What Is Sarah Palin?
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Why do so many people love Sarah Palin? Why do so many hate her? I cannot recall a politician in recent memory that has been both so loved and so reviled for no discernible reason.
When Palin was announced as John McCain’s running mate on the 2008 Republican presidential ticket many conservatives were intrigued, including me. It was reported that the Alaskan governor had been a member of Pat Buchanan’s “Buchanan Brigades” during the commentator’s presidential bids in 1996 and 2000 and that Palin had ties to the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party. An “America First” states rights’ radical on a major political ticket? Palin did not sound like the average Republican.
And yet today, even removed from the constraints of the McCain campaign, Palin sounds fairly conventional. Asks Antiwar.com’s Justin Raimondo: “Where and when has Palin ever articulated a coherent alternative to the orthodox Republican doctrines of supply-side economics and endless war?” Raimondo is right. What, exactly, differentiates Palin from the average Republican bear?
Or should that be “moose?” It seems that Palin– the attractive, outdoors-loving “hockey mom”-is popular solely because of her personality, not any specific policy positions. Notes columnist Steve Chapman “Who needs policy? In her world – and the world of legions of conservatives who revere her – the persona is the policy. Palin is beloved because she’s (supposedly) just like ordinary people, which (supposedly) gives her a profound understanding of their needs.” When dissecting political cults of personality, it would seem that Palin has become the Republicans’ Obama–handsome, charming and a human comfort blanket for partisans.
It is also true that Palin is hated because of her personality. The venom spewed at Palin by the mainstream and liberal media sounds like a bunch of catty women slandering another on a drunken Saturday night. Once again, policy-wise, why should Palin be any more despised than, say, Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner? Where do they differ ideologically? Catty women have never needed a specific reason to trash talk the prettiest girl in the room. Similarly, Palin’s mere existence is all that is needed to earn the continued scorn of the Left.
This is not to say that Palin’s presence has been completely insignificant. A hero to the Tea Party set, Palin has quickly come to represent anti-government, grassroots outrage. But using sporadic, nominally-conservative rhetoric with no ideological platform or voting record to back it up is not exactly a firm foundation for any would-be “conservative champion.”
Raimondo notes the major difference between the personality-driven Palin and more serious, policy-driven leaders like Texas Congressman Ron Paul: “What is especially irksome, however, is that there is indeed a populist champion of the Tea Party grassroots, someone with the knowledge, the organization, the proven fundraising ability, and the principles to lead the GOP out of its ideological and political morass: Ron Paul… ‘Palinism’ is a hairstyle. Paulism is a bona fide movement. The first has no future — no, she won’t be a major contender, come the presidential sweepstakes, as George Will predicted on the Stephanopoulos program. The second IS the future, if the GOP is to have a future.”
When conservatives have been dubbed “Paulite” or “Buchananite” it has always been meant to describe someone with libertarian or traditional conservative leanings. Being a “Goldwaterite” had similar, specific conservative policy implications in the 1960’s, as did “Reaganite” in the 80’s. But what is a “Palinite?” I’m not sure anyone knows. I’m not even sure she knows.
And it’s a problem. As Raimondo notes, when it comes to addressing the grievances of Tea Party conservatives, that Paul’s platform is far more ideologically sound does not change the fact that the Congressman is not exactly Mr. Personality. Even Paul admits this. And yet his brand of libertarian conservatism has found a sizeable audience based purely on the power of his ideas.
Palin has found a sizeable audience based purely on the power of her personality. In fact, Palin’s most rabid fans don’t seem too concerned about her policy positions, if at all. Perhaps the best definition of a “Palinite” is one who emotionally invests himself in Republican identity politics. For Paul’s fans, the man is a philosopher. For Palin fans-she’s Oprah. Whereas Paul represents a political platform in need of more personality, Palin is a personality desperately in need of a political platform. The title of her new book is “Going Rogue,” but where, exactly, has Palin gone off the Republican plantation ideologically? Simply wrapping up the same old Bush Republicanism in a prettier package is not “going rogue”–it’s going wrong.
