Cooked Till It's Done

8/18/2011

A kind reader alerted me to this post on the FrumForum. I’ve read it several times, scratching my head with each read.

It is obviously very hard for a true believer like Brad Schaeffer to stop believing in Mustang Sarah. As evidenced by this post, it has been a long journey for him from inspiration to disillusionment. That Schaeffer saw someone with more experience than Barack Obama mystifies me. That he felt sorry for Mrs. Palin and the gotcha questions, flummoxes me. That he only now feels that she is helping the opposition (i.e. President Obama) by destroying the GOP almost makes me laugh. Almost.

But for this fact: I saw through the woman the moment she stepped forward on that stage. Why couldn’t he?

It was three years ago this month, and I was on a Jet Blue flight across country. As luck would have it, I had a row of three seats to myself. That meant I had three TV screens. Not a big television watcher in general, this was a thrill for me at 36,000 feet.

The window screen was on something juicy, either HGTV or Bravo. The middle screen was the flight map. The aisle screen I had set to a news station because en route from the lavatory, I saw monitors all over the plane with the caption stating that McCain was about to announce his running mate.

And there she was. Huh? My first thoughts, honestly? Grandmother in a bun with a tacky black suit and granny glasses. Voice that could shatter glass. Cold kisses on the cheeks of her dazed children and grandchild. Cindy’s face frozen in horror.

And the shoes. Jesus, those shoes!

As my grandmother might have said, “God love her, she didn’t even know enough to put on stockings and close-toed pumps.” This Palin woman was so ignorant, I remember thinking, she didn’t even know how to show up for the party (still doesn't, as Regina points out so well here.) That was my initial impression without knowing a thing about Palin beyond minimal governing experience and dubious academic credentials.

And I never got beyond those feelings.

Next thing I remember, Palin was standing on a stage outdoors introducing her family to the crowd. “And Bristol is in the bus napping with her baby brother,” she said.

“Yeah, right,” I thought. Without knowing a thing about this woman or her family, I felt Palin was fibbing right then and there. Right out of the gate.

And that’s when it began for me, this spiral of silence and insanity. That Shaeffer now concludes that Palin is a side-show clinging to center state who might do his beloved party damage is such lunacy. That he now suggests someone from the GOP gently take Palin aside and suggest she shove off, is so insane. WTF has this man been these past three years?

Any time Palin's position on the public stage comes to an end, it will be all right with me. That moment can't come soon enough.

I would truly love it if this were the last thing I ever saw of Palin. A bookend to the red hooker shoes of August, 2008:

And I would truly love it if a true conservative would, for once, stop couching their doubt and regret in such careful terms and would own the embarrassment and travesty this woman and her clown car full of family have become.

Joe McGinnis, I’m begging you. I hope you gave it all you’ve got (though something tells me you did.) I ordered your book at my local independent book store. And I can hardly wait for September.

Just sayin.

69 Comments

Banyan

8/18/2011 09:42:24 am

I was in a mountain cabin when I heard the announcement rather late the night before Sarah was presented on stage.

Since I am the mother of a severely handicapped child--one I personally care for, at home-- the vile reasons for this nomination were instantaneously clear to me.

I didn't pick up on the style points that Laura mentions, but I knew Palin was NOT good news. I knew who (generally speaking) had put her up to it, and what it would mean --aid and power to the most dangerous part of the right-wing who are absolute suckers for this kind of trite melodrama.

Then, I wondered if McCain had actually surrendered to "Bud" Paxson's blackmail attempt, (made public the previous February). That McCain probably had done so was unspeakably depressing.

My third thought was to check Daily Kos, where I read the original posting of the Arc diary in which Sarah was accused of faking the pregnancy to cover for Bristol.

This also struck me as BS (what is the likelihood that one's teenage daughter would deliver the perfectly timed, genetically "perfect" campaign prop?) Kos et al. quickly removed the post, wisely seeing it as a possible right-wing plant and provocation.

I then spoke to a "friend" of mine who was an ardent neo-con. He said McCain, by choosing "an unknown woman," had just lost.

All I could do was hope he was correct. Not too soon afterward, I found Audrey online...and from there the road eventually led here.

Laura Novak link

8/18/2011 09:56:22 am

Thanks, Banyan, for sharing your experience. While I was scratching my head, you were already five steps ahead in your analysis. Your skills still shine brightly three years later.

I should have mentioned that we should treat this thread as a party game: where were YOU when you saw Sarah step on stage in those shoes for the first time?

And what were your first thoughts?

I'll bet everyone here can recall with great clarity.

Thanks again, Banyan.

Linda

8/18/2011 10:09:22 am

What are they running out of lipstick....too funny!

AFM

8/18/2011 10:20:18 am

Oh goodness you speak for many of us. I order Joe's book and can't wait for September to come either. I'm really waiting for the babygate book to come out. I hope it will finally put the nail in her ambitions to become president.

anonfornow

8/18/2011 10:21:30 am

Okay, I'll play: I was evacuating for Hurricane Gustav when McCain announced his pick. Sealed away in a cabin in the woods for over a week without electricity, I missed everything. I had to come home and watch Sarah' speech on YouTube.

Everyone was talking about her great performance at the Convention, but my reaction was sort of like a dog whose hair rises on the back of its neck when a psychopath walks into the room. She creeped me out. But what I especially noticed was the strange vibe between Sarah and Trig. I said to my husband, "I've never seen a mother interact with her own baby that way. It's like she's holding someone else's child." Mind you, it never occurred to me that he actually *wasn't* her child; I just thought she was a lousy, detached mother.

Believe it or not, by that time all speculation that Trig was actually Bristol's had been utterly wiped from the news. I didn't hear about it until a month later when my Republican sister came to visit and started complaining about the way the nasty libruls were treating Poor Sarah. "They even said that little baby wasn't hers!"

I immediately sat up and went, "They did? Really?" As soon as my sister went to bed, I rushed to my computer and started Googling. It was so frustrating at first because all the links I tried to follow were broken--everything was gone. Then I found Audrey's site and knew that my initial gut reaction had been right.

How anyone could have watched her hold that baby and NOT know she wasn't his birth mother is beyond me. It was obviously she wasn't even his normal caregiver.

Karen

8/18/2011 10:42:44 am

I was a Hillary supporter from upstate NY, always a Democrat. Intrigued by McCain, particularly when he was swiftboated the previous election, but liked his independence. Didn't know much about President Obama. Had to admit that Sarah was gorgeous, charismatic, appealing, attractive and I was initially intrigued by her. My friends said I resemble her (minus the toe crud and the waterbra, I suppose). Could I support McCain this go around? Then she opened her mouth at the convention. Nasty girl with nothing between her ears and a big "f-me" tease act. And it only got worse. What first got me blogging was the first tale of the Texas fishpicker ride, the audio version. No Frickin Way.

Pam

8/18/2011 10:48:59 am

i will never figure it out. I saw phony the minute
She opened her mouth. And her tacky family. I don't and never will see the attraction.

DebinOH

8/18/2011 10:49:18 am

I remember seeing a recap of her with McCain in Dayton, OH the next day. The VOICE, OMG the voice. I just couldn't stand it. After that fact registered it was her attitude. She just sounded like a mean girl. Making jabs at President Obama that were just so middle school. Talking about public service people like they were trash that you step over in the street. Then I immediately went to look up her record and found out about that bridge to nowhere and the plane she sold on e-bay.

I was not surprised to see that she was lying but I was surprised she lied about something that people could find out were lies with just a few clicks of the mouse. That was a little shocking to me.

