in DC as opposed to Iowa. Nonetheless, Lewis notes the thin list of Bachmann's other legislative accomplishments. He writes:

Bachmann’s effectiveness as a legislator will almost certainly come into question if she begins to gain traction as a candidate. Since becoming a member of the U.S. Congress in 2007, even her fans concede that her legislative career has been relatively unremarkable. During an interview with The Daily Caller, Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, called her an “articulate spokesman” for the tea party, but added: “She doesn’t have a long list of legislative accomplishments.”

In fact, during her four years and four months in Congress, Bachmann has sponsored and passed only two bills (one recognizing the 150th anniversary of Minnesota and one honoring public child welfare agencies) and three resolutions. (Note: Her Healthcare Fiscal Accountability Act in the current Congress has 91 co-sponsors and her St. Croix River crossing legislation has bipartisan co-sponsorship and the support of Democratic Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. She is also talking with Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar about working together on this issue.)

Senior writer for the Washington Examiner, Philip Klein added:

“[W]hen it comes to choosing a presidential candidate, I think conservatives need to look beyond who they like or agree with the most, and carefully consider who has the experience and record to be good at the job of being president. Some conservatives may argue that passing new legislation is bad, but others believe her failure to pass legislation speaks to her lack of effectiveness in the body."

I think an argument can be made for both, but a good leader within the legislative branch knows how to make a real impact. See "Paul Ryan" for details...

I often hear or read conservatives comparing Michele Bachmann to Governor Palin, but I've never really understood the comparison. Sure, they're both conservatives who happen to be female, but their records are remarkably different. In all honesty, I find it insulting to Governor Palin to be continually compared to a House Member, just beginning their second term. I mean no personal offense to Michele Bachmann, but Governor Palin has a wealth of accomplishments and a real record of reform. The congresswoman doesn't. Bachmann may be a good spokesperson for the conservative movement, but the more the base learns about her actual record, the less likely she is to pick up a GOP nomination. At this point, she would only be helping the wing of the Republican Party that the base doesn't want to see facing off with Obama in 2012. Perhaps Michele Bachmann should take a page out of the Mike Pence book of leadership, by spending her efforts running for Governor. That way, she can get some executive experience and while adding real accomplishments to her record. Things she can bring to the table in a possible future run for the White House.

It is true that actions speak louder than words. Governor Palin's words are great, but her actions are what lead me to support and defend her. This nation is at a critical point in history. We must demand that our leaders have it in them to live up to their rhetoric. We are well past the point of accepting empty campaign slogans and red meat buzz words as a sufficient resume. We need proven, effective leadership, and nothing less.

The Strategy of the Media's Bias

The Associated Press and Politico found it necessary to report Bristol Palin's honest wages to the broad public, via their respective front page. Whether their reporting was honest, is another matter. It's hard to tell considering that Rachel D'Oro (a name longtime C4P readers are familiar with), author of the first MSM piece, used the Trig Truther freaks at "Palingates" as a source. Using terms like "rakes it in" and getting a "payout," these so-called "news" articles are clearly designed to sell a narrative that the media has been pushing about Bristol's mother for a long time. There is nothing wrong with what Bristol did for the foundation she worked for. This "story" belongs nowhere near a front page, much less a news publication. It isn't a story, it's one young woman's life. Running this piece, with vile conspiracy theorists as the source, is disgraceful behavior by an already close to illegitimate press.

Kelsey has more on Bristol here.

For many years I believed that the media had a blanket left-wing bias towards all Conservatives. It has been proven lately that there is more of a strategy at play, in regards to what the media reports and what they don't, versus knee-jerk ideology. Take for instance this story that popped up a few days ago on Mother Jones:

Send a public records request seeking documents from his 12-year stint as Arkansas governor, as Mother Jones did recently, and an eyebrow-raising reply will come back: The records are unavailable, and the computer hard drives that once contained them were erased and physically destroyed by the Huckabee administration as the governor prepared to leave office and launch a presidential bid.

In 2007, during Huckabee's campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, the issue of the eradicated hard drives surfaced briefly, but it was never fully examined, and key questions remain. Why had Huckabee gone to such great lengths to wipe out his own records? What ever happened to a backup collection that was provided to a Huckabee aide?

Huckabee is now considering another presidential run, and if he does enter the race, he would do so as a frontrunner. Which would make the case of the missing records all the more significant. These records would shed light on Huckabee's governorship—and could provide insight into how a President Huckabee might run the country. Meanwhile, observers of Arkansas' political scene—including one of Huckabee's former GOP allies—say the episode is characteristic of a politician who was distrustful and secretive by nature.

A truly fascinating piece of information, especially for a "GOP front-runner," is it not? Yet, there were no corresponding stories from AP and the only thing Politico had on it was a link buried on Ben Smith's blog page. Why didn't the media cover this? Doesn't the public have a right to know what kind of behavior a potential candidate for the presidency took part in? Can you imagine if Governor Palin ever would have done such a thing? I would bet every dollar I have ever made, and ever will make, that that story wouldn't be buried in a link in the blog section. It would be Top Story news, in every media publication, and on every network.

