In commenting on Josh Green’s Atlantic piece on Sarah Palin, Jennifer Rubin takes slight issue with said reporter’s conclusion that the former Alaska governor is a tragic figure and elucidates a pitfall of politics — and of blogging as well:
One can’t but feel that Palin was not only snared in the web of resentment but that it determined a particular course for her post-2008 career. She embarked on a particular path, one incompatible with being a serious force on conservative policy and a credible presidential contender. . . .
But one can’t really call it a “tragedy” as Green does. She’s attained fame and fortune and she has as loyal a following as any popular figure. But she made a choice — to bear grudges, to forgo serious policy study, to reject the advice of all but a handful of advisers. It is a shame for those who saw a star-quality and enviable political talent. But tragedy? No. She simply chose a different path.
“Snared in the web of resentment”: a good way to describe what sometimes happen to bloggers who end up responding to hate comments where the critic makes little effort to understand our arguments, even less to acknowledge the sincerity of our expression. But, alas, they’re not interested in our opinions, but see us instead as targets for their own animus.
Just as most Palin critics are little interested in her record. Josh Green is. Outlining her successes as governor and asking a question which almost perfectly parallels an exchange I had with a liberal Alaska woman last summer*, he asks:
WHAT HAPPENED TO Sarah Palin? How did someone who so effectively dealt with the two great issues vexing Alaska fall from grace so quickly? Anyone looking back at her record can’t help but wonder: How did a popular, reformist governor beloved by Democrats come to embody right-wing resentment?
I do think he’s a little harsh here, but he is onto something. Sarah Palin doesn’t so much embody right-wing resentment as she taps into it, but she also exudes conservative enthusiasm. She can still articulate that vision of the Gipper, painting a picture of that shining city on a hill and expressing the confidence that we can still find our way toward that idyllic place. But, in promoting that visions, she’s become more of a cheerleader than a policy leader.
That shows in her writing. While, for example, I enjoyed her first book, finding it difficult to put down, I couldn’t get through her second one, finding it a chore to pick up. What made the first book so engaging was a passionate woman telling her own story, unshackled from the limitations faced by the vice presidential candidate on a national political ticket. The second book started out as a feel-good manifesto of American ideals under attack. It didn’t provide a framework of how to blunt that attack in the political arena, at least it didn’t when I ended up setting the book aside.
Palin seems to have written the first book from her heart, but left the heart on the cover page of the second.
Green’s piece is well worth your time, a honest critique of Palin without ignorance or animus**. That said, I’m with Jennifer Rubin on this one. Sarah Palin’s story is not tragic. The charismatic conservative seems to relish her role as a conservative cheerleader, preferring it to the policy-making role of the governor of a state. And that’s the path she’s chosen.
———
*At my college reunion, I briefly chatted with the wife of a classmate from the Last Frontier. She had loved Palin when that Republican was governor, was enthusiastic when John McCain tapped her as his running mate, but wondered what happened to their reformist governor in the intervening year.
**This is not to say I agree with all — or even most — of his insights. He does claim McCain/Palin went “hard right” in the 2008 campaign. Hardly. But, he does wonder what might have been had the McCain campaign focused on her reforming record. And Green, unlike most Palin critics, does take the time to look at that record.
Palin’s real tragedy is quiting the governorship. I think it was a mistake. I hate it when activitists complain about the government from the outside. Now, Palin went from insider to outsider and it doesn’t work well. She wasn’t prepared to be Vice President and it showed. Despite her successes in Alaska, she needed to finish at least one term. Her coalition in Alaska fell through. That’s because she became a lightening rod for red wing meat. It didn’t have to be this way. She was more solidly conservative that John McCain and that was a fact that everyone knew. Somehow, her style became a bigger issue.
anon, I too agree that she made a mistake in stepping down, though she would have had a hard time in the second half of her term duplicating the success of her first half for two reasons, (1) legislative Democrats who helped her achieve the reforms of that first half were no longer working for her once she had gained a national following on the right (and became a lightning rod for the left) and (2) leftists were eager to take advantage of the state’s ethics laws and file frivolous charges against her, requiring her to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars just to clear her name.
She abandoned her post, why bother speculating about giving her more authority when she’s already revealed her character?? The presidency is 1000% more stressful than any Governorship she obviously doesn’t have what it takes.
