Palin Is The Perfect Conservative / Republican Pick

by: Chris Bowers

Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 21:00


Sarah Palin is a total wingnut:

"Pat Buchanan brought his conservative message of a smaller government and an America First foreign policy to Fairbanks and Wasilla on Friday as he continued a campaign swing through Alaska. Buchanan's strong message championing states rights resonated with the roughly 85 people gathered for an Interior Republican luncheon in Fairbanks. ... Among those sporting Buchanan buttons were Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin and state Sen. Jerry Ward, R-Anchorage."

Palin is a total wingnut Buchannite, (check out what that means in practice), but ran today on feminist themes. She is running as a reformer, but she is under investigation for ethics violations. She favored the bridge to nowhere, but is now running on opposing it. She called Clinton a whiner only a few months ago, but is now invoking her name to cheers. She is the least experienced Vice-Presidential pick in decades, but was chosen by a man who is arguing that his opponent is too inexperienced. And that's not all:

The daughter of a science teacher who supports teaching creationism in schools. Someone from a state being hit hard by climate disruption who doesn't believe that humans cause global warming. Someone who claims to stand up to oil companies, but is instead a wholly-owned subsidiary of Big Oil. Someone who claims to fight corruption today but conveniently forgets McCain's membership in the Keating Five. The mother of a special needs child that supports a presidential who voted against funding special education.

At first I thought Palin was a bizarre pick. However, the more I think about it, she was clearly the perfect Republican pick. It is incredibly cynical (women will vote for any woman), based on several layers of hypocrisy, and for good measure displays a cartoonish view of progressivism (in this case, affirmative action as unqualified tokenism). That is basically the entire conservative philosophy right there: a cynical view of people combined with a message that is hypocritical to its core, and topped off with a cartoonish view of the other side.

This pick isn't bizarre at all. It is conservatism and Republicanism in a nutshell.
Chris Bowers :: Palin Is The Perfect Conservative / Republican Pick

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Palin Is The Perfect Conservative / Republican Pick | 47 comments
A deranged carnivalesque nightmare these people live in.... n/t (4.00 / 1)


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Quote on Palin (4.00 / 2)
"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" - Alaskan State Senate President Lyda Green, also a Republican and from Palin's hometown of Wasilla.  Source: http://www.adn.com/news/politi...
[ Parent ]
McCain has colossally bad judgment (0.00 / 0)
McCain apparently didn't talk to anyone in Alaska before making this pick.  He only met with her once.  I think in the short term, the focus should be on McCain and the complete lack of vetting that went into this choice.  It shows McCain is impulsive, dangerous and has colossally bad judgment.  Maybe he "looked into her heart"?
[ Parent ]
He's not a maverick (0.00 / 0)
he's just erratic!

Montani semper liberi
[ Parent ]
Exactly. We need to take her politics seriously, and but quicklike (4.00 / 9)
The completely wrong way to go about dealing with Palin is the instinctive sneering, dismissal, often weirdly looks-focused and occasionally sexist treatment of Sarah Palin as a VP pick.

She is meant to pick up the fundie crazies and ultra-rightists and bait the Obama campaign and Democrats into anything that could even slightly appear to be sexism or a focus on a lack of experience.

And I disagree that this should be treated as simply an expedient political trick by McCain -- why on Earth should we not take such lunacy as a clear indication of how McCain wants to govern?

Two anti-abortionists running for the Republican ticket.  At least one outright creationist.  Both for giving any rights to oil companies that they ask for as long as they promise nicely (with zero enforcement) that some of that oil will be heading to the U.S. soon to reduce prices.  A supposed reformist "maverick" Republican all too eager to do the will of any lobbyist.

This is one of the most clever insertions of a normal-seeming radical fundamentalist rightie on the Republican ticket that anyone suggested, alongside the Bobby Jindal possibility.

please (0.00 / 0)
print out this comment and fax it to Dem HQ ASAP.
[ Parent ]
don't they take email? (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
Exactly (4.00 / 1)
McCain just gave a signal that he thought Bush was far too liberal and that he wants to run a conservative campaign.

