The Extremism of Sarah Palin

This ad aired on CNN last night after the debate. It is, in my opinion, the most devastating political ad I've ever seen. You heard it here first: this ad, and McCain's mocking of women's health last night, will shift the women's vote another 5-10% in Obama's behavior. Checkmate.

So this is what it's come to

(Via Jason Zengerle at The Plank)

Did you see that? John McCain asked a crowd of supporters "Who is the real Barack Obama?" In response, some man in the audience yelled "terrorist!" What did John McCain do? Well, he continued with his speech. Pretty mavericky, huh? This is the measure of just how far John McCain has fallen. This is what his campaign has inspired. Insipid hatred. Vile racism. God Bless America! The same can be said of Sarah Palin (color me unsurprised!). In some of the recent rallies she has headlined an African-American sound technician was told to "sit down, boy!" and when she asked the crowd what should be done about Barack Obama, another good ol' boy shouted "kill him!" Once again, what did noted hockey mom Sarah "Barracuda" Palin do about this? Let's just say the silence was deafening as she cracked a smile. (Links courtesy of Christopher Orr over at the Plank) How do McCain and Palin look at themselves in the mirror? How do they sleep at night? Have they been consumed so thoroughly by amorality that they are completely and utterly indifferent? Do they enjoy this? Or, is this campaign tearing them apart inside? For their sake, I hope that it's the last one. I'm 24 years old. I can't make the claim that I've seen a lot of things, because I haven't. However, never in my life have I experienced so vile an endeavor as the McCain-Palin campaign. Christopher Orr says it best "If Steve Schmidt and the other architects of this increasingly disgraceful candidacy didn't anticipate such an outpouring of violent, racist bile, they are imbeciles. If they did, they are worse." John McCain, to paraphrase the great Joseph N. Welch, "Have you no decency, sir?"

Wah! Wah! I'm losing! TIME OUT!

Look, John McCain, there's no crying in baseball! You can't call time out! You've said numerous times that you don't know a lot about economics, and suddenly you are going to rescue the bailout package! This reminds me of something I would've tried in high school debate! I really hope people are smart enought to see through this. To anyone that's unsure, THIS IS A TOTAL GIMMICK! It's a stunt! McCain knows he has no credibility on the economy so he's hoping a little political theater will save the day. Bullshit. Don't buy it. For those of you that aren't yet convinced of Sarah Palin's knownothingism check out this clip courtesy of Think Progress:



I'm sorry, but I have no fucking clue what she just said. I'm in league with Glenn Greenwald on this, I actually feel sorry for her in this instance because she clearly has no idea what the hell she's talking about. I'm pretty sure bailing out Wall Street has nothing to do with health care reform, but perhaps I'm just being inflexible!

The Era of the Lie

Michael Tomasky asks a simple question: How do you fight these people? I don't really think anyone, particularly the Obama campaign, has quite figured that out yet. It is absolutely stunning the role that dishonesty has played in the McCain campaign. These people just continue to lie. Even after they've been caught. It's utterly baffling! The obvious example is Palin and her lies regarding the Bridge to Nowhere and earmarks. However, it doesn't end there. Most of you have no doubt heard of the Fed's bailout of AIG. Everyone that is currently reading these words, is now a partial owner of AIG, as the taxpayers now own 80% of the insurance giant. Congrats...I guess. Of course as Tomasky points out, McCain (in light of this news) is talking about the need to fight corporate greed and enact a new, stronger regulatory framework. Unfortunately for McCain, he's always opposed regulation in the past. In fact the best label for his economic perspective (as limited as that may be) is that of a radical deregulator. Thankfully, the apparently revitalized Washington Post, has a front page story (brought to my attention by the Tomasky post) that details McCain's long held antipathy for government regulation of business. However, the McCain campaign is out again today, lying. They're claiming that McCain has always been a strong proponent of regulaton. Surprised? You shouldn't be! This is how the McCain campaign operates. Tomasky sums up the situation appropriately:

Imagine this happening in your own life. You knew your spouse was cheating, and she or he kept on denying it and called you despicable. Imagine that in a court of law, a plaintiff or defendant's attorney could lie, get caught, lie again and then get at least some members of the jury to believe that the allegations that he lied were just an elitist plot. That in business, one party could break a contract, lie about it, lie about having lied about it, charge that the other party's willingness to stand by the original terms of the contract showed only that the other party was weak and inflexible -- and still come out of the deal smelling sweet.