Only time will tell if Palin will turn out to be just another Bush Republican. But when judging political figures, it is only logical that we first look at their politics. What are Sarah Palin’s? What is Sarah Palin? We may never know.
Filed under: politics
I’ve got two tips for you before you ever write another Palin piece again.
1. Read her book -If you knew her history of fighting corruption within her own party, and pushing to get off of foreign oil (also breaking one of the biggest oil monopolies on the planet) , you may realize how anti-Bush she really is.
2. Try not using only left-wingers as ’sources’ for your story…Just sayin…..
You tried to paint your own picture here. Like all the others that have come before you, you failed.
I think you are almost there. Palin is clueless about the ins and outs of government, monetary policy, political posturing and how to kiss A$$. Where that was the biggest reason that i could not support her, I would tell you that if she admitted to her weaknesses with regards to those positions and promised not to put the same BS in power positions to take on these rolls. I could vote for her. She has character and THAT is exactly what we have not had in office for many many years. If Palin promised NO CFR and no Ti-lateral members in Washington with her.. Then yes..
Palin / Paul 2012 I could do a Palin Paul Ticket,
Nice, Mr. Hunter. As a guy who sports both a Buchanan For President (1996) and a Ron Paul 2012 sticker it’s a pleasure to
know that Justin Raimondo is still a quotable source. I guess I’ve
not been to Antiwar.com for some time! God bless him.
As for the GOP it seems to be shaping up like a replay of 2008
with just some of the players swapped. Maybe the old party will
see the future in constitutional libertarianism but I doubt it.
Over here, she is increasingly compared to Margaret Thatcher. That is correct. Like Thatcher, she has no coherent political philosophy whatever, and is attractive to her supporters, not as an aspirational figure, but rather as a validation of their own failings.
Stacy:
Apparently you did not read Palin’s book either. TRIPE. She is a consummate cheerleader. She runs her campaign (yes, she is campaigning right now) like she is going for class president in high school.
The comparison to Paul is a good one. This is closer to the truth with respect to the Republican divide then any other explanation. Some of us want an educated, considered and philosophical approach to conservative governing.
The other half believes everything in life can be solved with guns and Jesus. This is the “git r’ done” crowd that believes exercising your freedom means you can smoke wherever you want and buy lottery tickets with your credit card. They think that “policy” might be the communist french way of saying “polish” as in “polish my hummer before I go out to run down a few deer and welfare babies.”
I don’t identify with the second group. I feel they are a detriment to the Republican brand. They are, for the most part, idiots. They make us look bad, and the left exploits this as much as possible.
“2. Try not using only left-wingers as ’sources’ for your story…Just sayin…..”
Stacy, how does Raimondo opposing “the orthodox Republican doctrines of supply-side economics and endless war” make him leftist? If anything is leftist, it is those aforementioned doctrines, as there is nothing conspicuously conservative about them.
Stacy
Raimondo a left winger? That make me LOL!
Justin was a Buchanan Brigade conservative/ Libertarian. That means he’s further to the right than Palin. Get your facts straight please.
1. I can hardly bear to listen to your voice. You’re talking too fast in this video and you sound whiney.
2. Ron Paul’s so-called ‘Sanctity of Life Act’ is a travesty. It declares that an unborn child is a person (which gives the child protection under the 14th amendment) then proceeds to allow states to decide whether or not to kill that person. Hello? It’s not only pro-abortion, not merely pro-’choice’….it’s unconstitutional.
3. Palin has a hefty policy record. Check her record as governor during three legislative sessions and read her book. Your piece on Palin here is not based on fact for many reasons, that being foremost among them.