Now moderates can no longer say that mccain was just trying to pretend to be a conservative to win.  To me thats the argument that hurts mccain now.  Peel away the last of his moderate support.

The liberal wiki
Send an email to terra@liberalwiki.com

When I found out it was Palin (4.00 / 3)
When I found out it was Palin this morning my gut started twisting and I think I may have literally started sweating. I recevied a string of texts from friends expressing deep concern over this 'game changing' pick.

Ten or so hours later I feel like we have just been handed the election. This is a joke. This is comedy. This is the least serious political action I have ever seen a supposedly serious politician take.

This woman hasn't even been properly vetted. And, even without that vetting, I bet all of us can name five things about her that set off clear warning signs.

Lack of experience.
Support of the Bridge to Nowhere
The scandal I have heard called "troopergate" (The woman has held statewide office for 18 or so months and already has her own -gate?)
Mismanaging the acquisition of land for sports stadium while "mayor"
She is a..... creationist!?

All this, ladies and gentleman, before the media has even gotten a hold of her. But, in her defense, she only owns three houses.


"Don't hate the media, become the media" -Jello Biafra

I've gone in the other direction (4.00 / 2)

 I thought it was a joke at first. Now I'm worried.

 Yes, she has all this baggage, but how will the public find out about it? The media, with its chronic McCain shilling, is not going to bring it up. The Democrats might, but their ability and willingness to do so isn't a sure thing. And it needs to be brought up in a way that this cute lovely woman isn't being victimized by those male bullies.

  I would have preferred one of the competent boring guys.

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn

[ Parent ]
Hilary (0.00 / 0)
Can bring it up.  She really is the only person who can have at Palin without being accused of being sexist.  
[ Parent ]
Will she? (0.00 / 0)
 .  

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn
[ Parent ]
Well (4.00 / 1)
The old refrain is that Hilary wants to be the first to break that glass ceiling, especially for President.  Having a Republican female VP might deny her that, especially if Palin proves popular after 8 years of McCain.  It's in Hilary's best interest to go after Palin with a vengeance if Clinton has any future political ambitions.  
[ Parent ]
Susan Eisenhower would be a more credible critic... (0.00 / 0)
...anyone seen her near a camera since the choice was announced? She was terrific at the DNC and in post convention interviews yesterday morning before the announcement.

[ Parent ]
Hillary would be nice but (4.00 / 1)
there are plenty of others who will speak up. Like Lyda Green, Republican president of the state senate, who is from Palin's home town of Wasilla.

State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to tell her the news.

"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? said Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"

http://www.openleft.com/showQu...

(thanks, fladem!)

[ Parent ]
and also (0.00 / 0)
Dem Colorado congresswoman Diana DeGette:

http://www.squarestate.net/dia...

[ Parent ]
What's Scary (4.00 / 1)
Is that for all that cynicism and hypocrisy, it appears reasonably conceivable that the pick might work, at least with the mainstream media, and perhaps even with the American public as a whole.  That to me is the truly depressing implication for our society as a whole.  
Glad to see we're all wising up (4.00 / 3)

 Sarah Palin is a dangerous candidate. She's wrapped in a palatable-to-the-masses package, but she's an extreme radical, and needs to be taken very seriously by those of us who care about the future of the country.

 We cannot allow her to be defined as a lightweight nobody -- her first semicompetent performance on the national stage will kick off an avalanche of "maybe we underestimated her" analysis in the media. It is best to treat her respectfully and gush over her qualifications, so that the public can then be disappointed in her, rather than pleasantly surprised.

 She's a problem electorally. She'd be a disaster if she won.

 I hope the Obama campaign is on the task.

 

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn

Palin is Dick Cheney in a dress (0.00 / 0)
In fact, she's probably even more socially conservative.

She's a candy wrapper on a piece of coal.

Help support "CRASHING THE STATES"--a Netroots Film!

I disagree (4.00 / 3)
this pick isn't about conservatism, it's about incompetence.  The same incompetence that lead us into Iraq.

As Jeralyn noted, McCain's political director is seriously arguing that her leadership of the National Guard qualifies her to be commander in chief.  It defies common sense.  

