Video: McCain declines to endorse Palin for 2012
posted at 1:59 pm on December 14, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Think how easy it would have been to throw her a bone without committing to anything, e.g., “It’s too early to be making endorsements when we don’t know who’s running or what the issues will be, but naturally she’s my preference going into it.” It would have made for an awkward soundbite three years from now if he ended up endorsing someone else, but endorsing someone else will be sufficiently awkward on its own terms that that soundbite would hardly make it worse.
Consider this another brick in the reconstruction of his centrist brand. (More on that in the next post.) Exit question: What exactly does he mean when he answers Steph’s point about endorsing her for VP just six weeks ago by saying, “Well sure, but now we’re in a whole election cycle”? What’s changed in six weeks, besides her usefulness to him? Click the image to watch.
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Curses, coaxed back to sanity…again! Being all unreasonable and coocooforcoconuts is so much more fun though!
The Race Card on December 14, 2008 at 7:31 PM
Thank you. The Reagan 2020 site is awesome! And watching those old debates has been the best shot in the arm. It’s clear that the Reagan Revolution is not over yet. There is unfinished business. We should pick up where he left off. Fixing Social Security and advocating Free Enterprise Zones are still good ideas. Creating a real national energy policy is a good idea too. Everything he was advocating about energy is still useful.
I can already see hints of Carter’s bumbling foreign policy in Obama. He’ll be blindsided by the first betrayal the way Carter was by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Peace through Strength is still the soundest way to approach the world.
ramrocks on December 14, 2008 at 7:38 PM
Sorry to be slow replying, I had to go to town. I agree with your points about the Tapper article. The things you mentioned are why I was so surprised to see it from Tapper (I didn’t make that point very well in my original post.). He’s usually pretty even-handed, in my opinion. He just took the word of the staffers that talked to him and didn’t check any of it out, and covered himself with a weak ‘out’ at the end. I would think at this point that it should be obvious to him that McCain staffers were feeding him a story to help set up their week-after-the-election betrayal. He hasn’t revisited it though.
meltenn on December 14, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Well you have to enjoy while you can. Not entirely unreasonable and certainly not coocooforcoconuts. Hope I didn’t overstep.
Cindy Munford on December 14, 2008 at 7:45 PM
Whoever McCain endorses will not get my vote, either.
Thanks for keeping Sarah in the running!
Valiant on December 14, 2008 at 7:46 PM
I repeat my earlier post here that it is TOO EARLY for anyone to be endorsing anyone else for President in 2012. The notion that John McCain should endorse Sarah Palin in 2008 for the 2012 race is nonsense.
By the way, John McCain voted against the auto bailout. A RINO would have voted for the auto bailout.
Phil Byler on December 14, 2008 at 7:54 PM
jealous bugger.
lizzee on December 14, 2008 at 7:55 PM
Sometimes I wonder if McCain suffers from some weird form of delayed Stockholm Syndrome. He has an irrational identification with his political opponents. It’s just bizarre, really, the way he turns on those in his own Party when he has nothing to gain in doing so.
Bennett on December 14, 2008 at 7:55 PM
I could care less about your spelling, but it would be nice to understand your definition of philosophy. There are about as many definitions for philosophy as there are “Bush doctrines”.
My definition of philosophy is the “pursuit of knowledge”.
I think Governor Palin has got you on this one too.
Shortly after being sworn in as governor, Palin had that theory tested.
Governor Palin believes that marriage is defined as being between one man and one woman. She still believes this.
The high court of Alaska had stated that employees of the state who were in same sex partner relationships were entitled to all of the state benefits, including taxpayer funded insurance.
This turned a conservative state, like Alaska, upside down. People were outraged.
State legislators immediately wrote and passed a bill banning the benefits that the Alaska courts had just given same sex partners.
Common sense would tell you that since Palin is a strong conservative, she would immediately sign the bill and ban the benefits.
Only she did not.
It was that pursuit of knowledge that kept her from doing it. She began consulting with attorneys, even the Attorney General of the state.
As it turns out, banning the benefits to same sex state employees merely based on their sex was unconstitutional.
Instead of following her personal or political beliefs, she vetoed the unconstitutional legislation.