4. Ron Paul is not anywhere close to being able to take the GOP nomination. HIs organization may be large, but it’s stagnant. Palin’s already very strong and is just getting started. Of those who claim to hate Palin, most don’t really hate who she really is. They hate a caricature of her. The public is only beginning to see the real Sarah Palin. As a result, her numbers are climbing, not dropping.
Now we have to read Palin’s book to criticize her? Ron Paul’s ideas and breaks from GOP orthodoxy are freely available to see on the Web. If Palin is a departure from Bush/McCain on any issues besides abortion and drilling, she’s hiding this much too well.
http://www.freerepublic.com/%5Ehttp://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6996-Louisville-Economic-Policy-Examiner~y2009m11d25-Palinism-is-Reaganism
“But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy. Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. Shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans.” -Sarah Palin
So clearly those who are concerned about the health care reform to shore up our economy are helped by the bailout,
Well that’s nice I guess.
Love the part about reigning in spending, tax reduction and not to mention, tax relief. If those are part of the bailout, hope they kick-in soon.
Pretty Sarah Palin, popular for her pulchritude and prestigious for her political philosophy, is perfectly positioned for the presidency.
[...] What Is Sarah Palin? [...]
Palinites are the crowd-following group, the high school “soshes”, the lemmings who get high on personality. They fawned all over Bush, too.
They don’t care that Palin supported the Bailouts? They don’t care about policy. This is the group that has ruined the Republican Party, because they’re gullible, believing everything Fox News tells them. They don’t get political philosophy. It’s too hard to understand. It’s much easier to give in to personality and what your bud’s are into. They don’t understand Ron Paul. They just know he looks too old.
Of couse, completely missing from the piece and the video is any mention whatsoever of Palin’s background with the libertarian movement, the Republican Liberty Caucus and the Libertarian Party.
FACTS:
The Palins were involved with the Alaska Independence Party decades ago, with the AIP was closely aligned with the Libertarian Party of Alaska. (The AIP actually was born out of the LP when the LP lost a court case in the early 1980s.)
Two of Sarah’s top Campaign Workers in all her races for City Council and Mayor of Wasilla were “Gun Totin’” Libertarian Party members (Source: Boston Globe Oct. 2008)
Palin was a guest speaker at numerous Libertarian Party meetings in Anchorage as late as 2006. (Source: Rob Cliff, longtime LPA Chair).
Palin was slammed in her 2006 Primary bid for Governor as “not really a Republican, but rather a Libertarian.” Also, rumors that she was a closeted supporter of “Marijuana legalization.”
The Libertarian Party of Alaska campaigned for Sarah Palin during her 2006 campaign for Governor, after Exec. Comm. members, including LPA Chair Jason Dowell endorsed her campaign.
The last 3 days of the 2006 Campaign LP of Alaska Governor candidate, Sarah’s opponent Billy Toien sent out an email blast statewide, headlined: “Don’t Vote for me, Vote for Sarah.”
On election night at Egan Ctr. in downtown Anchorage, in front of all 3 TV networks and 1,000 attendees and every single important Alaska politician in the State, Gov. Elect Sarah Palin publicly thanked the Libertarian Party of Alaska for helping her to win the Campaign. In fact, the LPA was among the very first non-family members she thanked.
All three of the Draft Sarah Palin for VP Co-Founders in 2008, Adam Brickley, Stephen Maloney and myself are self-described “libertarian Republicans.”
Upon being selected for VP by John McCain Aug. 28 2008 Brickley promptly receieved a call from Sarah thanking him for his efforts, and giving him partial credit for the selection.
Justin Raimondo has not been a member of the libertarian movement since the late 1980s. It is incredibly ironic that such an individual would now have the audacity of slamming others like Sarah Palin who are MOVEMENT LIBERTARIANS, for not being a “real libertarian.”
Raimondo would do better sticking to his Buchanan Brigades or perhaps Ralph Nader who he backed for President in 2008. I hear Ralph is now gonna run for Dodd’s seat. Perhaps Justin can swing a job from the Socialist Consumerist Nader?
