Anytime I post ANYTHING having to do with Sarah Palin or one of her progeny I always seem to see two typical responses along with whatever other comments are made.
The first one is some version of “Zomg! Sarah Palin is a conservative Republican and I would never vote for her.” Sometimes the commenter leaves the impression that they thought we were unaware of this fact.
The second one is based on wishful thinking and asserts that Sarah Palin is more moderate than her rhetoric, or would govern that way. While it is true she governed Alaska in a somewhat bi-partisan fashion that is not a basis for thinking she would do the same if she reached the White House.
Some people question why I write so many posts about Sarah Palin. There have even been a few who claimed to be offended by my choice of subject matter and worried that they would become permanently tainted by association with these toxic Palin posts.
Some people need to get a grip.
Sarah Palin is a political celebrity. Everything she says and does is news. Well, not really but the media act as if it’s news. I don’t see any sign that the situation will change anytime soon.
Ignoring her might have worked two years ago but that’s not possible now. She’s got a hit show (by cable standards) and she’s a commentator for FOX News, she does talk radio and gives speeches around the country, and she’s currently on tour promoting her new book, which looks to be another best seller.
Her postings on Facebook and Twitter get more attention than White House press briefings and even her children’s Facebook posts make the evening news occasionally.
A few people have made comments to the effect that if I’m gonna write about Sarah Palin I should focus on issues and write some really boring policy analysis demonstrating that her ideas would be bad for our country.
What would be the point? OF COURSE her ideas are bad for the country.
She’s a CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN.
Blogging is not my occupation, it’s my hobby. Nobody is paying me to do tedious policy analysis. I doubt if anybody would pay me to do that crap anyway. Riverdaughter only keeps me around because I work cheap.
I write about stuff that interests me. Sarah Palin interests me.
First and foremost Sarah and the reactions she causes are entertaining as hell. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s some kind of mass insanity. The people that hate her the most are the ones that are obsessed with her. And she has a whole bunch of people that hate her, including the media, the GOP establishment and the Obamacrats.
That right there is a big plus in my book.
Sarah Palin is something this country hasn’t seen in a long time – a bona fide populist. Unfortunately she’s a right-wing populist.
Ever since the day that John McCain announced that he had selected Sarah Palin as his running mate there has been a lot of effort directed at destroying her personally and politically.
That effort has not only failed but backfired. She has grown stronger politically and manged to get rich too. The harder her enemies try to destroy her, the stronger she gets.
I’m a liberal Democrat but I don’t feel any particular obligation to say bad things about Sarah Palin. I disagree with the notion that if you can’t say something bad about her then don’t say nothing at all. I’m not going to hate her just because I disagree with her.
Her life story is an inspiring American success story. She didn’t come from a wealthy background, she didn’t go to Ivy League schools and she didn’t get where she is by sucking up to the rich and powerful. While Barack Obama was ingratiating himself with the Daley Machine Sarah Palin was taking on the “good old boy” network and making her bones as a reformer.
As far as her resume I find it hilarious that supporters of Barack Obama have the temerity to point out her lack of experience. Hey guys, she gave a great speech and wrote two books! Okay, maybe she didn’t write them herself but Obama didn’t write his either.
She is not stupid nor ignorant, nor is she “anti-intellectual.” She won the governor job by kicking ass in debates (and she pimp-slapped Biden in the VP debate too.) Unfortunately she’s a conservative Republican. She supports conservative Republican candidates and says conservative Republican things. From everything I’ve seen she really believes what she says.
But if Sarah Palin was a pro-choice liberal Democrat the media, the GOP establishment and the Obamacrats would hate her just as much or more than they do now because she would still be just as much a threat to them. If you don’t believe me just ask Hillary Clinton.
I don’t know how this tale will end, but I am certain of a couple things.
The GOP presidential nominee in 2012 will be a conservative Republican. That person will be pro-life, anti-tax and will advocate smaller government. They will be hawkish on foreign policy, xenophobic on the issue of immigration, skeptical about global warming and generally opposed to government regulation.
The GOP nominee will pay his or her respects to all the “right” people and groups, including the religious right, the neocons, the nut-job billionaires and the Tea Party. How sincere those respects are will be debatable.
