MSNBC Helped Sarah Palin Muzzle the 1st Amendment By Not Supporting Martin Bashir

By:  Rmuse/politicususa

The Founding Fathers believed certain rights were so important they listed them in the 1^st Amendment to the nation’s Constitution, and they certainly were specific in prohibiting the U.S. Congress from abridging any Americans’ right to assemble, exercise religion, speak freely, or express themselves in print. There is no group in America more fervent in their support of 1^st Amendment rights than conservatives; particularly teabagger extremists and the religious right. However, they have claimed exclusive use of those rights in their crusade to suppress other Americans rights with frightening efficiency since the population elected an African American man as President. The practice of subverting the people’s 1^stAmendment rights began under the aegis of the George W. Bush administration to quell opposition to its warmongering as it lied the nation into the Iraq War, but Bush and company at least kept the subversion out of the public eye; that has not been the case since conservatives rose to power after the 2008 presidential election.

If America is nothing else, it is a nation of rank inequality and disparity, and the same people promoting the rights of the rich over the rest of the population are guilty of upholding 1^stAmendment rights of conservatives to subvert those of their perceived enemies. Conservatives could not wield inordinate power to restrict other Americans First Amendment rights without steadfast assistance from the all-encompassing conservative media, and besides prohibiting fair exchange of ideas from both sides of the political spectrum, they have enacted disciplinary policies for journalists who fail to toe the conservative line. The news that MSNBC political commentator Martin Bashir submitted his immediate resignation after a heartfelt meeting with the president of MSNBC is yet another example that there is a steep price to pay for any journalist expressing an opinion that is not supportive of, or cleared by, conservatives.

Martin Bashir’s mistake as a liberal commentator was two-fold; he articulated a widely-held opinion about a conservative charlatan, and he targeted mainstream media darling and perpetually self-identified victim Sarah Palin. It is true that Mr. Bashir was free to exercise his 1st Amendment right of free speech and freedom of the press, but he was not entitled to express his opinion with impunity; especially for exposing Palin’s moral deficiencies and pointing out her “well-established-reputation as a world-class idiot.”

Many news outlets, particularly on the left, errantly reported ad nauseum that “Bashir said someone should shit in Palin’s mouth,” but that simply is not true. However, left-leaning bloggers stated it as fact and parroted it mercilessly as if uttered from the mouth of god and those who repeated the lie are as complicit for the firestorm surrounding Bashir’s commentary as Palin’s phony outrage that led to his unwarranted apology and subsequent “resignation.” Regarding Bashir’s “resignation,” MSNBC president Phil Griffin paid “tribute” to Mr. Bashir and stated “I understand his decision. Martin is a good man and respected colleague – we wish him only the best.” Griffin’s tribute is as phony as the idea that there is freedom of speech and the press for liberal commentators, and is an affront to the definition of “good man and respected colleague.”  Any decent human being, and American, would have supported a “good man and respected colleague” and defended Bashir’s 1^st Amendment right of freedom of speech and told Palin to take her harpy victim act to Fox News, read the 1^st Amendment on-air, and tell her ignorant acolytes why a “real American” demanded the “lame-stream media” take punitive action against a man for exercising his 1st Amendment rights.

Mr. Bashir is not completely without fault in this whole affair either. If he was expressing his true opinion, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, he should not have apologized, “resigned,” or claimed he “deeply regretted what was said.” All he did was embolden “America’s resident dunce” and empower her and conservative media to target and punish the next American who dares question, point out, or expose the certain instance of Palin’s morally insensitive remarks. Bashir is not the first, and likely not the last, journalist to experience the wrath of conservative media for exercising their 1^st Amendment right of free speech, and besides the double-standard and hypocrisy rampant in America’s conservative media, it informs the 1^stAmendment freedom of speech is reserved for conservative commentators exclusively.