This is a stunningly bad pick.  It is going to come apart at the seems.  

I hope you're right (4.00 / 2)

 But George W. Bush was a stunningly bad candidate.

 He still got eight years in the White House.

 We take Palin lightly at our own risk.  

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn

[ Parent ]
I Agree, But... (4.00 / 6)
I think it's pretty obvious that the M$M is in rapid decay mode.  What's happening with AP is good indicator of this.  They are just diseased enough that they could spin this in an infinite number of different directions, and we really can't predict with any kind of certainty which way it will be.

What we do know is that new media--blogs, online video, etc.--has a fairly decent shot at having an impact here, and so the reality of Palin could well come out--at least enough to damage her fatally, which is probably only about 20-30%, tops.

But perhaps the soundest strategy is not to focus on Palin, but to focus on McCain.  After all, he's just spent a couple of months insisting that Obama's lack of experience disqualified him.  Now he's telling us, "not so much."  This clearly shows that McCain's word means nothing, that he'll just say anything to get elected, and therefore nothing he says can be trusted.  He's just Nixoned himself.

This is the message to pound home for the next week, along with the secondary message, "Well, is Palin actually any good?  Does she have any sort of record at all?  Oh, my!  Look at this!  Nearly bankrupted the city where she was mayor!  That doesn't sound too good..." etc., etc., etc.

In short, don't lead with any of Palin's baggage, focus on McCain instead, but don't forget Palin's baggage, either.   There is sooo much of it that it would be a big mistake to try and deliver it all at once.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
This is (4.00 / 1)
a betrayal of his promise to put America first.  The arguments being advanced on her behalf are silly.

It strikes at the core of his appeal, and he will really regret it.  The MSM is treading water right now, a bad sign for McCain in and of itself.

[ Parent ]
I like your thinking, Paul (0.00 / 0)
Palin is essentially meaningless, except insofar as what she informs us of McCain.

Two weeks from now, heck, two days, no one will care much about her unless she implodes (your 20-30% probability sounds good).

Hammer on McCain and what this pick means coming from him.

But hammer on McCain nevertheless (in the Josh Marshall sense of hammering).

[ Parent ]
I agree, with one caveat... (0.00 / 0)

 First impressions matter. And if the public picks up the "what a nice sweet young lady" impression before it registers the "what a loathsome wingnut" impression, defining her is going to be much harder. It's important to get the public in front of the idea that she's Alan Keyes revisited -- BEFORE she can "charm" them.

 That said, I have NO idea how to do this. Hillary Clinton's statement, to me, shows that she gets it -- "her policies are all wrong". We need A LOT of this before her RNC speech, which I guarantee will be obscenely praised by the legacy media.  

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn

[ Parent ]
Which is not a surprise .. (4.00 / 1)
As Jeralyn noted, McCain's political director is seriously arguing that her leadership of the National Guard qualifies her to be commander in chief.  It defies common sense.

because the wingers made fun of Clinton because he commanded the Arkansas National Guard(don't governors of all states do that?)

[ Parent ]
This is how the Conservative Revolution ends. (4.00 / 3)
Death by Wingnut Welfare.

Montani semper liberi
Very well put (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
the wrong thing to do... (0.00 / 0)
the wrong thing to do is to be afraid...it's also the wrong thing to do to be dismissive - and since i'm talking about the "wrong" things, how about not conflating conservatism with Republicanism please, okay? hmmmm? we are all adults here, right? can you please not rail and condescend? having a bad morning, were you?

Palin is a tool shed, but she is going to attract a lot of voters...PUMAS? hmm, maybe for a minute or two but I predict that the die-hards are more likely to write someone in than to vote for JM/SP, seriously..."women will vote for any women"? dude, do you have any idea how much of a jackass you sound when you say that? do say shit like that in bars to smart girls you are trying to impress? how's that working out for you?

How will Biden handle this in the debates? Can she even make sentences? Who knows? Talk about not knowing who the u* your candidate is...and that gets us to the fact that she is hot.

that's right...she's hot. do you think this has nothing to do with it? ahahahahaha...Truly the cynicism is astonishing, but the truly terrifying thing is that we see that the Republicans are so confident, and think so little of Barack Obama, that they feel that they can really win on this ticket - what does that say? Big Oil and Big Military - this is the Hegemony we've been waiting for...

