Day: February 10, 2010

We Don’t Need a Fortune Teller to Read Palin’s Palm

Trish

ecardimageMore evidence that Sarah Palin’s hand isn’t going away. A new Valentine’s Day card design is available from my favorite free ecard resource, someecards.

Palin’s cynical hypocrisy has been highlighted repeatedly during her short but riveting time in the national eye. In her speech to the Republican convention after being named John McCain’s running mate, she boasted that she refused funding for a proposed public works project that came to be known as the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, Palin lobbied for the money. Her expensive, donor-funded wardrobe, make-up, and personal stylist during the presidential campaign flew directly in the face of her claims of humble hockey momdom, as did the tanning bed she had installed at taxpayer expense in the Alaska governor’s mansion. Then there was her book tour, which utilized a Lear Jet between stops, with Palin climbing into a bus only to pull up to her adoring fans. And most recently, there was the matter of the $100,000 speaking fee for the Tea Party convention itself, which Palin claims she will spend not on herself but on other candidates and causes (she just hasn’t named any). I could go on, but it would take too long.

At the same time, Palin’s fierce defense of sheer dumbness over what she terms “elitism” has been shown to be personally motivated. Her claims to CBS’s Katie Couric that she read tons of newspapers and objected to scads of Supreme Court rulings, yet couldn’t name a single example of either, is the stuff of legend. The staged pardoning of a turkey during her aborted tenure as Alaska governor took place as another bird was slaughtered on camera in the background. She showed how easily she could be pwned when she took a call from a prankster claiming to be the president of France, and failed to catch on to the rouse. Again, I could go on almost without end.

As quickly as each of those news cycles ended, it looks like there is something enduring about the scribbled notes in Palin’s hand as she snarked away at Obama with sour teleprompter shots. Like the “changey-hopey” line Pain stole from the Tea Baggers themselves, the teleprompter meme is so ten minutes ago. Obama himself dispelled it forever* when he appeared at the recent House GOP retreat and answered hostile questions extemporaneously – and nimbly – for 90 minutes. Not once during the exchange did he duck his head to peak into his left palm.

Like her claim of foreign policy experience based on Alaska’s proximity to Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula, Palin’s ink-stained hand provides ample and abiding evidence that she is not so bright. For those who share that trait, Palin is a rock star. For all others, we don’t need to visit Madame Ruby to see Palin’s future: it holds more of the same tired, faux opposition to any progressive thought, and more successful manipulation of those who were telling the truth when they said in 2008 that they “weren’t ready” for a black man to be president.

*”Forever” in the sense of appealing to rational minds, so this would exclude Birthers and Tea Baggers

Who Broke the Florida Republican Party?

Buck Banks
Big Jim and Delmar.
Big Jim and Delmar.

The Florida Republican Party is:
A. penniless
B. destitute
C. insolvent
D. All of the above.

The correct answer is D, of course. You can add to that morally bankrupt and ethically impoverished, as well.

How else do you explain that last week the state party reported $124,129 in cash and $466,978 in debt. And it has one nasty senate primary race coming up between Gov. Charlie Crist and rising right-winger Marco Rubio, not to mention the general election against a young, dynamic black Democrat who’s pretty good at fundraising (sound familiar?).

How did that happen? The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that it happened through $100 flower arrangements for the wives of party Chairman Jim “Big Jim” Greer and Gov. Crist, thousands of dollars in meals, $15,000 to charter a jet to George LeMieux’s swearing in as U.S. senator, and another $1,800 for in-flight catering services.

Now that was after Greer had made the state GOP leadership turn in their AmEx cards in a symbolic gesture to prove he was on top of the whole spending thingy. Except Greer allowed the party’s executive director, Delmar Johnson, to keep his card — you know, for incidentals. Big Jim and his sidekick Delmar then proceeded to wear the numbers off Delmar’s card, racking up more than 1 million American Express points.

Now that’s big-league spending. Those guys were not slouches when it came to emptying the party’s coffers.

But wait, there’s more:

The records also show that executive director Delmar Johnson padded his $103,000 salary with a secret, $260,000 fundraising contract and another $42,000 for expenses — at the same time the once mighty Florida GOP was having to lay off employees amid anemic fundraising.

Boy, Delmar, that 400 grand is starting to look like real money!

Members of the party had been suspicious of Greer’s oversight of the party’s accounts for many months before his ouster as chairman in December. He had repeatedly assured them that things were under control, and even let some folks look at the books, or at least some of the books … OK, he let them “spot-check” the books, but not audit them. Remember, Big Jim’s the kind of guy who knows how to hide a secret $260k contract.

The Times quoted a text message that was quintessential Greer — a trademark mixture of vague threats and illogical obfuscation:

It is in the best interest of the party and the upcoming chairman’s election to not extensively comment at this time. However, in the future I may do so to ensure the facts are known and the piling on is shown for what it is — political. I will say Delmar Johnson is a good person and a tireless and hard-working man who did a good job as ED and as a fundraiser for RPOF in hard economic times. I’m proud of the man.

Now the Florida Republican Party leadership has its collective panties all in a twist over what to do. If they conduct a full investigation, that could lead to some very public, very embarrassing revelations. If they don’t conduct an investigation, who is going to donate to the party if they can’t be certain that the party will actually spend the money on politics, not pork chops?

These Republican fat cats have been top dogs for too long, and now maybe, just maybe they are getting a taste of comeuppance. For now, we’ll just have to watch the drama unfold. Meanwhile, Big Jim’s keeping mum and Delmar has been laid off.