Why do conservative elites go out of their way to trash Palin?

I’ve noticed that George Will and Charles Krauthammer have taken time out of their many TV gigs to trash Sarah Palin. Other prominent conservatives seem to relish dissing the former Alaska governor. David Frum, Joe Scarborough, Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, Chris Christie; don’t forget Kathleen Parker, who parleyed her Palin envy into a CNN talk show that no one watches.

This is not an attack on these conservatives. I read them all and often find a lot of worth in what they opine. I don’t understand why they actively, often unprompted, go out of their way to bash Palin. I don’t recall in the past — unless you count Ronald Reagan — a steady drumbeat of prominent vocalized opposition, and off-the-wall bashing of previous presidential hopefuls — large and small — from within the party (Gary Bauer, Steve Forbes, Richard Lugar, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney …) The rationale is usually that Palin has no chance of winning and that her poll ratings are low. The latter point is conceded but given the regularly savage treatment she receives from the political class and the popular culture, she merits credit for being a survivor rather than a casualty. More classless commentary (favored by Brooks, Noonan, Frum and Parker) is that she’s not smart or sophisticated enough to be taken seriously.

I think a lot of the criticism — from the right — is arrogance disguised as disdain. I doubt Sarah Palin reads Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, Kathleen Parker, George Will or even Charles Krauthammer. Thomas Sowell, Mark Levin, Walter Williams, Victor Davis Hanson, David Limbaugh, Mark Steyn, Cliff May, S.E. Cupp, Star Parker, and other “new conservative” writers I suspect are her guides. It grinds on somebody like a Noonan, or a Brooks, who have reached the traditional heighths of their careers, to be ignored by a ”mere Palin” after they’ve been flattered and courted by so many for so long. That Wasilla mayor is not only not at the parties, she doesn’t even want to be there.

Look, I’m not claiming Palin is perfect, or she will win if she runs in 2012. I think it’s ridiculous to dismiss a potential candidate who worked hard to oppose the big-government assault Democrats launched in 2009 and campaigned hard to help the GOP gain the U.S. House. She is the spirit of the Tea Party movement, even while Mr. Frum grumbles that Republicans are doomed if they listen to her.

Can Sarah Palin win in 2012 if she runs? She’s tough enough to compete and she’ll need to be because she’ll have most of the political class — with many righty snipers – and 99 percent of the cultural class opposed to her. On the other hand, I recall the 2008 debates, and — although it’s moved through the memory hole — Palin was the most impressive of the four candidates.

“Why did Karl Rove rip into Christine O'Donnell the night of her victory?”

Because all RomneyBOTs work for Obama and the DNC. Every one.

"Go Mitt. Go Mitt. Go Mitt.

We attack ….for you. For you!!!!!!"

"Rove is pushing Romney so aggressively some folks are beginning to wonder what's going on," grumbled one veteran Republican strategist."

"Rove has made no secret of his support for Romney as McCain's VP. "

I have never heard Sarah Palin say a single thing that I thought was dumb. Sometimes her meandering sentences bother me. Sometimes I wish she would say “terrorist governments” instead of “people who don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart.” (And I wish she had not picked up W’s “best interests” as a substitute for “best interest,” or just “interest,” or “legitimate interest.”

The ONLY misgivings I have about Sarah Palin are:

Would she bring home the troops from places where they truly are not needed—like most, or all, of our former allies and enemies in World War II?

Would she have the courage to put silver and gold coinage back in the pocket of every American? The latter would do more to make us respected, secure, and prosperous than enabling countries around the world to “defend” themselves on the cheap with our blood and money. America HAS become an empire to a great extent, mostly because fiat money requires police and military force to prop it up, both at home and abroad.

Would she have the courage to support Governors who nullify Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, etc.—by doing nothing?

But I have never, ever heard her say anything dumb. That is the most shallow, brainless (and typical) smear the Left could come up with.

It certainly does not seem far fetched that the glue holding the RinoCrat Oligarchy together is the relationship they have forged with the Islamic World.

Palin’s vice-presidency in fact, IMHO, triggered the acute withdrawal of funds from the markets in September ‘08. It was a warning shot across the bow of the RinoCrat’s about what the financial world thought of a McCain-Palin presidency.
The ascendancy of a serious domestic energy production committment, which was her principle accomplishment in forging the development of the largest infrastructure project ever in North America, while governor of Alaska, would trigger a major geopolitical realignment that would leave the RinoCrats and their Muslim patrons on the sidelines.

FYI - from what I found by looking back in time, I think you made a great point:

(Sept. 3): In her address at the Republican National Convention, which was widely praised, Sarah Palin mocks Sen. Barack Obama’s role as a community organizer in Chicago, portrays herself as a Washington outsider, and outlines her Alaska upbringing and professional experience. “Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown,” Palin says. “And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.” Shortly after her speech, delegates select Sen. John McCain as the Republican presidential nominee.

(Sept. 15): The Dow Jones Industrial Average drops more than 500 points, or 4.4%, amid concerns over a financial crisis. It is the worst one-day loss since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In addition, Lehman Brothers goes ahead and declares bankruptcy.

(Sept. 16): Legislation would allow drilling for oil 50 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts if all adjacent states agree and 100 miles out regardless of a state’s position on drilling. The measure, which passes, 236 to 189, also cuts some tax benefits for oil companies and calls on utilities to produce 15% of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

(Oct. 6): On the first day of trading since the bailout bill was signed into law, stock markets in America, Europe, and Asia experience their steepest declines in two decades. The Financial Times Stock Exchange Index suffers its biggest one-day drop (in terms of points), and Russia’s stock market plummets by almost 20%.

(Oct. 10): An investigation by Alaska’s legislature finds that Sarah Palin, the state’s governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act when she used her office in an attempt to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired.

(Nov. 3): Investigation by an independent counsel for the Alaska Personnel Board concludes that Gov. Sarah Palin did not violate the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act in her attempts to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired. The report contradicts an earlier report by Alaska’s legislature, which said she did violate the ethics law.

(Nov. 4): In an election that is historic on many levels, Democratic senator Barack Obama wins the presidential election against Sen. John McCain,

(Nov. 19): The Dow Jones falls 5.1%, or 427.47 points, to 7,997.28. It is the first time since 2003 that it has fallen below 8,000. The decline coincides with a report from the Labor Department indicating that the Consumer Price Index fell by one percentage point in October, the steepest one-month drop since the index debuted in 1947.

Read more: November 2008 Current Events — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/world/events/2008/nov.html#ixzz1AMd3rPzA

Any sign of the US becoming energy self sufficient, strikes fear into the wallets of the oil cartels.

Sarah Palin scares Democrats, Republicans, Muslims, Main Stream Media, Feminist, Europe, China and Russia.

Palin in 2012 “You Betcha”

Thank you for doing that research and sending it along!

Sarah is the symbol of American energy independence.

The rest of the world knows that they operate under aegis of the US military and Navy especially. We control the sea lanes and oceans. China excavates minerals and resources from Afganistan and from Africa (http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=2940)- under the protection of the US Military in both places> Our commitment, from their perspective, depends upon our need to import oil. Remove that need...and OUR need for 12 carrier battle fleets to maintain the seaways which the rest of the world benefits from.

Were we to get serious about domestic energy production...one of the real risks is that we might well see 20% interest rates again as the world stops buying binds with cash they generate from world trade. Yet our ability to service that debt-even on its present terms is constrained by having become enslaved to the god of international trade.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.