What happened during the campaign was that organically, Alaska bloggers formed their own all-Palin/all-the-time reporting collective - their own de facto reporting pool - that often rivaled traditional outlets in terms of output, and one that regularly surpassed the mainstream media for local knowledge and insight.
A unique (and contentious) relationship formed between the bloggers and Palin, and looking at the liaison from afar I'm not sure which side was more obsessed with the other. Certainly the bloggers, collectively, have shone a homegrown, 24/7 spotlight on Palin that I doubt any other local politician has ever been subjected to. With their relentless pursuit of the facts, and rooting out whatever Palin prevarications that stood in the way of the truth, Alaskan bloggers, as well as their energized army of readers, have been relentless in fact-checking the governor, calling out her abuse of power, and holding her to the standard of transparency that she herself promised as a statewide candidate in 2006.
What's been so unusual is that that fascination has been reflected right back at them by Palin who seems utterly fixated on the bloggers and driven to distraction by her inability to control them. Not yet sporting the kind of alligator-style thick skin that's pretty much required to run for national office, Palin has shown a real propensity to latch onto the online critiques of her and lash out at the bloggers.
In other words, Alaska bloggers have been blessed with a perfect foil; a politician who overreacts to criticism and who often lashes out in hopes of exacting personal revenge; a politician who can't walk away from a fight, but who often doesn't have the facts on her side when she enters the online fray.
I could not have said it better myself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
To be serious for a moment, I think that our politics got a real wake up call when the bloggers, internet, youtube, and other internet resources mushroomed. For me, it was George Allen's Macacca Moment, which was picked up on someone's cell phone. The guy, a liberal blogger or reporter was following the Allen campaign waiting and hoping for such a moment. There were, in fact, two!
ReplyDeleteThe story did not go mainstream at first; it took several days. Finally, it became too big to ignore and eventually sank Allen. In addition to the magic of a candidate or politician being able to reach millions instantly, it can also spread bad news about that person just as fast.
As for the Alaskan bloggers including you, Dear Gryphen, Thanks a Whole Bunch! When you shined a bright light on Palin's imperfections, you showed us more than the MSM ever did. The first time that I even heard about Troopergate was on Keith Olbermann's show around a year ago. My first on-line resource was Halcro, who linked me to all the others.
So, most hearty thanks to you and the other Alaskan bloggers. Your spotlight showed all the flaws in McCain's VP choice and helped sink them. (I have to give some credit to Letterman who kept up the jokes after McCain canceled to save the economy). And, just because Palin won't be governor anymore doesn't mean that she plans to exit from the stage. Keep up the Good Work!
"Alaskan bloggers, as well as their energized army of readers, have been relentless in fact-checking the governor"
ReplyDeleteIn a nutshell. It helps when the politician lies so easily and often.
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteThe comments on Boehlerts story seem to have brought out some serious ' Palin-bots' trying to defend her. Or wonder if they know about the recent Medicare/Health scandal of last week. Or the fact that in her little Hometown of Wasilla where everybody knows everybody business and nothing escapes notice....that the Mayor of the town and longtime resident did not know about the public health issue with that incinerator burning hazardous waste. Where was Palin's ever so watchful and critical eyes...? She can tell everyone what is wrong with the Feds in Washington.. BUT she can't see what is going on in HER own Backyard. What a Watchdog she is. No Pitbull Watchdog... that's for sure.Asleep in the Doghouse.
The fact that she could/did not see or do anything about that incinerator needs to go mainstream.She's the Mayor and a resident of that tiny town and she didn't notice...? Were those people ' friends ' of hers...?
Get the story out, Please.
5 days till the Party... Gryph.
Gryphen: I think a rephrasing of the question would be the best thing.
ReplyDelete$P brought herself down with her actions. The bloggers simply reported her wacky incoherent actions and since a lot of people recognize she's batsh*t crazy, it was like a big reunion coming-together.
Like minded individuals find others who share their views.
This incompetent staggeringly-stupid individual had been chosen without vetting, to be a candidate for Veep! Her lack of intellect, her shallowness, her deep-seated anger at anyone who opposes her - my God she is the gift that keeps on giving even now.
Aside from her red shoes, she is a person with no attractive features to her character.
If she was honest and told the truth (duh) about why she is in politics (it's the money), she'd have had a decent chance. The fact is, she's a pathological liar and people don't like that.
