Whether they or we like it or not, Sarah Palin is the center of the GOP Universe. She's driven the media batty chasing her around while refusing to answer any meaningful questions, she's got the GOP either thinking she's "A Total Idiot" or a Super-Gee-Nee-Azz.
But something simpler is really going on, she's a Talking Points Parrot and ehe's given us a great gift today. While preening for Fox News with Greta Van Susteren she's shown exactly who she and what she is. She's played her hand and we should take notice, then Clean her Out.
Watching this may have been the most difficult 11 minutes I've ever had to endure, but I did so - to save my country from her ilk.
At the end of this I have a quick 20 Questions for Palin which someone like Mike Stark could spring upon her as she continues her pseudo stealth/flash mob bus tour from one neo-con federalist society fetish site to another and do a wonderful video deconstruction of her nonesense in a few seconds.
It's the least she deserves.
But in the meanwhile, let's address this "interview" which is more of a "open rant" that Van Susteren gave her. First she argues to establsh her raison d'etre that we need to "Re-esablish the traditional American Values"
Palin: Todd was reading an article some months ago by Thomas Sowell. And how much of the solution has to do with the foundation of America. We need to remind people... how America was built upon individual power within us, and how collectively work together to create this great union.
Yeah, right - building America had nothing to do with the sweeping away the Native Americans with genocidal wars, turning their Land over to White Settlers in giant Land Grants, building the Railroads to establish interstate commerce, building the communications grid first with the telegraph, then telephone, then internet, building the interstate highway system to transport goods and establishing a common set of currency or any of that stuff. It was all individuals who did it all.
Yeah, sure.
For the record Thomas Sowell is a desciple of Thomas Milton Friedman and his "Trickle-Down Economics" which ultimately led to the terroristic genocidal dictatorship of Pinochet and tragic dismantling of the privatizing of social security as implemented by Margaret Thatcher, a series a policies that is probably most responsible for leading the us into world-wide economic and moral disaster over the last half-century.
The policies of this administration make it risky to lend money, with Washington politicians coming up with one reason after another why borrowers shouldn't have to pay it back when it is due, or perhaps not pay it all back at all. That's called "loan modification" or various other fancy names for welshing on debts. Is it surprising that lenders have become reluctant to lend?
Private businesses have amassed record amounts of cash, which they could use to hire more people — if this administration were not generating vast amounts of uncertainty about what the costs are going to be for ObamaCare, among other unpredictable employer costs, from a government heedless or hostile toward business.
So Sowell argues that despite the CBO saying that the ACA will save $1 Trillion over the next 20 years and significantly reduce the defecit, despite the Medicare Trustees saying the ACA intiially extended the Trust Fund by 12 years, (an assessment they downgraded to 7 years only because of the slow economy) and the fact that even though Wall Street is making record profits, the so-called "job creators" aren't making jobs because - they just a big bunch of crybaby cowards?
Friedman's policies were the first to starts us on an inexorable path to ever exploding deficits starting with Reagan. In the "Golden Age" of the 50's that so many Republicans lament losing the top marginal tax rate was as high as 80-90%. It was Reagan who changed that cutting taxes for the Rich from 70 to 50%, then down to 22% and our deficits began to explode. It's only been during the time when Clinton raise the top rate again to a meager 39% that we saw 22 Million jobs and a stunning expanding economy.
Far from being a "burden" on business Health Reform provides a 35%-50% tax credit for small business to provide Health Insurance to their employees which even Forbes says is clearly working, not creating a massive set of costs and impediments to business.
Palin of course dismisses the "Lame-Stream" Media in a way that is entirely predictable by Chris Hayes and Rachel.
Ok, the Media is her enemy - or she is the media's enemy. Got it, Check.
The interesting part of the interview is where she finally, Finally stops whining about the Media and starts talking about public policy. (After about 4 mins)
First she opposes the recent decision by the G8 to grant Egypt 2 Billion dollars.
Palin: Why would our U.S. Dollars go to support a government that might not be friendly to our Government. I'd like to reverse that, prove to us that you're going to allow the freedom, the democratic principles in your country to allow the individual power of the Egyptian people. We're going bankrupt. Prove you're going to do this first, instead of "hey, here's $2 Billion bucks of borrowed money - we hope it'd do some good".
