Verbatim – Palin on Stimulus Money, Endangered Species, Bloggers and More…
21 04 2009(Rubbing temples, and getting a glass of wine)
OK….I’ve been through the Palin press conference from Sunday night. Twice. And I’ve chosen some little nuggets for you. Overall, my impression of Palin is that she spoke, and carried herself just like she did after the election on November 4th when she was met by the media in her office her first day back on the job. In other words, she does not look happy.
On Parental Consent for Abortion
“Too many senators failed to see the problem with seeing a 13 year old girl facing life changing and dangerous decision without the counsel of her parents. This isn’t the end of that issue. Lawmakers have promised to continue the fight for that bill to pass. But there are other ways that citizens can see that measure, and I as a private citizen exercising my own freedom of speech and first amendment rights I’m going to explore what I can do to help families, and help that measure come to pass.”
Hmmm… The last time the governor “took off her governor’s hat” and acted as a private citizen, she spoke out against the Clean Water Initiative (Prop 4) which stated that all new large mining projects had to protect salmon fisheries. So, what is she planning to do as a private citizen to help parental consent “come to pass”?
On Endangered Species
“We’re taking aim at actions that threaten to impede responsible development. There is a $1.25 million appropriation to support litigation challenging the federal government’s listing of polar bears as threatened under the ESA (Endangered Species Act). We’ve also begun the process of challenging the listing of beluga whales in Cook Inlet because we believe we can benefit from safe development while protecting our wildlife species.”
Taking aim. What a lovely metaphor. Bears, whales, under the bus. You know, if the governor wanted to keep those damn whales from being listed as endangered, she might want to figure out why their numbers have crashed. Could it possibly be the billions of gallons of toxins that Chevron dumps there every year courtesy of some legal loopholes? Just asking.
Q&A on the Stimulus Money
Q. With the stimulus…I’ve studied some of the deadlines that have been posted online, and I can’t find certain key deadlines for when the state has to apply, for example, for the $93 million that goes for education. When will we know what decision you’ve made about that?
Palin: Well, there isn’t not a single decision on the stimulus package. We’re going to go by case by case basis on that particular one. We too will be searching for that hard and fast deadline to apply and when I refer to this as an ever-evolving stimulus package as lawmakers will admit to also it’s very tough to nail down the feds on all of their requirements including deadlines for applications so we have to continue to work on that. [passes mic to Karen Rehfeld, Director OMB, Governor's office who confirms there is no strict deadline for this money]
Q. Just a follow up…My understanding is that the $20 million in Part B is sort of connected to that $93 million, that you can’t take the $20 million unless you take the $93 million. So, I guess that $20 million is going to municipalities, at least the way the legislature has decided… There are a lot of municipalities wanting to know when they’ll know whether they can budget for it. I guess that’s why I asked when you might decide on that.
Palin: Yeah…there’s still some questions about that bucket of money whether it appropriately will go to municipalities or would need to be exclusively used for more education-oriented services, but again on the deadline on that one [indicates Karen Rehfeld who confirms the application for both must happen together, and that after they get the appropriation bill that passed before the governor makes the appropriations].
Q. Do you intend to make your decisions known through some line item vetoes of House Bill 199 or… The way I look at it is you could let it all stand, but if you don’t apply for the money it would all be empty federal receipt authority.
Palin: Well, we’re gonna….we’re gonna consider after the vetting process that the…the lawmakers just went through with the public…we’re going to consider every dollar that could be applied for and figure out if it’s good at the end of the day for Alaskan services that are going to be requested to be provided. We’re gonna consider how to manage the public’s expectation desiring the lawmakers and the public acknowledge these are short-term temporary funds that should not lead to government growth two years from now when the dollars are gone, and we will…we will consider on a case by case basis whether the dollars need to be applied for or the dollars that are in the budget today could or should be vetoed. It’s going to be a long process still in deciding what to do with the dollars.
There. So now does everyone understand what’s happening with the stimulus money? (head meets desk)
On Wayne Anthony Ross
Q. Can you tell us who made the “deliberate misrepresentations” about Mr. Ross? [Palin had used this phrase earlier in her remarks]
Palin: Members of the public who came forward with…um…you know in the blogosphere and in the um, …uh…with emails back and forth claiming uh…that Mr. Ross did this or did that and he very easily and very accurately refuted the lies told about him, but you know once a bell is rung, really tough to unring the bell. Very unfortunate and very unfair for any public official, anybody to have lies told about them, because it’s tough to sometimes correct those lies in a timely manner and damage is already done.
Q. Weren’t his own misrepresentations a bigger problem for the legislature?
Palin: (flustered) I’m just having referred to those who purposefully misrepresented actions that perhaps he had taken, obviously he hadn’t taken ‘em but they claimed it. That’s what I was referring to in my comments.
