Five Items of Interest: Palin’s Emails, Perry 2012?, The Undefeated, Weiner-gate, 18-Week Abortion Ban

Good morning, here’s some items of interest for me (and hopefully you) for the weekend.

1. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s emails were released to the press.  Video of the blessed event here (HT: Lisa Graas).  The approximately 30,000 emails were from the time she was inaugurated until the time she was tapped as Senator John McCain’s running mate in 2008.

An AP article appearing in the Cedar Rapids Gazette called this event, “And potential candidate Sarah Palin again lent a circus atmosphere to the entire GOP family — this time indirectly — when Alaska released thousands of pages of emails from her days as governor.”  Let’s make it clear who created the circus atmosphere.  It was the media who demanded the emails and received them from the State of Alaska.  It wasn’t as if she asked for (or wanted) all of her emails to be released.

I think the entire thing is insane, and the actual story here is not what the media finds in the emails, it is the media conduct in the whole thing.  The Washington Post and The New York Times are hiring people to help sift through the emails.  You can see their priorities here because I find it strange that they didn’t do this with the Obamacare bill.  Had they done so perhaps Nancy Pelosi would have known what was in it.  But hey, why waste resources on a bill that impacts 1/6 of our economy?

2.  Texas Governor Rick Perry will he run or won’t he?  Last month there was talk that he was rethinking a2012 run.  This has intensified.  Now “sources” say he’s running… well at least it’s 90% that he’s running.  Other “sources” say he’s talking to the money people.  Christian Heinze said the video below demonstrates why a Perry vs. Obama match-up could be a good one.

He could practically reuse that as a campaign commercial.  Compare that to Obama’s record especially with the focus on the economy and jobs – good night!  Governor Perry has seen success, Obama not so much.  He’s also a proven social conservative, as well as a fiscal conservative.  I also like his focus on the 10th Amendment.  He has consistently challenged federal mandates.  He has a lot going for him.  My chief complaint was his decision to make Gardasil (the HPV vaccine) mandatory.  Other objections – he sounds too much like Bush, he didn’t reject succession talk, etc.  Pretty weak.  Anyway, if he jumps in, look for some candidates to jump out because he will be a player.  Top tier for certain.

3. The Undefeated premiere in Iowa.  The documentary about Sarah Palin’s political rise will be come to Iowa this month.  Still don’t know where or if Governor Palin will be present.  The documentary will premiere nationwide on July 15th, and will be shown exclusively in AMC Theaters. The Iowa premiere won’t necessarily be shown in an AMC Theater which is good because I don’t believe we have an AMC Theater in the Des Moines area or Central Iowa for that matter.

4.  Weiner-gate.  I’ve tried to avoid blogging about the disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY).  But when it rains it pours for the guy.  Now he has a police investigation into his Twitter activity with a 17-year-old girl in Delaware, but hey, it’s ok because Nancy Pelosi said he can stay.  Christie Vilsack however decided to dump him from a fundraiser for her exploratory committee.  He was going to be the co-host.  Probably the only good decision thus far, but I can’t give her much credit as she did initially invite him which again demonstrates how completely out of touch she is with the folks in what will make up Iowa’s new 4th Congressional district.  I am thankful that Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), an active Tweeter, doesn’t use Twitter in the same manner as the New York Congressman (shudder).

5.  A late term abortion ban passed through the Iowa House.  Instead of it being an abortion ban at 20 weeks, they lowered it to 18 weeks.  This was in response to the Iowa Senate ignoring the original ban and instead sending the Iowa House the “Save Mike Gronstal’s Backside Act of 2011.”  I have zero confidence this bill will be acted on in the Iowa Senate.  Gronstal’s pandering to Planned Parenthood will allow Leroy Carhart to set up shop in our state.  Council Bluffs voters, please remember that in 2012.  The most interesting thing with this bill getting passed is that State Representatives Kim Pearson (R-Pleasant Hill) and Glen Massie (R-Des Moines) voted in favor of the bill.  Before they were against any ban short of a personhood bill, so I’m thankful, but surprised that they supported this.