Palin Fans Need to Chill
The Daily Caller stepped in it today. In a fairly innocuous piece about Sarah Palin's TLC reality show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," they reported on a story already in the news, here and here, about the state tax subsidies the show's producers received for filming in Alaska. From today's DC:
...in a political age where it’s controversial in many circles to defend public funding of National Public Radio, critics panned Palin for supporting a measure that forced taxpayers to foot the bill for a private media project after many statements from the former governor in support of a government that only plays a limited role in the economy.
“I’d bet, like many politicians, Palin’s views on the proper role of government becomes more flexible as it comes closer to her own interests,” wrote the Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney on Tuesday.
Jim Geraghty of National Review said that the reality show’s subsidy was “ridiculous” and that the policy was “problematic for a crusader for small government to end up collecting a seven-figure paycheck from an endeavor that received a seven-figure subsidy,” while Peter Suderman of the libertarian Reason Magazine cracked: “In 2008, Sarah Palin, then the Governor of Alaska, signed a special tax credit for filmmakers into law. … Who’s benefiting from that tax subsidy now? … none other than Sarah Palin.”
Palin, as she often does, responded ably to those criticisms on Facebook. From the last big paragraph:
“It’s...a false accusation to suggest that signing this bipartisan bill somehow goes against my position on the proper role of government,” she said. “I’ve said many times that government can play an appropriate role in incentivizing business, creating infrastructure, and leveling the playing field to foster competition so the market picks winners and losers, instead of bureaucrats burdening businesses and picking winners and losers.”
This actually seems like pretty small potatoes -- it's the kind of gotcha piece that every politician eventually faces.
What's striking, though, are the comments below the Daily Caller piece. Many of them display the kind of tripwire defensiveness I've noticed a lot in die-hard Palin fans. And Palin's Facebook response is also a little over-the-top. There's a lot in it about "burying" her response -- in reality, it's there, unburied -- and a weird shot at Tucker Carlson --
"As I noted in my statement (which was curiously buried by The Daily Caller – whose editor-in-chief was recently called on the carpet for publicly using a degrading term to describe women. C’mon Daily Caller, we can’t afford you slipping up like this. America is counting on more professionalism than that."
Okay, full disclosure: I like Sarah Palin. I like her especially because of the way she totally unhinges the Left. I don't think she'd make a good president, though. And I'm unwilling to accept, as some Palin fans demand, that this is some kind of slur. There are literally hundreds of people and politicians whose temperaments and judgement and values I like -- Roger Ailes, my dad, Peter Robinson, Ursula Hennessy, George Will, just to name a few. I'd even throw in most of the Ricochet membership.
That doesn't mean I think any of them should be president.
The notion that because she's been on the receiving end of a lot of nasty press -- and she has -- that that somehow exonerates her from any criticism, even the small-bore penny-ante stuff about state tax subsidies for film production, is just way, way, way too hypersensitive. It doesn't do her any good, either. It makes her look small and prickly. It makes her look Nixonian. Not Reaganesque.
Sarah Palin needs to take a deep breath. The DC piece was a fair piece of gotcha, and her response -- when she finally got to it, after lots of drama and stemwinding and self-pitying justification -- is a perfectly fair, perfectly persuasive answer. She should have left it at that. She'd seem a lot taller and more -- dare I say it -- presidential if she had. I mean, seriously: as president, would she be spending all of that time and energy pushing back against every single small-potatoes piece? This is what makes some of us think: Senator Palin, great; President Palin, not so much.
And the knee-jerk paranoid defensiveness of her fans doesn't do them any credit, either. They don't seem like supporters. They seem like disciples. They need to chill.
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Oct '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Kenneth: If Palin had the principles and political instincts so many credit her with, she would have told the television production company that she could not, in good conscience, do the deal unless they agreed to waive the tax break.
But she didn't. · Mar 31 at 11:22am
But Kenneth, wouldn't that be akin to expecting a politician with good political instincts who previously passed across-the-board tax-cut legislation to then decline to pay his income taxes at the newer, lower rate and instead to pay his taxes at the higher, prior rate? I think the analogy holds, and so I don't think it's a reflection of her political instincts in either direction that she accepted a tax break to which she was entitled and which she couldn't possibly have foreseen in June 2008.
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
dittoheadadt
But we don't live in the abstract, so when one governor does "A" to enhance his state's economic position relative to his neighbor state "B's" economic position, Governor B has to act. And so on.
