Tag: sarah palin

Profiles in fear: ‘conservative’ Democrats and THAT WOMAN.

Politico apparently has a sadist running its assignments, because he or she sent out reporters to interview a bunch of ‘conservative’ Democrats to find out whether they’d be willing to let that woman campaign with them – and got everything from uncomfortable silences to Congressmen actually running away. At least, that’s what I’m going to characterize ‘lunging for elevators’ and suddenly remembering that they had meetings that they had to get to right now. And why would this be? Because there’s no right answer to that question:

For these Democrats, many of them part of the right-leaning Blue Dog Coalition, Palin presents a quandary: She’s deeply unpopular within their own party, but in the socially conservative, often rural districts or states they represent, the plain-spoken, wader-wearing Alaska governor has a following.

…hence the running away. There are a lot of Democrats who will be relying on both the largess of the national party and the forbearance of their majority-Republican districts to stay in office past next November. Embracing that woman will infuriate the former, but too-vehemently rejecting her (as in, rejecting her at all) will hurt them with the latter.  Even if you buy into the professional pundits*’ narrative on that woman, it must be admitted that she is popular with precisely the voter demographic that is currently sending a lot of ‘conservative’ Democrats to Congress.  So… well, nobody ever died of shame, right?  So Running Away really is the best answer, especially if you’re not actually mentioned by name.

I’m not going to claim that this was that woman’s plan all along.  In fact, I actually think that the original story got garbled.  But it’s funny to watch them scatter like this.

Moe Lane

*Who also, by the way, were usually astounded about how that man could keep getting his way on the war, not to mention re-elected.

Crossposted to RedState.

Gov Palin: ‘The ‘Cap And Tax’ Dead End.’

Soon to be former Governor Palin’s column on cap and trade is in many ways emblematic of her public persona: firmly held free-market/conservative positions, a quasi-folksy style that appeals to some and annoys others, and the ability to make liberals froth about that woman in ways that would impress a Taliban illegal combatant.  Which is probably directly related to her PAC raising an additional 200K after her resignation speech (H/T: Hot Air Headlines): it should be interesting to see how much she brings in when she starts actively stumping for GOP candidates in 2010*.

Moving back to the article, it is itself fairly familiar, to those following the attempts of the Democrats to inflict cap-and-trade on America without having to take responsibility for it afterward.  It takes the reasonable note that, in a situation where we need to put more into the economy, cap-and-trade will take out more from it: more jobs lost, more regulations imposed, more costs to do business: Continue reading Gov Palin: ‘The ‘Cap And Tax’ Dead End.’

‘Palin bashing is women bashing.’ No. Really. Do tell.

While linking to Marielena Zuniga’s editorial “Palin bashing is women bashing,” Glenn Reynolds also responded with the sarcastic-when-he-says it comment “Don’t be silly. She’s not a woman, she’s a Republican.”  While this is a rebuttal which quite succinctly gets to the heart of the matter, I feel obligated to expand on it a little.  To put it bluntly: there was no point to this editorial, which uses Governor Palin and former Senator/current SecState Clinton as examples of how badly the media treats inconvenient women in politics.  It was pointless because conservatives already knew and liberals don’t particularly care, which means that the people who would most take this editorial to heart are the least likely to have needed it, and vice versa.

I had a few paragraphs more, but it can be summed up as such: the larger problem will persist until feminists get sick of being the aphids in the Democrats’ anthill. So I’ll spare you more pontification.

Crossposted to RedState.

A friendly suggestion to former McCain campaign staffers.

You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.

Background: Hot Air (Allahpundit), Hot Air (Ed Morrissey), The Weekly Standard, ConsiderThisNews (Pat Hynes), The Politico

Since everybody else is piling on, let me add my own comment to the fray.  If you were one of the people who participated in that Vanity Fair hit piece, and we find out your name, you will be a net drag on any national campaign for the rest of your professional career.  Not because you helped the Left go after Governor Palin, but because you are an untrustworthy sneak who is dedicated to propping up the elitist system in DC, not fixing it.   Any candidate that hires you will have to overcome the base’s natural reluctance to work with a campaign that would hire someone like you.  This can be done; but it’s much easier to hire people with your skill set and a name for basic party loyalty.

