Explain something to me about Sarah Palin......

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

if she wasn't a credible threat to the Dems, why bother bashing her?

I don't recall anyone attacking weak candidates so viciously ever. Just look at all the possible GOP names being bandied about on this board, yet none bring out the venom more than her.

If she is a total dunce just let her shoot herself in the foot.

I dont' view her as a real threat to anyone......After all these months that have passed I don't think she's shown she's qualified for any elected position.

So why the constant barrage of attacks......is it because she has the GALL to consider running?

Help an old man understand........ k thx

[tmthforu94]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton. Conservative media would never get away with treating a liberal like the liberal media treats Sarah Palin.

[Alcon]

I think candidates get guff in proportion to their perception as credible (which Palin has) and their visibility on the national scene.  Plus, Palin's personal life has kept her in the forefront, even if it's destroyed her chances, which I'm not convinced of.  But, really, was Ron Paul ever seriously credible in the mind of anyone rational?  Nah, and he got constant crap, because of his cyber-visibility, fans, and intrinsic easiness to bully.

Not to say that Palin and family haven't been treated voyeuristically and horribly, but I don't think it's exclusively or primarily because people find her a political threat.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I think candidates get guff in proportion to their perception as credible and their visibility on the national scene.  Plus, Palin's personal life has kept her in the forefront, even if it's destroyed her chances, which I'm not convinced of.  But, really, was Ron Paul ever seriously credible in the mind of anyone rational?  Nah, and he got constant crap, because of his cyber-visibility, fans, and intrinsic easiness to bully.

Not to say that Palin and family haven't been treated voyeuristically and horribly, but I don't think it's exclusively or primarily because people find her a political threat.

Ok, that makes sense.....she does bring much upon herself with her visibility and, my god, some of the things that come out of her mouth  

[Sewer]

Conservative media would never get away with treating a liberal like the liberal media treats Sarah Palin.

[Rowan]

I Palin.

[Badger]

I think candidates get guff in proportion to their perception as credible and their visibility on the national scene.  Plus, Palin's personal life has kept her in the forefront, even if it's destroyed her chances, which I'm not convinced of.  But, really, was Ron Paul ever seriously credible in the mind of anyone rational?  Nah, and he got constant crap, because of his cyber-visibility, fans, and intrinsic easiness to bully.

Not to say that Palin and family haven't been treated voyeuristically and horribly, but I don't think it's exclusively or primarily because people find her a political threat.

Kinda sums it up, GG. Progressives bash her not because she's an electoral threat, but rather because of the utterlyinnane, smallminded divisive things she says (and, worse yet, apparantly believes). Think Michelle Bachman.
Ok, that makes sense.....she does bring much upon herself with her visibility and, my god, some of the things that come out of her mouth  

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

if she wasn't a credible threat to the Dems, why bother bashing her?

I don't recall anyone attacking weak candidates so viciously ever. Just look at all the possible GOP names being bandied about on this board, yet none bring out the venom more than her.

If she is a total dunce just let her shoot herself in the foot.

I dont' view her as a real threat to anyone......After all these months that have passed I don't think she's shown she's qualified for any elected position.

So why the constant barrage of attacks......is it because she has the GALL to consider running?

Help an old man understand........ k thx

I've kind of wondered the same thing. She is such a paper tiger I can't get some on the left's essential obsession. I've come to the conclusion she is basically a stand-in for Bush. Bush can't be used as the left's scapegoat anymore, and John Boehner doesn't exactly attract the type of attention worthy of bile that Newt Gingrich or Tom DeLay could.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Conservative media would never get away with treating a liberal like the liberal media treats Sarah Palin.

I love it when conservatives whine about double standards that don't exist: the right spent 8 years savaging Hillary Clinton as an atheist lesbian communist.

[Beet]

Conservative media would never get away with treating a liberal like the liberal media treats Sarah Palin.

I love it when conservatives whine about double standards that don't exist: the right spent 8 16 years savaging Hillary Clinton as an atheist lesbian communist.