Within her first 30 days as governor, she saw problem, sought the knowledge to make a informed decision, and she made the right decision. She also ticked off more than a few conservatives in doing so.
It is not like her personal or political views had changed, her job description had changed. She went from running for governor to actually being governor.
As governor, she raised her right hand and swore on a bible to uphold and defend the Constitution of the State of Alaska and the Constitution of the United States of America.
When given the choice between appeasing her political base and her sworn duty as governor to uphold the Constitution, she chose the Constitution.
She would have never gotten to that decision if she had not sought out the knowledge necessary to make a intelligent decision.
So yes, Governor Palin put her philosophy ahead of her politics. She has done it a number of times since then also. She did it when pursuing the knowledge she needed to build the new pipeline.
Speaking about philosophy, perhaps you should do your own knowledge gathering on Paul. The man appears to be a racist, no matter his politics. A simple google search might open your eyes just a bit.
kcarpenter on December 14, 2008 at 7:56 PM
Although 2012 is a long way off, McCain could have done a better job with that. He is still the bitter loser that he was after 2000 and we will be better off without him.
I like Sarah and think she has potential, she has done a wonderful job with Alaska as is proven by the way Alaskans love her. To write her off because of liberal talking points about her shows the ignorance of some folks on this site who call themselves conservative.
conservnut on December 14, 2008 at 7:57 PM
But he “suspended his campaign” to solve the crisis during the original bailout stuff, went to DC, did nothing and then voted for it
and he voted against the Bush tax cuts … what kind of “foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution” votes against supply side tax cuts?
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 8:09 PM
What a simpleton dork! Nothing has changed.
ultracon on December 14, 2008 at 8:09 PM
I just keep going back to the idea that the accusations don’t jive with what we already know about her. A “shop-a-holic” personality doesn’t get rid of the jet and the private chef and drive herself to work. Everything the other people — who went on the record — said about her bears this out. She is what she appears to be is what they all say.
And there seems to be a pattern to her detractors: they are people she beat in politics (Stein, Halcro, etc.), or people she outed as crooks (Reudrich, etc.), or people she beat in a one-up-manship of some sort or another (Fagan, Green, the crazy Wasilla librarian, the Voice of the Times, etc.).
You don’t get to call yourself a reformer without leaving behind a long list of people who hate you for overturning their apple carts. That’s the problem with government. People become entrenched and no one has the guts to call them out on it because to do so is to invite vendettas. It’s always easier to go along to get along. Just ask Obama. He never stood up to the corruption in Chicago.
ramrocks on December 14, 2008 at 8:12 PM
Look at all the enemies racked up by Andrew Jackson
and you make a bigger point … reformers make enemies … who would you say in the Chicago political machine is the enemy of Obama?
think about that one
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 8:14 PM
I’m with you. I don’t have any illusions that Palin is perfect, she’s a human being and a politician after all, but I tend to go back to two things: Her resignation at the AGOC and Trig. When the testing times came she stood up to be counted.
meltenn on December 14, 2008 at 8:21 PM
kcarpenter, joey24007, ramrocks
You can spin Palin’s record all you want bottom line she increased spending by 30% in two years and she increased revenue with a tax increase. Period.
And what did it accomplish? Budget deficits next year and likely years to come along with an increase in high school dropout rates, increase in crime, reduction in investment by your oil producers on state land (which will result in even less revenue), etc. etc.
Yeah, she’s on top of this governing thing.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 8:24 PM
did you know as Mayor that she requested 27 million in earmarks?
Its true because it appears in USA Today
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 8:27 PM
At last, I can go back to loathing this idjit in good conscience.
sulla on December 14, 2008 at 8:32 PM
What’s wrong with you? You just can’t accept the fact she governs badly, why is that? What disconnects that you and others go to such extremes to defend crappy policies and politics? This along with a complete vacuum of leadership is the problem with the GOP.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 8:41 PM
your opinion that she governs “badly” is a fact now?