I know why the republicans were so thrilled with her and there can only be one reason. They could NOT stand the fact that they were going to have to vote for McCain. They couldn't stand that fact.

Then this moderately pretty woman with 5 kids comes out of the woodwork. She looked good, they loved that she HATED President Obama. Oh, and she was a christian (yeah right). She would save their precious party because let's face it McCain sure wasn't doing much to rally the troops.

The best she ever did was that first initial speech (which was written for her). After that I can't see why these people still stuck up for her. It has got to be that they are just die hard republicans. I understand why they stuck up for her until the election but why they even thought she was capable of winning in 2012 or 2016 was beyond my comprehension.

I don't know why some of us are blessed with the ability to see what someone is really like but I am definitely one of those people. My husband knows that I have this odd ability and after 30 years of being together he trusts my first impressions all the time;)

suelu

8/18/2011 11:29:19 am

I thought she looked tacky and dowdy on the tarmac being greeted by the McCain's the day they announced. Not nice to judge I told myself.

When she opened her mouth at the Republican convention my instincts went into full alert. I watched the campaign closely, and it seemed with every appearance my instincts were continually being reinforced. Two, although there were many, that really rattled my cage were when after being introduced onto the stage she walked out with Trig bundled in a snowsuit, held to face the crowd, and held in away that seemed unnatural and unmotherly. I remember saying out loud, "what Mother would do that to their child",I was incredulous, and at that moment believed that Trig was little more than a campaign prop to her.

The other was in Colorado I believe, when she took the NYT's article regarding Bill Ayers and the then Senator Obama, and completely rearranged it's context. Obama pals around with terrorists, from that moment on, was a weapon of division and incendiary force. Once again I was incredulous, I had read the very same article that morning, and was stunned by her shamelessly twisted version. My instincts were confirmed, I thought she was rotten to the core....little did I know how truly putrid I would come to believe she is.

Lee

8/18/2011 11:42:22 am

I distinctly recall seeing her for the first time at the Republican convention and her "famous" (infamous) speech. I am a Democrat but feel to be fair I have to watch both conventions to hear what the candidates have to say. I recall her tan suit, bump-it and shrill voice and thought the woman was full of anger. Pit-bull indeed. (Still don't know/understand why anyone would be proud of that.) At any rate, she then paraded her family on stage, Trig in tow and the minute I saw her with him I thought that's not "her" baby. It was the way he was held, or something that was just "off." Hadn't seen or heard of the blogs that had speculated on the matter but just immediately "knew." Months later I stumbled upon baby-gate and had an AH-HA moment. Intuitively, I just knew from the moment I saw her with him. Nothing has changed my mind since.

bees-wax

8/18/2011 12:00:05 pm

I was in an airport waiting to board a flight when McCain made the announcement. I watched the monitors but couldn't hear the sound. I was horrified by the repetitive loop of pictures of big guns in her hands and wondered what was upon us. Were they serious? I didn't immediately realize the breadth and scope of her ridiculousness, but I sensed a kind of dangerous narrowness that I associate with the 2nd-Amendment-is-the-only-amendment nutters from my hometown.

Oh, yes, I remember it well.

I am also flummoxed by the notion that Ms. Palin had more relevant experience that Mr. Obama in 2008. Who could believe that?

However, if you define gotcha questions as anything that would require the serious thought of a person genuinely concerned with the state of our nation -- you know, preparation -- then, yeah, they were hard on her. How was she supposed to know that Couric would ask about what she reads or if she has any foreign policy experience? (I live next door to new parents, but that doesn't make me a parent. Wait, does it?)

Rationalist

8/18/2011 12:10:15 pm

Oh, I remember, clear as day. I was sitting in the parking lot at the gym listening to NPR, late to exercise class, thinking about Obama's magnificent speech the night before, and the commentators started buzzing about the short list and something about a plane from Alaska being spotted and then the story broke that it was the Governor of Alaska.

When I watched the speech, later at home, the look, the voice, all that made sense. What got me was the casual way she attempted to step into Hillary's shoes. She delivered that line about the cracks in the glass ceiling and that was it for me.

But it was the RNC speech that confirmed what a vile mean girl she is.

And then it was two or three days later that Bristol's pregnancy was announced, and down the rabbit hole I went. Thank you Audrey, and truly, thank you, Laura, for not dropping the ball.

mary

8/18/2011 12:41:00 pm

IWhen Palin was announced as McCain's running mate, I was in my car in the parking lot at Nordstrom, during a rainstorm, waiting for the store to open at 10 a.m. A rumor had started that it might be Palin, and Laura Ingraham (puke) was very excited about the prospect. All that pro-life street cred, dontcha know?! I remember that later that day it cleared up and was sunny, but my mood sure was not. We had dinner with extended family that night and one member was veeeeeery smitten with "her girl, Sarah" and all her children with their interesting names. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Seeing her at the RNC only solidified my disgust. Why was this dimwitted asshole so COCKY? Unreal. I remember another extended family member calling the day after Palin's nomination speech at the RNC and asking me what I thought of it (she had previously been enamored of Obama but thought Palin gave SUCH a great speech). My stomach sank.

Well, it seems to have all worked out in the end, but it's been a long, nauseating ride, huh?! I hope it ends in fireworks of the babygate variety, that's for sure!

HudsonElizabeth

8/18/2011 12:56:34 pm

I was at home watching the TV -- only because of curiosity about this woman I had heard about and googled. The minute she walked out on stage my blood chilled. There was something really wrong with the look in her eyes. And, the voice and the nastiness overwhelmed me with disgust and fear. From that moment on I was obsessed with reading about her and hoping that one of the stories I read would shut her up because I saw her as extremely dangerous. Now, 3 years later I am beginning to relax about her -- and staring all over again with worry about that equally frightening man from Texas.

ginny11

8/18/2011 12:59:39 pm

I was just finishing my last days at a horrible job, about to begin what would hopefully be a MUCH better job...
My first thoughts were, oh shit. She's "pretty" she's got the "I walk the walk" newborn child, she "can hunt and clean a moose"...I knew that at the very least, she would fire up the far-right Xtian base that had been so unhappy with McCain. Which she did. I felt that the McCain campaign was trying to siphon off angry Hillary supporters (which I now think was a secondary reason for picking Palin). That didn't work. I hoped she wouldn't fool the "barely paying attention" moderates/independents, which she did not.
I was suspicious of the baby story, till they announced Bristol's pregnancy. Then I, like so many others, figured the "faked pregnancy" story was just an unfounded rumor. Until after the election, when I began reading the blogs, mainly Palin Deceptions at first. The more I read, the more I learned, and the more convinced I became that she had, in fact, faked a pregnancy.
My strongest memory is of my sister (who is a mom, which I am not), who said, after seeing Bristol (and Levi) with Trig at the RNC vs. SP with Trig: "That is Bristol's child." She said, all you have to see is the way Bristol holds and interacts with Trig, vs. the way Sarah held and interacted with him, to know who his real mother is. She didn't need any other evidence, LOL!

