Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her daughter Piper in Bristol Bay, Alaska, on Monday. In a speech announcing her resignation this month, Sarah Palin said she had spent too much time defending against legal and media attacks. A day later, she threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against Shannyn Moore, an Alaskan blogger.
(Sean Cockerham/Anchorage Daily News/MCT)Photos (1 of 1)
In Alaska, Sarah Palin squares off against the blogosphere
By Matthew Shaer | 07.10.09
In the battle of Sarah Palin vs. Shannyn Moore, there is at least one winner: the lowly weblog.
Although much has been made in recent years of the power of the Internet to change politics – the netroots, the unlikely rise of Howard Dean’s web-fueled candidacy, the multimedia machine that helped send Barack Obama to the White House – it’s rare to see one personal blog play such a major role in American politics.
Well, welcome to Alaska, where the bloggers have clout, the Twitter feeds run free, and one very angry “Mama Grizzly” has aimed her ire in the general direction of the World Wide Web.
Earlier this month, when Sarah Palin announced she was stepping down as governor of Alaska, she claimed she no longer wanted to “appease those who demand: ‘Sit down and shut up.’ [That’s] the worthless, easy path; that’s a quitter’s way out,” Palin said. “And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and ‘go with the flow.’”
A day later, in a four-page public letter, Palin’s office lashed out at the media. Her beef: several bloggers had reported as fact that Palin resigned to avoid implication in a political scandal. (Specifically, the bloggers alleged that Palin awarded the construction contract for the Wasilla Sports Complex to Spenard Building Supplies in exchange for help building her own home.)
But Palin only identified only one offender by name – Shannyn Moore, the author of a local political blog. From page three of the open letter:
To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as “fact” that Governor Palin resigned because she is “under federal investigation” for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation. This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore…. that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law.
As others have noted, Moore was not the only one to report on the Wasilla Sports Complex scandal. “There were scads of blogs, both local and national that reported on the rumors above, many in greater detail and with more certainty than Moore did,” columnist AKMuckracker wrote on The Huffington Post. “But Moore really got under the soon-to-be-ex governor’s skin.”
Today, Forbes published a long-ish interview with Moore, where the blogger says that she receives marriage proposals and death threats in “equal measure.” In Alaska, Moore says, “Some of the biggest stories of the Palin administration have been broken by…. political bloggers. There are about six of us.”
Related: Suddenly, Palin lights up the Twitterverse
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2. Gazza | 07.10.09
Why would a “politician” bother with a wind up merchant on teh interwebs? Makes Palin look more than foolish. Imagine if she was Vice President. Thank god the country wasn’t that dumb. I pray the republicans run her as their candidate in 2012, that would guarantee 4 more years of Obama.
3. bb | 07.10.09
Let me get this straight, Palin is leaving because of mounting legal cases, but her team will pursue all legal actions against anyone who defames her character?
4. Ace | 07.10.09
If Govenor Palin feels she has been the victim of defamation, by all rights she should sue, but dragging it into the press might not have been the best response since she has said on numerous times that public attacks are horrible and unfair. Sue first, answer questions later.
5. AnotherMark | 07.10.09
Yeah, well what does Levi have to say on the matter? I look forward to law makers and news reporters remembering more important issues at hand like our economy is tanking and people are out of work… I look forward to their returning the focus to important matters of state and country instead of this thinly disguised cult of personality TMZ style trash. We get it! She was a poor choice by McCain. She’s unqualified. She’s way over her head. She’s stepping down. GOT IT. Enough already! Move on!
6. Floridamouse | 07.10.09
We (the majority of the USA, democrats and republicans alike) are so tired about hearing of Palin - bailing Palin….so inexperienced to run Alaska, much less the entire USA. Last I looked we still had the First Amendment and we can say anything we *think* (opinion) regarding anybody in this country.
I think Palin is a loser and today I saw a picture of the 2 babies in a double stroller with Bristol. Yep, I sure do think she lied about that whole (heavily paraphrased) “my water broke in Texas (on a 4th or 5th childbirth) but instead I hopped on the plane to Alaska (a 5-hour ride) before having this baby.” This is a total lie-anyone who is female and/or a female/male doctor knows that with water breaking on a 4th or 5th child….the babies come VERY FAST -they don’t wait for a plane to land in Alaska 5 hours after the fact, there is no 24 hours of labor on the 4th or 5th child. Medically speaking, she is a liar.
