Dave Weigel's Predictable, Pathetic Response to Deb Fischer's Win

Last night, Steve wrote:

As it became clear these past few days that Governor Palin’s endorsement had succeeded in catapulting Fischer past Stenberg and into a position where she had a legitimate chance to defeat Bruning, panic set in among those wishful thinkers in the DC Establishment on both sides of the aisle who’ve been telling us that her time had passed, that she was irrelevant.

Predictably, Dave Weigel tried to outdo the other "wishful thinkers" in trying to make his handful of readers believe that Governor Palin had nothing at all to do with Deb Fischer's win in Nebraska. Yesterday, in a post titled "Nebraska: Prepare Yourself for Stories About Sarah Palin, Kingmaker," he wrote:

State Sen. Deb Fischer has won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Nebraska, making her the odds-on favorite to replace Ben Nelson. What you will hear: Sarah Palin endorsed a Mama Grizzly and pushed her over the top. The larger backstory: Fischer benefitted from a yearlong, bloody, stupid primary between state Attorney General Jon Bruning and Treasurer Don Stenberg. The former, working his way up the greasy pole for years, had spooked Chuck Hagel out of running for re-election in 2008, then gotten chased out of the primary by then-Agriculture Sec. Mike Johanns. The latter had lined up conservative support -- Jim DeMint, Rick Santorum, Erick Erickson. The two of them tore chunks out of each other, leaving Fischer alone.

I write that this was predictable because this is what Dave Weigel does anytime Governor Palin is in the news. He downplays her success, takes numerousjabs at her on Slate, and uses childish snark by writing "who?" next to any story he retweets about the Governor on Twitter. It's rather pathetic that a grown man would spend this much time and effort to try and convince the world that someone else is "irrelevant." Normally, you don't have to spend any time or effort persuading the public that a person is irrelevant, people just know that they are.

Weigel may have been correct by stating that the Nebraska GOP primary was "bloody" yearlong process, but that doesn't explain why Fischer picked up so much steam in such a short time period. Just ten days ago, she was polling 16 points behind Jon Bruning.

Also, a few days ago, Tony Lee wrote the following over at Big Government:

This is the first attempt at seeking statewide office for Fischer, a 61-year-old state Senator who has not been a career politician, who needed Palin’s endorsement to level the playing field against her well-funded opponents.

Fishcer’s campaign manager Aaron Trost told Breitbart News that Palin’s endorsement had a “big impact on publicity” and would “help educate a lot of people who the true conservative reformer in the race is.”

Two recent polls show Bruning with the lead, with Fischer in second followed by Stenberg. In a poll commissioned by the Fischer campaign, Bruning led with 30 percent, followed by Fischer with 25.6 percent and Stenberg with 18 percent. Twenty four percent of those polled were still undecided. The primary is on Tuesday.

Palin Power

Fischer e-mailed Palin in December of 2011 while Kay Orr, the first female Republican governor ever to be elected and who is one of Fischer’s statewide co-chairs, also contacted Palin to ensure Fischer stayed on the former governor’s radar screen.

When Palin decided to endorse Fischer, Trost said it led to “an awesome day.”

“Gov. Palin has tremendous support in this state; there were a lot of people excited with the endorsement and wanted to get involved with the campaign,” Trost said, noting that there was a big surge in online contributions and phone calls in the office but would not disclose how much the campaign raised.

“Gov. Palin supporters are not only volunteers but they are workers; supporters of Gov. Palin are in the office every day, going door to door, really into running a grassroots campaign,” Trost said. “They are not into an establishment-type campaign.”

So, Weigel can spend his time trying to convince his readers and Twitter followers that Governor Palin is "irrelevant," and that she had nothing at all to do with the victory in Nebraska, but the campaign manager of the victor in that race disagrees. He, after all, doesn't live in a false reality where he's surrounded by chronically Palin-obsessed leftists, who spend a big chunk of their time trying to convince themselves and each other that she's "irrelevant."

I don't think they can see the irony here.