daisydem

8/18/2011 01:21:53 pm

Like it was yesterday ... only for me it began in late January/February 2008. I subscribe to Vogue at the office. Since the upcoming election was going to be so important (especially for me as a Democrat and someone who just generally buried her head in the sand for 8 very long years of the Bush administration) I read with interest the article that juxtaposed two female Governors, Sarah Palin and Kathleen Sibelius. My son lived in Atlanta at the time and worked for Barnes and Noble. I called him (his interest in politics being even stronger than mine) and asked him first if he had ever heard of Sarah Palin or Kathleen Sibelius. He knew of Sibelius, had never heard of Sarah Palin. Of course, he is a Democrat also. I told him he should read the article as it was interesting and that it closed by saying one or both of these women might appear on the national stage. (Ironically both have). Months went by; my son became a fervent supporter of Barack Obama, I too thought he was great (in fact, when I heard him speak at the DNC in 2003 (I think that would be the year, or 04; I told my son that we were looking at a future President of the U.S. - no way would I have thought our country was ready to elect a black man in 2008; thank God we were!) but I also liked (and still do) Hillary Clinton, so I was torn. I was disappointed that McCain was the Republican candidate. I have never been a fan. When I heard who he selected as the VP candidate, the article from Vogue jumped into my mind. I dug it out and re-read it. There were things in the article that made me uneasy the first time and again those months later ... not just some of her beliefs (adamant pro-life, member of the NRA, etc.) but one detail that I remember is that the authors of the article talked about having to try and get her not to smile in every shot. I thought that was weird and could be indicative of .... well, something. Now after watching her for 3 years, it is. She is cutesy, she is hiding things, she is mentally unbalanced and that silly smile she almost always seems to have except how when her jaw is clenched and she is angrily bashing our President, is just sickening. I did not watch her convention speech. I felt in my heart and gut that she was chosen not only to appeal to the "base" of the Republican Party in the way that McCain alone could not, but that she was chosen to win over the women who were supportive of Hilary Clinton. If Hilary had been the Democratic nominee for President, Sarah Palin would not have been selected. Within a day or two, I googled Sarah Palin and the first story that appeared was about whether her pregnancy was indeed hers or Bristol's. In essence, I too found Audrey's blog (Palin's Deceptions) and I had never, even been on a blog before. I was not a blogger. I didn't even know what Daily Kos was. I did not know that my son was a blogger. I did not know what a blogger was. That changed the day I read what Audrey had to say.

lilli link

8/18/2011 01:25:01 pm

I knew she was a fake and a fraud the minute she walked on stage and opened her mouth. And she's still on stage opening her big mouth 3 years later..unfreakingbelievable!!!!

Ivyfree

8/18/2011 01:25:24 pm

Actually, I never saw Sarah step on stage in those shoes. I never watched either of the national conventions. I already knew that McCain had the Republican nomination, which was only of theoretical interest to me since he'd voted along with Bush's party line more than 90% of the time- and you can't run around talking about what a maverick you are when you've voting record shows that. Anyway, as I responded to a pollster, he was a republican, and how many miles over broken glass do I have to crawl on my bare knees to avoid voting Republican?

I knew Sarah had been nominated, and I managed to ignore her until I heard the story of the Wild Ride, at which point I knew she was a lyin' crazy skank ho with a slut for a daughter. (At that time, I didn't realize the slutty daughter thing was a twofer.)

I try very hard not to listen to her. Sometimes, I get stuck: I had to listen to her insane Tucson Blood Libel babble, for example. And Paul Revere's Wild Ride. I read a lot about what she's said and I've looked at a lot of pictures. But I suspect I've watched more actual video of Bristol stumbling around, yanking off her clothes and falling back, on Dancing With the Stars than I have of actual video of Sarah. Thank heaven.

At this point, I think Sarah's swirling the drain. I think she's going to attempt some kind of individual run and convert to being some self-appointed kingmaker: who should I throw my support to? for example. I think more and more people are going to be talking about what she's really like.

And I think she's going to wind up back in Wasilla, eating crunchwrap supremes and drinking Bailey's and occasionally make prolife speeches on her good days, if her meds are calibrated correctly and the moon is in the right phase. And it's mean of me, but I hope someday I run into her (preferably while driving a truck? No, I guess not) so I can jeer at her to her face.

That may be overstating things a little bit, but then I actually work for a living and I'm really tired tonight, and the thought of that ignorant trash getting as close as she did to the Vice-Presidency is nauseating to me.

carat

8/18/2011 01:27:42 pm

I remember watching the RNC speech, with my mouth hanging open the entire time. How can anyone criticize someone who helps their community? How could this strategy be expected to score points? She seemed like a mean, nasty girl. She still does.

daisydem

8/18/2011 01:31:48 pm

One more thing, I totally agree with you about the Republicans carefully couching even their disapproval or disenchantment of Palin in gentle terms .. no, it is time (as it was in Watergate) for us to know: what did they really know about her, who knew, and when did they know it??

Redwood Palinizer

8/18/2011 02:07:51 pm

I remember very well the moment I heard about Sarah Palin being the VP choice. I was in a motel room the night before I was leaving my oldest for his first year of college. My beloved father had just passed away a month before so you can imagine the sadness I was feeling. My brother called me and told me that McCain had picked a woman with 5 children, the youngest being a child with DS. I was OUTRAGED at this woman right out of the gate!!! What kind of mother would do that to her children? I consider my role as mother the most important thing I have ever done in my life and I have NO respect for any mother who would abandon her children for personal gain or for anything for that matter. I laugh in the face of women who say "Oh, you can be both a mother and a politician." Um, no, you can't. No human being can be in two places at once, ever. A mother needs to put her children first, period. Especially a special needs child. At that moment, I knew all I needed to know about Sarah Palin. Subsequently, I found the Mudflats blog and Audrey's blog and I continued to dislike Palin with every fiber of my being. She is a fake, a fraud, a deranged sociopath and a real threat to our good country. And she is a horrible, terrible, neglectful, selfish failure of a mother.
I am thankful to all of those who are trying to clue the rest of the country in to her lunacy.

FrostyAK

8/18/2011 02:12:32 pm

I was sitting at home near Wasilla Alaska, quietly (haha) saying "WTF?". The other things I said are not for the print medium. The world had just bought a rocket sled ticket to hell.

I thought I knew all about her background in politics here - the ethics complaints, the corruption, etc. I paced and kept saying WTF, are they all as crazy as she is? How could ANYone nominate her as VP? I soon found out that even I knew very little about the vile thing McCain dragged out from under a rock to appear on stage with him. Talk about selling your soul to the devil, McC.

I vowed then and there to do my best to keep IT from getting elected... all the ammunition I had was words. I've been using them to the best of my ability for the past 3 years.

Now that the next books are about to be released, she is screeching about being a victim again. Her "stalker" and his father have been arrested by the FBI and she is once again playing victim. She has cried "wolf" far too many times. I don't believe the kid and his father are stalkers. The courts will sort it out, but will the TPs perjure themselves again to send another kid to jail?

Jeanette link

8/18/2011 02:20:32 pm

I was at home with my husband whose original reaction was positive because she was a woman and reportedly involved in fishing as are we. However, after about three minutes on the internet, that initial reaction changed as we learned more about $P positions and history.

We never looked back but I was too busy trying to defeat $P and the old man running with her to pick up on the blogs until after the election. I just want to see her exposed. Fading into the woodwork is not enough! She somehow has to be held accountable.

My fear is that as we all focus on the 2012 election, and focus we must, $P will somehow be able to retreat with her millions and never be held responsible for what she has done.

V ictoria link

8/18/2011 03:05:46 pm

I don't know why more people didn't see through her. But enough did, and she was not elected.

To me this is part of a larger question: why don't more people see through media lies in general? Is it because our media used to be trustworthy (was it ever really)? Living in Europe, I was appalled that the US elected Bush in 2004, when he had lied to start a war. But the US did...

Frznturd

8/18/2011 03:32:11 pm

i was in my bathrobe sipping coffee. It was early. I was surfing the tubes for news. Read about this and started laughing b/c as an Alaskan, I knew this was the anchor around McLame's neck - it was a no brainer. Then the nightmare began . . . . She should never made it beyond the convention.