Do they really think they can win? Or are they forfeiting...? Let the other guy take the reins of the failed war and struggling economy...who is going to remember what in a few years - BO inextricably saddled with that burden and a fat, special interest-laden congress - what change do you think is coming?


Has anyone considered what this says about HER judgement? That she thinks (4.00 / 1)
that someone with her limited qualifications and experience can just be Vice President of the United States? And possible Presdient if the need arise.

Does she not have ANY humility that she might think that there ARE a few women in the GOP that are MORE qualified than she to take on this job??

I hope reporters ask her that directly (4.00 / 1)
"Do you believe you are qualified to be Vice President?"

I have no idea what a good answer would be to that question.

[ Parent ]
I think this is all meaningless (0.00 / 0)
The concern of whether or not Palin is a good or bad pick.

If she blows up, she was a great pick (for us), if she holds here own, so what?  When has a potential VP ever helped in an election, seriously (OK, maybe LBJ)?

The whole VP thing is always about doing "no evil."  She either will do McCain "evil" and we rejoice or she doesn't, and so what?

I think the best thing is that it adds another refutation to any Republican charges of inexperience.

Michele Bachmann must have turned down McCain's offer first (0.00 / 0)

The Monica Goodling philosophy (4.00 / 4)
Similar to the way Republicans ran the justice department--the only job requirement is being a right-wing christian loyalist.  Actual qualifications are irrelevant.  "Country first" is a total joke with these people and has been for quite a while.  Ideology and politics always come first with them.
Country First? (4.00 / 2)
Not according to Sarah Palin:

We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we're trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

It's not Country First for Sarah - it's Alaska First.

(There was another quote to similar effect, but I can't remember if I saw it online or if it was on an interview Maria Bartolomo (Money Bunny) did with Palin that re-aired on CNBC. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, help me out here...)

Anyway, back to the topic of this post, Katrina Van Den Heuvel was on Moyers tonight along with Adolph Reed Jr., they had a pretty fruitful discussion that expanded on a lot of what OpenLeft and other sectors of the blogosphere have been digesting today. Here's what Katrina began with:

BILL MOYERS: But how about, for electricity, the announcement today of Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as John McCain's running mate? What do you make of that?

KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL: Brilliant, clever, and cynical.

BILL MOYERS: How so?

KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL:It's a new kind of Republican grievance resentment politics. Large - I mean, so much of it is about feeding into the resentment about Hillary Clinton not getting one, the nomination of the Democratic Party, two, the vice-presidential nod. I think it's a moment though when we need to keep our eyes on the issues, and on the issues, Sarah Palin has a great life story, like John McCain.

She makes some history in her own right. But she's in lock step with John McCain on the big issues of our time. Whether - I mean, she's a ferocious anti-choice woman, lifetime member of the NRA. And if women seek a better, more just America, more decent jobs, health care, education, a court that isn't going to roll back rights, Sarah Palin is not someone you'd consider. But it is focus tested to the nth degree.

It is the next generation of resentment politics, divide and conquer.  

"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that."
-Lawrence Summers

oops (0.00 / 0)
forgot to include the link to the transcript.

"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that."
-Lawrence Summers
[ Parent ]
An intentional empty suit (0.00 / 0)
My feeling is that this an intentional empty suit pick, with a few advantages thrown in.

McCain and Co want this campaign to be about him against Obama. The Biden pick was intended to counter some of the very areas where Obama was taking a beating in the one-on-one comparison. Palin sort of nullifies Biden. Biden, celebrated in the blogistan as an "attack dog" can have little effect against a Miss Alaska who is clearly clueless (a la Dubya) and will therefore have sufficiently lowered expectations, but worse, will come across as a victim should Biden get rough in the debates. The fluff factor also makes all VP candidate involvement uninteresting to the "MSM", returning the focus to McCain vs Obama, which is sort of how McCain and his handlers want it.

