National Review: Correcting (???) Palin and the WSJ
It looks like the National Review, its editor, Rich Lowry and his minions are after Sarah Palin again.
Correcting Sarah Palin and the WSJ [Greg Pollowitz]
Ben Smith of Politico writes:
The government-run U.S. Export Import Bank is disputing Sarah Palin’s attack this morning on a proposed $2 billion loan to the Brazilian oil company Petrobras.
Palin complained that “the Obama White House is prepared to send more than 2 billion of your hard-earned tax dollars to Brazil so that the nation’s state-owned oil company, Petrobras, can drill offshore and create jobs developing its own resources” and that Obama “chooses to use American dollars in Brazil that will help to pay the salaries and benefits for Brazilians to drill for resources when the need and desire is great in America.”
A spokesman for the bank, Phil Cogan, noted to POLITICO that the bank does not rely on tax money and that Palin’s statement ignores the bank’s central function: To lend money to foreign companies for the purchase of American goods and services.
Here’s the full article. You’ll notice it fails to mention that Dem financial backer George Soros is a major investor in Petrobras, the company that is benefiting from this loan.
Is Greg Pollowitz so dumb that he is not aware of George Soros’s stake in Petrobras?
Does anyone subscribe to National Review any more? Is National Review even relevant any more?
Hat tips: NRO and hotair.com
[1]
I rarely go to NRO unless somebody is linking me to them. Their “firing” of Ann Coulter HERE revealed their editors as nothing more than a bunch of girlymen who shouldn’t be grouped in the same category as Conservative journalism.
Coulter’s crime? She said this:
It isn’t surprising that they are attacking another strong C0nservative. Malkin is probably on their radar too.
[2]
Ras is at -14 today
27% approve
51% disapprove
[3]
The globalists never stop falling for it:
From the article’s link to an IBD ed. favoring the deal and and Pollowitz’s comments on it:
Encourage, heh. This is bullcrap. We are loaning money that could be better spent here, and only to “encourage” then Brasilistas to use US consultants and tech?
What a joke.
I’d say Sarah Palin is right and will be proven right, and once again the centrist national review is a joke.
I was about to subscribe to them when the Schiavo thing broke out and John Derbyshire laughed at Terri’s suffering and invited Michael Schiavo for a beer.
I will NEVER, EVER, have anything to do with National Review, Frum or not. They are as bad as the WSJ.
Funny, the WSJ is railing against socialist health care, while pushing amnesty, open borders and cheap labor, which will GUARANTEE we GET socialized medicine post haste.
The WSJ has been a joke for years, and now NR has joined them.
[4]
Their “firing” of Ann Coulter HERE revealed their editors as nothing more than a bunch of girlymen who shouldn’t be grouped in the same category as Conservative journalism.
Right on. Rich Lowry might as well admit it, he’s an Obama supporter.
[5]
NR are like Hugh Hewitt. Useless party hacks who stand for nothing and mock conservatives.
[6]
These useless party hacks still have enough clout left with Republicans to wreak havok on 2010.
[7]
Right again. That’s why I don’t believe the R party will even come close to re-taking the house.
[8]
I wonder if NRO will post Palin’s rebuttal smackdown.
Oh wait, they can just go here: http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin like everybody and read it there.
[9]
Perhaps Rich Lowry’s greatest fear is that if Sarah Palin becomes President, he will no longer be the prettiest person in DC.
Like most who are trying to move the GOP to the center, Lowry has spent virtually his entire life within the shadow of the Beltway. He was born in Arlington, VA, attended the University of Virginia and has lived in the Beltway his entire life.
The same is true of the other “conservative elitists.” Krathammer, Frum, Brooks and Noonan have spent their enrire lives in the Beltway, the NYC area, at an elitist college or in the case of Frum, Brooks and Krathammer in Canada.
[10]
The anti-Palin arguments have always been weak and specious. They are getting more so…
[11]
NRO is beclowning themselves. Soon Steyn will quit.
What was the point of firing Frum? Lowry is in a hurry to follow him.
[12]
And perhaps Levin is not regretting his leave of absence from them either.
[13]
rwy, I think the (R) Party will either embrace the true grassroots movement now going on…or they will sink to irrelevance. 2010 will tell the tale. They would be foolish to pass this opportunity up…but then they’ve practically cornered the market on “foolish” over the last few years.
[14]
To be honest, I was wondering about Palin’s loyalty somewhat. I had reservations about her based on her joining of the McCain campaign at all.
When I saw her with “Liberty and Tyranny” in her lap, I felt a lot better.
I trust no one any more. We will see how she does. I am feeling much better about Sarah Palin than I did 3 months ago.
[15]
They would be foolish to pass this opportunity up…
It’s already over. They will lose again.
