Thursday, September 4, 2008

Thoughts On Palin, And The Hypocrisy Of The Right


So, Sarah Failin' Palin gave her big speech to a room full of old white people (aka the RNC) last night, proving once again that Republicans will kill the Mooslems, save your soul, and lower your taxes. And if you disagree, you are obviously a sexist. My thoughts on last night's speech.
  • Palin came across as confident and tough, a stark contrast to McCain.
  • She has an incredibly annoying voice and accent, and if I hear "Eye-Rack" one more time, I'm gonna vomit.
  • She managed to energize a room of old Republicans, itself a difficult task.
  • She avoided going overboard on the loony hardcore Christian stuff, which may not have played well with the evangelicals, but didn't put off independents.
  • Her speech was short on policy specifics, in particular the economy and healthcare.
  • Her attacks on Obama were neither funny nor effective. Making fun of his community organizer roots is not a winning strategy for the former mayor of Wasilla. ("Look at Obama, making a big deal about helping poor Negroes...Ha Ha Ha!") Groan...
  • I was a bit surprised she mentioned the Bridge To Nowhere. This is a weak point for her, as she was originally in favour of it before flip-flopping.
  • It's curious that her supporters are decrying what they perceive as "sexism", while at the same time handing out pins saying "Hottest VP".
  • Overall, despite the fact that I disagree with her on everything, she gave the kind of speech the GOP was hoping she would, and for that she deserves credit. Her real test will come in the following weeks, when she has to think on her feet, facing the media daily and debating the likes of Joe Biden.

Finally, Jon Stewart had a truly inspired segment last night exposing the utter hypocrisy of right wing blowhards. Do yourself a favour, follow the link, and enjoy a good laugh.

10 comments:

RuralSandi said...

Well, she took the gloves off - so sexism is out.

It's a 2 way street. We always say "is he the right man for the job?"...now is it sexism to ask if she's the right woman for the job?

The reason there is a need for community activism and workers is because of the failings of mayors/governers like her - they pick up the pieces. By the way, a mayor of a small town is a "part time" job.

How does she manage family and her career? Well, it has come out that hubby isn't working - he's now MR. MOM.

Red Canuck said...

Ruralsandi - As Jon Stewart so beautifully pointed out, Republicans were quick to jump on Hillary, telling her to "man up" and stop hiding behind the shield of sexism if she wanted to hold the highest office in the land. The double-standard now is appalling, if not unexpected.

MD said...

Republicans have exceedingly short memories. Many of the same hacks who decry the media for poking into Palin's personal life were the same people who obsessed over the private shenaninigans of the Clinton family in the 90s. And that was when poor Chelsea was a teenager.

And sneering about the work of "community organisers" seems to be some inside joke that I've failed to grasp. It was mentioned by three Republican speakers to wild laughter and applause last night.

But I think the hypocrisy Grand Prize goes to Mitt Romney, the multi-millionaire ex Governor of Massachussett, who railed angrily about "eastern elites." What a schmuck.

Bowler said...

Yeah, I have to agree with MD, Romney is an unbelievable schmuck. His speech was truly awful! Its too bad that McCain didn't pick him to be his running mate :)

Red Canuck said...

Romney, Guiliani, Lieberman, Palin...they're all schmucks in my book. Rudy went on so damn long last night, they couldn't even show the video tribute to Palin. Incredible, since it doesn't take that long to say "9/11".

Anonymous said...

It's curious that her supporters are decrying what they perceive as "sexism", while at the same time handing out pins saying "Hottest VP".
Just their normal hypocrisies it seems.

Anonymous said...

Just to explain the community organizer slam / joke, here is the best explanation I read today:

Community = Ghetto
Organizer = Activist

At least, that's what the crowd hears.

Think dog whistle time, and they all start salivating.

Outside the hall, I really don't think that plays well. But it does fire up the base.

Back to the Future - Culture Wars, 1992 edition.

Aurelia said...

So, why is it sexism when the politician is doing something so horrendous?

My own Doctor was horrified to discover that she had travelled 22 hours with preterm prematurely ruptured memebranes. She wondered if little miss pro-life was trying to end her pregnancy in some sort of less detectable manner.

You know RC, that doctors, nurses, and social workers keep a close eye on women and babies so that they can make sure that everyone is safe---yet her reckless, bizarre actions didn't even prompt an investigation?

And for the record, I think most of the male politicians I know suck at being fathers. But in those cases the kids have one parent who works normal hours and takes care of them.

Until the pressure from the media resulted in the Mr. Mom story, Palin's kids seemed to have no one at all looking after them? Yet, bizarrely, she wants to tell everyone else how to parent.

It's not sexism, it's a hypocrisy alert.

Red Canuck said...

Aurelia - You're quite right. Palin's action at a crucial moment in her pregnancy have little to do with her politics, but do demonstate a curious absence of judgement on her part. Her whole presence on the ticket reeks of hypocrisy. She states publicly that her daughter "made the decision" to keep her baby, but if elected she would do everything in her power to take that decision away from every woman in the USA (even in the case of rape). There needs to be a better word to describe the hypocrisy and arrogance that is Sarah Palin.

tung said...

Her administration had two primary focuses: education and economic development. She secured an increase in education funding during a special legislative session in 1985 and successfully used economic incentives to bring a Toyota manufacturing plant to Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1986. After her term as governor, she became president of Saint Catharine College near Springfield, Kentucky. Her husband's conviction on charges of influence-peddling in 1993 damaged her hopes for a return to political life.
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