Is it just me or does understand apparently not understand that the G8 isn't the case of America Acting Unilaterally that we instead work in agreement with other countries to reach common goals which are better for the planet, not just America.
Secondly, the G8 actually did do, what she says they should've done.
The G8 summit culminated with a declaration that had, nearly at the top of its list, a commitment "to support democratic reform around the world and to respond to the aspirations for freedom, including freedom of religion, and empowerment, particularly for women and youth," referring especially to nations in the Middle East and North Africa.
Also it wasn't "$2 Billion of borrowed money" it was $2 Billion in debt relief, and loan guarantees - which means it's not anything that really cost us anything. Nor were we the only ones pledging financial support.
In his closely watched speech on the Middle East, President Obama committed at least $2 billion in debt relief, investment, and loan guarantees to Egypt and Tunisia. Also preceding the G8 summit, the World Bank promised $6 billion for the two countries over the next two years, under conditions of proper governance and reform. Now, the rest of the G8 and the group's other multilateral partners are also pooling their assistance. According to a G8 statement, the multilateral development banks could offer around $20 billion in aid through 2013 to help reform efforts.
So it turns out that what the G8 actually agreed to is just what Palin says they should have agreed to. We didn't just right them a blank check for $2 Billion, it was actually a lot more than that from many other nations and banks and there were clearly strings attached. But again, Palin has never let facts or truth slow her down.
Palin: We need to do things differently, otherwise we will continue to have this foreign policy that snubs our friends and coddling some enemies.
Again, maybe it's me but it seems to me that the G8 are our friends, and actually so is Egypt.
Palin: We need to make sure the funds actually go to help the people. If there's corruption in the government. You use Pakistan as an example, that's a good example. Some people say "What good does it do us" when we're giving these $Billions to Pakistan. Yet, some would quibble about whether we should provide foreign aid to Israel, our allies, where we have faith that the money does go to help the democratic principles, and Freedom. One of the reasons we love Israel is because of the Freedom they allow their people.
I think it's fair to question what we get back from our aid to Pakistan - y'know - besides a lot of stonewalling on anti-terrorism measures, while using our funds to feed their obsession with India, but it's ridiculous to proclaim our relationship with Israel, which continues to maintain the Gaza Blockaid which is preventing humanitarian aid and food from reaching the area, is no less complicated and fraught with contradictions.
Greta then asks her a very interesting question: What should we be doing about joblesses in the inner cities? You can tell when Sarah has no real answer, because that's when she turns into a Talking Points Cannon.
Palin: The private sector needs to be allowed to create jobs. The private sector is allowed to create jobs when our job creators are allowed to keep more of what they earn, what they produced, so they can re-invest in their own business, and expand, grow and thrive.
Classic Friedman-omics, and completely wrong. Taxes are currently at their lowest point in 60 years, while U.S. Companies are on their third straight quarter of record breaking profits.
So, um, just how much more Money Do They NEED?!??
Also it's very interesting that when it comes to giving money to promote democracy abroad Palin first wants guarantees on how that money will be spent to grow their economies, but when it comes growing our economy Palin doesn't care how much of our tax base gets eviscerated to support rich and richer businesses without any strings attached at all.
Like most of the GOP, she has one answer to questions about jobs or the economy: More Tax Cuts!
Watch as Greta tries to re-ask the question.
Greta: What private sector wants to go into a communty that's wrought with crime, and has got horrible unimployment and not a lot of money to buy goods and services.
Palin: This is a vicious cycle. Man was created to work, and without a good job we see societal ills that are caused like subpar education, and security threats, and abuse - these societal ills that government spends so much money after the fact trying to cure. Instead, if there is incentive for business to be in the inner cities, in suburban America, in all these places where people need job, and it's not just in inner city that theses are suburban areas too, incentive for business number one; Lower Taxes so that the jobs creators can keep more and prioritize according to their own needs in order to expand. Incentive to allow job creators to grow, to thrive, to prosper. So that we can stop this entitlement mentality too, of not just in inner city, but so many in America who believe well, "governments going to provide for me, if I can't find a job today I'm going to have to or be able to rely on government" we need to end that vicious cycle too because we're going on a couple generations here with some believe that government will provide for all
So basically her answer to the inner city problem is :More Tax Cuts.