What MSNBC accomplished by not supporting Bashir’s 1^stAmendment right and journalistic freedom as a political commentator was muzzle, and pre-censor, the rest of the network’s on-air talent and send a strong message that expressing their opinion is perilous and risks termination whether it is through forced “resignation” or outright dismissal. They also positioned themselves as just another conservative media outlet serving the needs of “America’s world class idiot” evidenced by her gratitude for “the media who came out and said, look, our standards have to be higher than this.” Palin’s remarks are an insult to the media she perpetually insults for honest reporting, and an affront to Americans because no mainstream media outlet cited the blatant hypocrisy in her phony victim role.

Palin said she was “calloused,” and “at this point I’m used to it. My role is to accept his apology and be humble enough to accept it and move on.” But she clearly did not and cautioned “those with that platform, with a microphone, a camera in their face, they have to have some more responsibility taken.” It was clearly a warning to the next journalist that expressing their honest opinion about Palin will face conservative media’s wrath like this author for not apologizing, disavowing verified facts, or acknowledging anything other than exercising the 1^st Amendment’s guarantee of the right of free speech. Mr. Bashir’s job was finished before his meeting with MSNBC president Phil Griffin or his alleged “resignation,” and the least he could have done was not give Palin the satisfaction of a humiliating apology. If he had to say anything, he should have confessed that he honestly believed exercising his freedom of speech was guaranteed in the 1^stAmendment, accepted that it is a right reserved for conservatives like “America’s resident idiot,” and forced conservative MSNBC to terminate his employment.

Million Vet March Distances Themselves From Cruz And Palin

From Talk Radio News Service

The organization behind the Million Vet March appear to be frustrated with political tone that accompanied Sunday’s rally at the World War II Memorial.

“We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain,” a statement on the Million Vet March’s website reads. “The core principle was and remains about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner.”

The statement goes on to specifically site Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, both of whom spoke at the rally.

“Mr. Cruz, Ms. Palin and some attendees, including political parties may have no been aware of the goals of the marches which took place in over 60+ rallies across the nation,” the statement reads.

In rally guidelines released before the event, attendees are advised to avoid “political rhetoric veering away from our core message.”

Palin's "Maverick" hypocrisy exposed

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Fox News Isn’t Renewing Sarah Palin’s Contract

By Alyssa Rosenberg/Think Progress

At the New York Times, cable news chronicler Brian Stelter has the story that Sarah Palin’s original contract with Fox News will not be renewed:

Yes, Ms. Palin’s contract with Fox News has ended, and no, it is not being renewed. A Fox spokeswoman confirmed Friday that Fox had parted ways with the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee, effectively reducing her exposure to the channel’s millions of loyal viewers.

It was unclear whether the parting was Ms. Palin’s choice. Bill Shine, an executive vice president at Fox, said in a statement, “We have thoroughly enjoyed our association with Governor Palin. We wish her the best in her future endeavors.”

As of last week, Ms. Palin remained in negotiations with Fox News about a new contract. Her original contract with the network started in January 2010 and ended this month.

This makes a lot of sense. As I’ve written before, Fox News’ schtick has always been to hire intensely polarizing figures, from Dr. Keith Ablow, who spends most of his time making outrageous statements about gay and transgender people, to former Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman who, tragically and hilariously, comments on criminal justice issues, despite having plead no contest to charges he perjured himself in the O.J. Simpson case. Palin would seem to be in that tradition: since she stepped on the national stage at the Republican National Convention in 2008, Palin’s primary talent has been for incendiary rhetoric.

But Palin’s not rooted in any particular extreme viewpoint. Her policy perspectives have always been too squishy for her to represent much in the way of an particular constituency or any cause other than herself and her own fans. She was never particularly a ratings hit on Fox—a special planned around her turned out not to be the sort of draw the network hoped for. And unlike Ablow and his ilk, Palin was never even particularly successful at tweaking liberals in her appearance on the network, ginning up the kind of publicity that could have made her a worthwhile investment even if she wasn’t particularly popular with the network’s core audience.

The Palin family as a whole seems to hope for careers in show business, but this is only the latest in a string of failures for them. The TLC show Sarah Palin’s Alaska saw declining ratings and wasn’t renewed for a second season. Bristol Palin’s Lifetime show was yanked from the network for lower viewership, but not before landing $354,348 in tax subsidies from the state of Alaska. Todd Palin was reduced to appearing as one of many celebrities on NBC’s military reality show Stars Earned Stripes.

