Palin Perpetuates Politics of the Past

Hyperbole continues to soar in the aftermath of Sarah Palin's bold and spirited, but sadly divisive, sarcastic, Rove-recycled speech at Wednesday's Republican National Convention. The darling of Rush Limbaugh and Pat Buchannan is now being proclaimed a "star," a "game-changer," the answer to a dying party.

Yet putting political views aside, I saw very little to admire in Palin's speech. Perhaps MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's analysis (paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln) put it best: "People who like this sort of thing will find this ... the sort of thing they like." Along with the cynical screeds of failed presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giulianni, Palin re-ignited the old slash and burn politics that have come to characterize our politics -- and in the process, turned off millions of voters.

I am one of those voters. In 2000, I was one who mistakenly voted for Bush, a vote I made at the age of 19 and still regret to this day. I have since realized that most conservative rhetoric about compassion, work, and family values has become just that: empty rhetoric that has been actualized instead in the form of preemptive war, torture, a failed economy, wiretapping, corruption, and failed policies on health care, energy, education, and social security. It is a party that has consistently used wedge issues to divide America. It has taught us to distrust each other and label all those with differing views as unpatriotic. Once upon a time, John McCain seemed to offer an alternative to these far-right, Rovian tactics permeating his party. Yet sadly, his pick of Palin is only the latest in a string of concessions to the "agents of intolerance" he once condemned.

What I saw on Wednesday was eerily similar to a hate rally: words become weapons of mass distortion, truth is what you can persuade the masses to believe, everything is black and white, us versus them, rural versus urban, white collar versus blue collar, red versus blue, liberal versus conservative. It is an old and pathetic fight that a young senator from Illinois gave us hope we might transcend. He spoke of a forward-looking politics, a practical politics, a politics that empowered and united ordinary citizens in common purpose. His message has since been characterized as Utopian and naive. How dare he ask us to strive for a more perfect union, an America that attempts to live up to its ideals!

The Palins, Roves and Hannitys of the world remind us the politics of the past -- of cynicism, manipulation, and fear -- still have many devoted disciples and even more drones.

That was more than apparent as a rapturous Republican crowd devoured the "red meat" offered in Sarah Palin's condescending, sometimes Coulteresque diatribe. Yet for people like me, a one-time Republican watching at home, it only reminded me of the smallness and pettiness our politics has become -- and how difficult it is to believe it can be different, to have hope America can be better and actually solve some of the huge challenges we face. As Barack Obama put it in his own nomination speech:

"[These petty politics have] worked before, because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping and settle for what you already know.

"I know there are those who dismiss [the ideas of change and hope] as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer, and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values.

"And that's to be expected, because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.

"If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things."

A big election about small things.

For all the breathless post game coverage Wednesday about Palin's "grand slam," that is really all she and the Republicans managed to accomplish.

Read more analysis from HuffPost bloggers on Sarah Palin

Comments

[skinnyfish]

Palin - The Contemptuous Cheerleader.

There is a significant difference between politics and governing.

And the McCain/Palin ticket chose politics. Palin delivered that line. Like a dated, mid-century, neo-conservative poli sci text book, their message last night bore the same-old, same-old.

Palin’s role is clear. It is nothing more than that of a charismatic cheerleader, leading a devoted crowd with cheers in the form of ‘we-are-be­tter-than-­you-are’ directed at the opponent. Throw in two parts adolescent criticism, another part high-school unsubstantiated innuendo and it’s the same recipe – rile the masses.

But why are you better? That answered is left as blank as the sustenance in the speech which was void ideas, void leadership. Where was talk about the economy? The war in Iraq? Aw, let’s throw in another insult . . . that’ll get the crowd fired up: “U-G-L-Y you don’t need no alibi. You’re UGLY. Yeah, yeah, you’re UGLY!”

There’s no question that Palin is charismatic . . . she’s attractive . . . she’s a tough talker . . . she gave a well-delivered speech the first time on a major stage . . . but then, so did my high school class president.