Palinoia

8/18/2011 04:20:45 pm

The very first exposure I had to Sarah was part way through her RNC screech. I didn't focus on clothes.......first it was that VOICE, ugh. Then she pursued her mean girl belittling and demeaning commentary of Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer.

I couldn't watch or listen to any more of her, and turned to the web for more information about her. Needless to say, there was much to be found (although I can't believe it wasn't found by those who pretended to vet her).

Laura, thank you for carrying the torch along with the other bloggers, to show the world who this woman really is, and maybe more importantly, who she isn't.

I still wonder in amazement how so many at the very beginning of her VP screeching could not see the multitude of shortcomings she has right out of the gate....so perplexing, and just downright scary.

Original Lee

8/18/2011 04:22:47 pm

Where was I when McCain announced Palin as his VP pick?

I was in my sister-in-law's kitchen, we were peeling potatoes to make potato salad, and our husbands rushed in from the family room to turn on the kitchen TV. My SIL and I stood side by side, peelers in one hand and potatoes in the other, as the TV camera honed in on the stage. My husband and my brother stood behind us, looking over our shoulders at the screen. My husband says my SIL and I had identical, simultaneous reactions - we both stiffened, tensed and (he says) growled. Our dislike and antipathy were, I think, instinctive, and it took us a while after the announcement to analyze why this was so. I found Mudflats soon after, and I soon branched out to the other SP blogs as they appeared.

BTW, one other thing that got my hackles up about that event - they deliberately seated a Boy Scout and his dad, in Class A uniforms, behind the podium so that you could see them every time there was a middle-distance frame. Boy Scouts are not ever supposed to appear to endorse a political party or candidate while in uniform. A lot of Scout blogs were burning white hot for days afterwards about that!

Nikogriego

8/18/2011 05:42:22 pm

The first I really knew about the real Sarah Palin was when, several days after she was picked by McCain, Randi Rhodes read a letter on the air from an Alaskan woman describing what it was like to have Ms. Palin as mayor of Wasilla and later governor of the State; from the firing of the librarian and the vindictive treatment of those who disagreed with her, to the appointment of friends to political position to which they were not qualified, to the Wooten affair, including many other serious problems involving her judgment and personality. The letter writer was extremely fearful of a possible Palin vice-presidency.

The letter was entirely accurate, as we found out, and Ms. Palin has only become even worse. If ever there was someone who could be described as an "ugly American", she is it. She exhibits the characteristics of a seriously unstable psyche, with many features of borderline personality disorder, bi-polar disorder, and narcissism. Her pathology is on full display nearly every time she appears in public or opens her mouth to say something.

K.M.R

8/18/2011 07:17:10 pm

I was driving when the announcement was made at the convention. Her voice was my first OMG moment.
Upon arriving home I looked for Alaskan blogs and found Mudflats and then others. Audrey's blog and website became my favorite haunts...several visits each day. I couldn't get enough because I knew Palin was lying from the get-go. I thought it was obvious and that soon the general public would laughing with me. How could anyone take this woman seriously?
Three years later and ... !!!

I just can't wait until the pregnancy hoax is exposed in all it's ugly glory.

ginny11

8/18/2011 08:17:23 pm

Maybe I'm seeing more into this than is there, but I found the wording of this sentence interesting:
"She presented herself as a happily married woman who had welcomed into her world with open arms a Downs Syndrome baby while her son was being shipped off to war to serve his country."

"Welcomed into her world..."? Not, "gave birth to"?
and "while her son was..." rather than "while her OTHER son was..." Or "OLDER son" or similar.
Interesting wording, maybe nothing to it. But I can't help but wonder if more and more people, even Republicans, have their doubts.

AKRNC

8/18/2011 08:23:42 pm

The first time I saw $arah was when I was channel surfing and saw her on the Glenn Beck show. It must have been the caption about her being Alaska's first female governor who had just given birth to a baby boy with Down Syndrome that caught my eye or I wouldn't have kept the channel tuned into GB. I remember him asking her about her thoughts on being a potential VP pick for McCain and that had me doing a double-take. A woman with five children, one a month old with DS and thinking about possibly accepting a VP nomination if offered had to be viewing a possible nod as an honor but wouldn't even think of accepting such a time-consuming job with an infant with special needs? And before anyone dares to say I'm being misogynistic, I'd say that of a man who was the father of a newborn with DS, too. Nobody knows what they are going to be dealing with when it comes to a child with special needs and to think of uprooting the entire family, away from the extended family they were obviously so dependent on for help with ALL their children, in order for Mom or Dad to climb the career ladder, would be the epitome of selfishness for any woman or man. But as we've all come to know, nothing and nobody stands in the way of $arah's climbing to the top, whether it is friends, family, prior oath to an entire state, etc.

I listened to the RNC speech but when I heard her demean community organizing in comparison with being a small town mayor, I wanted to find out what Senator Obama had said about her. He had been so quick to admonish the media about leaving the kids out of it that I didn't think he'd then turn around and knock her being the mayor of a town anywhere in Alaska simply due to its size. I did a quick google search and found out he said nothing about mayors not having experience, he was responding to a spokesperson for McCain's campaign who said that Palin had more staff as Mayor of Wasilla than Obama had ever managed. His response was that his staff for the campaign numbered at 2500 compared to Palin's Wasilla staff being numbered at approximately 50 to 60 people and his monthly budget on the campaign was 3 times her yearly budget as Mayor. However, there was nothing snarky about his statement. He simply answered a question and $arah answered as she always does, with a demeaning, nasty tone because someone dared to say anything about her. She has never grown up and it's still obvious to this day. She'd be so humiliating as a representative of our country in any manner. We have to see Obama re-elected or we could possibly see her with some type of government position as a thank you for campaigning for whoever won for the GOP. I'm hoping that the majority that are running have seen through her and wouldn't want her around but not sure when it comes to Perry. I don't believe she has a chance in hell of winning or that she would even be able to tolerate the work involved in running for President. She's not known for working hard, ever!

Lynn

8/18/2011 08:53:23 pm

Where was I? Is it odd that I, too know exactly where I was when McCain announced Palin as his running mate? (seeing the shoes came later, of course)

I was at a traffic light I pass through at least a dozen times a week, listening to NPR on the XM. Scurried home, googled frantically, and quickly became hooked to the train wreck.

At the time I was supportive but still lukewarm on Barack Obama. By October, the week the finances collapsed, I wanted to see for myself whether Obama was the real deal, so spent eight sweltering hours standing in a muddy field in Jacksonville waiting to hear him speak. My then 12 and 17 year old kids were with me.

By that point I knew not only that Obama would be the president, but that Palin was beyond phony. I sent links continually to people for Audrey's site, IM, Mudflats, and could not understand why most people thought there was no way a pregnancy hoax could have happened.

When and if the truth is accepted, maybe I can find a new hobby.

Molly

8/18/2011 10:06:33 pm

I googled Palin's name on the night of the 29th of August. I actually can't remember what information I found, but whatever it was, I was not enamoured with her. When she gave her speech at the RNC convention I knew that I could not bear this woman (I'm being kind here). I hated her smug satisfaction everytime she delivered what she thought was a great punchline. When she waved Trig in front of the cameras I was horrified. I had read the Kos diary at this point and there and then, I knew that Trig could not possibly be her child. There was no love or affection shown towards him at all...only this smug, satisfied expression that spoke volumes to me. It was as if she felt she had gotten away with something.

