After all, McCain chose her. He has nobody to blame but himself, right? So why blame her for his loss? Or at least, that would be the reasoning if this really was a case of Republican finger-pointing. It's not. What it is, is the first volley in the 2012 Republican nomination campaign.
The last thing that the Republican orthodoxy wants to see is Sarah Palin as their nominee in 2012. It would fire up their cretinous mouth breathing KKK-worshiping "base" big-time, but be absolute disaster for their electoral chances, since your average American is repelled by that sort of ugliness.
So all this is them trying to destroy Palin now, so they won't have to destroy Palin in 2012. Which is why we should all be encouraging Palin to run for the Presidency in 2012 ;-).
- Badtux the Evil Penguin
I do think this mass of attacks on Palin smells like panic, and that the "blame" (to the extent Republicans accept rather than simply forget blame) will, in the end, fall on McCain. This is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's not panic. It's the first volleys of the 2012 Presidential campaign. The (somewhat) sane Republicans, having seen just how badly catering to the crazies hurt the Republican brand in 2008, are coming out with both barrels against the crazies. Remember, this is how Republicans do politics -- by sliming, smearing, and spreading scurrilous rumors. They're still in campaign mode today, except the campaign they're thinking about is 2012, not 2008.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Electoral Penguin
It's what Repiglickins do -- they bite people. Like hyenas. If you set hyenas loose in a room full of people, they will run around biting them. If the hyenas are beaten back with sticks and confined to a cage, they will start biting each other. Forget elephants. Hyenas -- the new symbol of the Republican Party.
ReplyDeleteAnother theory I just heard on the radio from Thom Hartmann of Air America, Tux -- it's a ploy by Romney. He's setting himself up for 2012 by taking down the favourite of the religious wacko wing of the Repubes. It was them, in the person of Huckabee and by indicating their lack of support for a heretical Mormon, that doomed Mittens.
ReplyDeleteMcSame hired Romney operatives for his campaign after Mitty bowed out, according to Hartmann. And these Romney loyalists are supposedly the ones back-knifing Palin, to eliminate her as a threat early. Seems logical, and fits with your theory.
All this positioning for 2012, when the election of 2008 has just concluded, seems foolish. With what's coming down the pike economically, and most likely geopolitically and environmentally, the world of 2012 is something we can't even imagine in 2008. People who look too far ahead often trip over the rocks right in front of their feet.
What they're betting on is that Obama is going to have to tell the American public some hard truths about the last 28 years of "you can have a free lunch" American lifestyle as a result of the collapse of consumer culture in America in the wake of the collapse of the financial system, and that the American public won't like that at all. They're betting that they can come up with some calm reassuring lies to tell the American public in 2012 that can get them elected to office again, lies about how yes, you CAN have good government without paying for it, lies about yes, you CAN become rich through hard work and perseverance in today's America (note: class mobility in today's America is less than in The Netherlands, not exactly known as an egalitarian paradise!), yes, you have a right, a RIGHT I say, to cheap gasoline and a gigantic McMansion on a vast expanse of lawn, etc. etc. etc. And they're betting that the majority of Americans will once again turn to their soothing lies rather than listen to someone who tells them the truth about their dire situation and offers solutions that will be difficult and painful.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if they do manage to evict Obama in 2012, they have no solutions to the problems besetting America either. But they don't care. It's all abo ut winning with Rethugs, not about governing. They really don't care about that "governing" thing, other than as a method of looting the economy for their own benefit...
- Badtux the Rethug-watchin' Penguin
I admire your faith in the Dems to tell the truth, Tux. Obama tried to tell a bit of truth to Joe the Plumber and look what happened. Not that I fault the 'thugs for mis-representing -- it's what they do -- but I DO blame the meeja for picking up and running with the mis-representation. It's what they SHOULDN'T do. Obama will be bitten for truth-telling, which might make him shy.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I'm on the subject of Republicans biting, here's a case of a low-level operative doing it literally! This will make you glad you're a cat person.
The reporter had that coming. Of course, the handler is at fault here as well. If you watch the dog's body language, that was not a dog who was in the mood to be played with by strangers (I'm guessing he's picked up on the overall mood of the Bushes).
ReplyDelete