Thanks Eric, now I can be embarrassed for the libertarians, too.
Be embarrassed all you want. We Libertarians, and especially those of us who are Libertarian Republicans are DAMNED PROUD of our Sarah!!
Stick with your geeky balding, girlie-manish, ivory tower pencil necks.
Image is everything in politics. You obviously have no clue.
“Stick with your geeky balding, girlie-manish, ivory tower pencil necks.
Image is everything in politics. You obviously have no clue.”
The same argument can be made for Obama. It is of no concern that his policies are disastrous because, oh, does he have image! Were the Left to defend Obama thus in response to any charges you may level against him, how would you counter, Eric?
Palin is a rogue fembot. The 2008 DARPA Model.
Pre-cisely! Yes. The same argument could be made about Barack Hussein Obama; Girlie-manish, Geeky, Boring-ass Intellectual.
And is it any coincidence that both Ron Paul and Hussein share the same Surrenderist, Isolationist, Bow down to Islamo-Fascism foreign policy views?
Sarah represents Real America. Hussein and Paul (thankfully not his son Rand who is 1,000 times better on foreign policy than his Dad), represent Girlie-Man foreign policy.
One should not be at all surprised that the ultimate Gilie Man – Justine Raimondo, would be supportive of both, and critical of a Real American Sarah Palin.
How terribly ironic that a woman – Palin – has 10 times the cajones than a supposed “man” like Justine.
@Eric,
Just so we’re clear, Vengeance and Empiricism are what it takes to be a “man”? How is it possible to view perpetual war and empirical design as reasonable foreign policy?
I suppose it plays well with the crowd that considers calling someone a “girlie-man” a reasonable argument.
“Image is everything in politics. You obviously have no clue.”
Which is the problem. People who think popularity contests are more important than POLIcies are what’s wrong with POLItics.
Maybe we should start calling you “Imagicians”
In my view, if you are a sensible libertarian, Ron Paul CANNOT be ignored, and sarah palin MUST be ignored. Policies should be everything in politics. .
Go ahead and tell us all of palin’s great policies eric. If you are aware of any. A lot of her recent comments are torn from the Ron Paul play-book. If you were concerned about what politicians do instead of how they look you may have noticed.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/09/23/palin-sounding-like-ron-paul-takes-on-the-fed/
“How terribly ironic that a woman – Palin – has 10 times the cajones than a supposed “man” like Justine.”
Ron Paul has been taking on the fed for over 20 years. A little “girlie-man” taking on the most powerful banking cartel in history, sometimes all on his own. If you respect cajones, Ron Paul should be your hero.
“And is it any coincidence that both Ron Paul and Hussein share the same Surrenderist, Isolationist, Bow down to Islamo-Fascism foreign policy views?”
How would disentangling ourselves from the Sisyphean task that is nation-building in the Middle East tantamount to being “surrenderist, isolationist” and capitulating to Islamism?
“One should not be at all surprised that the ultimate Gilie Man – Justine Raimondo, would be supportive of both, and critical of a Real American Sarah Palin.”
Since when was Raimondo supportive of Obama? Indeed, since when has Obama demonstrated that he is inclined towards Ron Paul’s foreign policy? In point of fact, Raimondo is sternly critical of Obama because he in no wise departs from the interventionist status quo.
My gosh! Paul and Hussein Obama have virtually identical foreign policy views right down the line; Middle East, Iran, pulling out of Afghanistan, cowtowing to Castro in Cuba, not worried about Communism in Venezuela or Central America.
I can’t think of a single foreign policy item Paul and H. Obama disagree on.
Now granted, as bad as Ron Paul is on foreign policy, he’s fantastic on domestic policy. He’s 100% libertarian on economic issues and civil liberties.
But on foreign policy, he’s like 100% Pro-Totalitarian.
So, in sum Ron Paul’s a “50%-er Libertarian” half way there to full support of Liberty. Better than some, but not good enough.