Is this the same world where you believe the 27 million in earmarks cited in the USA Today article?
strange
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 8:48 PM
Hey, things are relative. I’m sorry if you have done so, ut it would be more helpful if, instead of trying to pick Palin apart, you direct us to some leader in political life whose record you do admire and let us examine his/her record for the sort of consistency you want. Anyone out there? Or is this just looking at someone, determining she isn’t perfect (pretty easy to do) and then trashing her?
ddrintn on December 14, 2008 at 8:49 PM
I’m not the one being delusional. She has not governed badly. Quite the opposite. The fact is that her ACES tax plan is a great success. She put a lot of money into savings accounts to plan ahead for a drop in the price of oil. And the producers now have a big incentive to increase production.
She will be releasing her budget next week, and from all accounts it is trimmed down and fiscally responsible.
We’ve answered your notions about increases in spending countless times. I’ve even posted the transcript of the debate where Carter used the exact same argument against Reagan. Government in California “grew” under Governor Reagan in the same way it “grew” in Alaska under Governor Palin.
You’re immune to facts or even logic.
ramrocks on December 14, 2008 at 8:56 PM
Great idea. Let them name their ideal candidate. Let us examine that person’s record.
ramrocks on December 14, 2008 at 8:58 PM
anyway … McCain selects Palin to be a “heartbeat” away from the Presidency but doesn’t feel that she should be the President in the future
I guess Palin was only ready to be President during the campaign … now? not so much
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 8:59 PM
Amen Brother. Here’s my deal. McCain was only ready to be President for me because he got pushed on us. He’s back to the bottom rung of politics for me. I wonder sometimes if he planned it all as punishment to us all for 2000.
Damn!
CLOSE THE PRIMARIES TO PARTY MEMBERS NOW!!!
hawkdriver on December 14, 2008 at 9:05 PM
That’s not their job. Their job is to come here to foment unrest. Beware the “Republicans” who never have one good thing to say about any Republican and actually concentrate very hard at knocking down the front-runner.
Screw em!
hawkdriver on December 14, 2008 at 9:12 PM
You know, I was respectful and pleasant, and all you do is spout your talking points, straight from the Obama camp.
I laid out my points carefully and thoughtfully making sure not to call you names, but still respectful enough of your to address you issues.
Clearly you are very low when it comes to making a thought provoking argument and very slow on the uptake.
You are here to be insulting and that makes you very low and very slow. And you question the Governor’s ability to govern???
kcarpenter on December 14, 2008 at 9:16 PM
So I am the center and they are the wingers?
How much ice time do we get?
are we the scoring line or the crash line?
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 9:19 PM
As someone who detested McCain’s faux conservatism and neverending pandering to Democrats, illegals, moonbats and every other group that would never vote for him I am glad to see that the charade is over. McCain is who he is. He is a courageous, giant of a man that unfortunately never understood conservative values and is more suited to be a Democrat. Like so many others, he has been in Washington for so long that he believes that he is above others and has never really appreciated the concept of representative government. And like so many politicians he simply cannot understand that my money belongs to me – I am not simply holding it for the government. I just hope that we can go back to deriding him for his execrable decisions and his disgusting need to cozy up to people that hate the things that most Republicans hold dear.
Mormon Doc on December 14, 2008 at 9:20 PM
I am? You keep telling us how wonderful this ACES tax is then tell us where all this increase production is? The fact of the matter is production is down and is going to keep going down. Then you continue on with this notion a 30% increase in state spending in two years is completely normal and in the same breath making the statement that next years budget will be cut and be “fiscally responsible”. Why weren’t these cuts “fiscally responsible” last year? Keep spinning.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 9:23 PM
McCain = Jimmy Carter
Big Orange on December 14, 2008 at 9:23 PM
You didn’t make an argument, you made excuses for fiscally irresponsible governing.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 9:32 PM
Are lowandslow and poptech the same poster?
they keep posting
the same stuff over and over and over again
30% increase
Romney’s resume
blah blah blah
how about those 27 million in earmarks?
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Did kcarpenter post about fiscal aspects of Gov. Palin’s administration at all? I must have missed it.
Cindy Munford on December 14, 2008 at 9:38 PM
I’m there already.
hawkdriver on December 14, 2008 at 9:40 PM
We’re did I ever insult you or anyone else?
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 9:44 PM
He only voted against the Bush tax cuts, because he was sulky and sore about losing to Bush. McCain became the Dems’ favorite Republican, because he sided with them in bashing the new President — he was disloyal and petty.
