Alaska’s “hottie” Republican governor, Sarah Palin, is a character straight out of the now defunct television classic Northern Exposure. This former beauty queen is ethical to the point where it almost cost her a political career, filing accusations of ethics violations against some of the most important Alaskan Republican officials. She has become an antidote to tales of woe and Republican corruption that seem to find their way out of Alaska in an almost weekly basis. Refreshingly honest, Palin, 43, even admits that when marijuana was legal in Alaska, she tried it, inhaled, but did not like it!
Maverick Reputation
Currently, after a year in office, Palin has an 84% approval rating. This is in keeping with her ‘humiliating’ defeat of seated governor Frank Murkowski in a bitter 2006 primary where the almost unknown Palin received 51% of the vote while Governor Murkowski received only 19%. Political commentator Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia’s Center of Politics remarked that Murkowski’s defeat was “literally almost unprecedented for someone who is not indicted.” While Murkowski was not indicted, his administration and his personal life was plagued with allegations of corruption, gifts, and dirty tricks.
Palin’s first months in office have not been easy. Presiding over a Republican Party rife with accusations of corruption, many of them focusing on the state’s senior US Senator, Ted Stevens, Palin has served with grace and poise. In May, three former state legislators were indicted on corruption charges that stem from the repealing of the state’s oil tax and the creation of one which was more favorable to the oil industry. Palin has now called for a special session of the state legislature to meet in October. During that time she will ask for a new tax to compensate for the $150 million shortfall the ‘new’ tax has created.
Sarah Palin’s new tax hike is in keeping with her maverick reputation. She is now being promoted as a possible GOP candidate for Vice President in 2008. Will this proposed tax hike hurt her within conservative circles? She is a life-time member of the National Rifle Association, and strongly pro-life. A devout Christian, she completes the “maverick” image by maintaining openly gay friendships and implementing same-sex benefits for the state. According to Fred Barnes, there are those in Alaska who are not comfortable with her strong faith.
In a recent Fred Barnes profile in the Weekly Standard, Barnes quotes Dan Fagan, an Anchorage radio talk show host. “"She's as Alaskan as you can get. She's a hockey mom, she lives on a lake, she ice fishes, she snowmobiles, she hunts, she's an NRA member, she has a float plane, and her husband works for BP on the North Slope," Fagan says. Todd Palin, her high school sweetheart, is a three-time winner of the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. It's the world's longest snowmobile race.
Too Good to be True
Family is very important to Sarah Palin. The mother of four children, Bristol, Piper, Track, and Willow, is also a former high school basketball champ. A journalist by training, and graduate of the University of Idaho, Palin worked in the media before entering politics. Her bio reads like the typical “mom” with service organizations that include PTA, sports coach, and youth hockey team manager. She has worked with husband Todd, an Alaska native, as a commercial fisherman. When not single-handedly trying to end corruption in Alaska, raise her family, and govern the largest state in the US, Palin runs marathons!
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Palin for VP!
Agreed, Palin could definitely be the remedy for a lot of GOP maladies.
Another trait that I personally admire is her humility. I watched a news report on her moving into the governor's mansion last December, and she siad that she found it difficult to adjust to being waited on by gubernatorical staff...remarking at one point that she could cook her own meals.
Palin seems like one of the few honest, humble leaders in politics today, and I say that she needs to be elevated to national office post haste.
2 - SallyVee
Wonderful article! I'd heard Palin's name mentioned on the radio and meant to look her up but didn't. Now I know a lot more and I am so excited! I agree wholeheartedly that Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air and could be GREAT on the GOP ticket. Just reading this article has picked up my sagging GOP spirit tremendously.
The one reservation I have is stealing a great person away from a state which so obviously, desperately, needs this woman. I've been to Alaska and truly love it. It seems like Palin's work there is not done... but either way I am heartened to know this excellent Republican woman walks among us. And yes, the GOP needs a big time attitude adjustment and triage due to the past several years of insane immigrant bashing.
3 - Baronius
Good article. Well-written, informative, and a picture of a babe. Everything I want out of the internet. I don't see a 1/2 term governor getting the nomination for VP, but if she gets a few more years under her belt and cleans up the state's political reputation, she could easily be a national star.
4 - RJ
A moderate, "maverick" Republican with barely any experience in high elected office, from a solid-Red state with only 3 Electoral Votes, and with a track record of pissing off members of her own party, is not going to become the GOP's VP nominee in 2008.
