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“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.”
—Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, acceptance speech, September 3, 2008
[C]ommunity organizers aren’t just those rabble-rousers who help keep people from getting evicted or protest police brutality—they’re basically the ordinary people across the political spectrum who to try hold government accountable to its citizens. Mocking that really shows how much contempt the party has for ordinary people. Republicans look down their noses at alleged “elites” while directing their anger at community organizers, who actually live and work among the people politicians only pay attention to when they’re looking for votes. But it’s not surprising that a party that has spent the last eight years running government into the ground would be irritated by an active citizenry demanding that government actually do its job, rather than simply letting incompetent pols go about their business. If there’s any takeaway from this theme, it’s that the right would rather Americans shut up and fall in line.Christopher Hayes at the Nation:If I had spent my mayoralty subjecting people to loyalty tests and trying to ban books, a community organizer might make me nervous, too. If I had been mayor of a town that was left with 20 million dollars in debt after my tenure, I wouldn’t be on TV talking about how well I had handled my responsibilities and how awful community organizers are. Because, after all, community organizers have the responsibility of helping regular people cope with the messes irresponsible politicians leave behind.
[M]y dad is a community organizer, so lemme spell this out: the difference between a community organizer and a politician is that a community organizer can’t tell anyone what to do. They have to listen. So they can’t order books banned from a library to indulge their own religious sensibilities. They can’t fire someone because they didn’t follow orders to fire an estranged family member. They can’t ram through a $15 million dollar sports complex that leaves their local town groaning underneath the debt. Unlike politicians, they don’t have any power other than the power of people who want to see something changed.Al Giordano at The Field:
Palin couldn’t help herself last night. She had to say, in a few fateful words, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”Joe Klein at Time magazine’s “Swampland” blog:Translation: I got elected and therefore I am better than all of you!
This morning, I received a press release from a group called Catholic Democrats about the work—the mission, the witness—that Obama performed after he got out of college. Here’s the first paragraph:Christy Hardin Smith on Firedoglake:Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent’s work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.” Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice.So here is what Giuliani and Palin didn’t know: Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed—job training, help with housing and so forth—from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord’s work—the sort of mission Jesus preached. (As opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a “task from God.”)This is what Palin and Giuliani were mocking. They were making fun of a young man’s decision “to serve a cause greater than himself,” in the words of John McCain. They were, therefore, mocking one of their candidate’s favorite messages. Obama served the poor for three years, then went to law school. To describe this service—the first thing he did out of college, the sort of service every college-educated American should perform, in some form or other—as anything other than noble is cheap and tawdry and cynical in the extreme.
Perhaps La Pasionaria of the Northern Slope didn’t know this when she read the words they gave her. But Giuliani—a profoundly lapsed Catholic, who must have met more than a few religious folk toiling in the inner cities—should have known. (“I don’t even know what that is,” he sneered.”) What a shameful performance.
Cleaning up a local riverbed or a walking trail with your kid’s scout troop? Republicans think you’re a loser.Christy nails it. If you spend any time whatsoever doing stuff to help other people out, these freaks gathered in the Xcel Energy Center despise you.Working with a job training or literacy program to help folks move from welfare to work? Republicans think your efforts deserve ridicule. Promoting a spay and neuter program at your local animal shelter? Republicans are laughing at you. Volunteer at your church pantry to help the least of these? Republicans are mocking you.
No more mercy. These people need to be more than defeated. They need to be driven from our public life.
Here is Barack Obama's own response, via Ezra Klein:
Look — I would argue that doing work in the community to try to create jobs, to bring people together, to rejuvenate communities that have fallen on hard times, to set up job training programs in areas that had been hard-hit when the steel plants close, that is relevant only in understanding where I’m coming from. Who I believe in. Who I am fighting for, and why I’m in this race.
The question I have for them is — why would that kind of work be ridiculous? Who are they fighting for? What are they advocating for? Do they think that the lives of those folks who are struggling each and every day, that working with them to try to improve their lives is somehow not relevant to the Presidency? I think that as part of problem, may be why they are out of touch and do not get it, because they haven’t spent a lot of time working on behalf of those folks.
So, what she's saying is that as a state representative, and then a state Senator, Obama wasn't responsible to anyone because he wasn't a mayor?
It's a nice insulting slam, but (a) she didn't write that speech, it was written for her and (b) it's not actually relevant.
In the largely white confines of the Republican National Convention, the phrase is a slur, like "ghetto hustler," but lots and lots of people today derive great benefit from community groups, including church groups, and the help they provide ordinary people. Most Americans live in metropolitan areas and actually have experienced the value of community organizing in their lives. Think bake sale.
The whole thing is worth reading; it's link-heavy.
Wasn't one of the phrases used last night about Obama "South Side community organizer?" Seems to me that's a code word for uppity black man, and I see where Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga) actually used that adjective today.
As the wise man Tom Lehrer said, "I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them."
I try to remain an independant, but it's hard to do that while watching the republican party's shocking hatred and reliance on lies. They're too disgusting to merely defeat. They have to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
I would also point out that there are differences between pit bulls and hockey moms besides lipstick.
-Pit bulls can be taught to behave well.
-Pit bulls don't tell vicious lies about others.
-Pit bulls give a flying fuck about the actual PEOPLE they're in charge of.
From the web:
"Mrs. Palin needs to be reminded that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor."
The Republican Party has proven, once again, that one of its core missions is to convince middle class voters to join their rich leaders in dumping on the poor.
Patrick, you're right on, but when I watched the speech this morning it just plain didn't occur to me that she was serious, that she was claiming literally and seriously that small town majors have, say, more responsibility than volunteers who run large community organizations or even big animal shelters, for that matter. It went right past me.
I guess I thought she was being ironic.
http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com has very little content yet, but hopefully will be worth watching.
"Catholic Campaign for Human Development" sounds suspiciously like a faith-based organization to me. Not that I think Obama walks on water, but at least he's gone out and truly ministered to the poor and sick, which is probably more small-c Christian experience than most of the current crop of presidential nominees.
