Palin begins national campaign

[Michael]

Sarah Palin has an Op-Ed published in the Washington Post today.

(no link available)

It is all about 'cap and trade' policy (supposedly - it is rather more like Sarah's usual rambling style about whatever crosses her mind it seems).

This appears to be the opening round of 'Sarah Palin the policy wonk' that the rightwing is going to finance and saturate the airwaves with for the next year or two.

Clearly Palin isn't retiring from active politics - she's going national. Either that or she's becoming an oil-industry lobbyist...

[Americano]

I read a couple of articles and it does sound like she's becoming a shill for the oil & gas lobby. As usual, a lot of scrambled words with no real meaning.

[Michael]

I read a couple of articles and it does sound like she's becoming a shill for the oil & gas lobby. As usual, a lot of scrambled words with no real meaning.
It has one clear meaning - the title of this thread. That's about all there is to it.

Palin is certainly directing herself to a national campaign here.

It does appear that she has in fact quit her term as governor to run for President. :ummm:

[Americano]

It has one clear meaning - the title of this thread. That's about all there is to it.

Palin is certainly directing herself to a national campaign here.

It does appear that she has in fact quit her term as governor to run for President. :ummm:

That'll make the democrats very happy. Palin, Huck and Milt. A loser lineup if I've ever seen one. I wonder if they'll use a bleeding picture of Christianity's Christ (on black velvet) as a campaign logo?

[Michael]

That'll make the democrats very happy. Palin, Huck and Milt. A loser lineup if I've ever seen one. I wonder if they'll use a bleeding picture of Christianity's Christ (on black velvet) as a campaign logo?

Huck & Palin would likely be the most colorful and most likely to give the Republicans the lowest Presidential vote total in recent memory.

Palin & Gringrich would be the most entertaining though.

[Lily]

I am thrilled! We can look forward to Tina Fey reprising her Palin impersonation on SNL this fall, I'm sure. Yay! :bigclap:

[The Drunk Guy]

Huck & Palin would likely be the most colorful and most likely to give the Republicans the lowest Presidential vote total in recent memory.

Palin & Gringrich would be the most entertaining though.
No, Palin/Limbaugh. ;)

And I hope they choose the next Republican Presidential Candidate via Thunderdome Tournament.

[partofme]

Huck & Palin would likely be the most colorful and most likely to give the Republicans the lowest Presidential vote total in recent memory.

Palin & Gringrich would be the most entertaining though.

Either one of those would be the best possible outcome. The reason for that is that if you listen to right wing radio and other media the big argument those guys push is that McCain lost because he wasn't conservative enough. If either of those tickets ran and then got killed at the polls then that whole argument would be blown out of the water and the G.O.P. would have no choice but to move in a more sane direction.

[Michael]

Either one of those would be the best possible outcome. The reason for that is that if you listen to right wing radio and other media the big argument those guys push is that McCain lost because he wasn't conservative enough. If either of those tickets ran and then got killed at the polls then that whole argument would be blown out of the water and the G.O.P. would have no choice but to move in a more sane direction.

Yes, but Huck & Palin combo could be specifically blamed on the religious rightwing, while a Gringrich & Palin combo would be better for discreting both the religous rightwing and the populist (Limbaugh/O'Reilly) rightwing.

[Americano]

The mere thought of Huck/Palin (in either order) leading the country makes me want to throw up.

Maybe a Baptist preacher and a ditz is to be our karma for spreading democracy with millions of collateral damage dead civilians and destroyed countries?

[partofme]

The mere thought of Huck/Palin (in either order) leading the country makes me want to throw up.

Maybe a Baptist preacher and a ditz is to be our karma for spreading democracy with millions of collateral damage dead civilians and destroyed countries?

Everything media outlet I read seems to say that the republican base is shrinking but at the same time they are becoming more vocal than ever. I like to think that it is indeed shrinking but living in my area and coming face to face with it every single day makes me very nervous.

[Michael]

Everything media outlet I read seems to say that the republican base is shrinking but at the same time they are becoming more vocal than ever. I like to think that it is indeed shrinking but living in my area and coming face to face with it every single day makes me very nervous.

Same phenomena as with the 'religious rightwing'. They become more active and vocal as they decline in relative numbers. Confident majorities are quiet things. Minorities perceiving that they are losing power/influence tend to be vocal and fiesty about fighting to retain their status.

