First, catching up on what the Big Guys have to say, then what Palin said in Iowa:
8/20
Karl Rove: Palin will run and will announce sometime around Labor Day. She “has a schedule next week that looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity.”
John McCain: Palin would be “formidable” in 2012. He also says she has not solicited his advice.
8/21
Frank Luntz: “No room” for Palin in GOP field
8/22
Washington Post: The reasons Sarah Palin wouldn’t run for president.
BigGovernment: Palin v. Obama (Faith in American People v. Faith in Government)
“Game On!” Palin says in Iowa radio ad
8/23
8/24
Bachmann and Palin ahead of Pelosi in Forbes‘ Powerful Women List
8/25
Los Angeles Times: Five reasons why Sarah Palin will run (and five reasons why she won’t)
8/28
Not to be outdone: Eight reasons why Palin should run. Eight reasons why she shouldn’t
Steve Forbes says “Palin will run” in BBC interview
8/30
Palin to speak at NH tea party rally, Labor Day appearance to come 2 days after Iowa speech
9/1
Sarah Palin to visit South Korea — 10/11-13 to keynote a Seoul forum
9/2
Politico: Sarah Palin, the outsider
RealClearPolitics: Palin to rip “Crony Capitalism” in Iowa speech
Palin says “there’s room for more”
9/3
She didn’t announce, but she didn’t say no. Instead, she told us what she believes and will fight for.
My notes:
Palin said America is at a tipping point and that we need to speak the truth about what’s really wrong with our country. She reminded the crowd that it was 3 years ago to the day that she spoke to the GOP convention as the vice-presidential nominee.
She noted that at that time we had no idea what Barack Obama was all about, but that while candidate Obama didn’t have a record, President Obama does.
With Obama’s theme of “Hope and Change” a running subtext, Palin charged first that we had been transformed from a country of hope to a country of anxiety:
- 1 in 5 men unemployed
- 1 in 7 on food stamps
- 30% of mortgages underwater
While President Obama promised to cut the deficit in half, he had instead tripled it.
“Is this what you call hope and change?”
The tea party movement is born of the same sense of urgency that moved the Sons of Liberty in the American Revolution and the abolitionists in the Civil War.
The tea party movement comes from ordinary Americans who love our country and never apologize for it .
The threat posed by Obama has gotten everyday men and women up off their couches.
But the historic 2010 election was only the first step. Because even with that win, the Permanent Political Class tried to co-opt them.
More on the Permanent Political Class: 7 of the 10 wealthiest U.S. suburbs are in Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
“There’s no recession in Georgetown!” (As a D.C. metro resident, I can attest to that. Government workers are always paid and the rest of us are bottom feeders, working for corporations or individuals paid by the government.)
Newly elected officials arrive in D.C. as men of modest means and leave wealthy. Why?
Because they have power and access to our money.
Palin defined Corporate Crony Capitalism — not the capitalism of small business and enterprise but of corporate connections and bailouts. Good Ol’ Boy Politics. “I’ve seen it in my home state” — referencing the government/oil collusion she cleaned up as governor of Alaska.
“You must vet a candidate’s record for reform and ability to fix problems.”
But reform doesn’t sit well with entrenched powers. “Look at what happened to you!” she reminded the crowd — Tea Party Patriots accused of being anti-American, terrorists, suicide bombers … “hobbits.”
What is President Obama’s answer to today’s problems? Spend more money.
He rewards corporate sponsors so they can add more to his campaign coffers so he can get elected and reward them again.
“Barack Obama has shown us cronyism on steroids.”
Still: It’s not enough to replace him — it matters who we replace him with. Not enough to change the uniform, we must change the entire team.
“We need sudden and relentless reform.”
Even some good conservatives run away, talk in vague generalities, are too considerate. They say what they think we want to hear rather than what we need to hear.
But the alternative is Obama, with more payoffs for friends and supporters.
The status quo won’t work anymore, so let’s talk about real solutions.
Palin’s plan:
A bona fide working man’s plan (ABC reported “bonifides” — yes, really).
Empowerment of states, entrepreneurs, you hardworking individuals — “because I have respect for you.”
1) Must stop out-of-control government growth. In deference to the 10th Amendment, return power back to the states.
2) Repeal ObamaCare — get government out of the way.
3) No more runaway debt:
a) prioritize and cut
b) cancel outstanding stimulus funds
c) entitlement reform — in a way that honors our esteemed elders.Palin targeted Obama threats that seniors would not receive their Social Security checks: “Where did all their money go?” And threats against military payments? Politicians still get their payments, and the president his posh vacations. “Aren’t you sick to death of seeing them used as pawns?”
4) Use our own God-given resources: Drill here, drill now, build refineries and pipelines. Stop kowtowing to foreign refineries and dictators.
“This will bring real jobs, not fairy-tale green jobs.”
This would be true stimulus — would not cost the government a dime but would bring money in.
5) Make America the most attractive country in which to do business. We have the highest corporate tax rates — higher than China or Cuba.
Palin’s radical suggestion: eliminate all federal corporate income taxes….
“Now hear me out….”
This will create jobs and we can eliminate corporate welfare.
This is how we break the back of corporate crony capitalism, which is really socialism for the very rich.
Palin closed with an appeal to everyday Americans:
Change must come from you. Hope must come from you. Hope is not in an individual.
Real hope comes from realizing that we the people can make a difference
God has richly blessed this exceptional nation.
Don’t wait for for the permanent political class — they can’t take responsibility for their actions. It’s always someone else’s fault.
Barack Obama is adrift with no plan because his fundamental plan for transformation is at odds with everything our country holds dear.
“Friends, you are better than that. Our country is better than that.”
It won’t be easy. They’ll demonize you, they will make things up, they will tell you to go to hell.
We have a duty not just to those now living, but to those who came before and those yet to come.
You and I are blessed to be born the heirs of freedom.
We have sometimes strayed to the precipice, but a providential hand has always guided us.
Let us reach for that hand….
Stay tuned for New Hampshire September 5.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member