The Mad Moderate 09/19/10
The last bout of Republican primaries have settled the question of the power of the once political nobody, Sarah Palin. She is a rising star in the party to the joy of some, the lament of others. I feel the rising influence of her, and other right-wing extremists have hijacked the rightous anger of the American right and steered it on a hyperbolic course away from real solutions and towards simply a different extreme. It bodes ill portent for the Republican party.
Her expanding popularity confounds me. I am shocked that she has so quickly gained considerable influence and that her followers are taking on the appearance of a cult of personality. Admiration is one thing, worship is something quite different. I have seen this story before and it doesn't end well.
By way of full disclosure, I will begin with my personal story. Sarah Palin holds a special place in my heart. In 2008 I was a disillusioned non-voter. I was certain the system was irreparably broken, that my vote was useless. When I speak with those that still feel this way I understand their frustration. I was ready to let another presidential election pass by uninvolved.
Then came the Chicago con man, Barrack Obama. I was repulsed not just by the plans he had for America, but his utter lack of a substanative record and that nobody seemed to care! I was left rooting for Hillary Clinton, a person I detest, because John McCain was so stunningly bad. I knew he didn't have a chance to counter Obama's compelling, but contrived populist talking points. He was weak and doddering and thought it made him charming. It didn't. I knew this would be a Democratic year. Justifiable anger at Bush was inescapable and the Republicans were going to have to come strong and prove they were going to take a significantly different tack. McCain was, at best, non-polarizing, but the country wanted dramatic change. Obama said he was that. McCain was DOA, then he announced his running mate, Sarah Palin.
I think I did what everyone did at that time, I said "who?" I immediately began digging in Alaska media archives because I knew the window to find honest reports on her was closing fast. As soon as her name was announced operatives from both camps were certain to swoop in and start spinning stories to serve them, both positive and negative. I found she was a quirky lady. She bounced through four colleges before earning a BA in Journalism. She would become the Mayor of Wassilla and eventually rise to Governor. I was impressed with some of the things she did, selling the Governor's jet for example. An extravagance the previous Governor Frank Murkowski had heaped on the state. If that name seems familiar, it's because the incumbent Senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, is the former Governor's daughter, and it was he who appointed her to his vacant Senate seat, "thanks dad." The Murkowski's again found themselves up against Sarah Palin, and again she has proven too strong for them as Palin-backed candidate Joe Miller recently won the Republican nomination.
Indeed, Sarah is a scrapper and I still like that about her. We all know who won the 08' election, that's a subject for another commentary. What we should focus on is how much McCain owes to Sarah Palin. Where he was weak, she was strong. Where he was unsure, she was very sure. Where he flirted with conservative views she went "all the way." McCain said he was a maverick, but Palin actually was. People thought at the time she was brought in to woo angry Clinton supporters and other women. I contended then and I do now that she was actually brought in to reassure conservatives who disliked McCain. Obama seemed like he would walk into the White house unopposed. Suddenly, here was this frustratingly charming lady with her twangy accent and the Obama machine could not easily contend with her. His concern was palpable as Obama attacked not McCain, but rather his VP candidate. McCain and Biden could have gone on vacation because the fight was between the Democratic presidential candidate and the Republican vice presidential candidate.
This boring rout of an election suddenly turned into a bare knuckle brawl. I admit, I was very excited. I was so excited that I re-registered to vote and voted. I changed my college major to political science and set forth for myself the goal of going to Washington myself to do anything I can to return government to the people. So as I take Sarah Palin and Barrack Obama to task here and elsewhere, appreciate the conflicted feelings I have. I am where I am and I am going where I am going because of them and the unexpectedly significant election of 2008.
After the election Palin returned to Alaska. I was hoping she would get back to work as Governor and do great things for her state. I hoped she would become more aware of international issues and bring that cute, but dangerous truthful simplicity to national governance as a congresswoman. I felt this to be her strength and what made her different. From there she could work up through the ranks to national prominence with perseverance and an increasingly adept body of legislative experience. That is not how it turned out, though, and here I stand in opposition not of Sarah Palin the maverick, but Sarah Palin the rock star, Sarah Palin the power broker, Sarah Palin the king maker, Sarah Palin the demagogue. She has discarded all that seperated her from the establishment and merely become a new player in the same old dirty game.
Palin Rocks! Sarah Palin did not go back work. No, she had a taste of fame and she liked it. Rather than complete her obligation to the people of Alaska, she resigned. Sorry everyone, Sarah has a book tour to go on! It's no surprise that book sold so well, she bought $63,000 worth of them herself with PAC money. Sarah has parlayed her fame into speaking gigs, reality shows, rallys etc. to the tune of over $12 million dollars. Sorry Alaska, she has to rock.