So the bloggers did a good thing. People who lie don't stand up well to the bright light of day. She did what we expected: she melted.
Thanks for sharing, Gryphen.
ReplyDelete"Her inability to control them" really says it all. Barracuda is use to controlling everyone around her. Barracuda even faked a pregnancy in front of her staff, constituents and cameras. And got away with it, too. When she found she could not control or stop the good Alaskan bloggers, she stepped up the attacks in an effort to discredit them. Sorta like using peer pressure to influence the behavior of an unruly child. When that didn't work, she began unraveling. It should be obvious by her behavior that all her oars are not in the water.
I don't know Gryphen - while Alaska's bloggers have been invaluable for their exposure of Palin's fibs and foibles, in the end she is the one who chose to step down. And, it appears all were caught by surprise, even the First Dude.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone even know what the real reason for her resignation is yet?
And, what is the significance of the 26th, why choose that particular date to officially resign?
I started paying more attention to the bloggers when I sent Palin a fifty page letter with twenty pages of documentation about what had happened to me expecting her to at least stop it from happening to others. At that point I did not know what she was. Her staff told me the dept of law told them not to talk to me or help me. I was stunned because where I am from the gov office would have investigated and had the heads of all the depts involved call me to try and change things. Of course on the front page I threatened to send the story to the other side and news outlets. Which I did. Some of it has helped fuel investigations into the health care issues in Alaska. The blogs helped keep me sane because I knew I was not the only one who knew what she was. It gave me a way to laugh everyday, to turn some of the depression into humor and realize that there are some intelligent people with insight in Alaska. I told them to tell her I would never shut up about it and I have not.
ReplyDeleteI think you Muricans are spending too much time on Palin while your promise of a new kind of healthcare is going down in flames.
ReplyDeleteRome is burning and you people aren't showing a will to put out the flames. This is a lot bigger than Palin, it's about the fact that at least 3/4's of your politicians are as bad as Palin.
Padded Tummy @10:04am, I posted this on an earlier thread, but I think this may answer your question “what is the significance of the 26th”:
ReplyDeleteThis is the article about the trial in Tennessee of the young man who got into Palin’s personal Yahoo email account last fall:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jul/17/long-list-of-palin-records-sought/
“Shirley gave Davies a July 27 deadline to narrow his subpoena request or present proof of the records' relevance and admissibility.”
Did you notice JULY 27? Palin is resigning effective JULY 26, the day BEFORE the hearing in Tennessee. What is the significance of resigning on 7-26-09? It is not the last day of the month, it is probably not the last day of a pay period. It is an odd day and a Sunday at that. But when I read this article about the subpoena request being delayed until 7-27-09, IT JUMPED OUT AT ME WHY SHE PICKED THE ODD DATE OF 7-26-09 TO RESIGN.
Sarah sent these two tweets (twits?) on 6/29/09:
TN proceedings begin tomorrow re: democrat lawmaker's son's hacking my & my family's personal, private email then broadcasting them on net.
3:17 PM Jun 29th from TwitterBerry
Is it ok to hack emails? Go thru someone's mail & broadcast what you stole? Nope, not ok to most Americans.TN proceedings tomorrow to decide
3:21 PM Jun 29th from TwitterBerry
Her twits sounded pretty cocky. There was a hearing on Tues 6-30-09 in the Tennessee case and I feel that something turned out far different from what Sarah Palin expected. The next evening, Wed 7-1-09, she tells Lt. Gov. she is resigning, she has to call Todd to come back from his fishing and he has to leave his crew to fly back to Wasilla, and Friday morning 7-3-09 at 9:00am she sends out the message there will be a press conference at 11:00am. At the hastily arranged press conference in her yard with loons appropriately quacking/honking in the background on Lake Lucille, Palin announced her resignation on July 3 in a shaken, hyperventilating voice that EVERYONE noticed. We can’t tell yet if the shaken, hyperventilating voice was because she was scared or angry, but we should find out after the July 27th hearing in Tennessee.
Padded Tummy - While I was at the grocery store today, I saw at the checkout that one of the tabloids claims her secret affair is the reason she quit.
ReplyDeleteAs to the date, I'm assuming that the 25th finishes up a pay period.