So while it's probably ok to argue against them in principle, it's wrong to argue against any governor who employs them in order to help his state compete against the other governors and states.
Edited on Mar 31 at 11:09 am
That's a fair point to make -- and one she should have made.
But I'm still against these kinds of subsidies. I think they actually hurt the states in the long run. These kinds of jobs are fleeting at best. There's no evidence they really build up a local film industry. Louisiana has had these deals for years -- they were famous for them -- but they've cut them back severely because they never really paid off. Better to eliminate all special deals in favor of pro-entrepreneurial, low-tax policies across the board.
But that's a fair economic argument to have. It's not "wrong" to have it.
Oct '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Kenneth
Rob Long
The economic research on this is just being done... · Mar 31 at 11:32am
Oh, I wouldn't question you or any other producer for taking the credit. But from Palin's standpoint, it would have been the honorable...thing to do.· Mar 31 at 11:37am
Honorable? Why is it honorable for her to refuse a tax benefit that she is legitimately entitled to, that was enacted at a time when she couldn't possibly have known or even suspected it would one day benefit her, that is a byproduct of a common practice in every state in the Union, and that is perfectly consistent with her principles?
That seems to be an unrealistic standard to hold her to (or anyone else similarly situated). What other economic benefits does she enjoy as a result of legislation enacted while she was governor, and should she be honorable and politically astute and reject all of them, too, lest the Geraghtys and Sudermans and Carneys and Robyns of the world pick another fight with her?
Jun '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
dittoheadadt
Kenneth: If Palin had the principles and political instincts so many credit her with, she would have told the television production company that she could not, in good conscience, do the deal unless they agreed to waive the tax break.
But she didn't. · Mar 31 at 11:22am
But Kenneth, wouldn't that be akin to expecting a politician with good political instincts who previously passed across-the-board tax-cut legislation to then decline to pay his income taxes at the newer, lower rate and instead to pay his taxes at the higher, prior rate? I think the analogy holds, and so I don't think it's a reflection of her political instincts in either direction that she accepted a tax break to which she was entitled and which she couldn't possibly have foreseen in June 2008. · Mar 31 at 11:40am
The point is any politician that I like gets the get-out-of-jail-free card, while politicians that I hate must stand on principle lest they prove themselves bad politicians in my view, which is why I hate them to begin with.
Oct '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Rob Long
But that's a fair economic argument to have. It's not "wrong" to have it. · Mar 31 at 11:44am
Yes, but it's merely an academic argument, isn't it? That's what I meant by "it's wrong to have it." Wrong in the sense that it's pointless (or rather it seems pointless to me; I see nothing productive coming out of it).
We can have a robust debate, but when the debate is over nothing is changed, nothing will change. So why bother? Let the pointy-heads have that debate. They're better at tilting at windmills.
To be clear (or just less unclear), I'm not just referring to film industry tax breaks doled out by the states. I'm also talking about any and all state tax breaks - whether for film production (which, admittedly, can be fleeting) or for long-term factory relocations or for sales tax competition (come visit the NH/MA border towns sometime and count the number of MA license plates in the parking lots) - NH has no general sales tax, MA is, well, Taxachusetts.
These kinds incentives exist and always will. Debating them on principle seems unproductive.
Edited on March 31, 2011 at 9:10pmJul '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
dittoheadadt
Kenneth: If Palin had the principles and political instincts so many credit her with, she would have told the television production company that she could not, in good conscience, do the deal unless they agreed to waive the tax break.
But she didn't. · Mar 31 at 11:22am
But Kenneth, wouldn't that be akin to expecting a politician with good political instincts who previously passed across-the-board tax-cut legislation to then decline to pay his income taxes at the newer, lower rate and instead to pay his taxes at the higher, prior rate?
Yeah, I guess you're right - Charlie Rangel wouldn't have passed up the tax credit, either.
Oct '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Kenneth
dittoheadadt
Kenneth: If Palin had the principles and political instincts so many credit her with, she would have told the television production company that she could not, in good conscience, do the deal unless they agreed to waive the tax break.
But she didn't. · Mar 31 at 11:22am
But Kenneth, wouldn't that be akin to expecting a politician with good political instincts who previously passed across-the-board tax-cut legislation to then decline to pay his income taxes at the newer, lower rate and instead to pay his taxes at the higher, prior rate?