Maybe now that Fox News has cut ties with Palin, the rest of the television industry will follow suit. Sarah Palin long ago proved she had no real aptitude for governance when she quit her job as governor as Alaska. Her time on Fox proved she didn’t have much spark as a source of news or opinion. And the rest of her family’s efforts suggest that as entertainment, the Palins have nothing to offer us but diminishing returns.

Palin Uses Slavery-Era Phrase To Describe Obama’s Libya Response

 By Hayes Brown/Think Progress

Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin has a new Facebook post out, accusing President Obama of lying to the American people, using language deeply entwined with America’s Jim Crow past.
Titled “Obama’s Shuck and Jive Ends With Benghazi Lies,” Palin’s piece lays out how in her mind newly revealed emails concretely prove that the Obama administration has lied about the Sept. 11 attack against a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya:

We now know that the State Department sent an email to the White House, the Pentagon, the FBI and others in the intelligence community about this Islamist group claiming responsibility. And yet for days afterwards the White House and State Department led everyone to believe that the attack was the result of a spontaneous protest over an obscure YouTube video that had been uploaded months prior. Anywhere from 300 to 400 people from the administration and our intelligence community would have seen that email. Why the lies? Why the cover up? Why the dissembling about the cause of the murder of our ambassador on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil? We deserve answers to this. President Obama’s shuck and jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end.

Palin’s title and final sentence show an extreme insensitivity to the racial history of the phrase. The concept of “shuck and jive” originated in the Deep South, as a term that referred to the overly subservient language that African-Americans used towards whites. Blacks, during the time of slavery or the Jim Crow segregation period, could shuck and jive to either put on the illusion of doing work when being watched or to feign obedience to those in power. While the phrase has morphed over the years to mean something more bland, akin to “acting facetiously,” the connection between the President’s race and Palin’s phrasing can’t be overlooked.

Romney in Shambles as Britain Proclaims Him Worse than Sarah Palin

By: Jason Easley/politicususa

The British reaction to Mitt Romney has gone from openness, to skepticism, to mocking, to concluding that Mitt Romney is worse than Sarah Palin.

Daily Mail Political Editor James Chapman has been providing the world a play by play of Romney’s British implosion via his Twitter account. Romney started things off by criticizing London’s preparedness for the Olympics. He then forgot the name of British Labour Leader Ed Miliband, and then he admitted that he had been given a secret briefing by MI6. This led the British to ask aloud if they have another George W. Bush on their hands, “Romney blunders again by revealing he’s had (supposedly) top secret briefing by John Sawers, MI6 boss. Do we have a new Dubya on our hands?”

After his visit to Whitehall, Chapman offered two of the kinder reviews of Mitt Romney, “Serious dismay in Whitehall at Romney debut. ‘Worse than Sarah Palin.’ ‘Total car crash’. Two of the kinder verdicts.” Chapman also reported another verdict from British meet and greet with Mitt, “Another verdict from one Romney meeting: ‘Apparently devoid of charm, warmth, humour or sincerity’”

Getting compared to Sarah Palin is one thing, but being called worse than Palin is an indication of the epic display of fail that Romney is putting on in London.

If you thought things couldn’t possibly get worse for Mitt Romney, you were wrong. How does one top being unfavorably compared to Sarah Palin? If you’re Mitt Romney, you get mocked in front of 60,000 people.

The Telegraph is reporting that London Mayor Boris Johnson mocked Romney’s readiness comment, “Quite a moment from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Shortly after Rix had lit the flame he really went for it in Hyde Park. He referenced Mitt Romney’s ‘London isn’t ready’ quip and shot back in style. “Are we ready?” he called and the crowd went wild. There may even have been a hint of the Obama-friendly “Yes we can!” in there – he may have jumped into a winning scenario but I’ve not heard a politician get that reaction before.”

