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Levi Johnston: Palin Offered To Adopt Baby, Talked About Resigning After 2008 Election To "Triple The Money"
Eric Kleefeld | September 2, 2009, 9:44AM
Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)
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In the upcoming (and much-awaited) article in Vanity Fair, Levi Johnston dishes some serious dirt on Sarah Palin. In the excerpts that have been teased out this morning, Johnston, says that Palin didn't like being governor, thinking that it was too hard, and immediately after the 2008 election she began to think about resigning in order to pursue something more lucrative:
Sarah was sad for a while. She walked around the house pouting. I had assumed she was going to go back to her job as governor, but a week or two after she got back she started talking about how nice it would be to quit and write a book or do a show and make "triple the money." It was, to her, "not as hard." She would blatantly say, "I want to just take this money and quit being governor." She started to say it frequently, but she didn't know how to do it. When she came home from work, it seemed like she was more and more stressed out.
Johnston also says that Palin is not the attentive, wholesome mother that she has made herself out to be:
The Palin house was much different from what many people expect of a normal family, even before she was nominated for vice president. There wasn't much parenting in that house. Sarah doesn't cook, Todd doesn't cook--the kids would do it all themselves: cook, clean, do the laundry, and get ready for school. Most of the time Bristol would help her youngest sister with her homework, and I'd barbecue chicken or steak on the grill.
Johnston also says that when Bristol became pregnant, Palin repeatedly tried to hide the matter by offering to raise the child as her own:
Sarah told me she had a great idea: we would keep it a secret--nobody would know that Bristol was pregnant. She told me that once Bristol had the baby she and Todd would adopt him. That way, she said, Bristol and I didn't have to worry about anything. Sarah kept mentioning this plan. She was nagging--she wouldn't give up. She would say, "So, are you gonna let me adopt him?" We both kept telling her we were definitely not going to let her adopt the baby. I think Sarah wanted to make Bristol look good, and she didn't want people to know that her 17-year-old daughter was going to have a kid.
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Moe
September 2, 2009 9:53 AM
Levi isn't a very convincing witness on his own, but then again neither was José Canseco about steroids in baseball....
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MAX TARDCORE
September 2, 2009 9:56 AM in reply to Moe
If Diogenes were to come to 21st Century U.S. & find Jose Canseco to be his quarry, Dio would drink hemlock.
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blmack
September 2, 2009 9:54 AM
Hehe, so Trig really is Sarah's, but she wanted to do with Bristol's baby what everyone suspected her of with Trig? So I guess the accusations weren't really THAT outlandish.
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MAX TARDCORE
September 2, 2009 9:57 AM in reply to blmack
Shorter Andrew Sullivan: I just... Jizzed... In... My Pants.
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AhTrini1
September 2, 2009 10:03 AM in reply to blmack
Thank you!
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 10:39 AM in reply to blmack
But from a practical point of view, how could she pull that off? She would have to pretend she was pregnant during the campaign, and on through to December. I'm not saying I don't believe it; I just think this is more evidence that this woman thinks she can deceive everyone by just "makin' stuff up." She never looked pregnant before Trig was born; I wonder whose baby he really is? The son who is in Iraq's? Is that why he had to go? If they paid off the mother, she is probably prohibited from opening her mouth.
I can't wait to get my Vanity Fair!
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JohnAH
September 2, 2009 10:47 AM in reply to CVille Dem
She could have just said that the child was adopted without providing any information on the birth parents and people might still think she was crazy for having her own special needs child and then shortly after adopting another infant; but hell she's got the crazy thing going already.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 11:57 AM in reply to JohnAH
But everyone in Wassila knew that the daughter was pregnant. How could she trot all her children out like she did but keep the teenager in a closet at home? And who would drag Trig out onto the stage for her?
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jzap
September 2, 2009 2:22 PM in reply to CVille Dem
Well, nobody has ever accused Airhead Bimbo of being very bright.
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bluesplashy
September 2, 2009 4:56 PM in reply to CVille Dem
Track Palin, the son in Iraq, had to go because he was charged with messing with the brakes on a school bus. That's not saying that what you said couldn't also be true. While I tend to think that juveniles should be given second chances, I believe messing with the brakes on a school bus requires a little more then off to military with you son.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 5:51 PM in reply to bluesplashy
If it had been someone other than the governor's son, he would have gotten hard time, I'd guess. I heard that too, but my scenario isn't ruled out by this; the fact that the kid was a juvenile delinquent doesn't rule out that he got someone pregnant to boot.
