The Atlantic - Latest Comments in The future of the GOP

Re: The future of the GOP

Whatever — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:05:47 -0000

I did not vote for the McCain/Palin ticket, but I think that anyone can find something snarky to say about any politiician's performance at a press conference. There was nothing so wrong with her performance, so most critiques are more likely to represent the opinions people had of her before they viewed it.

Re: The future of the GOP

sv — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:29:22 -0000

Siryn, good point!

I don't think this is so bad. It seemed like a normal politician's press conference - vague, somewhat misleading, a little evasive, but coherent, unlike practically everything that came out of her mouth in the context of the presidential race. She's obviously much more comfortable in her role as Alaskan governor. She strikes me as a bullshitter in that context, but as far as this presser goes, I think she did okay.

Re: The future of the GOP

Siryn — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:18:54 -0000

Notice the lack of the folksy you betchas, gosh darn it, etc.

Re: The future of the GOP

Angelica — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:53:04 -0000

The 'dude' that showed her back to the podium was no other than Good Ol' Governor Rick Perry of Texas. Gov Palin, as the defacto leader of the GOP, will not be given a free ride by republican governors. She'll have to earn that respect, spin and media saturation will not cut it...

No way in hell will the GOP nominate Palin in '12.

Re: The future of the GOP

MoeLarryAndJesus — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:52:09 -0000

Why be shy? Sarah Palin has shit for brains. She's a clueless idiot and no honest, rational person on the planet makes excuses for her or thinks she belongs in a position of real power.

I hope she and her grotesque brood stay up in Alaska and that I never hear from her again. Enough.

Re: The future of the GOP

gracchus — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:33:30 -0000

Well, I left my first Hanson remark deliberately vague to stimulate conversation (which seems to have worked). I was actually struck more by the broader similarities.

My general thought was actually that both Hanson and Palin appeal to the same kind of petit bourgeois smalltown/rural/suburban white resentment of urban politics/city life. This kind of resentment has been fertile ground for all kinds of right radicalism since at least the 1920s. Wasn't really thinking about specific policies, although I suspect that Palin actionally will appeal to the Tancredo wing of the party.

As well, both seem to have a similar personal style: I recall seeing one interview in which Hanson started crying when pushed, not all that harshly, on one of the more unpleasant elements of her platform. To me, Palin's ignoring questions at the debate to hit her talking points was the same kind of rhetorically strategy.

Re: The future of the GOP

lebecka — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:06:06 -0000

Please add my name to the list on RedState's Operation Leper.

Re: The future of the GOP

bread & roses — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:16:31 -0000

I'm no Palin fan, but I think calling her white-trashy is not apropos of this particular press conference. Her answers were vague, but so were the questions, so it seemed vague on a more normal-politican level. Mostly she seemed brittle with rage and resentment. Rage on, honey. Yes, the media did not make you look good, and you lost. But isn't that a bit of a whine?

Re: The future of the GOP

Tone — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 22:16:11 -0000

In the back of the colllective Governors' mind was a stream of thought, "Will she really be the ONE for 2012?" Of course they knew this was illogical to say the least. Less than half of the public believed she was qualified to be even in the position to be the president. A slight heat formed in the Gov. of Texas. It was like gas in that it formulated around his gut, but he felt compelled, no obligated to shorten Mrs. Palin's comments. Did he hate her? Not that he hated her but that he hated her stupifying confidence in the insincerity of her praise of Joe. The plumber. Or was he into real estate? The facts became cloudy as the media lashed against such an icon of Americana. He laughed at the thought: "Icon...Americana." Was his party to become such a joke? This conference...The Sarah Palin show was a disaster. He must stop this...He pulled Governor Palin to the side and concluded his remarks.

Re: The future of the GOP

Io — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:50:40 -0000

I dunno, give it time and we might see Palin in prison for something. My money's on Ted Stevens style ethics violations, but only because crimes against syntax aren't punishable with gaol terms.

Re: The future of the GOP

Kate — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:38:44 -0000

Also, unlike Pauline, Palin never went to prison for electoral registration fraud! (although that conviction was eventually overturned on appeal).

But in terms of the every-woman-who-needs-book-learnin-I'm-not-one-of-those-elites kinda schtick, she's definitely got a bit of Pauline in her.

Re: The future of the GOP

Thomas R — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:23:45 -0000

She's vague, but I don't know if that's surprising in her.

She had a potential Perot quality once. What she needs is pie charts. Lots and lots of pie charts. It'll help her get over her vagueness, maybe even look a bit smarter, without actually requiring she say anything of importance. "See this is the percentage of governors I estimate want to help America, over here is the percentage of Kentuckians who love me, this represents Alaska's oil reserves, and here..."