That is why he can’t congratulate Sarah Palin for her hard work or say anything nice about her. He is jealous, proud in all the wrong ways and a traitor. Maybe the country will be better off with Obama as POTUS.
To be honest, the only thing I was worried when I heard it was Palin until I saw her in Dayton. Her name had been in talks for a while, but I knew how the scumbag media would go after her. Actually, questioning her fitness as a mother, calling her dumb, the beauty queen and diva jokes, I saw all that. The Trigg trutherism took my breath away. It is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in politics.
Sarah Palin is of course responsible for her own campaign performance, and this was uneven at best. McCain’s campaign pulled off the worst roll-out in history. On the day she was chosen, she wasn’t conversant enough with many of the biggest national security and economic debates. She did well in the debate against Joe Biden. Amid the financial panic, she just offered populist bromides about “greed and corruption.” That is McCain’s fault, too.
I think she was ready to be VP and could have learned from McCain once he was in office. I rather hoped he’d die halfway through his term. Seeing how his true colors have come out now that Obama won, I don’t feel even a teensy bit guilty about that. McCain is as awful as the Democrats kept saying, except they’re worse than the people who voted for McCain; they pretended to like him to whip up Bush hatred.
chunderroad on December 14, 2008 at 9:51 PM
To joey 24007 at 8:09 PM post: Yes, McCain did suspend his campaign in response to the Bush Adminsitration’s declaration of financial crisis, just as McCain did in response to a hurricane at the start of the GOP Convention. It worked fine with respect to the hurricane, but in retrospect, the financial crisis was not a time to suspend the campaign and support Bush. It was a time to say “no bailouts ever.” In fact, McCain met with the dissident GOP congressmen who opposed the bailout of the financial industry and flirted with the idea of oppposing the bank bail out. In the end, he decided to support Bush. McCain should have said no then to the Bush’s bank bail out.
Yes, McCain did vote against the Bush tax cuts the first time (but always voted for their renewal thereafter); however, a Wall Street Journal study confirmed that McCain’s position that had the Bush tax cuts included the spending restrictions that were originally part of the tax cut package, McCain would have voted for the tax cuts, having done so when the first version of the tax cut bill was voted on when spending restrictions were in the bill, and did not vote for the tax cus because the spending restrictions were eliminated from the final bill. McCain has argued the more Reaganesque position was the one he took — that spending restrictions had to accompany tax cuts; and on that point, McCain was and is correct. Bush has spent too much money, and Bush has led the charge to bail out troubled sectors of the economy, first the financial industry and now the auto industry. McCain has always been a fiscal conservative, unlike Bush.
Phil Byler on December 14, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Done with you. At least until you have an argument to make.
You have yet to prove with any argument that you have any clue what actual governing is.
Should the governor cut education and cut teachers? Would that make her fiscally responsible in your eyes?
How about if she cuts law enforcement? Would that make her fiscally responsible in your eyes?
How about cutting veteran’s benefits? How about cutting homeless shelters? How about cutting road repairs? How about cutting state employee retirement benefits? How about cutting clean water programs? How about cutting the National Guard benefits?
You tell me what the fiscally responsible program cuts you want.
kcarpenter on December 14, 2008 at 9:53 PM
Romney is a loser. He will never have what Palin has, and she will be as experienced as him and even better in 2012.
chunderroad on December 14, 2008 at 9:54 PM
McCain – Blago 2012!
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 9:56 PM
lowandslow cares nothing about any kind of responsibility, just bashing Gov. Palin. Talking points don’t require that you actually look at other people’s posts or go out on a limb and give a rational answer.
Cindy Munford on December 14, 2008 at 9:57 PM
He’s a troll. You guuys did very well with eh and dakine in the first 300 posts, btw.
chunderroad on December 14, 2008 at 9:59 PM
30% increase!
30% increase!
even though the article he cites for this number contains the already debunked $27 million in earmarks lie
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 9:59 PM
No one should get bent out of shape with respect to McCain’s words with respect to Obama. Those words reflect an older generation’s attitude of supporting a newly elected President. Wait until Obama gets in office (despite the fact that Obama is likely ineligible to eb President) and starts screwing up.