Choosing her would be seen (and rightly so) as a sign of desperation by the eventual GOP Presidential nominee. And the Republican Presidential candidate has no reason to be desperate heading into 2008, running against either a much-despised Hillary, or a clueless naif named Barack Hussein Obama.
5 - RJ
"working on an expose of the anti-immigration movement"
That would be anti-ILLEGAL immigration...
"several years of insane immigrant bashing"
That would be quite sane and reasonable opposition to continued ILLEGAL-immigration...
The sense I'm getting from her supporters leads me to believe that this Palin woman is nothing more than the female version of John McCain...IOW a Republican who revels in the positive media coverage that comes from bashing fellow Republicans...
6 - Stephen R. Maloney
Sarah Palin will have more executive experience than JFK did, and a great deal more than people like Edwards or Obama. If Sarah were a Democrat, she would be up on stage challenging Hillary for the nomination. Because she's not a guy with gray hair and a Medicare card (e.g., Fred Thompson will be 67 on election day), she's not "ready?" Ready for what? High, elective office is all about character and dedication, which she obviously has in abundance. As for Hillary being an easy opponent. She won New York state, a very diverse one, twice by huge margins. She will have the unified support of the Democrats, and she is well ahead in national polls. Desperation? We're well beyond desperation.
As for the anti-immigrant movement, SJ Reidhead said it correctly. She has probably researched this issue more than anyone else on the blogosphere, and the stench of racism and nativism did not escape her.
steve maloney
national coordinator palin 4 VP
I urge anyone who wants to back Sarah Palin to visit my blog and leave a comment.
7 - RJ
"As for Hillary being an easy opponent. She won New York state, a very diverse one, twice by huge margins."
New York isn't very "diverse" when it comes to the electorate: liberal Democrats almost always win state-wide office, with the exception of the occasional liberal or "moderate" Republican.
8 - RJ
"As for the anti-immigrant [sic] movement, SJ Reidhead said it correctly. She has probably researched this issue more than anyone else on the blogosphere, and the stench of racism and nativism did not escape her."
Well, according to recent public opinion polls, so-called "racists" and "nativists" apparently make up a large majority majority of the American voting public...
You're now the THIRD Palin-supporter here who has accused the vast majority of the GOP base of being "anti-immigrant" even though that's not even close to being true. So I'm guessing Palin is a McCain clone, or maybe even more liberal, although in slightly more attractive clothing.
IOW, she has no chance of being the VP candidate. None. Deal with it.
9 - JH
Great Article. I think she should be considered.
Let me comment here on what some people have said here
To RJ
I am quite familar with MRs Reidheads work on this issue. She is not talking about people that disagree in good faith. SHe is talking about groups like THe COuncil of Conservative Citizens and groups with radical agenda like FAIR. I know who exactly she is talking about because I recieved enough threats from them I quit blogging for 7 months. I trust you are not part of the hate mongers so there is no need to be offended. She is tight we have to regain the ground we lost in the hispacinc vote and there is a massive perception problem. THat is a fact and we have to deal with it
RJ, I would also not underestimate Hillary. Let us remember we lost the popular vote in 2000 and if not for 180,000 votes in Ohio JOhn Kerry would be preparing his reelection campaign right now.
It will be a tought race. I see nothing here that smacks of desperation in looking at Palin. IN fact I can tell you down in my neck of the woods of Louisiana we would welcome a presence in the White House form a OIl and Gas state like Arkansas. We share similar concerns and needs
10 - Steve
In terms of ethics and integrity, Palin's been great so far. But she's been on the city council and mayor of Wasilla (population 5,469 in 2000), an Alaska Oil and Gas Commissioner, and now Governor of Alaska for about 8 months. National experience and expertise? International experience? Let's see whether that refreshing integrity is coupled with the competence to run the state. It might be, but it's a bit early to tell. Good intentions are a great start, but if the GOP are seriously looking at Sarah as a VP candidate, they are really desperate.
11 - Stephen R. Maloney
I suggest people read The Economist article on "Is America Heading to the Left?" and the articles by important conservative activists Patrick Hynes and Patrick Ruffini, as well as the Poll Data cited in all those articles. The Republican situation is beyond desperate, my friends. Democrats win "generic" (are you inclined to vote for a Democrat or Republican) by 52-39 and win the congressional races by about the same margin. The same polls show we are rapidly losing young people, Catholics (!!), and Hispanics. The evangelical vote for Republicans declined in 2006. Independents have been deserting in droves.
