“This is a nightmare for my family” – Sarah Palin

Audio from the Glenn Beck Radio program – Tuesday, May 25, 2010

(h/t Kim Priestap)

Sarah Palin on with Glenn Beck this morning talked about author Joe McGinniss moving in next door to observe her and her family while writing a book about her.  Glenn described him as a voyeur, able to look into Piper’s bedroom!  “This is harassment.  Stalking and harassment. Leave people’s families alone!”

It’s tantamount to stalking, and Sarah says they’re building a 14-foot high fence between them.  Kim Priestap has the details and the video of Beck talking about it yesterday during his show.  Back to this morning’s conversation, Sarah told Glenn and his listeners:

“I feel more protective than ever toward my kids.  He can do whatever he wants to do, however, I think any mom in my position would do what I’m doing.  You’d better leave my kids alone.

“We have to remember that everybody has trials and tribulations, battles that make you want to retreat, but we have to keep focused on what we believe in.”

“It’s like my Dad says, “Don’t retreat.  Reload.”

Adrienne Ross at Conservatives4Palin has the lowdown on this McGinniss character:

Apparently Arizona is not the only place that could benefit from a fence. The Palins now need to secure the border of their backyard because stalker Joe McGinniss has decided to move in 15 feet away for the next five months.

For those who don’t know who this Joe is, Whitney the Pipsqueak did a good job giving the lowdown on the lowdown character whose recent act is as audacious–and creepy–as one can find anywhere.

She wrote:

Joe McGinniss is an author who writes true crime and non-fiction novels. Most well known is his book about Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign that he wrote as a 26 year old. He has also written a book about a year traveling through Alaska published in 1980 and is currently writing an anti-Palin book due out next year. He has written several Palin hit pieces over the past year and a half. He wrote a piece for the no longer existent Conde Nast’s Portfolio. This piece is full of quotes from noted Palin detractors, and McGinniss called her Alaska’s Eva Peron. The false claims made in this piece regarding McGinniss’s assertions have been debunked here. McGinniss also made an attempt to win an auction for dinner with Governor Palin, the proceeds going to Ride2Recovery effort for combat victims (Cathy Maples won the auction). He bid on this auction event because he “would have enjoyed the opportunity for a frank exchange of views with Gov. Palin.”
Whitney went on to share some of his other creepy behavior, which included dropping by the Palin home to give them a copy of his book and showing up in Florida during the Going Rogue book tour. He lives in Massachusetts, by the way. Well, he did–until he moved into the Palins’ backyard. She continued by sharing this McGinniss disturbing quote:

“I’m not intending to write a salacious book about Sarah Palin’s sex life. But if it’s true, I’ll find out.”Read the rest here.

Is this the guy you want living 15 feet from you? Is this the guy you want observing your children at play? No, you wouldn’t want this guy anywhere near your children, your home, or your kitchen window. Doesn’t Governor Palin deserve the same courtesy?

The Governor spends a tremendous amount of time traveling, giving speeches, and working hard to support candidates and conservative causes. Shouldn’t she have the freedom to come home, relax, and enjoy the beautiful Alaska outdoors she so loves? Joe McGinniss, in a ridiculous invasion of privacy and a sick display of arrogance, has decided to take away that much-needed sanctuary. He’ll do all this while working on that book he’s writing, no doubt to smear the Palins.

Broadway Books, his publisher, released a statement, which reads in part:

“Well regarded for his in-depth, up-close reporting, Mr. McGinniss will be highly respectful of his subject’s privacy as he investigates her public activities,” the statement says.”Well regarded”? By whom? Surely not by people who respect other people’s personal space and appreciate truth in reporting. “Up-close reporting”? No argument there, for he couldn’t get any closer than looking down on the Palins’ living space. He’ll be “highly respectful”? Why would he start now? Respectful would be setting up shop somewhere else to write about your subject, not 15 feet away. No matter how you slice it, McGinniss’ behavior is a violation, even if not illegal. Must the law mandate human decency?

If the stalker were interested in being professional in his work regarding Governor Palin, he wouldn’t avoid interviewing his subject’s family, employees, supporters, and friends, would he? Any so-called quality work that relies solely on sufferers of Palin Derangement Syndrome–and spying–is flawed from the start.

Joe McGinniss has a problem. His focus on Governor Palin is creepy and crosses the line, his willingness to spend a load of money to force her into having dinner with him is sickening, and his apparent delight in leaving the East Coast to move 15 feet away from her is frightening. How many times are women put in situations like this that other people just blow off, only to discover these situations should not have been blown off?

The Palins will do what “good neighbors” do: erect that tall fence, securing their own border from an alien. Governor Palin said it this way:

And you know what they say about “fences make for good neighbors”? Well, we’ll get started on that tall fence tomorrow, and I’ll try to keep Trig’s squeals down to a quiet giggle so we don’t disturb your peaceful summer. Enjoy!

And the rest of us? We’ll be keeping our eyes on Old Joe. You betcha!