Michael Steele about 10 days ago in Politico had published a good article arguing that the scapegoating should stop, that everyone had a hand in a loss in what was a very, very difficult year for Republicans. We instead need to start focusing on what our message is for the future.
Phil Byler on December 14, 2008 at 10:00 PM
that is why the coach puts on the ice when the game is on the line!
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 10:00 PM
indeed … we can start by getting rid of the dead weight in the Republican Party
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Screw you McCain!
try again later on December 14, 2008 at 10:05 PM
The night crew is on. I think I am done but thanks for all the info and the atta boys.
Cindy Munford on December 14, 2008 at 10:13 PM
The video is not working–anyone know where else I can hear him?
I seriously don’t like this guy. I didn’t before, how he wound up as “our” nominee is beyond me. This is so hurtful.
He was hurtful to Mitt at the last debate–I will never forget and Mitt was humble and a gentleman.
McCain has treated Obama better than Mitt or Palin or us.
He is my senator. And I can say, he has NEVER answered me–where Jon Kyle has gone the extra mile.
Yes that was something that he gave up 5 years in the POW camp, but all I can say now is, and I am trying to stay calm,–I do not like him and if anyone can tell me where I can find this video, I would be grateful–I would like to hear it with my own ears.
Thank you.
Conservatives R Us on December 14, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Goodnight, Cindy.
chunderroad on December 14, 2008 at 10:17 PM
That is part of his maverick persona
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 10:24 PM
That says a lot. Mitch McConnell is my Senator, and I can say that no matter how many times I write him, and often it’s just a quick email, he responds in written form via mail.
fossten on December 14, 2008 at 10:26 PM
McCain is pulling for the same candidate for 2012 that he supported in 2008: Obama.
Laura in Maryland on December 14, 2008 at 10:28 PM
what is it like to have Republican senators? I will never know
I have Bob Menendez (doesn’t know the difference between income and capital gains taxes)
and Frank Lautenberg … who doesn’t even live in NJ
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 10:30 PM
Every answer I gave has been rational, Palin has not slowed the growth of government since shes”s been Governor, in fact it’s went up 15% each year. The only reason she got away with it up until now is because of a huge oil price increase and a tax increase. What happens now when the state needs oil at 85 dollars a barrel just to maintain these levels of spending? What happens now that the major producers quit investing in new development because of the tax rates? These are not virtues when it comes to governing.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 10:31 PM
It used to be nice. Lately, it’s hard to tell the difference…
meltenn on December 14, 2008 at 10:32 PM
lowandslow
can I get a number on the earmarks requested by Palin as the mayor of Wasilla? … I have this USA today article that says 27 million … is this correct?
she uses the funds saved by not allowing the st. legislature to go on the spending spree over the summer?
In what world do you live in that you see the energy companies leaving Alaska?
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 10:38 PM
God help me, I have Barbara Mikulski. I don’t agree with a thing she stands for, but she does listen and she stepped in to help a dying veteran in the family who was getting oodscrayed by the VA (and he was from another state).
If MAVERICK won’t answer you, he’s not worth a dang.
Laura in Maryland on December 14, 2008 at 11:08 PM
How long will that last with the current oil prices and declining production, two years tops? Then what?
When did I say they were leaving? Production is declining about 7% a year in Alaska and development is slowing dramatically on federal land and offshore due to costs and oil prices. Development on state land has all but stopped thanks to Alaska’s ACES legislation.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 11:11 PM
Palin increased spending, mostly in social services, in her first two years while oil was high. She raised taxes on the oil companies — and they understood that is her job in a state where 90% of the oil belongs to the state by law. She cut spending last year by half, because oil prices were due to drop. There is no law that conservatives cannot spend money or raise taxes. Palin has run Alaska’s government as a Reagan conservative, adhering to supply side economics and loking after her constituents in a state where there is a large rural, as well as indigenous, population.
chunderroad on December 14, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Really? Yeah, sure she did. Wher did you get that piece of information?