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Mauimom
September 3, 2009 1:05 PM in reply to CVille Dem
You can read the article on-line and end your suspense.
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AdAbsurdum
September 2, 2009 12:40 PM in reply to blmack
You betcha!
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Beetlejuice
September 2, 2009 10:00 AM
The problem is ... it all sounds too normal and convincing.
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Frog Leg
September 2, 2009 10:11 AM
Oh well, I was looking forward to a great Palin 2012 debacle. If being Alaska governor was too hard, running an 18 month Presidential campaign would be way too much for her.
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GTFOOH
September 2, 2009 10:16 AM
Yeah, turn your kid over to the mother that just raised a kid out having pre-marital sex and dropping out of school.
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lousgirl84
September 2, 2009 10:18 AM
It all sounds plausible to me. I think Levi isn't smart enough to make this up. I'll bet Sarah and Todd are divorced in a year or so.
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mike from Arlington
September 2, 2009 10:22 AM
But but but, she just like me! She's one of us!
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MAX TARDCORE
September 2, 2009 10:35 AM in reply to mike from Arlington
In a country where half of all marriages end in divorce, & greater than that the percentage of first marriage failures in such as Oklahoma, yes, indeed, Sarah is definitely one of us... Just a slob like one of us.
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LFC
September 2, 2009 10:54 AM in reply to MAX TARDCORE
Uh, didn't Jesus have very strong words about divorce? Here's an interesting from Jesus on the topic.
Funny how the Christian right can bash gays at every turn (since it doesn't impact most of them) and justify it with Old Testament passages, but when it comes to divorce which Jesus was very specific about, weeellllllll, let's just let that one slide. It's easy to be "moral" when you have no skin in the game (no pun intended).
Of course, Jesus did give an out for unfaithfulness, so I guess if you just break the commandment about adultery (and then ask for forgiveness), then divorce is OK. Friggin' hypocrites.
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The Commenter Formerly Known as NCSteve
September 2, 2009 10:38 AM in reply to mike from Arlington
Actually kinda true. For a lot of her most fervant supporters, the not very well-concealed family dysfunction trainwreck was an important point of identification. Cognitive dissonance. It's freaky stuff.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 10:40 AM
If Sarah Palin ever submits to an interview again, I wonder if she will be asked if she offered to adopt her grandson.
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stillidealistic
September 2, 2009 10:45 AM
I feel dirty just reading this...why can't I stop?
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CT Voter
September 2, 2009 11:00 AM in reply to stillidealistic
It's like a mesmerizing trainwreck. You know you shouldn't stop to watch, but you just can't help yourself.. .
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commie atheist
September 2, 2009 11:08 AM in reply to CT Voter
Whenever I need a break from the whole healthcare kerfuffle, it's nice to have the Wasilla Snowbillies to make me feel better about everything.
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CT Voter
September 2, 2009 11:18 AM in reply to commie atheist
You're right. We didn't elect her, after all. We're not total fools.
Yet, at any rate. . .
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 12:06 PM in reply to CT Voter
58,343,671 (47%) of US voters DID -- now THAT is scary!
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GTFOOH
September 2, 2009 12:54 PM in reply to CVille Dem
That's a number beyond the full capacity of "Death Panel" lines!
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BluGrass
September 2, 2009 1:01 PM in reply to CVille Dem
Well, remember that the IQ bell curve has a left side, and it's half the population.
The older I get the more I'm convinced that most Republicans are actually just reactionaries and folks who have a sad longing for authoritarianism.
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jzap
September 2, 2009 2:26 PM in reply to BluGrass
That may be the first time Half-Baked Alaska has been accused of leaning left!
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chimpale
September 2, 2009 10:49 AM
Levi has been saying for a while now that she was talking about doing books and tours and getting her hands on all that money out there. It looks like he was dead on with that one.
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democratICnproud
September 2, 2009 10:54 AM
And to be fair to Bartiromo she is NOT unique as an CNBC on-air personality. As a matter of fact, there are many more bat-shit crazies polluting the CNBC air waves like Kudlow than sane, reasonable, responsible commentators.
