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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn McCain unleashed another version of Pandora's Box on the US
We may have dodged a huge bullet because McCain lost, but Sarah Palin is still like some plague of psychic disease let loose on the American psychological body. The segment of the population she woke up to politics are those who today are busting our unions and attacking women's rights and they are the people who have raised the filthy screech of racism to the shocking levels we see today. Even Limbaugh has had to resort to some of the most disgraceful and disgusting language just to survive and keep his relevance.
The movie touched on something that's very disturbing about our political system which is a reflection in itself of how easily deluded the public can be when it is manipulated. It showed the conniving ease with which the political machine that does the work behind the scenes can whip up a frenzy during Presidential campaigns and the total lack of personal accountability by them. Those so-called expert handlers have yet to take accountability for what they did to this country when they pushed her on the public just because they wanted to win. All the misgiving looks and the desperation of the handlers the movie shows are a piss poor replacement for the need for someone to come forward and apologize to the American people by actually telling the truth about their own motives and nefarious actions. It showed the cavalier attitude of professionals who couldn't be bothered to vet a Vice Presidential candidate simply because they needed a 'game changer' badly. Well they got one and they owe us all an apology for their sloppy rush to do anything and everything to win.
For those of us who follow politics closely, like we do here on DU, nothing new was divulged in that movie but much of what we know was left out entirely. The movie shows her as being separated from her loving family which didn't happen. I remember endless discussions here of how she used her children, and especially Trig on stage to portray herself as the momma bear, or the hockey mom, or the pit bull with lipstick or whatever metaphor suited her. And I think those who adore her will probably feel much more love for her if they watch the movie because it portrays her as a victim of the elite and in their eyes she came out on top in the end because she was her true self who out-mavericked the so-called maverick of the Republican Party. It vindicates them because that's how they feel. Victimized and vengeful. They see how one of their own can raise in prominence by doing nothing about learning the issues and everything about lying so well that evidently real world problems are barely taken into consideration since they're simply not understood nor are they of any interest whatsoever. The emotional satisfaction of revenge trumps everything else, even wisdom and any desire to connect actions and their inevitable subsequent consequences.
Even those who have made their living by crude and crass language like Limbaugh, Hannity and O'Reilly are being forced into ever more crude and disgusting attacks trying to regain some personal significance in the mess McCain and his handlers left when they unleashed Sarah Palin on us. The Tea Party is the direct result of Sarah Palin 'being herself' as it plows it's destruction all across the land, leaving a gaping scar that some of us fear will heal very slowly if at all. Their goal is to decimate government and social programs and unions and education and to inject racism and misogyny to replace them and their screech is so loud and venomous that no one dares inject rationality or common sense into the situation. The present Republican candidates are prime examples of how twisted politics has become where the only hope a Republican has of getting nominated is how much lower he can morally sink than his opponents.
My hope is that the so-called new found power the Tea Party symbolizes is just a temporary fantasy bubble and that it too will burst for lack of substance or foundation. Rage is no way to run a country.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)You eloquently described exactly what has happened.
I posted this on another thread and will share it here:
The McCain campaign, and therefore John McCain himself, did this country a tremendous disservice by selecting Palin and bringing this country too closely to what would/could have been a disaster waiting to happen. It was as irresponsible as I have ever witnessed in the sheer idiocy of the selection of a Vice Presidential running mate. Even the selection of Dan Quayle does not remotely come close.
That is why I lost ALL respect for John McCain. I hold him personally responsible for the rise of the Palinistas of this country and the teabaggery foolishness that has infiltrated Congress, resulting in the loss of any semblance of reasonableness, integrity, or concern for doing what is best on almost all issues. The House now has the lowest approval rating of any in our history and nothing is being accomplished.
Why did John McCain do this? Was it a last gasp attempt in the desperation of a failing candidacy to revive something already on life support? Did he really think that Palin was intellectually fit or politically viable? If so, he is dumber than the most casual observer.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)the movie shows him as disinterested and uninvolved in what was actually going on and in the end as cowardly when he feared that if he tried to talk sense into her she would turn on him and effectively end his political career. He's touted himself as brave and fearless in facing issues no matter how difficult they are yet in the movie he is milquetoast at best.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)I once had a lot of respect for him and thought he was treated horribly by the Bush campaign in 2000.
But no more.