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 11:30 PM
I heard at 31 flavors last night that she requested 27 million in earmarks as mayor of Wasilla
and that she even tried to ban books!
joey24007 on December 14, 2008 at 11:39 PM
Only one here bringing up irrelevant horseshit is you. Why don’t you try making an argument or at least answer my questions? Show everyone here your superior mind.
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 11:45 PM
You still didn’t answer my question. Don’t like the way Palin governs? Give us some other shining example. Seriously.
ddrintn on December 14, 2008 at 11:52 PM
lowandslow on December 14, 2008 at 11:30 PM
http://www.adn.com/legislature/story/415749.html
It seems yu are getting your stats from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/sarah-palins-increased-op_b_123400.html
which incongruously asserts first “It is difficult to sort out the total spending in budgets, as there are state outlays, federal matching funds, revenues from special funds, and capital outlays. The following are figures from the state general fund portion (The part paid for by state taxpayers) of the operating budget. Then it goes on and admits, “When you include not only the state general fund contributions to the operating budget, but also federal matching funds, the capital budget and other sources of funding…”
So, the article measured Alaska’s budget by two different standards — one for the beginning of Palin’s term, and then another for the projected 2009 budget.
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 12:04 AM
lowandslow must have gotten his numbers from this article as well
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-10-23-palinspending_N.htm
the article states the debunked lie that Palin requested 27 million in earmarks as mayor of Wasilla
Oh dear, it seems like lowandslow simply repeats left talking points
tsk tsk
joey24007 on December 15, 2008 at 12:10 AM
You want a model of how conservatives should govern, look at someone like Matt Blunt.
lowandslow on December 15, 2008 at 12:14 AM
The ADN article’s comments were hilarious. There were people who live in Alaska and don’t know the difference between a “sports” fish hatchery and others. Any hatcheries relating to endangered species fall under federal protection and cannot be cut. There are hatcheries for lakes where the stock is kept up by releasing fish from hatcheries. I can’t believe this was news to some.
http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlife_news.view_article&articles_id=80
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 12:20 AM
You claimed she cut spending by half yet the first line of your source.
And these are capital budget items mind you, earmarks in other words. Ten percent.
lowandslow on December 15, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Still got nothing?
lowandslow on December 15, 2008 at 12:24 AM
Hmm. Does the “Missouri Health Improvement Act of 2007″ fit your vision of “conservatism”? How so?
ddrintn on December 15, 2008 at 12:40 AM
^ And any idea how much government in Missouri “grew” under Gov. Blunt?
ddrintn on December 15, 2008 at 12:43 AM
Sorry. Sarah Palin cut Alaska’s federal earmark requests in half last year.
10% of Alaska’s budget still saves the state’s residents $268 million.
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 12:49 AM
Why do I suspect the Missouri-As-Model-of-Fiscal Conservatism argument is coming from Pawlenty fans who can’t defend his tax hikes, bridge collapse and embarrassing Al Franken fiasco? Is Matt Blunt the best they have in that state where wrestlers can be Governor?
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 12:55 AM
So in other words, if had nine earmarks totaling 1,000,000 in expenditures and one earmark of 1 billion dollars and I cut the nine worth a million I cut earmarks by 90%? Is that how this works?
lowandslow on December 15, 2008 at 1:06 AM
Kim Jong Il: It will be 911 times 2356.
Chris: My God, that’s… I don’t even know what that is!
Kim Jong Il: Nobody does!
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 1:11 AM
About 15% in the last two years. But you failed to note in increased revenue to correct a budget deficit without raising taxes. I should also note Missouri expenditures equates to about $8,000 per resident where Alaska’s is what, $16,000 per resident?
lowandslow on December 15, 2008 at 1:22 AM
Not even by the wildest stretches of imagination. The grossly inaccurate HuffPo article said close to 12K. It is probably closer to $10000.
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 1:46 AM
Fact: After a 30-second conversation with Todd Palin, Chuck Norris endorsed Sarah for 2012.
Mr. Wednesday Night on December 15, 2008 at 2:14 AM
OK, we need 500 comments here.
Fred.
Creationism.
Intelligent Design.
The Dallas Cowboys Suck.
Sarah Palin is the Final Cylon.
That ought to do it.
fiatboomer on December 15, 2008 at 2:32 AM
#1 Sarah’s VP.
#2 Proven true by the existence of Sarah.
