How Palin will be dangerous to the country

We saw the kinds of crowds that Sarah Palin drew during the 2008 campaign. We also know the hatred and anger she was capable of generating at each event. Now she is unleashed and free to go anywhere and say anything she wants. When she promised to be "less PC", she wasn't joking.

Sarah Palin is the White Queen of the American Right. She was born in Idaho, the state that gave us Ruby Ridge and the heart of black helicopter country. She will command the loyalty of the Religious Reich, end worlders, militias, the birthers, white supremacists, neo-confederates, Chistian identity types and know-nothings. Individually, they make up small portions of the country. Together and focused, she and they can tear this country apart. So, laugh at her if you will, but we still need to keep an eye on her.

While scratching each others' eyes out! lol

I'm thinking a rise in hate crimes, more threats against the president, more resistance to government such as Bachmann's refusla to fill out the census form, etc.

We don't make ad hominem attacks against Washingtonians or whatever you guys call yourselves.

in being concerned. Please read this post by Phil Munger (someone who has known Sarah Palin personally for years) at ProgressiveAlaska. http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/07/saradise-lost-book-3-chapter-31.html

I've been saying since the beginning that it's very easy to mock her and laugh at her, but she does have "something" that drives the base wild. Phil may exaggerate a little bit when he compares her to Hitler, but the fact remains that she is a right-wing demagogue, and right-wing demagogues are always dangerous because of whom they attract.

I also wrote something similar to this during the campaign. The danger is in enough of these crazies hanging together and creating a critical mass.

and the crazies DO have a chilling effect. Because of these folks (visibly packing), seen at Sarah's goodby picnic in Anchorage on Saturday, peaceful protestors decided to leave their signs in their cars. Shannyn Moore was warned in an e-mail Saturday morning that she should wear a bullet-proof vest if she planned to attend. These people are dangerous, and they are exactly who Sarah appeals to.

and I trust his judgment. He himself was a Republican, or at least Republican-leaning independent, for many years, although he came to his senses and is now an officer in Alaska's Democratic party. He lives in Wasilla and has been following Sarah's political career since the beginning. I enjoy the insights of all of Alaska's progressive bloggers but Phil's, to me at least, always provide the most food for thought.

and describes the ex-Gov. perfectly.

about the party that elected GWB, twice!

...as she seems to appeal to the core of the right wing mindset in America today, which is little short of xenophobically fueled fascism. I say this as a someone living in the very epicenter of Red America. She and those she energizes are frightening.

She ignited a passion in a wilting campaign and pushed to 48% a vote that would have done no better than 42% on it's best day. Had she gotten into the campaign earlier as a Presidential Candidate, no telling what may have happened.

The people buying into the whole, she's stupid, she's not worldly enough, belittling tactics are doing so to our peril. President Obama won with a lot of votes from people who were willing to give him a chance but weren't true believers. How many of these he manages to hang on to in 2012 will mean alot.

:rofl:

it was Mrs. Clinger wearing the shirt and she was drunk, as usual!x(

:rofl:

I made a commitment not to start any new Palin posts after Sunday, but since you started this one, I think you might be interested to read this from Laz at http://OMFGAlaska.blogspot.com

she was essentially leaving 'stay-behinds' in certain public posts. The poster was urging the new Gov to replace them.

He's GOP so it would suck, but best to get Palin's cronies out.

I hope Alaska rids itself of her.

Youngsters might hurt themselves not looking where they're walking.

Other than that, she's toast. She's a loser, and only a small fringe like her.

Thing is, though, you can make a fine living off a small fringe, and that is what she's planning to do. She's going to rake it in while she can--a big payday for a book, a rash of speaking tours, ka-ching, ka-ching.

In five to ten years, we'll open our NEWSWEEK to the "Where Are They Now?" section, and there she'll be, older, maybe a bit fatter, settin' in a cabin in Alaska, or a condo in Seattle, with or without "Tawd."

When that day comes, she'll resonate as much as Clara Peller does with people today. And once upon a time, EVERYONE knew who she was--she was possibly the most famous woman in America.

Go on and Google if you don't know who I mean.

Not that I'm saying Seattle is shitty, it's lovely. I do know a few Alaskans who moved there because it was "close enough for government work" but at the same time, "civilized." That's why it popped into my head!

1,000 times and become totally irelevant way before 2012.

Please tell me.

She's the Dan Quayle of the new millenium.

Bush was the corporado ideal, working for the haves and have mores while successfully faking being a cowboy and a religious wingnut. They know perfectly well that, unlike Bush, Palin is the real thing, and as such is a loose cannon. That's why the class-based "snowbilly" insults, which are unfortunately repeated here.

at these GOP types sometimes, laugh or cry).

SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Wed Jul-22-09 08:11 PM
Original message

The Birther cretins are reaching their target audience. They only need a few to "respond".

They are using our airwaves to peddle their coded message. Joan Walsh (on Hardball nailed it).

Their message is this:

he's NOT like "us"
he's foreign
he's the result of a white woman sleeping with a black man
he IS a "secret moooooslim"
he's not a legitimate president


and without so much as a wink-wink-nod-nod, they have thrown down the gauntlet, in hopes that someone "out there" will "know what needs to be done"..

They don't really care about the damned document (which HAS been produced many times)... They are only latched onto this "issue", so they can remain in the spotlight, sending out urgent coded-pleas to some loony out there who is willing to act.


ans..