[Americano]

Everything media outlet I read seems to say that the republican base is shrinking but at the same time they are becoming more vocal than ever. I like to think that it is indeed shrinking but living in my area and coming face to face with it every single day makes me very nervous.

You are smack dab in the middle of fundamentalist religion country.

[The Drunk Guy]

You are smack dab in the middle of fundamentalist religion country.
Kentucky is the big, shiny buckle of the Bible Belt. I got a wake-up visit from a Witness this morning. He was selling End of the World scare tactics. End of the Worlders hate Palin, too. :D

[Americano]

Kentucky is the big, shiny buckle of the Bible Belt. I got a wake-up visit from a Witness this morning. He was selling End of the World scare tactics. End of the Worlders hate Palin, too. :D

I'm fortunately very rural and my gate eliminates any possibility of that unpleasantness. We don't even get trick or treaters on Halloween.

[Lily]

I'm fortunately very rural and my gate eliminates any possibility of that unpleasantness. We don't even get trick or treaters on Halloween.

Amen to gates, brother. Nobody knocks on my door. I'm 600 feet from a paved road, and you'd better have AWD to get through the sugar sand in some places.

[Americano]

Amen to gates, brother. Nobody knocks on my door. I'm 600 feet from a paved road, and you'd better have AWD to get through the sugar sand in some places.

If there's someone uninvited on my property it means they've alerted not just the electric gate with its motion sensors and camera with infrared and motion detection but also a somewhat sophisticated system of motion detectors and cameras up to, around and in the house on a dedicated internet site. Then comes my exercise of the US Second Amendment with my trusty Beretta 1201FP. I'm not fond of the masses.

[Michael]

No door to door people at my altitude. :)

I'm about 250 feet ABOVE the road with electronic security access. :D

[Evangeline]

I can't get excited about Palin/Huck/Newt - I'm too afraid they might actually win.

[Michael]

I can't get excited about Palin/Huck/Newt - I'm too afraid they might actually win.

You can't be serious! :lol:

The Republican numbers right now are very, very weak. They are as weak as they were in 2008 elections and quite likely to stay that way for the near term. If anything, Republican poplarity numbers appear to be now falling below what they were under the last years of Bush.

[partofme]

You can't be serious! :lol:

The Republican numbers right now are very, very weak. They are as weak as they were in 2008 elections and quite likely to stay that way for the near term. If anything, Republican poplarity numbers appear to be now falling below what they were under the last years of Bush.

It makes me nervous also. Quite a bit can change by 2012 and if Bush can win twice then anything is possible.

[Michael]

It makes me nervous also. Quite a bit can change by 2012 and if Bush can win twice then anything is possible.

Bush winning twice has a lot to do with Bush facing extremely weak opponents.

Gore ran what was arguably the worst Democratic Presidential campaign since Dukakis and deserved to lose the day he decided to 'distance' himself from the only politician in the country at the time that was popular (Bill Clinton).

And Kerry in 2004 was just plain pathetic.

Sometimes people get lucky and Bush got lucky. Indeed, Obama got lucky too.

[Americano]

I can't get excited about Palin/Huck/Newt - I'm too afraid they might actually win.

A truly scary thought.

[Evangeline]

You can't be serious! :lol:

The Republican numbers right now are very, very weak. They are as weak as they were in 2008 elections and quite likely to stay that way for the near term. If anything, Republican poplarity numbers appear to be now falling below what they were under the last years of Bush.

You have more faith in the American people than I do. Go to facebook and look at the comments on any of the political polls.

For example

http://apps.facebook.com/realpolls/results/nim8c3ati?_fb_q=1&

These are Rush Limbaugh lovers. And there are a LOT of them.

[partofme]

You have more faith in the American people than I do. Go to facebook and look at the comments on any of the political polls.

For example

http://apps.facebook.com/realpolls/results/nim8c3ati?_fb_q=1&

These are Rush Limbaugh lovers. And there are a LOT of them.

He does have the most listened to show in America. I believe Glenn Beck is number three. A few NPR shows are in the top ten but nothing completely ideology pushing from the left. Then you have Fox News which kicks MSNBC's butt in the ratings. If they are not the majority they sure have developed a huge market beyond anything any other political stripes have. I'm not saying I'm rooting for left wing media since I really can't stand partisan ideologues running media programming. I'm simply pointing out which draws the largest amount of people.