Here’s that photo of Bristol’s TWO babies in one double-stroller, regardless that the grandparents are standing/squatting next to the stroller.
http : / / images. huffingtonpost. com / 2009-07-09-parade . jpg
Just remove all the white spaces in between to see the above link.
Once a liar, always a liar and now nobody will trust her and WE WILL NOT FORGET. Kudos to Levi Johnston who, while he might want 15 minutes of fame himself also, brings out a few truthful statements when he has to. I do NOT believe that Levi Johnston is a liar. Body language and me being a parent and all that. I hope Levi Johnston makes it BIG BIG BIG and that the entire Palin family does really succede from the USA just like Todd and Sarah wanted to before McCain had a moment of Alzheimer’s and/or dementia and wanted her as a running mate. Perhaps running mate with the moose up in Alaska….is about all she is good for. Now, she will write her book (no, she won’t, she will have a ghostwriter) and make $$ by those freaks who buy it. She will be on your TVs eventually I think and on some reality garbage show - as part of the dumbing down of America - exactly where I/we think she belongs!
7. justiceserved | 07.10.09
Everyone knows the Rep. are against freedom of speech as it reveals them for who they really are. Palin is just too dumb to do it subtly. Uh-oh, I opened myself up for a lawsuit! Ever feel she missed the American history/civics classes in school?
8. steve conn | 07.10.09
Andre McLeod isthe unsung hero. She is not a self-promoter, simply a citizen advocate who never backed down. Her fellow Lebanese-American, Ralph Nader, should be proud of this spunky follower.
9. Karen, atl | 07.10.09
If a single blogger in Alaska scares Palin, how would she react against a real threat or a strong but enigmatic word leader such as Kim or Chavez not to mention some of the mercurial ones in the Middle East? Not to mention the more intelligent, cunning ones like Putin. I don’t want a President with such thin skin who can’t handle a difference of opinion.
I find it disquieting that a governor would single out an individual blogger. Not so much because she agreed or disagreed with what she said but that she could be that impacted by one person’s opinion.
10. dom youngross | 07.10.09
From what I’ve read so far about Sarah Palin, I think it’s a given that she’ll she’ll fight back against defamation with a law suit.
If they haven’t already, the Shannyn Moores and David Lettermens and all else who REGULARLY command a WIDESPREAD audience better consult the best legal counsel they can afford to learn exactly when free speech becomes defamation before they utter or write another word about Palin.
11. J. B. | 07.10.09
I’ll vote for Palin just to STICK IT to her media detractors and the 8 years of Bush/Cheney hatred promoted incessantly by insatiable partisans and their cooperating media such as MSNBC. I have never witnessed a more concerted vitriol in my many decades of political periphery. It’s clear that when Bush could no longer be a target their hatred had to go somewhere. Sarah Palin is the victim of calculated cartoon-mockery because of her gender and her REFRESHING and simple decency and uncomplicated sincerity in the aggressive democrats’ circuit of defining what their opposition is. Those qualities of Palin would be most appreciated by the democrats if she were one of them. I hope Palin leads others to speak up and fight against the cunningly destructive ridicule and stands tall as a champion! It’s citizens like her that have an intuitive guidance and can fight for decent media coverage,and political civility. One last remark. Her press conference was not rambling but refreshingly facile and from the heart, with easy to understand logic. Amazing how the hate-filled republican bashers, and self-assured political commentators can promote such personally destructive definitions for public acceptance. You probably won’t publish this, but at least your paper was founded partly to improve the quality of journalism.
12. Judith Cooper | 07.10.09
This isn’t a war on the main stream media, it is a war on an individual with ideas and opinions. Sarah Palin needs to check her reality. Or better yet, keep pushing herself as a representative of the repub party.
13. Gato | 07.10.09
Well, “J.B.” was right about one thing - the MSNBC’s of the world have turned their focus to Sarah Palin now that Bush is gone, which is one of the reasons I quit watching Olberman and Maddow. I hope to never hear another word about Sarah Palin again. Enough already about her - she is stunningly incompetent and the country knew it and we elected Obama.