Leadership cloth is cut from ideas and governance, not from politics. The world in which we live today is changing faster than at any other time in history. It is a progressive world. We live in a progressive county . . . let’s not stifle progress and seek leaders that rely on politics as

[KimberlyPeacock]

The rights of women are not served by having a single ideology, in which all women are subscribed. Defining women’s rights in such a way denies the many voices of women, and their diversity of views. Ideology is the power of slavery and the enemy of independent free thinking.

Palin is labeled as anti woman because she does not support abortion. I think the right to choose, is the right to say that you can be feminist without supporting abortion. That you can be for responsibility, for birth control, that there are other options besides abortion.

On the issue of gay rights, there is civil marriage which is a legal contract binding two citizens together in a partnership. I can see no legal reason for anyone to restrict this right to enter into a partnership as long as one can enter the agreement with a sound mind as in any legal contract. As for the religious definition of marriage that should be left to religious groups to define.

The democratic ideals sought by the founders of our country embraced the idea, of freedom, by granting freedom to others with whom we have opposing views. Our collective freedom is guaranteed only by allowing the other to have freedom to oppose our views.

[LeftRight]

When it comes to abortion, she not only is against abortion, she wants NO ONE to be able to choose that. Not only that, but she's against birth control, and apparently in the case of her daughter, responsibility.

Sure, that civil marriage thing sounds great. Hey, I've got an idea to confirm that, let's ask older African Americans how that whole "separate but equal" thing worked out!!

[wandering girl]

what is really, really scary is to have Sarah Palin basically tell us that what is wrong with America is that we haven't had enough of George Bush's GOP "I'm more American than you are" BS.

[rbloom]

This convention so far has reminded of nothing so much as Patrick Buchanan's "culture war" speech in Houston in 1992 -- self-righteous, strident and ugly. Only this hasn't been just one speech, it's the tone of the entire convention. And at least Buchanan talked about a few issues. The speakers at this convention have yet to say word one about what they'll do to get us out of the mess they've spent the last seven years getting us into.
Anyway, the Buchanan speech worked out so well for Bush Sr. in '92, I'm sure that this convention will have similar salutary effects on the McCain candidacy.

[Henry]

I think it is long past since when the Left needs to confront these right wing Pitbulls about things like.... for example seat belts, equal employment oppotunity, and Title IX. Sharah Palin would not be anywhere near the opportunity she has availed in her life if it were not for many decades of left wing liberal struggle for equal opportunities. She is where she is because of the efforts of the Left and she is such an unawareNik (as are most Republicans) that she appears arrogant condescending and dense. Yet in her speech she wants to thank an admitted "war criminal" John McCain for her freedoms. Oh...and by the way, I do not believe that the midnight bomber and the right wing won anything in Vietnam other than national and international shame.

[zedthewizard]

THE NEGLECTED STORY

The neglected story and the most important story is the loss of the fourth estate in American politic. The republicans attack on the so-called liberal media performing biased reporting has dire consequences.

The current republican contradictions and the attack on the media lump all media together. The republican campaign has the nuance and the wherewithal to understand the difference between news media and tabloid, fact and fiction, truth and un-truth. We recognize cultural differences and perspectives. However, the republican contradictions and claims of unfair treatment use these cultural differences and perspectives to explain away their unreasonable disagreement with evident facts and truths.

The behavior by the republican party will ultimately erode and perhaps eliminate the role of a free press in American society. By not distinguishing between serious news reporting and tabloid reporting they have equated all information has equal. Therefore, there is not truth or fact. There is only subjective noise. If, we sound alarmist, we are alarmed. As with a round earth, and the earth"s orbit around the sun; our claim is indisputably evident. Some calling us alarmist would demand nothing. However, we now have come together to state unequivocally the erosion and eventual death of the fourth estate from American Institutions is well under way. Action is required. Action is demanded.

We believe that to continue down this destructive path to attempt to equate all information as equal must be pushed back by the republican party itself or by the American electorate.

[LeftRight]

Thank you for tying that line from Obama's speech into this! I've been so tied up in the whole Quaylin dialog for the last week or so that I didn't even make that connection!

[JustAnotherJoe]

Did anyone else see the Codepink protester being ushered fromt he hall during Palin's speech? PBS showed a brief shot of it. Apparently the protesters got tickets for the event from some disgruntled Republicans.