Free Republic

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected to announce Friday that she will not seek a second term, a Republican source close to Palin tells CNN. Palin has scheduled a 3 p.m. ET news conference at her home in Wasilla. The governor’s office offered no further details about the subject of the news conference, but the sources tells CNN that Palin will announce her decision to forgo another run.

Sarah Palin is the biggest political star in the nation. Need proof , just look at the events this weekend. There is not a single political or news person or outlet that is not talking about what the Governor did yesterday. The funniest thing is , everyone is trying to guess why she resigned even though she clearly stated why. She can no longer govern Alaska because she spends everyday of her time and all kinds of money fighting false ethic charges. She has become a lightning rod for the media and the people of Alaska are better off with...

If Sarah Palin thinks quitting the Alaskan statehouse is going to help a 2012 presidential campaign which some pundits speculate she's mulling, she's mistaken, according to longtime Republican strategist Ed Rollins...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt and unscripted holiday resignation is an odd way to launch a potential presidential bid and certainly no help for a party battered by scandal and fighting for relevancy. From a folksy figure who catapulted from obscure governor to conservative darling and vice presidential nominee, it's merely the latest move in a political drama that has left Republican elders scratching their heads. --snip-- "If this is her launching pad for 2012, it's a curious move," said John Weaver, a former senior strategist for McCain's presidential bids. "Policy is politics, and she has no real accomplishments as...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is stepping down, announcing suddenly today that will she pursue other means of having an impact in the public arena, fueling speculation about her intentions for another bid for national office. Palin will step down before her first term is finished, resigning as of July 26 -- while not offering a clear reason for her withdrawal. Having decided not to seek a second term, she said she did not want to remain as a "lame duck'' simply wasting taxpayer money with trade missions and the like. "I know when it's time to pass the ball,'' said...

CNN and other major news outlets have reported that Sarah Palin has abruptly resigned as governor of Alaska. The suddenness of her announcement raises the question about whether Palin resigned to avert a major scandal. One logical place to start looking is the affair that has Alaska political circles buzzing: an alleged scandal centered around a building contractor, Spenard Building Supplies, with close ties to Palin and her husband, Todd. Many political observers in Alaska are fixated on rumors that federal investigators have been seizing paperwork from SBS in recent months, searching for evidence that Palin and her husband Todd...

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 15) -- Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) electrified Washington today, resigning from the Senate to campaign full time for the White House (256K WAV sound). "I announce that I will forego the privileges not only of the office of the majority leader but of the United States Senate itself, from which I resign effective on or before June 11th," a choked-up Dole told a Capitol Hill news conference, flanked by Republican lawmakers and a few Democrats. "And I will then stand before you without office or authority, a private citizen, a Kansan, an American, just a man." ......

Palin 2012. Hypothetical narrative. If this is what she runs on — and does it well — then watch the hell out: I’m Sarah Palin, and I’m running to be Citizen-In-Chief. I entered politics to change something. I ran to serve my state, the great state of Alaska, and then for the vice-presidency because I care about this country. I saw first-hand the viciousness and pettiness that have made Americans fed up with politicians, politics as usual, and the destructive personal attacks that also go on far too often. Those sorts of things that public service should never be about....

July 03, 2009 Sarah Palin breaks the mold again By Thomas Lifson. At this point there is much speculation about why Sarah Palin abruptly announced her impending resignation from Alaska's governorship. Her critics are already calling her "erratic" but she is consistent in one respect: she cares little for the established ways of doing things when she thinks she has a better course of action. The conventional wisdom holds that you bury news when it is announced at 4 PM on Friday of a holiday weekend. But the comparative news vacuum seems to be only amplifying the echoes reverberating through...

Here is video of GOP Strategist Ed Rollins giving his assessment of Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to resign as Governor of Alaska. Rollins calls the timing of her resignation announcement "suspicious," referring to it coming on a Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend, and because she is not finishing out her term. He does not believe this is any way to start a campaign for President. (Watch Video)

WASHINGTON - I have covered politics for a long time. I can tell when someone is running for president. Sarah Palin is running for president. On a sunny (slow news) day in Wasilla, Alaska, the governor and former GOP vice presidential candidate appeared before the cameras and   announced that she was stepping down as the state's chief executive 18 months before her term expires. Just like that — like the distant sound of a chain saw in a stand of northern pines — the 2012 Republican race lurched into gear. Palin is not the front-runner — there IS no front-runner...

