Thursday, July 08, 2010

Teh Singularity


Dumb Palin fan, but I repeat myself


Only one of us?

__________


(Screen grab from here)

Posted by bjkeefe at 1:35 PM
Labels: , , ,

6 comments:

Twin said...

I was watching Morning Joe as I got ready for work this morning, and they played this video. Afterwards, faux liberal Mika Brzezinski was just delirious with excitement, giggling like a school girl. Whatever ersatz Reaganism Palin was aiming for, she evidently hit the mark. We should not be surprised: there is a multi-million dollar marketing campaign now working to prop her up and sell her to the American people.

The video addresses no issue. The rallying cry revolves around "pissing off liberals" and putting Democrats in their place. It's a purely emotional appeal. And it's quite likely to be effective. We should expect her to win the Republican nomination (if only because of the order of the primary states she'll be competing in), and the presidency. The Obama years will have served their purpose, giving Democrats control of government for just long enough for them to be blamed for everything that is deeply wrong with this country, especially the continuing erosion of the middle class and our economy.

11:05 PM, July 08, 2010
bjkeefe said...

You watched the whole video?

You're a better man than I. Me, I just watched until I got my first nugget of lulz. As you can see from the screen shot, that didn't take too long.

I don't think ANY marketing campaign could sell St. Sarah to the American people at this point. I agree it's a marketing campaign -- as is everything she's done in her life since 5 Nov 2008 at least -- but I think the target audience is a considerably narrower demographic.

I will bet you right now that she does not win the GOP nomination. I'm tempted to bet that she won't even run -- I expect she'll play it coy for as long as she can milk that act, and then she'll spout some word salad similar to what she babbled when she quit being governor, how not doing something actually means she can do it more effectively.

I think it's more likely she's looking to be another Rush Limbaugh -- she'll have the most power she could conceivably acquire, and she'll make way more money without having to work nearly as hard.

11:35 PM, July 08, 2010
Twin said...

LOL! I knew you wouldn't watch it. It was only a minute and fifty seconds for god's sake. ;-D

I really don't get the difficulty you and almost every other liberal I know has enduring even a few seconds of wingnuttery. I must be weird; I get some kind of odd thrill out of it.

I sure hope you're right about her chances of winning the Republican nomination -- or that she won't even run. But I'm afraid I will have to pass on your offer to bet. Talk about bad karma -- having a financial interest in the success of Sarah Palin! But I honestly have very little doubt that's her plan; in fact, I think she's *determined* to be the next president, and specifically to replace Obama. And I don't think there's anyone who, ultimately, will be more appealing to the wingnuts and lunatics who comprise the Republican Party. I realize that polls show a majority of Americans, and even a vast number of Republicans, don't like her. But I don't think that matters. The media has been fixated on her since she was nominated, and has been relentlessly promoting her ever since. That will not only continue, but increase. Palin has been one of the top newsmakers for the last two years, because there is enormous interest in the corporate media complex in finding a populist leader who will pave the way for a corporate-friendly federal agenda. Between this lavishing of positive attention from the media and continued production of these Reaganesque videos, it will be a simple matter to win the support of a majority of Republicans and the American public. (And who else can the Republicans turn to? There's no one else as polished and perfect for the role as Palin. And yes, I realize I said she is polished. It's just a different kind of polish than we would look for in the people we admire; we didn't like Reagan, either, but he was enormously charming and appealing to a lot of people.)

As for working hard, I don't think Palin really minds working hard, as long as it's the kind of work she likes -- such as touring the country as a popular leader of the teabaggers, signing books, being cheered by massive crowds, having her picture taken with RealAmericans (tm), etc. And being president won't be hard work, either; it will be one long photo-op, one indulgence of her egocentrism. She'll do what Bush did: delegate, delegate, delegate. Her role as president will be the same as Bush's: Half time spent being the public salesman for the ultraconservative agenda, and half the time vacationing. She'll be on the cover of all our national magazines windsurfing, sailing, fishing, riding horses, etc. You know, just like Reagan, and just like Bush.

Republicans have never wanted a real person to run for (or be) president. They simply want a totem. A symbol. Sarah Palin didn't even have to open her mouth that day she was announced as McCain's VP pick. Simply as a symbol she was enormously appealing. As a totem, she represents whiteness, ordinariness, fertility, Christianity, small-town values, etc. Again, it was the same with Reagan and Bush: they were more *ideas* than fully formed human beings.