I bet he was really good at it, too.
A further thought: "community organizer" is code for something. What was the title of Saul Alinsky's great book on community organizing? Rules for Radicals, possible translation into English: Obama is a community organizaer, therefore he is a radical, therefore he is a terrorist, and did we mention that he's a Muslim?
Xopher @ 5, I appreciate the humor, but I think it needs an "at least THAT hockey mom" disclaimer, given the Making Light presence of punkrockhockeymom, whom I've never met in person, but who comes across in pixels as a far more admirable person than Gov. Palin.
Xopher @ 5, I appreciate the humor, but I think it needs an "at least THAT hockey mom" disclaimer, given the Making Light presence of punkrockhockeymom, whom I've never met in person, but who comes across in pixels as a far more admirable person than Gov. Palin.
Geoffrey Kidd @6, where did you find that? That's not a quote of the day, it's the quote of the century.
Aren't all of the Republican ward bosses who are responsible for getting out the vote in their precincts "community organizers"?
That slam at Obama and community organizers and activists was also a code that they are Those People -- and immigrants,
The conclusion to be drawn then, by those to whom this narrative is addressed, is that The Great White 'Laskan Gawdess Mayor If Going Against The Uppity, Elitist, Non-White, Non-Christian, Woman-Clinton Cheater And His Wife Who Hates America Activist On Your Behalf. It's racist as hell. It plays beautifully to everyone who is terrified at the news that the 'caucasian race' is going to be a minority among minorities very soon in this great nation.
It's all part of the those end-times xtian mythologies.
Love, C.
I think when most Republicans hear the phrase "Community Organizer" or "Community Activist", they picture Al Sharpton with a bullhorn.
Incorrect as the stereotype may be, we have to partially blame the Al Sharptons of the world for perpetuating the stereotype.
Obama needs to work hard in the debates to transcend the stereotype and not let it detract from his pressence as a transcendental figure. Palin has (tactically) tapped the underlying resentment among Rightists that "community activists" are just anti-patriot grievance-peddlers. If Obama can expound successfully on his years in Chicago and how they have taught him the ins and outs of the human condition such that he can now apply those lessons on a national scale, he should do well.
If Palin or, more probably, McCain can successfully push the idea that Obama is merely a grievance-monger with atrophied love of country... Well, it's still Obama's race to lose, but it'll be a much tighter race because lots of Americans, not just Republicans, aren't keen on people who forever see the American glass as being half-empty.
They got their red meat last night and are feeling the surge. From Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland:
Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama. "Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”
This is part of the overarching narrative of the "rugged individual" who doesn't need a community: during her reign, Mrs Thatcher said "A man riding a bus (to work) at age 26 may count himself a failure." As if London, New York, or Tokyo would be the dynamic money generators that they are without public transport . . .
I'm not sure what a small-town mayor in a state that would be even more desolate than it is without federal largesse knows about success or failure, or more to the point, accountability.
It baffles me how people don't see that the same goons who want their votes hate them, mostly for having to rely on their votes, but I wouldn't be surprised if they also hated them for being so ignorant and easily led. This is beyond "voting against your own economic self-interest." This is voting against your birthright, your cultural heritage, what makes America what it is.
Why yes, Sten. The palins of the world are generally successfully at tapping into racism and playing the race card to win elections.
@18, this is the same guy who couldn't name the ten commandments on live TV. And the sheep line up to be sheared once more . . .
** The people, Ben Franklin, are poised to destroy the Republic **
Lieberman, McCain and Palin are small human beings, intellectually and morally. But like G. W. Bush, they are all the more dangerous for their dull wits and lack of humane values.
McCain's calculated cynicism in selecting ultra-right Palin reveals his lack of judgment and his frivolous nature. He’s no “maverick”. He's mentally unstable.
Palin’s religious delusions are ideological madness. Her fundie xianity is a toxic ersatz for policy, domestic and foreign. She is but one aspect of McCain's death wish for America. As minister for suppression of homeland deviance, Palin becomes dictator of morals and values, while McCain plays dictator of external affairs -- without perpetual war the empire will collapse.
McCain capitulated to the death impulse of dominionists who now control his party. They want to destroy the Constitution and create a theocratic state. They aim to speed a supposed vengeful return of a mythological being by inciting a nuclear Armageddon in the Middle East as a welcome-home party.
That's the Lieberman connection. He's not a mere flack; he's vital to a new holocaust. As "good will" ambassador to Israel’s ultra-conservatives, he’ll do his damnedest to direct God's holy sword of Israel towards a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Bush-McCain’s nuclear war by proxy is already set at its "fail-safe" points on US aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.
Now, the choice is stark. Keep McCain’s finger off the nuclear trigger. Keep Lieberman from inflaming Israel’s right-wing. Keep Palin from becoming a domionist rising star.
Obama offers more than hope. He may be able to save the Republic and the peace of the world. And, you thought Star Wars was fiction.
bipolar2
I agree, the way the Republicans are using "community organizer," this year, with the sneer, is code for "uppity n-----r." And when they think that, they don't just mean Scary Black People, they include all people who are not True Believers in God, guns, drilling for oil, and capitalism. Constance at 16, you said it well.
So far, Obama is responding with great grace and with terrific targeted ads, most of which I'll never see except on YouTube, because he's not bothering to show them in California.
I'm going to donate some more money to the Obama campaign. You should too. Imagine McCain and Palin winning -- OMG.
Paul #21 -- that was when he was interviewed by Stephen Colbert!
This should link to the Comedy Central clip of it:
Rikibeth: You don't have to tell me twice!
Seriously, you're absolutely right. I mean THAT PARTICULAR evil, slimy, underhanded hypocrite of an unAmerican willfully stupid hockey mom. No offense meant to hockey moms generally, especially to ones who can be told from a pit bull even without lipstick.
Constance,
Some would argue that Sharpton is the bigger racist in the equation. I would be one of them.
