Free Republic

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said where GOP candidates stand on amnesty and immigration will be “huge” in determining which candidate she potentially endorses in this election cycle if she decides to make an endorsement that may well determine who will win the GOP presidential nomination. Palin praised Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)82% —who is the top champion of American workers in Congress—saying that he is “so good on immigration.” She added that it is probably “his number one issue that he thinks is most impacting on the future of America.” “He’s going to pick one candidate who’s strongest on that...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin thinks a President Donald Trump is "a very real possibility." "I think it's a very real possibility because people are really tired of professional politicians who, you know, won't call it like they see it and maybe don't have life experiences that allow them to prove a track record of success," the former vice presidential nominee said in a radio interview with WBT Charlotte's News Talk radio on Thursday. "That's refreshing about Trump," she said. "He's a fighter. We know he's gonna put America first, and he really nailed it early on what the main...

Skipping to the end: ... Consider, if you will, what happens to a person who suggests that Sarah Palin is anything other than saintly. Right off the bat, they are accused of disliking America or Alaska or conservatives or mothers or the working class — or even women in general — and then they are informed that their “hatred” is showing. Next, their motives are questioned and their supposedly secret “agenda” is exposed for the world to see, for no right-thinking person could dislike Palin on the merits, natch. “I hope you enjoy your elite cocktail parties,” the apologists will...

ANCHORAGE – Sen. Lisa Murkowski is running for reelection in 2016 to seek a third full term as Alaska’s senior senator. She made the official announcement at the Williwaw restaurant in downtown Anchorage Friday. “We’ve got a year in front of us, and I don’t take anything for granted,” Murkowski said. During the last election, Murkowski lost the Republican primary to Joe Miller, but ultimately succeeded in the general election through a write-in campaign. On Friday, the senator said this time, she’s doing it “the old-fashioned way.” At least 100 supporters gathered at Williwaw for the announcement. “She does for...

The state of Alaska will now own more of the big Alaska LNG Project. It will have to shell out more money for it, too. Alaska's Permanent Fund may have to be put up as collateral, also. Legislators have been meeting in special session in Juneau since Oct. 24 to review Gov. Bill Walker's proposal for the state to buy out TransCanada's share of the planned $45 billion to $65 billion pipeline and liquefied gas project. On Nov. 3 and 4, the state Senate (16-3) and House (39-0) gave their approvals. The acquisition is to be effective Dec. 1, under...

Last night's off-year elections produced a number of noteworthy outcomes, none larger than Republican Matt Bevin's upset victory in Kentucky's gubernatorial race. Bevin ran as a hard-charging outsider conservative, warts and all. Public polls gave his opponent, Democrat Jack Conway, a modest but stable lead throughout the race's home stretch, averaging out to a three-point Conway advantage in a three-way contest. They were off by double digits. Bevin won handily:DailyKos tweet at link ... Bevin, boosted by a massive investment from national Republicans and help from his former nemisis Mitch McConnell, nationalized the race, tying Conway to President Obama at...

'It's a whole other world': religious pilgrims venture deep into Alaska forest Pilgrims from as far as Russia descend up the small town of Kodiak to honor a Russian Orthodox saint who lived and died in the archipelago centuries ago Celeste Englehardt has traveled all over the world to pray. A Russian Orthodox Christian from Washington, DC’s Virginia suburbs, Englehardt’s faith has taken her to Jerusalem, Ukraine, Moldova – even to the ruins of ancient Orthodox monasteries in Ireland. And now an island in Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago is among the holy sites she has visited. “Sometimes you can’t describe things,”...

Here is video from CNN yesterday where GOP strategist Mary Matalin was on with Democrat Strategist husband James Carville talking about the Health Care debate. Carville was his usual nasty self, launching into an attack on Sarah Palin and conservatives in general as being "nutty" for believing in Creation and holding traditional values. But Carville's wife Mary Matalin skewered him when he finished the attack by saying: Here's a rule for your viewers going forward for Sunday: The greater the Carville level of vitriol, the more they are losing." Matalin's rule is true across the board for Democrats and the...

Bottom line: The book is a good read, an unusually detailed front-row seat view to how strained campaigns always are, and a compelling insight into Palin's perspective. Its long-term publishing and political impact are unknown for now, though as Palin moves out of the mainstream media monster publicity machine and into more hospitable, relevant political terrain, the prospects for success on both fronts improve exponentially. But its impact on personal and professional relationships is a sad one indeed and one I hope conservatives don't let it divide us just when we are marching toward a promising midterm, which reflects an...