I think we all got a chuckle when the same person who lambasted Obama for never straying too far from a teleprompter was caught scribbling notes on her hand in February. There's nothing wrong with needing speech notes. Very few people can be extemporaneous. Obama is no Ronald Reagan and Certainly no Bill Clinton either. Don't make a point about something you are not good at yourself Sarah; it makes you look foolish. If there is one thing that is still good at, it's reading the political winds. This was a positive thing when I believed she wanted what was best for America, but with her newfound narcissism that skill can be a dangerous weapon.
In a very short time Sarah Palin has correctly recognized the conservative anger at the current administration and maneuvered herself into position to ride that wave not just to Congress for the candidates she anoints, but also to the White House herself in 2012. Her coy avoidance of admitting her intentions is transparent, she will run. In the short term Sarah has racked up an impressive betting record. As of this writing she is running at 70% success for those she endorses. The recent victory of the many-times failed and always dishonest Christine O'Donnell in Delaware is widely suggested to have been sealed with Sarah Palin's 11th hour endorsement. Nikki Haley in South Carolina can thank Palin for her success as well. Her power is quite apparent.
This year's GOP primaries have been one of dramatic change. The various Tea Party groups with Sarah Palin as an opportunistic late arrival have succeeded in undermining the old guard in the party. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Looking even casually at the nominees they are pushing, however, there is something wrong. Sharron Angle is willing to openly discuss armed insurrection. O'Donnell is so whacked out and hypocritical she may actually be an undiagnosed sociopath. How powerful is Sarah Palin? Even Karl Rove, "the architect," the man credited with winning Bush the White House, is back pedaling now. He just endorsed the same woman he was ripping apart a week earlier. Sarah got her the nomination, the GOP's fear of Palin and the Tea Party, and lust for power did the rest. I am sure the party elite are privately furious while they publicaly support her, but I have no sympathy for party sycophants. They have long ago put party before country.
There are questions floating about as to whether she is the next Barrack Obama. In a way, yes, yes she is. It is interesting to note that her rise in popularity since the election, an election she lost, seems to inversely mirror the decline in popularity of the man that won that election, Barrack Obama. I don't think we are seeing an exchange of loyalty, no Liberals are switching sides. As Obama continues to alienate his base, he is dropping in the polls. As Palin continues to whip up conservatives into an angry mob her poll numbers increase and with it her political capital. In the same way that Obama keenly tapped voter anger over Bush, Palin is channeling anger at Obama and the democratic-controlled congress. I share the distaste for the liberal fire sale but as the movement to the right picks up speed they have hurtled past the exit to the mainstream and are headed for the cliff at the extreme right. I jumped off way back, but I can see people still jumping on the crazy train.
In much the same way Obama and his leftist ideas were not the answer, Palin's hard right ideas are not either. Both people read the mood of the country correctly and took advantage of it to further themselves. Both of them have demonstrated that it isn't about party, it isn't about country, it's about them and their egos. We have had 18 months of self-serving extreme left-wing ideology. Do we truly seek years of self-serving extreme right-wing ideology? That Congress is elitist, aloof, self-entitled, disingenuous, irresponsible and in need of a purge is certain. To sell our souls to a people who's only claim to righteousness is "I'm not (insert incumbent's name)" is not the answer. We did that in 2008 people. How's that hope and change?
As the Tea Party, and their self-crowned queen Bee Sarah Palin stir up the pot to prepare the electorate for a huge ultra-conservative coup, ask yourself do they look that much different? Look at the glazed look to the eyes, the reverence, the creepy obsession.
Yes, Sarah Palin is the new Barrack Obama. We already tried electing a cult leader, America, it's been a failure. Do we as a people want to do it again? Sarah wants you to, but don't fall for it. Instead of voting with our emotions and taking anyone put before us that isn't the other guy, it's incumbent upon us to be even more critical, not less in this heated moment in history. People put more thought into minor retail purchases than who they choose to support politically these days. This is all that could be deduced from the latest primary results.
Ladies and gentlemen, the opposite of criminally inept is not certifiably insane. There are some really good candidates out there of both major parties and some of the minor ones. Before you pick up a marker to make a sign calling someone a fascist or a Nazi, before you blindly join a group and scream about "taking" anything back, or demonize those that don't agree with you, take a moment to really study the people running and vote FOR them, not AGAINST the other guy. Don't get sucked into the cult of anger and extremism. The Kool-Aid looks refreshing, but it's poison, and it's killing our democracy.