Sarah Palin's Endorsements Getting Downplayed

It's amazing to me that if anyone else had as successful of a record in picking winners in elections as Governor Palin has, the entire media and political establishment would never question that person's impact on a race. I can only imagine if, back in March when Mitt Romney endorsed Nikki Haley, her numbers had shot up as she took over the lead, the praise that would be heaped upon the the former Governor of Massachusetts.

If you haven't noticed, Governor Palin's endorsements are getting downplayed in the media and from pundits and politico's on both the left and "right" side of the aisle. I say "right" but I really mean the establishment. The most downplayed victory in her column is definitely the California Senate race where she picked Carly Fiorina. I think there are many reasons people who have no interest in praising Governor Palin are downplaying this particular race. For one, it was a very high-profile, widely covered campaign. For two, it's in California, a blue state if there ever was one, and to the narrative creating establishment, that victory translates differently than it would somewhere down south. It's all about perceptions...

The truth of the matter is that Sarah Palin's endorsement of Carly Fiorina had a huge outcome on that race. HUGE! Some hack in the Northeast has no clue what effect Governor Palin's endorsement had in California. But guess what? I'm sitting in California as I pound this blog post out, so I think I have better insight than 'Pundit's-4-Mitt' might have.

It just so happens that I was supporting Chuck DeVore up to the day Governor Palin announced she was supporting Fiorina. I wrote about it here. I had decided then, that I was going to agree to disagree with the governor and continue my support of DeVore. Until he reacted like spoiled child for not getting his way, and proceeded to start calling people names. At that point I took a second look at Carly and decided the "child" had also been lying to me about his opponents record. To be perfectly honest though, the fact that Governor Palin endorsed Carly immediately gave her credibility in my eyes. I've studied Governor Palin on the issues, I know how principled she is, and I know she would never steer me in the wrong direction... That said, I happily voted for Carly Fiorina in my neighbor's garage last Tuesday, and I would do it again.

I talked with a lot of Conservatives from my neck of the woods about the election after Governor Palin endorsed Fiorina. Some did not change their support for DeVore, some did. But everybody I talked to that had been supporting Tom Campbell shifted to Fiorina after Palin stepped in. Campbell had a lot of people fooled, but Governor Palin's endorsement certainly got everyone's attention and that led to a more in depth examination of the race and all the candidates for the voters. In this state of low attention spans, that is nothing short of amazing. In case you haven't noticed, politics are not Californians strong point.

So much for my own personal experiences ... Let's look at the numbers.

From Chuck DeVore's own website from a poll dated on April 22nd, 2010:

Republican race for U.S. Senate in California, in which Chuck DeVore and Carly Fiorina are shown to be in a statistical tie. The poll, with a margin of error of +/-3.7%, showed Tom Campbell with 31%, Carly Fiorina with 17%, and Chuck DeVore with 14%.

I didn't see any new poll numbers posted after that for a long time. I remember complaining about it at the time. Anyway, SurveyUSA posted this on May 24th, 2010 (keep in mind that Govern Palin endorsed Carly on May 6th)

In the Republican primary for US Senator, support for former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is up sharply in the past 2 weeks, from 24% on 05/10/10 to 46% today 05/24/10. Fiorina's support has more than doubled among women, seniors, Hispanics, the less educated, and in the Inland Empire. During these 2 weeks, Former Congressman Tom Campbell's support dropped 12 points, from 35% on 05/10/10 to 23% today 05/24/10.

So when a writer based out of the Northeast says "But political observers doubt that Palin was all that instrumental in Fiorina’s California Senate primary victory," never mind the all too common unnamed sources, that person doesn't know what they are talking about. The numbers in the SurveyUSA poll do not match their theory. I'd love to spend an entire post ripping that whole article to shreds considering the writer uses a certain PPP poll to come to some other conclusion, but I've only got so much time tonight. It's just another hack job, hit-piece in my opinion, designed to kill the morale of Palin supporters, and create misconceptions... Blah blah blah.. When will these people understand that we don't care what they think and that their words hold no weight with us?