But this isn't about Sharpton. I used him as an example of street theater run amok. And by pegging Obama as "street theater" the McCain campaign is (again) tactically working to portray Obama as both unserious and potentially dangerous, if given the White House.
The odds are still in Obama's favor. The Republican name brand has been in the toilet for a few years now, with centrists as well as Democrats, and it's that vital centrist vote that McCain must (somehow) attract if he wants to even have a chance.
Prior to Palin, I gave McCain almost no chance to overcome. Less than 5%
With Palin, I think it's 65%-35%, for Obama.
McCain, the great maverick, showed his maverickitude by selecting as his running mate someone who failed at running a car wash. Good executive experience, that. And it wasn't years ago -- that car wash was in 2007.
Oh, and that ultra-right "Christian" is also a liar: Fired Alaskan Official Says Palin Hasn't Been Truthful
Let's look at that little town where she was mayor. She cut property taxes, which benefited rich folks who owned a lot of land the most. How did she make up the loss of revenue? By instituting a sales tax, including taxing groceries, that hit the poorest people hardest.
This candidate is a revolving disaster. And the judgment of the person who selected her has to be called into serious question.
From the Community Organizers Fight Back website:
“Community organizers work in neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by the failing economy,” said John Raskin, founder of Community Organizers of America and a community organizer on the West Side of Manhattan. “The last thing we need is for Republican officials to mock us on television when we’re trying to rebuild the neighborhoods they have destroyed. Maybe if everyone had more houses than they can count, we wouldn’t need community organizers. But I work with people who are getting evicted from their only home. If John McCain and the Republicans understood that, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to make fun of community organizers like me.”
This bit from the NY Times article linked above really caught my eye:
"Sarah comes in with all this ideological stuff, and I was like, 'Whoa, " said [John C.] Stein, who lost the election. "But that got her elected: abortion, gun rights, term limits and the religious born-again thing. I'm not a churchgoing guy, and that was another issue: 'We will have our first Christian mayor.' "
"I thought: 'Holy cow, what's happening here? Does that mean she thinks I'm Jewish or Islamic?' " recalled Mr. Stein, who was raised Lutheran, and later went to work as the administrator for the city of Sitka in southeast Alaska. "The point was that she was a born-again Christian."
Now that would be a good point for the Obama campaign to hammer on. "Are you Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic? Sarah Palin calls America a Christian country -- but she doesn't consider you to be a Christian." Extra points because they don't even have to mention the significant number of voters who really aren't Christian; that's all in the subtext. We need to find a citation of her actually using the phrase "Christian country" or "Christian nation", but that shouldn't be hard.
Also, how are all these Republicans getting elected -- to everything from local school boards to governors' offices -- without community organizers? Once again, the McCain campaign disses its own people. (And I see Greg beat me to that thought, back at #15.)
Every time you hear the word "uppity" come up this election, bear in mind that they're leaving off the second half of the phrase - the one that starts with an N and is six letters long.
They don't need to say the word in order for the target audience of those remarks to hear and understand it. A perfect example of dogwhistling.
Paul @ #14, Politico described it as an e-mail from a reader. Dunno if that's where it originated, though.
Linkmeister, #28: Wow. The Obama campaign needs to get that man on TV now, saying exactly what he says there. If that's not a perfect 30-second soundbite, I've never seen one.
James D. McDonald @ #27: Sales tax is actually a better idea for Wasilla. It's a Mat-Su Valley hub, with a significant amount of city infrastructure being used by people who don't live there. I usually stop and use a bathroom and grab a meal when I'm driving through, and I don't mind paying sales tax to support the facilities. If they only had property taxes, we'd not be paying for what we're using.
We listen to the claims of truth and grit,
lights are placed carefully to mark the highs,
from this great distance no one smells the shit.
The primed crowd laughs, though we can't find the wit,
but they are ready there to storm the skies;
we listen to the claims of truth and grit.
The universe seems narrowed to a slit
and no one listens to a child who cries;
from this great distance no one smells the shit.
Each falsehood is turned into one more hit
as monster is transformed before our eyes,
we listen to the claims of truth and grit.
The human mouth will fill with normal spit
to respond to the cavalcade of lies;
from this great distance no one smells the shit.
We wait to see if she might have a fit
before she is awarded with the prize;
we listen to the claims of truth and grit,
from this great distance no one smells the shit.
#27: Lots of Christians are liars, there's no need for the scare quotes.
But then, lots of people of any belief system are liars. It's like Sturgeon's Law for humans, or something.
Christians aren't really particularly worse than anyone else. (But they also aren't particularly better, which is worth pointing out on the frequent occasions when they *claim* to be better just because they're Christian. Ain't so.)
#26: I don't see how Palin gets McCain anywhere with centrists. She's unqualified, corrupt and extremist - the only thing about that someone could *possibly* like is the extremism, and then only if you share it. Which moderates, ipso facto, don't.
#27: Lots of Christians are liars, there's no need for the scare quotes.
I put "Christian" in quotes when describing Palin because I'm quoting her. Without the quotes it would be me saying that she's a Christian.
BTW, I live in a state that has no sales tax, only property taxes. That works very, very well.
Obama's response to Palin's speech
I liked it, especially the whole "I've been called worse on the basketball court" line.
And yet Republicans everywhere are all a-quiver, certain that they have the killer candidate that will bring them to victory. There was a caller on the Randi Rhodes show this morning declaiming that the Democrats had their chance to put a woman in office and blew it. Now the Republicans have a woman, and she's their winning ticket. "You guys are gonna lose!" the caller crowed repeatedly.
They really, truly think that Hillary's supporters, or perhaps women in general, are so stupid and sexist that they'll vote for anyone with two X chromosomes.
McCain has revealed himself the hypocrite that he his when, after repeatedly slamming Obama for being "inexperienced," now slams the media for questioning -- "attacking" in McCain's words -- Palin's experience.
I cringe at the very thought of this country ending up in the hands of this madman and his nutjob running mate. But somehow this choice of his has caused him to rise in the polls.
