Scanning Sarah Palin’s tenure as Mayor of the town of Wasilla yields another firing reminiscent of the Walter Monegan affair now under investigation in Alaska’s legislature.
Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin fired the city's police
chief and the library director without warning
Thursday, accusing them of not fully supporting
her efforts to govern. Irl Stambaugh and Mary
Ellen Emmons said letters signed by Palin were
dropped on their desks Thursday afternoon telling
them their jobs were over as of Feb. 13 and that
they no longer needed to report to work. Emmons
has been the city's library director for seven years.
Stambaugh has headed the police…
Apparently, Palin took badly to the pair backing another candidate in a mayoral election and thought nothing of dismissing them for their lack of support.
UPDATE— I'm reading this over... and I can't believe I'm looking for news from small town government to vet a Vice-Presidential candidate's political record!
The criticism of McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as running mate is spreading among critics and others. Many are tracking a scandal involving Palin’s sister-in-law and the Governor’s possible undue influence and dissembling about an attempt to fire her ex-husband from a position as an Alaska State Trooper. This story appears to have legs, since a formal investigation is under way in the state and will likely result in a report during the fall campaign.
Palin’s support for Pat Buchanan’s presidential bids is also raising lots of eyebrows in the press corps. Apparently, she was a “brigader” for Buchanan in 1996 and supported him again in 2000. Her extreme views on development and drilling in Alaska’s preserve areas and on prohibiting abortion even in cases of rape and incest separate Palin from the mainstream.
The kind of attributes which make Palin’s story appealing, her maverick streak within the Republican Party in Alaska and her whistleblower history on corruption seem to pale in comparison with her lack of preparedness to play on the national and international stage. Polling done overnight by USA Today shows 33% of those surveyed find Palin “unprepared” to be Vice President, compared to only 39% who think she’s prepared.
This pick seems desperate in a way that makes insiders feel McCain has little confidence in moving undecided voters in swing states his way without a bold move. This one, while bold, looks like it may backfire badly.
She made an appealing personal debut, but not one that would allay concerns about her level of experience…in the least. There's a naive sound to her presentation that’s going to make late-night comedians very happy. Pronouncing “nuke-u-lar” and “eye-rak” like, well, George Bush, won’t help tamp down the comedy, either.
We'll see how this plays out, but she's not making an impression of great depth at first glance. In fact, it's the second time this week I've been reminded of the film, "Dave," in which a local employment counsellor is spirited off to the White House to replace the President...
Wow, this is pretty weak, for a guy whose judgment is supposed to be his strong point. Yes, she will bring in the Christian Coalition to rally the Right’s troops, but what about all the independents who were supposed to be worried about Obama’s relative inexperience? OMG— McCain’s as old as Rip Van Winkle and he’s running with a woman whose Federal experience is ZERO, whose been Governor for less than two years and whose main experience is as mayor of a small town?
The Mile High Stadium evening that concluded the DNC seemed to have everything a festival should have: music, guest speakers on the environment, and a crowd the size of a football game. What it needed to have to cap it off was a great speech from a candidate who would tell the country what he’d do to make change.
The first 15 minutes of Obama’s speech were a bit worrisome, starting with way too many “thank yous,” launching into what seemed a standard stump speech. He rehashed familiar problems in the country and anecdotes about his life. During that time, I wondered whether he’d be explaining what he’d do to actually make change.
Then Obama shifted— and the speech took off, with the candidate reeling off what we should expect from his campaign and his Administration:
—A tax code that favors American workers and small businesses that create jobs
—Job creation by elimination of capital gains taxes for small businesses and startups
—Tax cuts for the 95% of all workers, not the rich
—In 10 years, ending dependence on oil from Middle East
—Investing 150 billion in renewable sources of energy.
—Education: recruiting an army of new teachers, with standards and accountability.
—Making college education affordable for everyone.
—Universal Health care: Congressional plan available to all who aren’t covered.
—Change Bankruptcy Law to protect poor
—Equal Pay for Equal Work
—Closing Tax Loopholes
—Closing down government Programs that don’t work.
—Government must lead in energy efficiency, other moral leadership.
—Parents must take responsibility- with individual and mutual responsibility.
—Calling for a real Debate over Commander-in-Chief readiness.
—Reminding us that Obama opposed the Iraq War, called for more troops to find Osama bid Laden, while McCain called for a war in Iraq only days after 9-11
— Called for a plan for withdrawal over time in accordance with Iraqi government wishes
—Referred to the party of Roosevelt and Kennedy and Democrats' willingness to defend this country.
—Taking better care of veterans coming home, build up the military, rebuild partnerships abroad and make America again a beacon of hope.
—Obama’s challenge to fight for his plan without challenging his opponent’s patriotism or honesty…”we all put our country first.”