Daniel, you are missing the key point of why her governorship was unable to survive the Democrats’ post-election change of attitude: the Alaska GOP hated her just as much. Don’t let them off the hook. They put personal animus over the good of the state.
Palin is no quitter and no cheerleader. She moved from a position where she could not legally help national conservatives to a position where she she could. She has been taking it to Obama and the Democrats constantly and consistently since she left office, more than any other Republican figure. If she had stayed AK governor we wouldn’t have heard from her at all and 2010 could have gone quite differently.
And Jen Rubin has hated Sarah since she was nominated. You should take her “insights” with the same grain of salt you would take Andrew Sullivan’s.
always, no, Jen Rubin did not hate Sarah Palin since she was nominated. I was with her just after the speech at the GOP convention in 2008. And I assure you that she was as pleased with Palin’s performance as any Republican.
You are right about the Alaska GOP hating her just as much.
I may have a bad timeline then: She was positive about Palin up until her ascent at the Washington Post, and the two occurrences are most likely connected.
This is a great and well-sourced article documenting her change of heart.
Guys, with respect, was Sarah Palin — who unlike members of the elite Republican establishment does not have vast amounts of inherited wealth to fall back on — supposed to do when faces with mounting legal expenses from a constant slew of frivolous ethics complaints from left-wing activists? All 26 of the complaints were dismissed as frivolous, but defending herself cost half a million dollars, and it cost the left wing activists zero dollars? And she was legally prohibited from establishing a defense fund. So, what would you have had her do? Stay in office and bankrupt her family?
I am so sick of people who smear her for “quitting” without acknowledging the fact that she was hounded by frivolous ethics complaints and had no means of raising funds to defend herself as long as she remained in office. To imply that she just quit for no reason is despicable and dishonest. Tell me, what else was she supposed to have done?
And if she had stayed and office and put her family into bankruptcy, the same people who now assail her as a quitter would be calling her stupid and selfish for putting her family through all that financial and personal hardship.
She can’t win no matter what she does; because people don’t hate her because of anything she does. They hate her viscerally, and they come up with an excuse later.
Speaking as someone who actually LIVES in Alaska, V the K is exactly right. And despite Tim’s whistling past the graveyard, Sarah does indeed have what it takes to be president.
The funny part is that Timmeh and his fellow gays and lesbians who insist that Sarah Palin doesn’t have any character and can’t take pressure are the same ones screaming that any criticism of gay and lesbian people makes them kill themselves.
Let’s talk about how Timmeh and his fellow Obama Party members lied about Palin. Let’s talk about how they called for her to be raped. Let’s talk about how they called for her family to be murdered. Let’s talk about how the Obama Party, especially the DailyKos and Media Matters for America, blamed her for the Giffords shooting and called for her to be murdered and tortured. Let’s talk about the disgusting actions of Evan Hurst and his fellow “authors” at Wonkette mocking her son.
Timmeh and his fellow gays and lesbians who support these sort of attacks on Palin and her children have demonstrated what complete and total hypocrites they are. The Barack Obama Party has demonstrated with its treatment of Palin what complete and total hypocrites and liars they are when they talk about “civility”.
Good point. It really makes gay people seem like a bunch of weak sisters when the activists claim they’ll commit suicide unless the expression “That’s so gay” is outlawed by the Speech Police.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/patiently-explaining-the-tragedy-of-sarah-palin/238829/
Mr Green continues with his response to Andrew
I’m beginning to doubt he(AS) read my piece. Like every politician, Palin was/is driven by a combination of ambition and opportunism. To think otherwise is naive. As Andrew concedes, she also has considerable raw talent. What’s important is what she did with that talent. Think of it like having superpowers: you can use them for good or for evil.
. . .