Clearly Welfare is bad because it creates an "Entitlement Mentality" that people expects after they've worked and paid insurance for their possibly unemployment and eventually retirement - they should get their money back. Can't have people thinking THAT way, let's just make sure we have lots more Corporate Tax Entitlements because that will solve all of our societal ills - lickety split.
So what happens when the "job creators" just refuse to create jobs and instead decide to just pad their own personal profits by making their employees work longer hours for less pay with lower benefits?
Which as it turns out is exactly what their doing.
The New York Times calculated that at $1.66 trillion, U.S. corporations are on track for annualized profits that are the highest since such records were first kept back in 1950, and notes that the gains in profits are due mostly to rising productivity.
That productivity boost came as workers spent more hours working, and getting paid less to do it. Specifically, between the third quarter of 2009 and the same period on 2010, productivity was up 2.5% as output rose 4.1%, hours worked increased 1.6%, and unit labor costs fell 1.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/...
Oh, those pesky "job creators" are just at it again, eh?
Finally she gets asked the key question for all potential GOP Candidates (not that she's running) which is what does she think of the Ryan Budget Plan?
Palin: From day one I have said "Thank You" Representative Ryan for coming out with a plan. Calling it "Social Engineering" or belittling it. For Shame. I want to see their plan is if they can't support Ryan's plan.
Most of the rest of us already have a plan, it's called Medicare. If that isn't good enough for you there's also the People's Budget which eliminates the deficit by 2021, far faster than Ryan's Plan without "fundamentally transforming Medicare out of existence". There's the been a set of Progressive Budget Ideas presented by the Center for American Progress that would save $3.2 Trillion over the next decade.
Pallin: President is dead wrong, he's deceiving the public by making it seem like we can go along the way we've been going. We're going belly up. If he says, and he will say "we're working on a reform", BULL! The Democrat Party hasn't even produced a budget again this year, they have not produced the reform packages they have promised
Speaking of BULL, and deceiving the public. It was largely the obstruction by Republicans in the Senate that delayed and blocked last years budget. It's a LIE to blame the Democratic Party for that entirely.
Republicans celebrated their blockade of the spending package, which Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, had to abandon after Republicans denied him the handful of votes from their side of the aisle that he was counting on to break a filibuster.
Democrats do have a plan and various proposals on the table as I've shown. Plans which work both better and faster than Ryan's plan to Kill Medicare, Kill Medicaid and shove most of the tax burden and social costs onto the backs of the poor, sick and elderly. The reality is that with one party holding the House and another holding the Senate we have a Stalemate. The Democratic plan can't pass the House and the Ryan plan can't pass the Senate (even with 40 Republican Votes). This is a work in process and I suspect it may not be ultimately worked out right up to November of 2012.
Palin for all her factual flaws down has great political instincts for where the Heart of the GOP lies, (which is to say - their heart is FULL OF Lies) and yet again we can see that she sits squarely with this pseudo-libertarian idea that Tax Cuts will Solve Everything despite decades of evidence to the contrary. She is now on record as happily cheer leading the slashing of the social safety net with a machete and this albatross needs to be hung around her neck along with the rest of the GOP like a Scarlet Letter of "G" for Greed.
Fear, Cowardice and Tax Cuts, that's all they have - that's all they're going to have. They don't have the guts to do what it takes to help rebuild this country, they don't have to courage to trust and invest in the people rather than their corporate cronies. It's a lesson we've seen repeated many times, it's best that we not let them forget it, or escape it.
If I had a chance to interview Palin ala Mike Stark I'd probably ask questions like these:
1. You've said that when you said "Reload, Don't Retreat" you didn't really mean what you were clearly saying - so exactly why should anyone trust anything you ever have to say again?