[nhmagic]

Sarah Palin is a pro-life, pro-gun normal woman and represents an existential threat to the Washington way, the elitism.  The democrats hate her because they know she can defeat Obama.  It's instinctual.  She is the only republican who can raise massive gobs of money and get comparable sized crowds to Obama.  She's the only one that's interesting and the only one who can really change the news cycle (meaning, she gets people out to listen to what she says).  All of the other mediocre candidates cannot command this level attention even if they tried. 

Democrats and the media always try to pick our candidates for us.  They viciously attack our strongest candidates and lavished praise on the ones that they knew were defeatable - like McCain, like Dole and ones that were already defeated by dems - Bush I & Ford.

[Beet]

Palin is conservatives' imagined salvation to their inability to accept modern womanhood. In their minds only a woman who agrees with them (e.g, submits to them) is a "normal" woman. They never claim that only pro-life, pro-gun men can be "normal" men, but they will easily act as if only one very particular kind of woman can be a "normal" woman or a "real" woman.

The root of all this kind of thinking is sexism, pure and simple.

Conservatives love Palin in part because she allows them to engage in their own kind of sexism while at the same time pretending to be opposing sexism. It's genius. But as a product of campaign '08, one of the most sexist campaign seasons in history (albeit also one where women broke through into mainstream presidential politics), Palin really fits right in.

[Frodo]

Sarah Palin is a pro-life, pro-gun normal woman and represents an existential threat to the Washington way, the elitism.  The democrats hate her because they know she can defeat Obama.  It's instinctual.  She is the only republican who can raise massive gobs of money and get comparable sized crowds to Obama.  She's the only one that's interesting and the only one who can really change the news cycle (meaning, she gets people out to listen to what she says).  All of the other mediocre candidates cannot command this level attention even if they tried.  

Democrats and the media always try to pick our candidates for us.  They viciously attack our strongest candidates and lavished praise on the ones that they knew were defeatable - like McCain, like Dole and ones that were already defeated by dems - Bush I & Ford.

Please do everything in your power to ensure that Sarah Palin wins the GOP nod in 2012.  

You have my blessing.  

[nhmagic]

Palin is conservatives' imagined salvation to their inability to accept modern womanhood. In their minds only a woman who agrees with them (e.g, submits to them) is a "normal" woman. They never claim that only pro-life, pro-gun men can be "normal" men, but they will easily act as if only one very particular kind of woman can be a "normal" woman or a "real" woman.

The root of all this kind of thinking is sexism, pure and simple.

Conservatives love Palin in part because she allows them to engage in their own kind of sexism while at the same time pretending to be opposing sexism. It's genius. But as a product of campaign '08, one of the most sexist campaign seasons in history (albeit also one where women broke through into mainstream presidential politics), Palin really fits right in.

Who gives you the right to define modern womanhood?  You liberals feel that the only path to liberation for women is for them to spike their hair, dye it black, have multiple abortions and enter into lesbian relationships (FYI, there's nothing wrong with being gay, Im just pointing out what liberals advocate).  Abortion upon demand is in fact, more important to most liberals than the healthcare bill that they are arguing right now.  I mean, I had a friend in high school who bought into all that garbage, so much so, that one time when we were at the library, she approached me proclaiming that she had broken the bonds of womanhood and peed standing up like a man.

What normal means to a conservative is that she speaks for the over-arching majority of Americans (don't bring up the polls, they do not reflect truth with 11+pt dem margins).  No, she doesn't speak for you Beet, but she speaks for most Americans and understands what they are feeling.  I will say one thing that is a little bit chauvanistic (sp?) and non PC: Thank god she doesn't wear pants suits.  I hate those things.

Let me also tell you one other thing: My mom was a single mother and is both pro-life and pro-gun.  She has experienced discrimination and harrassment in the workplace and likes Sarah Palin.  She doesn't buy into the I have to be more of a man to become a full woman thing.  She hates the feminazis that do too.

[Bo]

I think Democrats enjoy bashing her because they need a new stupid and incompetent Republican to ridicule now that Bush Jr. is out of office and thus she perfectly fits the bill. I seriously doubt any Democrat views her as a threat now--maybe in Aug.-Sep. 2008, but not now.

[Scam of God]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton.

Goddamn you are a tool. Are you wholly innocent of some of Rush Limbaugh's broadcasts in the 1990s, deriding Hillary Clinton as a dyke?

