J. Gillman has a terrific post on Michigan Taxes Too Much, about Sarah Palin. So I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in about Sarah Palin too.
I'm not linking to any of the negative stories, or stupid things said about her in this post. If you've heard one, you've heard them all. You know the drill ... stupid, inexperienced, quitter, blah, blah, blah ...
Just lame, strawman arguments, meant to keep your attention off her successes.
The giant bureaucracy known as the Republican Party hates her. Of course, the Left hates her. Even the libertarians hate her (but they hate everyone these days). And every argument just boils down to her good looks, sweet personality, and her regular folk ways.
I mean hey, why talk about political philosophy with the first female governor of Alaska? Or, considering she's only the 2nd woman to ever run for VP on a major ticket, why talk about her politics at all?
I know, let's just make wild accusations, drum up conspiracy theories about her new-born child, and viciously attack that moose-huntin' redneck instead! I'm tellin' ya, I just know it. Baby Trig is from outer space!
When even CATO doesnt get it (format enhanced):
Cato Vice President Gene Healy: Palin’s future remains uncertain, but it’s hard to see how her cryptic and poorly drafted resignation speech positions her for a presidential run. Nonetheless, her departure presents a good opportunity to reflect on the Right’s affinity for presidential contenders who – how to put this? – don’t exactly overwhelm you with their intellectual depth.
jgillman: Perhaps they might consider she really is not positioning herself for a run? And as to an offhand elitist comment disparaging the intellectual capacity of Republicans, it isn’t hard to see why Libertarians cannot muster up the numbers to get ANYONE elected. Oft times in the past I would see folks with decent ideas and even better personality to carry those ideas, through thrown aside by those with the Libertarian ideals, and intolerance for anything but their own personal pure bred intellectualism.
Where did this obsession with "intellectuals" even come from? I don't get it!
As an example, Paul Krugman is an "intellectual," yet I've met monkey's who grasp economics better than he does! Seriously! He has NEVER once been right! His theory in a nutshell is: a) don't save, b) have the Fed counterfeit money. Krugman, you couldn't even win a game of Monopoly with that nonsense!
Back to Healy's comment ... Healy is part of the Beltway Elite now, he's a "policy-wonk!" The one thing all policy-wonks have in common. is policy. In other words, a government "solution" to everything. Healy is to libertarianism, as I am to progressivism - incompatible!
Cato Writer David Boaz: Running for president after a single term as governor is a gamble. Running after quitting in the middle of your first term is something else again. If this is indeed a political move to clear the decks for a national campaign, then she needs adult supervision soon. But I can’t really believe that’s what’s going on here. I suspect we’re going to hear soon about a yet-unknown scandal that was about to make continuing in office untenable.
jgillman: Though not trying to be overly sensitive to the choice of words CATO uses, I still find it somewhat sad that such “smart fellers” in a think tank might miss the obvious connection between their own thoroughbred philosophy, and possibly who might be the best bet to put those ideas in place.
I'm sure both Boaz and Healy headed off to Washington having good intentions, but once they got there, they fell into the trap - "you have to be part of the machine, to fix the machine." Well ... back in the real world, guess what happens? You hit the cocktail circuit, throw your philosophy out the window (gotta fit-in), and then get to work protecting the machine (in self-preservation) you intended to slay.
I'll double-check with Tony Robbins on this, but I'm pretty sure you can't create positive change, by becoming what you don't want.
Sarah Palin got it right! She gets it! Palin understands the true essence of America! There's nothing special about holding a public office. It doesn't divine you with special powers, you don't magically become indispensible, and most importantly, it doesn't crown you as royalty. It's just a job.
Lessons "We the People" Have Learned:
The example above is more than enough to make my point, but I'd like to throw one more in that will magnify what I'm about to say. There's a local screw-ball on late-night radio (Sunday's) named Peter Werbe, and every once and awhile I'll turn his show on for a bit, just to get a good laugh. I turned it on last Sunday, and was ready to hear some crazy theories, but instead he and his co-host ripped on Sarah Palin.
Same garbage they all regurgitate ... never anything new. But Werbe's an uber-Leftist totalitarian nut-job! I heard him actually claim that Obama's conservative! How far to the left do you have to go, in order to conclude that? Peter thinks he's advocating for the worker, the common man, downtrodden, yada, yada, yada ...
But that's exactly who Sarah Palin is ... She's just regular folk, like you and me. She's not a Beltway-boot-licking policy-wonk, nor is she interested in being one either! Oooo, they just hate that!
I have ADHD, so I've been tested. My IQ is quite a bit above average. I've taken professional training courses in both communications and public speaking ... and I'll be the first one to tell you ... I suck! (I can't even get my grammar right on this blog after editing each post 80 times).
And so does the remaining 99% of us out there ... Let's be real here, very few people in the world could pull it off. So here's what we've learned:
Everything negative "they" say about Palin ... Is a reflection of how they see us - "we the people," you and me, regular Joe's and Jane's ...
H/T to Trying Liberty for inspiring the post title!