#3 See #2.
#4 Big Time.
#5 Ummm, I’ll pass on that one. AofSHQ commenters probably know for sure.
Mr. Wednesday Night on December 15, 2008 at 3:12 AM
Mormon Doc on December 14, 2008 at 9:20 PM
+1
The POTUS campaign devolved into our worst nightmare with McCain taking the helm. Whatever his strengths, he was the GOP candidate who never should have been because of his weaknesses. His concept of rolling over gracefully is to lie with the dogs who won. McCain has had his turn to serve. It is time for Arizona to replace him with the former Representative of the state with strong conservatism, JD Hayworth. Far better sooner than later. The only reason McCain ever ran for the GOP AZ Senate seat is because that was the ONLY way he could get elected at that time following Goldwater. For all of his supposed “good intentions” people should recognize the woes that McCain begets undermining all things conservative.
Go home, Johnny. Retire.
maverick muse on December 15, 2008 at 7:11 AM
Okay Sarah, can you officially quit the “Team of Mavericks” now?
Palin was very grateful & kind to McCain after the election. She has been a class act. She was wanting to give a speech honoring McCain the night they lost the election, but McCain wouldn’t give it to her. McCain & Company trashes her after the election. McCain won’t defend her after all election. Do you need any more proof that McCain was a phony?
John McCain:
CountryMcCain Firstportlandon on December 15, 2008 at 7:25 AM
It’s simple math and I was being generous to Alaska. 12 billion dollar budget and 700,000 people, figure it out.
lowandslow on December 15, 2008 at 7:28 AM
McCain never gives up . . . he just goes on and on and one proving his absolute irrelevence and stupidity. He needs to stay out of the news and just go back to pandering to the left.
rplat on December 15, 2008 at 7:38 AM
The serious problem with this thread and allahpundit’s beginning discussion is that it is the very kind of blood-letting that is the last thing the GOP needs.
When I referred before to Michael Steele’s article in Politico that the scapegoating should stop, that everyone had a hand in a loss in what was a very, very difficult year for Republicans and that we instead need to start focusing on what our message is for the future, the response was “yeah, let’s get rid of the dead weight.” That’s scapegoating; that’s not developing a message.
We are facing Obama socialism and Obama appeasement in the years ahead while we are in a political wilderness. We need to use this time productively. Scapegoating is not productive. Instead, pull out, for example, your old copies of Milton Friedman’s “Capitalism and Freedonm” and Friedrich von Hayek’s “Road To Serfdom,” read or re-read Amy Shales’s “The Forgotten Man” and think about where our economy is headed and then what we should be preaching to the American people. Read, for another example, John Bolton’s “No Surrender,” George Schultz’s “Turmoil and Triumph” and Henry Kissinger’s writings and think about where our foreign policy is headed and what foreign policy positions we need to be preaching in the very dangerous years ahead. That is what you do, not carp about what is nothing more than old fashioned graciousness and refusal to engage prematurely in 2012 electoral politics.
Phil Byler on December 15, 2008 at 7:52 AM
I was going by the article I cited that said, like you, her inherited outlay was 27% less than FY 2009.
“When you include not only the state general fund contributions to the operating budget, but also federal matching funds, the capital budget and other sources of funding, Governor Palin’s fy 2009 request was $8.496 billion. This works about to about $12,680 per person, or more than $50 thousand for a family of four.”
This is HuffPo, and the numbers were admittedly inflated to make their case. However, spending slowed significantly, and Alaska’s 2010 budget is due out soon.
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre4aj0po-us-oil-alaska/
Palin has until December 15 to present operating and capital budgets for fiscal 2010. She was not specific about any planned cuts but said it will be hard to add workers to agencies. “We don’t want to grow that workforce if we can’t afford to do so,” she said.
The operating budget will likely not be smaller than the current year’s budget, but the rate of growth is expected to slow, she said.
According to state officials, the current fiscal year’s budget assumes an average annual North Slope crude price of about $83 a barrel.
Despite the recent drop in the price of crude and a worldwide financial meltdown, the governor said she remains optimistic about long-term investment in the proposed North Slope natural gas pipeline, a mega-project that has been sought since the 1970s, and other oil-field projects.
