Community | November 29, 2009 | 25 comments

Sarah Loves it When We Hate Her

source: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-gabler29-2009nov29

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Progresshiv
In this article, Neal Gabler explains how Sarah Palin is a plainspoken star who is riding the elitists' hatred of her on the path to the White House. So-called intellectuals who scoff at her followers will pay heavily at the polls unless they realize she's playing those same intellectuals for fools.

Gabler says: "Supporters profess to love her because she is just like them, without airs, which may be true. Palin seems to have the benefit of her sincerity. She isn't a metaphor. She is something more effective: a personification. If she prefers the 'worst and the dumbest' to the 'best and the brightest,' Palin fans think that is exactly as it should be, which drives the elites to revile her further, which in turn further feeds the Palin contempt machine."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-gabler29-2009nov29,0,7189434.story
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25 comments // Sarah Loves it When We Hate Her

  • SleepDirt
    • 0
      SleepDirt  

    • Except for the law degree AND law practice, election to the state legislature and his two years serving in congress and his self-education by reading books instead of burning them and his production of his own farmer's almanac.
      Did I mention his political accomplishments? Then there is the famous Lincoln–Douglas debates in which he never winked once.

    • 2 years ago
  • J_Jammer
  • SleepDirt
    • 0
      SleepDirt  

    • Yeah, Palin will always appeal to a handful of ignorant bigots who put their faith in sky-fairies. That and $2.75 will get her a seat on the bus but not one in the Wast Wing, I'm afraid.

    • 2 years ago
  • robidog
  • J_Jammer
  • Progresshiv
  • Incredulous
  • inspirationseeker
    • 0
      inspirationseeker  

    • This is a great article. It actually helped me understand why the supporters of Sarah Palin support her and why she goes about things the way she does. It seemed backwards before but now it kind of makes sense.

    • 2 years ago
  • robidog
  • Ihatethemall
    • 0
      Ihatethemall  
    • robidog:

      I liked Sarah Palin until last week when I heard a interview of hers. She is all for the expansion of the settlements because jews from all over the world are flocking to isreal. Well, fuck her. That doesnt mean they just get to steal someone elses land. I have 45 relatives coming over for the holidays. I cant house them all. I will steal your house so my relatives have some place to live. Is that ok with you? Actually I aint asking. Im just taking.

    • 2 years ago
  • SleepDirt
    • 0
      SleepDirt  
    • robidog:

      Robo-Who said they hate anyone and when did anybody claim to addressing anyone, least of all you?
      Perhaps you need to contact the author of the article at the LA Times.

      the Mall-I think Palin was referring to the old testament verses that say the the Jews will be gathering in Israel in expectation of the rapture, or some such horse-hockey.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time

    • 2 years ago
  • Ihatethemall
  • CalgarC
  • neocongo
    • 0
      neocongo  

    • No one in the history of politics has ridden the role of "victim" further than Sarah Palin. It is a strategy doomed to failure, as ultimately, a vast majority of Americans recognize that in politics, all a victim has to offer are excuses.

    • 2 years ago
  • Vierotchka
  • J_Jammer
  • BrushwithDeathToothpaste
  • Progresshiv
  • SleepDirt
    • 0
      SleepDirt  
    • BrushwithDeathToothpaste:

      She won't be on the ticket.
      Her biggest encumbrance is her inability to face journalists outside of the Fox bubble and answer real policy questions due to her abject ignorance of basic civics. You can divide and conquer all you like but the majority of the country is not stupid.
      This article is well-conceived and researched but overlooks the limits for Palin.
      I'd say she has about reached her zenith. I just watched 2 hours of Sunday talk and it was 99% Palin-free.

      Unless anyone believes she can convince 50 to 70 million Americans that that they should cast their vote for a serial ethically-challenged, fundamentalist, evangelical narcissistic, former mayor of a backwater, of whom even leading Republicans say is way out of her depth, that she is suddenly national leadership material.

    • 2 years ago
  • Incredulous
    • 0
      Incredulous  
    • BrushwithDeathToothpaste:

      Well it wouldn't be the first time this country voted in a serial, ethically-challenged, fundamentalist, evangelical, narcissistic, former (governor?) mayor of a backwater, of whom even leading Republicans say is way out of her (his) depth.

      Ok, not everyone considers Texas backwater...but still, if we can't learn from history, are we destined to repeat it? There certainly seem to be a lot of Americans who are quite comfortable with new choices in the stupid arena.

    • 2 years ago
  • SleepDirt
  • thedirtman
    • 0
      thedirtman  

    • People are legitimately angry at corporate elite Wall Street scammers. The anger is harvested by corporate lobbies and directed by conservative think tanks at educators. The think tanks use conservative books-of-the-month clubs to produce a fantasy in which scientists and professors make too much money and organize students into communist groups. In this fantasy, students are selected and indoctrinated with liberal beliefs to become politicians that will become socialist dictators and free-spending bleeding hearts.

      This cycle of fantasize, smear and fear has been tested thoroughly and seems to work on much of the vulnerable uneducated types. All that is needed is a figure-head that people will get behind - like Sarah Palin.

      One can follow the same think tanks that defend losing industries from asbestos manufacturers to tobacco companies to big oil when they want to make global warming to appear as a scam, for example. With big oil moving toward cleaner energy they are looking for a new hook. They are still a powerful bunch as they control a good portion of the media. They can turn science on its head and substitute politically-generated data by cherry-picking, and in some cases they have been known to hire high school graduates to simply cross out research.

      The simple and direct way to portray this is as a take-over by politics of science. It's a War on Intelligent Thought. The casualty is American productivity.

    • 2 years ago
  • Progresshiv
  • isnamthere
    • 0
      isnamthere  

    • Hey, we've already tried electing a guy that people would like to have a beer with. That turned out great. Leave "folksy" politicians for judging pie contests at the county fair. We need someone smart, sophisticated and aware to get this country out of the mess we're in.

    • 2 years ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  

    • The question is will it work. Folksy populism is normally a strength of the democrats.

      Traditionally the split goes competent crooks (republicans) vs. honest bumblers (democrats). Conventional wisdom went republicans are resistant to corruption charges and democrats are resistant to incompetence charges. the converse was also true though. Paint a democrat corrupt or a republican incompetent and out the door they go.

      This has been turned on it's head lately though since the republicans lately have shown themselves to be orders of magnitude more bumbling than they could ever accuse the democrats of being.

      If she is going for honest bumbler then the choice is obvious. Show that she is corrupt.

    • 2 years ago
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