Suddenly I feel like pricing real estate in New Zealand.
All this almost makes me wish I was a US citizen, just so I could vote for Obama and against McCain/Palin. Almost. But I'm happy to be an Aussie.
BTW, does anyone else think McCain looks even more doddery and old when he stands next to Palin? Not a good look for a president wannabe. He looks like he's about to fall off the twig any minute. No wonder they keep showing photos of him in his Vietnam War days, where he look young and vigourous.
The thing that I admire and appreciate most about Obama is his background as a community organizer. Also, it gives me confidence that we can work with him as a leader. His campaign has succeeded so far because it did so much more to organize and empower the grass roots. He wants the grass roots to speak truth to power. When he's in power, we'll speak truth to him. As he said, "It's not about me, it's about you."
Palin's statement is true if you substitute "authority" for "responsibilities.” Community organizers take responsibility for some aspect of a community and, without any authority, try to improve it. They have to go up against authority to make the system work for the community. Palin, on the other hand, represents authority, and I'm increasingly concerned that it is authority without responsibility.
Don't any of these people remember George I's "thousand points of light" speech? Or George II's office of faith-based initiatives?
It seems as if Obama was working to fulfill the Republican approach to social services (ie, let other people take care of it). And for that he gets mocked?
#38: I think Palin actually will help in getting the Republicans who are otherwise luke-warm about McCain to vote on Election Day (as opposed to staying home). All they needed was an excuse to vote for McCain. (It's not like they were ever going to vote for Obama.) I really doubt women in general will vote for McCain because of her. (Then again, I don't understand how she can hold policy positions which serve to undermine gender equality.)
The other thought that occurred to me is that this is yet another case of Republicans trying to create their own reality. i.e., if they say it enough times it will be treated as fact and perhaps actually become so. It's sort of like the end of the 2000 campaign when Bush was boasting that he was going to win California. (He didn't, but he certainly acted as if he was going to.)
#41: You thought they actually believed in that?
Lee @ 29
I get that feeling every time I hear someone say 'I became a Christian', because so often what they really mean is becoming a 'born-again Christian' after being in a mainstream church. And yes, a lot of them don't really think other denominations - even other conservative/evangelical/fundamentalist groups - are really Christian, only the one that they themselves belong to.
Can we say just a bit narrow in their thinking?
Something I don't understand regarding qualifications. I'm certain that when Senator Obama decided he wanted to be President he started studying up on all the things a President should know. My State's Governor, when asked about the Vice Presidency, asked what the job would entail...
::slams head into desk::
How can people think that she's more/at least as qualified as Senator Obama? How??? He's been learning about what he needs to know while she's been giggling on talk radio about pulling the hair of the Senate President*. And exploiting her kids for effect.
*Yeah, it's been annoying me since January when it happened, ok? It was completely unprofessional.
Lee #29: "I thought: 'Holy cow, what's happening here? Does that mean she thinks I'm Jewish or Islamic?'" recalled Mr. Stein, who was raised Lutheran, and later went to work as the administrator for the city of Sitka in southeast Alaska.
Sitka, Alaska? No wonder she thinks he's Jewish.
I've spent all of my professional career (which admittedly amounts to a tender two years) in urban libraries. I know community organizers. They're in the library hustling on behalf of the people they're trying to help, from getting preschoolers into storytime to getting high school dropouts prepared for the GED. I wouldn't trust all of them with the country I live in, but by and large I'd trust them a lot further than I'd trust Sarah Palin.
But then, I guess I'm a failure - I do indeed ride the bus (and the subway, and another subway) to work at the age of 26. So what would I know?
One thing that particularly irritates me about Palin's speech is the sharp contrast with Obama's declaration, just a couple of days ago, that Palin's children were off-limits. He was courteous to her; she was slimy and noxious back.
Does she take courtesy as a sign of weakness?
Katie, my eldest, and I are watching the RNC tonight for her 7th grade civics class. Her observation: "Doesn't John McCain's wife make you think she's the White Witch from Narnia?"
Now I can't get the association out of my head.
My mother just called to tell me how terrible it was that some horrible liberal had presumed to ask Sarah Palin about banana clips or scrunchies. (When did it become definitively liberal to patronize a woman just because she's a woman?) She went on to describe Bristol Palin's marriage as "wonderful," and tell me Governor Palin's advocacy did not have anything to do with what was taught in Alaska schools so nobody had any right to talk about what she might have wanted them to teach.
I am at a loss.
McCain has started his speech. CNN is showing protestors who have unfolded a sign reading "YOU CAN'T WIN AN OCCUPATION" in the upper rows of seats.
The crowd is interrupting McCain with shouts of "USA! USA!" which I infer are covering heckling from the unamplified dissenters.
Tania @33 - you do realize, of course, that when you are stopping for a meal, the restaurant you're using is located on property?
Bill 51: I wonder if they're talking about Iraq, or the hostile cop-army occupation of St. Paul?
Geez. I guess that my community organizing experience as a 4-H leader--including running a county Fair division--makes me as qualified if not more than Sarah Palin. Oh yeah, I did a stint in the PTA as an officer, too.
But oh. Forgot. I'm not only employed as an evil godless teacher, I'm an evil, bead-jiggling Catholic teacher who worships idols and drinks wine (well, I prefer a good single malt, to be honest).
Woe is me.
(And, darn it, Gloria Steinem stole the concept I came up with last night, that Sarah Palin is the Second Coming of Phyllis Schafly. Oh well. I'm sure Beverly LaHaye would like to claim credit as well).
Josh Jasper @2 typed:
"So, what she's saying is that as a state representative, and then a state Senator, Obama wasn't responsible to anyone because he wasn't a mayor?
It's a nice insulting slam, but (a) she didn't write that speech, it was written for her and (b) it's not actually relevant."
