The Great RINO Hunt of 2010 - Continued

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It's Miller Time!

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Congratulations to Joe Miller for his stunning upset of incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski (R - Alaskan Mafia). Most outstanding ballots in the Alaska GOP primary have been counted, and the margin is apparently too much overcome. How can we be sure? Straight from the fish's mouth. Appointed by her father Frank in 2002 to fill his remaining term as Senator (No truth to the rumor that Lisa sat on Daddy's lap eating an ice cream cone while he offered her the appointment.), Ms. Murkowski read the handwriting on the wall and conceded the race Tuesday evening, being unable to trim the deficit from a week ago. A relative unknown a month ago, Joe Miller vaulted into contention with an early endorsement from Alaska's Favorite Daughter, former Governor Sarah Palin. Then an impressive final weekend debate with the incumbent and a massive get out the vote program on behalf of Miller were both instrumental in clipping Murkowski at the finish line. Backed by tea party supporters, Joe Miller now becomes the heavy favorite in November. The U.S. Senate and the state of Alaska would both get a substantial conservative upgrade for six years. As for Lisa Murkowski, she has to face actually doing real work for once in her life. And no, spending taxpayer money by the trillions and hob-knobbing with D.C. lobbyists doesn't equal real work. But she's definitely perfectly qualified now as an ex-Senator to swim on the other side of the Washington cesspool as a seven-figure lobbyist for her client of choice. Goodbye, Lisa. At least one person here will not miss you and your 8 years of "public service." Now you're fired!
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- AZDB

Governor Palin: Announce Now

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Sarah Palin should announce her 2012 presidential run. Right now. Not wait for the post-midterm-election, normal political "calculation" on when to announce her candidacy. Not faux-run and posture like they all do. Not wait for the Tea Party's rise and/or fall to see where the chips land.

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When Obama and Palin went tit-for-tat weeks ago on nuclear policy, one might make the assumption the President was egging the Governor on; and if that is the case then you might assume that Palin threw it right back at him. What is a greater show of weakness? Hosting your own personal League of Nations to chat nuclear disarmament, or engaging a governor who at this point is only your 2012 election opponent in theory? And Palin won the public relations battle.....decisively.

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Obama is in campaign mode he hopes until the latter part of 2015. With that, this year's campaign will be a clear referendum on "change we can believe in." Here is a change that most Americans would probably enjoy: Palin throwing out the notion of political "calculus," and reinventing it by announcing her candidacy. Why not? The non-radio-talk-show mainstream media have gone out of their way to portray her as a dimwitted, unqualified neophyte; and not only is Palin still standing but she is getting the President to engage her on foreign policy. Obama could not possibly be dumb enough to engage her again until he would absolutely have to in 2012.

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So now that the mainstream media has failed in their portrayal of Palin, it is onto the Tea Party, which they are going out of their way to portray as illegitimate. The Tea Party, which adores her, is quite obviously anything but illegitimate, and it is possible and maybe even probable they will succeed in moving the Republican Party sufficiently to the right. In that case, booey for Palin, who will easily glide past the likes of Romney, Huckabee, Gingrich, et al. in the party.

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But what if they do not succeed? What if the Republican establishment succeeds in keeping the party at the center-right position where it now resides? This could be the only prickly point for Palin if she announces "early." Or would it? The grassroots movement that is the Tea Party has established and organized itself to the point now where it really only needs a national spokesman to legitimize itself as a viable third party. Who else other than Palin?

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So again, why wouldn't Palin announce her candidacy right now? The Tea Party, to the chagrin of many media members, clearly is not going anywhere. Obama gift-wrapped her a platform to exercise her foreign policy chops. She is coming off multiple, high-exposure events including her most impacting speech to date at the Southern Conservative Leadership Conference. It comes down to her personal stock in political "calculation." She just seems above it. With the President himself obviously living in a world ruled by his own reelection "calculations," Palin should throw out the calculations and announce her candidacy by claiming, "No, Mr. President, this is change we can believe in."

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- RDS

The Great RINO Hunt of 2010, Cont.