I didn't really notice her shoes or anything else apart from her mouth. She had a really mean pair of lips, particularly her upper lip. I think she has had surgery on it since. Anyway, her mean mouth was what caught my attention and she has been spewing hatred and vitriol from it ever since. I despise her!!

Angimomma

8/18/2011 11:39:38 pm

I sat at my kitchen table with my family and my husband, knowing I was a strong Obama/Biden supporter, smiled and asked me if I had heard who McCain's running mate was (the announcement had just happened and I hadn't heard it yet). I said, "No. Who is he?". My husband, huge grin spreading across his face said, "Not he, SHE."
I was instantly stunned by the cynical, shrewd, and cunning choice of a woman. When I watched her RNC speech, I had the most visceral, sickened reaction to what was such a snarling, sneering, disrespectful speech. I knew that things were headed for the gutter and would never be the same. Boy, was I right, and then some.
So relieved to see that the rest of her party is FINALLY admitting what a deceitful, vindictive moron this creature truly is!

Sunshine1970

8/18/2011 11:41:29 pm

I didn't see her shoes when she came out on stage. I didn't hear about Palin till the next day. My only thought was "well, she's pretty..." And that was it. Till a few days later I began searching online for who she was. I also came across Audrey, and really had a difficult time that someone could be so brazen as to fake a pregnancy...the more I read the more my jaw got closer to the floor, and I knew this woman was a fraud through and through.

comeonpeople

8/18/2011 11:50:14 pm

Thanks Laura for this post. Why is it that so many of us had Palin's number from the gate, and others were blinded?
I remember as if it were yesterday when I first "met" Sarah. I was on my bed at my shore house, a lovely sunday morning,me, my laptop and a cup of coffee before the kids awoke. The nminute I saw her, my skin crawled. I started to google vet her, found the Daily Kos. Each time I saw her I had the same visceral disgust reaction. I eventually found Palin Deceptions, then IM, Palingates, Blade, Peyton Place, any of the blogs, all of them. My interest has always been the medical angle and holding MatSu and CBJ accountable. I still believe they are the weakest links and if any hard questions were asked, this thing could be cracked wide open.
Funny how so many of us little people google vetted her and knew she was bad news....yet our political system chose a cover up and glorification program instead to try and ram her down our throats. Lucky for us, Palin is a very mentally ill woman with borderline intelligence who is proving to be her own undoing - as so many of us foretold.
The Palin phenomenon is really the perfect storm of looks, circumstances ,and cover-ups. It could only have been born in Alaaaaska.

Rationalist

8/19/2011 12:29:56 am

Lynn - that's funny about finding a new hobby. I shudder to think how many hours I've spent on this - reading, posting, emailing...I've convinced some family members and others politely avoid the topic. I will so gladly move on to bigger and better ways to spend my time when the straw, whatever it might be, finally breaks this camel's back.

Viola-Alex

8/19/2011 12:40:54 am

I was so relieved that McCain didn't pick Joe Lieberman that Palin seemed a good thing. For about two minutes. My very savvy daughter phoned from NYC and said, mom, have you heard? that baby isn't hers! My daughter at that time lived on Gawker-- and knew I was a sucker for gossip (still am.) I started googling and never looked back. Mudflats and Audrey were my first blog experiences.

I spent ten years in therapy to recover from the secrets in my family. I KNEW the minute I saw and heard Palin that she is a very damaged woman and infested with secrets.

One thing about being a survivor of family trauma: You can't help but know your fellow survivors-- even in the grocery checkout line.

Rationalist

8/19/2011 12:48:08 am

omigod, guys, you have to read the article Sullivan just linked to about the "starbursts" this conservative blogger felt when he met Palin. It is the antithesis of our discussion here. How can one person invoke such wildly opposite reactions in people?

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/tygrrrr-express/2011/aug/17/sarah-palin-live-and-flesh/

elizabeth

8/19/2011 12:52:08 am

Here is a link to the only real diary I ever did on Daily Kos.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/09/16/600930/-Thanks-Sarah-PalinYou-Rock!?via=blog_662251

I hadn't read that in years and I think it says perfectly everything I felt and still feel about one Sarah Palin. It explain in detail my reaction to learning she was our VP nomination.

(Actually I blogged twice on

NSG

8/19/2011 12:58:16 am

During the whole R primary process, I'd periodically heard SP's name come up as a possible VP pick, so I don't have a clear moment of introduction.

What I do recall of my reactions...

- I was stunned by the cynicism of the pick. It clearly was "let's pick a woman to get Hillary's voters," as if female candidates are interchangeable. How patronizing!!! And between the DS baby and a bunch of other things, I could just see Schmidt et al going down a checklist of SP's attributes that would satisfy the right-wing of the party, knowing they were lukewarm abt McCain.

- Included in this was a thought that she & her family will be perceived as "attractive." (Not so much my own reaction, but again, a marketing calculation.)

- I have 2 clear recollections from the convention -- keeping in mind that I live outside St. Paul and was keenly aware that she was a few miles away. First, knowing that my then-8yo son was already sound asleep upstairs when she took the stage with Trig, I thought "wow, that baby really should be in bed at this hour!" Second, the pitbull/lip gloss line was a joke about my former career. From the EARLY 90s. When I heard it, I couldn't believe they'd dug up such stale material.

Finally, when I read the beginning of the pregnancy rumors, I was on alert but skeptical. But when I heard SP's version of the story, I immediately knew something was very wrong.

Ever since, I've just been keeping an eye out. And like so many, appalled that this story has been a case study in the failures of today's "journalism."

Brad Scharlott

8/19/2011 01:05:09 am

Gosh, I don't remember the exact circumstances. But only about a week or so after she was named the VP choice, I emailed the Alaska newsman that ArcXIX quoted as saying the hoax rumor had been debunked. (ArcXIX was the Daily Kos poster who accused Palin of the hoax on August 28, then backpedaled on the 30th, clearly for tactical reasons).

So my point is, I was actively researching the hoax in early September. I suppose it was the "throwing Bristol under the bus" action of the McCain team on Sept. 1 that convinced me that the hoax plotting was deep and nefarious.

Laura Novak link

8/19/2011 01:07:18 am

Thank you, Rationalist, for the link to that bat shit crazy article. Though, I should be mature and say that it reflects that man's personal feelings about Palin.

As we've all said here, we had visceral, immediate reactions ranging from suspicion to creepiness about Palin. Nothing added up in those first minutes and days any more than it does now. Only now there is so much more to back up our suspicions.

I agree with the people who have outlined her mental illness. And as we well know, there are serial killers (and Green Beret surgeons) who murder people and yet look so handsome and pull the wool over so many people's eyes.

It was probably just one more set of lies for this woman and her family to tell.

And even if the rest of her aura and background didn't disturb us, there is the indescribable way she held "her" own baby. Nothing was real about it. There was a total and alarming disconnect.

I too found Mudflats and Audrey and Gryphen shortly after and they formed an island of sanity.

Viola-Alex

8/19/2011 01:32:35 am

@Brad - ArcXIX. . .did you try to track this person down? He/she was the first to put out the word on Trig hoax, no? And then vanished.

Palin has become my hobby too, but I liken following her to reading Middlemarch. There's just so much story.

lilly lily

8/19/2011 01:33:06 am

I don't have T.V. I had three and all three blew at the same time and I have never replaced them, so I didn't see her. I heard her.

At first I thought, Great a woman governor. I knew nothing about her.

But her schreiking speech put me off.

So I went on the net and was on red alert immediatly. I thought, god let McCain come to his senses kick her off the ticket let her claim family matters were pressing and gracefully bow out.

He wasn't strong enough to do so. He was afraid of the fundi base.