No way to tell if this is a real window onto her mind or just spin to salve the wound of a tough day, but the Palinistas deserve some hope. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin plans to remain extremely visible and will give serious consideration to running for president in 2012, but has made no decision, a close friend said after her startling announcement Friday that she will resign her office… Those friends say she plans to give a series of paid speeches, and will also make free GOP appearances, raising money for the party and for issues. She also plans...

Yes, Democrat operatives and their lawyers cost Alaska 80% of their operative time and 2 million in debt, but she also said her family has become a HALF MILLION in debt from these operatives.

The news of Sarah Palin’s resignation as governor came during my show this afternoon, where we spent most of an hour discussing it with the chatizens and my co-host Duane Patterson. I’ve had a chance to watch the video of her announcement and read through dozens of Twitter messages back and forth attempting to rationalize this, and still, it simply can’t be rationalized on the basis of what Palin said today. It’s easily the most bizarre resignation I’ve seen, and just about senseless. The lame-duck explanation was the most incoherent part of the entire statement: “Once I decided not to...

Sarah Palin Is Running A Marathon. It's called life. It was quite a news day to be off in the canyons and away from cell signal or wifi. Although I might be the last person to comment on the Alaskan Governor’s announcement today, please indulge my being late to the pity party, because I still love me some Sarah Palin. By the time I heard, the spin had already begun, but I didn’t want to hear any of it. I just felt that this must be a terrible move on her part, or a really unfortunate choice she felt compelled...

~snip~ Palin ended 2008 with a striking run of personal successes in high-profile popularity polls. According to a poll by Gallup she was the second most admired woman of the year, after Hillary Clinton. Time magazine chose her as the world’s fourth most influential person, behind Barack Obama, Henry Paulson of the US Treasury and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France. Last week she triumphed in an annual poll, commissioned by a property website, as the person Americans would most like to have as their neighbour. She finished ahead of Oprah Winfrey, the television chat show queen, and Michael Phelps, the...

THIS VERY STRANGE REPORT WAS PUBLISHED BY KGB CONTROLLED RUSSIAN SOURCE. IT IS DISTURBING TO THE CORE McCain’s running mate lays into Russia 05 September, 2008, 08:26 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has wasted no time in casting a cloud over Russia. In her keynote speech to the party convention in Minnesota, the Alaskan Governor accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon in its disagreements with the West. PALIN: “With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves...

I absolutely hate liberals....

Ever notice? When she’s angry, she starts talking a little faster, her eyes lids narrow a tad, and she talks through lips that are a bit closer together – and that faint frown of hers becomes almost permanent, yet a smile remains. She displayed all of those signs today. She didn’t say it in so many words, but if I don’t miss my bet, Sarah Palin just declared all-out war on the left – and believe me, she can wage that war like no other – as has been well demonstrated. No, she’s not about to run off into seclusion...

What happened to Sarah Palin is a political game changer on the national level. It also may be a preview of what every American may face in a few years. The 18 ethics charges filed since she rose to prominence in Republican circles might be the first time the left has successfully used the Cloward-Piven Strategy to stop an individual politician on the national level. For those who do not know, the strategy was developed in the late 1960s by two sociologists at Columbia. In a nutshell it seeks to "hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy...

Sarah Palin: What I've Learned The full-length version of our controversial interview with Alaska's governor (first excerpted here last month) reveals the former vice-presidential candidate's perspective on John McCain's choices, her daughter's marriage, God's guidance, and her perceived "hotness."UPDATE: Scroll down for Web-only quotes on wisecracks, American priorities, and more By: Ryan D'Agostino We had flutes and trombones around the house. For my siblings and me, music was important to give us some balance. If it weren't for music, our entire social life, our avocations, all would have had to do with sports. Everything I've ever needed to know...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain issued a statement of support for resigning Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Saturday, saying she will play a leadership role in the Republican Party and in America. McCain made the comment a day after Palin stunned the political world by announcing she is stepping down. Palin was McCain's vice presidential running mate in last year's U.S. presidential campaign won by Democrat Barack Obama. "I have the greatest respect and affection for Sarah, Todd, and their family. I was deeply honored to have her as my running mate and believe she will continue to...