She clearly did not write it (nuclear was, in the text, written phnetically as new-clear, presumably becase in practice runs she was to obtuse tp pronounce the word correctly). But it doesn't matter if she wrote it. Shestood up, in front of 38 million people, and delivered it. Sarah Palin is responsible for the words formed under orders from her brain, transmitted by motorneurons to her vocal cords, and vomited from her mouth.
She is responsible for her words.
http://kali921.livejournal.com/250945.html
George Smiley writes at #56:
She clearly did not write it (nuclear was, in the text, written phnetically as new-clear, presumably becase in practice runs she was to obtuse tp pronounce the word correctly).
Giving the Governor the benefit of the doubt, I prefer to think that she and the speechwriter were just making really sure to get it right.
WRT the speeches: I have heard that they were all run by the McCain speechwriters before being delivered (which may explain some of the stuff), and also that Palin's speech last night was rewritten, possibly in haste, because they'd written it up last week for a man to be doing the delivery. (Can we say surprises for McCain's own campaign people?)
Governor Palin apparently believes in an enemies list. Scary stuff. When the author has to say "I can write this because I'm a housewife and don't have a job to lose"... and "this will cost me anyway"...
... she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda,
Sounds like Nixon plus Bush.
Fragano @34: Huzzah! How the hell do you cook up an apt villanelle in 24 hours? Lovely.
In other news: As I watched the crowd's responses to Palin's speech (and then the entity-in-the-street pieces on today's NPR coverage), I kept thinking, "Monkey politics, monkey politics, monkey politics. . . ." (Not to be confused with "money politics," though that certainly applies as well.) For some reason, to a lot of people, she smells right--even over basic cable. Can memes act as mental-emotional pheromones?
Christian Dominionists spreading their creed,
Theocrats plotting their coup.
Christian Dominionists shouting their prayers,
Telling all what one should do.
Secure in their values they know they shall win
All of the world to their side.
Christian Dominionists know in their hearts
They shall not let anyone hide.
They know that their creed shall take over the world
And those not acceding shall die,
Christian Dominionists triumphant shall
Impose a new order thereby.
Stonings and slav'ry and death there shall be
For sinners have sinned and must pay,
And if the sin is a capital crime
The sinner shall be killed that day,
Christian Dominionists soldiers of God
Inexorably make their way
Person by person they work to convert
And they look forward to say,
Someday soon they shall have their Kingdom of God
And those not compliant shall die,
Theocracy shall reign over the world
And no one allowed to ask why
Bill Higgins @58: assuming that Palin might forget how to pronounce "nuclear" -- a word pronounced the way it is spelled is giving her the benefit of the doubt? Dude. That is some seriously faint praise.
Re "new-clear": Isn't it obvious? They don't want there to be ANY risk that she might sound like Bush!
A sudden late-night thought:
I think Palin is trying to run too many conflicting images simultaneously. She's trying to be the Good Mother, the Down-To-Earth Woman, and the Tough Broad all at the same time. And she's doing this in an environment (i.e. the Republican Party) where (1) the threat of being perceived instead as the Goddamn Bitch hangs over her head 24/7 like a Sword of Damocles, and (2) there is not a lot of margin for error. Frankly, I don't think she's got the chops to pull it off for very long.
Why is it, that every election another word is turned (by Republicans) into something negative?
"Liberal" used to be a neutral term.
So did "elite", or "community organizer".
I fully anticipate the next word being turned into a pejorative term:
SNEERING VOICE-OVER: "Obama is a *Democrat* who believes in *Democracy*..."
Excerpt from Conan The Parliamentarian (forthcoming in November 2012):
Campaign Chairman: "We have won. This is good! But what is best in life?"
Nameless RNC Operative: "The White House rose garden, Air Force One, the JCS to command, and the cheers of your loyal supporters."
Campaign Chairman: "Wrong! Conan, what is best in life?"
Conan The Parliamentarian: "To crush your opponents, to see them disgraced, indicted and unemployable, and to hear the lamentations of their K-street slaves."
Campaign Chairman: "Ah yes, that is good."
Don't laugh. They've pretty much trashed most of the first fourteen amendments. Don't be too shocked if they forget about section 1 of article II.
> She's unqualified, corrupt and extremist - the only thing about that someone could *possibly* like is the extremism, and then only if you share it.
There are people who like having corrupt politicians so long as they think they can do the corrupting and control the politicians. And "unqualified" might even make it easier to do that.
(But whether any of those people are centrists who wouldn't vote for McCain without Palin, I have no idea.)
Full list of books Palin wanted banned from libraries as mayor has leaked:
Brian @69:
Dead link.
Remember to put quotes around the url, and use http:// at the start of it.
Maybe it's just me, but whenever I see Palin, I think of Jean Grey when she is first seen in the original X-men movie. It's the glasses. If Palin starts wearing red though, then the Earth is really in trouble.
In the "you've got to be kidding me" category:
McCain's staff has loftily announced that voters will learn about Sarah Palin through canned ads and scheduled appearances, not from any media interviews or press meetings:
http://www.politicalbase.com/profile/Mark%20Nickolas/blog/&blogId=3591
Lance Weber @49: "Doesn't John McCain's wife make you think she's the White Witch from Narnia?"
I sent a copy of this photo (from this story on the Crooks and Liars site) to a friend with the note: "If this was Babylon 5, you'd know Cindy was in the PsiCorp".
My name is Legion, for we are many.
For the sentimental, I am the Hockey Mom.
For the fearful, I am the Tough Broad.
For the gullible, I am the Stealth Dominionist.
For the feminists, I am the Sixth Wave.
For the bluenoses, I am the Eyes and the Lips Sewn Shut.
For the enemies list, I am the Sword of Damocles.
Send us into the elephants, that we may enter into them.
Brian, #69: Full list of books Palin wanted banned from libraries as mayor has leaked:
Where is it from? Because on the library blog that Boing Boing linked to when they pointed out Palin's book-banning attempt, somebody in the comments tried to pass off what turned out to be just a list of commonly banned books as Palin's list.
Brian's list of Palin's banned books is, of course, an astounding worldwide exclusive.