“My gosh! Paul and Hussein Obama have virtually identical foreign policy views right down the line”
Ah yes, this explains why the leftist anti-war movements under Bush are now coincidentally, like Obama, determined to prosecute the war in Afghanistan to the finish.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/11/24/who-will-protest-obamas-war/
“Now granted, as bad as Ron Paul is on foreign policy, he’s fantastic on domestic policy. He’s 100% libertarian on economic issues and civil liberties.”
Can you not see that those two areas–foreign and domestic economic policy–are interrelated?
We shall only know what she is if and when she runs for President, and I’m not talking about positions or beliefs, but rather her potential to be to America in ‘12 or ‘16 what Vladimir Putin was to Russia in 2004.
I don’t recall who it was that first used the term, “The Law of Elementary Democracy,” but I wholeheartedly accept its central premise: All peoples, whether living in a repressive or republican state, a communist country or a capitalist one, relatively free or severely restricted, will ultimately get the kind of government which suits them best. This is also why I consider efforts to “nation-build” democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan to be sheer folly.
Oh yes, I can absolutely see how those two issues – civil liberties and foreign policy – are intwined.
If the Islamo-Fascists are victorious in defeating the United States, we will lose all civil liberties. For example:
Your Gay buddy? Well, he’ll have his genitals cut off, stuffed in his mouth and then hanged.
That chic down the street with the big boobs who does a little hooking on the side. Well? She’ll be stoned to death in the town square.
That girlfriend of yourse, will have the length of her skirt checked by the Islamic Fundamentalist police.
Your free speech rights will be impeded to the point, where you will no longer be able to be critical of anything Islamic or take Muhammed’s name in vain.
Oh, and you can forget about smoking a little pot or downing some brewskis on a Friday night. Outlawed!
In fact, all liquor stores and bars and tavers and sports clubs will be gone under Islamo-Fascism.
But hey, you’ll still be permitted to kneel down to Allah five times a day. And if you object, cause you’re a Christian, then you can just pay a substantial tax to the new Muslim rulers.
If you happen to be a Jew, well um, make sure you give all your possessions away to your Christian friends. Cause in Islamisized America, you’re getting a one way ticket to the Concentration Camps.
“Ilana Mercer is a libertarian columnist who writes for numerous conservative journals and websites in Canada and the United States …Though, she leans Paleo-libertarian, is generally AntiWar and hangs out at LewRockwell.com, she’s no Pacifist Leftie.”
Eric, if you have no reservations in supporting Illana Mercer, why all the invective against Ron Paul? Why do you subsume him under the “pacifist Leftie” descriptor?
As stated clearly in that post, though I don’t agree with Mercer on much regarding foreign policy, I do agree with her on the Military Draft issue.
As a Military Vet myself I gotta ask, how can anyone serve under Barack Hussein Obama? Mercer and Glenn Beck are right. Don’t re-enlist.
Let’s wait til we get a Republican President in 2012. Then join, re-enlist, so we can once and for all defeat Islamo-Fascism.
As it is today, we have an Islamo-Fascist sympathizer in the White House.
Eric- much like you I was once a pro-war on terror libertarian until I realized that if we were going to have a limited federal government at all, the 700 military bases would have to go. There is no such thing as a limited government empire. Anyway, on to several points.
1. First off, if you want to offer arguments against Raimondo stick to some real one, not on his being gay.
2. Obama is not an Islamo-Fascist sympathizer, he like Bush, Clinton and Bush before him is a CFR insider puppet. I’m far more worried about what influence the Fed has over him.
3. The biggest threat Islam poses to the West is not militarily as those armies are far too small, its through immigration. Go to Europe and see what I mean.
4. Being anti-war is not liberalism and in fact ideologically driven war to spread democracy is about as far way from conservativism as you can get. Read into Kirk, Sobran, Rothbard and others to see how war is statism in its ugliest form.