For their part, the White House rubbed salt in Romney’s wounds by pointing out that President Obama has full confidence in Britain’s ability to provide a secure Olympics. White House Spokesman Jay Carney said, “In keeping with our special relationship, the president also made it clear that he has the utmost confidence in our close friend and ally, the United Kingdom, as they finalize preparations to host the London Olympics.”

That special relationship is being put in jeopardy by a Republican nominee who can’t stop insulting the British people while making an ass out of himself. Instead of proving that he is Commander in Chief material, Romney is justifying John McCain’s 2008 selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. To think, that the Romney campaign actually agreed to foreign policy being the the topic of the third presidential debate.

The British opinion of Romney has gone from he might be another Bush to oh my God, he makes Sarah Palin seem prepared.

Not since World War II has London seen a bombing as thorough as Mitt Romney’s.

‘Sarah Palin’ stripper coming to Tampa for Republican convention

By David Edwards/Raw Story

Sarah Palin fans who are disappointed that the former vice presidential candidate won’t be speaking at the GOP convention in Tampa next month won’t be left hanging because her stripper look-alike will be entertaining hard-working Republicans at a local “gentleman’s club.”

WFLA learned last week that a “dead ringer” for Palin will stripping at Tampa’s Thee Doll House, only 5 miles from the the Tampa Bay Times Forum convention site.

Owners of Thee Doll House and 2001 Odyssey strip club both told the WFLA that they expect business to quadruple during the convention.

And that’s not a surprise because conservatives have a reputation for being great for the adult entertainment business.

“Hands down, the Republicans have always been our best customers,” Association of Club Executives Executive Director Angelina Spencer recently told WFAE. “We get clients from all walks of life, but for whatever reason… I have heard club owners say, ‘Boy, those Republicans really are great customers.’”

Newsweek‘s Peter Boyer reported last week that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney appeared poised to snub Palin at this year’s convention, leaving Palin supporters like The National Review‘s Rich Lowery without the eye candy they enjoyed when she was on the ticket during the last election.

“Palin too projects through the screen like crazy,” Lowry wrote in 2008. “I’m sure I’m not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, ‘Hey, I think she just winked at me.’”

“And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can’t be learned; it’s either something you have or you don’t, and man, she’s got it.”

Watch this video from WFLA, broadcast July 23, 2012.

Reminder: For McCain 2008, Sarah Palin Was Less Risky Than Mitt Romney

From Michigan Democratic Party:

LANSING – On the day before former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s Michigan appearance at a Tea Party event, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer noted that Palin’s selection as John McCain’s running mate in 2008 came at the expense of Mitt Romney. In fact, Romney was so eager to be picked, he handed over decades’ worth of personal financial materials to McCain vetters – a level of transparency he has not been willing to show to the American people in 2012.

“In 2008, Mitt Romney gave John McCain 23 years of tax returns as part of the Republican vice presidential vetting process,” MDP Chair Mark Brewer said. “With this information in hand, Senator McCain picked Sarah Palin instead. Just how damaging is the information in Mitt Romney’s tax returns if it prompted John McCain to decide Sarah Palin was less of a political liability?”

As the presumptive Republican presidential nominee this year, Romney has refused to release any tax returns beyond the year 2010 and an estimate for 2011. In recent weeks, a number of press accounts have looked at the murkier aspects of Romney’s personal finances, including holdings in tax shelters like Switzerland, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Romney’s lack of transparency also calls into question his claim that he was no longer working at Bain Capital when the private equity firm presided over a series of bankruptcies, layoffs and outsourcing of American jobs.

“Mitt Romney is the most secretive major Presidential candidate since Richard Nixon,” Brewer said. “If that’s the company he chooses to keep, it says a lot – and none of it good. Given his 2008 rejection by John McCain, and his fervent stonewalling this time around, it’s hard to conclude anything other than that his tax records must be truly damaging. If that’s not the case, why won’t he release them?”

In 1968, Romney’s father, Michigan Governor George Romney, established the modern precedent for Presidential candidates to release multiple years of tax returns. Upon releasing 12 years of past returns, George Romney declared that releasing just one year could be nothing more than “a fluke” and “done for show.”