Sarah's continuing "popularity" with her base is like comfort food

Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion
Mon Jul 27th 2009, 09:42 AM

She was the first (in a very long time) candidate that the "dirty 30" could identify with totally...could feel completely in sync with.

Nixon amped up racial politics, and it's been going strong ever since, but the candidates themselves have been pretty non-committal, until Sarah (with the obvious exclusion of David Duke & Pat Buchanan)

Looking back on the various republicans who were running for the presidency since '68, shows just how Sarah"s popularity came about.

Nixon was a taciturn, too-smart-for-his-own-britches loner..about as warm & appealing as 3-day old bathwater

Ford was a "northerner", a conciliator, soft-spoken man who may have been a laugh-riot in private, but whose public persona was pretty lackluster.

Reagan tapped into all those movie-star moments, rode horses, & said all the right populist things, but even in his prime, the people who are now the "base" had to know that he would never "be one of them".

He was rich, a former governor of the most populous state, and was a "converted democrat". To the faithful, that would have been akin to a rebel general switching to the union side.

Reagan, even though never much more than a B-movie star, was OF Hollywood, and not a religious person. The Reagan worship of NOW, is born of the foggy haze of a time when the people who revere him, were young themselves. People tend to wax nostalgic about the way things were when they, themselves were young. To be a republican in the time of Reagan was a pretty sweet ride, even if they did not foresee how the politics made then, would eventually bite them on the ass, later. By the time "later" came along, they had Clinton to blame, and did so willingly.

Bush1 was the "guy behind Reagan's curtain" and probably ran the 12 year show without much help from many people, and he also was not a warm guy, and was a northerner, just another rich guy who had little personal attraction.

Dole was no populist, not religious, and as appealing as a warm bucket of spit.

George W had "charm", but his cronies were old-school, hardcore Bush1 people, and even the most loyal of the base, had to be embarrassed about George's lack of smarts, and what exactly did he DO for the base? Abortion's still legal, nothing's settled on guns, school prayer... poor people got poorer, and none of the things he ran on, ever really came to pass. Overall he "looked & acted" the part, but at heart, he too was just a rich northerner with a fake southern accent and a mean streak a mile wide.

McCain was not someone the base could identify with. Not religious, a military guy from a long line of admirals (not ordinary military). Not an outdoors-man. His main identity has been that of a life-long politician, more than willing to compromise in order to get a bill passed. His wife was so "chilly" that she wore a cast long after she needed to, just to avoid having to touch the masses.

Sarah was the one who made it all warm & cozy for the base. With HER, they felt perfectly comfortable to yell "KILL him", "Traitor". With a wink & a nod, she TOLD them it was ok with HER. They had pictures of her with critters she had shot & killed, with fish she had hooked & killed, so they KNEW she was on their side when it came to guns. They knew that a Down Syndrome baby came into her life and was not aborted, so they know she's on their side when it comes to abortion. Her kids' schooling was kind of sketchy, and they probably identified with that too.

Her "story" was carefully choreographed, and by the time things started to leak out about her actual life, it was too late..they were already smitten with that "cute gal in those red high heels & short skirts". She's got a smart mouth on her, and has a "Flo-like" charm to her; she's rough around the edges, but the men could see themselves having a chance with a "gal like her", and the women could identify with her too, since she was probably someone they might see at a Walmart or Sears store. She is common. She's the kind of woman who loved revving up the crowd to a xenophobic, racist crescendo, and then with a wink & a flash of teeth, told them "she was one of them"..

Since the base has shrunken to its most concentrated core, she will always have these people, since they believe, with every fiber of their beings, that she's right, and everyone else is just being mean to her. She's their own rock star.... a true believer... their messiah. They thought it was GW, but it's really Sarah.

Sarah is their Moon-Pie, their chicken-fried steak with cream gravy, their double-decker bacon burger, their chili-cheese fries & RC Cola. Not good for them, but just so damned tasty, they cannot back away..

I believe Sarah Palin can instantly command one third of the voting population for much of the 2012 election cycle. That's the 23% of America who can be described as right-wing authoritarians, plus the people who profit from them. Those people vote more regularly than most, so their numbers have even greater weight at the polls. Furthermore, that perceived advantage can be used to steal elections, as we saw in every election cycle from 2000 to 2006.

But on the other hand, the thinking two-thirds of America are getting a firsthand lesson in what happens when one chooses a President who thinks, speaks and acts capably. Problems get addressed. People try to fix things. And the Palins of the world seem willing to sacrifice everything they have to prevent that.

A great part of the thinking two-thirds of America also happens to live in states with open primaries. With an incumbent President Obama certain to seal renomination, we all get to go out and pick the challenger we want.

And guess what? I want Sarah Palin to run against Barack Obama in 2012. She freely absorbed (as best she can) every stupid idea vomited forth by the GOP over the past thirty years. She appears less bright and less well spoken than George W. Bush, which is really saying something. Forgive me for pointing this out, but Sarah Palin is also a woman, which means that the old-schoolers in her own chauvinistic party will have to be cajoled into voting for her.

There is also a damned good chance that she has Histrionic Personality Disorder, which means that her campaign will be like watching a circus, a funeral, and a Saint Patrick's Day parade all meeting at the same intersection. The candidate herself is the greatest danger to her own campaign. How cool is that? And most importantly, she already got her ass kicked by the Big O once, proving that it can be done, easily.

Oh hell yes, if I'm still around in 2012 I'm not voting for Barack Obama in the primaries. I'm voting for Sarah Palin!