Sarah Palin: 14, Democrat Smear Campaigners: 0

Sounds like a football score, doesn’t it? Well, Gov. Sarah Palin (R) of Alaska has shut out the Democrats who began fabricating bogus charges against her almost immediately after she was announced as John McCain’s running mate in last year’s Presidential election. If you need any more evidence of how ineffective the Dems are, you need look no further than their bumbling efforts at trying to smear her.

From Amanda Carpenter of the Washington Times:

Mrs. Palin, who became a target of such complaints after being named Sen. John McCain’s running mate, is 14-for-14 in fighting off the complaints. She’s been cleared of 13 charges by the independent State Personnel Board and of another complaint by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). After the latest complaint in Alaska was dismissed last week, Mrs. Palin’s team said that having to fend off the pile of accusations was wasting state money. “This complaint cost the governor personally, and the state of Alaska, thousands of dollars to address,” said Thomas Van Flein, the governor’s attorney. “It is regrettable that the ethics process has been diverted for partisan purposes by some, but it is also commendable that the board remains focused on the law.”

But the Democrats felt so threatened by Gov. Palin that they continued the complaints long after the polls closed:

Even after the election was over, the stream of complaints continued. Alaska residents challenged Mrs. Palin’s trips out of state to attend a campaign event for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Republican, and to speak at a pro-life breakfast in Indiana, as well as for conducting television interviews in her state office. The latest complaint to be decided was filed by Anchorage resident Linda Kellen Biegel, who took issue with Mrs. Palin for wearing to a public function a jacket made by a company that sponsored the governor’s husband, Todd, a snow machine racer. Ms. Biegel asked the personnel board to determine whether Mrs. Palin was abusing her position to serve her personal and financial interests. Mrs. Palin called the complaint “asinine political grandstanding,” and the board’s independent investigator said there was no evidence of wrongdoing.

That says alot about Gov. Palin’s strength of character. Not only in her being able to show all 14 complaints as being patently false, but also for the fact that the Dems feel so vulnerable to her politically that they need to attack her like this.

She most certainly is a threat to the leftist hate-mongers in America, but throwing false charges and bogus accusations in her direction was probably the dumbest thing the Dems could have done.

You can access the complete story on-line here:

Palin Fends Off Ethics Charges
Amanda Carpenter
Washington Times
June 8, 2009

John Fund: Obama Was Mute On Illinois Corruption; Who Is The “Specifically Named Individual?”

I am not sure if Patrick Fitzgerald meant for it to happen, but as more people research the criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich, more tidbits of information come out, many of which were unexpected and quite possibly deeply embarrassing to those who would like to appear as if they weren’t involved in anything.

John Fund doesn’t directly say this, but his column in the Wall Street Journal sets up the scenario for just such a story. From his column:

This week Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on charges that he conspired to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, among other misdeeds. At first the president-elect tried to distance himself from the issue: “It is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment.” But it quickly became clear that Mr. Obama would have to say more, and yesterday he called for Mr. Blagojevich to resign and for a special election to fill the vacant Senate seat. What remains to be seen is whether this episode will put an end to what Chicago Tribune political columnist John Kass calls the national media’s “almost willful” fantasy that Mr. Obama and Chicago’s political culture have little to do with each other. Mr. Kass notes that the media devoted a lot more time and energy to investigating the inner workings of Sarah Palin’s Wasilla, Alaska, than it has looking at Mr. Obama’s Chicago connections.

We all knew that the leftist-leaning media was in the tank for Obama. What the media didn’t know was how badly it would all explode on them if something like the Blagojevich scandal came up. Now, the media looks at least as silly as Blagojevich does since they can no longer claim to be the “watchdogs of government.” If I had watchdogs who were so incompetent as to miss this, I’d have them put down and get new watchdogs. If the media had done their job during the 2008 campaign, we’d have known about the corruption in Illinois long before any of this happened.

More:

Mr. Obama has an ambiguous reputation among those trying to clean up Illinois politics. “We have a sick political culture, and that’s the environment Barack Obama came from,” Jay Stewart, executive director of the Chicago Better Government Association, told ABC News months ago. Though Mr. Obama did support ethics reforms as a state senator, Mr. Stewart noted that he’s “been noticeably silent on the issue of corruption here in his home state including, at this point, mostly Democratic politicians.”