Regardless of who the GOP nominates the Democrats will attempt to portray them as crazy and stupid. That strategy worked so well in the midterms they will surely use it again, probably with the same results.
Unless the economy improves dramatically in the near future the GOP nominee will probably be our 45th President. He or she will almost certainly have a friendly majority in Congress.
I will not be voting for Sarah Palin or any other Republican. If Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee (and he almost certainly will be) I will not be voting for him either.
I saw most of this coming two years ago. That’s when I was running around with my hair on fire trying to warn people. But they didn’t listen.
Here’s the hard truth: Things are going to have to get worse in this country before they get better. That’s just the way it is.
Things got worse for eight years under George W. Bush and the country was ready for a change. 2008 should have been the biggest political sea change since 1932. All the pieces were in place.
But not everybody wanted change. There is a small but very powerful group of people who like things they way they are. You can call them Corporatists, Robber Barons or Malefactors of Great Wealth.
They went to a lot of trouble and expense to make sure change didn’t happen. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars to put Barack Obama in office. They told their employees in the media to help him. They won, and the American people lost,
The window of opportunity is now past. It will be at least six more years before we get another chance. Even if Hillary were to run and win in 2012 she would be facing a GOP majority in the House and Senate. She would spend her time playing defense, not advancing new policy initiatives.
We won’t get another opportunity to make real change until 2016 or 2020.
As for me I plan to keep doing what I’ve been doing since the Big Dawg left office. Hang in there, keep my sense of humor and be a voice crying in the wilderness, hoping it doesn’t get any worse than it has to.
I’m willing to be proven wrong, but I’m not gonna waste my time and energy hating the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
As far as Republicans go Sarah Palin is better than most. She’s a populist (which is good) and she’s not beholden to the establishment (which is better.) She’s not crazy, at least not compared to some of the other contenders. She’s got a fan base that is already angry and semi-organized. If the GOP establishment tries to pull what the Democrats did to Hillary her supporters will go from Tea Party to lynch mob in half a nanosecond. Some of them are almost there already.
Win or lose, her candidacy will be entertaining.
Since I can’t do nothing about it anyway I’m gonna enjoy the show.
So until somebody starts paying me to write something different I’m gonna keep writing about whatever I feel like writing about. If you have a topic you are interested in my fees are reasonable. (No checks, small, unmarked bills only)
I am, or course, speaking solely for myself. Riverdaughter and my co-bloggers are opinionated and outspoken types (it’s a job requirement) and they are stubborn and hard-headed just like me. If you want to know what they think you’ll have to ask them.
Filed under: 2012 Election, Palin Derangement Syndrome, Palinpalooza, Sarah Palin |
The Confluence 
For what it’s worth I agree with you. Strap in it may be a wild ride. Woo-Hoo, RC Colas, Moonpies and entertainment…only in America!
Sarah Palin cracks me up (and yes, it is very entertaining)
I also find her much less offensive than Mike Huckabee.
that was good. all of it. 🙂
Honk!
The only thing I disagree with you on is the prospect of a GOP Congressional majority if Hillary were elected President. I think she’s got coattails. I also think the GOP is going to do exactly what Obama has done and blow their opportunity over the next two years by misreading their “mandate.” Voters these days aren’t giving second chances or the time to “grow into the job.” It’s going to be hit the ground running or run for the nearest exit in the next cycle.
I disagree but we’ll never be able to prove who is right.
But I would rather have Hillary playing defense than Obama or some other Republican.
Whether either of us is right about Hillary will be clear fairly soon. First she has to run.
Voter response to the GOP majority in the House will also be clear within a short time frame. If the House doesn’t meet public expectations of somehow improving the average Joe’s and Jane’s situation, especially their economic situation, there will not be a Republican Senate in 2012. People are hurting too badly for second chances and wait-sees.
You got it right! This is the best I have read on the confluence in a very long time.
I think the thing to take away from the Sarah Palin effect is ignore her at your peril. Most people took a long time to know who Barack Obama was, and all that time in the shadows he was working a corrupt political organization to make sure he would be handed the job rather than fighting for it.
Palin is the opposite of that. She’s upfront. She works in plain sight. If you say she’s too right wing and you won’t vote for her, she’ll wish you well and do the exact same thing.