14. Liam O’Neill | 07.10.09
A bad carpenter always blames his tools it is said, and Sarah Palins excuse for her significant shortcomings is the media. Well I saw what she didnt know during the campaign with my own two ears and eyes as I cringed in embarrassment for her. Only in celebrity obsessed America could you find any support for someone who so obviously underqualified for the job of President or even Vice President of the United States and that scares us here in Australia. That’s Australia, by the way, not Austria Sarah.
15. David Kay | 07.10.09
I’m a Vietnam Veteran who voted for Barack. I can only say one thing about Palin. Stick to your fish guttin’ and moose shottin’ and leave the politics to the big boys and girls.
16. Kathy | 07.10.09
Ms. Moore never reported as fact that Governor Palin was resigning because of problems with the construction of her house. Ms. Moore stated that there had been rumors about it for several months.
Governor Palin found a way to leave her states energy commission when she got bored with it and realized the work was over her head. She’s acted bored with running the state since she lost the election for VP, and it looks like she found a way to leave a job she finds boring. Blaming Ms. Moore for something she actually didn’t do–portray rumor as fact–just makes a good excuse.
I don’t buy the “spend time with the family” exucse, either. She’s off fishing, not spending time with the family, and not getting the state ready for a transition in leadership.
17. Tilliespants | 07.11.09
ahhh…The masses are so ignorant! They actually believe these blogs about Ms. Palin are important and they also believe President Obama will do them right! So funny! Tell me again how much you know about this important issue!
18. David | 07.11.09
Why does the left continue to nash there teeth???? I thought Sarah stepping down would make the ungodly left move to something else. I hope you are enjoying the change I heard so much about!!!
19. Ronald Boyette | 07.11.09
Frankly, I think its about time we had a woman president. I think she could make an excellent president. I think the left wing media had better become a little more honest and a lot less leftist. About 2 years ago I quite listening to the mainstream media and do not even bother to read the local paper any longer. The CSM is about the last paper I read as it seems to still be balanced. CNN, HNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS are no longer on my watch list. Intrestingly enough most of the people I know thru business relationships all seem to feel the same way.
20. Alaska stones | 07.12.09
I really don’t understand all the fuss, Sarah Hasn’t done much in her 1.5 yrs as our gov. To all of you who think she could run the country, I invite you to go get a drink in Wasilia, at the local smokey bar with the prego bartender. Sarah came in on a platform of righteousness. She was to rid us of all our corrupt politicians and she was to get us that natural gas pipeline. What ever happened to “Drill baby, drill?”
So far the only things she has done is to pass a law making it illegal to watch dvd’s while driving, text while driving, oh, and this is a big one change the hunting units because Todd wanted a sought after permit in an area where permits are usually given to low income families.
21. M | 07.12.09
I deeply dislike Sarah Palin and I was greatly relieved that she did not become vice president. That said, I cannot defend people who present unfounded accusations as “fact”. Slander is not OK, regardless of how much we may dislike the person being slandered. If you’re going to make bold accusations such as were made by this Moore person, you had better have the unequivocal evidence to back it up, or prepare to face the consequences. I hope she gets what she deserves.
22. Lou Demaree | 07.12.09
I find Sarah Palin to be an articulate person with rational views of political questions. The US needs someone who can speak without a teleprompter. We need someone like Sarah Palin.
Many of her critics have condemned her lack of experience. They seem to forget that President Obama was a US Senator on for about 1 year before starting his presidential campaign. Ms. Palin has more experience running a government than did President Obama.
It is a sad state of our legal institutions when a group of people can be allowed to bring so many frivolous lawsuits against one person as Ms. Palin has had to endure. This is a testimony for legal reform. If someone brings a frivolous lawsuit, they should have to pay the other person’s legal fees.
The amount of frivolous lawsuits and outlandish attacks by the liberal far left just shows how afraid they are of Ms. Palin. I find this most humorous.
What I find most despicable is the way that some on the far left have gone after her children. They should be fired.