Yes, it is that Democratic Culture of Corruption that the Democrats refuse to clean up. The hypocrisy of the Dem party is staggering.

But this also sets up a new story that comes from the criminal complaint filed by the FBI against Rod Blagojevich. Section 101 of the complaint states:

b. ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked what he can get from the President-elect for the Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that Governor General Counsel believes the President-elect can get ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife on paid corporate boards in exchange for naming the President-elect’s pick to the Senate. Governor General Counsel asked, “can [the President-elect] help in the private sector. . . where it wouldn’t be tied to him? . . . I mean, so it wouldn’t necessarily look like one for the other.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife suggested during the call that she is qualified to sit on corporate boards and has a background in real estate and appraisals. ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked whether there is something that could be done with his wife’s “series 7″ license in terms of working out a deal for the Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he is “struggling” financially and does “not want to be Governor for the next two years.” c. ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherf*cker [the President-elect] his senator. F*ck him. For nothing? F*ck him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put “[Senate Candidate 4]” in the Senate “before I just give f*cking [Senate Candidate 1] a f*cking Senate seat and I don’t get anything.” (Senate Candidate 4 is a Deputy Governor of the State of Illinois). ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he needs to find a way to take the “financial stress” off of his family and that his wife is as qualified or more qualified than another specifically named individual to sit on corporate boards. According to ROD BLAGOJEVICH, “the immediate challenge [is] how do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family.” Later in the phone call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that absent getting something back, ROD BLAGOJEVICH will not pick Senate Candidate 1. HARRIS re-stated ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s thoughts that they should ask the President-elect for something for ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s financial security as well as maintain his political viability. HARRIS said they could work out a three-way deal with SEIU and the President-elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s appointment of Senate Candidate 1 to the vacant Senate seat, ROD BLAGOJEVICH would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign, and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future.

Well, who are these people?

Senate Candidate #1 is Valerie Jarrett, an Obama advisor who also served as Daley’s Chief of Staff. Jarrett is very close to the Obamas.

Senate Candidate #4 is either Dean Martinez, Bob Greenlee or Louanner Peters, all of whom are Deputy Governors of Illinois.

Who is the “specifically named individual?” That answer comes from Truthteller at No Quarter Blog.

It is Michelle Obama, the soon-to-be First Lady of the United States of America.

No Quarter notes that Michelle “was appointed to to the Board of TreeHouse Foods, a WAL-MART vendor, on June 25, 2005, even though she did not have experience in the private sector previous to the appointment.” A link to that news story is here:

Michelle Obama’s Ties To Wal-Mart Cut
Lynn Sweet
Chicago Sun-Times
May 23, 2007

Those ties were cut in 1987 due to Wal-Mart’s ongoing conflict with organized labor and the Obama campaign didn’t want the conflict of interest. But even so, Michelle got quite a bit of cash out of the deal. According to the above article, compensation was “$51,200 from TreeHouse in 2006. She leaves the board with an option to buy 2,266 TreeHouse shares at a strike price of $29.65. Shares closed at $28.10 Tuesday.”

So, why is this relevent? No Quarter quotes Section 87 of the criminal complaint:

87. By law, after the President-elect’s resignation of his position as a U.S. Senator, which was effective on November 16, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has sole authority to appoint his replacement for the two years remaining of the President-elect’s Senate term. See 10 ILCS 5/25-8. During the course of this investigation, agents have intercepted a series of communications regarding the efforts of ROD BLAGOJEVICH, JOHN HARRIS, and others to misuse this power to obtain personal gain, including financial gain, for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his family. In particular, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has been intercepted conspiring to trade the senate seat for particular positions that the President-elect has the power to appoint (e.g. the Secretary of Health and Human Services). ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for his wife’s placement on paid corporate boards or ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s placement at a private foundation in a significant position with a substantial salary. ROD BLAGOJEVICH has also been intercepted conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for millions of dollars in funding for a non-profit organization that he would start and that would employ him at a substantial salary after he left the governorship.