In other endorsement outcome related distortions... Today, I kept hearing GOP pundits try to play down Governor Palin's endorsement of Nikki Haley to the extent they could get away with it, and play up Mitt Romney's support. As I previously stated, Mitt endorsed Haley back in March and his support had nowhere near the effect that Governor Palin's did. Nikki Haley still had a low name recognition throughout the months following Romney's nod. Speaking of which, where was Mitt when the 'Good ole Boys' club started to viciously attack Nikki Haley in one of the lowest acts of political hatchery I have ever witnessed? I didn't hear, see, nor read any statement of support from him even though it was clear that these "men" claiming to have had affairs with Nikki, where obviously political operatives. Governor Palin on the other hand, released a statement the very first morning the attacks started. Which calmed the voting public, and helped the Haley Campaign to continue their efforts to seek the nomination.

In all the articles and interviews I've seen downplaying Governor Palin's positive effect on the elections, the person doing the downplaying never mentions an election that happened not too long ago in New Mexico. Susana Martinez won the New Mexico GOP gubernatorial primary race on June 1st. Governor Palin had endorsed Susana on May 15th at which time her and her opponent, Allen Weh were virtually tied in the polls. Martinez ended up getting 51% of the vote, while Weh only received only 27%. Attention pundits, that was AFTER Governor Palin endorsed her. For your information, my mother just so happens to live in New Mexico and she can vouch that Governor Palin made the difference in that race. I have talked to her about it on more than one occasion.

What I'm taking away from this negative downplaying is that all of the power establishments see that Governor Palin has an effect on this nation, a role in the debate, and sway with the voters, and they don't like it. That's too bad because candidates form around the nation are asking for, and receiving endorsements from Governor Palin. If this woman had no sway or had "too many negatives" why on earth would candidates be tripping over themselves to get an endorsement? It doesn't make sense on any rational level but these are Governor Palin's detractor's after all. Since when have they ever been rational?

UPDATE: In no way am I trying to diminish the job any of these candidates and their staffs did. Obviously they all ran very good campaigns and at the end of the day, the victory is due to their own performance. I wish them all the luck in the world winning in November.

The Sarah Palin Endorsement of Joe Miller Over Murkowski

Last week, Governor Palin endorsed Joe Miller in the Alaska GOP Senate primary race against Lisa Murkowski. The news caused a bit of a happy stir in the Palin blogosphere as many of us are not the biggest Murkowski fans. Lisa got on my bad side last year during the health care debate when she said the following in response to a question about death panels, to a town hall meeting in Anchorage:

"It does us no good to incite fear in people by saying that there's these end-of-life provisions, these death panels" ... "Quite honestly, I'm so offended at that terminology because it absolutely isn't (in the bill). There is no reason to gin up fear in the American public by saying things that are not included in the bill."

For her to say that and make no mention of government rationing was nothing more than playing the democrats shell game for them. The death panel issue has been discussed and unfortunately will be a topic of discussion into the future. Unless of course, we get that horrible unconstitutional bill repealed. More on that in a moment but real quick I'd like to offer a quick retort to Lisa's assertion that "death panels" was said just to 'incite fear.'

Andy McCarthy writing for the National Review, not directed at Senator Murkowski, but to others at NRO in response to their Murkowski-ish editorial, said the following:

I don't see any wisdom in taking a shot at Governor Palin at this moment when, finding themselves unable to defend the plan against her indictment, Democrats have backed down and withdrawn their "end-of-life counseling" boards. Palin did a tremendous service here. Opinion elites didn't like what the editors imply is the "hysteria" of her "death panels" charge. Many of those same elites didn't like Ronald Reagan's jarring "evil empire" rhetoric. But "death panels" caught on with the public just like "evil empire" did because, for all their "heat rather than light" tut-tutting, critics could never quite discredit it.

In Governor Palin's statement regarding the Joe Miller endorsement, she mentioned a previous contribution she had given to Lisa Murkowski and why:

Over a year ago, upon kicking off our Political Action Committee to assist candidates and promote competition in the nation’s electoral system, with no one willing to challenge the political machine at the time, and amid rumors that I would challenge Lisa Murkowski for the U.S. Senate, SarahPAC contributed to Lisa’s campaign. As she and I discussed, this was an attempt to reassure the Senator that I, as Alaska’s governor, had no intention of jumping into the race.