On the other hand, Obama only listens to people who wouldn’t vote for him. He seems to revel in getting the votes of Republicans and Independents while bashing liberals and Democrats who don’t fall in line.
I think Independents are a fast growing voting bloc, they won’t stay home in 2012, and I think they will decide the election. I would never never vote for Obama, but he is working on Independents, albeit unsuccessfully in my view. Palin is less focused on Independents, and she will not get the populist left to vote for her…not in any significant numbers.
Honk, honk!! Nailed it.
But if Sarah Palin was a pro-choice liberal Democrat the media, the GOP establishment and the Obamacrats would hate her just as much or more than they do now because she would still be just as much a threat to them. If you don’t believe me just ask Hillary Clinton.
Couldn’t have said it better. In fact I’ll probably steal that and say it again. 🙂
I find Sarah Palin to be a distraction for the Left, but instead of ignoring her, their hatred and overreaction to the entire Palin family has only made them into reality television stars and mainstream political pundits. Palin is much more powerful now than when she was governor of Alaska or McCain’s running mate.
A lot of the frontpagers who left because of myiq’s Palin posts overreacted in the same way. Maybe many of you disagree with other people on the blogroll: Corrente, Arthur Silber, and even the hardcore Hillary supporters like Anglachel. But that doesn’t mean they need to be taken off of the blogroll. There is room to disagree when we agree on 95% of the issues. myiq’s posts usually defend the Palins from sexist attacks that only hurt the Left and empower the Right.
My posts were not the reason anyone left TC.
Things aren’t always what they seem.
From some of the ex-frontpagers’ explanations, it seemed one of the reasons was because of your posts on Sarah Palin. But you are right, I do not know about the power struggles and disagreements that went on between the frontpagers. I think there were other reasons that probably had more to do with internal matters than Palin.
It seemed that way.
I agree with your opening sentence.
Seems to me that Palin and her family are the media focus they are for exactly that reason: they are a distraction for the Left. They keep the infighting at the peak of performance and the Republicans love that.
I read the Palin posts because I do think the ridiculous nature of what the Left seems to think all this means to their lives is astonishing.
In my daily life, I don’t ask first what political leaning a person has before I defend them from unfair and cruel attacks against their person or family.
The hater ploy worked really well against Hillary Clinton, so it makes sense that they would just do the same again. But of course it’s having the opposite effect. I expect that’s party due to people have seen the same ploy already and it just doesn’t work as well the second time around. Especially since they’re using some of the very same language in their attacks.
In the end, the Obama movement has been a movement of hate. That’s all the followers know and think and feel. Hate. So it’s not surprising they would continue that philosophy and lifestyle moving forward. And what’s sad is that movement has spread even to people who were not for Obama. Hate is infectious.
It worked so well Obama needed the media and the RBC to drag him across the finish line.
Oh, and Hillary got more votes than Obama.too.
True dat, but it was the glue that got all her haters together – CDSers or the merely misogynists.
It took the DNC having to cheat the system and change the rules to force an Obama “victory” – no glue, no strategy, no haters managed to get a true win for Obama. The party had to redraw the lines in order to force her out of bounds.
Oh yea, throw facts into the discussion.
Don’t forget about guilt.
“In the end, the Obama movement has been a movement of hate.”
It seems so obvious, but I was really knocked over by the veracity of this statement.
Myiq2Xu,
Can you read the above article since it has your fav celebrity in it, and then comment on something I spotted.
Clue:
Did you fall asleep?
I didn’t see David Hasselhof in there anywhere.
Palin, PALIN, PALIN…
Any hoo, the point is in legal terms…clue is in the second article. You always pick up the legal points, come on, you are letting me down… 😦
Oh, Palin is mentioned, but the legal point has to do with the lawyers.
I don’t know where to start on that. The guy isn’t in the US and it’s the Swedes who want him. I don’t know which law applies.
The attorney says they are being spied on but he could be lying or paranoid. Sitting in a vehicle and watching an attorney’s office isn’t necessarily a violation of privilege.
If an attorney is helping his client commit crimes or evade the law then there is no privilege.
It’s Sunday, and God said that on the Sabbath we must watch football.
You gave yourself away, because in your closing you touched on it, but NO TOUCH DOWN!
Huh?
The verbs, the verbs…THE VERBS!