I couldn't of said it better myself. Thankfully, the media finally seems to be jumping off the St. McCain bandwagon. While the reporting of the McCain campaign's lies were initially just popping up in individual stories, it now seems that the MSM is beginning to create a narrative focusing on the campaign's outright dishonesty. However, it's aggravating that the MSM seems to be hesitant to utilize the word lie. When an individual makes a statement they know to be false. That's called a lie. It's spelled L - I - E. The present tense of the verb lie, is lying. Since the McCain campaign is actively and knowingly engaging in deception, they are lying. See MSM, it's easy! Anyways, I digress. While the MSM certainly plays a role, the onus is on John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their campaign. This overt reliance on the lie is unprecedented in a political campaign. While elements of the Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II campaigns were deplorable; none of them really ever continued to lie after having been caught. John McCain is so bereft of honor and dignity that he outright refuses to stop. I used to hate John McCain, now I just pity him.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user captainleadbottom, September 9, 2008.

Sarah Palin Doesn't Know What the Bush Doctrine is!

Via Matt Yglesias, I found this telling clip from the National Security Network. It's a huge deal that Sarah Palin doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is. For those of you who don't know, the Bush Doctrine is the policy of preemptive war. In other words attacking countries that the US perceives may cause a threat to our interests in the near future. If you don't know what the Bush Doctrine is, don't feel bad. You are most likely not running for the Vice Presidency of the United States. If you are, get with it!

Palin's Manifesto of Cruelty and Polarization

Last night, Sarah Palin gave a powerful speech. She did not stumble and proved herself to be an effective and charasmatic orator. It certainly should be noted that she's a very effective hatchet (wo)man. She used her network time, which was reduced by the self-serving and over-the-top Rudy Giuliani, to make clear to the American people that she is against an Obama presidency. Obviously, this is what the GOP expects their candidate for Vice President to do. Sarah Palin did a great job of introducing the American people to her good-looking family and the endearing subtleties of life in small town Alaska. The cameras constantly shifted back and forth between Palin and her pregnant daughter Bristol (with her shotgun fiancee in tow). Even a candid, and admittedly adorable, moment where Piper Palin licked her hand in order to smooth back the hair of Trig Palin was captured. I can only imagine that the American people let out a collective "awww."

However, for me at least, that's where the charm ended. It's nothing new for the Republicans to embrace negativity at their convention. In fact they've been doing just that since the Nixon days. Really, this is what they have to do. Republicans win elections by highlight divisive wedge issues and polarizing the country. They accuse Democrats of "raising taxes" and "killing babies." Also, there is the timeless allegation that Democrats are "going to take your guns away!" Unfortunately for the Republicans, basically none of this is ever true. Barack Obama is not going to raise your taxes. Unless that is, you make over $200,000 a year and can afford to pay extra in order to help middle class working Americans. Barack Obama is not going to kill any babies. In fact, while Obama is pro-choice, he wants to pursue sex education policies that will lead to fewer unwanted pregnanices which, in turn, naturally leads to fewer abortions. Isn't that a good thing? No, Barack Obama isn't going to take away anybody's guns. It's pretty much impossible to argue against that for two reasons: 1) it's so ridiculous that it's laughable; and 2) giving it more than a passing thought lends it undue credibility. Anyways, I digress. Sarah Palin's speech was notable for its offensiveness, cruelty, and utter lack of substance. She certainly seemed to delight in claiming that community organizers have no actual responsibilities, but she failed to make the case of how her experience as the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska lead her to a better understanding of working Americans. Also, in regards to John McCain, we heard inspiring rhetoric about his trying experience as a POW, but nothing about what he would do as president. She didn't sell his candidacy at all. All I know from watching her speech as that John McCain was a POW in Vietnam. Oh, and because of that experience, he will bring the change we need to America. Nothing about what he would do, or how he would govern? Isn't that sort of important? Finally, what about the economy? She made no mention of home foreclosures, gas prices, unemployment or any other major economic concerns. In addition, there was absolutely nothing about what a McCain-Palin administration would do to stimulate a stagnant economy. Palin indicated that while offshore drilling isn't the cure-all solution to our energy ills, that shouldn't stop us from drilling. Ok, fine, but what else are you going to do? That's right, you are going to invest in wind energy and renewable fuels. With what money exactly? If we're going to stay in Iraq of 1000 years like McCain wants to, with a $10 billion a month price tag, can we really afford to do that?

