Over the course of history, there have been countless figures who have used and abused their elected positions. Favors for friends, schemes to enrich themselves, and on the list goes. Today, there are still the blatant abuses by many, but most people seem to ignore the subtle extortionists as they line their pockets quietly. Those who rally support for a campaign that seems real, but definitely is not. Those who ask for donations, only to play kingmaker with your money. Those who demagogue the other side just to make headlines. We have all seen it. The use of PAC's, Super PAC's, and a Supreme Court that seems hellbent on destroying the integrity of the election process have all made matters much graver.
Take, for example, Sarah Palin. Over the last few months there has been a wave of coverage of the almost Vice President. Through the use of SarahPAC, the Palinator took off cross country in a massive bus with a giant Constitution on the side, her signature at the rear, and the family packed inside. Isnt that how we all take a family vacation? However, here is the start of Palins slick style of enriching her family. She has now acquired a giant bus, and was
allowed to take her family on a "vacation" to many historic places across the nation. For free. Well, not for free, but she didn't pay for it. Her fans did. The best part is that this little excursion is just the tip of the iceberg.
Ever since Sarah Palin quit as the Governor of Alaska, she and her family have been on a quest to make themselves as famous as possible, and in the process as rich as possible. It began with the ever-inspiring book "America By Heart". Then, as she does best, Palin was off across country collecting fees for speaking at events, or campaigns for those she supported, and of course, those who paid well. Along the way, the Palin machine just kept gaining steam. Many of her supporters were already thinking of a Presidential run in 2012. Oh how naive some can be.
As the train kept chugging, Palin developed a show for TLC. "Sarah Palin's Alaska" was supposed to be a reality based show depicting the Palin family as a "typical" middle-class Alaskan family. Sarah and her family were shown on their boat, and of course there was the infamous deer hunt. It was t.v. gold! Or..perhaps fools gold. It all came to an end after the tragedy in Tucson, and
Palin's comments and references to "blood libels". TLC recognized a sinking ship and cut their ties. But the story wasn't over.
Don't forget that Bristol Palin was contracted and paid a large sum of money to promote abstinence with "The Situation", and appeared in a few tv ads. Then, who could forget her on "Dancing With The Stars"? It seems the matriarch Palin has done a very good job of pushing her fame agenda on her
eldest daughter.
After the show ended, the Palins were again out of the spotlight. The release of her emails while she was governor drew huge media attention, but then when no bombshells were discovered, that was that. But Palin had something else already in the works. The biographical film titled "The Undefeated" will be released this month. Palin was intimately involved in the making of the film.
The thing that has most people talking is the way the film will be released. The movie will first be shown in Iowa. This has driven even more speculation to the fact that Palin could run for President. Add in the fact that the Palins have purchased a home in Arizona, that could potentially serve as an operations home base and the speculation starts to become a frenzy. It will only get
worse over the next few months.
Today, there was a quote from Palin about the fact that she has "a few months to decide" about her intentions to run. This is just another attempt for Palin to keep stringing the naive along. She is the master of keeping eyes focused on her and her family, even when there is absolutely nothing to see. Fox News has already confirmed that they have not asked her to stop being a contributor to their programming. They were quick to boot Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum, so why would they treat Palin any different? I realize she is a mega star compared to them, but it seems odd that they would push everyone else out except her, if she truly did have intentions of running.
Palins goals are simple. She wants to keep people thinking she is going to run so that they will give to her PAC, and keep the fees high for her appearances. Palin has no policy goals, and no stance on any issues. She is long on rhetoric, and short on ideas. She is, however, a great entertainer. The longer she can keep people interested the longer she will flourish. The same can be said for the likes of Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul. These people know they are un-electable, but who could resist collecting millions in donations, and then re-distributing them for personal gain. Its the greatest scheme nobody pays attention to.