“Given how often Mitt Romney cites his father as his inspiration for public service, it’s simply remarkable for him to turn his back on one of George Romney’s most lasting legacies: that of disclosure and respecting the people’s right to know,” Brewer said.

Palin Says Obama Wants To Return To Racial Discrimination ‘That Took Place Before The Civil War’

By Adam Peck/Think Progress

Sean Hannity brought Sarah Palin on his Fox News show yesterday to continue his discussion from the night before over the biggest non-story of the week— a video of President Obama from his days at Harvard Law School.

But during their discussion, Palin opened up a new front in her attack of President Obama, apparently suggesting America’s first black president wants to return to the days “before the Civil War”:

Now, it has taken all these years for many Americans to understand that that gravity, that mistake, took place before the Civil War and why the Civil War had to really start changing America. What Barack Obama seems to want to do is go back to before those days when we were in different classes based on income, based on color of skin.

Watch it:

The “different classes” system Palin seems to be referring to is perhaps better known as slavery.

The entire conversation is based on the mischaracterization of Derrick Bell, a pioneer in legal scholarly work. Bell was the first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School, and the video that Hannity insists is a scandal shows Barack Obama, then a student, speaking at a rally in support of Professor Bell. Students and faculty were protesting to urge Harvard to hire more minority faculty.

Of course, Palin has struggled with history before.

The Sarah Palin/Fox News Debacle

by Ben Dimiero/Media Matters




Ending months of speculation, Sarah Palin announced yesterday that she will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2012 (or, as Fox Nation put it, "Palin Passes On Presidency"). The announcement also puts an end to one of the more ethically dubious media spectacles in recent memory, as both Palin and her employer Fox News spent the past year mutually benefiting from stoking speculation that she may run for president.

Last September, Politico reporters Jonathan Martin and Keach Hagey laid out the complicated ethical issues inherent in Fox News employing a stable of potential presidential candidates. Martin and Hagey reported that Fox had emailed them and "indicated that once any of the candidates declares for the presidency he or she will have to sever the deal with the network." They went on to note that "it's such a lucrative and powerful pulpit that Palin, Gingrich, Santorum and Huckabee have every reason to delay formal announcements and stay on contract for as long as they can."

While Hagey and Martin were suggesting that Fox's potential candidates would attempt to stay on contract as long as possible in order to bolster their eventual presidential runs, there's a flipside to Fox's lax guidelines that we saw borne out with Palin. Even people who weren't planning on running would be well-served to delay any formal announcement in order to benefit from the publicity lavished upon possible presidential candidates.

Obviously, had Fox suspended all of its employee-candidates pending their decision, this would never have been an issue. But the network, like Palin, greatly benefited from speculation about Palin's potential candidacy.

When Fox announced in March of this year that they were suspending the contracts of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for sixty days while they mulled their presidential runs, many media observers, including conservative outlets like The National Review, called foul. Why was Fox suspending Gingrich and Santorum, but not fellow Fox employees/putative presidential candidates Huckabee and Palin?

In an interview with Howard Kurtz, Fox executive Dianne Brandi explained that unlike Gingrich (who had announced his intention to form an exploratory committee) and Santorum (who indicated he would participate in primary debates), Palin "hasn't done anything to show us she has any intention of running right now." At the time, Brandi's statement placed her at odds with a large chunk of Fox News' staff, which had interpreted many of Palin's actions as an indication that she was planning to run for president.

In November of 2010, both online and on-air, Fox aggressively promoted Palin's statement during an interview with ABC News that she could beat Obama in 2012, with America's Newsroom host Martha MacCallum describing the interview as a "bombshell," and saying it "certainly sounds likes she plans on running." MacCallum and her co-host Bill Hemmer had previously agreed on Fox News Radio that Palin "will run."

Prior to Brandi's statement to Kurtz, Fox's flagship news program, Special Report, hadfeatured Palin in its "12 for'12" series and given her 5-1 odds of winning the nomination. Fox Nation, one of the network's websites, had done things like label her hiring of a new chief of staff in February 2011 as a "Strong Indication of 2012 Presidential Run."