No Quarter goes on to say:

Blagojevich, in other words, assumed Obama would appoint his wife to a Board for the political favor of selecting Valerie Jarrett for the Senate seat. Blagojevich is not a stupid man. Indeed, he only assumed Obama would participate in this “pay to play” scheme, for he knows Obama is acutely aware how the game is played in Illinois and in Chicago. This explains why Blagojevich mentions Michelle Obama and her lack of qualifications to serve on the Board of TreeHouse Foods when he discusses how Obama could appoint Mrs. Blagojevich to a Board for the political favor of appointing Jarrett to the US Senate seat. Michelle, after all, was appointed to sit on the Board of TreeHouse foods AFTER Obama was elected to the US Senate. Moreover, Michelle Obama’s salary at The University of Chicago nearly TRIPLED after her husband gained the power to submit earmark requests on her employer’s behalf. Just appoint the spouse to a Board and increase his or her salary if you need a political favor from an Illinois politician. That is how the “play to pay” game is played.

Now, this in no way says that Michelle Obama is involved in the Blagojevich scandal. But it does show how scandals like this can bring certain facts and information to light that the people involved do not necessarily want brought out. Michelle Obama’s high-paid employment at jobs for which she had no experience is a prime example of such information.

I am sure that Barack Obama would have preferred that this remain covered and hence his desire to remain “mute,” because now it puts his wife and her business affairs into a spotlight that cannot be turned off. If something comes up from Michelle’s past to haunt them, it is not something that either one of them can claim they had no knowledge of.

You can access the two articles on-line here:

John Fund: Obama Was Mute On Illinois Corruption
John Fund
The Wall Street Journal
December 11, 2008

Michelle Obama Is The “Specifically Named Individual” On Page 64 Of The Affidavit Submitted By FBI
No Quarter Blog
December 9, 2008

It’s Official: Troopergate Is Now A Partisan Witch-Hunt Being Conducted By The Democrats

The Dems must be getting really, really desperate. They see their numbers falling faster than the water going over Niagra Falls, and they are now doing anything and everything to Swiftboat Sarah Palin, even if the rest of the world sees what they are doing while they are doing it.

In a previous post, I introduced you to the investigators of Troopergate. It is already shady enough that Democrats French Hollis and Kim Elton are using their positions of power to influence the investigation. But more information is coming to light, and it is not good news for the Dems who really need this to be a big scandal in order to revive Barack Obama’s sagging campaign. Now, we have evidence that Hollis, Elton and compnay may be witness tampering.

From Amanda Carpenter over at TownHall:

A Friday hearing revealed that an Obama partisan has manipulated an independent investigator’s subpoena list for a controversial inquiry against GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The investigation is intended to determine whether Palin abused her office by firing Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Palin says she fired him over budget issues. Her foes believe the firing was due to Monegan’s unwillingness to fire Palin’s former brother-in-law State Trooper Mike Wooten, a man who has admitted to “tasering” his stepson, illegally shooting a moose and has been accused of threatening his former father-in-law with violence and drinking in his police car. Investigator Steven Branchflower admitted he had ceded control of his subpoena list to Sen. Hollis French (D.) during Alaska’s Joint Judiciary Committee September 12 hearing that was scheduled to approve subpoena requests. [CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO.] French is a partisan who has endorsed Palin’s Democratic presidential ticket rival Barack Obama for president and is actively supporting his candidacy. Lawmakers approved 13 of Branchflower’s subpoena requests that day, which included one for Palin’s husband, Todd. Four other subpoenas were approved for aides Branchflower believes participated in a meeting called by Palin’s former chief of staff Mike Tibbles where Wooten’s firing was allegedly discussed. Rep. David Guttenberg (D.) asked Branchflower why he was requesting subpoenas for only those people attending the meeting and not Tibbles himself. Branchflower said he would “have to defer that question to Mr. French.” “I put the list together with, talking to Mr. French,” Branchflower added. Sen. Gene Therriault (R.) told Branchflower, “I don’t understand why you would have to defer that question to Sen. French. If it’s your list you’re in complete control of the list, then why can’t you answer the question?” Branchflower had no explanation. He only offered, “I’m not sure why his name was removed. My initial request was to have him on the list.” At that point, French interjected. “It appeared to me there wasn’t the political will to subpoena Tibbles.” “Something’s fishy here,” Therriault replied. “I mean either Mr. Branchflower conducts his investigation without direction, and now we know he’s been directed on the date and changing what he’s doing and how he’s doing it because of the time pressure he is feeling. And now we’re hearing that people that he’s trying to get information from, there’s direction going on on that, too.” Indeed. Although the investigation is far from concluding, French has suggested it may culminate in an “October surprise,” perhaps even Palin’s impeachment as Governor– a game-changing outcome that would certainly increase the Democrats chances of winning the White House in November. The final report, which French has already described as “damaging,” is set to be released on October 31, four days shy of the presidential election.