I think Palin would have set herself, her party, and her country on a much better course had she used her superpowers for good and run as a reformer. But I still don’t think she would have won, and she certainly won’t win the presidency now. The “tragedy” is not that she won’t occupy the Oval Office; it’s that she could have had a positive effect and instead has had a very negative one. That’s because she chose a course other than the one I’d have preferred–the one her record in Alaska would have supported, by the way–and instead pursued the grievance-driven agenda of cultural resentments that she’s now famous for and that so many others in her party have taken up.
but via wiki
During her senior year, she was co-captain and point guard of the basketball team that won the 1982 Alaska state championship, earning the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” for her competitive streak.
and in keeping up with those others in the party pursuing the grievance-driven agenda of cultural resentments. . .and probably off topic (and yet not explored here at GP)
Rick Santorum alerted Sen. John Ensign in 2009 that the husband of Ensign’s mistress wanted to go public with the affair that ultimately ended the Nevada Republican’s Senate career, according to a Senate ethics committee report released Thursday.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54874.html#ixzz1MB0ZIsSm
Also, compare and contrast, Sarah Palin resigns because constant “ethics” complaints from left-wing activists threaten to destroy her family financially. For that, she’s labeled as a “quitter” and attacked for not volunteering for another two years as the left’s favorite javelin target.
Jim McGreevey resigns from office after being revealed as an incompetent, corrupt, sleaze-pig who gave his BF a big fat state job he was unqualified for. And he is held out as a role model and hero.
This makes sense to people? Not to me.
Come on people. Sarah Palin saw her opportunity to become a multi-millionaire and she took it. That’s not a bad thing, most of us would do something similar. But do we have to pretend like she’s taken the high road or is on some noble, selfless crusade? She quit her public service job and no longer has any skin in the game. She hides behind Facebook and Fox News and doesn’t do interviews. She’s selling a product and that’s all, she’s more of a self-help guru than she is a political leader.
What do you make as the governor of Alaska? Maybe a hundred thousand a year? And she starts getting offers to make that much giving a half hour long speech? You’re just being naive if don’t think she’s done what she’s done because of the $$$$$$$.
The “quitter” meme is just another example of the hypocrisy of Democrats.
The Dems were OUTRAGED that President Clinton had to deal with the civil lawsuit filed by Paula Jones while he was in office. That’s why they took the issue all the way to the US Supreme Court, arguing that a sitting President should be immune from civil suits while in office and that the statute of limitations should be “tolled” on such suits until the President’s term concludes (i.e. Jones would have to wait to sue Clinton until he was no longer a sitting President, but the statute of limitations on her lawsuit would be frozen until she could go forward with the case). The US Supreme Court decided AGAINST Clinton, ruling that civil suits against a sitting President could go forward. And the Dems were BESIDE THEMSELVES, screaming that the lawsuit (and subsequent perjury/obstruction investigation Clinton brought on himself) were interfering with Clinton’s ability to perform his duties as President.
But when Sarah Palin, the Chief Executive of the State of Alaska, decides to resign because 19 frivolous ethics complaints (all of which were engineered by the Democratic Party) were preventing her from performing her job duties, the Dems condemn her as a “quitter” and a money-grubbing, fame-whore.
Lately, there isn’t a single position the Dems have taken or a single talking point they have publicized that doesn’t reveal their STAGGERING HYPOCRISY.
Sean,
It’s even worse than that. One of the reasons Gov Palin gave for resigning wasn’t just the personal cost of the suits, but the costs to the state of AK. Imagine that, putting the health of the state government ahead of her personal power.
Oh, and I think I found the perfect Levi quote:
I love what Bernard Lewis says: “There are some who think that Arabs are born for dictatorship, that they can never know the freedoms that people elsewhere enjoy. This is known as the pro-Arab view.”
The left is terrified of Palin. They can not get enough of trying to destroy her, but neither can they get her destroyed. It really frustrates them.
Why is the left terrified of Palin? Because they understand that she is a principled Obama.
The left elected a charismatic with a slippery agenda of hope and change. The left has completely ignored the abuses of power and stuttering fits and starts of their charismatic, hopenchange glory boy. They will protect him and try to reelect him, because they love him.
Sarah Palin is also a charismatic. When she speaks, she talks of principled, Constitutional, everyday government that pays its bills, promotes the general welfare, provides the common defense and steps out of the way of free enterprise.
Lots of people like her because they sense that she is committed to her principles. Leftists sense it too.
So, the leftists have gone to their first page in the playbook and painted Sarah Palin as stupid. Eisenhower was a great general, but not too bright. Nixon was an intellectual failure who resorted to mean, conniving brutish tactics. Jerry Ford couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time. Ronald Reagan was an amiable dunce. George Bush didn’t know what time it was and was wowed by a grocery scanner. GW Bush left a small Texas town without an idiot. Enter Sarah Palin.