The number of people who identify themselves as Republicans/Democrats was 43-43 in 2004. Now, it's 50% Democrats, 35% Republican. Desperate? That word doesn't convey how terrible the situation is. There are TWO (yikes) qualified, credible female Republican candidates, Heather Wilson of NM and Sarah Palin of Alaska.
Sarah is the most appealing and has an approval rating of 84%, with a disapproval rating of 5%. Gee, how did she get such a tremendous rating?
If we throw the same tired old faces at the voters, they will show their revulsion by voting for the Democrats, any Democrats.
The Economist article you can find in summary. The Patrick Hynes article. The Ruffini article.
In terms of foreign policy experience, how much does Hillary Clinton (who was somebody's wife) have? Or Obama? Or Giuliani? Or Romney? Or John Edwards? Or Huckabee? The answer is: close to none. If experience means the kind of lousy record and issue baggage that got us into the current mess, then Sarah pleads innocent to carrying such an odious load. She's a person of great character, honesty, and decency, which would be refreshing for a change, wouldn't it?
Steve Maloney
palin for vp national coordinator
12 - Dave Nalle
If we actually wanted to elect someone qualified for the job of president then Bill Richardson wouldn't be languishing in 5th place among the Democrats.
I don't agree with you on the demise of the GOP, however. The GOP is entering into an important transitional phase in which it will have to shed the unnecessary baggage which is holding it back and decide what the party ACTUALLY stands for. If it makes the right decision and returns to its founding principles, then it will come back stronger than ever. It may mean losing the next two elections, but with Democrats in power the motivation to put the party back on track will be even stronger.
We just have to hope the democrats can't do too much damage too quickly.
Dave
13 - Sanity102
To RL...ILLEGAL as in those who speed or park illegally? (and all those fines Americans pay is "amnesty" right?)
SANE as in tanking a bill that would have identified illegals AND had them help pay to run the BIG government programs needed to control the borders?
about that 11th commandment not to attack other REPUBLICANS...how ironic (and convenient) that "conservatives" refuse to call themselves Republicans unless they want to tell the GOP what to do (THEN they call themselves the BASE) and to justify attacking our war time president and turning their back on the only viable party that wants to fight the WOT...
Let's quit with the word games shall we? It doesn't matter what the "base" meant...the immigration fight has painted the Right as racist and sanctimonious.
We have to DO something. The "accept us" as we are..."take it or leave it"...got an answer from the rest of the voting public in 2006...
We cannot afford the SAME in 2008. We cannot have an appeasing Democrat in the WH in 2008.
PERIOD.
14 - Sanity102
Dave...your idealism of conservative purity will only work if the MAJORITY of American voters are...conservative.
Hate to break it to you...but in our system of government, voters DO vote and put in power people who have opposing view points to Conservatives--and might even (gasp) hold the idea that going back to the principles of men long dead and a period that allowed slavery and female and racial inequality, UNACCEPTABLE.
And as long as we have such a system...your ONLY path to conservative utopia is to CONVERT the MAJORITY to your view point.
As anyone who has been in business will tell you...to sell the BIG stuff, you have to get the "customer" in the door.
Palin--the 21st century version of Donna Reed and June Cleaver--is the GOP "lead item".
She's the "razr cell" that will lock the voter into a 4, hopefully 8 year contract.
Anyone relying on the mistakes of the competitor will go out of business...and deservingly so.
As for "losing" the next 2 elections..let me get this straight...we are in time of war...and allowing an appeasing Democrat to gain the WH and keeping Congress in the hands of cut and run Liberals...is okay with you?
15 - Palin for VP!
As for the comments on immigration here, there is a diverse group of views represented among Palin supporters...I, for instance, differ with Steve and Sanity102 (both of whom I respect) on that issue. Trying to pigeonhole Gov. Palin using the views on on supporter or another is not a good idea, considering that supporters of almost every current presidential candidate are represented among our supporters.
As for Palin "trashing other Republicans": While I respect and generally obey Reagan's "11th Commandment", it is worth noting that the Alaska GOP has been an EMBARASSMENT to the national party for decades. It was a good-old-boy club dominated by a few dynastic political families, and it reeked of corruption. Several former Republican state legislators have recently been indicted for taking money from oil companies in exchange for votes, and the ENTIRE Alaskan congressional delegation (all Republican) has been in hot water in recent months regarding potential connections to various corrupt activities. The Alaska GOP was cancerous, and Palin did the right thing by upending the establishment and reminding people that the GOP is grounded in CONSERVATISM rather than corruption.
