August 6, 2010, Friday: Huffington Post (2)

CeCe Heil, Another Sarah Palin-Backed Candidate, Bites The Dust In Tennessee

Sarah Palin-backed House candidate CeCe Heil finished third in the Republican primary race for Tenneessee's 5th Congressional District Thursday, handing the former Alaska Governor her second failed endorsement this week.

Back in July, Palin lent her support to Heil in a Facebook post that described the "mama grizzly" as a "small business owner, attorney, constitutional scholar, and proud mother of two" who would "fight tirelessly to protect our freedoms and rein in the excesses of an out-of-control federal government that seems set on spending away our children's future."

Heil, who prominently featured her Palin connection on her campaign website, tallied less votes than both Jeff Hartline, the second place finisher endorsed by Mike Huckabee, and the eventual victor, businessman Dave Hall. The top three finishers in the contest were separated by a mere 350 votes.

Hall will go on to face Democratic incumbent Jim Cooper, who has served in the House since 2003.

Earlier this week, Todd Tiahrt, Sarah Palin's candidate in the Republican battle for Kansas Senate, lost to Congressman Jerry Moran in a tight race that was likely to decide the state's next senator. A Democratic Senate candidate has not won there since 1932.

Palin will have more chances to test her mettle in August. Karen Handel will be on the ballot next week in Georgia's 's Republican gubernatorial primary runoff, while Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona, former NFL tight end and Washington Senate hopeful Clint Didier, and Tea Party-backed Alaska Senate challenger Joe Miller will also face voters in primaries later this month.

Aug 6, 2010, Friday: Huffington Post (1)

Sarah Palin Reality Show, 'Sarah Palin's Alaska,' Premiering On November 14

Sarah Palin's reality show has a premiere date.

TLC President Eileen O'Neill told reporters at the annual Television Correspondents Association press tour that "Sarah Palin's Alaska," the TLC series that was announced in March, will debut on November 14 at 9 PM.

So far, not much is known about the series, except that the initial run will last eight episodes and that it is being produced by Mark Burnett, creator of "Survivor" and "The Apprentice." The announcement of the series in March had created a stir, since TLC is owned by the Discovery Network, which is known for its nature shows, and Palin is no friend of the environmental movement.

O'Neill told reporters that "the early selects are looking great."

"It's become clear it takes a special individual to thrive in Alaska," she said.

"Sarah Palin's Alaska" is part of TLC's push to make the network's programming heartland-friendly.

"We tend to be less snarky, edgy," O'Neill told the LA Times' Scott Collins recently. "There's something for everyone here. We do shoot all around the country. Our topics and people tend to represent a lot of daily American lives -- a little less of the edgy, cooler [material]."

Aug 6, 2020. Friday: Entertainment Weekly

It's official: Sarah Palin and Kate Gosselin Joining Forces

The latest news out of TCA proves that worlds will be colliding this fall: TLC president Eileen O’Neill confirmed that Kate Gosselin and her brood will make a guest appearance on Sarah Palin’s reality series Sarah Palin’s Alaska that’s set to premiere on Nov. 14. The Gosselins will visit the Palins in Alaska, and, apparently, camping will be involved. (Will they see wildlife I wonder? Maybe…a mama grizzly?) How are you feeling about this mingling of politics and reality TV? And even if you don’t care for either woman, are you still going to find tuning in irresistible?

Aug 6, 2010, Friday: Slate.com - announcing release of book mocking Palin

A Grand Unified Theory of Palinisms
Why Sarah Palin says all those stupid and ridiculous things.
by Jacob Weisberg

Buy Palinisms: The Accidental Wit & Wisdom of Sarah Palin, by Jacob Weisberg. Like Palinisms on Facebook.

