Last week, Metro’s Fly reported that Sarah Palin might be coming to San Jose to speak before the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. One San Jose Inside blogger promised to bring a “box of tomatoes” if she does. If Sarah Palin really does come to San Jose, should we bar our doors and hide the children?
The way people react to Sarah Palin amazes me. For many, she’s a lightning rod for something that approaches hate. What’s the big deal? After all, she’s a minor-league politician who got called up to the big leagues for a short time, lost an election, and then quit. What is it about her that pushes people’s buttons?
One of the most scathing (and hysterical) critiques of Sarah Palin came from, of all people, Deepak Chopra…you know, the “love guru.” In his blog, published by SFgate.com last month, Mr. Chopra wrote, “Last fall it seemed as if Sarah Palin would light a fuse and cause a social explosion. Behind her beauty-pageant smile lurked the shadow, the dark side of human nature. Her tactics of appealing to worst impulses of the electorate had a long history in the Republican Party. Indeed, Palin inherited the selfish, mean-spirited values of another politician with a gleaming smile, Ronald Reagan.”
Chopra continued….“But nobody is being fooled. A recent Gallup poll showed that 67 percent of responders don’t want Palin to run for President. Fear of Plain is ill-advised…fear is what the shadow wants. Without it, the shadow has no power…as long as we know that Palin is fooling nobody all of the time, the darker side can be tolerated. The shadow is always with us. Today it’s on a book tour.”
After reading Chopra’s words, one could allow for the real possibility that Sarah Palin is, in fact, the Antichrist. And why not, the Bible never mentioned gender!
Careful everyone, “the shadow” may be coming to San Jose!
“selfish, mean-spirited values of…Ronald Reagan”!? I didn’t realize that it was selfish to want to allow people to decide how to spend their money, as opposed to government. I didn’t realize it was mean-spirited to defeat an enemy without firing a shot.
Reagan laid the groundwork for an unprecedented era of growth for the nation. But, oh, yeah, it wasn’t growth in government, so I guess it doesn’t count.
Guess you forgot about Reagan running up the biggest deficit in history. Guess you forgot about Reagan dumping the mentally ill on the streets of California—something we have yet to recover from. Guess you forgot about his lying, dishonest administration and Iran-Contra, etc., etc. Guess you have a selective memory.
Lamont:
You have your facts wrong.
But if you can’t get your facts right after all these years, you’re uneducable.
No point in wasting any more carbon dioxide on you.
Sorry, Lamont, but the biggest deficit in history was run up by Obama…and in only ONE YEAR.
Last year’s budget was due to GWB mess of 8 years. Ronald Reagan doubled national debt—as did George the first, GWB also doubled the debt. I went up under Clinton, but was heading down when he left office.
It is the Republican Party leaders who are fiscally irresponsible—from Hoover to George W. Bush—our children will be paying for their “free market”.
The biggest deficit in history? Um, that would be right now.. I am not a partisan hack by any stretch, but anyone can cherry pick the good and bad of ANY administration from ANY period in time. ALL administrations lie, including this one… they all do.
But I agree, what is it about Sarah Palin that makes all these lefties froth at the mouth?
Funny how many of you like to talk about the “left” not being fans of Palin. None of my Republican friends think she is qualified, competent, or fit for national office—and that was before she up and quit her recent job.
Competence is not a left or right issue. Not everyone is qualified for every job—regardless of their politics. As a lifelong Republican, I cannot understand how the “right” thinks this person is even remotely qualified to be President. In this instance it is clearly the right that is frothing at the mouth in their efforts to convince the majority of the country that Palin is somehow qualified to run a country when she couldn’t even run a small state.
Well put Reeper. I was going to vote for McCain until he brought Palin on. YUCK~
You are absolutely correct about the competence thing. But methinks it’s not the right frothing…it’s the left that goes apoplectic at the mention of her name.
Let’s keep our focus here.. I agree that competency is not a left or a right thing.. and I don’t think she was qualified to be at a national level… but then again, our current president wasn’t so “qualified” either. My comments were focused on the tomato throwing and frothing at the mouth… so let’s stay on subject.
Dubya was unqualified to be President. He had no real history.
Obama is equally unqualified to be President—a record even more devoid of accomplishment than Dubya’s (hard to believe, but true).
But Ms. Palin—the others all pale in comparison to her lack of qualifications. But I bet she’d make a great Playboy centerfold.
The problem isn’t Sarah Palin. The problem is the people who think she should be President.
Use to say Sarah Palin was the Britney Spears of politics, but I need to apologize to Britney for that remark. Britney has been behaving herself. Perhaps Palin will shave her head, get photographed sans underwear and waltz in to obscurity.
This year God took my favorite comedian (Bea Arthur), my favorite actress (Farah Fawcett) and my favorite news anchor (Walter Cronkite). God, don’t forget that Sarah Palin is my favorite politician.