And there was probably some naive optimism about peeling of some female/feminist votes from Obama. Jindal would probably have brought in some independents, but the base may have rebelled against a brown guy, however subservient.

Biden doesn't need to attack Palin (4.00 / 3)
He's there to attack McCain and the Republican party. And he can do that when he debates Palin, he can acknowledge her and then spend the whole hour going after McCain and Bush.

"I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that."
-Lawrence Summers
[ Parent ]
Biden's relevance... (0.00 / 0)
When a Biden attacks in the forest and nobody hears him, does he still have an impact? Outside of the debates, my guess (and I admit I am sort of thinking as I go, here!) is that nobody (in the "MSM") is going to pay attention to the VPs after this pick. Biden's noises about McCain will either be ignored or set the issue as Obama-Biden vs McCain which I think McCain & Co will gladly accept. And the debates... Biden could attack McCain, sure, but then Palin can safely wisecrack about that, and reduce its seriousness.

.... I am not sure I entirely buy into the points I am laying out ;-)

[ Parent ]
You guys sure worry a lot. (0.00 / 0)
We can't know how Palin will play out.  Two months ago, Edwards looked like a good VP pick.  A year ago, Guilliani was the shoo in nominee.  

She has significant weaknesses.  She obviously appeals to the base.  Some of the PUMAs are nutty (like the ones interviewed by Chris Matthews a few nights ago), but it's likely that many of them will not roll over for someone as radical as Palin.  I doubt it will work.  

It's a risky pick.  He could win, or lose by it.  

Whether it's cynical, or some sort of revealing expression of the ugly sole of modern conservativism etc, etc - frankly, who cares?  Many posters on this board act as if Republicans are nearly subhuman, and need to analyze the pick in these terms to maintain their worldview.  I don't see anything especially cynical in trying to secure the base and to get the PUMA vote.  On the negative side, she has no experience - but neither does Obama.  

She has no -qualifications-. (0.00 / 0)
That's the issue. 'Experience' isn't.
[ Parent ]
Last time I checked (0.00 / 0)
the qualifications for the job of vice president were being a native born citizen of 35 years of age.

[ Parent ]
Those are the requirements. (0.00 / 0)
She's still not qualified.

I'm not qualified. My uncle with cerebral palsy isn't qualified. Surely this isn't so hard to understand.

[ Parent ]
qualifications (4.00 / 2)
I think the qualifications comparison between Palin and Obama is relevant and should be made.  Maybe we could get a wiki for this, but here's a start:

Barack Obama
-------------
- B.A. in Political Science from Columbia Univeristy
- Director of Developing Communities Project in Chicago
- J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School where he was President and Editor of the Harvard Law Review
- Instructor of Constitutional Law at University of Chicago Law School for 12 years
- Practicing attorney for 9 years specializing in Civil Rights law and economic development
- Illinios State Senator, 1997-2004
- U.S. Senator, 2005 to present
- Author of three best selling books
- Democratic nominee for President, an election in which he received approximately 18 million votes
- Has demonstrated the judgment, temperament, intellect and vision to be the President of the United States

Sarah Palin
-----------
- B.S. journalism from the University of Idaho
- Wasilla AK City Council, 1992-1996.  Wasilla had a population of 5,500 (2000 census).
- Mayor of Wasilla AK, 1997-2002
- Appointed Chairperson of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 2003-2004
- 2005-2006, unknown
- Governor of Alaska, 2007 to present (20 months).  Alaska has a population of 683,000, about the size of Fort Worth, Memphis, Charlotte or Baltimore.  The Alaska Legislature is in session only 90 calendar days per year.

[ Parent ]
how about biden? (0.00 / 0)
I would like to see the comparison between Palin and Biden because they are running for the VP position. Compare Biden's record up to 1986 when he was the same age as Palin - 44.
[ Parent ]
I'm probably just a lot more jaded (0.00 / 0)
about Harvard graduates and lawyers than you are.  

Bestselling authors and law professors, too.

[ Parent ]
By way of example: (0.00 / 0)
Bestselling author and Harvrd PhD Jerome Corsi.

[ Parent ]
Palin Is The Perfect Conservative / Republican Pick | 47 comments
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