But deep down, the leftists know that Palin is authentic and Obama is a full blown socialist who can not tell the truth about himself and succeed.
It should go without saying that if Palin were so stupid and vulnerable she would have been just a memory by now.
Helio,
Authentic? Principled? The woman quit her public service job to transform into a highly-paid, responsibility-free shit-talker. She crouches behind Facebook and Fox News and takes these nonsensical potshots for which she is never held accountable. This is impressive to you? This is supposed to be intimidating to someone like me?
Nominate her, I implore you. I’m not going to be happy about the results of the 2012 election in any event, but a protracted Palin Presidential campaign would be just about the most entertaining thing I can imagine. You can nominate her every cycle if you want. Please. I’m so scared of Sarah Palin that I’m begging you to make her the centerpiece of conservatism for the next two years. Is that fear?
The thing is, as dumb as I think Palin is, even I don’t think she’s so stupid that she would run for President. She has created herself a nice little gravy train, and the only way she could derail it would be to lose the absolute control of her image and access that she has right now. You can’t run for President with Twitter. Posting to Facebook doesn’t prepare you for a debate. Palin is mildly successful with a very specific audience thanks to everything be on her terms all the time. She’ll be sunk if she gives that up.
Quickly;
As I described above, she doesn’t appear very committed to anything but money. As far as people liking her? Her approval ratings have been atrocious compared to almost any other public figure. Why should I be scared of someone who is increasingly unpopular with the pubilc?
That’s why she said she resigned, and good for you, you’re mindlessly chugging the propaganda and helpfully ignoring the millions of dollars that she’s made ever since. Of course, Palin can’t exactly call a press conference and say she’s resigning the governorship because she wants to get rich by going on speaking tours and sell books, so she made something up. How gullible can you be? Have you ever heard the phrase ‘follow the money?’ If people started stumbling all over themselves to offer you millions of dollars to do next to nothing, wouldn’t you find an excuse to quit your job, too?
Yes, Levi, you are terrified of Palin.
That’s why you personally tell lies to smear her, like when you were humiliated by having your “book signing” story completely demolished.
That’s why you and your Obama Party publish statements like this designed to hurt her family.
And that’s why you and your fellow Obama Party members call for her to be raped and murdered.
In that same thread where you accused her of carrying out the Tucson shootings.
Heliotrope hit on the reason above: Sarah Palin is a competent, intelligent, and honest Obama.
All you are doing is accusing Palin of what you support and endorse Barack Obama doing. And the fact that you support the murder of Palin and her family shows just how disgusting, amoral, and unprincipled you and your Barack Obama Party are.
No surprise. The marketplace is keeping you in your correct spot, which is a failed Verizon clerk with a pathological lying problem and a desperate need to blame people like Sarah Palin, who are smarter, more successful, and better-looking than you are to explain why you’re such a failure.
And this is what scares Levi the most. If Sarah Palin thought like Levi, by his standard, she would be entitled to drag him kicking and screaming into the future.
Just like ‘Arabians’ understanding democracy, Global Warming being shown to be a hoax, Waterboarding working and countless other things, Levi has to face proof every day everything he thinks he ‘knows’ about the world is wrong.
I notice none of the Palin-haters have answered my challenge of what Sarah Palin *should* have done faced with the alternatives of resigning so that someone who was less of a lightning rod could carry on the work of governing, or staying in office and bankrupting her family fighting frivolous ethics complaints from left-wing activists; one of which was because she wore a jacket with the logo of snowmobile company to a snowmobile competition.
It’s because “quitter” isn’t a serious criticism, it’s an after-the-fact rationalization for the deranged hatred people like Levi and Tim feel toward her.
So V, if Sarah hadn’t been pulled into the National spotlight as McCain’s CO maverick,would she still quit to avoid all the investigations, I am not sure about the timeline of the complaints but it would be interesting to put some ‘sunlight disinfectant’ on when Sarah started handling all those complaints. Granted, I am sure that her run as a maverick GO brought all sorts of critics and crackpots
adn.com/2009/06/21/838912/ethics-complaints-filed-against.html
Looks like Troopergate started prior to her Maverick run, and then many were filed later and then dismissed. But it looks like folk were trying to set up a fund to help the Palins with the costs of Troopergate.
Looks like Troopergate started prior to her Maverick run, and then many were filed later and then dismissed.