16 - Stephen R. Maloney
I want to add that I respect Adam's (palinforvp's) points-of-view on political issues. He's a very thoughtful individual who does a lot of research before he makes up his mind. I'm a fan of Mayor Barlotta of Hazleton, PA, who disagrees with me strongly on immigration (obviously). I also believe there is a way to resolve extremely difficult issues without ticking off very important voting groups. The way you do that is to bring in people of goodwill who disagree with you -- an example would have been Linda Chavez, an extremely important Republican of Hispanic descent. You seek to marginalize the extremists on both sides, since they're never going to agree with you anyway. One key reason I support Sarah so strongly is that she has the capacity to reach out to people, such as Native Alaskans/Americans, that the Party has traditionally had trouble attracting. In the immigration battle, some groups (James mentions FAIR and there are a couple of others) that are very anti-immigrant (and dedicated to a weird form of population control) were leaders in the fight against Bush's proposal. Other groups focused Bush on more legitimate grounds.
steve
17 - Stephen R. Maloney
In my comment above, the last sentence should read "opposed Bush." GWB sometimes lacks focus, but that's not what I meant here
18 - RJ
It will be a tought [sic] race. I see nothing here that smacks of desperation in looking at Palin. IN [sic] fact I can tell you down in my neck of the woods of Louisiana we would welcome a presence in the White House form a OIl [sic] and Gas state like Arkansas. [sic]
No wonder you quit blogging...
19 - Clavos
Was there something wrong with Rove doing that?
Wasn't McCain running against Rove's guy?
And it worked, didn't it?
Rove's a genius.
20 - InteriorPerson
Has anyone actually spoken with an Alaskan Native to verify this report of support? I didn't think so. I'm Native and Sarah does not have my support. Nor does she have the support of many of my Native friends. Sarah Palin has always cloaked herself in her husband's Native heritage and has pledged to "protect native culture until her dying day" yet she will not even take a stand on issues that are deeply important to native people: subsistence, federal recognition of tribes (continually under attack by the state leg), and tribal jurisdiction, just to name a few. This reporter describes Sarah's interest in natives as "almost fanatical." That's news to me and other Alaskan Natives. Why not interview one of us next time? There is certainly a segment of the Native population that supports Sarah; and then there are those Natives that actually read her policy statements/news releaes/press conferences and notice the glaring omissions when Native issues need to be addressed. She produces a great soundbite that some folks seem to love, but there is actually little to no substance behind it.
21 - REMF
Other than the fact that when McCain was serving 5 1/2 years as a POW, Rove was hiding out in college dodging the draft and GW was snorting cocaine and AWOL...no, nothing wrong at all.
(MCH)
22 - Clavos
I doubt that McCain even cares, but it's cute of you to get your panties in a twist about it.
23 - Palin for VP!
InteriorPerson,
I do know that Palin has taken a strong pro-subsistence stand...it's all over her gubernatorial campaign website.
24 - Stephen R. Maloney
As far as InteriorPerson, he is one of the Five Percent of Alaskans who disapprove of Sarah's performance. The people who oppose her are a tiny group of left-wing fanatics, and they are of no consequence in Alaska. No individual in Alaska had done more for the native people than Gov. Palin, and that's one source of the almost universal love for her that pervades the state.
steve
25 - Sanity102
Interior person...I'm from another "native" state: Hawaii and I never did get the idea that people are entitled to something just because of their race. As I've told my relatives, if you're basing this "priority" on the "old days", would you get a hand out from people who are working hard? If you're basing this on American laws...what about EQUALITY of races?...which means AGAIN, you don't get special treatment.
The problem is that people will judge America's past by TODAY'S standard...the Americans didn't STEAL anything...at the time of any take over, conquering other countries was not only legal, but the norm...so was slavery...and gender and race inequality. It doesn't make it "right" but neither was half the things in pre-Christian times...and what is far worst to me is having the sons "pay" for the "sins of the father."
A really "bad sin", to me, with any type of race base entitlement program isn't just that it defeats the entire concept of equality but there is an implication here that non-White people NEED government help to succeed.
As a part Hawaiian, I find that highly offensive. Palin isn't just the governor of "natives"...she's the governor of ALL the people living in Alaska. I am glad she values the "culture" of "natives"...but I bet the majority of those living in your state are awfully glad her "value" doesn't stop there.