STEREOTYPES, PIGEONHOLES AND POLITICS AS USUAL

Sarah Palin has just figuratively (and how I wish it was literally) poked a sharp stick in the eye of the political establishment and its public relations department, the mainstream media.  Good for her.

I’ll confess that until shortly before  McCain selected Palin as his running mate, I don’t believe I had even heard of her.  Since that time, I have become a real admirer of her toughness, her honesty, her tireless work in behalf of the people of Alaska and this entire country, and what I think of as just her “normalness,”  if there is such a word.  To think of someone who has achieved all that she has, especially considering her relatively young age, as just a regular person is in itself a tribute to her remarkable ability to connect with all us “little people,” the ones other politicians spend so much time lying to about how much they are helping us and so little time really acting in our best interests.

Since her announcement she would be resigning, the media and her fellow politicians have wasted little time in trying to spin this to their advantage; and, to my dismay, many usually supportive of Palin seem to be buying into their baloney.  The script, as written by mediawhores and political opponents, is so predictable as to inspire not much more than a yawn by this time.  There’s the usual stuff:  she’s pretty, so obviously she is a brainless bimbo; she has a loving husband and children and actually cares for those children herself, so she’s obviously unstable; she’s from Alaska, so she obviously is an ignorant hick; she has a degree from the University of Idaho, so she’s obviously an uneducated, ignorant hick.  And while I really haven’t even scratched the surface of all the crap that’s been thrown at her, their favorite has now become:  she’s a quitter (and its corollary:  this reflects badly on women everywhere because, whatever reasons Palin may have given for her resignation, what it really shows is that women just can’t take the heat).  To which I respond:  You wish.

Palin has stuffed the political playbook, as written by people like Karl Rove and David Axelrod, down the throat of the good old boys who think they will always run things.  She has not only strayed from the proverbial beaten path, she seems to be planning to build a whole new highway.  If she does not succeed, it will not be her fault — it will because we, the voting public, who are always carping and complaining about the lazy, crooked politicians, have not recognized and supported honesty and excellence when we have the chance.

Sarah Palin, through absolutely no fault of her own, was faced with an almost impossible choice.  She realistically evaluated the price being paid and to be paid by the State of Alaska and her own family if she remained in office and chose to do what was best for everyone.  If she chooses to run for higher office, be it Senator or President, or raise campaign funds for those political allies brave enough and smart enough to openly support her, she will at least be able to set foot outside the State of Alaska without having an ethics complaint filed against her.  She has also pulled off the not-too-shabby feat of turning the reins of state government over to her ally, the eminently qualified Sean Parnell, who will now have long enough in office to show Alaskans what he can do before running for re-election as an incumbent.  (I will admit she has an advantage here — her Lt.Gov. isn’t Joe Biden.)

Let us consider the calibre of those who are hounding Sarah Palin.  First, but probably least important in the grand scheme of things, are the soulless scum attacking her children on a regular basis, in print and on the airwaves and internet.  Then we have the misogynistic Democrats who worship at the altar of the incompetent Barack Obama and want to destroy Palin because they rightly see in her a threat to him and his gang of Chicago thugs now in control of our country.  I’ll bet Eric Holder is livid — he gives Ted Stevens a get-out-of-jail-free card, sends him back to Alaska to get Palin, and she just does an end run around the whole bunch.  Nice try, Eric.  Maybe next time.

And let us not forget her damn-with-faint-praise Republican rivals, outwardly supportive but never missing a chance to try to inflict a wound themselves.  Sadly for them, boring, untalented little wusses that most of them are, it’s much like watching a rabbit (maybe the same one that frightened Jimmy Carter all those years ago) attack a lioness.

Probably her most dangerous enemy is the eternally Obama-fellating press.  I do not fathom how any person in this country still believes even one word published or broadcast by these weasels.  It’s time for us to make decisions based on something other than their lies.

Sarah Palin has stood up for the citizens of this country  against the special interests and their front people, while having to endure one of the most vicious campaigns of abuse ever leveled at a public figure.  And I have no doubt that she will continue her fight.  But she doesn’t have anyone in Hollywood turning out movies or making television shows shaping public opinion in her favor — they are overwhelmingly dedicated to promoting the fictional fabulousness of Obama.  And she could probably count on one hand the real friends she has in the political establishment — it does not serve their interests to have an honest person in office because they suffer by comparison.  All she has to help her in her fight is the ordinary and average citizens of America.  You know — us — the ones actually making the country work and who would be well served by having someone like her in national public office — the ones not wearing Jimmy Choo (or whoever) shoes, or jetting off to Paris for date-night.  The ones who have to pay for our own houses because we don’t have a buddy named Rezko who’ll foot the bill (probably with taxpayer money).  The ones who think “right to choose” means just that; and that a woman who chooses to have, care for and genuinely love a child with Down’s syndrome should be admired, not vilified.  The ones who think making grade-school-level sexist jokes about a woman running for office is not the proper platform for a political party.  The ones who are so sick of seeing our country sold out to lobbyists and special interests that we just want to scream (or slap the nearest politician).  The ones who wonder if we’ll ever see honest election results again instead of what we have now, which is bogus returns resulting from bullying and other assorted dishonest and unethical maneuvers and tactics.

If we stand idly by and leave her to fight alone, it will send a message to Obama-type misogynists/politicians, the news media/entertainment industry and blogging sites like Huffpo and Kos that it’s perfectly fine with us to attack women politicians not on the issues, but in the most outrageous, sick personal way possible.  If Barack Obama had been subjected to such treatment, he would not only be resigning, he would be whimpering in a corner somewhere sitting in a pool of his own urine.   But in spite of the fact that Palin has more fortitude, more ability and more experience, she is being forced out; and Obama is being lauded as if he were the God he truly believes himself to be.

It’s time we take back our country and put it in the hands of someone who believes in the principles on which it was founded.  I believe Sarah Palin is that person, and it is my hope she has plans that will spell retirement for Obama and the political machines presently controlling both parties.   It will be quite the task, climbing back out of the hole that Obama is digging for our country; but with real leadership from Palin and hard work on our part, it can be and simply must be done.   We just have to hope the Chinese don’t foreclose on the entire country before 2010.

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