And guess what? The Obama Party shill in charge of the Troopergate investigation was openly bragging how he was going to help Obama and attack Palin by delivering an “October surprise” — while the investigation was still ongoing.
Gee, imagine that — a Barack Obama puppet openly admitting he would slant an ethics investigation. Fully endorsed and supported and paid by Barack Obama to abuse his position and slant a report against Sarah Palin.
Yeah, Troopergate, where the leftist progressives all came out in support of a cop who was fired for being drunk on the job and who tasered a ten year old kid just for kicks; about the only time the left has ever come down on the side of law enforcement.
But, again, it speaks to Sarah Palin’s character that in order to come up with any sort of scandal about her at all, the left has to lie, distort, and blatantly make sh-t up.
thanks for clearing that up, both V and NDT. . .
there is the guardian’s view
Sarah Palin was forced to expend precious time and political capital over the weekend fighting to contain the fallout from the so-called Troopergate affair, following an official investigation in Alaska that reprimanded her for abusing her office as governor in pursuit of a family feud.
. . .
Palin’s characterisation of the report as a “partisan circus”, made during a conference call with reporters, is likely to be strongly disputed by the cross-party committee of the Alaskan legislature, which commissioned the inquiry and unanimously agreed to publish it.
The events put under the microscope by the report occurred before Palin was nominated by John McCain to be his Republican presidential running mate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/13/us-elections2008-sarahpalin
which still leaves the question, since the event was pre-Maverick time. . .would she have resigned her post as GOV.
Rusty,
Troopergate came with Palin to the McCain campaign. You can read much about it in Palin’s first book. While she is hardy an unbiased source, I have not seen her explanations “deconstructed” and putting her version in doubt.
She also spells out why she decided to resign and let the State of Alaska be free of the distraction on continuous nuisance suits against her. I believe she gives compelling reasons. If nothing else, you can learn from her experience how to hound a governor and staff.
She did not resign because of Troopergate. Had she not been on the McCain ticket, I doubt the other stuff would have arisen, because she would not have been such a national target. I suspect she would have finished her term and perhaps run for the Senate.
Because the national leftists got into the Palin bashing business, they managed to rile her up and come after them. Just how she will proceed is hard to say. Katie Couric has lost her platform and Tina Fey is a mere flash in the pan. Sarah Palin stays constant and is a thorn in their sides.
When your enemies are the likes of Chris Matthews, Tina Fey, Joy Behar, Katie Couric, Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Lawrence O’Donnell, Keith Olbermann and Ed Shultz it proves the maxim that you are known by the enemies you keep. Not a single one of those enemies has a single redeeming quality in terms of helping the United States of America move forward. Each one and all together they are a chattering gaggle of leftist, snide, snipers. When your opposition is made up of hit and run artists, you need not concentrate on either their words or their tactics. Constancy is their worst enemy.
danke Heliotrope
This is all such a joke.
Palin was making $125,000 as governor of Alaska. In the year that she resigned, she made $12 million as a political celebrity.
Is there anything more that needs to be said on the issue of why she quit? Who wouldn’t make that trade? Who wouldn’t quit a demanding, high-stress job if you basically got a chance to make 100 times more by posting to Facebook and Twitter? Most people. Palin’s no exception. You’re about as naive as a 6th-grader if can’t figure this out.
Believing that Sarah Palin quit the governorship with the most honorable of intentions because she was such a devoted public servant – that kind of forces her to run for some kind of office again in the future, doesn’t it? When the 2012 election gets heated up and Palin fails to announce her candidacy, should that be further proof that she only quit so she could get rich?
Once again, Levi shows his bias.
Despite repeated statements and evidence to the contrary, Levi continues to cling to his belief that it’s about money.
Unfortunately for Levi, Sarah Palin is smarter than him, and thus he should just let her ‘drag him kicking and screaming’ into the future.
Now hush Levi, adults are talking.
First of all, Levi’s motto may as well be, “I reject your objective reality and substitute one of my own making.”
Second, could it be any more frakking obvious Levi’s entire hatred of Sarah Palin is based on him frakking jealous as hell at how much more successful, influential, and happy Sarah Palin is compared to him?