I wonder if he is just totally political and power hungry. If so, it has cost him his inner moral compass and integrity.
mulsh
(2,959 posts)He's a scummy crook propped up by even scummier greed head pros. he is among the more tragic disasters foisted on our country.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)He's ridden that torture heroism for everything it's worth all his political life, knowing full well that no one would cross him because of it.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)He deserves gratitude for his service and treatment in Viet Nam, but that is diminished if not erased by his more recent actions.
I only feel contempt for him now.
russspeakeasy
(6,539 posts)or it's citizens. johnny, the liar and sarah the dimwit should be ignored by any real news outlet.
niyad
(113,505 posts)where he is talking to steve, and pointing out that both his grandfather and father died very quickly after retiring, because they no longer had a purpose for their lives. mccain basically stated that he was staying in the game because otherwise, he would not know what to do with himself, and would probably go the way of his father and grandfather.
because of that narrow self-absorption, the world has been cursed with sarah barraquitter.
JustAnotherGen
(31,847 posts)I think those who love Sister Sarah Palinstan were predisposed to view her as a victim. . . Don't get me started on the Professional Victims (numerous) on the Right in this country.
Those of us who eh? Find her revolting - we were vindicated in our beliefs about her too.
Rec!
lunatica
(53,410 posts)She is a force of Nature, and like nature at its most destructive she definitely was a game changer. I only hope the relative silence from her in all the media means she's losing significance.
no_hypocrisy
(46,151 posts)I'm not certain whether this demographic would have found its political voice with or without the catalyst of Sarah Palin. They exist and they aren't going away. They are a political minority that somehow manages to dictate legislation according to their values and their wishes and either we let them or the system is askew and allows for that minority to rule the majority.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I tried to express that in the OP. The political machine that's behind the scenes not only allowed this to happen, but they made it happen deliberately in a very sloppy way. They brought the race for the Presidency down to a craven level of conniving actions just to win at any cost. The consequences were never truly thought out and they are the professionals. Imagine if doctors were that messy in the operating room.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)Power and the desire to win overcame their sensibilities. That is a disastrous avenue to take for anyone, but most especially for professional political operatives because it affects the citizens of an entire nation.
There is no question in mind that we citizens are paying a very big price in the ability to move this country forward in many, many ways, but most especially in monetary policy, infrastructure, and job creation. Fundamentally, this nation is suffering because those professional political operatives, most directly John McCain, made the wrong choices.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)and it was for the wrong reasons and they know it. To think that the future of our country lies in the hands of such cavalier 'professionalism' is scary. If it's true that some of them didn't even vote for fear of McCain winning while they did their absolute best, or worst, to get him elected then our government is truly broken.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)That is true only because enough Americans voted for Obama to keep McCain and Palin out of the White House.
The results of the 2010 mid term elections took us another step towards disaster. But even that can be overcome this year. Republicans have tilted toward the absurd in their positions in Congress. That is evident in their abysmal approval ratings. They have also tilted toward the absurd in their Presidential primary campaigns. Have they gone so far towards the radical that the American people won't stand for it? I certainly hope so.
pwb
(11,287 posts)Overwhelmed trying to learn what most of us already knew. Unable to remember things even while being coached one on one, Pathetic..
lunatica
(53,410 posts)For example. The movie shows Todd basically telling her just to be herself while they're in the privacy of their bedroom. Now how in the world would the author of the book know what went on between Todd and Sarah in their bedroom? Artistic license per chance?
It's more like she shut down because she was buying time to come up with a strategy to grab the power. She and her husband are grifters, out to get what they can and laughing all the way to the bank. If she fades from the public consciousness she always does something to snatch attention back to herself. When she's quiet like she's been lately it's because she's figuring out what to do to get that attention.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)I think narcissistic personality disorder applies to her.
Some of the symptoms are:
Reacts to criticism with anger, shame, or humiliation
May take advantage of others to reach his or her own goal
Tends to exaggerate their own importance, achievements, and talents
Imagines unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, intelligence, or romance
Requires constant attention and positive reinforcement from others
Easily becomes jealous
Lacks empathy and disregards the feelings of others
Obsessed with oneself
Mainly pursues selfish goals
Sets unrealistic goals
Wants "the best" of everything
Appears as tough-minded or unemotional
I think egocentrism, which is a personality trait that has the characteristic of regarding oneself and one's own opinions or interests as most important or valid, also applies. It also generates the inability to fully understand or to cope with other people's opinions and the fact that reality can be different from what they are ready to accept.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)She's a legend in her own mind.