One of the big problems I have with the whole thing is that republicans seem to feel they are better than anybody else and they stand accused of the very things they accuse others of. Any race I have seen (and that is years worth) there is a lot of trying to convince the people (as if they are mindless cattle) that the other party is not worthy of representing the concerns of the whole. This is sad that we have not moved beyond name calling on the playground. Then there is a lot of worthless promises made that nobody ever intends to keep (still after the cattle, "I promise that I will make the pasture safer for your kids" stuff). The point is, nothing up until this time has worked. They can talk all about how prosperous we were way back when so and so was in office and such but what does that do for us now? What we need is a change to the very basic ways that we do business. We need change. Nothing else has worked so why would we keep voting for the same stuff over and over again? It blows my mind. I may not be a politician (thank the graces) but I do know what works and what doesn't and all the games, and lies, and innuendos and such are not necessary. People this time around need to vote their heart and what is best for the whole. Don't vote for what is best for the Christians, or the Catholics, or the Black people, or the White. Vote for what will help raise us all. We are one and we need to start actng as one. Forget the special interests.
I will tell you the truth. I favor both candidates but I do not favor any party. I like that Barack does represent change, and fresh approaches to things but I doubt that he might be strong enough to oust a few of those old time death dealers in the political circles. You know the ones I am speaking of. They are the ones that wave the flag and scream for God and Country and immeditely try to figure out ways they can line their pockets with the end results. This country was not founded on any particular concept of what God we should all be worshipping but on free choice to worship and be represented as we chose. Some factions would have you believe otherwise. It is not about God. It should not ever boil down to that. It is about what is best for us, for ALL of us. Freedom of Religion means all religion. We shoud coin the phrase "Freedom From Religion". So Barack would get my vote.
I also favor McCain. I do feel he is a man of integrity and anybody that has been in the military will tell you that when you are dedicated to protecting the man next to you there is little time for flag waving. The main reason that veterans wave the flag and get political is not because they just overwhelming want to be political and such, they simply want the country to remember what the initial promises to them and their families were back when and they want the american public to recognize their service and see that they get the care they so desperately need and deserve. Not many of you folks have been subjected to the 24/7 duties and lifestyle they have been subjected to. Not many have gone through the rigors of military life and adjustments required to be able to function correctly. Ye, after a certain point, they were all volunteers and that makes them even mor special. They volunteerede to be there when they were needed and they want and need adequate representation. They want that and as a country of free thinkers (supposedly) we should demand that and more. Whose country is this anyway and why should somebody else be in charge of our very life pulse? Shoot they cannot even take care of business within let alone on a world wide scale. Now, back to John. I sense he is a man that is on a mission to do all that he can to be what we need and he just happened to need a sponsoring group that could help get him in that position. If he gets it I hope he is strong enough to do some house cleaning. I tell you I felt kinda used badly when I wrote and told the powers that be that they needed to all be fired and they needed term limitations to make sure that the kitchen stays fresh and a couple weeks later I got audited by the IRS. What's with that? People, you need to open your eyes and vote with your hearts and do what is best for ALL of us. Think about what you are doing and think about what is representing you. Both political machines have their agendas, but are they for us?
So we should "vote our conscience", right? Hmmm, that sounds familiar....
And do you know what is really funny? The more irrational statements that either party makes about the other, the more shocked and preocupied the other gets about making up "lost ground" with the voters. They lose their focus on what issues the voters are concerned with. They lose us. They then focus on the silly games being played and forget why they are there. Hence the wild accusations and empty promises. Give them anything as long as it works the spin doctors will tell you. At what cost? Sooner or later maybe enough of us are going to get tired of the whole circus and bring down the big top and try it all over again. This time, minus the clowns.
Actually, if I had meant conscience I would have stated it. Many times your conscience will lie to you but your heart is a different matter. The conscience can rational why you are doing something, give you excuses but the heart doesn't lie. It is called being congruent or in touch with your true nature. It is called living in radical honesty.
#11 Kathryn Cramer got it right early in the thread. I would guess that to more people than Republicans "community organizer" = "radical." A raft of quotes where left of center bloggers talk about how awesome community organizers are would only amplify the impression.
More and more, this election looks not to be about Iraq, nor about the economy, but about the culture wars. /*sigh*/
Ce'ine, similar phrases have been used here as dogwhistling for support of third party candidates.
What is really too bad is that we are the American Culture; not the Christian Culture, not the Black Culture, not the White Culture, none of that. We are the American Culture. Where is that outside the group that is wildly waving the flag declaring us the biggest, baddest kid on the playground? Why is it so important to be remembered as the greatest nation one earth? In what terms do they wish to see us as that way? Because we have the best military, thus the most aggressive in enforcing our will and ideals on other nations? Why not let them take care of their own problems for the most part? You know offer advise. The government, our goverment makes us take care of our own and even gives our assets away when we should be, could be taking care of our hungry, our homeless, our starving, our weak.....We are not even sure that our people who have worked years to get social security will even receive any of it because the till has been robbed so freely. Our country robs Peter to pay Paul and we pay for the ticket. Our children pay for that ticket and it does no good to point fingers because if we had to point a finger it would be squarely on the people as a whole for allowing it. If we want to be remembered for something let it be said that we were generous and caring of all of our people and stood as a shining model to be admired by others for it. Do you know that the hero has the hardest position to maintain, especially if he begins to believe his own press :)))
Al Giordano has the right instinct in his translation ("I got elected and therefore I am better than all of you!"), but uses more words than necessary. In fact, the Bush-McCain philosophy is "Shut up and be ruled."
Here is a lovely video clip in which a McCain campaign rep explains to Jay Carney, TIME Bureau Chief that Sarah Palin will not talk to the press: No Questions, Please. We'll Tell You What You Need To Know.
You must see this to believe it.