[Michael]

Yes, Rush Limbaugh has the largest daily audience in America and totally dominates 'talk radio'. However, radio is only one media segment and a not very large or influential one. Same with the cable-news channels. They are all rabidly rightwing, but they are only a small segment of the media universe.

It is also relevant to note that the ONLY two media segments where the rightwing is dominant are the two media segments that are most completely dominated by monopoly ownership (radio and cable).

And that audience is old and white. They've got the same shrinking demographic problem that the Republican party has... a bunch of old white guys who define themselves by their resentments and sense of self-entitlement.

As for Facebook, the rightwing populists are acting exactly like the evangelical Christians. They get louder and more demanding as their relative position starts shrinking. All such groups have a seemingly pathological need to maintain the delusions that their position is a majority one (which it isn't at all - which is why they are so angry). But they will go to great lengths to try to make it appear that they are in the majority.

Contrast this with Blacks or Gays who are generally becoming less activist and less noisy over time as their relative positions are rising.

The 'culture wars' are mostly over now. The right lost on almost every battlefield. And the losers always scream the loudest.

[Americano]

I've never listened to talk radio or watched any of the televised pundits. With the exception of our local newspaper for county news, all my information regarding news and political views comes from the net. IMO anyone who can sit through a broadcast (radio or TV) 'opinion' or political speech probably appreciates long fire & brimstone sermons by fundie get rich preachers.

[Michael]

I've never listened to talk radio or watched any of the televised pundits. With the exception of our local newspaper for county news, all my information regarding news and political views comes from the net. IMO anyone who can sit through a broadcast (radio or TV) 'opinion' or political speech probably appreciates long fire & brimstone sermons by fundie get rich preachers.

I've never thought of that, but you are correct - there is a lot of similarity between Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and the 'fire & brimstone' preachers.

Probably appealing to a similar crowd. :ummm:

[Evangeline]

Yes, Rush Limbaugh has the largest daily audience in America and totally dominates 'talk radio'. However, radio is only one media segment and a not very large or influential one. Same with the cable-news channels. They are all rabidly rightwing, but they are only a small segment of the media universe.

It is also relevant to note that the ONLY two media segments where the rightwing is dominant are the two media segments that are most completely dominated by monopoly ownership (radio and cable).

And that audience is old and white. They've got the same shrinking demographic problem that the Republican party has... a bunch of old white guys who define themselves by their resentments and sense of self-entitlement.

As for Facebook, the rightwing populists are acting exactly like the evangelical Christians. They get louder and more demanding as their relative position starts shrinking. All such groups have a seemingly pathological need to maintain the delusions that their position is a majority one (which it isn't at all - which is why they are so angry). But they will go to great lengths to try to make it appear that they are in the majority.

Contrast this with Blacks or Gays who are generally becoming less activist and less noisy over time as their relative positions are rising.

The 'culture wars' are mostly over now. The right lost on almost every battlefield. And the losers always scream the loudest.

You're an optimist!

I sure hope you're right. There are polls that are showing that Obama's approval ratings are going down. Of course they are still in the high 50s......but it seems like the right wing screaming is having an effect. And that's why Obama's on TV right now explaining his policies.

[Lily]

I've never thought of that, but you are correct - there is a lot of similarity between Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and the 'fire & brimstone' preachers.

Probably appealing to a similar crowd. :ummm:

If the knot in my stomach is any indication, you're right. I've noticed that I get that same feeling I had as a child when my mother would drag us to our local Baptist Church as I do when I hear the two abovementioned talking heads.

To my mother's credit, she stopped making us go after the pastor insisted we go before the congregation to be baptized and accept Jesus. We were about eight and nine, as I recall. Mother said we could make that decision for ourselves when we were old enough to understand what it meant.

[Michael]

You're an optimist!

I sure hope you're right. There are polls that are showing that Obama's approval ratings are going down. Of course they are still in the high 50s......but it seems like the right wing screaming is having an effect. And that's why Obama's on TV right now explaining his policies.
There is a natural cycle whereby Presidential approval rates are the highest at inauguration day and then fall slowly over time. They may spike up if/when Obama achieves some milestone, but otherwise he's likely to sink down to the low 50s and stay there for quite a while unless he does something drastically stupid to take him under the 50% mark.

Delivering a good healthcare bill would probably give Obama's approval numbers a nice boost back up over 60.