Here is video of Democratic Strategist James Carville and his wife, Republican Strategist Mary Matalin talking about Gov. Sarah Palin's future and her chances in 2012 and beyond. Prior to discussing Sarah Palin, they first discuss the chances of Obama's Health Care legislation passing. Their discussion with Wolf Blitzer about Gov. Sarah Palin begins at the 4:14 mark of the video. Carville essentially says that Democrats would love to have Palin run as the GOP Nominee in 2012, and he says it's Conservative voices like Fred Barnes and Peggy Noonan that have been the hardest on Palin. Mary Matalin says...

Here is video of Republican strategist Mary Matalin saying she believes Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation announcement is a "brilliant" move that will rally many supporters around the nation in her defense. Matalin says she believes this assuming there is no scandal behind the decision, which she does not believe exists. . . . (Watch Video)

Appearing on Tuesday's "Today" show, Republican strategist Mary Matalin slammed the media for its "hair-on-fire" coverage of Sarah Palin's selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee of John McCain. In particular, she corrected a previous segment by David Gregory which asserted that the Alaska governor had hired an attorney to defend herself against an ethics probe into possible attempts to dismiss a state trooper. Matalin asserted to host Matt Lauer that it wasn't true "that she's hired a lawyer to deal with this trooper issue. The attorney general, state attorney general hired the lawyer." She forcefully added, "That's what they...

Here's something you don't see every day: Jon Stewart defending Sarah Palin. During a "Daily Show" segment entitled "P-mail," Stewart pounded the media for providing "full team coverage of the arbitrary release date of Sarah Palin's non-urgent e-mails"--and for feeding the former vice presidential candidate's sense of self-importance. "Where would Palin get this notion that we're hanging on every word she's said or written?" Stewart asked, before playing a video montage of media outlets bracing for the release of a trove of 24,000 pages of emails she wrote as Alaskan governor. "Oh right. She got that idea because we are.""For...

When The Post's front page declares: "Republicans are on the verge of ceasing to function as a national party," it's time to ask: How did this come to pass? You can choose from a litany of insurrections, government shutdowns and other self-inflicted wounds. But this year's carnival-like GOP presidential primary makes one event, in retrospect, stand out as a crucial turning point on the road to upheaval: the 2008 embrace of then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be a heartbeat from the presidency. Palin's blatant lack of competence and preparedness needs no belaboring. What's critical is that substantive, serious Republican leaders...

Rather than let the herds drown or starve, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened the season on Thursday, giving hunters the go-ahead to start harvesting herds found on drifting ice floes in waters adjacent to Nunivak and Nelson islands.

Sarah Palin believes flight 370 flew directly to heaven... how is she a senator? — DIMV (@Freshselective) March 21, 2014 The Daily Currant strikes again. The website, which calls itself “The Global Satirical Newspaper of Record,” last week claimed that Sarah Palin told Sean Hannity she believes Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 “accidentally flew too high and got stuck in heaven.” The story was cross posted to other non-satire sites and managed to fool quite a few.

 All that's necessary to assure our compliance is shaming us into silence.  Our best hope for substantial political change in the past generation was Sarah Palin. When she self-imploded during her Iowa Freedom Summit address last January, what we saw was, not just a personal failure of nerve, but the sure-thing, efficient result, the calculated application of ridicule as one of the key techniques of thought reform. The more one examines this field of study, the more pessimistic one becomes about the prospect for any meaningful resurgence of American democratic republicanism. When Sarah jumped the shark, she was showing understandable...

The Obama administration gave its final stamp of approval Wednesday to Shell Oil Company's application to drill oil and natural gas in the Arctic Ocean. Under the approval, Shell can start drilling exploratory wells as soon as its fleet arrives at its prospect in the Chukchi Sea, about 140 miles off Alaska's northwest coast. But the two “application to drill”s approved by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) included key restrictions that bar Shell from drilling in areas known to contain oil, since its safety equipment is not yet fully ready. The decision is a major...

The Obama administration delivered a major blow to Shell’s Arctic drilling plans on Tuesday, by ruling that wildlife protections bar the company from simultaneously boring two wells into the Chukchi Sea this summer. The decision will force Shell to scale back its hopes of completing two exploratory oil wells in waters north of Alaska this summer and is another setback for the firm that has spent seven years and $7 billion trying to find crude in the Arctic Ocean. At issue is the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to allow sound from Shell’s planned drilling to disturb walruses, polar bears...

The Obama administration gave conditional approval on Monday for Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc. to start drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean this summer. The approval is a major victory for Shell and the rest of the petroleum industry, which has sought for years to drill in the remote waters of the Chukchi seas, which are believed to hold vast reserves of oil and gas. “We have taken a thoughtful approach to carefully considering potential exploration in the Chukchi Sea, recognizing the significant environmental, social and ecological resources in the region and establishing high standards for the...