Motley Moose – Archive

“She’s Dynamite!” Or so thought Morton C. Blackwell, President Ronald Reagan’s liaison to the conservative movement, even though he couldn’t get closer than four feet from Sarah Palin at a Virginia fundraising dinner. Whatever has got into the right wing base of the Republican party, it’s pretty fundamental, and they are not alone in seeing Palin as the future of the party, win or lose

Governor Palin sees herself this way too.

The shocked silence of the McCain spokesman was a result of this segment of an interview recorded on ABC.

VARGAS: But the point being that you haven’t been so bruised by some of the double standard, the sexism on the campaign trail, to say, “I’ve had it. I’m going back to Alaska.”

PALIN: Absolutely not. I think that, if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we’ve taken, that … that would … bring this whole … I’m not doin’ this for naught.

As far as I know this is unprecedented – an et tu Brute moment as the VP choice stabs the man who chose her in the back.

Palin is explosive all right. For the Republican party she’s a volatile mixture of glitz, folksy charm, utter ruthlessness and willing ignorance.

But it’s the ‘sexism’ part of that exchange I want to focus on, and what this means for the prematurely announced death of identity politics.

The Church of God – Sarah Palin’s church – explicitly does not.  

The Church of God issued the following statement after the infamous sign outside one of their churches in  Jonesville, SC this April read: “Obama Osama.  Hummmm… Are they Brothers?”

Elisabeth Hasselback, ‘Considered the last true “Survivor sweetheart” by many fans’ according to Reality TV World, introduced Sarah Palin in Tampa today.  Amidst accusations of sexism aimed at Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and all it’s supporters, she embodied sexism in every fiber of her being.

The Anchorage Daily News has endorsed Barack Obama for president.  The paper acknowledges that after 50 years of statehood, Alaska for the first time has put forward a serious candidate for national office and calls Palin’s nomination for vice president “a signal event” in the state’s history.  

With a demeanor that would go on to launch a thousand Saturday Night Live moments, Sarah Palin was cast upon the shores of the great ocean of national politics.  The world gazed in awe as this unknown force sailed into the crowded harbor, aghast at the brilliance of the silk sails and gleaming gold fittings.

Yes, yes, I know it’s probably only early evening over there, but it’s early morning here so I get a  pass.

Two things for your delectation. How great to see Hillary on the campaign trail. I’ve missed her. A lot.

And she comes out swinging in a vibrant bold attack on the years of Republican mismanagement

“Make no mistake about it. We’ve done it before and we will do it again. America will once again rise from the ashes of the Bushes.”

America can rise indeed. Especially with Hillary on the stump. Inspiring stuff. But it won’t rise with ‘post turtle’ Sarah Palin.

So hands up. Who remembers what a Post Turtle is?

[UPDATE 4] 9:28pm  The report is out, and in brief it says: [sic]”She definitely did abuse power and break trust with the people, but we don’t recommend a criminal investigation.”

What this means is that those of her base will continue to be excited by what a Mavericky Maverick she is, and those on the fence will have yet another reason to question every word that comes out of her mouth.

She broke the public trust and abused the power of her office.

Expect the MSM to talk about this all weekend in between discussing how much the GOP has hosed the economy.

………………….

The “Troopergate” report on Governor Palin’s abuse of power is in the hands of the Legislative Council right now.  They got their hands on the 200+ page report and 600+ pages of backup documentation this morning at 9am local time (1pm ET).

I am going to keep tabs on this and update this diary as events unfold.

Hat tip to Btchakir for alerting me to this great Salon piece on Sarah Palin’s connections to the extreme right wing Alaska Independence Party.

The AIP have been instrumental in Palin’s rise from small town mayor to the Governorship, along with a rag bag assortment of other far right wingers (including Palin’s pastor who claimed that Alaska would become a refuge state during the rapture).

(image from http://www.drawger.com/zinasau…

The money quote below:

Sarah Palin has seen better days.  Heck, she’s seen better weeks, better months and – by the time this VP mis-choice is over – better years.

Troopergate just went nukular.

“In Dozens of Calls, Palins and Aides Pressed for Trooper’s Removal” NYT

Mudflats has a piece on Sarah Palin’s unmitigated failure to do anything for the grinding poverty of Alaska’s rural citizens.  Josh, a former teacher in rural Alaska, writes:

We became very close with a family in our village that had a child drown in a steel container of raw sewage. Let me say that again. They had a child drown in a steel container of raw sewage. Their child was simply outside playing and since there is no playground equipment for the kids to play on, they play on anything, often things too dangerous for children. In this case it was something commonly referred to as a “honey bucket.” This is a steel container where house sewage is dumped since there is no indoor plumbing.