[Lily]

Yes, Rush Limbaugh has the largest daily audience in America and totally dominates 'talk radio'. However, radio is only one media segment and a not very large or influential one. Same with the cable-news channels. They are all rabidly rightwing, but they are only a small segment of the media universe.

It is also relevant to note that the ONLY two media segments where the rightwing is dominant are the two media segments that are most completely dominated by monopoly ownership (radio and cable).

And that audience is old and white. They've got the same shrinking demographic problem that the Republican party has... a bunch of old white guys who define themselves by their resentments and sense of self-entitlement.



I was curious about Rush's demographics so I searched a bit and found this Pew survey from February, 2009. PewSurvey (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1102/limbaugh-audience-conservative-men)

Here are the stats:
Rush listeners are 80% conservative, 72% male, 49% over the age of 50 and 33% college graduates. In the Pew "knowledge quiz," 36% scored in the "high knowledge" range." Generally, only 5% of the general public listen to Rush regularly, while just 10% of conservatives listen regularly (62% of conservatives state "never"). More of the general public and conservatives watch both O'Reilly and Hannity & Colmes regularly than listen to Limbaugh.

On a sidenote, the number one watched show for liberals, with 45%, is The Daily Show, and the most knowledgeable respondents, 48%, read The New Yorker/Atlantic.

[Michael]

I was curious about Rush's demographics so I searched a bit and found this Pew survey from February, 2009. PewSurvey (http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1102/limbaugh-audience-conservative-men)

Here are the stats:
Rush listeners are 80% conservative, 72% male, 49% over the age of 50 and 33% college graduates. In the Pew "knowledge quiz," 36% scored in the "high knowledge" range." Generally, only 5% of the general public listen to Rush regularly, while just 10% of conservatives listen regularly (62% of conservatives state "never"). More of the general public and conservatives watch both O'Reilly and Hannity & Colmes regularly than listen to Limbaugh.

On a sidenote, the number one watched show for liberals, with 45%, is The Daily Show, and the most knowledgeable respondents, 48%, read The New Yorker/Atlantic.
That's pretty much what I suggested.

Btw, I get annoyed at this "college grads" statistic that is so popular in the USA. In the context of educational attainment, that's very misleading. Normally one uses the possession of a bachelors degree to denote higher education, not some generic attendence at some bible college or agricultural or technical school. Big difference there.

In reality, only about 27% of Americans possess a degree - which is pretty much identical to all of the western countries.

[Michael]

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Source (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=113851103434)

Wow. This lady is just way out there. She apparently believes everything the rightwing spin doctors tell her. :rofl:

I never thought it was possible that Palin could progressively make herself look worse than she did during the 2008 election cycle.

Apparently I was wrong. Palin has opened up whole new vistas of 'fail' to dwell in.

I say Palin and Joe the Plumber ought to have an affair and get it over with. Its only a matter of time.

[Donkey]

Gotta love this woman...

[Americano]

Gotta love this woman...

She definitely takes public displays of ignorance to new levels.

[SMadsen]

Yes, Rush Limbaugh has the largest daily audience in America and totally dominates 'talk radio'. However, radio is only one media segment and a not very large or influential one. Same with the cable-news channels. They are all rabidly rightwing, but they are only a small segment of the media universe.

It is also relevant to note that the ONLY two media segments where the rightwing is dominant are the two media segments that are most completely dominated by monopoly ownership (radio and cable).

And that audience is old and white. They've got the same shrinking demographic problem that the Republican party has... a bunch of old white guys who define themselves by their resentments and sense of self-entitlement.

As for Facebook, the rightwing populists are acting exactly like the evangelical Christians. They get louder and more demanding as their relative position starts shrinking. All such groups have a seemingly pathological need to maintain the delusions that their position is a majority one (which it isn't at all - which is why they are so angry). But they will go to great lengths to try to make it appear that they are in the majority.

Contrast this with Blacks or Gays who are generally becoming less activist and less noisy over time as their relative positions are rising.

The 'culture wars' are mostly over now. The right lost on almost every battlefield. And the losers always scream the loudest.
Give Jonathan Krohn a year or two.

[Americano]

Give Jonathan Krohn a year or two.

"Lil Limbaugh"?

[Michael]

Give Jonathan Krohn a year or two.

Why the need for a year or two? He seems to have the education and maturity level required for the job already!

[SMadsen]

Why the need for a year or two? He seems to have the education and maturity level required for the job already!
Perhaps I wasn't referring to Krohn's need but for the GOP to keep up :)