Q. Could you respond to Pat’s question, though? The attorney general was quoted saying it didn’t matter whether the legislature passed the law or words to that effect, and then a day later he denied making that statement.
Palin: See, you say “words to that effect”. It’s subjective. So unless you have the exact quote, I’m not going to speculate on your interpretation of what it is he said. Um…I’ll let my statement stand.
Q. Wasn’t that a bigger problem than what the public was saying about him?
Palin: I think a great problem was public lies that were told about Mr. Ross became a problem and were tough for him to have opportunity to answer and to correct.
Q. What were those lies?
Palin: (exasperated) Oh…if you guys didn’t read them or hear about them, I’d be surprised. Um, lies uh..concerning he being engaged in a … for instance, a machine gun shoot on somebody’s property down in Seward, and there were witnesses to such a thing and …um…and he had never been there. That’s just one example. Go ahead, Bob. You had a question.
Bob: You’ve probably answered it as much as you’re gonna, Governor.
You can see my previous post for an analysis of the whole “Lies, lies, lies!” thing, and the machine gun shoot.
Here’s the segment of the press conference where the stimulus chat and the blogger bashing comes in to play. The other eight segments are available on YouTube. Good luck. (salutes you)
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 AM
There were attempts here by the journalists, but I surely wish they’d stick to the question to make her prove her point that there are lies out there that hurt her appointee’s or her reputation.
Charlie Gibson pressed her to make her cases, so did Katie Couric, they get criticized instead? She gets to look like a victim of gotcha and elite media. . .but WHY do the press allow her to make such unsupportable statements? I’ll allow that it is embarrassing to watch her grasp for words, to try with all her might and supermind powers to make you SEE her point just because she SAID it, but I am fed up with her Governing on talking points rather than on substance.
Here’s an idea (though a frightful one) how about she just simply take off her Governor’s hat and exercise her first amendment rights everyday as a private citizen? Since she’s such an anti-government and government spending watch-dog, she can quit living off public money and just criticize those in office.
I warn you all though, she’s going to become ultra-wealthy, people will pay through the nose to see and hear her, and she will become just as an effective public “interest” advocate rather than an effective elected official.
She’ll never be out of our hair, she’ll always be on the airwaves, in print, on screen. . .but at least we won’t validate her leadership by electing her again to public office.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:19 AM
@88 EyeOnYou, thanks for taking one for the team and checking out c4p.
Does anybody have a link to the press conference they watched? It sure wasn’t the one we saw.
@91 DebinOH, good points. Her supporters believe we swallow everything BO says hook, line, and sinker, and that we think everything he does is perfect, the way they do with SP. I don’t like everything he’s done, but at least he’s trying, and not following the new Republican way that got us into this mess. As an old-style Republican (independent thinking, fiscally conservative, gov’t-stay-out-of-my-business-and-personal-life) I don’t have much use for the neo-cons.
Secondly, I agree that BO is clear in what he says and even when I don’t agree, I can understand his thought process. If SP weren’t clear once in awhile, I’d chock it up to being human, but the regularity and degree to which this happens with her is a pretty good indicator of a lack of knowledge and logical thought process.
Third, I agree with you that she’d have won if it were God’s plan. I told a friend when she was nominated for VP that she wasn’t qualified. My friend was sure He would give her the skills needed for the position He’d put her in. I reminded my friend that God is also good at letting us fall flat on our faces when our egos get out of hand. It’s been really hard to resist saying “I told you so.”
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:23 AM
Sorry – you’ve answered my question about what they were watching. Even my dog doesn’t have that much blind devotion.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:28 AM
Nan, the part of Indiana on Eastern time is four hours ahead of Alaska.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 AM
Deb Says:
I’m a speech pathologist…and have tried and tried to figure out her speech patterns. What creates the incoherence is how she circumlocutes everything.
- – - -
I teach young deaf and hard of hearing kids, some of whom were born in other countries, and most of them have a better grasp of English grammar than she does. I have noticed one strange pattern in her speech that I find extremely annoying…and would bet that Deb does too! A lot of my kids tend to throw in stock words or word ‘bits’ when they feel compelled to fill up time. SP often adds ‘-ing’ to the ends of verbs when it is completely unnecessary and inappropriate. She uses these words to create run-on sentences that ultimately make no sense but fill up vast amounts of time, making it SEEM as though she is saying a lot when in reality she’s just making noise.
