Posts
Now, more than a month since the political spotlight has turned away from the failed GOP ticket and the running mate who rallied so many conservatives, some of those whom Palin drew to the political arena are seeking to keep a conversation going. This includes TeamSarah.org, a social networking site launched in September. . . .Team Sarah is the sort of spontaneous Tocquevillean activism that the conservative movement has been woefully lacking lately, and there is no other candidate for 2012 who has anything like it. Any Republican opponent of Palin would have to defeat this rapidly-growing grassroots army in order to take the nomination. And what, pray tell, is the political benefit to the GOP of extinguishing the only genuine enthusiasm in the party? Sneer at "populism" all you want, David Brooks, but your argument is not with me, it's with those thousands who stood in the cold Pennyslvania wind to see Sarah Palin. (Cross-posted at AmSpecBlog.)
TeamSarah.org -- boasting more than 60,000 members and hoping to top 100,000 by Inauguration Day -- was started in part by a mother of five, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an antiabortion group that promotes the involvement of women in politics. She and Jane Abraham, chairwoman of the group's board, started the site as a place for followers to network and promote Palin.
UPDATE: Don Surber describes Palin supporters as women "who identify more with a working mom like Sarah Palin than a bored socialite like Caroline Kennedy."
UPDATE II: Naturally, a HuffPo blogger finds a reason to scream "racism" at Team Sarah.
UPDATE III: Team Sarah responds, but not before another liberal blogger compares their activism to "cross burning." Note well the method, and consider the double standard. A few off-topic anti-Obama comments are sufficient to elicit outraged Klan references from liberals. But an Obama supporter suggesting the gang-rape of Sarah Palin? Crickets chirping.
"And what, pray tell, is the political benefit to the GOP of extinguishing the only genuine enthusiasm in the party?"
ReplyDeleteAnswer: credibility.
I maintain that Palin cost McCain the election.All Uncle Crazy needed to do was to select a stable, well informed VP candidate.If McCain had played the experience card all the way Obama would have lost.Palin supporters are in denial. They see in her the future of their party without taking into consideration what that future would hold.
I think most people see in her the same misguided anti-intellectualism that we got from Bush.Until she can prove otherwise, all you Palin supporters have is a Miss America contestant....
@Y4E:
ReplyDeleteWill you and Brooks be at CPAC? I should like to attend, your and Brooks' hands, and say "Thanks for nothing".
The real beauty of the anti-Palinists is the way they've packaged misogyny and sold it as rejecting "misguided anti-intellectualism".
I'll venture must take pride in your sophistries, sir.
iYes, Sarah Palin has helped conservatives 'come out of the closet.' She has stirred up non-political people to become involved. I am one of them. When she spoke in a small town near me, 20,000 people came out. Biden also spoke there and had 800. She is definately a mobilizer!
ReplyDeleteI believe Barack Obama won the election because GOP voters were not energized this year, and turnout was down among them. All the momentum, money, and favorable media attention was with the Democratic nominee in 2008. The public (unfairly) linked John McCain to the unpopular President Bush and said..."not again."
ReplyDeleteJohn McCain, the New York Times favorite Republican, is a good man, but he was not the right nominee for the Republican Party. It was Bob Dole in 1996 all over again. McCain generated no charisma or excitement.
The clear star of the 2008 GOP presidential ticket was Sarah Palin. In fact, she was the only reason I voted for the GOP ticket.
No doubt Sarah Palin has A LOT of work to do if she runs for POTUS in 2012, and she will be tested as never before. But lets give Sarah a chance and see what she can do.
Young, you are delusional. Palin was the only thing keeping McCain from losing by double digits. Palin's crappy interview with Katie Couric aside, she has more executive experience than than anyone on either ticket.
ReplyDeleteMcCain's real blunder was in making suspending his campaign to work on passing an extremely unpopular bailout bill... it didn't make him look Presidential, it just made him look incompetent, and it pissed off a lot of his supporters to boot.
GO TEAM SARAH!!! Sarah's supporters are not done yet
ReplyDeleteI agree that Palin is a motivational force. If she continues to build her resume, and the pipeline in Alaska goes well, she will have a bright political future on the national level. She is charismatic and brings new life to conservatives.
ReplyDeleteYes, please keep Sarah the Alaskan numb nut out front. She's one of the main reasons republicans have become identified with clueless, idea-less, dimwits. With her as your GOP revival idol, you can count on many more electoral losses. So 60,000 knuckle draggers love her... hundreds of thousands of cognizant voters still find her repulsive. The "grassroots" KKK can go jump in lake.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best parody yet BY FAR that I have read of the wingnut defense of Sarah "Naknockers of the North" Palin. "Tocquevillean activism" indeed! Well-done, Mr. McCain. You have perfectly nailed the lazy pseudo-learned, groundless name-dropping and vapid bloviating characteristic of the genus rightwingicus. Bravo.
ReplyDelete