Clearly, Hollis French is an Obama operative who is directing this investigation (check the picture) so as to cause as much damage as possible to the McCain-Palin ticket and it is very likely that the Obama campaign knows about it since they sent 30 lawyers and other operatives up to Alaska to try and dig up any dirt they could on Governor Palin.

The actions of Hollis and Elton give this investigation all the markings of a witch-hunt and it is being conducted by the Democrats.

More:

According to campaign finance data available on opensecrets.com Elton has donated at least $2,000 to Obama’s campaign. Three other Democrats on the Elton’s 14-member council are also supporting Obama for president, as identified on Obama’s presidential website. Further fueling the GOP’s fire is the fact that former Commissioner Monegan and state trooper Wooten are surprisingly mild-mannered about this “scandal” that’s blown into a national news story after Palin’s vice presidential appointment. Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News on August 30 that he was never pressured to dismiss Palin’s former brother-in-law. “For the record,” he said, “no one has ever said fire Wooten. Not the governor. Not Todd. Not any of the other staff.” Wooten, for his part, has reportedly turned down at least $30,000 from tabloids hungry for his side of the story. … CNN reported that Obama campaign officials had been contacting Wooten’s union …

Something is definitely fishy up in Alaska. And it seems to be centering on two Obama operatives: Hollis and Elton.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Obama Partisan Tampers With Palin Subpoena List
Amanda Carpenter
TownHall.com
September 13, 2008

Troopergate: Meet The Investigators. Also: Pigs And Lipstick

By now, those thirty lawyers and other political hacks who have descended on Juneau and Wasilla, Alaska are beginning to regret ever having taken on the job of trying to dig up dirt on Governor Sarah Palin. As a result of their research, certain partisan details of TrooperGate are coming to light and it does not bode well for the Democrats or Barack Obama.

Notice the above picture. The balding man standing fifth from the left is the lead TrooperGate investigator, Democrat State Senator Hollis French. Clearly, since this man is a supporter of Brack Obama, his objectivity in the matter must be brought under question. Further, the motives behind his announcement that he would have a conclusion in late October (i.e. “October surprise” time) must also be brought under scrutiny.

Now, a request was made that he be taken off of the investigation since his objectivity seems to be severely compromised. Alaska State Representative John Coghill made this request. The request was turned down by Democrat State Senator Kim Elton who said that he was sure partisan politics can be kept out of the probe. If you want to know who Kim Elton is, he is the man standing at the far left of the picture.

Given the venue in which this picture was taken, anyone care to make bets as to what their final report is going to say?

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I think that when historians look back at the 2008 election, they will wonder about the reason why the losing candidate lost. In Barack Obama’s case, that will be easy to explain.

Ultimately, will have been Obama’s response to the Palin effect. It got the Democrats so unhinged that they began making up these ridiculously crazy stories about her and spreading them around the Internet. Now, Barack Obama, to his credit, came out and said that a candidate’s family is off-limits, but his surrogates in the media didn’t get that memo. Every time a new smear was released against Sarah Palin, the McCain/Palin ticket picked up more voters. Barack Obama’s big mistake here was his failure to condemn such smears. Had he done so, he might have kept a few more voters on his side, but his silence on the matter made it look like he was giving his tacit approval.

Now, a week later, after Sarah Palin made her famous remark: “They say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit-bull? Lipstick.” Barack Obama made a gaffe that magnified his failure to condemn the news outlets that were attacking the GOP Vice Presidential nominee. He said: “If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.”

He may not have meant it as a shot at Sarah Palin, but the crowd he was addressing sure thought so. And so did millions of women who, when they heard what Obama said, became very angry and began marching into the McCain camp in even larger numbers.

If Barack Obama loses this campaign (and as things stand right now, that is the most likely possibility), I believe that these two acts, one of omission and one of commission, will be regarded as the two main reasons why he lost.