The Great White Nope

Here's a shocking display of honesty from the conservative blog Powerline :

We conservatives have had a good time ridiculing the Obama phenomenon, especially its messianic feel -- the willingness of its adherents to pour so much hope and belief into such an empty, or at least incomplete, vessel -- and its elevation of "narrative" over substance.

It turns out that we were dying to have basically the same experience.

Indeed. The Republicans have been desperate for a conservative savior for a while now. In fact, the desire to find the next Reagan pretty much defines the entire GOP presidential campaign.

In early 2007, the front-runners for the GOP nomination were Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, but those were both deemed non-starters by the Republican base. John McCain is a sanctimonious twit who conservatives can't stand much the same way that Democrats hate Lieberman. Rudy excites the base with his 9/11-tourette's, but he's a serial adulterer who doesn't hate gay people enough to excite the religious wing who still operate under the quaint notion that they're the ones in charge of the Republican party. Faced with that dreadful choice and knowing that the Bush legacy was a surefire loser in 2008, the GOP began their search for the person who would save their party from another humiliating defeat.

First up to the bat was Mitt Romney, who seemed almost as if he was designed to be a Republican politician. A generically handsome governor/billionaire who wears his religion on his sleeve, what's not to like? Well, the fact that he's from Taxachussets and has a history of pandering to liberals, for one. At least, that was enough to help Republicans to justify the real reason for opposing him, which is that he's a Mormon. The religious right is all about religious freedom when it comes to their own religion, but they'll be damned if they give their vote to somebody who wears the magic underwear.

Okay, how about former Senator Fred Thompson of TV's Law and Order? He's an actor, like Reagan! Plus, he's got that condescending southern drawl that voters find irresistible. On paper it seemed perfect, since the only thing Republicans love more than railing against celebrities is voting for them. Unfortunately for them, Thompson couldn't pull off the biggest challenge of his career, acting like he wanted to be president. Huh? You want me to campaign on the weekends too?

Then, out of the Iowa caucuses came a dark horse candidate, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Finally a guy who the Republicans can sink their teeth into. He's funny, he talks about Jesus all the time, and he used to be fat. Unfortunately for the Huckster, when the Republican party bosses started paying attention to his record, they were struck with paralyzing fear. "Oh no, he really means this 'compassion for the poor' crap." Needless to say, when faced with the choice between compassionate conservatism and lower taxes, Republicans always choose the latter.

And so, with the primaries underway, the pendulum of Republican opinion swung back to John McCain by default. Though it seemed like a race for a while between McCain, Romney, and Huckabee, the winner-takes-all nature of the GOP primaries sealed the deal for our nation's least humble POW on Super Tuesday. And with that, Republicans across the country woke up in a cold sweat on the morning of February 6th thinking "Oh shit! We just nominated John McCain."

Though they may be loathe to admit it, that's pretty much been the thought in the backs of the minds of conservatives everywhere for the past seven months. The preferred euphemism is "enthusiasm" gap, but it really sugar coats the fact that Republicans seemed lost and had resigned themselves to the fact that their nominee was somebody they couldn't stand. That is, until John McCain gave them their next conservative messiah, Sarah "Barracuda" Palin.

She's a regular lady, they boast to themselves, not like those minorities and city-dwellers in the DemocRAT party. She eats moose and calls her husband "dude", what wonderful nuggets of authenticity that look great in a campaign ad! Plus, she's so damn religious that we get all of the positives of supporting women without having to change our views in ways that would actually, y'know, support women.

Which is where we are now. The Republicans have found a new crush, "the one" who will save their party and usher in a new era of conservatism. Once the glory of her gloriously sarcastic convention speech has faded, they'll start finding reasons to dislike her just as they have every other conservative standard-bearer. Will her tax-raising ways, Which have drawn comparisons to GOP-bogeyman Hugo Chavez, prompt the oilmen who own the GOP to force her out? Or will the fundies get scared off by her knocked-up kid and the tabloid innuendo that surrounds her? Or will the GOP base start rejecting her when they realize that she's just the more-likable frontwoman for that saddest of sacks, John McCain?

Either way, if recent history is any guide, the honeymoon won't last forever. Hell, I doubt it'll last until election day.

Comments

[tchristin]

Yup yup.. very true. I would just add General Colin Powell to the list of almost leaders. Consider how different the world might be right now, if General Powell had run for office instead of G.W. Bush over 8 years ago.

[barackobama4prez]

Palin is the next Reagan? Who really believes that?

[eden4barack08]

The desperate Repthugs.

[Heavenhelpusall]

More like Cheney.

[nellie]

I hope you're right. I fear our media. They love a soap opera, and Palin provides them one. It's an excuse for the election to be all Palin, all the time.