I don’t know what evidence you find so compelling. You’re parroting Sarah Palin’s words verbatim. Of course Sarah Palin is going to frame every move she makes in terms that make her appear noble and honorable so that she can endear herself to people like you. People who aren’t heavily invested in her political message and who aren’t willing to turn a blind eye to the obvious , however, can read between the lines and figure out exactly what she’s up to – cashing in. These are not insignificant sums of money here, this is life-changing, never-have-to-worry-about-money-until-you-die kind of money. You seriously believe that it has nothing to do with why she quit?
#20: “That’s why she said she resigned, and good for you, you’re mindlessly chugging the propaganda and helpfully ignoring the millions of dollars that she’s made ever since. Of course, Palin can’t exactly call a press conference and say she’s resigning the governorship because she wants to get rich by going on speaking tours and sell books, so she made something up.”
Levi, it’s not propaganda or something Palin “made up.” The 19 ethics complaints she was hit with are a FACT, and they are well-documented. It’s also a FACT that an Alaska lawyer who engineered many of the complaints was rewarded by the Obama Administration with a high-profile job with the Department of Interior in DC (by the way, Kim Elton also RESIGNED from the Alaska Senate to take the position).
http://juneauempire.com/stories/030309/loc_400599644.shtml
Furthermore, I have worked as an attorney for public sector clients and I know first-hand how time consuming and resource-depleting litigation is for public officials even where there is only ONE case or controversy that is pending and must be addressed. Consequently, it is absolutely true that had Palin not resigned, she would have spent the majority of the remainder of her time in office responding to–and defending herself and her staff from–those 19 ethics complaints. As always, you don’t have fu*king clue of what you’re talking about.
The real reason Levi wants to make Palin’s decision all about money is because he fully supports the Left’s belief that anyone who is a threat to DC-establishment liberalism deserves to be publicly destroyed, exiled, and penniless. And that’s another reason the Left’s (and Levi’s) hatred of Palin and her family is so profound and irrational–before the widespread use of the Internet and the creation of alternative media, the Left was wildly successful in destroying (neutralizing) their political opponents (the Clintons managed to turn it into an art form).
The Left is, and has always been, about HATE. They HATE people who disagree with them and believe they deserve to be silenced and destroyed. Palin has fearlessly fought back against vicious, escalating attacks on her and her family and her huge popularity and success is a testament to the fact that the days of the Left exclusively controlling the debate are OVER. And as for money, Palin would not have earned even one-tenth of what she has banked had it not been for the Left being so OBSESSED with her and so singular in their determination to destroy her. If Levi has such a problem with Palin earning millions from book sales, TV shows, and personal appearances, he should take it up with the scumbags at the helm of the Democrat attack machine. It’s their attacks on her that have made her rich and she’s earned EVERY PENNY.
Yes, I’ve heard you, I’ve heard all of you. You think Palin resigned for purely noble reasons and it is only by sheer coincidence that she quickly became a multi-millionaire afterward. You’re going to buy it no matter what anyone tells you. It’s clearly impossible for me to convince you of what your own intuition should tell you. Palin had lots of ethics complaints, is that so unique among politicians? Do many of our elected leaders find themselves embroiled in both legitimate and illegitimate controversies? Bill Clinton weathered the storm. By all accounts, David Vitter should be in jail for what he did, but he keeps being re-elected Senator. If they could hold on to their offices, why couldn’t she?
The answer is obvious; David Vitter didn’t have book offers and speaking tours lined up. Palin was offered an opportunity to divulge herself of all public accountability and responsibility to make tens of millions of dollars composing snarky political messages 147 characters at a time. That’s perfectly understandable and I imagine 99% of human beings would make that trade any day of the week. To buy her excuse that she did it for anything other than her own enrichment is beyond belief, and to pretend like it was a noble act? Quitting your job in the face of frivolous complaints and persecution is hardly something I would consider courageous. She goes around pretending to be this salt-of-the-earth, really resolute person, but she quits her job when the going gets tough? Her entire persona is either a glaring contradiction or she is cashing in on her fame (it is the latter. Oh my god, how can it not be obvious to everyone that it is the latter?)
Who cares….
Sarah Palin is a threat to the conservative movement and that’s it. If I were a shill for the Democratic establishment, there would be absolutely nothing about Sarah Palin that intimidated me. Post 2008, her popularity has been rapidly declining and that’s with her controlling every aspect of her public profile and every detail of her media appearance. If your appraisal is that she has ‘huge popularity and success,’ then what does that say about Barack Obama, who remains more popular than Palin?