Also, I did a lot of local radio and tv interviews for a job I had years ago. If there was any remote possibility of being asked about something slightly controversial, you can bet I carefully thought about and rehearsed all my responses. For someone who always seems on the defensive (and running on the edge of panic these days) you would think that she would be better prepared for a press conference when she KNOWS certain topics are going to come up. Sheesh!!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 AM
Wow, she really pissed! Her jaw is jutted out, she barely looks up, she barely opens her mouth, her mouth…a really unattractive turned down look! Boy the warm fuzziness of Indianna seems to have faded fast….its such a PAIN being govenor and having to answer real questions, and just not spout out lies about your life….farting rainbows and all. Giving the “pagent” wave, and waiting for adoring applause….! Yeah life’s tough GINO…!
Oh crap I have a crush, she has lost a lot of weight…aderall does that, and everyone has ADD now even Lilo! Looking like a bobblehead is not so attactive. And aderall is legal speed. It ages the heck out of ya!
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 AM
Tired look might be result of jetlag from whirlwind trip. Probably wearing the same suit but who doesn’t dig black. Weight Loss: maybe I haven’t noticed it always thought she was skinny or too skinny. She should start eating some of that moosemeat she loves so much (and run way from her family for a 48 hour nap)! That always helps! I guess she can see the train coming at her career and the disappointment of knowing that everyone else in AK ( and beyond) is no longer fooled by her must be crushing her. I wonder if she thinks about what life would be like if she had just said “No” to McSAM for one of the many legitimate and understanble reasons that existed for her: family, infant with special needs, new governor, not ready…she would probably be PRAISED for putting Country First instead of herself! She is living in her own nightmare!
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 AM
I know what she really said.
“I am going to NOT do whatever I can to make sure we take NONE of the stimulus money.”
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 AM
that’s McSAME….
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:27 AM
How can one person have the dumb SO bad that she affects everyone so negatively world-wide through the series of tubes? It boggles the mind.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:57 AM
her comprehension is despicable! her word salad or speech patterns is like a slow computer processor, trying to recall a memorized paragraph pertaining to questioned subject matter…searching, searching, searching
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 AM
My advanced grammar students and I tried diagramming her sentences once and failed. I’m going to mail her a bucket of verbs.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 AM
@let it run
Tired look might be result of jetlag from whirlwind trip.
————
could be, but it could be the stress of being forced to be accountable …although her stubborness would fight against this unknown territory…tooth and nail to the very end. ahhh “end”…what a lovely word when used to describe the palin-meister.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 AM
In all seriousness, is English her first language?
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:32 AM
“Too many senators failed to see the problem with seeing a 13 year old girl facing life changing and dangerous decision without the counsel of her parents…”
Too many interferences in the life of this 13-year old already. No one’s stopping her from talking to her parents if she wants to do this. But, perhaps wise already beyond her young years, she might find more supportive options. Government should butt out.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 AM
I think this says a lot about Palins’s qualifications to run the country, let alone the state. She certainly learned a lot about diplomacy and important affairs while she was Mayor of Wasilla, not!
http://www.anchoragetube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=cb3860f2a6d4b38c6490
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Gino Palin isn’t looking too good these days. Talk about looking depressed. It was also embarrassing that the woman on her left had more answers to the questions than she did.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:42 AM
She looks like she’s wearing a turd for a breastplate. Ewwwwww!
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:14 AM
If I may be so bold as to have an opinion about some other state’s governor….
Didn’t Sarah Palin say she was governor 24/7?
So, HOW can she “take off her governor’s hat” and “as a private citizen exercising my own freedom of speech and first amendment rights I’m going to explore what I can do to help families, and help that measure come to pass.”?
….Unless she waits that 558 days hence until her term of office is completed?
….That is, if she isn’t impeached or recalled first?
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:19 PM
I bet a lot of very experienced republicans watched that press conference and confirmed to themselves that someone with so little grasp of the issues at a state level is incapable of taking national responsibility.
I bet Steele met with her privately in Indiana and the conversation between them did not go well.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 PM
i tried, REALLY, i tried, to listen to her, but just couldn’t do it. it’s times like this i wish i was still drinking – ’cause i think that’s the only way to be able to listen to her without screaming. also….
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:23 PM
It’s a brave soul with a strong stomach who can listen to her speak. She makes me grind my teeth even as she causes me to thank God/the Fates, etc., that she isn’t anywhere near the White House. Bush was bad enough to have to listen to. I can just tolerate the transcripts, so I’ll wuss out and read those. Let’s hope that she doesn’t get anything she wants anymore.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:09 PM
@ Mimi
Thank heavens someone is still diagramming sentences!
There was an article about Obama’s sentences – with accompanying diagram – I think it was on Huffington (?)
Omigawd, I found it!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/what-sentence-diagrams-re_n_167988.html
Nan (have fun!)
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Thanks, Nan!