After reading what Senator Murkowski had said at that town hall meeting, I wrote a long letter giving her a piece of my mind, and demanding that she give Governor Palin "her freakin money back!" I figured it's fine to disagree, even if Lisa looked totally uninformed in my eyes, but don't take money from someone and then publicly try to discredit them. I thought it showed bad character on her part. There was another way to deal with that situation but Lisa is a silver-spoon kid that just had this job handed to her in the first place. Why should I expect her to be equipped with the life skills to handle it correctly. Like for instance, she could have just said "I respectfully disagree with the Governor." Now see, that wasn't hard at all.

All of that in the past now and we as a nation need to look to the future where that health care monstrosity is concerned. The only chance to avoid the horrendous effects that bill will create for us all is to either have it overturned in court or repeal the bill once republicans take back control of the government. From what I've heard, the court option doesn't look good because even though it is unconstitutional to force citizens to buy a product, the feds are using a loophole in the commerce clause to get around that. It looks as though repealing it is our only hope.

So what does Lisa Murkowski think about repealing the health care law? Asked last March by the local media in Alaska, KTUU she said:

"Repealing this is not the answer in my opinion, because if you just repeal and you do nothing, we will not have addressed health care reform."

Wrong answer! We must repeal that rubbish and START OVER. That's not doing "nothing," that's getting rid of a huge problem Obama and the democrats have inflicted upon this nation. Is there any wonder why Governor Palin didn't give her an endorsement? An endorsement that seems to carry a lot of water these days, by the way. Just look at the the results from this primary season's "Super Tuesday" elections across the country and the elections held before. Governor Palin's record for picking principled winner's is nothing short of stellar.

The other reason Lisa didn't get the nod is clear. Joe Miller is the better candidate by far.

(Future Republican Senator, Joe Miller)

Concerning health care, Miller has the right idea and isn't afraid to challenge the establishment. His statement posted on his campaign site says (emphasis mine):

I will work to repeal the new Obama healthcare law. The unconstitutional legislation does nothing to address the issue of rising healthcare costs and it will cost American taxpayers over $1 trillion during the next decade. The answer for addressing rising healthcare costs must be market driven, based on practical solutions including: (1) giving people more power over their healthcare through employer and self-funded tax-free medical savings accounts to cover their healthcare costs. This method will allow patients to know their costs and encourage providers not to arbitrarily raise their prices; (2) breaking apart insurance monopoly pricing by permitting people to purchase medical insurance across state lines; and (3) allowing small businesses and organizations to work across state lines with others to create group health plans.

Right answer!

Reading through his views on a host of other issues, I really do like this guy. He's pro-life, a supporter of the free-market system, believes the sold principles of our Constitution, seems to understand what the size and role of the federal government should be, and he is a fiscal Conservative... I didn't see anything about the 2nd Amendment on his "Issues" page, however he did post a picture of himself standing over the bear he just took down with the rifle in his hand, so I'm figuring he's got that issue right as well.

A couple more things about Joe Miller that Governor Palin mentioned in her endorsement statement are:

Joe is against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants; Lisa has voted for it.

Joe is against cap and trade (Obama’s new job-killing energy scheme that I call cap and tax); Lisa believes Al Gore’s insistence that man-made global warming is fact, so she’s on record as being open to cap and trade legislation to address weather changes.

Also, the local Tea Party group, CPG (Conservative Patriots Group) in the governor's hometown of Wasilla has endorsed Joe Miller as well. Their website says:

U.S. Senate Candidates: Joe Miller, Lisa Murkowski-Incumbent

CPG has closely examined the political philosophy and qualifications of both candidates along with the voting record of the incumbent to determine which candidate will best Act to Uphold And Defend The Spirit And Word of the Constitution of our United States of America our Bill of Rights and the Conservative Principles on which CPG was founded. Based on this examination CPG is pleased to announce it is endorsing Joe Miller for the office of U.S. Senate.