[16]
If the vote were to happen tomorrow, Republicans would pick up 40-45 and 5-6 easily. There is nothing at the moment any faux Conservative(s) could do to stop the tidal wave.
But alas, it isn’t tomorrow. We are going to have to rely on Congressional Republicans to do the right thing for another 16 month, and. . . . . . . .Damn, now I’M starting to have doubts too.
Dammit Yahoo!!
[17]
Something a number of commenters at Hot Air have said about so-called conservative comentators”: Sarah Palin is pulling greater readership numbers and making a bigger impact via Facebook and they don’t like it.
[18]
bc, I don’t know if this was the HA post you were referring to, but it is tremendous.
[19]
My post at 8:49 should have had a strikethrough in it.
Like soMaybe its because I used “S” instead of “STRIKE”
I thought they were interchangeable.
[20]
“I had reservations about her based on her joining of the McCain campaign at all.”
Had she not joined the McCain campaign, her life and her family’s life certainly would have been different. After her convention speech, Palin gave the McCain campaign a glimmer of hope, so MSM started working to destroy her and will continue to do so.
[21]
Doctor Z is excellent, Phineas. Hope he does not turn out to be pro-amnesty like Morrisey.
[22]
Phineas -
Hot Air has had several recent threads on the Charles Krauthammer WaPo column criticizing Palin for using the term “death panels.” This column was picked up by townhall.com.
[23]
I presume he is not the same Dr. Z that used to write about the NFL for SI.
[24]
Palin is just enduring what any Conservative would have to endure if they want to be president. Her family would have been ridiculed just as much had she said “no” to McCain and had waited until now to announce that she is considering a run for POTUS. She just got the attacks (most of them) out of the way.
[25]
“To be honest, I was wondering about Palin’s loyalty somewhat.”
Who else (other than DeMint and Bachmenn) has the courage stand up consistantly for conservative values?
Think how much easier Sarah Palin’s life would have been had she: aborted Trig, talked Bristol into aborting her baby, been nicey-nicey during the campaign and kept her mouth shut after the election.
[26]
I think her decision to resign the governorship has been proven correct.
I also think that pattern will continue. She has an intuitive common sense that is loved by the people and despised by the elite political class.
We are fortunate she is here to provide leadership at this critical juncture, because the entire GOP is doing nothing more than creating Ross Perot’s ‘giant sucking sound’ of a political vacuum.
[27]
Phineas -
HA should replace AllahPundit with Doctor Zero.
[28]
“Think how much easier Sarah Palin’s life would have been had she:”
If she did all those things, she would be a Democrat.
[29]
“If she did all those things, she would be a Democrat.”
Or a RINO
[30]
I just love how Palin’s critics miss her point so completely.
We are to love the Petrobas deal because it “encourages” use of US consultants and tech.
Meanwhile, Palin’s point, that we could have had ALL THAT, plus a lot more, not “encouraged”, but GUARANTEED, by her plan of developing our local resources, is IGNORED.
It’s not Sarah who is dumb. It’s these moron critic of hers.
[31]
While I have been a fan of Palin’s long before she was a household name, joining the Republican ticket, and have remained so throughout her criticized ups and down, I think it best not to idolize her, as the left has done with Obama.
The higher you place anyone on a pedestal, the greater the fall when they step out of the light into shadows of disagreement with their base.
This is happening to Obama, with the left saying they won’t vote for health care unless it has the ultimate socialist plan — the public option, or nothing.
Should Palin mute her position a tad, on let’s say amnesty, I could see the same thing happening to her.
Right now it is relatively easy for her to be cantankerous and blunt in facebook jottings. But, should she come out onto the national stage again, mixing her views up personally and in debate forums, it will take on a different hue and liability. Alienation will be around the corner if she utters the wrong words to the wrong people, including her fervent base. These facebook musings are just warm-ups. The real world will be what she does when she comes out and faces her detractors and her fans in the light of day.
[32]
“These facebook musings are just warm-ups. The real world will be what she does when she comes out and faces her detractors and her fans in the light of day.”
Very true Jan. I would be very surprised if she were spending her days collecting reciepes or watching game show. I believe that she is having frequent conversations with people like Thomas Sowell (who has been a big fan of hers), Mark Leven and possibly Rush Limbaugh. My guess is that she will not seek out DC insiders like Rove or Gingrich.
[33]
Should Palin mute her position a tad, on let’s say amnesty, I could see the same thing happening to her.
Well, yes, and deservedly so. But the anti-amnesty side is not without nuance of our own.
We would like a candidate that quietly went about the business of securing the border and enforcing the immigration laws. No need to trumpet anything.