Yeah, I guess you're right - Charlie Rangel wouldn't have passed up the tax credit, either. · Mar 31 at 12:04pm
Nor would Ronald Reagan after signing TRA '86 into law. Nor should he have, nor should Charlie have. And I don't think it has anything to do with principles or political instincts. We're all entitled to pay the least amount of tax legally required by law, and to earn as much as we're legally able to earn, and it's not a poor reflection on anyone when they do just that. (I said legally, Charlie.)
Jul '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Kenneth
Sisyphus
Thin-skinned? Like all of your stalker comments? So it's badinage when you do it and ad hominem coming from the rest? Pithy? Not so much. · Mar 31 at 10:47am
I have mentioned stalkers precisely three times on this site.
As this thread so obviously demonstrates, I am not (sob) universally beloved here. It is a simple fact that there are a number of Members with whom I have tangled at some point who have subsequently made a habit of directing scornful comments at me in thread after thread.
Hey, if that's how they - and you - choose to pass the time, fair enough. And fair enough for me to remark upon it.
My normal practice is to not even read a conversation where you exceed 10% of the comments. Life is too short, and I know what to expect--all heat, no light. You have mentioned stalkers in three separate threads, all in the context of other members stalking you, the only member ever to have done so. I weighed in this time because it hurts the site, kills conversations, the editors gave it a really visible pass, and you invoked Rob expecting favorable treatment.
Jul '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Sisyphus
Kenneth
Sisyphus
I have mentioned stalkers precisely three times on this site.
As this thread so obviously demonstrates, I am not (sob) universally beloved here. It is a simple fact that there are a number of Members with whom I have tangled at some point who have subsequently made a habit of directing scornful comments at me in thread after thread.
Hey, if that's how they - and you - choose to pass the time, fair enough. And fair enough for me to remark upon it.
My normal practice is to not even read a conversation where you exceed 10% of the comments. Life is too short, and I know what to expect--all heat, no light. You have mentioned stalkers in three separate threads, all in the context of other members stalking you, the only member ever to have done so. I weighed in this time because it hurts the site, kills conversations, the editors gave it a really visible pass, and you invoked Rob expecting favorable treatment. · Mar 31 at 1:12pm
Yeah, there's an evil conspiracy between me and Ricochet's appartchik. Now that you've pierced the veil, we're doomed. Doomed.
Dec '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Rob Long
No, I see your point. I honestly didn't read it that way, though -- I read it in an "isn't this ironic" kind of way. I didn't really think that Jim thought Sarah Palin was some kind of psychic. Maybe he could have worded it better, who knows? But that's still a pretty weak "attack" and she refuted it pretty easily.
· Mar 31 at 11:23am
The problem isn't Carlson or Geraghty pointing out that Palin benefits from a tax credit passed on her watch (many politicians take deductions and credits they voted for). But when you have people claiming (out of ignorance or malicious indifference to the truth) that Palin quit the Governorship SPECIFICALLY to become a reality TV star, then small and simple minds will spin conspiracy theories: "she passed the tax credit because she planned to quit!"
How do you, as her Communications Director, counter that?
Dec '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Kenneth: If Palin had the principles and political instincts so many credit her with, she would have told the television production company that she could not, in good conscience, do the deal unless they agreed to waive the tax break.
But she didn't. · Mar 31 at 11:22am
Or, she would have let Mark Burnett Productions take the tax credit in order to employ production workers in Alaska and promote Alaska as a travel destination, which is what the result the tax credit was intended to achieve (and why so very many US states have such tax credits for film and television production on the books).
You might, you know, actually READ Rob's post where he quotes Palin as stating that the tax credit is perfectly in harmony with her political philosophy on the proper role of government. Since her actions were consistent with her stated beliefs, she did not act hypocritically -- hypocrisy is when someone violates his or her own standards, not yours.
Dec '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Rob Long
Well, I say -- tugging nervously at my sleeve -- it's a little more complicated than that, having done some of this myself. (I've "shopped" for locations, and asked for credits -- some states even give you a cash rebate on what you spend in their state...)
A local production employs a lot of local people -- that's the putative reason for the givebacks and tax breaks -- and so all of that would have been factored in probably before they even called her.
The economic research on this is just being done, but indications are that it's a net loss for the states -- even factoring in the jobs, etc. As I said, I'm against them -- but I've also taken advantage of them. And if you called me on that, it'd be a fair call. · Mar 31 at 11:32am
I recently saw an indie film called "The Yankles." It's about a minor-league pitcher who retires to become a rabbi, and is asked to organize a collegiate baseball team at his Los Angeles yeshiva. It was shot in Utah with mostly Mormon actors -- better tax credits, fewer union issues.