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Barely into the primary season, and the tea party movement can already officially claim a scalp. The bald head in this case being that of 3-term U.S. Senator, Bob Bennett (R - Utah), who failed to survive the 2nd round of caucus voting at Saturday's Utah nominating convention. Details on the event are covered by The Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15046264. Don't think it's a large victory for the tea parties? See this money quote from none other than Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine (D - Virginy):
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"That the tea party would consider Bob Bennett, one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate, too liberal, just goes to show how extreme that tea party is," Kaine said. "If there was any question before, there should now be no doubt that the Republican leadership has handed the reins to the tea party." (Emphasis AZDB)
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Elected three times since 1992, Bennett came under fire from many conservatives for supporting bank bailouts during the last of the Bush 43 years and for co-sponsoring his own version of Obamacare that would have mandated the purchase of individual insurance, both anathema to small-government tea party activists and their supporters. Now, barring a kamikaze write-in campaign to win in November, he becomes the first incumbent Congresscritter or Senator to be defeated in seeking reelection this year. Hey, Bob: DLTDHYOTWO. Sincerely, AZDB.

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As for the finalists advancing in Survivor: Utah GOP Senate, businessman Tim Bridgewater will face off against lawyer Mike Lee in a standard GOP primary set later in June. The winner is almost assured victory in November in this heavy Republican state that has drawn only token opposition from Democrats. Next up between now & June: intense jockeying for the much-coveted endorsement of GOP superstar and former Governorette Sarah Palin (R - Alaska, you betcha!).

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Before the day is out, I expect two large bouquets of roses to be delivered to the Palin estate via the Utah branch of 1-800-FLOWERS. A lesser, arrogant politico could just name her price and let the gifts just fly in. Willow and Piper Palin could probably have all-expenses-paid college waiting for them courtesy of the highest bidder. But instead, because they have to know she's no ordinary politico, expect Lee and Bridgewater to engage in a game of The Biggest Commonsense Conservative. Expect the scene to look something like this:
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Of course Palin is much better looking than AC and is just wearing an Alice Cooper costume. Not sure which one is Lee and which one is Bridgewater, though.
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- AZDB

50 Best State GOP Electoral Successes - Alaska

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Today continues a new recurring series which can be subtitled "The 50 Best GOP from the U.S. 50, over the last 50 years." Following in predetermined alpha order, this installment gives a little "Northern Exposure" to the 49th and geographically largest state of Alaska. Though only the second state honor to be presented, the choice may wind up being the toughest to make. While political junkies may argue that former long-time Senator Ted Stevens should be the obvious choice for his over 40 years of "public service", AZDB is going rogue by instead giving the honor to former Governor Sarah Palin (R- You Betcha!). In keeping with the original criteria of the "50 Best" theme, Sarah Heath Palin won in tougher in electoral climates, against tougher competition, helped improve the state's Republican prospects for future elections, and did more to solidify the GOP brand in the state than any other elected Republican in Alaska.

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Though a strong case could be made for selecting Stevens, former U.S. House Rep and six-term Senator voted Alaskan of the Century in 2000, he loses out on our "50 Best" for several reasons. For one, although he won all six of his regular terms from 1972-2002 with over 66%, his competition in each race was lackluster at best. No serious DemocRAT challengers ran against him in a general election until 2008, when Anchorage Mayor Bark Begich defeated him by under 4,000 votes. (I'm sure now in hindsight Alaska voters would like to take a mulligan on that one.) Also, the one other time he had a notable opponent, he lost a race for Senator to Mike Gravel (D - Outer Space). Sarah Palin, in winning the governorship during a horrible year for the GOP nationally in 2006, in contrast defeated both incumbent Governor and former 4-term Senator Frank Murkowski (R - Alaska Machine) in the GOP primary and former two-term governor Tony Knowles (D - Paint Drying) in the general election, an amazing political two-fer. Chris Matthews could see the "Old Boys Club" crumbling from his summer house, as she became both the youngest (42) and the only female to win the governorship in the young state's history.