Speaking of 'what ifs'... What if Governor Palin had said this:

Bachmann, who's flirting with a presidential run, was in the early-primary state of Iowa last week for the Rediscover God in America conference. Bachmann was born in Iowa, as she told the crowd. But she couldn't leave it at just being an ordinary Iowan:

"I'm actually even more than just an Iowan," she told her audience. "I'm a seventh-generation Iowan. Our family goes back to the 1850s, to the first pioneers that came to Iowa from Sognfjord, Norway."

[...]

Unfortunately, the story doesn't hold water, as researcher Chris Rodda ably points out at OpEdNews.

"I was watching her speech, and it was when she said that she was a seventh-generation Iowan that I knew something was wrong," Rodda tells City Pages. "She's in her fifties--there's no way there could be seven generations between her and ancestors in the 1850s."

So Rodda, who has a background in genealogical research, decided to do a little digging. Without too much trouble, she found that Bachmann is actually a fourth-generation American, not seventh, as she claimed. And that's just the start.

Bachmann's immigrant ancestors didn't make a pilgrimage straight to the promised land of Iowa. From Quebec, they went to Wisconsin. That's where the 1860 census found them. From there, they moved to the Dakota Territory.

Bachmann claims that her people "kept going, and they persevered" through floods and crippling winters. Well, kind of. After enduring those trials in the unforgiving Dakota Territory, they actually turned tail and retreated to the relative ease and safety of...Iowa.

"Okay," Bachmann apologists may be saying at this point, "but history is hard and stuff! Maybe this was just an honest mistake."

Not a chance, Rodda says.

"The only historical sources where she could have found some of the details of her story--like the 13-week ocean passage--also clearly show that her family went to Wisconsin, not Iowa," Rodda says. "She couldn't have known those things without knowing that the whole premise of her speech was a lie."

You really can't blame Bachmann for that though. Tuesday night on O'Reilly, she stated (4:32 mark) that she just reads whatever is on the teleprompter. She also indicated during the interview that she isn't "afraid" of media attacks on her. After the mainstream media let a whole speech full of pandering distortions, slide on by without mere mention, I wouldn't be afraid if I were Bachmann either. At least, not at this point.

I think my Twitter buddy, Val said it best today:

Liberals & Dems SHOULD fear @SarahPalinUSA in 2012, b/c she is thee ONLY candidate who will NOT have an October surprise!

Clearly that has a lot to do with the strategy being implemented by the media, in this pre-primary season.

Here we have three possible contenders for the GOP nomination in the upcoming presidential election of 2012. While all three claim the mantle of "Conservative," one is treated very differently than the others. The reason for this is something I eluded to in my last blog post. The media and the left will promote and omit news that will help them in the long-run. For Governor Palin, there will be no "October surprise." Every little detail of her life is already out in the open. She would be the most intensely scrutinized candidate in our nation's history. With the other two possible candidates, that is simply not the case.

Let's face it, the other two Republicans here don't have the same name recognition as Governor Palin. Huckabee has been largely unscrutinized for years, and most people outside the world of politics, don't know who Michele Bachmann is. Governor Palin and her family are recognizable faces to rake over the coals.

With Governor Palin, the leftist media is forced to throw everything at her, as soon as they can. They do whatever they can think of to try and damage her in any way possible. With the others, they can afford to wait. This is after all, a strategy with the re-election of Obama in mind. The left, and their partners in the press know what's at stake. They don't want to face Governor Palin in a general election, but the others look like walk in the park in comparison. They will save their bias and garbage reporting for a more strategically significant date. At the right time, they will unload all the information they held from the public on these candidates, given the opportunity. Let's not give it to them.

Why is the Left Promoting Michele Bachmann?

Suzy Khimm, a writer from the left-wing site Mother Jones, published an article on Friday titled "Bachmann vs. Palin: Who's the Better 2012 Candidate?" The piece presents both Bachmann and Governor Palin as "hard-right Republican firebrands" in the beginning, then heads down a much different path. Khimm writes (emphasis mine):

But though Palin and Bachmann may seem like GOP doppelgangers, there's a lot separating them as well. And the differences have led a growing chorus of Beltway watchers to conclude that Bachmann would actually be the more credible candidate of the two. Having watched the Minnesota congresswoman on the trail for years, Minnesota political operatives on both sides of the aisle warn against simply laughing off Bachmann. "You underestimate Michele Bachmann at your own peril," says Zach Rodvold, the campaign manager for her Democratic opponent in 2010.

Gee, doesn't that line from Zach Rodvold sound familiar? Former opponents of Governor Palin have also sounded such alarms. They aren't alone. In fact, a lot of people have warned rivals not to underestimate the governor, including former presidents. Bill Parker, a well-known Alaska Democrat once said "she came out of nowhere and beat us like a drum."