At least Fox doesn't PRETEND to be something they are not - HONEST and OBJECTIVE.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 12:14 PM in reply to democratICnproud
Um, I think you posted this on the wrong thread.
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ignignokt
September 2, 2009 11:03 AM
Levi has already been spilling the beans in his semi-regular column:
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/search.php?kw=levi+johnston&x=0&y=0&search=1&type=content
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mike from Arlington
September 2, 2009 11:03 AM
drip drip drip
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Stiggs
September 2, 2009 11:12 AM
There's going to be some serious character assassination against Levi over the next couple of weeks. I'm really interested at how it will all play out. I suspect that the hard right will continue to be hard for Palin but that this will chip away at some of her more moderate support. But I think the bulk of the damage will come from her attempt to spin this. Look for her to come out with the Rove game plan of flat out deny the charges and vilify the accuser but for her to be far too in love with the camera to pull it off. I suspect she will get into the details and make bizarre explanations of how this is all crazy that just make her look crazy. This is going to be a freaking train wreck.
This might also be a straw and camel situation where people who know the Palins and have been keeping their mouths shut start speaking out because they feel Palin is lying in her response to these charges. Who thinks a few people are going to get crossed off the Palin Christmas card list this year?
I particularly like the image of Palin walking around pouting after she lost the election. Priceless.
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NobleCommentDecider
September 2, 2009 11:23 AM
Sounds like the Sarah some always knew- she is a user and a phony, her kids are just political props, and for Sarah it is always about Sarah-which is the way it is with Republicans.
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BluGrass
September 2, 2009 11:35 AM in reply to NobleCommentDecider
Well, ok, but with the GOP, sometimes it's about Senate pages, Denver masseurs, Argentinian mistresses, campaign subordinates, anonymous guys at the MPLS airport, or frisky gals with a big ol' supply of Depends.
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gonzone
September 2, 2009 2:00 PM in reply to BluGrass
Good points all.
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commie atheist
September 2, 2009 11:30 AM
Need I say it: this is, once again, wonderful news for John McCain.
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MAX TARDCORE
September 2, 2009 1:29 PM in reply to commie atheist
Now that you mention it... I understand that Meghan is on the prowl but not finding any luck. Maybe she could shack up with Levi. Since the Mc Cains are put off by the Palins, it would be the final knife in the back.
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Septic
September 2, 2009 11:30 AM
Pass the popcorn...
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Sarah Palin
September 2, 2009 11:45 AM
This is just baloney! Left wing liberal extremists like Levi just can't help themselves from pallin' around with terrorists like this! Besides, he's just mad that President McCain picked me to be the President's wife, instead of Levi's little hoochymama girlfriend Bristol!
I'm glad President McCain chose me to be the President's wife instead of Bristol! It's because I'm prettier than her! Yay!
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 11:57 AM in reply to Sarah Palin
Does Mrs. McCain know about this?
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Sarah Palin
September 2, 2009 1:11 PM in reply to CVille Dem
Who?
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Hussein Stemper
September 2, 2009 12:02 PM in reply to Sarah Palin
We love you, Sarah! Don't ever change!
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Sarah Palin
September 2, 2009 1:11 PM in reply to Hussein Stemper
Yay! And don't you worry, I won't change! I'll be pretty for EVER!
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shooter242
September 2, 2009 12:10 PM
This is so lame. You've got the chairman of the House Ways and Means committee exposing himself as a cheat and fraud, to the sound of crickets - and the revelation that Palin would rather follow in the footsteps of the Clintons to make speakers fees.
This is just another reason we don't trust liberals with our healthcare.
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CT Voter
September 2, 2009 12:21 PM in reply to shooter242
Sarah Palin's a liberal?
Who knew?
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Hussein Stemper
September 2, 2009 12:28 PM in reply to CT Voter
Well, she IS in favor of spreading the wealth of all that Alaska oil revenue around, ya know!
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chimpale
September 2, 2009 12:24 PM in reply to shooter242
And your crappy memory is another reason we don't trust the Republicans with ANYTHING.