“As stated clearly in that post, though I don’t agree with Mercer on much regarding foreign policy, I do agree with her on the Military Draft issue.”
Where? You mentioned nothing in that post about how you differ with her in terms of foreign policy. Again, if Ilana Mercer is a Paulite but who, according to you, is not a “pacifist Leftie”, how is it that Paul is one?
How are you libertarian again Eric?
Sarah Palin is writing another book about the evils of liberal entitlements, like, oh, I don’t know, pick an entitlement at random, doesn’t matter which one, so I’ll throw a dart and let it land on……free government cheese.
The working title is “Going Roguefort”.
There’s already buzz for a second Pulitzer.
“I can’t think of a single foreign policy item Paul and H. Obama disagree on.”-eric
Paul wants to bring home ALL the troops.
Obama just annoucned an afghan troop surge.
“But on foreign policy, he’s like 100% Pro-Totalitarian.”-eric
He’s a constitutionalist. The founding fathers said trade with all, entangling alliances with none, no nationbuilding, don’t police the world. This is pretty much opposite to what obama is doing. Pay attention.
Eric is one of those who puts Israel first and America last. He believes that if a genocide of Palestinians is carried out, then Christian America will be safe.
[...] What is a Sarah Palin? ( The comments are kind of telling and worth a read through). [...]
Palin is a gift to Left. By day they mock her; by night, after donating secretly to her campaign, they laugh themselves to sleep. Their delight is all the more delicious in that the trailer park patriots will never see it.
I don’t know why you guys keep arguing with Eric Donderhead or whatever his name is. It’s obvious he just spews arguments other people have said before, and doesn’t actually know anything about what he is talking about. Eric should leave his bullsh*tting techniques to face-to-face conversation, where it’s less likely someone can factcheck him.
I like Palin’s personality a lot, but it’s true that despite her “record” of cleaning up corruption in Alaska, she really doesn’t exude many conservative policies beyond the standard monologue that GOP candidates have been running for years. And she definitely doesn’t look like a libertarian, at least when you hold her up to Paul.
Suffice it to say, you can’t change every idiot’s mind, as evidenced by the 2008 election. I mean Barack Obama IS our president now, haha.
For me, I think the primary attraction to Sarah Palin is the meltdown that she causes in so many places: the media, the Democrat Party, and the Republican party especially.
Could I vote for her for President? Possibly. She’s an unknown, but she *seems* to lean libertarian. But even the most libertarian candidate can turn around and betray us, and become an authoritarian nightmare! (FDR demonstrated this nicely: ran on cutting government spending and decreasing taxes, but did the polar opposite when he got into office; of course, he didn’t have a record to back up his promises!)
I just finished reading “The Discovery of Freedom” by Rose Wilder Lane. She had an interesting point: we *cannot* control government, because it is made of individuals who are free, just as we are. Our votes are merely another check and balance on government…but then, if we could come to understand that, we could make the vote into something truly powerful! (The example she gave was car owners voting for the person to run the auto commission.)
All I can add is that for some reason the media here in Norway have been pushing the idea that Palin will run leading a new party ticket of tea party folk. I don’t take it seriously, though.
STACY:
I think you just proved his point.
You cited Palin’s book as a source, which is a self- congratulatory, self- promoting vehicle for Sarah Palin.
Eric:
Funny you’d mention that Islamism is pro-Prohibition (which is true0, but has anyone called out Palin for belonging to a church which advocates prohibition?
“Sarah Palin is popularly described by her detractors as an extreme right winger. In reality, she has some protectionist leanings. Her comparatively extreme positions are on the social rather than the economic scale. While her pro-gun, pro-Iraq invasion, anti-gay and anti- abortion positions are applauded in some quarters, Joe Six-pack may not be quite so enamoured with what Palin’s denominational website, the General Council of the Assemblies of God, has to say:
We urge all believers to avoid the Satanic tool of alcohol which destroys lives, damns souls, and blights society.”
http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2008