Candidate Ratings:

Rating of 10 = CPG's ideal conservative

8 = minimum rating to receive CPG endorsement

Joe Miller - 9.5

Lisa Murkowski - 6.5

9.5 out of 10 ain't bad.... Actually that's really good.

Bottom line here is that we need more representatives in government like Joe Miller and less like Lisa Murkowski, especially on the federal level. Murkowski is a bureaucrat through and through. Joe Miller seems like someone that would go to DC not because he likes DC but to serve the people of his state. His military career proves the man is a public servant, as every member of the military is. His strong convictions, willingness to fight against the "fundamental change" that is occurring in our country, and his conservative principles are proof that Governor Palin made the right decision with this pick.

Joe Miller's website is http://www.joemiller.us/index.php

You can also follow him on Twitter @JoeWMiller

DeVore Didn't Deserve a Palin Endorsement - Part One

Conservative supporters of Chuck DeVore seem outraged that Sarah Palin didn't endorse their candidate for the California GOP Senate Primary race to take on Barbara Boxer in the November election. To them, it seemed like the likely thing for her to do and I know DeVore himself had asked for the nod. DeVore's supporters are operating, to this day on the notion that their guy is the "one true Conservative in the race." They run off of emotion and perception but they are omitting many facts about the Senate race and about Chuck DeVore himself with their analysis.

I'm going to go through a series of things I feel (this is all my opinion and speculation) as to why Chuck DeVore did not deserve a Sarah Palin endorsement. I'll be writing a short series of posts on the matter, starting with this one.


An article came out on Friday in the Los Angeles Times titled "Chuck DeVore has a staunch conservative record."On the surface, the headline and the picture that accompanied it, made the article look like some sort of Chuck DeVore fluff piece. However, once you read the content of the article, it is very clear that this is no fluff piece at all. In fact, the article is reminiscent of Chuck DeVore himself. "Strong," "Conservative," and "patriotic" on the outside.... Somewhat shallow, untruthful, and slightly corrupt on the inside.

There are many telling revelations cited within the article. DeVore's supporters get over-heated at the assertion that Chuck had used a misleading title on the voter ballot and 'fudged' his military record a bit. But the article states:

During a radio debate with them in early March, DeVore talked of being the sole candidate in the Senate race with military experience. "I'm a lieutenant colonel of military intelligence within the U.S. Army," he said. His campaign material shows he's a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army retired reserves.

His actual title is "Retired Reserve" and nowhere in his title on the ballot or listed in the description on the Primary Voter Guide does the word "retired" exist. Not to say he went as far as Richard Blumenthal in 'fudging' his record, but it's clear to me that Chuck DeVore tried to create a certain perception about his biography. After all, his own supporters have told me that Chuck has "served in Afghanistan." I doubt they will use that as a debate talking point again in the future.

I'm not going to harp on that issue though because I fail to see what good it does. I'm also not going to rip Chuck DeVore over another claim made in the L.A. Times piece about whether or not he was shot at in Lebanon. DeVore uploaded an audio clip of that incident and the file clearly sounds like the group he was with had been shot at and returned fire. Read the piece and then listen to the file here for yourself to make your own determination. This is, I think another distraction.

There are yet more accusations disclosed in the L.A. Times article that have not been dealt with by the DeVore campaign at all. These are the items I chose to discuss because they haven't been talked about in the media or the blogoshere. There are serious charges made that would easily negate an endorsement from an anti-corruption hawk and proponent of honest government like Sarah Palin.

For starters, the fact that Chuck DeVore attempted to take credit for the The Arrow “anti­tactical ballistic missile” program, a system designed to defend Israel. In 1986 DeVore worked for Margo Carlisle in the Reagan Administration. Records show he was hired because

"officials were impressed with DeVore's service as an Army Reserve officer; the officials also noted his GOP campaign experience and the fact that DeVore's mother chaired the Fullerton Republican Women's Club.

DeVore's references included Chief White House Science Advisor William Graham, a family friend from Mammoth Lakes, where DeVore went to high school and where his father owned an auto parts store."