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 8:00 AM
What a hero. First he selects Governor Palin, and she saves his backside, then he allows his staff to anonymously lambaste her in the media after HE loses the election and now this- Join the Democrat Party, Senaotr McCain- it is where you belong.
trainwife1962 on December 15, 2008 at 8:01 AM
If there is any way too replace a moderate with a conservative in your district, that would be “getting rid of dead weight.” A strong message should be sent that Chris Buckley, Kathleen Parker, Colin Powell and Peggy Noonan are not “conservatives.” They seem to think they are relevant.
I’m glad Buckley stepped down from the NRO. We have great voices in Krauthammer, VDH, Goldberg, Steyn, Malkin, Bruce, Ingraham and even Rush, for all the flack he takes. It’s a matter of priorities.
Your idea of going back to the basics is good. I would als add to pick up a copy of Barry Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative and go back to the fundamentals: Aquinas, Aristotle, Plato, Burke, de Maistre, Chesterton, Belloc, Lewis, etc. The next two years are a great time to train for the rematch.
chunderroad on December 15, 2008 at 8:17 AM
Obviously, McCain missed the memo that he has no relevance whatsoever. Being interviewed by journalists no one trusts on programs no one watches is a fitting punishment that Mac misconstrues as a virtuous attempt at reaching out.
EMD on December 15, 2008 at 8:17 AM
Call it whatever you like . . . scapegoating, purge, cleansing, rebirth or whatever. The simple fact is that no real progress in the conservative movement can be made until distracters and opponents like McCain extract themselves for the Republican Party. Identifying and eliminating the causes for defeat are necessary first steps to victory.
rplat on December 15, 2008 at 8:19 AM
John McCain is becoming as annoying as the following list of half-wits.
1. Peggy Noonan
2. Colon Powelosi
3. Andrew Sullivan
4. Harry Reid
5. Huckabee
6. Nancy Pelosi
7. Al Gore, Al Franken, Al Queda
8. Kathlene Parker
9. Obama
10. Michelle Obama
11. Any Obama
12. Any Odinga
13. OJ
By the way, I would crawl over broken glass for Governor Sarah Palin. God, please take good care of her. She alone cancels out 1 thru 13, and then some.
Geochelone on December 15, 2008 at 8:22 AM
It is obvious, they still fear HER. We all know who she is and what she is about. That is why they fear her.
Geochelone on December 15, 2008 at 8:28 AM
Character changes over time. As you get senile it goes completely away.
tarpon on December 15, 2008 at 8:28 AM
I was originally upset when McCain announced her as his V.P. running mate because I thought Mitt Romney was a much better pick for a number of reasons. After hearing her speak on the day she was picked, I started to give him the benefit of the doubt. And then she delivered at the convention. But it was always difficult to defend his pick of Palin after it was revealed that he never really spent any time with her and she did so poorly in her two interviews. (Romney would have passed each interview test with flying colors.) When people made the argument that she revealed McCain’s “off the cuft” sytle of decision making, it was tough to defend against that claim. Now that he will no longer support her, it only reinforces the claim that he did not pick the best person.
RedSoxNation on December 15, 2008 at 8:33 AM
By failing to endorse Palin, McCain confirms that he did not pick the best person for his Vice Presidential nominee.
RedSoxNation on December 15, 2008 at 8:34 AM
I’m starting to think that McCain losing was really a blessing in disguise for Republicans. If he won, he would have hedged so far to the left on key issues that would take years to overcome. And it would be difficult for Republicans and conservatives (who supported McCain) to effectively criticize him. Indeed, McCain would leverage his anti-conservative agenda to gain the support of the media and the Democrats. And when it all blew up, the Democrats would regain the White House for the next 20 years. Now, Obama will have to deal with the economic meltdown, which will be impossible to blame completely on Republicans and Bush after four years.
McCain is a great American whom I have the greatest respect for, but he would have been a poor Republican President for conservatives.
RedSoxNation on December 15, 2008 at 8:40 AM
John McCain is a jerk. He doesn’t possess even the minimum of class that Sarah Palin has in her little finger. Close the primaries.
missouriyankee on December 15, 2008 at 8:43 AM
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