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Secondly, while his electoral history is quite impressive, Stevens attained victories as a small-state influential Senator that could "bring home the bacon." The list of pork projects and federal dollars brought back to Alaska is way too long to detail, and using this influence is hardly what future GOP candidates, even in Alaska, should emulate - on both policy grounds and to clearly distinguish themselves in races vs DemocRATS. Sarah Palin, while hardly a perfect conservative regarding federal dollars being brought back to Alaska - mainly due to the inherent nature of the state - has built her profile, both in The Last Frontier and nationally as a fiscal hawk on steroids. She won both her GOP primary and general election for governor by running as a new type of candidate: one that was not part of the "Corrupt Bastards Club," and one that would return money to its citizens rather than tax and spend the state into oblivion. Fueled by rebating state oil revenues back to Alaskans by the thousands, Palin said what she meant and meant what she had said to the tune of an 83% approval rating in Nov 2007 - more than a month after she cancelled the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," whose funding was brought by none other than Ted Stevens. (In fairness, the $442M price tag for the project was not returned to the feds, but instead spent on other transportation projects in Alaska.)

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Third, choosing Stevens in place of Sarah Palin, whose electoral career has not been nearly as long and iconic as the other Senate lion named Ted, would mean substituting his octogenarian picture in place of this one:

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Trump...Freaking...Card.
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Though one can definitely make the case that Ted Stevens should get the honor for his accomplishments and decades of service (which goes back longer than Sarah Palin has even been alive!), from a pure electoral standpoint, and by giving future state Republicans (including her former Alaska running mate and current Governor Sean Parnell) a successful road map to keeping the offices in GOP hands, The Barracuda deserves the nod for the best GOP politician over the last 50 years the state of Alaska has been honored with.

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Honorable Mention: Former U.S. Rep and Senator Ted Stevens; former Gov. and U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski

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- 50 Best

McCain-Palin Reunion Tour - Part 1 (?)

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The mavericky campaign team of John McCain (Bipartisan - AZ) and Sarah Palin (R - AK) fired up crowds (Oops - hope that phrase doesn't incite right-wingers to violence.) with more passion than was usually seen during their unsuccessful run for the White House in '08 while campaigning for Mac's 5th Senate term in the two largest Arizona cities over the weekend. The lamestream media was in full Pavlov's-dog mode as the two hit the trail for the first time together since John McCain conceded defeat to current-President Hope n' Change, snapping pictures of the pair on stage more often than John Edwards chooses to wear condoms.

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Coverage of their first rally in Tucson from March 26 can be seen here, courtesy of Palin TV:

http://palintv.com/2010/03/27/gov-palin-campaigns-for-mccain-in-arizona-march-26-2010/

And if anyone ever doubted that there is establishment-media distaste for Republicans, here is an off-the-record picture of MSNBC superstar-wannabe Norah O' Donnell scowling at the Pima County Fairgrounds (No O' D apparently irked that there are no 16 year-old girls to ambush on camera with "gotcha" questions.):

The next day, McPalin fired up the Straight-Talk Express (v 2.0) from Mesa, and their rally even included two protesters feeling nostalgia for making asses of themselves on live national TV (Ah, the memories!). For the fireworks, FFWD to about 5:30 to watch the Barracuda tear one 19-year-old twit to shreds without skipping a beat. One would think by now these nitwits would learn that she eats young punks for supper, and then asks for 2nds.

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...John McCain, apparently having the time of his life

http://palintv.com/2010/03/27/governor-palin-campaigns-for-mccain-in-mesa-arizona-march-27-2010/

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Hat tip to SNRK for all the images. (SNRK you very much.)

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- AZDB

So Ronald Reagan Is Unelectable to the Presidency. Now What?

Creepy similarities to the situation Sarah Palin finds herself in regarding her standing with the electorate and matched up against the sitting president in head-to-head-polls. Oh, by the way, she is at an election stage more than two years earlier than Reagan was at the point this Time article was published.

ttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921912-1,00.html

Just sayin'.

- Arizona Diamondback