DeVore worked at the Pentagon for Carlisle, who was the assistant secretary of Defense for legislative affairs. While there he managed to boost his own role in the creation of a vital weapons system for Israel and diminish Duncan Hunter's work in the process. The article says:

While working at the Pentagon, DeVore says in his campaign literature, his "initiative helped develop the Arrow Anti-Ballistic Missile program." The Arrow was proposed in 1986 as a way for Israel to defend itself from potential missile attacks from Iraq, Iran, Syria and other hostile nations.

DeVore, who was 25 at the time, said he approached U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a San Diego County Republican, with an idea on how to skirt the congressional opposition to Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative — popularly known as "Star Wars.'' Democrats had attacked the program as costly, ineffective and in violation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union.

If the U.S. funded an Israeli-built missile defense system, the U.S. would be able to study that country's test data without violating any prohibitions on missile-defense testing in the U.S., DeVore said. He said he told Hunter that with the support of pro-SDI Republicans and pro-Israel Democrats, the proposal was sure to win congressional approval, which it eventually did.

'Dear Colleague'

"So in his office, I dictated to him a "Dear Colleague'' letter that he personally typed up on his Selectric typewriter," DeVore said. "Within a week, Duncan Hunter had 40-plus signatures — House and Senate, Republican and Democrats, that went to Reagan and [then-Defense Secretary Caspar] Weinberger … the idea was born."

Hunter was then a Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. In a recent interview, he recalled DeVore as a staunch advocate of the Arrow program on behalf of the Reagan administration — but Hunter said he wrote the letter, and pursued the idea, on his own.

"I drafted the letter that was signed by members of the Armed Services Committee, recommending that Israel embark on the missile defense program," said Hunter, whose son now represents that congressional district.

Hunter said that he and members of the Reagan administration were working on ways to develop defenses to medium-range missiles at that time, so it would be difficult to credit any one person for the successful funding of the Arrow missile.

"No one in the administration said, 'It was my idea' — DeVore included,'' Hunter said.

Duncan Hunter honorably served California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd House districts from 1981 to 2009. His district elected his son to replace him after his retirement. Hunter was easily my favorite Congressman while he was in office, and he served this community well. I have a tremendous respect for the man and if this issue comes down to believing him or believing Chuck DeVore I can safely say, 'no contest.' It sort of angers me that DeVore would use Duncan Hunter's hard work as resume padding.

This is an example of dishonesty from Chuck DeVore. We all make mistakes but to take credit for something that massive... Well, that could only come from someone with an ego on the same scale.

I know DeVore supporters will attack me for writing these pieces. They are convinced he is their California Conservative savior and I am just some sort of hater out to promote Sarah Palin's agenda at any cost. They have it backwards. I know Sarah Palin's record and I believe she and her staff take a thorough look at candidates before they give a stamp of approval. I also don't believe that Chuck DeVore is the person his supporters think he is. I am frankly astonished that some in the Tea Party can stand so strongly behind a guy that merely tells them what they want to hear. Yes, Chuck DeVore is a very good salesman in my estimation. He knows how to sell a certain product to a certain crowd.

I realize California Conservatives are starved for a leader that actually shows signs of being a real Conservative. I am one, I live here, I get it. But before you throw the ONE TRUE CONSERVATIVE in the country that is taking the lead in the fight against the Obama agenda, under the bus, you better be sure you know who you are propping up in the process.

Sarah Palin Fights Corruption Again with Martinez Pick

(Susana Martinez, future Governor of New Mexico)

Saturday, Governor Palin announced her support for Susana Martinez in the GOP primary race for New Mexico Governor. Heath Haussamen gives a little overview of the race:

Martinez is in a five-way Republican primary battle. Many analysts believe the race is down to Martinez and Allen Weh, who has been able to outspend Martinez nearly 3-1 because he’s pumped $1 million of his own money into his campaign. Martinez, however, has raised more money from individual donors than Weh or any other candidate in the race.