By the way, how do you like the way Bush sent the economy into the crapper and Obama's pulling it back out again? I'm sure you'll have a fascinating take on that, and as usual one that defies logic and ignores fact. Make it interesting.
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shooter242
September 2, 2009 1:33 PM in reply to chimpale
Bush sent the economy into the crapper? Ignorance must truly be bliss. Should you actually ever get past your bout with BDS you'll find Democrats are at the root of our mortgage mess.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 7:22 PM in reply to shooter242
shooter, you really need to go into that little chamber that the vet has for you. Go on, now. That's a good boy. You'll be out of your pain soon.
Sincerely,
The Death Panel
...because sometimes, ignorance is actually worse than death
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Tao Jonesing
September 2, 2009 12:40 PM in reply to shooter242
@shooter,
I started to write a real response to your comment, but there's a part of me that is convinced that what you wrote is satire and not what you really believe. I hope for everybody's sake that you are just pulling our leg. Please let us know.
Thanks.
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Schmed
September 2, 2009 12:54 PM in reply to Tao Jonesing
I suspect he's pulling another part of his anatomy....
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shooter242
September 2, 2009 1:35 PM in reply to Tao Jonesing
Which part do you think is satire? Rangel as tax fraud or the Clintons as money grubbing politicians?
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Tao Jonesing
September 2, 2009 5:46 PM in reply to shooter242
Okay. I guess you were serious.
Actually, everything you said was quite silly and remains so.
First, your obscure reference about Charlie Rangel tells me where you get your news, and that you are far too trusting of wingnut news. In this case, Byron York offered up a story where he conflates two distinctly different "offenses" by Rangel to manufacture out of whole cloth the notion that Rangel is a "a tax fraud," as you put it. The first "offense" was a failure to list an asset worth "at least $250k and maybe as much as $500K" on a financial disclosure form in 2007. I presume that this disclosure form was required because he is a congressman. The second "offense" was a failure to pay $10,000 in taxes last year, but which he was allowed to pay in full without paying any interest on it.
Where to start?
First, Rangel's failure to list an asset has nothing to do with taxes. Income tax returns only require people to disclose their income in a calendar year, not their assets. That's because it is income that is taxed and not assets. Second, he paid his taxes in full, a year late, but in full. Let's assume for a minute that this oversight was discovered through an IRS audit of Rangel, the fact that he was audited tends to show that he wasn't throwing his weight around. The fact that he paid his taxes in full further shows that he didn't try to cover things up or avoid responsibility.
So, that leaves you with the shocking allegation that he did not pay up to a year's worth of interest on $10,000 in back payments. Seriously, that's all you've got (and chances are the IRS, if it were authorized to charge interest in view of the total taxes paid by Rangel and the fact that he was probably six months or less in arrears for paying those taxes) . And that makes him a "tax fraud?" Uhm. No. The reason York's piece has been met with the sound of crickets is that there's no story there.
Let me provide you an alternative narrative. Byron York knows his audiencem, i.e., people like you. He knows that all you are lookikng for are news stories to confirm your biases. Maybe you're biased against "liberals," maybe your are biased against Democrats, and maybe you are biased against minorities. Whichever, it doesn't matter. York knows his audience just wants confirmation that the opposition is, in fact, evil and stupid. And all he has to do to convince his audience that he has provided their confirmation is put two completely unrelated issues together, and their fearful, suspicious natures will do the rest of the work for him. Easy money.
Now, let's turn to your comment about Palin and "the Clintons", which is a doozy. Unlike Palin, Bill Clinton served out the entirety of his terms as governor of Arkansas and his terms as the president of the United State. He did not quit. When he left office, just like Reagan and Bush before him, he went on the speaking circuit and earned fees for it. And now Dubya is at it, too. So, we have four consecutive former presidents that completed their elected terms and afterwards made money through speaking engagements. Three of them are conservative Republicans, and the fourth is a moderate Democrat (sorry, Bill is not a liberal), yet you somehow conclude that earning money through speaking engagements after holding elected office is something only "liberals" do.
Worse yet, you reach the nonsensical conclusion that you don't trust "liberals" with health care because conservative Sarah Palin is a quitter. Absolutely amazing.