I do not belong to any party, hhehehe not even fourth or fifth. I am making an attempt to say something without being accused of supporting anybody. Just pointing out observations, giving voice to frustration. So, our conversation here is not open to observation nor heartfelt inspiration? Surely, and I am not trying to sound cynical here, you do sound a bit unreachable and I suppose that is a pose for some people to take that is firm in their stand. My stand is also firm. I think what we need is to clean house, and get back to the business of taking care (really taking care of what is ours). If Bozo the Clown could do it I would vote for him (minus all the makeup hehehe). I hate masks.I was also under the impression that folks might actually be interested in what normal folks have to say rather than just banding words and smart phrases around.
Palin's speech, what I can stomach of it, convinces me that all the Republican issues in this election are religious. Palin represents the Proprietarians, who hold property and ownership sacred, and worship the use of property to gain more property. And what sort of ownership could be more holy than owning a government?
Thank you #87, my point exactly. BTW I just watched the U-Tube thing #85 talked about and I was pleased to see that they did not let me down. As usual they dismissed what the man was trying to accomplish and pretty much said "the people will know what we want them to know about this woman that we want the poeple to accept as their Vice President". It is the usual and that folks should say is "What kinda of Crap is that?" I got horses to feed, and animals to take care of, it's been nice, it's been real hehehe. Later.
Bruce @87:
So...some conflation between the terms "elect" and "elected"?
James D. Macdonald @ 36
Jim, I live in a different state with property taxes and no sales tax, and it works exceptionally poorly* here. The property owners have a habit of using the initiative ballot system to cut the taxes or build loopholes into them**.They also have a habit of voting against spending that doesn't benefit them, like education†, transportation, and other "city" issues. Now that I think of their voting patterns and who sponsors those initiatives, I wonder if they don't think of them as "gay" issues.
As a result we have one of the worst educational systems, primary, secondary, and higher education, in the US (and we moved here for the really good educational system that was here 30 years ago, so we've seen the whole devolution personally, with 2 kids going through all those levels here).
* Not that I think there should be a sales tax; I agree that it's a regressive tax that mostly hits those who can least afford it, and who have less margin between wages and payments, if any.
** Ever wonder how the wealthy third-ring suburbs and exurbs around cities like Portland, OR got to be filled with Christmas tree farms? Turns out the land used to be farms, and is still zoned as agricultural land; developers just bought the land in 10 acre parcels, built 10 or 12,000 square foot "houses" on it, then planted evergreen saplings on the rest.
† Yes, I know, educating our young helps all of us in a lot of ways. These ingrates, who suck off the public teat in more ways than I can count, but refuse to give back, don't admit this.
ETA: NOTE TO MODERATOR - I got a "Suspicious cross-site scripting denied from http://www.nielsenhayden.com/mt/spqr.cgi" warning from NoScript when I hit preview on this comment. This is the first time I've seen that here.
Why would the Republicans even take this view? They prattle on and on about how "christian" they are, but they attack someone who wanted to go out and help others? Isn't that the foundation of just about every religion out there?
My grandfather was a life long Dem because he benefitted from FDR's programs. He worked in the CCC and was able to eat regular meals.
I don't see this wave of Palinmania lasting longer than another week. There's something snarky about her that I don't like.
Oh, one last thing and I will check back later. What does the word "conflation" mean. I know it sounds silly but when I run across words I am not familiar with I look them up and no where was I able to find the meaning so I am having trouble putting it into context. Thanks.
#70 Ce'ine
I'm a veteran. Terry Karney is in the National Guard and has recent service in the Middle East. Jim/James/Yog Macdonald is a mustang Navy veteran.
McCain's military service was at the same time and in the same theater of combat as that disgraced former US Representative from California who I think is rotting in jail for corrupting these days.
The fellow who lost his seat and in Congress and went to jail was collecting all sorts of bribes for giving contracts to the companies which bribed him.... he was a War Hero, but it didn't stop he from being a corrupt legislator. Nope, his being a War Hero it made him a more attractive target for bribery instead, with a Strong Defense Military Record.... and the ability on the House Armed Services Committee to give fat plum contracts to the companies who made his life more personally comfortable!
McCain isn't the only veteran on the Hanoi Hilton, he's merely the best known, and the one who's gotten the most political mileage out of it.
His moral character has apparently NEVER been particularly impressive--a party boy who is "pro-life" with the anti-birth control and anti-abortion lobby but apparently never missed an opportunity to play stick the frankfurter in an attractive female, a man whose vows of fidelity to his first wife were so strong that he was involved with an affair with his current wife, a booze distributor heiress in advance of divorcing his first wife (and the current wife was far from his only marital infidelity... if he hadn't gotten shot down perhaps he would have gotten "the black syph[illis] instead....)...
And then there is the "torture" issue. McCain claims he was tortured in the Hanoi Hilton, HOWEVER, he voted in the US Congress for the use of "cruel and unusual punishment" which is banned outright in the Bill of Rights! on prisoners conveniently labelled "enemy combatants."
Now, just what is the definition of "enemy combatants"? Why, an enemy combatant is anyone the Executive Branch of US Government claims is an enemy combatant--could be anyone from someone who actually is Al Qaida, to someone whose neighbor seeing a reward of $100 for denoucing someone as an alleged terrorist, "informed" on the neighbor telling the Authorities that the neighbor is a suspicious person--with absolutely no substantiation. Or, the person taken prison was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the US military came busting through a door or looking to round up some people, and the person was, again, in the wrong place at the wrong time--the same way all those people getting arrested in St Paul were jailed, they were outside in the wrong place at the wrong time.
McCain originally objects to prisoner abuse, saying that he had been tortured in North Vietnam--but then he acceded and voted to allow it.
His military service was long ago. His current moral actions--or rather immoral actions--put him into the category of hypocrite, and oathbreaker. He swore oaths--at his military commissioning, at each term of office as a Senator, to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. In voting for the FISA act, in voting for torturing prisoners, he's an oathbreaker, and traitor.
His military service was long ago. His abrogation of the Constitution he vowed to uphold, is contemporary. He's not worth the spit to spit on him with.
John McCain, who avoided the black syph by getting shot down....