[34]
We would like a candidate that quietly went about the business of securing the border and enforcing the immigration laws. No need to trumpet anything. — rwy
I agree. Not that I am an political strategist, but with every action comes a reaction…and, it is not always the one bargained for. Even closing the border (of which I am in 100% agreement) will have it’s unintended consequences which will have to be dealt with, such as trade or relations with Mexico, as well as re-tooling our own entry-level work force over here.
A leader’s role, though, has to be less black & white in a world that has become so complex. And, they have to constantly be thinking about the ramifications of their decisions, on commerce, maintaining allies and so on. It is not all about satisfying the demands of a base. That is where the dims go awry every time — making decisions that send up a cheer in their leftist base, and then watching everything go “to Hell in a handbasket” once it is being implemented and put into practice.
[35]
A leader’s role, though, has to be less black & white in a world that has become so complex.
I would say a leader’s role is to BE black and white, for the purpose of letting the nation understand where he intends to lead. Implementations can lead to nuances, but the broad strokes should be clear as day.
I would say: I appreciate the contributions of our immigrant communities, and will work to uphold the principle of equality before the law for all Americans, immigrant or native born. But I will take my oath of office to the constitution seriously, unlike my predecessors, and fulfill the requirements of my office, to “see that the laws are faithfully executed.”
That means, my fellow Americans, that as gently as I can, I will enforce the immigration laws of the Unites States without deception or delay.
Next question.
[36]
I would say: I appreciate the contributions of our immigrant communities, and will work to uphold the principle of equality before the law for all Americans, immigrant or native born. But I will take my oath of office to the constitution seriously, unlike my predecessors, and fulfill the requirements of my office, to “see that the laws are faithfully executed.”
That means, my fellow Americans, that as gently as I can, I will enforce the immigration laws of the Unites States without deception or delay. —> rwy
Either you’re using your words better, or I’m understanding you more, but I really liked that statement!….and, wholeheartedly am in sync with it.
[37]
Cogan is disinegnious at best –
source
Cogan saying this is like saying Fannie Mae does not make loans. Neither really do but they are lending the full faith and credit of the federal government to get favorable terms for partners. We know how the Fannie Mae story played out don’t we?
Freaking unbelievable….
[38]
The key point to make any any discussion about immigration to make clear that we are a ‘nation founded of immigrants, but we are not a nation of immigrants’. That is nuance that has a vast difference in how illegals should be treated before the law.
[39]
You shouldn’t make such racially charged statements! An FYI from Jammie Wearing Fool.
[40]
JM,
I would hazard that if a leaders ‘grey line’ defense is that the issue is too complex, then there is a leader who does not understand the issue.
[41]
drdog
The analogy of “gray” areas does not mean a lack of understanding of an issue; rather a greater understanding in knowing that as “one size doesn’t fit all,” nor does one grand opinion, in all cases, fit all.
[42]
Janzam,
The act of concluding one size does not fit all is an indication of clarity not greyness. (observe the uproar over HC) One can recognize a range of solutions, all optimal, depending on the facts at hand. But the knowing of the solutions is the clarity not that there are many of them.
[43]
drdog
In most areas of life there is a continuum, which can be a range of ideas or a range of thresholds or degrees of need.
Politics is a place where such continuums are appropriate to consider when a leader is trying to determine the best path to follow for “everyone.” The very fact that Obama is not considering such a continuum, when trying to forge a HC plan, is why he is in trouble with the general populace. The same can happen should conservatives try to install their form of “clarity” on a populace that doesn’t always fit the conservative mold.
It’s dicey and oftentimes far from clear-cut on which way to go. It’s not impossible, but it is unwise to think one can alter a public, as diverse as ours, to too unconforming way of governoring —> too far to either the left or right strikes more thresholds than a graduated approach.
[44]
Janzam,
I’ll concede the point.
But my base observation is that leadership of this country should be pretty damn easy. The State defends the realm, maintains a sound currency and conducts foreign policy in a manner that is in alignment with defense of the State. Anything beyond that is for the American people to ferret out for themselves. Pretty black and white. All the grey just causes problems.
[45]
The State defends the realm, maintains a sound currency and conducts foreign policy in a manner that is in alignment with defense of the State. —> drdog
Putting it in those words, it does sound simple. But, like large families, where no one agrees on anything, so it is with a large, melting pot country. A population of 300 million makes governance less easy, and usually no one is completely satisfied.
That is why your “future” crystal ball suggestion, that the country divide itself up in regions according to ideology, is more compatible to your POV.
[46]
That is why your “future” crystal ball suggestion, that the country divide itself up in regions according to ideology, is more compatible to your POV.
Yep. But history shows that any State that forgoes the primary principles above for other domestic largess ends up in collapse. Its statecraft 101 right out of The Prince.