—Keeping handguns out of the hands of criminals.
—Ending discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans.
—Keeping the debate over immigration from becoming jingoistic.
—Promised not to make “a big election about small things,” but to make an election about real change.
With all these notes hit, Obama’s call to march into the future, not to turn back on education, rebuilding our cities, our economy, and our place in the world, with these specifics as a backdrop, was what he needed to do. The changes he proposes would be historic if enacted.
It was a very effective presentation of his platform— and a very good speech as well.
Here’s a link to a short video by Faith Winter. Winter is the youngest woman to be elected to public office in the state of Colorado. She’s 28 years old (27 when elected) and a member of the Westminster, CO City Council. Faith is also the National Field Director of the White House Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing women into leadership positions.
Since this week is an intensely political one in Colorado, it’s appropriate that Faith’s story kick off the 1,000 Voices series by Creative Counsel. It’s a collection of wonderful American stories exemplifying the values that a great democracy should embrace. I've had the pleasure of speaking with Creative Counsel's Director, Pheobe Eng, and know how much effort she and others have put into making the series come to life. Check it out for some inspiration.
This week is a good time to celebrate not only those candidates who the entire country will see on network television, but also those who are breaking through barriers in their own communities and local areas, helping to reform local government and education. If progressive values make real progress in the United States over the coming years, it will be because young people like Faith get involved at every level.
Check out other stories at the 1,000 Voices site when you have a minute. Who knows, maybe you’ll become one yourself!
Well, if there was doubt about Bill Clinton’s willingness to put the primary fight behind him, it should be over now. Bill’s speech at the DNC was a real full-throated endorsement of Barack Obama— and a hellava speech. He hit so many of the specific issues on which there are huge differences between Obama and the Bush years that no pundits should find wiggle room on his preference. To boot, the former President went on to tie McCain to Bush’s failed policies with more specifics.
The most heartening aspect of the speech from an Obama perspective had to be Clinton’s recitation of how the bum rap on his own ability to be Commander-in-Chief in the early 90’s is now being repeated against the current nominee, equally without merit. He put down to whole “3 AM” issue without leaving the door ajar an inch.
***
Night 3 of the convention was chock-full of great oratory and rich imagery. Joe Biden’s son Beau delivered a speech that helped the Democratic cause, filling in detail on Joe’s family biography from a firsthand perspective. The tableau of the Bidens generally was a visual feast for the network cameras, with three generations spread out across the stage, celebrating with surprise guest Barack himself.
***
I missed Kerry’s speech, but have a link below to it (which I will eventually catch myself).
***
Finally, Joe Biden delivered a much better speech than he did in his initial appearance last weekend in Springfield, IL, laying out pointed arguments about why families across America can’t afford to wait four more years for relief from the economic policies of the Bush years— and taking a brief but informed tour around the world to revisit multiple foreign policy failures during eight years of Bush's rule. Biden’s familiar, respectful, yet vehement differences with John McCain over continuing Bush’s legacy made the link from Bush’s mistakes to McCain’s questionable judgment in supporting him.
***
There wasn’t any visible discord to detract from the Democratic message on Day 3, or a break in the primetime lovefest to slow the oratorical train down much. Below are links to Biden's, Bill Clinton’s, and Kerry’s speeches.
UPDATE— Have checked out Kerry's speech... also a barnburner. It strikes me as the kind of speech that might have won him the Presidency in '04 if he'd been confident enough to deliver it then. I have to agree with Josh Marshall that it's the best speech I've seen of his, at least since 1972.
Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher have posted a video at Salon.com that should remind everyone this election season who owns the process…corporations and big money. Whether it’s the Blue Dog Democrats or the entire GOP, the serious money doesn’t want to be out front…they just run the show from backstage.
For a good laugh, watch the Salon crew trying to find out the particulars.
(Remember who put the new FISA bill together— it wouldn't have passed without lots of Blue Dog Dems support...)
Following one I come to a site called Puma PAC, which has registered with the FEC as a 527 Political Action Committee. It purports to be working on behalf of the “voices of the 18 million voters who support Hillary Clinton.”
The interesting thing about the woman behind the PAC, Darragh Murphy, is that she contributed $500 to John McCain back in 2000, but no donations are listed in her name for Hillary Clinton in a search at Open Secrets.
Her profession is listed as “homemaker,” but knowing the town of Carlisle, MA, her hometown, a better description of someone living there might be “mansion resident.” Ms. Murphy admits to having voted for John McCain in the Republican primary in 2000, but claims to be a “lifelong Democrat.” Having grown up in Massachusetts, I can tell you that in order to vote in the Republican primary there, a person must be a registered Republican.
It could be time for the mainstream media to begin wondering how much of the PUMA hype is coming from the party of Rove, rather than from Clinton country.
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