Thank you for this article. It's encouraging. Today's article in the NYT was not.

What a media.

[hatermagazine]

Why no mention of Ron Paul? Although I'll be voting Obama this year, it really pisses me off when the media and journalists black ball Ron Paul and act like he didn't make a major sway in the republican primaries and was the only republican candidate who talked about "Real" change.

[shelobo]

Abortion-rights groups target Palin ,the GOP NEEDS these groups to keep the White House,but Palin will back track on her Conservative so called Christian beliefs.She will have too and when she flips on her views the Evangelics will change their stanch along with the GOP,as Womens rights groups DO pack a powerfull punch when it comes to votes ,not to mention WOMEN are usually the decideing household member that decides WHAT church/religion the family will http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/abortion-rights-groups-target-palin-2008-09-05.html-05.html .I hope these womens groups stick to THEIR STRONG SUPPORT of a womans RIGHT to control her own body !!

[arthur2008]

Sarah "Voice of God" Palin might do well to ask her Lord for an introductory lesson on ethics. (Hopefully, He will keep it at a junior college level.)

[Ged2012]

For all Greg's article is worth, it is worthy to read Krugman's article entitled 'Resentment Strategy:'

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/opinion/05krugman.html?em

Here are some excerpts:

...Don’t be fooled either by Mr. McCain’s long-ago reputation as a maverick or by Ms. Palin’s appealing persona: the Republican Party, now more than ever, is firmly in the hands of the angry right, which has always been...much angrier than its counterpart on the other side.

What struck me.. is how much of the anger on the right is based not on the claim that Democrats have done bad things, but on the perception — generally based on no evidence whatsoever — that Democrats look down their noses at regular people.

One of the key insights in “Nixonland,” the new book by the historian Rick Perlstein, is that Nixon’s political strategy throughout his career was inspired by his college experience, in which he got himself elected student body president by exploiting his classmates’ resentment against the Franklins, the school’s elite social club.

Can (the GOP) really ride Nixonian resentment into an upset election victory in what should be an overwhelmingly Democratic year?

By selecting Barack Obama as their nominee, the Democrats may have given Republicans an opening...laid him open to a Nixonian backlash. I wasn’t surprised at the effectiveness of the McCain “celebrity” ad. It didn’t make much sense intellectually, but it skillfully exploited the resentment some voters feel toward Mr. Obama’s star quality.

[DAVESEAN]

I MEANT TO SAY "ARTICULATE",GUYS

[fj1200]

FEAR on top of FEAR on top of FEAR. You really, really, really, HOPE Sarah goes away or that people will somehow undiscover that the media is in a full throttle open and desparate attempt to somehow discredit her buuuuuuuut, it aint happenin. You'd better get used to wearing your sphincter around your neck cause Sarah won't stop kickin it up there for another 60 days.

[Rutabaga]

Absolutely brilliant article. It really drives home the theme of Republican hypocrisy, the "do as I say, not as I do" thing. It has just boggled my mind when they've made fun of the whole alleged Obama "celebrity" thing, when there has been no greater political celebrity than Ronald Reagan. My word, they worship Reagan the way a lot of people worship Elvis or Marilyn Monroe! And now they have Sarah Palin on the receiving end of the "celebrity" treatment, people reacting to her like a rock star, and that's just perfectly okay with them. Will the two-faced nature of this party NEVER END???

[GwenElle]

Beautifully written article. Greg we must, must, must hear more from you.

[walkthewalk]

I'd be nervous if I were John McCain. Sarah Palin is a very shrewd, ruthless and ambitious person. She's made her political climb by throwing everyone in her path under the bus. (You actually might want to speak to a few of the people who used to hold political office in Alaska.) John, are you certain you want her one heartbeat (your heartbeat) away from the presidency? Sleep well.

[wookierage]

she may be the savior, but the repubs are very likely to lose this election, which means she's going under the bus too. i wonder if she'll come out untarnished? if she's really part of the "next generation" shouldn't the party have tried to save her for later? instead of letting john mccain add her to this suicide mission that will end oh so badly for them? are they that desperate to eke out a win?

[az0th]

This woman gives me the creeps. Not since Goldwater have I seen a more power-hungry, radical, extremist with serious potential for mischief placed in a position to do so.

A born nativist, she simply doesn't think about the world. As someone who feels we have lost the ability to effectively communicate with the rest of the world during the tragedy of the Bush years, this is a sobering thought. By the way Palin, that's one of the things a VP does - since you don't seem to know how productive they are.

[athenasword]

Excellent post. Hope the honeymoon was great, I'm sure it will be over soon!