If you are a McCain staffer who did not talk to VF, I suggest that you find some way to demonstrate that you aren’t one of the people in the first paragraph.  Because until we know who talked, the default assumption is going to be that you may have talked.  This will not wreck your career, but it will blight it if the base has anything to say about it.  On the bright side, a simple and declarative denial will do; of course, if your denial is a lie and we catch you at it, brush up on your typing skills.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Mental Parasite-free Kerry all caught up to AT LEAST 2006!

If you’re into science fiction at all, you’ve probably come across the concept of the Puppet Masters: creatures, usually alien (although sometimes demonic), that insidiously take over people and make them into organic robots with no free will or volition. Staple of the genre, in fact – but one thing that never really got addressed in the books or movies is what happened to long-term victims of the insidious mental parasites, once the control had been removed. Sure, the hero or heroine always snapped back, but they were usually only mind-controlled for several hours or weeks, tops. What would a puppet who had been ridden for thirty years look like, once that rider was removed?

Probably much like this:

The Bay State senator was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the “bizarre’’ tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had “disappeared for four days’’ and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts.

“Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’

[Via Hot Air: bolding mine]

…Yes. Yes, she is Governor of Alaska, Senator. Well done!

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Letterman apology, take two.

[UPDATE] Welcome, Big Hollywood and Instapundit readers.  If you’d like some lighter fare after this, try this.

Compare this:

…to this:

A certain attitude adjustment can be detected there; amazing what a spot of actual activism will do, yes? Particularly when it’s directed at advertisers.  The general reaction elsewhere to this one is ‘kinda real‘; see also Cynthia Yockey, Michelle Malkin, Little Miss Attila, the Rhetorician, The Other McCain, Ace of Spades, Hot Air, Riehl World View, Big Hollywood, Wizbang, & Dan Collins.  Also, Governor Palin has already accepted the apology:

“Of course it’s accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who ‘joke’ about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve,” she said.

“Letterman certainly has the right to ‘joke’ about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction,” Palin said. “This is all thanks to our U.S. Military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America’s Right to Free Speech – in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect.”

And I don’t think that these guys are going to stop.  Given that Letterman should have started with a “Sorry you were offended” last week, instead of smirking it off, well: I can see why they wouldn’t.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

I’m getting Letterman rape joke hate mail again.

Guess that means that they’re still worried about it.

Anyway, intentionally or not, Cynthia Yockley reminds me of this great piece of folk wisdom:

Don’t get mad.
Get even.

Probably intentionally: her post on bullying is likewise spot-on.

Crossposted to RedState.

I’m glad that you found that funny, Letterman.

As I promised here, I watched this throughout (via Michelle Malkin), and I’ve decided that I don’t believe you.  It’s because of the constant mugging for the camera, the frequent pausing for laugh lines, the phony forgetting of the husband and child’s name, the neglecting to mention that the first joke you recited – the one where you called a 14 year old a prostitute – was made the day after you called her mother a slut and cracked a joke about the 14 year old getting raped.  And there wasn’t even a “sorry that you were offended” – which is the standard fake-apology that your type usually resorts to when someone complains.  Instead, we got a “This is what I do.”

Yes.  I suppose that it is.

Moe Lane

PS: The hate apologetics that I’ve been getting from this episode have been fascinating: by all means, I invite people wanting to excuse this behavior to keep them coming..  So far I’m pretty sure that I’ve identified at least one impending divorce and two wrecked relationships from the subtext.

PPS: Dan Riehl has some more thoughts on the subject.

Crossposted to RedState.