Could Sarah's move mean the beginning of a Conservative third party?

Sarah Palin's holiday-eve decision to resign as governor blindsided TV commentators and bloggers who scrambled to come up with an explanation. The Daily Beast's presents a roundup of insta-reactions. THEORY 1: VANITY FAIR HURT HER FEELINGS Palin locks horns with the media on a regular basis, and the most recent addition to America’s Palin-bashing oeuvre—Todd Purdum’s 10,000-word Vanity Fair profile—was a doozy. Palin’s closest colleagues ridiculed her with nicknames like “Little Shop of Horrors,” accusations of incompetence and a personality disorder, and leaked personal emails. Alluding to Palin’s notoriously thin skin when it comes to media criticism (last week, an...

Well, we've had a day to digest the Sarah Palin resignation and her reasons why. Looking through the blogosphere it runs the gamet from her being run from office, to a impending scandal, to preparing for a 2012 run. Mark Steyn believes she was run from office: So Occam’s Razor leaves us with: Who needs this? In states far from the national spotlight, politics still attracts normal people. You’re a mayor or a state senator or even the governor, but you lead a normal life. The local media are tough on you, but they know you, they live where you...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — daughter of Frank Murkowski, who was defeated by Sarah Palin in the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary — released a statement Friday after the governor announced her decision to leave office by the end of the month. Full text: “I am deeply disappointed that the Governor has decided to abandon the State and her constituents before her term has concluded.” Her office added that the senator was traveling "in interior Alaska and communicating via satellite phone and is unavailable for follow up questions" for the rest of the weekend. Last year, shortly after the GOP...

Woke up to a cryptic e-mail this morning from Gov. Sarah Palin's office. All it says is she "will make an announcement at her Wasilla home this morning" at 11. On Fourth of July weekend? From her home? Hmm. My question: why did it have to be so cryptic? She's staying another month on guard -- so just wait until after the holiday, why don'tcha? Maybe she thought that if she waited to make the announcement, she'd reconsider. Or maybe she wanted her July 4 weekend to relax without having to worry about throwing such a curve ball on Monday...

UPDATE: Palin To Resign As Alaska Governor UPDATE: KTUU-TV in Anchorage reports that Palin not only won't seek re-election, but will resign later this month. ORIGINAL POST: Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has announced she will not run for re-election in 2010, CNN reports. She's scheduled to make an announcement shortly. The decision frees Palin to travel in the Lower 48 as she considers a potential run for president in 2012. A re-election campaign could also have been tough on the former vice presidential nominee; her approval rating has dropped from stratospheric highs, and a number of candidates in both parties...

Conventional wisdom suggests that short-term the Palin decision was unwise — e.g., "quitter," unpredictable, sulking, etc. But what else are her critics really going to say? It's not like a Letterman can trump laughing at her on late-night television as he puns that a Yankees star had sex in a dugout with her 14-year old daughter. Can Andrew Sullivan at the Atlantic website go beyond his slurs that she did not deliver her own child? How much more cleverly can N.Y. feminist pundits tsk-tsk her that she's a Wasilla trailer-park retread? In other words, it doesn't matter that much what...

Sarah Palin’s jaw-dropping announcement that she is quitting her job as Alaska governor before finishing even her first term has divided Republican ranks and the wider political community in a very familiar fashion. Many establishment GOP operatives and political commentators of various stripes were withering, both about the decision and the way she announced it—in a jittery, hyperkinetic news conference that rambled between self-congratulation and bitter accusations at the foes she says are eager to destroy her. The performance, by these lights, adds credence to the claims of some associates that Palin—burned by the intense scrutiny on her and the...

