Posted on 01/20/2016 12:02:40 PM PST by conservativejoy
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's endorsement of Donald Trump for the Republican nomination sucked up all the media oxygen on Tuesday, with many commentators saying that Palin's stamp of approval would give Trump the conservative credentials he so desperately needs.
While Trump has been sharply criticized by many (including me) for his lack of support for conservative principles on many issues, Palin has been viewed as a conservative standard-bearer ever since she first appeared on the national scene in 2008. Much of Palin’s popularity with tea partiers and conservative activists comes from her willingness to be a strong voice for conservative principles, and sadly, today's endorsement stands in direct contradiction to many of Palin's own words over the years.
On abortion:
Perhaps more than any other issue, Palin has been a loud and consistent pro-life supporter. As she told Katie Couric: "I am pro-life and I am unapologetic in my position that I am pro-life." In response to a questionnaire from The Eagle Forum, a conservative pro-family organization, she wrote: “I am pro-life. With the exception of a doctor's determination that the mother's life would end if the pregnancy continued. I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent's life."
Trump, who is claiming now to be pro-life, nonetheless has been a vocal pro-choice advocate for years, telling Fox News "I'm totally pro-choice" on October 31, 1999. Two months later, he told reporters, "I want to see the abortion issue removed from politics...I believe it is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors."
Trump has shown very few signs he has any real appreciation for pro-life issues. Glenn Beck pointed out back in July last year that Trump's claimed conversion to being pro-life “was seriously one of the single worst explanations of being pro-life I've ever heard someone give." There's also been no indication that a President Trump [shudder] would make any effort to appoint pro-life, strict constructionist judges, a critically important issue for actual, genuine pro-life advocates.
On eminent domain:
The Supreme Court"s decision in the 2005 case Kelo v. City of New London was immediately decried by conservatives and property rights advocates. (Without getting too far into the legalese, the Kelo case dealt with eminent domain, the power of the government to take property for "public uses" and compensate the owner.) Prior to Kelo, "public uses" were generally expected to be actual government uses, like building highways and schools. The Court’s decision in Kelo allowed the government to take private residential homes and give them to another private owner, a developer who wanted to knock them down and build a resort.
In 2008, Palin talked to Fox News' Carl Cameron about the Kelo decision, and said, "Private property rights are so precious in this nation and for the Supreme Court to have sided with government, instead of the people, the property owners, that was frustrating."
Not only has Trump repeatedly praised the Kelo decision, he has personally sought to use government power as a brute force for his own profit, most famously regarding the Atlantic City home of an elderly widow named Vera Coking.
Trump wanted her land to expand a casino parking lot to create a waiting area for limousines, but Coking didn't want to sell her home. Trump pushed New Jersey's Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to sue Coking to take her property. Fortunately, this was before the Kelo decision and the case was tossed out, but it is a key example of Trump's enthusiasm for eminent domain abuses. As National Review described him, Trump "is one of the leading users of this form of state-sanctioned thievery."
On mocking people with disabilities:
Palin's son, Trig, has Down's Syndrome. When Jack Steuf, a Wonkette writer, wrote a post mocking Trig ("Oh little boy, what are you dreaming about? What's he dreaming about? Nothing. He's retarded."), it was met with immediate backlash and an advertiser boycott. #TrigsCrew became a popular hashtag with conservatives on Twitter, as well as other parents of special needs children. Palin herself tweeted to thank everyone who had supported Trig.
Palin was more vocal after a Family Guy episode that also seemed to target Trig - the plot involved Chris going on a date with a girl who has Down’s Syndrome whose mother is "the former governor of Alaska" - posting a Facebook rant written with her daughter Bristol. Palin called the episode a "kick in the gut" and Bristol called the writers "heartless jerks."
Trump infamously mocked reporter Serge Kovaleski's physical disability, after not liking a critical article Kovaleski had written about him. Kovaleski has arthrogryposis, which limits the functioning of his joints, and the video shows Trump holding up his hands in a claw-like manner and making similar jerking gestures that are the markers of this disability.
This was far from the first time Trump has mocked someone's disability after they criticized him. He attacked Charles Krauthammer, who is in a wheelchair, as a "loser" who "just sits there," and called him "a guy who can't buy a pair of pants."
On flip-flopping politicians:
Palin attacked Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) in June 2013, accusing her of "flip-flopping" on the issue of immigration. "I think that every politician should be held accountable for breaking their campaign promises," said Palin, who called for Ayotte to be "challenged," saying that being primaried would make sure that Ayotte was "held accountable" and forced to "answer as to why it is that [she] flip-flopped."
Trump, on the other hand, has flip-flopped on pretty much every major conservative issue.
Sarah Palin spent years being a strong voice for conservative principles. She jumped into Republican primaries to endorse candidates who she believed would carry the torch for the same limited government, pro-life, pro-family, and strong national security values.
Today, Palin is standing in Ames, Iowa to put her support behind someone who cannot be trusted to protect the unborn, who has twice traded in his wives for younger models (literally), who claims to be for the "little guy" but who has been all-too-willing to use government as a hired thug to line his own pocket, and who spent years making significant donations to Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee.