(((Throws hand up, runs off screaming arh…..)))
VERBS
I’ll have what she’s drinking.
Make that two of those and a double please.
I always got high math scores. 🙂
..higher math scores than verbal. Never mind.
I wonder if Assange is taken into custody for his sexual assault charges, will he consider it reason enough to activate his online insurance policy?
Well, you got half of the clue, but I am waiting to see what myiq2Xu’s analysis is as it will open a new discussion, altogether.
If you want me to do analysis I’ll fax you my standard contract and I’ll need cash up front.
Cop OUT! Besides, you know my fax number already!
I already told ya, you can’t have my kidneys as payment! 😯
I just noticed that not even journos have picked up the point within the BBC article and am amazed by it.
I think govt will clam up as a result, and I’m afraid Fisa may get a boost. Or not.
Amen to that.
She has been assigned the Role of Hillary in the GOP primary anyway, with jeb being Obama. No matter how much support she may garner amongst Rs, Jeb will be nominated. (or if I am wrong, another right wing Penis American with all her liabilities and none of the appeal)
Penis American or Vagina American… do we really need to go there?
That was such a setup for a joke, I can’t believe no one took the bait.
😉
I prefer Gyno-American and Procto-American.
I think people will be voting in 2012 for economic recovery in the America that is not creative class. Big opportunity for a non establishment outsider…who is not painted as being extremist.
Good piece:
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Sarah Palin is wrong about John F. Kennedy, religion and politics
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/03/AR2010120303209.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Good article, and nice that she doesn’t attach Palin via hate or the usual crap, just questions the specifics of her focus on religion.
Of course what’s really sad here is that you could say the very same things about Obama. And even more sad, about most politicians running for president. They all play the same game.
Yep. It’s too bad that no one has cared to mention any other politician’s take though.
I posted that piece on an earlier thread, because I really liked it too. She is very clear and convincing with no PDS in it. That’s my only beef with the Palin phenomenon–it’s so reminiscent of CDS, I become contrary.
Well said, myiq!
I find Palin and the response to her fascinating. However, if she were in power I would not have the luxury of amusement. But now I can marvel at the consternation this charismatic conservative is wreaking by not kowtowing to the Republican establishment and by striking fear into the hearts of liberals.
There are actually some circumstances that could get me to vote for Obama.
Yea, he’s pretty close to pure evil.
NO just EVIL, nothing pure about him… Remember, if he can serve his wife divorce papers after cancer surgery, just think what he can do for AMERICA….NOOOO he isn’t getting my VOTE…NEVER!
LOL. Good point.
Eye of Newt is a Heartless Cheat!
If he wins the nomination, then you KNOW the Republicans want Obama.
I always look foward to reading your posts, myiq, but this was one of the best you’ve ever written. It’s obvious that the establishment Repubs are doing to Sarah the same thing that Donna’s “new Democratic coalition” did to Hillary. What a choice we’ll have: Sarah or Barack.
They want people chanting JEB, JEB, JEB…and so the BUSH DYNASTY will continue, while they STRIP SEARCH EACH ONE OF US IN PUBLIC.
Sadly, unless HIllary runs, when you look at the other potential candidates Sarah v Barack may be as good as it will get in 2012. That’s just kind of sick.
I think you’re right Ralph. For a while, I thought Hillary was just being a “good soldier” when she said that she wouldn’t run again. Sadly, I finally believe her.
Maybe Webb or someone will primary Obama?
If that’s the case, Sarah vs Obunko, I guess I vote for the lesser evil. Second time in my life I vote for a republican.
I feel your pain, Mike. It would be the second time for me, as well. Or, it might be the first time, in almost 40 years, I don’t vote at all.
Have you all seen that Donna “my momma’s rulz” Brazile is now a regular contributor to “O” magazine. Gak.
Stellar post.
My thoughts exactly, with one exception: I have no problem voting for Palin if the alternative is Obama. Hordes of people voted for Obama based solely on the color of his skin. At this point, I can’t see feeling any shame or hesitation whatsoever employing the same logic for myself, should those be my choices in 2012. If the choice were Palin or HRC, different story.
Whoooooah… by “employing the same logic for myself” I mean voting for a woman based on her gender… not voting for Palin based on her skin color. Geez, that didn’t even occur to me but my post sounds horrible!