"What (Palin) had, more than anything else, was a toughness and a dedication to her position. She blew all that with her announcement today." One of the things that Palin had going for her was that she was, as Cindy McCain described her during the Republican National Convention, a "hockey-mommin' ... basketball shootin' ... moose huntin' ... fly-fishin' ... pistol-packing ... mother of five." She had been nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda," and took on the "good ole' boys" who controlled Alaska politics. However, to all but her most loyal supporters, today's bizarre press conference made her look brittle -- like a...

There have been a number of seminal queries which our elders used to define game-changing moments in America’s cultural evolution. Where were you when JFK was shot? Where were you when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon? For me, although it will likely wind up as a Trivial Pursuit bonus round question, one of the treasured turning points may well be: Where were you when Sarah Palin decided to commit political suicide? The odd thing is that I was up in the mountains, forcing myself into a period of decompression from the political theater. I likely wouldn’t have even...

Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska is a brilliant liberating move for her career, and a potential turning point for the national conservative movement. The biggest problem with her responsibility as Governor of Alaska is that the state is so far away from the rest of America. No one hears of the good work she has been doing there, and the left is free to paint their own false caricature of her. ... I am hoping she spends two weeks of every month now touring the states doing fundraisers for a the sweeping Republican revival in 2010 that is...

With respect to many of the Palinologists below, I think they're getting way too hepatomantic over the entrails. As a political move for anything other than the 2010 Senate race, today's announcement is a disaster. And I'm not sure it's a plus for the Senate - and, even if it were, the manner and timing suggest it was not a professionally planned event and therefore is unlikely to have any grand strategy behind it. So Occam's Razor leaves us with: Who needs this? In states far from the national spotlight, politics still attracts normal people. You're a mayor or a...

Rather than a blow to a career, Sarah Palin's decision to resign underlines her self-awareness, writes The Daily Beast's John Batchelor. She is now unmatched for the 2012 primary. The early excuse for the Republican circular firing squad of the holiday weekend is that Weekly Standard editor and party brainiac Bill Kristol claims that pugnacious McCain campaign enforcer Steve Schmidt has been caught gossiping to Vanity Fair’s Todd Purdum about Sarah Palin’s rambling and incoherent vice-presidential campaign last September and October...

She survived Katie Couric and Tina Fey, searing scrutiny, rumors about her baby, anonymous taunts of "whack job" from those who once touted her credentials to be a heartbeat away. Yesterday Sarah Palin completed a remarkable media flameout that made her one of the most famous women in the world, the exotic Alaska caribou hunter, one of the most revered and reviled politicians in modern history. The governor announced she is calling it quits, just eight months after she and John McCain went down to defeat. She has nursed a grudge against mainstream journalists, accusing them of peddling "gossip and...

"Palin is running for president, get used to it."

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin plans to remain extremely visible and will give serious consideration to running for president in 2012, but has made no decision, a close friend said after her startling announcement Friday that she will resign her office. Friends say Palin plans to spend time writing her book, which is due this fall, then promote it heavily when it comes out in spring 2010. Palin is by far the Republican Party's biggest draw for fund-raisers and conservative events, and the friends say she plans to spend a lot of time traveling in "the lower 48" states, as Alaskans...

On July 3rd, Sarah Palin, once again, turned the Main Stream Media pundits, the liberal policiticians, and the political establishment in Washington DC on their ear. Talk again is abuzz, "What will Sarah do?" I listened to her entire announcement. It was honorable, it was direct, and it punctuated the insane politics of our day...it also punctuated her personal commitment to fight for conservative principles and candidates...to fight for America, and to do so when it would not distract further from her job as Governor and the foundation she has built there. I am proud of her and support...

James Dobson claims the culture war has been lost! In a message to his staff at Focus on the Family that was never meant to be heard by the outside world, Dr. James Dobson, in his own words, stated that the culture war had been lost. After the tape of his talk was leaked to the public, he began damage control, going on Sean Hannity's program (he went on no other programs despite numerous offers by other programs to have him on) since Hannity would never challenge him, claiming the "media took him out of context." The fact is, the...