My tip for you next time is to just pretend that what you are saying is satire. You can make a lot of money being the anti-Colbert. Given that the liberal Colbert has managed to convince some conservatives that his satire is not satire, that he really believes his obviously over the top rants, you have a real chance of convincing liberals that what you actually believe is, in fact, satire and not the crazy rantings of an ill-informed, easily manipulated rube.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 7:31 PM in reply to Tao Jonesing
You left out the refutation of Bush leaving our country in great shape financially -- but don't bother; Shooter doesn't care about facts at all. How many trillions were spent on bogus wars; paying Halliburton pals with no-bid contracts to provide inferior work; and all the money sent in suitcases that just disappeared. How many soldiers are dead or deformed and their families forever changed for this COMPLETELY illegal war?
When we had the perpetrator of 911 trapped, the Bush/Cheney regime called off our soldiers and sent them to a country that had nothing to do with anything. This is the same regime that let the BinLadin family fly out of the US when no other planes were flying after 911.
Leave out all the millions of dead; all the families' hopes and dreams, and just concentrate on the money. The Bush regime was a global disaster, and anyone who doesn't know that doesn't know shit.
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shooter242
September 2, 2009 8:12 PM in reply to Tao Jonesing
Let's see, Rangel doesn't pay $10,000 in taxes on some $75,000 of income, but didn't know he owed it. More importantly he gets special treatment regarding penalties and interest. Rangel also forgets to pay taxes on his NJ properties. Rangel then "forgets" nearly a million dollars in cash on legally required disclosures. Rangel also has not one but four rent controlled apartments presumably a violation of gift rules.
All in all it's a record of privilege and evasion no ordinary American could duplicate. Well see what corruption lies behind it in the near future. This is not the kind of person I want running my healthcare system.
As for Palin, I don't blame her for quitting considering the multitude of investigations, slurs, and slanders, she's had to put up with. Expecting her to stick around as a verbal punching bag for folks like yourself is actually petty and mean. Then there is the idea that leaving a position is a character flaw of some sort. I don't think so. Nor is staying to the bitter end a virtue. William "cold cash" Jefferson didn't quit office, but I'm certainly not going to find that commendable though you probably do.
In the end what we have here is one politician protected and enriched by his position, and another vilified and financially drained for hers. If you prefer corruption and cronyism, that tell me all I need to know. Personally I'd rather go with someone who may be out of her depth, but is honest enough to leave office rather than use it as a vehicle for personal enrichment.
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CVille Dem
September 2, 2009 8:41 PM in reply to shooter242
Keep licking yourself, shooter. It will feel just as good as the bs that you are writing, and it will also be just as substantive.
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Tao Jonesing
September 2, 2009 9:57 PM in reply to shooter242
@shooter,
"If you prefer corruption and cronyism, that tell me all I need to know. Personally I'd rather go with someone who may be out of her depth"
Corruption, cronyism and incompetence. Sounds like Dubya to me (his real trifecta), and I was very glad to see him go. Too bad Cheney never left.
I'm assuming that you loved Dubya, in which case it appears that you give people who are corrupt cronyists (if that's a word) a pass as long as they are incompetent (like Dubya). Of course, you probably will argue that Dubya was really liberal in spite of all facts to the contrary.
Regarding everything else you said about Rangel, you are assuming facts not in evidence to round out an incomplete record presented by a partisan hack. You clearly presume a lot, you even admit doing so, which is exactly what people like Byron York expect you to do, to their benefit and everybody else's detriment, including your own.
I promise not to reply to you again. I just didn't think it was possible that anybody could tie themselves up into the illogical knots that you do. I really was hoping that was not an unfortunate accident, that you were showing the special brilliance of satirists like Colbert and Borat (I forget the actor's name).
I have learned a valuable lesson from you today, though: embracing delusion can make one feel better about the world. I think I will embrace the delusion that you are, in fact, a brilliant satirist and simply enjoy the the nonsense you write as comedy.
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Andreams
September 2, 2009 12:23 PM
I can't stand Sarah Palin but this kid needs to go away.
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johnmccsf
September 2, 2009 12:29 PM in reply to Andreams
Them's FIGTHIN words
Levi Johnston is the only contribution Sarah Palin's made to our culture
LEVI ROCKS!
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johnmccsf
September 2, 2009 12:26 PM
Levi's load - impressive!