So far as I can tell, Sarah Palin has four core beliefs:

1. Things go better with God.
2. Yay, Alaska!
3. Let's drill that sucker.
4. Curse you, political establishment.

Palinisms occur when Palin expresses one of these views in her idiosyncratically involuted syntax ("It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia"); when she expresses two or more of them in combination ("God's will has to be done, in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that"); or when she says anything at all in her imitable my sentence went on the Tilt-a-Whirl and got nauseous way ("And I think more of a concern has been not within the campaign, the mistakes that were made, not being able to react to the circumstances that those mistakes created in a real positive and professional and helpful way for John McCain").

Read the complete article at the link.

Aug 5, 2010, Thursday: The Hill: Pundit's Blog

Mean Katie Couric and crybaby Sarah Palin

By Brent Budowsky - 08/05/10 11:14 AM ET

Regarding this latest pittypatter about what Katie Couric allegedly said off camera about Palin and Co., here's my advice to Sarah Palin and her fans in the right-wing media. Give it a rest, get a life, move on.

In the famous interview, remember how Palin could not remember what newspapers she read in the morning. Remember how she claimed as foreign policy experience that she could see Russia when she looked over the water. And so forth. Give me a break.

Sarah Palin is a real tough cookie when she takes cheap shots at Democrats, but she sure is a wimp and a whiner when she deals with the media.

It has not been revealed yet whether Palin had answers written on her hand during the Couric interview, or has it? This juvenilia from someone who pretends she is ready to be president is hilarious.

Palin is not seen as so unqualified to be president, by such a majority of voters, because of the evil liberal media or the evil Katie Couric. She is seen as unqualified because she says things that are crazy, says things that are wrong, and says things that are nasty.

Instead of making cheap-shot attacks against opponents, and then playing the victimized crybaby when she could not remember what newspapers she reads in the morning, or what notes she writes on her hand, my advice to Sarah Palin is this:

Palin could learn a lot about how grown-ups play Major League Baseball by emulating Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Compared to them, Palin is the Little League.

Aug 4, 2010, Wednesday: The Atlanta Constitution

The real Republican runoff: Sarah Palin vs. the Georgia General Assembly
Political Insider column, by Ron Galloway

Day by day, the dynamics of this bitter Republican runoff for governor become ever more clear.

Only on Tuesday’s ballot will the contest pit former Secretary of State Karen Handel against former Congressman Nathan Deal.

Everywhere else, it will be Sarah Palin vs. the Georgia General Assembly. State lawmakers aren’t sure it’s a fair fight.

House Speaker David Ralston and Speaker pro tem Jan Jones.Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com
“We’re competing with almost a People magazine-type atmosphere when it comes to Ms. Palin and presidential politics,” House Speaker pro tem Jan Jones of Milton said during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

Jones called Palin “a nice lady” who has spent less than 24 hours in Georgia.

Aug 3: Washington Times

MEAN AND MEANER

Jenifer Harper's op ed piece for Inside the Beltway

She's got breast implants. Her eye color was altered. She's airbrushed. Look at that tacky flag pin. Her political endorsement is the kiss of death, she's illiterate - and so on, and so forth. The bashing just gets more petty, as evidenced by the shrill outpouring after publisher Harper/Collins offered a sneak peek at the cover of Sarah Palin's upcoming book, "America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag."

Wait a minute. Mrs. Palin's portrait is not provocative. She wears a gray sweater, and is tastefully made up. She's friendly, and yes, there's evidence of - OMG - shocking patriotic jewelry. The book won't be out until Nov. 23. Still, she remains a target for churlish criticism. Why?

"Oh, that's easy enough. We basically like people who are similar to us. And to her critics, Sarah Palin is not similar. She is not Ivy League, she is not an intellectual, she is not a product of Northeastern establishment schools, she is everything that her critics are not, and as a result, they attack," says Manhattan marketing analyst John Tantillo.

"And Palin's critics don't understand that her appeal is to the general public. Not to them, not to the elite. And they are not trustful of that, they are not comfortable with that. They want someone who can write 10,000 weighty words on global warming, rather than give five terse and pithy talking points on why we should drill in ANWR," Mr. Tantillo adds.