I posted too early; I will say that I don’t have a problem with Palin making as much money as she does doing what she does. I just think it’s silly to pretend like she’s on some noble quest. Palin is exploiting the political conservatism fan-base that Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh built up for her, and she’s getting paid because of that audience. There’s nothing special about her – conservatives are told to buy her stuff and think she’s great and they oblige.
#37: “Yes, I’ve heard you, I’ve heard all of you. You think Palin resigned for purely noble reasons and it is only by sheer coincidence that she quickly became a multi-millionaire afterward.”
No, Levi, you haven’t “heard me” because I didn’t characterize Palin’s reason for resigning as “purely noble”, nor her subsequent financial success as a “sheer coincidence”. Palin resigned for TRUE, SUBSTANTIATED, LEGITIMATE, PRAGMATIC, FACTUAL REASONS that were engineered solely by Democratic Party operatives. All of this could have been avoided if DEMOCRATS had not filed the 19 ethics complaints against Palin with the intent of making it impossible to do her job. But you want it both ways. You wanted to drive her out of office and it worked–she resigned, but since she didn’t cooperate with your plan that she never be heard from again, now you want everyone to see her as a greedy quitter. No dice. Your party is responsible for the plan to destroy Palin and now you’re seething with hatred and bitterness because it BACKFIRED. And as for the millions she’s earned since resigning, again, thank your own party for that. If you idiots had just left her alone after the 2008 election and let her go back to Alaska, she would NOT be the national media star that she has become. It is YOUR PARTY’S ATTACKS on her and her family that kept her in the headlines and the public eye.
“You’re going to buy it no matter what anyone tells you. It’s clearly impossible for me to convince you of what your own intuition should tell you.”
No, Levi, it’s impossible for YOU to convince me to reject FACTS and rational inferences from those facts in favor of what YOUR “INTUITION” TELLS YOU.
“Palin had lots of ethics complaints, is that so unique among politicians? Do many of our elected leaders find themselves embroiled in both legitimate and illegitimate controversies?”
So, Levi, you admit that you don’t have a fu*king clue about the subject at hand. I explained to you that I have extensive hands-on experience
in this area and your response? “Who cares.”
As always, you consistently reject any rational conclusion based on facts, evidence, and expert input in favor of a conclusion based on nothing except the fact that you really, really, really WANT IT TO BE TRUE.
Levi, V the K has got it right. You HATE Palin and her family because instead of being destroyed by the relentless attacks engineered by YOUR VILE PARTY, she is hugely successful, admired by millions, and surrounded by friends and family that adore her. In contrast, you are a GIGANTIC, REPUGNANT, IGNORANT, STEAMING PILE OF EPIC FAIL. Of course you hate her. She’s HER, and you’re YOU.
#38: “I posted too early; I will say that I don’t have a problem with Palin making as much money as she does doing what she does.”
Oh, of course you don’t. We would NEVER dream of suggesting otherwise.
One more thing, Levi. It has not escaped my attention that on the thread titled, “If George W. Bush had said this. . .”, you have not responded to my point about Obama saying he had sufficient executive experience to BE President because he was RUNNING for President. If what Palin said about her foreign policy experience conclusively proved her to be an idiot, please explain how Obama’s comment referenced above does not prove him to be an idiot as well. (Looking forward to you dazzling us with another brazen application of your double standards…)
Your mistake is in thinking Levi cares at all about Truth, Substance, Legitimacy, or Facts. When confronted with same, his response is “Who cares.” He’s bought into a narrative promoted by the far left and he doesn’t really care if it is based on facts and reality, it justifies his hate, and that is sufficient for him.
I’m just glad I don’t spend as much time wishing misery on Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Kathleen Sebelius, or John Edwards as Levi spends wishing it on Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum. I’d hate to end up as bitter and delusional as he is.
Agreed V,
It is scary to see someone deny facts and spit such bile.
If Levi could handle facts and reason, he’d be a conservative.
Levi @ #38:
Pure PROJECTION!
Levi runs here and spouts talking points like Pavlov’s dog, so he naturally assumes that mindless conservatives are told to buy Palin’s stuff and they automatically go forth and obey. After all, that is how Levi is programed, so it must be true of the “imbeciles” on the right. So reasons the mind-numbed, robotic Levi.