Karl Rove's Endorsement “Not Worth Snot”

Karl Rove, otherwise known as "Turd Blossom," was overheard on a conference call today equating Governor Palin's "endorsement" of Newt Gingrich to nasal mucus. In a piece titled "Rove: Palin Endorsement “Not Worth Snot” For Gingrich," Zeke Miller wrote:

Karl Rove mockingly dismissed the value of Sarah and Todd Palin's endorsements on a private conference call today, noting that their backing of Newt Gingrich in Alaska "demonstrated that endorsements don’t mean snot."

Is it possible that the overrated "architect" meant to say that no endorsement is "worth snot?" Perhaps, but why use the Palins as an example? If he didn't have a history of taking cheap-shots at Governor Palin, I would give him the benefit of the doubt. But he does, so I won't.

Governor Palin NEVER gave a full GOP primary endorsement to Newt Gingrich. Her husband did, but she did not. She never helped Gingrich campaign, she never attended rallies, nor did she do any fundraising or record any robocalls. She only released the name of who she was going to vote for, AFTER she had already voted for him. Also, that was after most Alaskans had already voted, so what kind of effect could she have truly had?

Alaska also has a 'closed primary' for Republicans, who only make up roughly 26.8% of an entire population, which isn't very large to begin with. Governor Palin made the statement a few hours before the polls closed. So, what percentage of the 26.8% of Alaskans waited until the evening to vote, and how many of them watched FOX before voting? My point here is that Governor Palin didn't "endorse" Gingrich, she openly voted for him and didn't do so until it would have virtually no effect on the outcome in her home state.

What is sort of funny about all of this is that back in 2010, Governor Palin endorsed (and campaigned for) Rick Perry in Rove's home state of Texas. At that time, Rove endorsed Kay Bailey Hutchison. We all know how that turned out. Apparently, it's Karl Rove's endorsement that isn't worth snot.

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!"

Taking a Look at ABC's Sloppy Coverage of Governor Palin's Interviews

Recently, ABC News has descended into the sort of sloppy journalism usually reserved for the entertainment section of any media institution. That stands to reason considering that they have been assigning an entertainment writer to cover political news.

That entertainment reporter, Sheila Marikar (apparently also a writer for ABC's The Note, which bills itself as being "Washington's Original and Most Influential Tipsheet") has been the designated reporter covering Governor Palin's recent Fox News interviews. Her awful reporting skills became apparent last week, after she wrote a piece on the governor's interviews with Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren. Marikar started her piece (emphasis added):

In a pair of conservative talk show appearances Wednesday night, Sarah Palin defended presidential contender Newt Gingrich's criticism of fellow Republican Paul Ryan's Medicare plan by reiterating her frustration with the “leftist lame-stream media."

Um, no she did not.

What Governor Palin said in regards to Newt Gingrich during those interviews was:

On Hannity:

I do believe that Newt Gingrich is terribly wrong on his assessment of Representative Ryan's plan. It is good fiscally sound and courageous plan. And it's not all just about Medicare, we have to make sure that we are understanding that Ryan's budget is a big difference as opposed to the Obama budget, which of course have has us on the road to bankruptcy.

On Greta:

Well, I think that the media -- that we all have a right to ask Speaker Gingrich, what in the heck did you mean that Paul Ryan's budget plan is radical or social engineering? No, what is radical is not proposing a plan to counter Obama's budget plan that has us on the road to bankruptcy.

[...]

You know what I thought after the whole Newt Gingrich thing in these last 24 hours, Greta, was, "Bless his heart" and every other good ol' boy's heart that's in that political game there in the Beltway. They don't really know any more than the rest of us. Greta, it was Newt Gingrich who told me in January of this year, Sarah Palin needs to slow down and really think through what it is that she has to say. Well, you know, he stumbles, too. We all stumble. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses.

Clearly the governor's statements were not an endorsement of Newt Gingrich's position on Paul Ryan's plan. Or at least whatever Newt's position was the day he stumbled, but I digress...

Keeping up with that sort of journalistic standard, Marikar "reported" on Sunday for ABC (emphasis added):

“Anyone who studies history, studies the old testament, studies geography understands that Israel now is surrounded by enemies at all times,” Palin said on Jeanine Pirro’s “Justice With Judge Jeanine.” “It should be now that America takes a stand in defending our enemies in Israel.”

That's quite the typo you've got there, Sheila.

She later changed it by replacing the word "enemies" with "friends" however, nowhere in the article does it mention that she made any changes from a previous version. Which it should have considering other news outlets, like the Israeli media site Ynet, used ABC as a reference to cover the interview. As of right now, Ynet's article still reads "enemies."

I'm sure the readers on Ynet can read the rest of the article and conclude that Governor Palin did not mean "enemies" but when placed in quotation marks like that, they may conclude that she said it. Worse, perhaps someone will only read that part of the article and conclude that the governor really meant that!

Do you see how sloppy journalism can effect people's perceptions? One poorly designated reporter writes up a couple of articles laden with mischaracterizations and misquotes, other reporters pick up the words and repeat them for readers all of over the world. This is how rumors and false perceptions begin. Although the press deeply resents that Governor Palin refers to them as the lamestream media, they are more than deserving of that title. In fact, they should thank her for being so kind.