Sarah Palin used her time in the spotlight in order to divide Americans along the same old cultural lines. Yet she did so without proposing any solutions. Democrats are cosmopolitan elitists that love eating arugula and drinking Belgian beer; but we are just like you! In addition she lied about Barack Obama's tax policies. (Fact: He's going to cut taxes for 95% of Americans and increase family rebates by $1000) She also lied about her opposition to the "Bridge to Nowhere." She was for it and then turned against it as it became increasingly unpopular politcally. One more inaccuracy I'll mention, among many others, despite her seemingly heartfelt support for families with special needs children, she actually slashed funding for special education programs by 62%! I mean, what! (Evidence for this point is in the link I provided above in regards to the "Bridge to Nowhere")

It's hard to tell how the speech will play out. I have no doubt that she will appeal to many Americans. However, her sarcastic and negative tone will likely turn off just as many. Also, working people are looking for someone who will uplift them economically. Not exactly someone that is like them (which she isn't anyways). At some point she's going to have to be made available to the media, and that should be, shall we say, interesting.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user MBS1983 September 1, 2008

Alaska?

Via Jake Tapper at Political Punch, I came across this hilarious little ditty from, well, Diddy! Diddy certainly has a unique presentation for his vlog (isn't he dizzy spinning around like that!?!) but he actually hits a number of salient points. Look, I've never been to Alaska. However, the pictures I've seen of it are spectacular. I'm sure Alaska is an absolutely lovely state and an amazing place to call your home. That being said, does the governor of Alaska really have a good grip of the complex social issues that ordinary Americans deal with on a regular basis? Diddy is right to ask, are there any black people in Alaska? Now, I'm sure there are, and it shold be noted that Alaska has a history of racial conflict between whites and Native Americans. However, Sarah Palin just does not look like a woman that would be comfortable campaigning in Detroit or Philadelphia.

Michael Tomasky's excellent post on Palin directed me to this revealing article by the New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller. It turns out that Palin essentially was not vetted at all. McCain really wanted either Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge but his aides shot them down because they were pro-choice. A pro-choice running mate would be DOA on the convention floor. So in recognition that he wouldn't get what he wanted, he shot from the hip and picked Sarah Palin. My theory behind this is that the McCain campaign thinks that women are stupid. No really, that's my theory. Let me elaborate. I'm theorizing that McCain is betting everything on disaffected Hillary voters. Without carefully thinking it through, McCain believes that if he puts a woman on the GOP ticket as his running mate, women won't be able to help themselves and they'll vote for him. Why else would Sarah Palin be praising Hillary Clinton with every opportunity? Also, this prevents the Democrats from monopolizing the "history making" market, by having a woman on the ticket. Nevermind the fact that Palin's beliefs are completely anithetical to those of most of Hillary Clinton's supporters. Palin believes that Creationism should be taught alongside evolution in public schools and she opposes abortion in all circumstances, including rape and incest. In other words, McCain thinks women, and Hillary Clinton supporters in particular, are stupid.