JJ Fozz @91:
I suspect it's the desperate desire to win at all costs.
I have always reckoned that a certain proportion of people don't really believe in anything except that Winning is Everything. And that they don't, deep down, understand that anyone is different than them, that words like patriotism, or principles, or faith, actually have meaning to anyone. People who sacrifice, or even die, for such things are just losers in their books. Sportsmanship, fair play, and honor are for wimps.
Such people will gravitate to a party or a group that rewards the relentless pursuit of victory, and their presence will mold it still further into a tool for them to achieve that aim.
Case in point: the same party that will brook no criticism of a soldier were handing these out four years ago.
I often think that the culture wars are not really between the Left and the Right, but between those who care about the means and those who care about the ends.
#90 Bruce
New Hampshire's state income comes from taxes on property and taxes on investments and other tax sources and state liquor store sales.
The state's surrounded by other jurisdictions that have sales taxes, and people travel across jurisdictions to do their purchasing "in tax-free New Hampshire" of goods that have sales taxes where they live.... it's one of the things that turned Haverhill and Lawrence in Massachusetts into blighted cities with the businesses shuttered that used to be in their blighted city centers, all the retail establishments shut down because the populace was driving across the border to Salem or Nashua in New Hampshire to shop (the Pheasant Lane Mall in New Hampshire is a particularly egregious example, the stores are in Nashua, and the parking lot in is Tyngsboro, Massachusetts..... New Hampshire collects tax money from the stores and Tyngsboro gets only the property tax money from the parking lot assessed as empty land without businesses on it...)
Thanks for the honesty Paula. Just getting ready to feed a litter of pups and stopped by here. Yeah, I am also a veteran of the days of Viet Nam and my husband a veteran of many overt and covert affairs as he was an Army Ranger. We have all lost much and don't appreciate seeing all the hero stuff paid to a person (who may be trying to actually do something). He might, never know. But I needed that information you gave because I felt odd about his using the hero thing over and over and over again. I think they (he and his party) use it because so many of us now have children over there or who are subject to going over there. All the crap they spew about getting us out of Iraq soon is just crap. Ask my kid in the Air Force that tells me "Mom don't listen to what they tell you about what is really going on. It's not true. Not a word of it. That kid just got a briefing from the commander the other day saying to expect to be there for at least the next 6 years!" I remember being in and knowing what the american public wasn't being told and also being told that to say anything was in violation and made you subject to disciplinary action. We were (even volunteers) subject to that level of control. The hero thing doesn't set well with me because at this point in my life my kids that are in are my heros but not because they are for God and country but because they want to make a difference and to make something of their lives. They do what they do for the person next to them and that is how they make it. That doesn't change. As my husband would say "Rangers Lead the Way". I am very proud of my military but not for the same reasons most folks would think.
abi @ 94... I often think that the culture wars are not really between the Left and the Right, but between those who care about the means and those who care about the ends.
On the other hand, the Culture War is used by those who care only about winning because the Culture War resonates with people whose support will help them win. Their conception of what is Good can be quite different from ours. We think it's great that George Takei and his long-time companion were finally able to tie the knot, but others see it a s a sign that Things Are Wrong.
Russell Letson #61: I do the best job I can, that's all I can say. Thanks for the compliment!
Conflation is when you combine two things into one. So the suggestion is that someone somewhere thinks "elect" and "elected" are the same thing--that if you are elected, you are one of the elect.
Eh.
This isn't my election, nor is it my fight, but my heart/conscience/call-it-what-you-will wouldn't let me vote Labour after Tony Blair said a vote for them would indicate support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
No.Wars.
And one more thing that kills me is that McCains party days and misbehavior was thrown up in such a positive light. Wow, he did all these things not because he may have been an a**hole and a troublemaker, but because he was a rebel and we need rebels, and the same for Palin. If we were discussing the other guys it is wise not to chose them because they bring dishonor and are not to be trusted. The usual crap hey try to dish up. I saw his bad behavior as bad behavior and perhaps that he had learned by his mistakes over the years (sometimes we do grow as we age hehehe). Where he is losing it is that he is either allowing the feeding frenzy to continue against the other side or he is encouraging it. I have a real problem with the backbiting thing. Just like I have a problem with folks that jump to conclusions about how a person stands (even if they do only stand on one leg heheheh). Bright Blessings guys.
What does the word "conflation" mean.
It means putting two things together. Like, if you think of Alice and Bob as a couple, you're conflating them into one thing. It often implies that the two things being put together aren't necessarily similar in the way the conflation implies. So if you know Alice really likes blue, it would be a conflation to assume that Bob does too just because he's involved with her.
Thanks for the explanation #99. It makes more sense now to me. So if a person is the elect (he or she is perhaps the one chosen from within) but if they are the elected then they become the once chosen by all perhaps:) Not the same thing at all but easy to see how they could be mixed up. Thanks again.
When King Bush ran 8 years ago, and McCain was mentioned, I did some research. "Not bad," I thought. My how things have changed.
If you have the time, pick up a book called "The Nightingale's Song." It's about McCain, Ollie North and another man and what happened to them after Annapolis and Vietnam.
I don't understand how people like North, McCain, etc., start out as good men who fight for their country, and are turned into the people they are today. Must be the narcotic effect of power.
The older I get, the less I care about politics and politicans. I'm concerned about the people in my circle, and that's about it.
I live in a fairly liberal university town, but I work in a nearby small town that is overwhelmingly Republican. Here's what's in the air there:
Sarah Palin: thinks the Founding Fathers wrote the Pledge of Allegiance, including the "under God" part.
Barack Obama: taught Constitutional Law.
Q: which one is more qualified to hold Federal office?
A: Palin. She's so GENUINE!
I need to move the hell out of Georgia before I throw myself under a train.
Hey, did anyone welcome Ce'ine to Making Light? Welcome, Ce'ine!
One thing I'll say for McCain: he seems to at least remember wha
Comments on Slime, and several answers to slime: