Posted on 09/09/2019 2:54:33 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Monitoring Governor Palin’s pre-ascent to the national political scene was one of the stories that prompted my joining FR while in college. I remember Free Republic being one of the few places online (along with Glenn Beck’s show, to his credit) to profile the rising star governor: her successes navigating Alaska’s international corporate oil scene, her carrying a Down Syndrome baby to term, and before anybody in the media or even GOP establishment knew who she was — her qualifications as a viable for runningmate for John McCain. I stayed up all night before the day of the announcement, praying she would be the one.
Fast forward a few years and I attended a special screening of a film entitled “The Undefeated” - a documentary breaking down the media and establishment elite’s (including GOP) unhinged distortion and takedown of Sarah Palin and their continued onslaught against her legacy. It was directed by none other than the little known...Steve Bannon.
The ultimate thesis of the film being that as a working class American, as a Christian, a woman and mother, as a highly charismatic and skilled politician with a formidable record of executive accomplishment — Palin embodied a volatile convergence of the very forces in our country, which pose not only a political threat to the entrenched power structures of our society, but existential and cultural.
And it was with this insight and understanding by which Steve Bannon helped guide our current President to electoral victory in 2016.
I see a lot of posts at the moment trying to rationalize away the divorce and speculate on the Palins’ personal lives...Some observations may be valid — but these discussions miss the point — which is, that her fate (and that of her family) is what awaits *anybody* who dares challenge the establishment especially on that scale. (At least in term of what the establishment intends!) - We are not even told about the extent to which the media and other facets from both political parties worked night and day to drive her out of office, stoke fear in her family and her community (like the Wasilla church burning), how frivolous lawsuits bankrupted her financially, etc...
If you watch video footage of the sprightly, shrewd, and calmly eloquent Palin in the early 2000s at things like the AK gubernatorial debates and things, one can see just how much of a spiritual and psychological toll all that’s unfolded since had had on her.
This is what the media wants for Trump and his family too...but luckily our president has the financial and other buffers by which to withstand the attacks, which will likely come even after he leaves office...And in the meantime of course they will do everything in their power to drive him out even during a second term.
In the meantime the wolves will attack the emerging leaders of the conservative movement and NOTHING is off limits: families (children!) , homes, jobs, etc...And it’s incumbent on everyone to just...be aware. And to view all this in proper context.
I was speculating why Todd would file, perhaps due to her wanting to get back into the fray, and him not wanting that ride.
You were replying to the guy who said the tweets/posts are signs. They are not. They have been going on for years and are not even by her.
This is probably true. I’m sure DT learned a lot from how the media treated Palin.
Face it, newbie. You don't know why she quit. That means you are not knowledgeable about something every conservative on this Forum knows inside and out; and when people ask you to look things up, you demand to be handed very well-known (by us) information on a silver platter. That is annoying, like trying to look over and copy someone else's quiz in school. Do your own homework. We are not your news slaves.
Thanks for posting. Tough situation for a family. HOORAY Sarah.
So? Prove that she quit because of a character flaw, being a "quitter", and not for any other reason. Waiting...
Look! It DOES know how to use the Internet to look things up! Tsk, tsk, someone was being disingenuous back there, whining because no one would tell it basic, easily discoverable information to refute his slur against one of the nation's most revered conservatives....
Kindly reconsider all the ramifications of that statement, including ways it would be wrong, for the sake of your own family. :-)
That's what my spidey sense is saying. She wants to try for a new gig that would demand a move to DC or the like, and his identity is very tied to his life in Alaska. Some couples try to be bi-coastal for a few years; some just can't.
It is a fair supposition.
She always looked quite comfortable at the mike calling people out.
He more looked like he would rather be fishing.
After this many years of marriage, several kids and grandkids, they pretty much have been through the usual arguments, so why the divorce filing now?
Just speculating, but if she is indeed considering jumping back in, he might not be willing to go through the anal scoping they would surely be subjected to.
You’ve met the two of them? Spent time with them? Observed their marriage from the inside and come to this conclusion?
Your opinion means squat otherwise.
He is just yanking chains and feigning ignorance.
That family has been destroyed from the outside, plus every family has it's own problems/woes. But never forget that the MSM, the entire DEM machine, crazies of all sorts, cranks, and yes, even nasties who are Alaskans, with a nit to pick, have been after them for decades; yes, even before she was picked to be McQueeg's VEEP. And having a child with Downs is NEVER "easy"!
After what was done to her and her family, she became uber toxic politically, vis-a-vis running for some position or other. But she DID still have coattails early on and used what little pull she had, back then, to help others; which you did post about.
She didn't "raise expectations" at all...that was all in our heads.
GREAT post and one that others, here, should 1) learn from 2) take to heart!
SPOT ON! :-)
Lots of passive-aggressive BS, whinging, insulting, etc. from him and blaming everyone else; not to mention pretending to be just oh SO "new" at this and "not knowing" what very normal FR stuff means, after claiming that he "lurked here for TEN FULL YEARS"! It's an act!
Because he is the weaker of the two in my opinion.
Based solely upon my observations of him of the few times when he was in the limelight. I never demanded that my opinion should hold much credence.
I wouldn't say that all "raised expectations" were "all in our heads." She may not have aggressively set them, but she didn't dissuade them, either.
She was active in endorsing candidates all over the country, which suggested that she still wanted to play a role. It also suggested that she was laying down a base in Congress to leverage later. She was active on social media offering frequent commentary on politics. She wrote her book, Going Rogue, which she ended with "Sarah's not retreating, she's reloading."
When Palin bought a house in Arizona, sure, many thought she might be moving there to run for retiring Jon Kyl's seat (with McCain's endorsement). Others thought she bought the house to be close to her daughter who moved there. When McCain turned on her in the end, it put to rest the former supposition. Bristol Palin sold her home in 2012 to move back to Alaska, and Sarah sold her home in 2016. McCain didn't make his "regrets" comment until 2018, but his people were floating negative stories for years before.
It's possible that the McCain camp told her that if she ran for office he would oppose her. It's possible she stopped her plans when the children's problems became too severe. It's possible it was all in our heads and she wasn't planning anything.
It's possible that she retreated, not reloaded, after all.
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