|
September 01, 2008
Buchanan smears Palin?
I don't know whether Palin ever supported Buchanan, but what about this? A meme is developing out there among liberals that Gov. Sarah Palin was a supporter of Pat Buchanan in the 1990s, a charge that the McCain-Palin campaign strongly denies.Palin denies having been a Buchanan brigadista, as does the McCain campaign. Buchanan, however, claims otherwise to Chris Matthews: Buchanan told Chris Matthews yesterday that Palin "was a brigader in 1996 as was her husband, Chris, they were at a fundraiser for me, she's a terrific gal, she's a rebel reformer."They were "at a fundraiser"? Even Code Pink members have managed to show up at GOP fundraisers, so I'm not sure that constitutes proof. Nor does the McCain campaign: McCain-Palin campaign spokesman Michael Goldfarb writes: "Governor Palin has never worked for any effort to elect Pat Buchanan -- that assertion is completely false. As Mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin did attend an event with Mr. Buchanan in her home town where reports described her wearing a Buchanan for President button. She wore the button as a courtesy to Mr. Buchanan and in an effort to make him feel welcome during his visit, but immediately sent a letter to the editor of her local paper clarifying that the button should not have been interpreted as an endorsement of any kind."I have to say that of all the arguments that have come up against Palin, this one would make me the most nervous, if it were true. Is it? The JTA has looked into the claim and come up dry. There's no evidence that she supported Buchanan in any material way, other than sporting the button, which she says she did out of courtesy: Wexler's comments appear based on a 1999 report that Palin wore a Buchanan button during Buchanan's visit to Wasilla, the town she then led as mayor. At that time, however, Palin had written a letter to the local paper explaining that she wore campaign buttons as a matter of courtesy when candidates came to visit the town.(Buchanan did win the 1996 GOP primary in Alaska, so wearing the button in '99 may also have been a smart political move on her part, even though she appears to have been a Forbes supporter.) Palin's Wiki entry makes no mention of Buchanan, and I'm coming up dry where it comes to hard proof. From what I can see so far, what we have is Buchanan's word against hers, and the left takes Buchanan at his word. Certainly, he's not helping her by claiming she was a brigader, so the question becomes why would he do that? Certainly not to help McCain. Not if this piece reflects his current views. Or this: Pretty unfriendly stuff. Frankly, unless there was a showing of genuine repentance, I doubt McCain would pick a Buchanan brigader to be his running mate. posted by Eric on 09.01.08 at 01:40 PM
Comments
Her husband's name is Todd, not Chris. andrewdb · September 1, 2008 09:09 PM I didn't say that, but I think the piece quoted Buchanan as saying to Chris Matthews that Sarah Palin "was a brigader in 1996 as was her husband, Chris, they were at a fundraiser for me, she's a terrific gal, she's a rebel reformer."In this context, "as was her husband, Chris" does not mean her husband was named Chris. Eric Scheie · September 1, 2008 11:09 PM if she is a Buchanan Brigader than I am voting for her....not McCain Jim · September 2, 2008 08:50 AM I like your sentiments, Jim! Pat Buchanan is an honest politician, if there ever was one. So many prominent GOP and conservative leaders endorsed and campaigned for Pat Buchanan in 1996 (some in 1999 and 2000 as well, though it was far less, due to him having left the Republican Party). Go Pat Go!! Aakash · September 3, 2008 04:50 PM Post a comment
You may use basic HTML for formatting.
|
|
September 2008
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
September 2008
August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 AB 1634 MBAPBSAAGOP Skepticism See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
Corruption Eruption
Some Are Jotting Down Notes Don't say I didn't warn them! Inside His Melon Looking for signs of strength? Libertarians, conservatives, and open-minded liberals only! (All others stop reading now!) Sarah Palin In Carson City, Nev. On The Verge A New Front Opens In The Culture Wars They can't help it
Links
Site Credits
|
|
I've read somewhere in the last several days that Buchanan's wife and somebody on his campaign staff have both said the he remembers wrong--she had nothing to do with his campaign.
No I don't remember where, and I'm not interested enough in the issue to go looking for it.
But even if she did, so what.
I used to think Buchanan was one of us, and it took me a while to catch on.