Sarah, Standing Tall and Not-So-Plain

Radley Balko | July 10, 2007

Fred Barnes profiles Alaska Republican Sarah Palin, the most popular governor in America. Palin seems like the real deal, an old-school, limited government conservative who emerged from the oily, fish-strewn filth of Alaskan politics: an anti-Ted Stevens, bizarro world Don Young, a Frank Murkowski antonym. She's taken on the GOP power structure in Alaska, and crushed them.  Writes Barnes:

With her emphasis on ethics and openness in government, "it turned out Palin caught the temper of the times perfectly," wrote Tom Kizzia of the Anchorage Daily News. She was also lucky. News broke of an FBI investigation of corruption by legislators between the primary and general elections. So far, three legislators have been indicted.

In the roughly three years since she quit as the state's chief regulator of the oil industry, Palin has crushed the Republican hierarchy (virtually all male) and nearly every other foe or critic. Political analysts in Alaska refer to the "body count" of Palin's rivals.

"The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah," says pollster Dave Dittman, who worked for her gubernatorial campaign. It includes Ruedrich, Renkes, Murkowski, gubernatorial contenders John Binkley and Andrew Halcro, the three big oil companies in Alaska, and a section of the Daily News called "Voice of the Times," which was highly critical of Palin and is now defunct.

Probably also doesn't hurt Palin's national prospects that there's a reason why Barnes' describes her integrity as "eye-popping."

Comments

|7.10.07 @ 1:16PM|#

Powerful smart woman with small government tendancies? And a great smile? Damn... Running mate for Dr. Paul?

|7.10.07 @ 1:18PM|#

the link says she's a "GILF"

heh

|7.10.07 @ 1:19PM|#

Yogi,

Are you suggesting a Paul/Howley ticket?

|7.10.07 @ 1:21PM|#

Too flat for my taste, but I did learn a new word.

Hope she keeps that small G thing going in AK

|7.10.07 @ 1:31PM|#

According to the article, she's a big fan of corporate welfare. She fought an effort to shutdown the Creamery Board (yeah...that's a real necessary part of the government, Sarah) and enacted an effort to supply $500 million in incentives for "pipeline proposals".

Bryan|7.10.07 @ 1:40PM|#

Kornheiser loves her.

|7.10.07 @ 1:42PM|#

Attractive, with the all-important Pythonesque name. How can she lose?

|7.10.07 @ 1:52PM|#

The 2006 elections did great things for the Republican Party.

When was the last time you saw the likes of Fred Barnes applauding someone for fighting corruption committed by Republicans?

|7.10.07 @ 1:57PM|#

I would love to pound out some policy positions with her.

|7.10.07 @ 1:57PM|#

I am so ashamed of my previous comment.

LarryA|7.10.07 @ 1:58PM|#

Running mate for Dr. Paul?

Amen.

For all those who have labeled me sexist because I wouldn't vote for Hilary if she were running against Old Scratch Himself, now I have an answer.

I'd vote for a Palen/Paul ticket, in a heartbeat.

|7.10.07 @ 2:03PM|#

She has a stellar reputation in Alaska and completely tore through the election cycle. There was never any doubt to me that she would win (I lived in Anchorage through the primary elections last year).

She did a great job of putting such a positive spin on everything that she does that you can't help but like her. She is extremely charismatic, not to mention young and pretty. She came off as a winner from the very beginning and everyone talked about how she had turned her hometown, Wasilla - a shit-hole by Alaska standards, into a nice town again.

I don't like the $500 million pipeline incentives thing, but Murkowski had basically taken the popular idea of a new pipeline and went into the back room with the oil companies and made a deal. He gave it to the legislature and pretty much said, "You will approve this." It really killed any support that he had. He was in that primary election with Palin and Binkley. I believe that Frank Murkowski finished 4th behind another candidate, Hlatchu. Ouch.

Let's hear it for anyone who could bring down Ted Stevens or Don Young, two of the most corrupt officeholders in the U.S.

|7.10.07 @ 2:15PM|#

I think I saw her either on Naughty Office or MILFhunter.

|7.10.07 @ 2:17PM|#

Wow - could you guys fall a little harder for this Fox News fluff piece?

"politician of eye-popping integrity"

"Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle--especially to transparency and accountability in government--can produce political success."

"She became a hero in the eyes of the public"

"Palin was again hailed as a hero"

Sounds like Fox has both reported and decided in this case.

|7.10.07 @ 2:20PM|#

Dan T.,

You should learn to tell the difference between a news article and an opinion piece.

|7.10.07 @ 2:44PM|#

Man, how hard would I hit that...Choice Quality Stuff.

|7.10.07 @ 3:07PM|#

There may be a lot more men than women in Alaska, but apparently they focus on quality, not quantity.

|7.10.07 @ 3:46PM|#

There may be a lot more men than women in Alaska, but apparently they focus on quality, not quantity.


Yeah. I dated a girl who spent a year in Alaska. Her comment on the ratio of men to women was "the odds are good, but the goods are odd"

And after hearing about the people she dated - i'd have to agree. Some odd people up there...

|7.10.07 @ 5:36PM|#

alaska:
coldest state
hottest governor