Now he and his daughter Meghan have the Palinbots snarling at them. They deserve it because he is responsible for not kicking her off as soon as he saw what she was. And they knew.

While I was not thrilled with Obama or McCain I knew my state would go democrat, so I wrote in my choice.

I knew she wasn't going to stop, too hungry for power and attention. I knew she kept the clothes, though she claimed she returned them. (Dirty diapers). I knew she had a connection with Murdoch and faux news and would jump there. I was not in the least surprised at her resignation. I knew Murdoch and his background in Australia and England and his hunger for entre into the White House, and I despised Faux News.

President Obama and Hilary Clinton had avoided the Murdoch embrace.

I was as horrified by the type of person who became her fan base. The dumbest of the dumb and fat middle aged men who saw her as their PIN UP GIRL.

rubbernecking

8/19/2011 01:45:38 am

I read about McCain's announcement but didn't watch the OH event. I remember thinking "Who??" and feeling my self-identified political junkie status was in jeopardy.

Not a highlight of my emotional life, but I'll confess I felt better when I realized the talking heads didn't know how pronounce her name, some saying "Pal-in" and some saying "Pay-lin."

Her RNC speech blew me away. All I could think was, oh sh*t, she's the test-marketed opponent. Republicans are freaking out about how to deal with the race issue. Poison from old white guy doesn't test market well. But poison from pretty white lady with a baby? Rovian jackpot.

I don't get all the fuss about her clothes and shoes. She was dressed, groomed and packaged for the sale. Like the ladies in Cialis ads.

lilly lily

8/19/2011 01:51:15 am

I usually went into three blogs, one very funny, very snipey and very right wing. I immediatly go innundated with the right wing as I commented on the things I learned about her. They had a southern woman there was was unbelievably nasty about the Obama family. She had a blogsite of her own, and I left the site in disgust at all her chimp pictures of Obama.

Went into a blog someone else started which folded after the election. There I really let loose about the woman.

And I still post at another right wing site, We would get 1500 lookins on a thread as I alone said what she was and the others showed pictures of her as Wonder Woman while the owner claimed I was a troll and pushing the envelope. So I shut up. Anyone on the left or moderate as I am had been banned by that time. I remain as they are interesting people, but never talk politics. Elvis left the building on that one topic, though I blogged on their blog threads and no one dared comment, though they read what I wrote and must have burned. Must have about 20,000 look ins on that, till her book came out and I said there were too many lies in the book to debunk, so why even bother writing any more about her pathological lies.

destiny

8/19/2011 01:52:09 am

where the fuck is ruffles?

Duncan

8/19/2011 02:00:37 am

Hi Laura,

Here's a comment that I saved last year, I don't remember where it came from though. Sorry.

"Anonymous said...
Well, Sarah, God's plan for you is becoming clearer by the minute. Keep it up, girlfriend.

I understand you, Sarah, we grew up together in Wasilla in the same grade. Side by side since elementary. We ran in the same circle of friends, Sarah.

I remember that both Heather and Molly were the cute, popular girls - with their shiny blond hair. You, with your dark frizzy mess and your wonky eye. I always felt a little sorry for you. In elementary school you had those awful cat-eyes. Remember Curtis and Cherl in Mr. Bradley's gym class. They both looked so cute in their gym clothes. You had that ratty mess and thick glasses but you could still see them holding hands in the hallway in front of Miss DeArmoun's English class.

We were in band together too, Sarah. You never really shined with your flute playing, just another face in the crowd. Chris E. was better and don't you remember how cute Chris and Curtis looked together as they walked through the halls hand in hand during what was that, our sophomore and junior years? Chris was so smart and pretty.

And I was pissed when I read how your dopey dad faked you out of Pep Band. I remember wondering why you never seemed to show. I f'in hated sitting in the Palmer bleachers outdoors in October - you were not as tough as an Alaskan girl as I was - I didn't lie my way out of it. I endured the shame and misery of it all.

Amd remember those wonderful days when your mom would grace our presence as substitute secretary. I recall, even as a child, thinking that your mom was a busybody with an very annoying voice. I liked Linda Menard though, remember she used to substitute a lot for Miss DeArmoun? Mrs. Menard was so bubbly, I think all the kids liked her. But I thought it was funny when I learned that she layed out Curtis' outfits for him every day. I'll bet you wanted to do that.

And I often wonder if you have tried to pray the gay away from Tilly. You know, your gay friend you've had for thirty years. She is who you went off to college with. (wink, wink) She told the story to a reporter of how you pulled the smoke alarm in the dorm room when there was no fire. I find it VERY interesting that you had urges to yell "fire" in a theatre even then. That is in the Googles, Sarah. I don't know what you were thinking.

And remember when you came back from college and WON MISS WASILLA. But did you know that none of the girls I knew had any idea of any such pagaent. Did you know that you were a laughing stock - known as Miss Wasyphilis. Snap! But you got to be queen of the Wasyphilis Water Festival back in it's heyday at Snider Park. That must have been an honor. But Curtis was off becoming a dentist and you weren't that into Todd. I know a guy you dated - he said your head was so big, all he could stand was a few dates. But that's OK Sarah, lot's of girls left Alaska to return feeling superior to girls who stuck around. And that along your new-found confidence from reading The Rules Girls and your love affair with Mary-Kay made Curtis fall for you briefly. He knew he made a mistake and didn't want to date you. He was smart, Sarah. You were letting your ego get out of control and he saw that. But then, oh-oh, preggo. What to do, Curtis doesn't want you but there is TODD! There is always Todd. And he is a pretty good catch for a native. You know Sarah, I never knew Todd was a native Alaskan. I don't think the coaches new either, otherwise he would have never gotten game time on the basketball court. I used to joke with my girlfriends that Todd Palin was a Michael J. Fox wanna be. He liked to wear pastel polo shirts with the collar up, high and tight Levi's and classic Nike's. I always thought Todd was just another snobby rich kid that came with the sea of Pipeline kids.

January 9, 2010 2:17 AM "

Interesting, eh?

Duncan

Freddy el Desfibradddor

8/19/2011 02:23:55 am

My first vivid memory of Palin is from her speech at the Republican National Convention. Her nastiness - and the enthusiastic response from the crowd - were appalling, but not surprising.

Later, I read Andrew Sullivan about the Trig issue. But it wasn't until Brad Scharlott wrote about it this spring that I really began to look into the whole saga.

Palin is, of course, deeply damaged - and in my opinion that is part of what gives her the charisma that made her so dangerous - the deeply damaged public resonates with her so well.

I realize now that I mostly agree with Kurt Vonnegut - that the vision of a humane, reasonable America that his generation fought for in World War II cannot come to pass because we (our masters, that is to say, who control the body politic) are too powerful, and power corrupts.

Frank Sinatra THE HOUSE I LIVE IN (1945)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0NraoSYr38&feature=related

creeolina

8/19/2011 03:03:38 am

I saw her picture on Drudge and thought, "Who's the secretarial-looking lady McCain picked?"

Then I started to look up anything about her. The first thing was Glenn Beck's interview with her a couple of months before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKwZNwdowa4

I thought it was creepy how he made a big deal out of her having a "special needs" child etc. And she just acted pleasantly blase and then went on to talk about those pesky polar bears.

The following day, I was blown away by how she threw Bristol under the bus by announcing that her daughter was pregnant. I kept thinking, "What a terrible thing for a mother to do to her teenage daughter."

And then, of course, the story about Trig not being hers came out, and I was intrigued. (Mainly becauseI'm an ex-journalist and this type of thing is worth looking into.)