If anyone doubts this, just watch Palin's new video. As I mentioned above, it takes on no issue. It's all about symbolism and emotion.

12:12 AM, July 09, 2010
bjkeefe said...

I really don't get the difficulty you and almost every other liberal I know has enduring even a few seconds of wingnuttery. I must be weird; I get some kind of odd thrill out of it.

I don't want to speak for all liberals, of course, but you're not describing me accurately. I will spend lots of time wallowing in wingnuttery, as long as it's in text form. What I have little patience for is sitting through audio or video of them going on, in general because so much of it is boilerplate that it makes me annoyed that I can't skim ahead, and in particular, with this one, because her faux-ksy voice sets my teeth on edge.

I sure hope you're right about her chances of winning the Republican nomination -- or that she won't even run. But I'm afraid I will have to pass on your offer to bet. Talk about bad karma -- having a financial interest in the success of Sarah Palin!

When I don't want something to happen, I sometimes bet that it will. This is part of my life strategy of Putting Murphy's Law To Work For Me.

;)

But I honestly have very little doubt that's her plan; in fact, I think she's *determined* to be the next president, and specifically to replace Obama.

Nah. I mean, sure, she'd take the job if it were handed to her and she didn't have to do any work to get it. (Aside from making a few blue-pill gobblers see starbursts, I mean -- although she probably does not consider that work.) But she's not going to put up with the slog of campaigning for two years. She could barely make it through two months last time, don't forget, and she got a free pass from her entire party and virtually all of the media for most of that time.

If she so much as dips her toe in the water, Willard will snap at it. And so will a lot of money people in the GOP. Believe me, as immoral or amoral as many of them are, they are at least capable of being embarrassed by her. They know she had her one shot to slip into office in 2008, and that her peak has long since passed. They know she can only rally the 27%ers. They like that she can get the rubes to make campaign donations, and they like that she has no shame about saying "death panels" and shit like that, but that's all they like about her.

The media has been fixated on her since she was nominated, and has been relentlessly promoting her ever since.

That is flatly not true, unless by "promoting" you mean "we get that trainwrecks always draw eyeballs."

(continues next comment)

12:43 AM, July 09, 2010
bjkeefe said...

(continued from previous comment)

As for working hard ... She'll do what Bush did ...

If she ever got elected, maybe. But don't forget that for all of his laziness once he got into office, Bush was a hard worker in getting himself to that place -- he spent decades making and maintaining relationships with movers and shakers, and once on the trail, he put in lots of time doing his faux town halls and other bein' the kinda guy you'd like to have a beer with stuff. Plus, he stuck it out for two terms as governor, biding his time, even when the chances did not look like he'd ever get the shot. (Remember when Jeb was supposed to be our next preznit?)

By contrast, Sarah likes to swan in for occasional Big Event, and she thinks that ought to cover it.

Republicans have never wanted a real person to run for (or be) president. They simply want a totem.

This, and other things you say about Republicans/the right strike me as unfair and overly sweeping. You're entitled to your views, but I can't respect such generalizations. Think how it makes you feel when you hear wingnuts saying the same thing about "[all] liberals" or "Democrats always" or "the Left."

Now, I grant that Palin could never be anything but a figurehead, due to her intellectual and other forms of laziness. And I don't doubt the existence of certain people who fancy themselves in the role of her puppetmaster. But it's a fantasy. She'll never get close to the job, and they'll never get her close to the job, and at least they know it. The only people who still think she can win are fappers like that Continetti clown, and even he's probably bullshitting half the time, just to boost his book sales.

Palin is a good figurehead to a certain kind of person, and she'll continue to be useful to the GOP in that regard, but that's all she'll ever be in the political arena. And I'm pretty sure even she knows that, and is content with it, especially with all the money rolling in, and the non-critical attention she gets to bask in.

12:48 AM, July 09, 2010
bjkeefe said...

Oh, wait, one more thing. I should add that I would actually like Palin to be the 2012 GOP nominee. You could not buy a better GOTV impetus, from the point of view of the Dems, and sane people everywhere.

12:58 AM, July 09, 2010

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