(Cross posted on Broadsides.org)
Let’s do Sarah Palin. Wait. That didn’t sound right. So, make that: Let’s consider Sarah Palin. I’ve been pondering words about Palin all weekend but every time I tore myself away from the unbearable relaxation of the holiday weekend and thought I was going to string two or three thoughts together, the terms of the discussion would change. I mean, how fast did the discussion morph from Palin’s “fake birth” (thanks, Kos!), to her daughter’s real birth? Nanoseconds.
And, of course, we only have the Internet and the self-important liberal bloggers to blame for the whiplash-like speed to which the Palin story has been changing.
If, as they like to declare, the Denver Dem-lovefest was their “finest hour,” the Palin coverage in the days that followed has certainly been the liberal blogosphere’s darkest hour. No sooner than they were able to unpack and frame their “official” passes to the Dem Party in Denver, the lib-blogs snarled at the gentle rain on their parade that the McCain campaign provided by picking-say what?! – a goddamn woman.
Ouch. There’s nothing that pisses a liberal off more than having a politically-correct trump card played before they’ve even had time to clean up from the mess of their premature victory ejaculation. Dude!
But the Palin card was played and the response was u.g.l.y. – just as the McCain folks were certainly hoping. Sure, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Republicans, but I’ll bet the upper-tiers of the McCain campaign are happy that the initial Palin attacks were largely blown away by the coverage of Hurricane Gustav.
There is, after all, nothing more ugly than liberals beating up a woman, a mother of five, an elected (and popular) governor, and, by all accounts, a hyperkinetic outsider who has reached the top in what is certainly considered to be a real man’s state. Good luck with that.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to attack when it comes to attacking Palin. You know, things like THE ISSUES. But the lib-dips have taken the McCain bait and, instead, decided to run with breathless (and untrue) stories about her “fake pregnancy,” her faux-scandals (trooper-gate, snore), flying while pregnant, and her connection with an Alaska independence party that believed in localism and – yes – independence. Gasp! The silliest aspect to the lib-dip coverage was its use of rightwing Alaska Republicans’ quotes about Palin. Yo, fellas – because, they are mostly fellas – the rightwing Republicans hate her because she pulled the rug out from under the self-proclaimed “good ole boys” that ruled the roost before she chased them from office.
Like I said, stick to the issues. You know, things like her anti-choice position, her pro-drilling position (no pun intended – hey, she IS a mother of five), and her disastrous environmental record that can be summed up by three words: Fuck the bears. Well, not literally. But you get my point.
And, please, stop with the “experience” nonsense. Do the Dems know how many women and thinking men that the “no experience” argument is totally and completely pissing off – especially in an election cycle that has been monopolized by Barack Obama’s helium-filled balloons of “change”? Warning: Palin will eat the wine glass lib-dips alive with that accusation if she ever gets the chance.
Speaking of experience, here’s a fun little snippet from Dennis Perrin (http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com), one of my newly found favorite bloggers:
Watching the libsphere in hysterics over Sarah Palin has been entertaining, and no attack on her is considered too low or too coarse to post in a comments section. Apart from her reactionary positions, the main lib beef, as I recently noted, is with her inexperience. Liberals demand seasoned insiders like Joe Biden to help guide the empire, someone who can properly manage the machinery of state, bomb the right countries, spy on the right people, and above all, normalize imperial matters after eight years of “wrong” turns. Palin is an affront to their sense of professionalism. Thus the constant abuse.
Bingo.
Damn, I miss the issues. But, unfortunately, we’re all stuck in some kind of nightmarish sitcom-like presidential campaign, whereby the issues are damned while we take thoughtless swims in the varnish that will – hopefully – fend the scuff of meaning away for at least another four years.