Haha. I knew what you meant. Never even thought of the other but, now that you mention it…
Palin, even as a conservative Republican, would be a better President than the current officeholder. Thats all I will say about it.
“The second one is based on wishful thinking and asserts that Sarah Palin is more moderate than her rhetoric, or would govern that way. While it is true she governed Alaska in a somewhat bi-partisan fashion that is not a basis for thinking she would do the same if she reached the White House.”
It is also not a basis for saying that she won’t!
When you are hiring people the best test of what they will do is what they did. By the way, it was not just ‘somewhat’ bi-partisan, it was pretty strictly in line with the Alaskan and US ‘constitution’.
I love that you can just disagree. Love it!
What a concept.
I’m a strong supporter of Governor Palin’s, but I’ve got friends from every political stripe. We manage to just disagree on some things. Still respect each other as individuals.
Cheers!
There’s a reason we are Hillary supporters. She disagrees but is not disrespectful. Go figure. It’s called diplomacy and she is a natural. She argues substantive policy and principles and fights for what she believes in.
I disagree. Although Huckabee did not have the mass appeal Sarah holds, Huckabee’s 2008 run was very populist.
Most people didn’t believe Huckabee wasn’t a phony about it. I think he’s a fake.
First and foremost Sarah and the reactions she causes are entertaining as hell. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s some kind of mass insanity. The people that hate her the most are the ones that are obsessed with her. And she has a whole bunch of people that hate her, including the media, the GOP establishment and the Obamacrats.
That right there is a big plus in my book.
lol! Great post myiq. I’m with you. Since that first speech at the GOP Convention when she didn’t hesitate to stick Obama and the self-important media in the eye, I’ve laughed out loud at her antics. She cracks me up, and I’m just eatin’ popcorn, watchin’ the show.
Thoughtful post. I don’t think Sarah is crazy or batshit crazy, but then we’ve yet to see her lay out substantive policy on the major economic and foreign policy issues.
Right wing populist is an oxymoron. By nature conservative policy benefits the upper echelon. Decreasing taxes does not benefit the masses, nor does diminishing their personal liberties. Sarah Palin is a con man and not a very honest one at that.
Generally what you see in Continental Europe is “populist” parties on the right versus “socialist” parties on the left. The populist Progressive movement led by Teddy Roosevelt was Republican. I am not advocating for Palin, but I do think she thinks about working class Americans more than Obama. I recall a conversation we had two years ago when we first met cwaltz, and I don’t know how Palin has changed so much since then.
Let’s recap
Her position that a competing government plan would be the equivalent of creating death panels….disingenuous.
Her position that Brack Obama supports socialism ….dishonest.
Her position that all the tax cuts should be extended because the spur economic growth…..disingenuous (since we know that only the cuts on the bottom actually spurred growth).
Then there was the rally where she stated that pro choice legislators mindset meant they’d force women to have abortions and deny the elderly health care…..dishonest.
Oh and it’s ironic too considering she supported a candidate(Joe Miller) that actually supported dismantling Social Security, the program that keeps 1 in 5 seniors from poverty.
I’ll vote 3rd party before I vote for her or Obama.
I doubt she will run for president. She is more interested in making as many millions of dollars as a celebrity and FOX News pundit. Doing what she is doing now is a lot more fun and profitable than being president.
Crossing my fingers since having another President that has no clue what 80% of us needs is not something I look forward to. I’d much rather she make millions off of Murdoch.
You can cross your fingers, legs and eyes but it won’t make any difference. No matter what Palin does you’ll most likely be seeing that clueless POTUS anyway.
Why single her out? Is there anything about her that makes her more worthy of hate than all the other Republicans out there?
Easy answer, she’s a woman.
Voting 3rd party is a perfectly viable alternative.
I like Sarah Palin.
There, I said it. But I LOVE Hillary Clinton.
There are things to respect and admire about both women; I definitely do not think either of them are weak in any way.
I think that many people have grown to associate ‘conservatism’ with the bad parts of bush. He wasn’t an economic conservatie, which is what I think we need now. But alas, what do I know. With that said, I might be open to voting for Palin.
But God willing, Hillary will run again. Oh please, God, let it happen!