In the days that followed, I thought it was odd how Bristol would mainly be seen caring for Trig and that she and Levi acted more parental to him than Palin and Todd. I also remember Palin mentioning that Bristol was on the bus feeding Trig. And I was gobsmacked: Really? I pictured her breastfeeding him, not just giving him a bottle.

And from there, it has become a daily obsession with Gryphen's blog, now yours and Joe McGinniss'.

I really look forward to the day the truth is told about Trig and his origins, because there ain't no way Sarah Palin gave birth to that child.

lilly lily

8/19/2011 03:37:20 am

I was always wrote that she was Trigs mother(adoptive) even if I wrote that she was not his biological mother. And that alone is bizarre, to adopt any child let alone one with DS considering her grand obsession to become POTUS going back a decade.

As far as I was concerned it looked like a hoax immediatly. Why I couldn't fathom. I had no idea of the fundi craziness about Pro life. And all their positions are schizoid to my way of thinking. Set all women back to subjecation and patriarchy. Meanwhile Sarah plays fast and loose with the rights that women have gained. While holding on to victimhood and you can't talk about my vagina, blah, blah, blah.

An expert out of talking out of both sides of her mouth. One rule for other people, and another for me and mine.

Sarah Palin treated the child with no consideration for his comfort or well being.

Bristol did.

Often Sarah handed him over to Bristol who seemed almost relieved to have him out of her hands, and immediatly Sarah was texting which was so much more important to her than the child. The one she called the Retarded one in private. She lugged him around when she did hold him for her fans and the camera, no tenderness at all. Everyone else showed some tenderness, Todd, Willow Bristol, Piper, and Levi.

The grandparents also seemed remote.

Sarah cared what her father saw of her political triumph, that was very important to her.

He seems at the source of her pathology, probably without realizing what he was doing when he decided to treat her like Oscar, the boy he wanted.

She is one messed up woman.

Too bad for her family, but the country deserves a sane person, male or female.

And President Obama is sane.

Beaglemom

8/19/2011 04:00:09 am

It was wonderful to read all of these comments. I think we saw McCain introducing the Palins before an audience and then we also saw her speech at the Convention. Not a good speaker but the crowd lapped it up!

My first reaction was to turn to the internet - really something new for me. Mudflats to begin with, then Palin Deception, Palingates and on to ImmoralMinority, and on and on to today.

I hope that the truth will come out about her faked pregnancy and that she will disappear from the media. She has done so much damage to our national psyche with her hatred and rage and insane jealousy of the Obama family.

Melly

8/19/2011 04:48:09 am

I remember her intro speech in Ohio, when I heard her say 'my husband Todd and I grew up working with our hands,' and she flicked those harpy fingers around. That caught my attention. I have never listened to the convention speech and will not, but I do I recall all the images of Trig-as-prop and was sickened and furious about them. I was beyond excited about the Kos posting on the pregnancy, but then I completely bought into the Gusty photo and for the whole campaign I didn't question her as the mother. It wasn't until Dec. after the election that I found Audrey and the rest of the courageous bloggers, and of course the photo collection, and I won't be leaving until babygate is finally exposed.

8/19/2011 04:52:40 am

Duncan - thanks for saving and posting that comment. Fascinating tidbits.

nswfm

8/19/2011 05:41:22 am

I was driving in front of one of Reagan's ambassador's homes when I heard the announcement on NPR that McCain was picking her and thought "Country First, my ass! Country Last, McCain!"

I did the financial business I needed to, went to my parents' house for breakfast and when the OH news conference was announced on NPR, I got up from the table, followed by my parents to go see it on their TV. My mom wasn't even in the room yet and said, "I can't stand her voice already." I watched and thought "She's a total liar." Then when I got to work, I googled her and got this link:
http://wizbangblog.com/content/2008/05/29/alaska-gov-sarah-palin-to-meet-with-mccain-vp-search-team.php

Notice what Syrin has to say:
"You go back to the debates in the gubernatorial race and it is obvious the Dems could run SpongeBob Square Pants up there and make Palin look foolish.

Palin does well because Alaskans are not the sharpest tools in the shed. She is actually a fraud being perpetuated by a few. Her experience is sparce and she has proven to be sophmoric and tripe. If the American public gets a 5 on a 1-10 scale of gullibility, your typical Alaskan scores a 2.

Palin literally knew nothing in terms of details during debates. She had her platitudes and talking point fluff. That can fly nationally but only if you are articulate and know how to sound kowledgeable even when you are not. Palin is quite incompetent, she does not know how to do that unlike say, Obama, who is very good at it.

Incidently, Obama is slowly starting to be exposed. If this country was not caught up in an Iraq backlash, Obama would be in trouble. As it is, 2008 should be a runaway for the Dems in the current atmosphere. The fact McCain appears to be ahead in states worth around 200 electoral votes is a testament to how weak a candidate Obama is.

And Palin, Chavez in drag is not being seriously considered by the way.

42. Posted by Syrin | May 31, 2008 1:15 AM"

and

"This inept governor Sarah Palin has a high approval from the un educated, sound bite crowd. Sure it's all fun and games to terrorizing and taxing private industry 400%, successfully becoming the highest taxing regime in the world. Chavez would be Proud Palin invited 1200 new friends to ride the government gravy train and help grow government. She has continued giving every special intrest group just what they want or more. Sarah has created an atmosphere of hate and discontent in the state of Alaska between the people and the legislators. She continues with baseless accusations and directs negative media towards the Alaska House and Senate Members. She just recently tried to oust the Chairman of the Republican Party of Alaska. Side Note: The Lt Governor announced he was running against the Senior Republican Congressman. This guy has provided no service in his present position. Sarah was voted in for being nothing more than a fresh face.

The fact that she has NO experience and NO creditability was not considered in the debate. We are now reaping the consequences of electing someone quite incompetent to do this job. Note: Don't Blame Me- I Didn't Vote for Her.

56. Posted by syrin | June 15, 2008 5:33 AM"

and finally:
"Hey Tom and Juan,
I live in ALASKA, I have known Sarah Heath and Todd Palin all their lives. My beef about an incompetent woman named Sarah Palin. She is a fraud! She can't accomplish a simple task as a governor of a small state so she has created an atmoshpere of hate and pitting groups against each other. You people think she can be a VP, how with her looks? You have lost your FLIPPIN minds! Ignorance KILLS! She is not smart, conservative or prolife. She is not an upstanding parent or community member. I know who her oldest children were sent to live so to get them out of Sarah's way. I know who Sarah had an affair with also. I know that Sarah Palin is the most insecure individual that I have ever met! The national GOP and McCain has NO intention on placing Sarah Palin who is the symbol of ignorance over substance in a position such as VP.
Listen to my radio program

66. Posted by Syrin | June 28, 2008 3:31 PM"

I don't share Syrin's politics, but it was good to read that people in AK knew she was a fraud. I particularly was attentive to the sending away her kids comment and knew when I heard the Wild Ride story, she was a complete f**king liar, because no way did that happen the way she described.

Also, my dad said, "The pregnant daughter probably had Tri-g, thinking she couldn't get pregnant because she was nursing. How many millions of times has that happened around the world?"

Rationalist

8/19/2011 05:47:09 am

I didn't get "secretary," I got "hot librarian in a porn movie." And that's exactly what my husband and other guys I know saw too.