I am in love
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johnmccsf
September 2, 2009 12:28 PM in reply to johnmccsf
Oh daddy!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uGwEzVSyRXY/SiAkzQXRktI/AAAAAAAAGio/MhKNEPW_YhQ/s400/LeviJohnstonGQSarahPalinRR02.jpg
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runfastandwin
September 2, 2009 1:01 PM
Palin/Theplumber GOP 2012!
Hope springs eternal...in fact at my age I would get a good laugh if they actually won!
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Johnsnottoodistracted
September 2, 2009 1:56 PM
How many reasons do we need to make sure everyone running for public office has a psych evaluation and lie detector test?
Sure, many would be eliminated or refuse to run but we surely would not be talking about these type insanity and a vp candidate or future anything.
What ever happened to the boys mother/meth dealer?
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some dude named steevo
September 2, 2009 2:34 PM
I guess some day we might get definitive proof that Trig is not her child, but her grandchild.
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traitorjoe
September 2, 2009 5:04 PM
Palin-Manson 2012 ... covering the full spectrum of the Republican party.
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slinkypomo
September 2, 2009 9:24 PM
LOL, I wish Palin would go crawl back under the rock from which she emerged
RT
www.anonymous-web.be.tc
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FebM
September 2, 2009 9:29 PM
This young man needs to go and look after his son and stop disparaging his sons grandma, no matter what. I have not time for Palin the politician, manipulator but she is being a better grandma than Levi is being a dad. STFU
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VexSmith
September 3, 2009 3:11 AM
I feel Levi is either flat-out lying or telling the truth. He doesn't seem capable of nuance.
One of the funnier passages was when he said Palin couldn't cook. I seem to recall her doing something up in the kitchen for Van Susteren or was that someone else? Perhaps she was faking it.
Anyway, I think it's obvious she didn't want to be governor, it's hard work! At some point Mitt is going to attack and that should be fun.
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Nowukkers
September 3, 2009 12:20 PM
Somehow, in watching this jerk get his 15 seconds in the limelight, I can't quite muster the requisite schadenfreude for Palin. It's like watching the Jerry Springer show. After a minute, your brain just numbs to violence it perpetrates on the psyche. As someone who cannot forgive the GOP for the brittle self-righteous poison they have injected into society since the Reagan years, and their cynical attempts to secure a permanent majority (a latter-day 1000-year Reich), I honestly wish they would grow a pair, and give marching orders to the polarizing nut-jobs that have highjacked the party and turned it into a sanctuary for psychopaths. That extremism is inevitably countered by an equal and opposite extremism, which benefits nobody except the extremists themselves.
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JadeZ
September 3, 2009 2:13 PM in reply to Nowukkers
"That extremism is inevitably countered by an equal and opposite extremism,"
really?
tell us who in the democratic party is the equal to the rights extremism.
free speech is a right, regardless of intelligence.
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Nowukkers
September 3, 2009 2:32 PM in reply to JadeZ
Not in the Democratic Party. But there are shriekers on the left. None who are as obnoxious as the hacks on the right - but in time that's what will happen, given my past experiences, living in countries where both fascists and communists are, regrettably, partners of convenience in unsteady coalitions (though not in the same party). Crazies bring out crazies - axiomatic rule of society.
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Nowukkers
September 3, 2009 2:39 PM in reply to JadeZ
Sorry. Didn't finish. Yes. Free speech is a right, regardless of intelligence. Doesn't stop me from detesting what they have to say, or holding them equally as valid. Both extremes give me a headache.
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Leftflank
September 3, 2009 8:45 PM
Somehow McCain actually made a conscious decision to run with the totally unqualified Wasillan, & somehow she got people to go all phony with her. Cut their hair, keep their mouths shut, act like they really liked her, clap on cue & smile. Now the props strike back. This act failed miserably & the people whom saw it firsthand are not willing to stay quiet any longer for the woman that's backstabbing them at every turn. The truth will eventually outweigh the lies & deceptions.
I'm trying to imagine the spinning going on in Sarah's head about this (not the usual everyday spinning).
If Levi is lying, she only has herself to blame & he's just fighting fire with fire, if he's telling the truth, more power to him, she should be fully exposed as the phony that she is.
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