[xavier110]

I love the revisionist history too. Before Obama, the Republicans wanted to crucify Clinton.

[tmthforu94]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton.

Goddamn you are a tool. Are you wholly innocent of some of Rush Limbaugh's broadcasts in the 1990s, deriding Hillary Clinton as a dyke?

That was the 90's. I'm saying that today, if Rush Limbaugh cracked a joke about one of Obama's girls getting "knocked up", everyone would be all over him, and he'd be forced to resign. But it's certainly okay for Letterman to poke fun at Palin's children.

[xavier110]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton.

Goddamn you are a tool. Are you wholly innocent of some of Rush Limbaugh's broadcasts in the 1990s, deriding Hillary Clinton as a dyke?

That was the 90's. I'm saying that today, if Rush Limbaugh cracked a joke about one of Obama's girls getting "knocked up", everyone would be all over him, and he'd be forced to resign. But it's certainly okay for Letterman to poke fun at Palin's children.

"Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat. Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is a White House dog?" And he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton. Chelsea Clinton is 13 years old.

[Scam of God]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton.

Goddamn you are a tool. Are you wholly innocent of some of Rush Limbaugh's broadcasts in the 1990s, deriding Hillary Clinton as a dyke?

That was the 90's. I'm saying that today, if Rush Limbaugh cracked a joke about one of Obama's girls getting "knocked up", everyone would be all over him, and he'd be forced to resign. But it's certainly okay for Letterman to poke fun at Palin's children.

LOL DUBBLE STANDARDS DONT APPLY TO ME NOSIREE!

[tmthforu94]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton.

Goddamn you are a tool. Are you wholly innocent of some of Rush Limbaugh's broadcasts in the 1990s, deriding Hillary Clinton as a dyke?

That was the 90's. I'm saying that today, if Rush Limbaugh cracked a joke about one of Obama's girls getting "knocked up", everyone would be all over him, and he'd be forced to resign. But it's certainly okay for Letterman to poke fun at Palin's children.

"Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat. Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is a White House dog?" And he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton. Chelsea Clinton is 13 years old.

That's wrong too.
It's hypocritical for some people to attack Palin and her family, then complain that Clinton got poor treatment.

[Scam of God]

It's pretty pathetic. It would be like Republicans constantly going after Janet Napolitano, or Hillary Clinton.

Goddamn you are a tool. Are you wholly innocent of some of Rush Limbaugh's broadcasts in the 1990s, deriding Hillary Clinton as a dyke?

That was the 90's. I'm saying that today, if Rush Limbaugh cracked a joke about one of Obama's girls getting "knocked up", everyone would be all over him, and he'd be forced to resign. But it's certainly okay for Letterman to poke fun at Palin's children.

"Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat. Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is a White House dog?" And he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton. Chelsea Clinton is 13 years old.

That's wrong too.
It's hypocritical for some people to attack Palin and her family, then complain that Clinton got poor treatment.

And it's hypocritical for conservative jackasses to make a mockery of Hillary Clinton and then demand special treatment for their pet retard.

[tmthforu94]

And I'm not a conservative jackass. I can't stand Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and I'm not a fan of Sean Hannity. They're a bunch of douchebags who get people fired up over nothing. From an outside perspective, I think Palin is treated very poorly from the same people who complained that Clinton was treated poorly. And on the flip-side, Clinton was treated poorly from the same people who complain that Palin is being treated poorly.

[JSojourner]

Conservative media would never get away with treating a liberal like the liberal media treats Sarah Palin.

I love it when conservatives whine about double standards that don't exist: the right spent 8 years savaging Hillary Clinton as an atheist lesbian communist.

This, exactly.  I still haven't seen the level of vitriol aimed at Palin that was aimed at Clinton for eight years or more.  I'm not familiar with any rumors of Sarah Palin having people murdered. 

[J. J.]

This, exactly.  I still haven't seen the level of vitriol aimed at Palin that was aimed at Clinton for eight years or more.  I'm not familiar with any rumors of Sarah Palin having people murdered. 

Keep in mind that that was sponsored by one individual, for less than 8 years, and that it was debunked by Ken Starr.

I've never seen anyone on the left jumping to Palin's defense like that.