Aspiecelia, would you want to tell us your story here??I think we have bits and pieces of it, but maybe if you told us (or Gryphen) the whole entire story with details, it could help expose her even more. Unless it will hurt you, of course we would not want that. But until people who know the truth about her start seriously talking, she will be able to escape and continue to LIE, LIE, LIE.
ReplyDeleteTo anon 10:55, I TOTALLY agree with you that there are a lot of crooked politicians. Most of them Republican BUT there are definitely Democrats in the bunch and others. I don't think many are quite as bad as Palin though. Some of the ones who are the most crooked have simply been in their jobs for too long (senators) and are in the pockets of insurance and other companies. These people make me sick to my stomach.
The best thing people can do is to write to your senators and house representatives and tell them to get on the side of PEOPLE and not the insurance and pharmaceutical industry. Until more and more of us demand this, then we are in trouble. And those stupid conservatives who call this a government take over are morons. Do they honestly think the health insurance or pharmaceutical companies care about their health. Sorry to tell you but they DO NOT. Health care simply should not be a FOR PROFIT business. As long as it is, you will see greed and money come before patients health. So if you are conservative with health problems you should wake up and stop supporting the insurance companies who don't even want you if you have an illness. It is all out of control. Obama has made some mistakes with this too. But this is off topic.
I don't think these people are as bad as Palin. Palin is dangerous because she is emotionally unstable and has a narcisstic personality disorder .I would not be surprised if she is a sociopath. She LIES while smiling and she uses people, chews then and spits them out. She will stand on anyone to get what she want. She is one sick ambitious greedy person. She needs to be stopped.
So if live in Alaska and you know things, stop keeping secrets. You are hurting the country if you do so. We have to expose crooked and mentally unfit politicians like Palin and others. Its up to us now as citizens. The conservatives just don't get it though. I don't know what it will take for them to get that they are supporting greed even more than the Democrats are. It is sickening.
Someone on twitter asked today: "Who do you think is the most trusted voice in America today?" What is your answer? Do you know that hardly anyone could name someone? That is pretty sad. I want to say Obama but he has let me down in a few areas. No one is perfect. I think he does have the right values (that I believe in-you have a right to disagree) but he wants people to like him too much and that is a fault.
Gryphen: A constructive comment.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to give attribution for the material that you're quoting.
Yes, readers who click through the link will see the original piece, but it doesn't hurt to include attribution in your post as well for those who don't.
In this case, a simple line, such as the following would suffice:
Excerpt from "How Alaska bloggers dethroned Sarah Palin" by Eric Boehlert
Thanks for all you do--it's invaluable, and very much appreciated.
@ProChoiceGrandma, I feel you're on to something! Well done! Kudos!
ReplyDelete{{{{{{{{{{Aspiecelia}}}}}}}}}}
ReplyDeleteMy new mantra:
Never give up.
Never give in.
Never stop trying.
I am so glad that I can come to these AK blogs and get the real story. I first heard of Mudflats on NPR many months ago. That introcued me to all the other AK sites. Since then I have gone from knowing little to learning a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your curiosity and investigation. Thank you for supporting the curiosity and investigation of each other. Each site has a different perspective, but each site is equally enjoyable for me. I am amazed at the determination you all exhibit.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
May you continue to ferret out the dishonesty and corruption in AK and let this be a wake up call to other states about how ordinary citizens can come together and shed light on politicans or unscurpulous actions.
Palin's lack of discipline is the reason so many have despised her. Her inability to hold back her disdain of bloggers led to the increase of traffic to their sites. From Palin Deception to Celtic Diva to Shannyn Moore to you. BP (Before Palin) I only went to friends' blogs and blogs for moms. Now, I check the Palin sites regularly and have discovered the vast world of blogs. So, thanks, Sarah. You have made a difference. Too bad it wasn't the one you intended (snicker).
ReplyDeleteJennifer
Gryphen, I agree with Anon @12:10. It is a good suggestion, and well-meaning. For a long time I did not know to click on the title to see the original article. There are some of us newcomers to the blogosphere that need guidance; but hey, I have come a long way since January when I discovered this hemisphere! I was tickled pink the day I learned how to make a tinyurl!! (blush)
ReplyDeletePalin tweets that she and Todd are packing up their stuff at the Governor's mansion. My question is, how could she keep household things there (as if they were living there) AND collect per diem?