I do not know if Ms. Palin will ever have the opportunity to run for President or VP, but I hope that she will continue to have a platform for speaking out and stating the simple truths that this country so desperately need.
23. RC Graham | 07.12.09
To those who defend their vote for America’s first Affirmative Action President: you are getting (and giving all of us) the opposite of freedom and equality.
With stunning vacuity of insight, the left and the clueless ‘centrists’ supported Hillary for Senate, when her ONLY claim to fame was that she married a man whom Tyson Products would make Governor, and then President. On the strength of that one term as Senator, Democrat voters decided that she was a competent candidate to run the United States (no one on the left ever questioned her credentials).
1000 illegally gotten FBI files, the left has no problem. The Rose Law firm, Whitewater and Cattle futures? Again, no issue. 54 people in and around the Clintons, dead. Well, people die. A person in the White House staff whose sole job was to ‘handle’ ‘bimbo eruptions’? Cool with the amoral voters.
The teleprompter president was even less qualified. 143 Days as Senator (where he left absolutely NO positive record)! Prior to that… community organizer? You have no problem with that. Where’s his Birth Certificate? The Governor of Hawaii seals the record. WHAT RECORD? Obama was raised and early educated in Muslim nations - not America. His very name is Muslim. Kenya celebrates him as the Kenyan President of the United States! His extreme leftist roots are unquestionable. Virtually ALL of his pre-presidency associates are KNOWN America haters. His wife says that this is the first time… she has been proud of her country.
Obama has now deliberately snubbed our staunchest ally, England. France as well. Isreal, too. Who hasn’t he snubbed? The king of Saidi Arabia, to whom he is the first American President ever to bow. The rulers of Iran. Every third-world dictator in South America. To these, he apologizes for his country.
Sarah Palin is a pro-life mother who walks it and talks it. She was a small business owner (who paid her taxes - unlike virtually ALL of the teleprompter president’s cabinet and other nominees). She was elected mayor of the city where she lived. She was a political appointee to a commission inextricably important to America’s future: ‘The Alaska Oil and Gas Commission’, where she was admitted by all to have been an effective reformist. She was elected governor of her state (the largest in the union, and one of the few that is fiscally solvent).
After being selected as McCain’s runing mate, She and her family were savaged by an army of lawyers and ‘journalists’ dispatched to Alaska, for the sole pupose of (not fact-finding, but) proctologically finding any speck of dirt that might be used against her or her family.
What they found was a typical American family. Strong mother. Loving husband. Yes, even a daughter who made a mistake (you know, the kind of mistake that is celebrated in this same national media, with ‘baby parties’ given by teachers in public schools, IF the child giving birth is a liberal who assures everyone that she will be on public assistance).
Palin’s family committed the worst crime of all, they handle their troubles as a family, NOT as helpless wards. Their faith is in God, NOT in the state.
So, what to do? Sue. Yes, sue, and write lies.
Newt Gengrich was harassed out of office in part by 80+ lawsuits filed by leftist ‘organizers’. All but one were dismissed. Palin has more than a dozen to answer. So far, two have been dismissed. She has amassed more than $500,000 in personal legal bills (no, they won’t be ‘taken care of’ by George Soros, the Chinese, or by the Chubb Group or State Farm Insurance).
It’s not Sarah Palin’s honesty or her ethics that are questionable. The question before America, is whether we as a country will find our way out of the subjective self-destruction that is the communist-leftist movement, before the (formerly great) United States of America becomes yet another casualty in the evolution (devolution?) of man.
25. dave | 07.14.09
Well, RC Graham, we are talking about Palin here, not Barack Hussain Obama or Hillary ‘ghostwhisperer’ Clinton.
She is a pro-life mother, great. She was elected mayor, excellent. Commission member, check. Elected governer of Alaska, wonderful. (I assume you are insinuating that all presidential candidates must come from the largest states, Alaska and Texas only, and that you admire the rather socialist annual handout the state of Alaska gives all its citizens.)
After being thrust on the political stage by political elitists, she was subject to the national media (and pajama media) glare (see your reference to Obama associates and birth certificate.)
I thought the typical american family had a strong father and a loving mother….