Re: The future of the GOP

dragnet — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:17:41 -0000

i honestly don't think this video is that bad. she was coherent---which is not usually the case in these kinds of situations.

or perhaps she's just managed to dramatically lower my expectations. i don't know. but i don't think she has much of a future as a national politician---barring the purchase of a few dozen IQ points.

Re: The future of the GOP

Io — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:12:05 -0000

I think we were commenting more on the style v substance issue, and the general air of white-trash ignorance (I know I was anyway), rather than any degree of policy similarity.

I did hear a rumour that Hanson released a statement the other day saying that she believes that Obama is a Muslim. She's still doing Queenslanders proud, and still blissfully unaware of her own irrelevance. I can only hope that Palin will fall to similar levels of obscurity, although must admit it's highly unlikely.

Re: The future of the GOP

Deborah — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:58:44 -0000

You can see the other governors trying to decide if they can leave her to implode back into Alaska by Xmas, or if they need to take out a hit. She was asked about specific gubernatorial Republican solutions in an interview, and said solutions are what they are all about, being there on the front line, with solutions.

Re: The future of the GOP

Brad — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:58:19 -0000

Regarding immigration, Palin did say "immigration reform" which could mean one of two things. Coming from the Republican party, I am guessing it means only one thing.

Re: The future of the GOP

Fighting Words — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:50:15 -0000

Gracchus, Haki, and Io,

Lived in Oz for 3 years. Sorry, Sarah Palin is not Pauline Hanson for several reasons:

1. Pauline Hanson made her name on an anti-immigrant (specifically anti-asian) and an anti-Mabo/Aboriginal platform - that was what her political party (One Nation, I think) was all about. Sarah Palin never really had a position on immigration, or at least I never remember her articulating a position on immigration (unless Putin rearing his head over Alaska is an immigration policy). Tom Tancredo and the minutemen are more in line with Pauline Hanson's immigration policy.

2. Pauline Hanson never even got close to any national political power in Australia. Yeah, John Howard adopted some of her ideas, but even the people I knew who were Liberals (that is the right wing political party in Australia) never took her seriously. Whereas here, a significant percentage of the population want Palin to run for the Presidency in 2012.

3. Sarah Palin has not appeared on "Dancing With the Stars yet."

I can see where the similarities are, both are "white-trashy" females who adopt a "folksy" populism, who are probably not academically smart, but have some sort of ruthless political sense.

Re: The future of the GOP

Zak — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:43:59 -0000

Man, it's not just her - in fact, she's about twice as articulate here as Tim Pawlenty was on the NewsHour tonight. Jindal at least sounds like he has a clue; otherwise, the "new GOP" is a wasteland.

BTW, Wikipedia just informed me that Jindal is the first nonwhite governor of Louisiana since P.B.S. Pinchback, during Reconstruction. Now that, sir, is what I call a name.

Re: The future of the GOP

Scott — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:43:57 -0000

Hah! I didn't realize that they had removed two names from their "political leper" list over at Red State. So they are down to just Nicolle Wallace. And Erick Erickson's latest post is an apology to Steve Schmidt:

http://www.redstate.com/diaries/redstate/2008/nov/13/on-steve-schmidt/

He writes: "...at this time I feel extremely comfortable saying Steve Schmidt has gotten a bad wrap. That I played a part in it, I must apologize to him."

And: "I think those of us who judged Steve Schmidt harshly and were willing to list him as a smear artist got it wrong."

At what point do these people realize just how fucking stupid it was to start "Operation Leper" in the first place? Are they children?

Re: The future of the GOP

Io — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:35:47 -0000

Definitely agree with the Pauline Hanson reference, except that Hanson was never anywhere near the leadership of either of the two major parties, which makes Palin and the future of the GOP much scarier than the Howard government ever was....

Also hi to dennis denuto - 'it's just the vibe'! Lots of Aussies on this thread!

Re: The future of the GOP

haki — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:28:07 -0000

gracchus, I'm in Oz, and I've heard that, too. Apparently, it's not a flattering reference.

Sarah Palin is the GOP's nightmare, and it's just getting started. Many of them don't even realise yet how much trouble she is going to cause them.

OTOH, cool jacket.

Re: The future of the GOP

gracchus — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:24:02 -0000

Pardon the Australian political reference, but I think I've got it now: Sarah Palin is a bland Pauline Hanson.

Re: The future of the GOP

trevor tb — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:14:36 -0000

Mary L, it's still a dumb question, and an unclear one at that. I mean, that woman got paid to devise that one.

Re: The future of the GOP

Fighting Words — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:04:15 -0000

I guess that as long as Gov. Palin and Victoria Jackson keep speaking on behalf of the Republicans, the Democrats should be ok.

Re: The future of the GOP

Stacy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:01:05 -0000

I thought the dude was just being an old Southern gentleman when he grabbed her by the elbow and forced her back in front of the podium.

"Not so fast there, little lady!!"