My mother lives in New Mexico and was very pleased when I talked to her about Governor Palin's endorsement of Martinez. She, being a very big fan of Governor Palin and also currently supporting Susana Martinez, thought it was nice to see the two world's collide. She also attended the rally at the Albuquerque Marriott on Sunday morning and enjoyed seeing the governor give a "great speech" yet again. My mother got to see Governor Palin during the 2008 Presidential Election when the McCain campaign stopped over in New Mexico. Living in San Diego, I still have yet to see her give a speech or attend a political event she is involved with.

Tip for SarahPAC: A rally for Carly Fiorina at the Oceanside Pier Amphitheater with Governor Palin would be a great event. It's near Camp Pendleton (lots of Marines... Marines love the Guv.) and it's located in North County which is the more Conservative area of the county. It is the site of the last Tea Party I attended. I'm just throwing that out there, and now I digress...

Anyway, I had a long conversation with my mother about why she was supporting Martinez. One of the biggest issues in New Mexico, as it was in Alaska, is political corruption. After Bill Richardson's stint in that governor's chair, New Mexico is in dire need of clean leadership. Their problems are rooted deep and seem to be widespread. They need someone that has a record as an anti-corruption crusader, as Susana Martinez has.

From the Martinez Campaign website:

Corruption

Public Officials Will Be Held to Account and Integrity in Government Restored

There will be no higher priority in a Martinez Administration than rooting out corruption in Santa Fe and instilling confidence on the part of the voter and taxpayer in their state government. The waste, fraud and abuse of public funds and taxpayer dollars will cease and those involved in exploiting New Mexico citizens will be confronted head on when I am governor.

Identifying and eliminating corruption will require real, substantive changes in the Roundhouse with the first being, Diane Denish no longer serving in state government. Recently and in response to news that the U.S. Department of Justice would not prosecute the Richardson Administration, Lieutenant Governor Denish responded, “It’s good news for New Mexico.” (Release, Diane Denish, 8/27/09)

Denish’s comment was especially troubling because the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico believed “pressure from the governor’s office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process” and pointed out that the lack of indictments “should not be interpreted as exoneration of any party’s conduct in that matter.” (NM Independent, 8/31/09)

The truth is that “pay to play” has become commonplace and part of everyday business in Santa Fe under Diane Denish’s watch and no one believes that “it’s good news for New Mexico.”

A powerful government without checks and balances is ripe for corruption. That’s why I believe we need a smaller government that is open and transparent. As governor, I will support opening conference committees to the public and will use my prosecutorial experience to end “pay to play” in state government.

Here is a clip of Susana Martinez answering a question from a listener to a New Mexico talk show on the topic:


I can see why Governor Palin chose to endorse this candidacy. She, herself having such a strong record of cleaning up corruption and taking on the crooked establishment. Susana Martinez is also pro-life and a very strong advocate of the second amendment, but I think her record as a corruption fighter probably won over Governor Palin the most. The governor's Facebook statement indicates as much:

"I’m proud to endorse Susana Martinez for governor of New Mexico. Susana is a strong pro-family, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-development fiscal conservative who’s going to fight the corruption that’s plagued her state and bring transparency, accountability, and renewed fiscal vitality to New Mexico.

As a tough district attorney, Susana fights for justice everyday in this promising, beautiful state. Her unwavering commitment to bring justice speaks to her determination and strength of character.

As governor, Susana will lead New Mexico to a new economic vitality based on free market reform that cuts out the cronyism, invites competition, reduces taxes, cuts waste, and creates jobs – all while identifying and rooting out the corruption that has taken hold for too long in this state which deserves so much better!"

Another stellar pick from Governor Palin for this primary season. I sincerely hope this puts Susana Martinez over her competitor. No offense to him, considering I don't know much about the guy, but I understand the need for a strong, anti-corruption, Conservative for the job. Susana Martinez is the person for the job.

Palin Endorsements Are Key in Primary Season

It's primary season and Conservative candidates around the country are all hoping to get a Palin endorsement to boost their campaigns. So far it is proving to be very beneficial for the candidates that have Governor Palin's official backing.