Like when she gave the tour of Juneau with her red pumps and tight black skirt.

http://myfashionlustlist.blogspot.com/2011/03/female-leaders-style-sarah-palin-9th.html

Who was she hosting? A group of congressional delegates? Energy leader? Governors? Can't remember, but it's no accident she dressed that way for those guys.

nswfm

8/19/2011 06:07:30 am

Duncan

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:00:37

Hi Laura,

Here's a comment that I saved last year, I don't remember where it came from though. Sorry.
~~~~
I think that comment was left on Immoral Minority.

Laura Novak link

8/19/2011 06:09:17 am

Thanks for those Syrin links. Amazing to think that even your dad thought Trig was Bristol's.

I wonder what it is then about the group of us who saw through her and smelled a rat, as compared to those who saw starbursts.

That's what I tried to understand about that Frum Forum article.

But there is a defensiveness about her that her supporters possess which makes it difficult to get inside their heads.

Perhaps we all have personal experience with someone as disturbed as Palin. Perhaps they are projecting what they wish to see rather than acknowledge their own deficits and secret longings.

Who knows. But what a mess it's left us with: A 13 year old girl spewing hate for the POTUS and his family. Junior high on the national stage.

K.M.R

8/19/2011 06:27:33 am

Thank you Duncan.
I found the Anonymous comment you pointed to, on IM.
http://tinyurl.com/3lgnl27
The commenter @ Gryphen's writes that he/she came across it on Bree Palin's Blog.

p.s. I enjoyed reading all the individual reactions to SP coming on the scene.

lilly lily

8/19/2011 06:37:04 am

The FBI released Shawn and Craig Christys e-mails to Palins lawyers.

It is an update on Joe McGinniss Rogue blog, in his take on the Christy affair.

Pretty gross and sick if they are from them.

Craig and Shawn Christy are toast.

If true, it is inexcusable for any reason. Just like her bots death threats to anyone who crosses their goddess.

Remember the Thugees of India? Her bots remind me of them.

nancydrew

8/19/2011 06:58:20 am

I remember having a phone conversation right after the RNC speech with a male friend who worked for years with the Congressional Research Service; he's a serious policy wonk--also a bit of a womanizer. So I wondered what he made of her. I told him I thought she was the worst thing to happen to the women's movement in my life time. He agreed. My Ivy-League educated BIL however was smitten. Still might be -- I don't know because I stopped discussing her with him long ago -- that's been a rift which makes me not only sad but angry.

The group of moms I've known since our kids were in parochial school together (some are fairly conservative Catholics) was also all in unanimous agreement about her special awfulness at the RNC, that she gleefully used her child as a prop and for that she belonged in a category deserving an everlasting disdain. "Why wasn't the child home asleep?" Most did not dismiss the possibility that she was not his birth mother. And some even said immediately that it was obvious that Bristol was, preggers announcement or no. That announcement sealed the deal as far as I was concerned. Luckily Audrey, Bree et al. started exposing it all to light, one crack at a time. One wonders what might have happened had the bloggers all given up.

That said, without McCain and his reckless disregard for the country, I think it's also safe to say that we would not now be using the name Michelle Bachmann in the same sentence as "presidential candidate." Palin set the stage for this absolute craziness.

LakeLucilleLoon

8/19/2011 07:20:25 am

I felt much the same was as I did when she won our Governorship in 2006; a sense of disbelief that so many could support such an empty-headed vessel.

Freddy el Desfibradddor

8/19/2011 07:29:11 am

If Bristol gave birth to Trig, as seems probable, and Levi believed he was the father - then Babygate has a fairly simple back story. The baby was USED for political purposes, but not CREATED for political purposes.

I hope that's what happened.

And the fires at Dar Miller's, and the church? Hmmm.

Ennealogic link

8/19/2011 07:48:07 am

I don't think I saw the announcement where McCain introduced Palin until the day after, but my first blog post on Palin was on 8-31-08, titled, "Palin, Trig, and Baldwin-Johnson."
http://threebrain.blogspot.com/2008/08/palin-trig-and-baldwin-johnson.html

I recall being very curious about just who this woman, SP, was, and quickly discovered several serious issues with her by searching online.

The DKos diary by ArcXIX (I think that was his handle) felt true and raised some solid questions about whether the VP candidate pulled off a major fake birth hoax. I stopped reading DKos after Markos pulled that diary, confused as to why he'd pull the plug on the topic. Then I found Mudflats, who also pulled the plug on "babygate," which was when I found PalinDeceptions and others who were not afraid of asking the question. I continued to write about what irked me or puzzled me most about SP.

I did watch SP's acceptance speech at the Republican convention, and immediately sent a contribution to Barack Obama's campaign. In fact, I think her snarly, snarky, spite-filled speech probably earned our now President quite an increase in his campaign coffers. Yes, she was 'attractive.' Yes, she seemed self-confident. Yes, she was a woman who for the first time was a VP candidate for the Republicans. Had she used her speech to speak positively about where she and McCain were headed, instead of degrading the Democratic candidate, instead of being so freaking bitchy, I think things might have turned out differently.

There are gentle women and bitchy women. After her convention speech, I knew without a doubt which one she was. And I did not miss the visual signs showing Bristol's and Levi's obvious tenderness towards Trig, versus Sarah's obvious remoteness.

I came to the conclusion, and was willing to say publicly by July 2009, that the only scenario that makes sense is that the Ice Queen herself simply could not be the bio mother of the dear little tyke named Trig.

I admit to unbridled anger toward all her enablers (that includes most of the media) for having allowed her to get away with this most egregious lie for so long. I likewise admit to enthusiastic admiration for all those who now (and still) work to bring the baby hoax into the mainstream. It is, and will be, what pops the phony Palin balloon once and for all.

Viola-Alex

8/19/2011 08:24:39 am

Wow, Duncan et al. That's some comment. Glad you saved it.

--

And thanks to the person above who commented that even Bristol having Trig is too good to be true for the RightToLife contingent. I'd never thought of that. Of all the things to cement a deal, TRI-G was it.

(So what if Bristol's Ruffles had to be the stand-in until a TRI-G was found. Ruffles was adopted out, while TRI-G was adopted in? Crossing like ships in the night.)

8/19/2011 09:00:49 am

As soon as Palin was announced as the VP pick, I went online to try to find out some things about her. I saw the Youtube video of her getting 'blessed' by the African 'minister?' to protect her from witches and the other one where she calls the Iraq war the 'will of God'. That was it for me. I knew she was a nutcase. Shortly after that, I found my way to Mudflats and Audrey's blog, then later to IM and Palingates.

nswfm

8/19/2011 09:26:08 am

Laura Novak

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:09:17

Thanks for those Syrin links. Amazing to think that even your dad thought Trig was Bristol's.
~~
You are welcome. Thanks for getting the word out.

Both of my parents are registered as Rs, because they live in a very R area and don't want the neighbors to know how they vote since it's none of anyone's business, yet they write in their own candidates and voted against Reagan and other Rs in favor of Anderson, Clinton, Kerry and Obama. In fact, my father started working as a poll worker after one of them said, "You changed your votes!" when she saw he'd written in candidates as she was putting it into the ballot box. Set him off like a firecracker. The first time I was eligible to vote, I went with him--when we left, he said, "I voted for you for mayor." "But Dad, I wasn't running!" "Yeah, but you could do a better job at 18 than the clowns who are running," he said.

Lisab2595

8/20/2011 01:31:28 am

I lived in anchorage from 2002 to 2007, so unlike most of you, I was appalled by Sarah during her gubernatorial campaign. I actually counted "leaving Palin behind" as a perk for moving back to Texas.

My husband called me at home to say he'd heard from our AK connections that Palin was the pick. The first words from my mouth were, "he's (mcCain's) lost the election."

I knew from my living room before the convention that Palin meant forfeiting the election don't know how anyone else could have thought otherwise either.

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