It's a great movie.
Sep '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
dittoheadadt
Franco
dittoheadadt
Franco
dittoheadadt
The Daily Caller is only slightly to the right of Frum Forum - which isn't saying much. They are Republican drones and exactly the ones who are threatened by the Tea Party movement and the likes of Palin. So they are going to snipe at her. The attack was unfair and ridiculous. But Palin's method of defense compounds the problem.
Thanks, Franco. A pox upon me for not knowing that. I stand corrected and educated (well, more than before, anyway). ·
Is this sarcasm?
No, Franco, NO! No sarcasm at all. I genuinely meant that. I'm serious, I thought DC was another resource akin to NR Online, Ricochet, OpinionJournal, etc. I don't read DC, just knew it existed and assumed incorrectly.
Ok, I wasn't sure. You were so self-deprecating I thought it might have been sarcasm! Glad to know it wasn't, cheers!
Jun '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Is this a private brawl or can anyone join in?
The podcast was to promote me, I just brought Kenneth along as my wingman.
Actually, Kenneth and I guessed the number of House and Senate seats (Governors as tie-breaker) that the Republicans would pick up in the November election, winning a podcast appearance in an open contest. We tied and so both were invited. (I would have beat him if that little Delaware witch had come through for me)
Edited on April 1, 2011 at 1:47amOct '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Pilgrim
Is this a private brawl or can anyone join in?
The podcast was to promote me, I just brought Kenneth along as my wingman.
Actually, Kenneth and I guessed the number of House and Senate seats (Governors as tie-breaker) that the Republicans would pick up in the November election, winning a podcast appearance in an open contest. We tied and so both were invited. (I would have beat him if that little Delaware witch had come through for me) · Mar 31 at 4:42pm
Edited on Mar 31 at 04:47 pm
Don't get us started on the lovely and talented Christine, now...
Sep '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Franco:...Palin could have simply dismissed this by saying: "As Governor of Alaska, I signed many bills into law that were designed to promote commerce and tourism in my state. This in no way is inconsistent with my ideas and statements about the proper role of government. To imply that my views correspond to my personal interests using this law as evidence is absurd."
How's that? · Mar 31 at 9:03am
Great, but it's not her style.
Two other general points, apart from Franco's post: Firstly, if Palin's political instincts are bad and her liberal arts and even general education is, ahem, shall we say, incomplete, why worry? Chill!! Others will bring her down. We don't need her fellow conservatives piling on. Secondly, if this latest "Sarahttack" is "small potatoes," again, don't worry! Chill!! She will not be the 2012 presidential nominee.
Grimaud: ... She embodies much of what we value as conservatives and she is reviled by the left ... Let her do what she needs to do. It will all come out in the wash. · Mar 30 at 10:09pm
Edited on Mar 30 at 10:10 pm
May '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Trace Urdan: I take great exception Rob. Your Dad would make an excellent President. He'd easily qualify as the president with the best sense of humor since Ronald Reagan. And your mother the best taste since Jacqueline Kennedy. · Mar 30 at 2:41pm
Edited on Mar 30 at 02:43 pm
Trace you are 100% correct about his mother having the best taste since Jacqueline Kennedy.
Edited on April 1, 2011 at 5:19pmMar '11
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
I don't think that Palin's dig at Carlson was "weird." Carlson recently tweeted she was in the lead to become the "supreme commander of Milfistan." That was indeed degrading to women, as Palin pointed out. But maybe he's not really a sexist but only plays one on Twitter.
Oct '10
Re: Palin Fans Need to Chill
Here's another example of the illogical/irrational Palin-bashing:
“I’d bet, like many politicians, Palin’s views on the proper role of government becomes more flexible as it comes closer to her own interests,” wrote the Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney on Tuesday...
Well if that's true, then it's not exactly a man-bites-dog story, is it? If Palin is "like many politicians," where's the substance? I wonder how many other stories Carney wrote about each of our flexible politicians.
Throughout this whole sorry episode those who, even if they like SP, think her position is wrong vis-a-vis the AK tax credit have had the weakest of arguments. Even the podcast misrepresented and/or caricatured those on this thread who defended either Palin or states' use of tax incentives to compete with other states.
I think someone said that 45 states do this kind of thing (tax incentives), and then characterized that as "fairly common." When 90% of any group act in a certain way, it may be a lot of things, but it ain't "fairly common."
Is it just "fairly common" when 90% of blacks vote Democrat every time?