Khimm's piece goes on to list the reasons why she thinks Bachmann is a better candidate for Conservatives to "rally behind." She states that "Bachmann's an organizer," then she downplays Governor Palin's popularity as solely being "built on the celebrity status and enormous platform she gained as Sen. John McCain's running mate."As a supporter of Governor Palin's BEFORE John McCain picked her to be his running mate in 2008 - based in Southern California of all places - I reject the writer's statement outright.

Governor Palin was a rare voice pushing for better energy policies in this nation, when I first started following her career in 2007. After learning about how she took on the corrupt establishment of her own party, the governor had me organized, if you will. I followed her lead in writing a letter to Harry Reid arguing in favor of opening ANWR. That's natural leadership. Certainly Bachmann's organizational and speaking abilities are commendable, but they shouldn't be hyped in an effort to downplay Governor Palin's long, successful career.

The next item in Khimm's piece states that "Bachmann has a sense of humor." She then, amazingly writes:

In the wake of the Tucson shooting, Palin accused her critics of "blood libel" after she was attacked for putting crosshairs on a 2010 campaign map, igniting yet another media firestorm. Palin's addiction to feuding has made her enemies on both sides of the aisle.

Did you get that? Governor Palin doesn't have a sense of humor because she didn't find it humorous how the left and their lapdogs in the press were accusing her of being an accessory to murder. That was supposed to be a joke, don't you know. Somehow, not only did Governor Palin not get the joke, but it flew over the Tea Party's head too. Considering they were also accused of being accessories to a slaughter. All while, with the exception of a couple of Republican senators, the GOP remained utterly silent. Nobody was laughing.

Khimm's third point as to why Michele Bachmann is better for Conservatives than Palin is that "Bachmann's better at thinking on her feet." To prove her point, the writer proclaims that Governor Palin had "missteps" after being "thrust onto the national stage," then concedes that Bachmann "hasn't been put under the same national magnifying glass." Leaving aside the location of the Battles of Concord and Lexington, Khimm goes on to quote Bachmann's congressional opponent mentioned earlier, Zach Rodvold's campaign manger saying "she sounds knowledgeable, she sticks to her message, and repeats it." If you're trying to prove that somebody is good at thinking on their feet, why would you add a quote that indicates that person is choreographed? That's a less than convincing argument.

Khimm's forth item on the list states that "Bachmann knows how to use the national media." I'm starting to wonder if that's not the other way around... Khimm writes about Governor Palin's relationship with the media, the way you can imagine any left-wing writer would write about the topic. But then, she praises Bachmann for her many appearances on MSNBC. The last time I checked, Michele Bachmann wasn't photoshopped on to a different woman's body, who was wearing a bikini, then had that image used as if it were a regular news graphic on MSNBC. I also don't recall MSNBC pushing conspiracies about Bachmann motivating a massacre. I could waste my entire weekend citing examples of things said and done to Governor Palin on MSNBC, that they have not done to any other public figure.

Then there's the matter of Governor Palin being a Fox New contributor. As with all other Fox contributors, the governor is no doubt restricted by her contract from appearing on other networks. She appeared on CNN, NBC, and others before she signed a contract with Fox. To criticize her for not going on MSNBC is about as fair as criticizing her for not knowing how to surf, considering she grew up in Alaska. There are many reasons why Governor Palin (like most of the country) avoids that MSNBC.

Last but not least, on Khimm's list of Bachmann's conservative attributes is "Bachmann's not a quitter." Because what self-respecting liberal can write a whole article about Governor Palin without writing the word "quitter." Khimm doesn't tell her readers why Governor Palin resigned. Instead she claims the governor gave "the distinct impression that she didn't care for the dirty work of governing." She then tries to connect it by writing that Bachmann never resigned her House seat to pursue higher office. Why would she have? Bachman hasn't been hampered from governing like Governor Palin was by a cluster-storm of frivolous lawsuits (some for doing interviews with the media, by the way). Bachmann hasn't had to deal with a full-court press against her from a national political party. She hasn't had her state's business put on hold, her constituents tax-dollars spent to deal with an onslaught of operative tactics. Apples and oranges, Suzy. Apples and oranges.

The non-stop comparisons between Governor Palin and Michele Bachmann are somewhat irritating, but when columnists start touting a favorite, they becomes suspect. Suzy Khimm isn't alone pushing this agenda, so expect to see more of it. Beware of left-wingers giving advice to Conservatives. Their advice will never be in our best interest.

Perhaps they know something more about Bachmann's electability than they're letting on. If you think about it, we know little about Bachmann's life. The media has not gone after her in the same way they have gone after Governor Palin (and don't get me wrong, I'm not wishing such a fate on anyone; though it will happen eventually to whomever the nominee is when Obama's machine goes after that person). Bachmann's voting record, some of the things she has said, her family, are all relatively untouched in comparison to the governor, and the left knows it. They have managed to throw everything they have at Governor Palin, expose every detail (real or made-up) about of her life, even accuse her of mass murder, and still, the governor stands tall above their feeble efforts to diminish her. They know what a true threat Governor Palin is to their power and their agenda. They don't promote people who have the capacity to damage them in either arena.