Will keep this short. Networks preparing for Hillary to (finally) quit in speech Tuesday night. Will be from NY, Staffers being told to turn in expenses, resumes being FedExed to Obama and other state/local campaigns. Staffers at one network recalled from lunches to prepare. Campaign staffers being told to go home. One network had long conference call among suits last night, followed by conference call between tech types to set up remotes, back-hauls, break-ins, etc. Union technicians, cameramen, audio, video engineers, etc. told to expect overtime. More as available From Associated Press RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton...

Carl Cameron says it'll become offical sometime later this week. Oh well, we're doomed. Let's hope it'll be minimal damage until 2012.

TALK OF HILLARY EXIT ENGULFS CAMPAIGNS Mon Jan 07 2008 09:46:28 ET Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?! "She can't take multiple double-digit losses in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada," laments one top campaign insider. "If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her. She doesn't want the Clinton brand to be damaged with back-to-back-to-back defeats." Meanwhile, Democrat hopeful John Edwards has confided to senior staff that...

Chafee quietly quits the GOP 01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 16, 2007 By Bruce Landis Journal Staff Writer PROVIDENCE — Lincoln D. Chafee, who lost his Senate seat in the wave of anti-Republican sentiment in last November’s election, said yesterday that he has left the party. Chafee said he disaffiliated with the party he had helped lead, and his father had led before him, because the national Republican Party has gone too far away from his stance on too many critical issues, from war to economics to the environment. “It’s not my party any more,” he said. Chafee’s departure...

Colts' LT Glenn walking away with year left on deal ESPN.com news services Updated: July 21, 2007, 2:20 PM ET Indianapolis Colts left tackle Tarik Glenn has informed the team he will retire and will not report for training camp, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Saturday. A Colts' teammate told Mortensen, "[Glenn] just feels burned out. It's that simple." ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reported that Colts coach Tony Dungy had spoken to Glenn about his decision and there could be further discussions about with Glenn about his playing future. Glenn has been a mainstay on the Colts' offensive line for 10 years...

Porlamar 24.12.06 | Having being in my country for nearly 4 months now has given me much time to ponder about the utility of continuing with the crusade that I once embarked upon, that of reporting Venezuela’s crisis. When I started back in October 2002 an almost physical need to tell our side of the story prompted me to launch this site, learn to write in English, inform, counteract with facts other versions, lobby, investigate and create an outlet where I could vent the anger caused by the misinformation spread around about Venezuela. Much writing I did and many, many,...

To paraphrase Mark Twain: Suppose you're an imbecile. Now suppose you're Howard Dean. Oops, I repeat myself. Dean, the Democratic Party boss with the say-anything habit, has outdone himself with his newest foray into fantasy. As usual, his idea is wrapped in false packaging and sealed with slimy innuendo. Here are a few of the whoppers he recently let loose on San Antonio, Tex., radio station WOAI: The "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong." "This is the same situation we had in Vietnam. Everybody then kept saying, 'Just...

SAN ANTONIO) -- Saying the "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong," Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean predicted today that the Democratic Party will come together on a proposal to withdraw National Guard and Reserve troops immediately, and all US forces within two years. Dean made his comments in an interview on WOAI Radio in San Antonio. "I've seen this before in my life. This is the same situation we had in Vietnam. Everybody then kept saying, 'just another year, just stay the course, we'll have a victory.' Well,...

Congressman Murtha, I do not care if you are a decorated veteran and a former Marine. I do not care if you are the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee. I do not care if you were first elected to Congress in 1974. I do not care if you voted to support the war and now regret it. I do not care if you have called the war in Iraq a failure since 2004. I do not care that you have Nancy Pelosi joining your charade. What I do care about are our soldiers serving their country. I...

LATROBE, Pa. - Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha told a civic group. Two weeks ago, Murtha created a storm of comment when he called for U.S. troops to leave Iraq now. The Democratic congressman spoke to a group of community and business leaders in Latrobe on Wednesday, the same day President Bush said troops would be withdrawn when they've achieved victory, not under an artificial deadline set by politicians. "I predict he'll make it look like we're staying the course," Murtha...