In Wisconsin, Sean Duffy's campaign exploded after the governor threw her support in his direction. They successfully put enough pressure on the very powerful Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and congressional fixture, Dave Obey to plan an early retirement.

Earlier this week in West Virginia, in a race marked by one of those anxiety inducing SarahPAC targets, Representative Alan Mollohan lost his reelection bid.

Palin endorsed, Rand Paul also has a comfortable lead in the Kentucky race.

(Nikki Haley, future Governor of South Carolina)

Thursday, Nikki Haley's campaign announced that Sarah Palin will endorse her candidacy for GOP slot in the South Carolina governor's race. They release the following statement:

GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN WILL BE IN COLUMBIA, SC TOMORROW EVENING, FRIDAY MAY 14TH, TO ENDORSE NIKKI HALEY FOR GOVERNOR

Columbia, SC – Today, the Haley for Governor campaign is proud to announce that former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be joining Representative Nikki Haley in Columbia tomorrow evening, Friday, May 14th, in support of her candidacy for Governor.

In response to Governor Palin’s endorsement, Nikki Haley said “It is a tremendous honor to receive Governor Palin’s endorsement. Sarah Palin has energized the conservative movement like few others in our generation. She has helped millions of Americans find the power of their voice. I am extremely proud that she has offered her support to my candidacy.”

Nikki Haley, state representative from Lexington, has been an advocate for fiscal responsibility, transparency in government, and conservative values since her first day as a state legislator in 2005.

Governor Palin and Representative Haley will appear together at a public event at 5:30 pm in Columbia tomorrow evening. Details on location will follow.

According to CNN, "Palin's endorsement of Haley puts her at odds with her running mate in the 2008 presidential election, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.

McCain has backed McMaster in the primary. McMaster chaired McCain's South Carolina campaign in 2008."

... So take that Chuck DeVore supporters who claim Governor Palin is John McCain's "puppet."

Speaking of which, it's pretty obvious why those same DeVore loyalists are so cranky about getting their perceived snub. They know that Governor Palin is the top Conservative in the nation. They know that the DeVore campaign could have used the boost in exposure and revenue. They know that Chuck is starting to become a spoiler and may possibly get Tom Campbell nominated to face off against Boxer this November. Doing so would most certainly go down much differently than "the only Conservative in the race" message they have been trying to send. Rather forcefully and usually in ALL CAPS on twitter, by the way.

On that note, I'm still wondering why "the only Conservative in the race" is trying so desperately to send Tom Campbell to Washington. I'm also still wondering why he is running so hard for the second place spot in a primary election, attacking Carly Fiorina, not Tom Campbell (a scary candidate if there ever was one) on his website and elsewhere.

So for now, Chuck will just have to stick it out with this guy

The value for conservative candidates getting a Palin endorsement goes without saying. There will be many contentious battles in the coming months and I am glad to see Governor Palin getting involved. She's never been one to 'play it safe' or somebody to not 'step on any toes' as too many top political leaders are prone to do. She has shown courage and wisdom in her picks regardless of what many armchair pundits think or say. She has picked a number of great candidates to support and is making for a very interesting primary season, to say the least.

UPDATE: Governor Palin made the Nikki Haley endorsement official today on her Facebook page:

Shaking it up in South Carolina with Nikki Haley

I’m very proud to add my voice to Jenny Sanford’s and others in endorsing Nikki Haley for governor of South Carolina. Nikki is a strong pro-life, pro-Second Amendment fiscal conservative who served with distinction as a state lawmaker, a reformer who fought her own party to protect the interests of the taxpayer, a proud daughter of immigrants who worked night and day to achieve the American dream, a wife of an officer in the Army National Guard, a board member at her family’s Methodist church, and – most proudly – the loving mother of two beautiful kids.

It’s my honor to join Nikki today at a rally at 5:30 pm at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina. If you are in the area, please come by and join us.

In the meantime, Nikki needs our support in her race. She’s the scrappy underdog in a tough competitive primary. Please visit her website here, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Let’s help this tough, proud daughter of South Carolina shake things up in the Palmetto state.

- Sarah Palin