2. When Byron Williams tried to attack and murder people at the ACLU and Tides Foundation you found the idea of denouncing and disassociating yourself from the person who inspired him, Glenn Beck, "laughable and pathetic" - yet when Democrats and Union members in Wisconsin peacefully protested the illegal stripping of their rights (such as freedom of speech, freedom to assemble and to petition their government) you accused them of "Inciting Violence with their Rhetoric" are you willing now to apologize for you Blood Libel against those patriots?
3. You've blamed the temporary, and now lifted, moratorium on Gulf Oil Exploration for higher Oil Prices, even though the Oil execs themselves have admitted prices should be $40 per barrel cheaper than they currently are based on supply and demand, but instead because of the manipulation of Oil Specutors, are you willing to admit you don't know what the Frak you're talking about?
4. You've called accusing someone of "Racism" to be the "worst thing you can say about someone politically" - so why did you accuse David Gregory of asking a "Racist-tinged question" about why Newt Gingrich would connect President Obama to food stamps, while we're in the midst of economic recovery created by Wall Street Malfeasance and Mortgage Fraud that has left many people without jobs and resources, do you think what America really needs in the midst of an economic crisis is more starvation and malnutrition?
5. You said that Rahm Emmanuel or anyone figure with his prominence should resigned if they "Ever Used the N-Word", so why didn't you ask for Dr. Laura to resign when she used the N-Word 12 Times?
6. Do you think that some Americans are more "Real" than other Americans, and if so what are they really - French?
7. You've said that "Socialism doesn't work", then why is it that countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Canada not only have far better Health Care Systems than we do for less than half the costs - they also have a thriving middle class and thriving economies that have recovered far faster than ours without implementing tax cuts - but by investing?
8. You've said that Obama was wrong to say some Americans "cling to their religion and guns" - but then you've said that some Americans on the left "Are Kooks" do you think you were wrong to say that or are some Democrats and Liberals really are "Kooks and Retards"?
9. You've said that Rush Limbaugh is a "comedian" who should be excused for using satire - why is it exactly that David Letterman isn't a comedian and shouldn't get the same benefit of doubt?
10. You've said that Obama used to "Pal around with Domestic Terrorists" - please describe exactly what crimes against America that Bill Ayers was charged, tried and convicted of? (Technically, this is a trick question because the correct answer is NONE due to FBI Corruption, illegal wiretaps, witness and evidence tampering connected to COINTELPRO which fostered the Church Commission and the FISA Court)
11. If you truly think that some Americans simply "Hate You" - don't you think they're just returning the favor you've repeatedly shown them?
12. You say that what America needs is a "Restoration of it's Traditions", would that be a restoration of the Eisenhower Tax Rates which was the last time that any Republican President Balanced a Budget? (Hint: Those were around 80-90%) Or would it be a return to the time before the last 17 Amendments returning to the Constitution to it's original "Prestine" state where it didn't allow women to vote or black people to be considered citizens protected under the law?
13. Are Jim Crow, Lynchings, Sweatshops, Child Labor and Toxic Waste Dumping among those Traditions you would restore? Is that the kind of "Freedom" and "Entrepreneurial Spirit" by our Job Creators that you support?
14. If any Self-Styled American Leader doesn't have the courage to face the Lame Stream Media, how exactly are they going to face Putin's Head if it rises?
15. You said you thought there might have been something "Fishy" with Barack Obama's Birth Certificate - have you thrown that Fish back yet or are you still trolling for something in those waters?
16. You've said that Democrats have used "Bull Eye Maps" too, yet the one you and Fox have used as an example was a DNC map targeting various States for the 2004 Presidential Election, whereas your map clearly targeted and listed people. Do you think it's possible to issue death threats and vandalize a STATE in the same way that nearly half of the Reps on your map received?
17. You're own daughter called someone a "low life loser" and "Such a Faggot" on Facebook, do you think she should be "fired" as your daughter just like Rahm Emmanuel should have been, or do you condone and pal around with people who use that kind of slur in public?
18. You've said that "Slavery Died with the Civil War" - but have you actually read the 13th Amendment?
Amendment XIII. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
19. You've said "Man was created to work" so how do you explain a) Genesis 1:27 where "Man was created in God's Image" and b) Mathew 19:24 where "it would be harder for a Rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle" ?
20. What have you Re-fudiated lately?
Vyan