Palin is a divisive force for the Republicans. She is rallying the far-right rednecks, while McCain wants to keep a shred of dignity to his campaign, in the hope of appealing to independents and moderates.
In a previous post ("Carving up the elephant - the future disintegration of the GOP"), I speculated on how we might turn the different factions of the GOP against one another. Someone replied to my post with the suggestion that Palin might form a splinter faction within the Republicans. We can hope for that outcome, and try to encourage it.
In 2000, I was not able to influence the Republican primaries, but I hoped from the sidelines that they would choose that ignorant extremist redneck, Bush, instead of the responsible moderate, McCain. Surely Bush could not defeat Gore, but the rumored McCain/Powell ticket would be a formidable opponent. Well, we all know how that turned out...
Sadly, Palin may be a more serious threat to us by 2012. Here are her current problems: the most ignorant VP choice in decades, constant lying (about 36 lies in 17 days, per Olbermann), corruption (ruling by vendetta - libriariangate and troopergate) and hypocracy about her corruption ("I told them thanks but no thanks to the bridge to nowhere" - "I am a reformer").
Over the course of 4 years, GOPAC can train her to parrot a few sound bites, in place her current content-free babbling "answers" (or her refusal to answer). She can also spend the next 4 years trying to only lie as much as a typical Republican. So, 4 years from now she will still be a far-right extremist redneck, and she will appeal to those voters. She will still be a woman. She will still be physically attractive. So, other than being female, she will be much like Bush was in 2000.
We can hope that Obama will a POPULAR president, as well as a GOOD president. But Obama will inherit a horrible economic mess. I have already heard comparisons between Obama in 2008 and Carter in 1976. So, Palin on the Republican ticket in 2012 is a problem.
We need to push the narrative that McCain's problem was the choice of Palin. She was a Hail Mary that backfired spectacularly. The Right wants to hear this; they will never admit to themselves that "trickle-down" is anything but the Word of God. (If Republicans cared about Americans in the lower 90% income bracket, and if they accepted science and told the truth... they would be Democrats.) So we will compare Palin to Eagleton (the unvetted VP mistake that doomed McGovern) and the Right may turn on Palin.
In a cynical and partisan way, I hope that they repeat the Palin mistake in 2012. But that same partisan cynical logic made me want them to choose Bush in 2000, and look what happened. When they choose an unqualified extremist, we should not celebrate.
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