I miss the Sarah Palin I thought I knew. I miss the tough-talking governor who energized the 2008 ticket. I miss the tea party champion. I miss the brave woman who didn't just talk the talk, but walked the walk on the pro-life issue, no matter how nasty the attacks on her and her family. I don't know where this Sarah Palin went, but she wasn't in Iowa today.
So, what are you saying? Palin will part the seas 38 years from now? Are you actually equating Palin with Moses?
Sheesh, Palin's godlike worship on FR was always a background notion before. Seeing out in the open is embarrassing.
The difference is that he could have run as a Dem and beat the suit pants off of ill-ary but he didn’t. He chose to run with most of the American people who are sick and tired of what the Dems(RINOs included) have done to this country for the past 7 years! JUST like the rest of US!
Thank you for your cogent and accurate assessment of the GOPe's ongoing treatment of and thinking concerning conservative, evangelical Christians and conservative Republicans in general. Everything you said is true. The good news is we gave finally woken up, recognize these truths and have permanently walked off the GOPe's "plantation" reservation. And to aptly quote the song: "We won't be fooled again!"
The "good old boy" GOPe "powers that be" can see this happening all over the entire country but they refuse to face reality or believe it; and most importantly they are powerless to stop it. Consequently they are trying in vain to do everything in their power to scare us enlightened and freed slaves into returning to their jerry rigged, GOPe, planation "ANIMAL FARM" sysem, but it isn't happening.
Reagan I guess would not have made it as a Conservative in your book because he signed a lot of bills as Governor and President that had a lot of left wing agenda in them,, but then again Reagan wasn’t an ideological Conservative zealot.. he knew how to govern.. he worked with both sides did his compromises and moved on,,
Reagan wasn’t especially religious and he didn’t wear his religion on his sleeve,, he didn’t seal the border. he gave amnesty to millions of illegals, raised the national debt and was a New Deal democrat who changed his politics.. I’m afraid if he were running today against Cruz the Bots would be slamming him to high heaven.. the best person to be President isn’t always the most right wing candidate running.. sometimes they are but most of the time a strict political ideologue isn’t the best person to govern as President,, Reagan was not a Conservative right wing zealot.. I can name more than a few more Conservative hard liners in Congress during the 80’s than Reagan was
you have to get along with the legislature and you have to be able to persuade people who disagree with you to come over to your side,, Cruz isn’t going to be able to do that and I agree with him on most of the issues.. but he’s an ideologue of the right like Obama is on the left.. they make poor Presidents
I think Trump can be a good President,, nobody ever knows for sure when you pull the lever but I think he will govern a lot like Reagan and get the BIG issues done,, seal the border, cut taxes across the board to stimulate the economy to robust performance, stop the flood of jobs going overseas, rebuild our military, stand tall in the world again with our allies and have our enemies fear and respect us like they did when Reagan was in power.. I really think Trump is the best person running who can do those big things
I think Sarah Palin understands that too
“The difference is that he could have run as a Dem and beat the suit pants off of ill-ary but he didn’t.”
Right, so he runs as a Republican and seeks to prevent any other conservative from obtaining the Republican nomination.
He says he’s sick of the Dems but he’s supported them for years. Many will say he did it for business reasons. Doesn’t matter, he made the Dems, unions, and many enemies of a free America stronger.
What’s next? I know you are, but what am I?
So now Trump is the next Reagan?
Remember the last two elections when liberals were gaga over Obama. “He gave a good speech” “He’s gonna save America”
You Trump supporters are acting the same way.
Didn’t Trump just come out in support of McConnell?
Isn’t he one of the prime GOPe leaders?
Damn right. Geesh, Cruz supporters guarantee a general election loss.
Glenn is a closet Rumpf ranger.
Post of the day!
Have you given MILLIONS to leftists?
Are you running for President?
How do we really know Trump has had a change of heart? He was supporting liberals a very very short time ago. Heck it was just a day ago he was saying we had to reach across the aisle and work together.
The same crap line the establishment has been pushing.
Nobody has prevented Cruz from the nomination. Perhaps Cruz has prevented himself. It was never owed him.
A leader owns it.
Of course. :)
This is an ongoing list of historical, popular, and Biblical people, as well as fictional characters and animals that Sarah Palin has been compared to on FR:
A leader EARNS it.
You’re no kin of mine.
Right gotcha, like Rush callers that say "I always voted Republican, but". The first one that needs to give it a rest is Trump himself, if it's all over but the vote, why is he out there acting like a democrat? And I could go Trump or Cruz, but the way Trump has been mouthing off lately I'll be holding my nose when I vote if it's him. We've already had eight years of a juvenile narcissist.
She has seen the winner and knows that in order to to be relevant she needs to be an insider... Trump needs help staying conservative ,, Palin can nudge him the right way... Cruz needs no help. I think this is a good move.. it certainly doesn’t hurt Trump with women.
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