The New Politics: Sarah Palin & William Russell

William Trower Russell III speaks to supporters as his wife, Katarzyna, and children, William Stanislaw and Anna Elizabeth, listen Monday evening in downtown Johnstown. Russell is hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. John Murtha. Photo: Dave Lloyd/The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA.

Link to story, photo, and video: http://www.tribdem.com/multimedia/local_story_324165353.html

Important Note: At the bottom of this column you will see what YOU can do to make sure a superb candidate, Lt. Col. William Trower Russell, is competitive enough to have a good chance of winning against John Murtha. Please read & respoond.

Brother and Sister Under the Skin -- William Trower Russell, Sarah Heath Palin

This will be the column for Friday and Saturday, November 24 & 25. Currently, I have a very good title. Never fear, however, because the entire column will appear -- as if by magic. You can find my other colunn on practical politics at SmartPolitics101.

I promise not to ask you to contribute immediately to the campaign of Iraqi Freedom veteran "Trower Russell," although I guess you could do so (please!) by clicking on his name. I recently wrote a column about some of John Murtha's minions writing nasty comments (to me!) about Lt. Col. Russell. Now, Murtha, cited recently as one of the "top 20" politicians in terms of moral corruption, criticizing William Trower Russell is a hoot. It's a little like Paris Hilton taking verbal pot shots at Barbara Bush.

Granted, some people believe Lt. Col. Russell has no chance of beating John Murtha. In their minds, it's as preposterous notion as, say, the Illinois football team defeating Ohio State. Yes, it's just as absurd as the notion that leading political analysts would start supporting Sarah Palin for the Republican vice-presidential slot, as many of them now are doing.

Modern politicians at the federal level are almost exclusively people who have "opinions" on the military and the War in Iraq. In fact, Trower Russell, a veteran of Desert Storm, the Balkans, and Iraqi Freedom, has seen the war "up close and personal." He has fought in Iraq and has seen comrades wounded and killed.

Wouldn't it be amazing to send someone to Congress who actually knew first-hand about the war? Wouldn't it be an interesting way to follow up on the universal refrain that we "support our troops" by actually voting for one? That's a notion which could begin to make a lot of sense to the voters in PA's 12th congressional district.

Sarah Palin has a lot in common with William Russell. In fact, they're both warriors, people who don't back away from a fight. I'm sure all 50 governors in the U.S. "support our troops." Sarah is probably by far the most supportive of them because her son, Track, age 18, is one of them. That makes her unique among the governors of these United States.

William certainly has a unique perspective on 9/11. Most of us saw it unfold on TV. In Russell's case, however, he was as usual on the front lines. When the terrorists hit the Pentagon, he was there with his then-pregnant wife Katarzyna.

Thus, on 9/11/2001, Lt. Col. Russell of the U.S. Army was getting ready to fight Islamic terrorists who want to destroy America. On 9/11/2007, Track Palin and his best friend, John Bates, were enlisting in the U.S. Army. Yes, they're all indeed "brothers and sisters" under the skin. Sarah Palin, Katarzyna Russll, Track Palin, William Russell, all people with strong bonds of decency and love of country.

Sarah and William are winners in the politics-of-the-supposedly-unwinnable. In Sarah's case, she took on a powerful incumbent governor, Frank Murkowski, a Republican, and she beat him. Then, in the general election, she beat former governor, Democrat Tony Knowles.

Oh, and she took on the oil industry in Alaska. She won in the struggle to raise oil taxes, something the industry had prevented by flooding the political system with money. When she was a high school basketball star, they called her "Sarah Baracuda." Now, they might start calling this incarnation of integrity, "Sarrah Incorruptible."

If Sarah were running against Murtha, it would be a classic case of "The Beauty and the Beast." But in western Pennsylvania, the Keystone States's version of a Political New Jersey, we're lucky to have William Russell (and his terrific campaign manager, former Marine Larry Stiles) standing up to Murtha.

I believe on Election Night, 2008, Lt. Col Russell will be congressman-elect from the 12th District. In saying that, I fully realize we're like a bunch of men (and women) looking up 26,000 feet to the top of Mt. Everest. The defeat of John Murtha would be more than a turning point for western PA. It would be a turning point for the country.

John Murtha has already raised a million dollars from "the usual suspects." He will raise about $4 million, most of it coming from the grateful beneficiaries of the federal tax dollars he doles out to big contributors. If William Russell raises a tenth that amount, he'll probably be overjoyed. But Russell has factors going with him that Murtha will find out about in what the Bible calls "the fullness of time."

However, this campaign is going to transcend money. I'm sure Murtha agrees with Tip O'Neil that "money is the mother's milk of politics." Yet this time there's real hope that Murtha's "milk" is going to curdle. In politics, sometimes enough is enough. Murtha has become the moral version of a human landfill, and it's just not as easy to buy votes as it used to be.

Sarah Heath Palin and William Trower Russell are major players in the "New Politics." They have nothing to do with the mildly corrupt, longwinded people we normally associate with politics-as-usual.

They're a new breed -- honest, courageous, dedicated to serving their states and country. They are doers rather than mere talkers. They're people who can cleanse the governmental garbage-heap we now have in Washington, DC.

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How YOU can do your part to help Lt. Col. Russell win against John Murtha: In December, Trower Russell will be sending out thousands of e-mails seeking support for his campaign. You can help by submitting e-mail addresses of people on your mailing list who are likely to back Russell. If you have 5, 10, or more friends and acquaintances who are likely to want Murtha out -- and Russell in -- please submit them to the campaign manager, Larry Stiles. His e-mail address is Larry.Stiles@williamrussellforcongress.com. In responding positively to this request, you can help ensure that the "Murtha-era" finally comes to an end. Russell is going to run one of the most financially efficient campaigns possible, but he does need your help (which you can provide at http://williamrussellforcongress.com/. If you can give $100 or more, please do so. If you can donate only $10, then please do that. By submitting e-mail addresses to Larry Stiles, a Vietnam-era Marine, you can link up people concerned about America's future with a candidate who's scrupulously honest and a patriot of the highest quality. Please do what you can! If you have any questions, please e-mail me at: TalkTop65@aol.com.

Note: See the material below about the Political Pistachio radio show that will deal mainly with Sarah Palin -- but also a little about William Trower Russell, who will appear on the same show on November 28.