Comedy Tonight: David Fitzsimmons mourns the passing of a princess
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And it was just yesterday that Bill Kristol, declaring himself "aware of some of her limitations" (say, if he'd tell us which limitations he's aware of, maybe we could help him flesh out his list), nevertheless declared his conviction --
"For psychological and sociological reasons too deep for me to grasp," wrote Bill (a man whose entire "career," for want of a better word, can be seen as a crusade for crowning as the World's All-Time Dumbest Cluck), "a good chunk of elite America hates Sarah Palin and what they've decided she stands for." He concluded, "If you have an anti-mainstream-media and anti-GOP-establishment bone in your body, it's hard not to root for her at least a bit."
Actually, Bill, Princess Sarah's biggest rooters, now turned deepest mourners, are card-carrying members of the mainstream media, not to mention the GOP. The Arizona Daily Star's David Fitzsimmons has gathered a representative sampling of them above.
that she should have a chance to compete and make her case. In this, I seem to differ from many of my friends in the mainstream media and the Republican establishment. They tend not only to dislike and disdain Palin, they also want to bury her chances now as a presidential possibility. What are they so scared of?
"For psychological and sociological reasons too deep for me to grasp," wrote Bill (a man whose entire "career," for want of a better word, can be seen as a crusade for crowning as the World's All-Time Dumbest Cluck), "a good chunk of elite America hates Sarah Palin and what they've decided she stands for." He concluded, "If you have an anti-mainstream-media and anti-GOP-establishment bone in your body, it's hard not to root for her at least a bit."
Actually, Bill, Princess Sarah's biggest rooters, now turned deepest mourners, are card-carrying members of the mainstream media, not to mention the GOP. The Arizona Daily Star's David Fitzsimmons has gathered a representative sampling of them above.
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UPDATE: How Many Invitations Is Palin Getting To Campaign For Vulnerable Republicans?
More Republicans are requesting Palin not campaign for them include Lee Terry (R-NE), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Dave Reichert (R-WA).
Several other lawmakers indicated a wariness about accepting help from Palin, but did not want to criticize the GOP’s vice presidential candidate from last year. They said Palin could hurt them by firing up Democrats.
An unnamed GOP lawmaker representing a district that Obama carried in 2008 told The Hill that if Palin came into his district, his opponent would “probably be doing a dance of joy.”
The head of the House Democrats’ campaign arm said he’d welcome Palin’s involvement in the 2010 campaign.
“We hope that she will be part of the future debate on the direction of the country,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), on the other hand, do want Palin campaigning for them. When asked, Grassley, who is leading GOP efforts against health care reform in the Senate said, "The answer is, if she can raise a lot of money for me, yes... [A]t three events I spent with her in Iowa during the last campaign, she had bigger turnouts than McCain had.” Presumably as long as Grassley keeps Palin in Steve King's western part of the state-- where voters have no problem re-electing a KKK fanatic over and over-- he won't be hurt by Palin's presence... as long as there's no TV coverage.
Labels: David Fitzsimmons, Sarah Palin, William Kristol
posted by KenInNY @ 8:00 PM
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4 Comments:
Complete agreement, Ken. I certainly bid Palin farewell with relief. She was a magnet for all the fringe loonies who feel an inchoate anger towards the universe but lack logic to understand how it works. She had no trouble revving them up and throwing them targets, while at the same time showing she was as incapable of focused thought as those who looked up to her. Palin was one of them, only prettier, more ruthless, less ethical, and far, far more ambitious. If she'd had a bit more self-discipline, she could have been Joe McCarthy in skirts. (Now, there's an image.)
Her departure removes a likely lens to focus that loony anger. While I doubt it could win presidential elections, it could have been used to whip up mob violence and further hate crimes, especially with the bizarre governmental laissez faire approach being gifted to hate talk media these days. And who knows...? In a few years, even though she wouldn't have been made president, she could have been a president maker, and a power behind the scenes. She could never have created strategy; she doesn't have the concentration for it. But she could have strong-armed others into doing what she wanted, which has been just her approach in dealing with the Alaskan legislature. And backed up by a large, mobile, angry mob on the national scene, there would have been fewer to confront her. So I don't mind seeing Palin vanish in the slightest.
As for Kristol, his manipulation of "elite America" in that phrase, "a good chunk of elite America hates Sarah Palin," is vintage rabble-rousing code by a true member of an elite--because Kristol is yet another failed neo-con, big-money-from-dad fratboy, rather than the Common Man. Only people who don't stop and think will accept his implied definition of what constitutes elite America; and that's just the people Kristol plays to.
But the poison lies in the tip of the scorpion's tail: "...what [Palin[ stands for." Kristol implies, of course, that she stands for every nativist trigger phrase politicians love to use: family values, patriotism, suspicion of foreign influence, etc. The fact that she is basically a selfish, vicious, corrupt, intellectually deficient mob ruler doesn't matter. Kristol sees her as a useful chess piece in the continuing war over what America's really ethically about. He doesn't want to give up on the hopes that she will further the neo-con cause. He doesn't want to lose the edge of control that she has over those angry fringe crowds...
...And of course, there's good reason to believe that there are several Palin wannabes out there of both sexes, willing to wall off their personal moralities as they manipulate the political fringe through a message of fear and hatred. They lack the political clout to do it in the major political arena, however, and the GOP bigwigs who wish to appeal to the same angry minority smell too much of the party. Even Perry, pushing the same buttons as Palin--including secession--got booed at a July 4th Tea Party.
So there's good reason for Kristol's discomfort. But I think it's only temporary. I've been advocating an assertive push on what the US is supposed to be about--transparency in government, concern about citizens, free and fair elections, an even playing field for all influences, a lack of foreign imperial design--since before Obama took office. Understandably he's shown no interest, nor have the Dems in Congress, many of whom love that soft money. Besides, why worry when you're in power? You may dislike the other party, but you really reserve your hate for those who want to change the system. They could really hurt you. So it's the progressives who have to be relied upon to push hard, and try to get things done...and I think we should start pushing harder against hate media. The Fairness Doctrine, pickets, boycotts, editorials and letters asking why the federal government is allowing treasonous talk and hate talk on radio and tv to continue. We really need to start defusing the bomb people like Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, Palin and the like have tried to prime for America.
Sorry for the long comment. I felt motivated. :p
Great comment, B.
And I think you're absolutely right to fear the worst from "one-party" Dem rule, though of course for the exact opposite reason from the one advanced by the Rush-led demagogues. I only wish those people had something to be afraid of!
It indeed looks like we don't have to wait for the Dems to crumble. This is a party that has returned to power "pre-crumbled."
Of course on the House side the Democratic members had those years of softening up by Master Rahm. Howie identified him remarkably early on as the would-be Democratic Tom DeLay, and that's turning out to be terrifyingly true.
Ken
Ken
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