Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Palin's Influence

Well, Sarah Palin has done the impossible--she found a candidate who could make her look smart by comparison. Christine O'Donnell, a "conservative" activist who used to appear on Bill Maher's old show--and had the amazing ability to still be the dumbest panelist in a group that included Hollywood celebrities--now carries the banner for the GOP in the Delaware Senate race. A woman known not just for her airheaded appearances on an unserious chat show, but also for:

1) Campaigning against masturbation, with the argument that if a man masturbates then he doesn't need women. (Facepalm...)

2) Launching a frivolous sex discrimination suit against a former employer that had so little merit she couldn't find a lawyer to take it on contingency even though the suit was for over $6 million.

3) Having no real job.

Sadly, all of this only makes her somewhat less qualified than the average member of Congress, but REALLY--a woman like this holding any national office would be a new low. Of COURSE Sarah Palin endorsed her, what more can you expect from that moose-eating lunatic? But the GOP has really shown that it doesn't wish to be a serious party anymore. Which is unfortunate, because the Democrats have reached their own levels of awfulness lately. As I stated before, nowhere to turn.

Obviously, O'Donnell will lose (I'd really have to eat crow and cry for my country if I turn out to be wrong here) and all the sadder because Mike Castle, her opponent in the primary, wasn't just a slam dunk for the Republicans but he was also a longtime distinguished public servant who represented Republicans who may be conservatives but won't be beholden to the party line all the time. But what this says about Palin is more jarring.

I've noticed that Sarah Palin has picked winners in a number of key states--New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arizona--notice a pattern? These are all early presidential primary states. Having the GOP winner in each state can be a helpful boost when running for president. When Palin quit her governor job halfway through her term, I assumed she had given up on holding office and just wanted money and influence as a celebrity. Now, I'm not so sure she isn't planning a batshit insane campaign for the White House. Sadly, this current GOP may not end up laughing her out of the party.

3 comments:

  1. It is a shame how Mike Castle sounded like a very moderate dude, and he's been completely put down by the extremists in the party..

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  2. I have to say, I absolutely agree with every word in this post. Each and every single one of them. It is a crying shame when a moderate like Castle can't win a primary against, as you pointed out, someone who makes Sarah look like ... well, not a rocket scientist, but at least a college graduate. From an acredited school.

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  3. Indeed--I always hate to see conservative Democrats or liberal Republicans get beaten either in their primaries or in the general election, since these middle of the roaders tend to be far more responsive to their constituents than the hacks who replace them (though obviously, the constituents don't agree at election time, or they wouldn't have been beaten).

    The extremists (in Delaware's case, the GOP extremists) would say that Castle never represented them, and they're willing to go with a dullard instead of a "RINO" but instead they're going to get a Democrat who will want nothing to do with the Tea Partiers at all. But I guess then the Tea Partiers would say "better lose with the one you want than win with the one you didn't".

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