WHAT THE H… would she be telling the SILICON VALLEY CoC??? She who has never finished any job, but always quit before the end? I would suggest those $150,000+ expenses (5 first-class airline tickets, + hotel + meals + HIGH security, + …) could be spent MUCH better on supporting some REAL, LOCAL entrepreneurs!
I am not a fan nor hater of Sarah Palin. I read about her on Wikipedia after reading your post that she had “never finished any job”. Actually, she has quite a few accomplishments, maybe not enough to qualify her to be a VP, but she has started and finished things. Also, she may fly first class etc, but it is nothing any other high profile politician, including President Obama, would also do.
Nancy Pelosi has her own private jet that can seat over 100 people that flies her back and forth from DC to SF every WEEK, at a cost of about $500k per trip, but none of you complain about that.
It’s like she’s the president of the Politburo or something.
Nancy Pelosi is a disgrace.
<has never finished any job, but always quit before the end>
Kind of like the former junior Senator from Illinois, you mean?
Good point….
Big difference between changing jobs and just plain quitting like Palin did.
Again, leaving out the vitriol and bias, Palin is not guilty of “just plain quitting”. She changed jobs, just as Obama did. She is an author with a best selling book she has been promoting. She has probably made more income since resigning the governorship than I will make in a lifetime.
> Big difference between changing jobs and just plain quitting like Palin did.
Whatever the difference, big or small, I’m sure it is of ZERO significance to the moonbat nation whether Sarah Palin “changed jobs”, quit, or was hauled away in a gunny sack.
The talking points would be exactly the same. The moonbat’s opinion of her would be exactly the same.
What is significant is that she is connecting with huge numbers of authentic Americans in a way that The Obamagogue ONCE did, until huge numbers of Americans realized that he was a hollow phony.
Ask the seventeen percent of underemployed Californians how “hope and change” is working out for them.
The phenomenon of Palin Derangement Syndrome among the moonbat nation is really quite simple to understand, once you understand what moonbats are all about.
Moonbats are solipsists: they live inside of their heads. The only reality that they are in touch with is the reality inside of their heads.
Ultimately, the moonbats are narcissists. Ultimately, narcissists believe that those people outside of their heads are stupider, greedier, coarser, more banal, and more ignorant than they are.
Moonbats REALLY don’t have empathy for other people; they only have “progams” for other people wherein the other people are only guinea pigs to prove the brilliance of their progams.
Sarah Palin is an authentically common sensical, articulate, and empathetic person who connects with a nation of commons sensical and empathetic people, America.
In a word, she is charismatic.
If the icons of the left are “Superman”, then Sarah Palin is kryptonite.
The icons of the left often make a good first impression, but once people really get to know them, they turn out to be hollow phonies: Jimmy Carter, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Hussein Obama, etc. etc.
The moonbats well understand that in order to protect “Superman”, they must prevent any exposure to kryptonite.
I’m afraid I don’t get it either.
What scares me about her is not evil at all—she is a grandmother who loves her kids and wants the best for them, same as the rest of us.
Her problem is borderline illiteracy, detachment from reality, and just plain short-sighted brand (R) stupidity. No evil, and no hate here. Just amazement that she became an icon for an entire political party.
Now you understand the amazement that many of us feel about the icon that the other party has chosen.
Now consider that feeling of amazement that you have, and try to imagine what it would be transformed into if suddenly most of your fellow citizens lost their minds and elected Sarah Palin to the Presidency. You with me? Now, go a step further and ask yourself what you would think if Palin was not only your President, but also somebody just like her was your Congressman, your 2 Senators, your City Council representative, your State Senator, and your State Assemblyman.
Once you’ve picked yourself up from the deep depression that just overwhelmed you, you might have a little greater insight as to what it’s like for non-liberals in this valley.
> I’m afraid I don’t get it either.
Kenny:
I agree with you: you DON’T get it.
I look forward to whatever education ‘articulate Palin’ and yourself can afford me and my solipsistic mindset. Out of curiosity, do I have to polarize leftist and right-wing mindsets BEFORE I ‘get it’, or is that a RESULT of coming around to your way of thinking?
> Out of curiosity, do I have to polarize leftist and right-wing mindsets BEFORE I ‘get it’, or is that a RESULT of coming around to your way of thinking?
Ummmmm. Dunno.
Why don’t you try it both ways and see what works.
Why bar the doors? Let her speak and expose herself for the idiot she truly is…
Fear and Envy motivates these personal attacks. Read the fears. Sad, but does it match reality?
Tomatoes and other objects used with anger. Is this democracy or fascist reactions?
Let the woman speak, hear her words and determine an understanding. If you can’t seek peace within and your surroundings you become motivated to act accordingly. Reject your hate, change your attitude and lay aside your prejudging.
Let’s stop with the personal attacks, dehumanizing people down to the word “it” and how about a little self reflection.
Would you like your actions done to you?
The most comical thing that the “lack of credentials” charge is being levied by this columnist who has never held any office or contributed anything to the community.
Sarah Pallin is to Britney Spears as Nancy Pelosi is to the Wicked Witch of the East….