A few months after the Gingrich and Santorum suspensions, Mike Huckabee announced on his Fox News program that he would not be seeking the Republican nomination. Meanwhile, Fox continued to promote the possible presidential aspirations of Palin (while releasing statements affirming that Palin's contract with the network remained unchanged).

In June, Fox helped promote the bus tour Palin organized with her political action committee, often in the context of whether it was an indication she was planning on seeking the Republican nomination. For example, Hannity segments on Palin's bus tour featured on-screen graphics with text like "Palin 2012?" During the same Hannity segment, Fox contributor Andrea Tantaros said, "If she doesn't run, Sean, this is the biggest head fake in presidential politics I've ever seen."

After Palin announced a September schedule that included a visit to Iowa and her PAC released what observers felt was suspiciously close to a campaign ad, Fox speculation about Palin running for president ramped up yet again.

Discussing the ad, Fox Business' Tracy Byrnesremarked, "If that's not a campaign ad, I don't know what is." Fox contributor Karl Rove pointed to Palin's schedule and the ad release as evidence she was setting her campaign motion (Fox Nation dutifully hyped Rove's analysis with the headline "Rove: Palin Will Run.")

During late August, Fox hosts Juliet Huddy and Clayton Morris predicted while hosting Fox & Friends Saturday that Palin would run for president; Charles Krauthammer speculated on Special Report that Palin would enter the race; Jim Pinkerton said that Palin "does appear to be edging toward running"; and Brian Kilmeade said it "sounds like [Palin] is in."

Nonetheless, Fox still didn't suspend Palin's contract, and continued to regularly host her -- for almost 4 hours of airtime since June -- on the network, often asking her whether she was running.

It will be interesting to see how Palin's relationship with the network evolves now that she and the network can no longer mutually benefit from the "is she running?" speculation. Somewhat curiously, Palin made the original announcement to radio host Mark Levin rather than on a Fox show (though she did grant her first post-announcement TV interview to regular booster Greta Van Susteren).

In light of her official announcement that she is not running, Fox will likely claim vindication for refusing to suspend Palin's contract, but it's not that simple. Assuming Palin didn't privately assure Fox that she wouldn't seek the nomination -- which obviously would raise a host of other ethical issues -- Fox clearly decided that profiting off of the hype surrounding her potential run was worth the risk of spending a year essentially giving a presidential candidate hours of free air time.

Roger Ailes: I hired Sarah Palin ‘because she was hot’

By David Edwards/Raw Story

Roger Ailes’ latest comments about Sarah Palin will be further proof to many that the Fox News chairman is sexist, but he probably is too rich and too powerful to care.

In an interview celebrating the 15th anniversary of Fox News, Ailes told The Associated Pressthat he hired the former Republican vice presidential candidate “because she was hot and got ratings.”

According to one Republican who is close to the Fox News chairman, Palin certainly wasn’t hired because Ailes respected her intellect.

“He thinks Palin is an idiot,” the insider toldNew York magazine earlier this year. “He thinks she’s stupid. He helped boost her up. People like Sarah Palin haven’t elevated the conservative movement.”

Given Ailes’ history, many may find it difficult to believe the conservative network even if they bother to clarify what he meant.

In a 2008 prologue to his planned book, former Fox News executive Dan Cooper recalled that Ailes liked to “talk macho and compare the anatomies of women in the office.”

“I was too scared to make salacious comments about women in the office,” Cooper wrote. “Like everyone, I had taken classes in workplace behavior. Not Roger. ‘How about those bazookas on that Indian girl, or whatever the hell she is!’ Squirm squirm. ‘Pussy masala on the menu today?’”

Inside Cable News noted that Cooper’s claims were not verifiable — but it’s hard to dispute Ailes’ history of hiring leggy blondes.

In August, Fox News’ Megyn Kelly dodged a question about whether “Fox has cultivated a reputation as a stomping ground for news babes.”

“Roger is very good at finding attractive people who are also interesting and smart,” Kelly told Marie Claire. “But you have to be careful what you’re looking at. Some on-air talent have objected that some websites will Photoshop the skirts and make it seem like the women were wearing something more like a belt than a skirt. Don’t believe it unless you’ve seen it live.”