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin's own lack of education, dismal public speaking and English skills, poor personal choices on the campaign trail, hypocricy about her teenaged daughter's pregnancy, obnoxious and attention-seeking behaviors related to having a Downs' syndrome child?/grandchild?, and classic narcissistic behaviors are to blame for her current situation.
ReplyDeletePeriod.
Compliments all the way around. First, of course, to our host, Gryphen, who has posted timely topics and great stories with humor. And compliments also to everyone who has written a little item or long lengthy paragraphs-- almost everyone has displayed literacy, humor, grace and serious thinking. I said "almost everyone" because there have been a few trolls. They are easy to spot because they do not proof read, correct any errors (they never make any so why bother), and they always seem to be screaming and shouting at no one in particular. This has been a wonderful place for civil discourse and exchange of ideas. I don't think that Palin is going to disappear from any one's radar; I think that she will be lighting up this website for quite a while! Thanks, Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is Sarah Palin is a FRAUD and that is her undoing.
ReplyDeleteSimple, really.
the iceberg warning on alaska report is gone. what does that mean?
ReplyDeleteI am a longtime fan of Eric Boehlert. My only quibble with him is his disinclination to take $P's "wonder pregnancy" with TriG seriously. That's the only area in which he will have to concede game, set, and match to the Alaska bloggers (and Andrew Sullivan) for not letting the matter drop, as $P would like.
ReplyDeleteBut the time will come.
And yes, ProChoiceGrandma, I think that the student in Tennessee has a LOT to do with the timing of $P's resignation. She had to snark him by calling him a "college kid" from a "Democrat" family, but the main question is, why was $P doing state business on a personal account? In law, this is called a "bright line" that separates public and private.
In $P's head, the only "bright line" is the row of lights that shines on her whenever she steps out. She has no concept of what psychiatrists call boundary issues. That's why she threw pregnant Bristol under the bus. That's why she publicly trashed the father of her grandson(s) once he stepped off the reserveration. That's why she poses with TriG when he's still a "cute" baby, but why we'll rarely if ever see him as a prop if he's sufficiently impaired as to be uncomfortable in crowds, and to make others uncomfortable as well.
I see c4p has headed out to fight Mommy's battles on the Boehlert article. Lord those people need some mental help! They insist on taking an article about Alaska and Alaskan bloggers and turning it into a Palin Vs. Obama. Very weird.
ReplyDeleteI also find it laughable that they will defend any weird crap Sarah does with her religion and still deny that the Obama's are Christians.
We need accesible health care fast in this country if only to get these people some much need medication.
The comment about the iceberg is on the webpage still, just an FYI.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this story yet about all the bloggers- I spend too much time on ths subject so I went to a movie and out to eat. It's 115 here in AZ!!
Anyhow thanks Gryphen for all you do. I know you and the others have made a huge difference in many ways.
Isn't this week Sherry Johnstons sentencing? Hmmm And this info about the kid is intereresting too
For me, the bigger story here is the community of Blogdom. (please I hope a better name emerges....) Reading through these comments, visiting the Mudflats, seeing commentors on national sites I know from the AK blog neighborhood....thinking about the passing of Walter Cronkite and how he presided over a huge change in the way we get our news, I see Blogdom as a sea change, and the communities growing up around blogs in the comments sections our new coffee shops and front porches. Ousting Palin is just the cherry on the homemade ice cream, the whipped creme on the latte.
ReplyDeleteThe comment about the iceberg is gone...refresh the page.
ReplyDeleteThe iceberg is at alaskareport.com/blog
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Georgia Eliot. The phenomenon of the blogging community is incredible. I think that in light of people like Rupert Murdoch owning much of the MSM, the importance of bloggers is tremendous. In many instances, this might be the only way to get accurate information. In addition, the connections made and the communities created are a bit like a 'coffee shop' or a 'front porch'--I hadn't thought of it that way before. I just liked finding out that there were others out there who shared my concerns.
ReplyDeleteThank you Gryphen for this hosting this blog and this community. A visit to here and Mudflats is part of my daily routine now, sometimes with coffee and sometimes not. I know that there will always be good writing, good discourse, and good humor.
As far as Sarah Palin, I anxiously await what will come next.
That is an old page...
ReplyDeleteThe one that is updated regularly by Zaki is http://alaskareport.com/
Its the page with the duck stuff that is now gone, and he replaced it with the hurt feelings video. He took down the palin scandal stuff.