One of the few top aides who were still with Sarah Palin announced her resignation today. Palin has a long history of tossing her biggest supporters under the Palin Bus, making sure to leave their reputation in tatters as the bus rolls over them in its relentlessly ambitious journey to her self-described God-mandated “destiny†as President.
Palin aide Meg Stapleton, a long time friend of the half term governor, trotted out the old “leaving to spend time with family†excuse in today’s announcement. “Leaving to spend time with family†is translation for irreconcilable differences, scandal, fighting, firing; i.e., there’s a story here.
What makes Stapleton’s resignation so obviously just another Palin aide being thrown under the bus (the bodies are really piling up under the Bitter Express) is that Palin did not even have the graciousness to issue a “we appreciated Meg’s work†statement.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Nope. Instead we got Fred Malek, quoted by Politico as “Palin friend†when what they really meant to say was Fred Malek, her number one fan. Yes, that Fred Malek, of the counting Jews fame. Palin palling around with genocidists is more of those Real Merika values.
“Since Palin’s resignation, Malek has been what Cillizza described as “the leading defender of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.” In fact, it was Malek who first put “Palin under his considerable Washington wing” and invited Palin to join many Washington establishment figures at January’s Alfalfa Dinner – “a venerable gathering of the city’s political elite.”â€
Good old Fred (we all know how trustworthy this guy is) issued the following lame statement:
“Meg has been deeply involved in all things Palin and instrumental in Sarah’s many successes,†Fred Malek, a prominent Republican fundraiser and Palin friend, told POLITICO. “It’s hard to replace anyone so loyal, tireless and effective, but the Palin phenomenon will continue. Meg has surely earned the privilege to devote more time to her 2-year-old daughter, but I expect she will continue to render advice to her good friend on key issues.â€
Sarah couldn’t manage to even spit out a normal PR statement sans venom. She has a history of releasing PR statements calling her constituents “asinineâ€, so perhaps Freddie thought it best that he speak on her behalf, lest she hurt the Palin brand any more than she already has in the last 6 months.
Palin has had a long history of blaming anyone and everyone for her own failings and those closest to her mimicked the Palin “Smear Offense as the Best Defense” strategy. As a reminder, here is a video of Stapleton doing the pitbull’s dirty work during the Troopergate investigation, in which Palin was found guilty of abusing her power. Instead of acknowledging her wrongdoing, Palin used Stapleton to smear the reputation of Trooper Monegan, a former marine who is well respected in Alaska. Attacking those who speak the truth is standard operating procedure for Palin’s team. It appears that like attracts like:
Gosh, the job of top Palin aides seems to have a lot of turnover.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