Handling their trouble as a family would explain all those phone calls by Todd during ‘Troopergate’. And, by the way, if all our faith was truly in God , we wouldn’t be having this discussion. We would just trust God that all will turn out as He wills. We would be a much more civil nation.
If I remember correctly, Newt was having an extra-marital affair with Callista Bisek, a congressional aide 23 years his junior, that shot his chances up. Oh that one lawsuit that wasn’t dissmissed against him, was that the use of tax-exempt foundations for political purposes that was in violation of House Rules and got him a 300,000 fine from the House Ethics Commitee? Newt, the champion of responsibilty, honesty and ethics turns out to violate ethics and isn’t very honest or responsible in marriage.
And these are the same problems I have with Sarah. The point guard is walking off the court at the start of the third quarter (to use her analogy), abandoning her responsibilty to the voters of Alaska. As for ethics, she has been found guilty of abusing her authority, has had to give money back for improperly expensing her kids, and owes back taxes on pier diem for living in her own house.
But honesty is her worst trait. She honestly believes that she isn’t a quitter by quitting…..
26. SM in MICHIGAN | 07.15.09
Nice to see there are still people throwing around the ‘communist/socialist, alien” lies. Obama is an American citizen. He never was part of a secessionist organization (unlike Todd, and Sarah who gave a happy speech there in 2008, and then asked the McCain folks to LIE about Todd’s membership in ASA.) Obama is trying to take care of all citizens, not just the ones who are the “real” Americans, according to Palin. He kept his kids in school and OFF the campaign trail, unlike Palin, who used them as props.”Here’s my handicapped baby and my pregnant teenager. Aren’t they adorable? Now don’t write anything about them.” He never quit a job, unlike Sarah, who quit as mayor to work on the Oil and Gas Commission, then quit that appointment to run for Lt. Gov. in 2002. You truly think she would last a month as President? Truly?
I am also sick of being portrayed as a drain on society because I am a liberal who believes in helping people. We own our home, and have enough savings to pay off the mortgage tomorrow. We have always worked (I since I was 14) and raised two great kids who earned scholarships to major universities based on their academic qualifications. My daughter just graduated from law school with no loans and no bills. We go to church, and try to follow the golden rule and “Love thy neighbor.” So we’re bad why? I also do not believe in war, nor the death penalty, nor abortion. I am pro gun control, and for a flat tax that would be fair to all.
My problem with Palin and her family is that she has delusions of grandeur. Any truly caring mother in a new job with a new baby would have said “No thanks,” immediately to John McCain. But not Sarah. She saw no issues with leaving Alaska for four months, dragging an infant in and out of planes while her teen daughter needed her advice, and then crying “foul” every time someone discovered another troubling fact about her past. She lies, people. She tramples on folks to get ahead, and she still can’t see that she will be crushed in the Republican primary season because she cannot debate. You might read the Vanity Fair article for more on your precious Gov. If she were not attractive, none of this would have happened, and you’d all be welcome to her.
27. Janet Greene | 07.16.09
Any enemy of Palin’s is a friend of mine. When, oh when, will we stop hearing this whiny woman from Alaska who seems to think she is actually qualified for something? Who reeks of arrogance and dogmatism in the complete absence of wisdom or even basic information? Palin is the most annoying person to ever grace my tv. If Moore was in any way a part of her stepping down, I thank her to the depth of my being. Palin is irresponsible, uncurious, and seemingly without any normal human empathy or kindness. And she is blissfully unaware of politics or even the fact that climate change could threaten our existence within a decade or two. She wants to align herself with big money at any cost, and will obviously be travelling the circuit now trying to get rich off speaking engagements. Why anyone would pay to see her, or hear her feeble attempts to complete a sentence or communicate a thought, is beyond me. We need responsible, well-read, thinking people in office. She belongs nowhere near a microphone or platform of any kind. Just go away, Sarah Palin. Go kill some animals, or speak in tongues, or do what you love to do, just please don’t subject the public to any more of you.
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1. Phyllis Stanley | 07.10.09
Way to go Sarah! Your first job is to be a mother! Thanks for being a great role model! If we don’t stand up for our children who will? May God bless & protect you & your family from all of those that don’t see family as the first priority.