Sarah Palin won’t run for president in 2012

By Eric W. Dolan/Raw Story

After months of speculation, ABC News’ Polson Kanneth has learned that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will not run for President of the United States in 2012.

Palin made the announcement in a letter to supporters Wednesday night.

“After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States,” she wrote. “As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision.”

Many believed that Palin’s “One Nation” bus tour was a precursor to a potential White House bid for 2012. But Palin never made it to her scheduled stops in the key primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, returning to her home in Alaska half-way through the high-profile tour.

While popular with the conservative base and tea partiers, Palin did not have support from some prominent Republican strategists.

Palin said she would help elect other true public servants to office, and “actively and aggressively” aid those fighting against the “fundamental transformation” of our nation.

“In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House,” she wrote.

In late September, Palin said she worried running for president might “shackle” someone like her, because she was “a maverick.”

Fox News cuts off Rove after he calls Palin thin-skinned

By David Edwards/Raw Story

A Fox News interview with Karl Rove ended abruptly Wednesday after the conservative analyst repeatedly suggested potential Republican presidential candidate Sarah Palin had a “thin skin.”

Earlier this week, Palin had lashed out at Rove and other pundits for speculating that she may or may not run in 2012.

“What is it about Governor Palin that if anyone says her name, someone like you, that it just explodes?” Fox News host Greta Van Susteren asked Rove. “Is that the media or is that Governor Palin or is that Karl Rove?”

“No, no, that’s Governor Palin,” Rove asserted. “I’m mystified. Look, she is all upset about this saying I’m trying to sabotage her in some way. And how dare I speculate on her future. If she doesn’t want to be speculated about as a potential candidate, there’s an easy way to end the speculation. Say, ‘I’m not running.’”

“It is a sign of enormous thin skin if we speculate about her, she gets upset. And I suspect, if we didn’t speculate about her she would be upset and try to find a way to get us to speculate about her.”

Van Susteren tried to steer Rove’s rage back toward the subject of the media but he continued to talk about Palin.

“End the speculation by saying, ‘I’m not going to be a candidate.’ Until then, I would recommend she might get a slightly thicker skin. If she has this thin a skin now when people are saying, ‘I think she might be a candidate,’ how is she going to react if she does get into the campaign and gets the scrutiny that every candidate does get?” Rove asked.

“I mean, that’s not going to be a pretty sight if she’s as thin-skinned in the fray as she is on the edges of it.”

After that comment, Rove was quickly interrupted by a “Fox News Alert” about Steve Jobs’ resignation from Apple, something that had been first reported hours earlier.

Watch this video from Fox News’ On the Record, broadcast Aug. 24, 2011.

VIDEO: Sarah Palin Tells ThinkProgress ‘Mitt Romney Was Right’ That Corporations Are People

By Scott Keyes and Travis Waldron/Think Progress

Yesterday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) made a major gaffe on the campaign trail when he told a crowd of Iowans that “corporations are people.” Romney’s statement was particularly tone deaf because average citizens’ incomes havestagnated for more than a decade while corporations are currently enjoying record profits.

Today, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) kicked off abus tour of Iowa at the state fairgrounds where Romney had stumped the day before. ThinkProgress asked Palin if she agreed with Romney’s belief that corporations are people. Tossing aside previous efforts to position herself as a populist leader, Palin sided with corporations, declaring, “Mitt Romney was right.”

KEYES: Governor, are corporations people?

PALIN: The people pay the taxes. It’s not an entity — the corporation itself — that pays the taxes. It’s the people who pay the taxes. So Mitt Romney was right.

Watch it:

Note to Palin: corporations as legal entities do in fact pay taxes. While the entity has a tax bill, there is someone somewhere that ultimately has less money as a result.

Unfortunately, Palin is not the first GOP bigwig to defend Romney’s assertion that corporations are people. Yesterday, ThinkProgress spoke with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) who vociferouslybacked up Romney, saying, “all of us are corporations.”