Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Sarah Palin's a populist, not a conservative
The Star Ledger ^ | Paul Mulshine

Posted on 09/16/2008 7:17:17 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084

I confess that from the beginning I didn't get the Sarah Palin nomination. Everything about it seemed wrong, from her chirpy Matanuska Valley girl accent, to the MTV morals of her family life, to her complete lack of any experience or even of any stated views on national or international affairs.

But now I get it. It represents the last gasp of the effort to turn the Republican Party of 2008 into the Democratic Party of 1896. Or at least I hope it does. The 1896 presidential race represented the high point of populism in America. The Democratic candidate, William Jennings Bryan, represented many of the urges that have since migrated into the Republican Party, such as a distrust of Darwin. If you doubt that, consider what the great H.L. Mencken had to say on the subject in one of his essays on Bryan around the time of the Scopes Monkey Trial:

"The so-called religious organizations which now lead the war against the teaching of evolution are nothing more, at bottom, than conspiracies of the inferior man against his betters. They mirror very accurately his congenital hatred of knowledge, his bitter enmity to the man who knows more than he does, and so gets more out of life. ... What they propose to do, at bottom and in brief, is to make the superior man infamous -- by mere abuse if it is sufficient, and if it is not, then by law."

(Excerpt) Read more at blog.nj.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: dprnj; mccainpalin; mulshine; palin; paulmulshine; populism; progressivism; rinorevolution; sarah; sarahpalin
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-48 next last
I want the rest of the country to know what we have to deal with in the Democratic People's Republic of NJ. Paul Mulshine is our "token' conservative here. How scary is that? He took exception to my comments on his blog:

Posted by drericablair on 09/16/08 at 9:53PM MORON PERSPECTIVE ALERT:

She was doing good here until she listed mattress salesman Rush LImbaugh and steakhouse spokesman Sean Hannity as conservatives. PM

MorrisJim and Paul:

I've been reading Paul for years. I like him. I'm going to miss him when the liberal Star Ledger goes out of business.

What you have to understand is that Paul is the arbiter of what is conservative and what is not in the Democratic People's Republic of NJ.

Frank Meyer? William F. Buckley? Ronald Reagan? Rush Limbaugh? Sean Hannity? They are all clueless as to what Conservatism is all about.

Only Paul Mulshine in the Newark Star Ledger is qualified to tell you what Conservatism is.

I give him credit for chutzpah and brass balls. He's a character.

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a comment Posted by drericablair on 09/16/08 at 10:02PM Moron perspective, huh? You guys are so cute at that age!

Ok, if you want to call me 2nd Grade names as opposed to engaging in a meaningful debate, I can play that game better than you. I warn you Paul, I'm a master of the ancient martial art of Hu Flung Poo. :-)

You're a doodyhead and a poopyface, so there. Nya, nya, nya,nya, nya, nya, na. )-:

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a comment Posted by drericablair on 09/16/08 at 10:04PM PS. I'm a man, baby!!!

PSS: I thank you for not deleting the post entirely.

Inappropriate? Alert us.

1 posted on 09/16/2008 7:18:39 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084
Palin is a Christian? Well, then ... I guess she's just like the Democrats of 1896!

QED

2 posted on 09/16/2008 7:23:44 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Michelle, spare me your phony outrage, you know as well as I do that dress makes your butt look big)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

3 posted on 09/16/2008 7:24:10 PM PDT by ari-freedom (We never hide from history. We make history!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

“Populist” is a mostly meaningless word in America. One can be populist and socialist, populist and libertarian, populist and liberal, or populist and conservative. At any point, one party can be more or less populist than the other, but it’s not as if there’s an aristocratic/monarchist party out there seeking to install a class system. Unless you count affirmative-action, and maybe I do.


4 posted on 09/16/2008 7:24:16 PM PDT by Tublecane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

Muleshine, eh?

That fits.


5 posted on 09/16/2008 7:25:09 PM PDT by Petronski (Please pray for the success of McCain and Palin. Every day, whenever you pray.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084
I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I must be a no-nothing populist.
6 posted on 09/16/2008 7:26:34 PM PDT by ari-freedom (We never hide from history. We make history!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

Ah, New Jersey...the taint of the Northeast. ‘Tain’t New York...’tain’t Philly.


7 posted on 09/16/2008 7:26:51 PM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

The prehistoric monkey bones crap again. Are these liberal guys having problems getting laid again? What does Darwin or Evolution have to do with any serious issue facing this country right now? How does making school children brood over imaginary graphs and charts of prehistoric monkey men solve anything except relieve the sexual anxieties of their secular humanist teachers?

8 posted on 09/16/2008 7:27:35 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084
When someone gushingly quotes Mencken you know that when they eventually move on to their own words we'll get more of the same egotistical tripe - only much more poorly written.

"The inferior man" indeed.

9 posted on 09/16/2008 7:28:10 PM PDT by wideawake (Why is it that those who like to be called Constitutionalists know the least about the Constitution?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

“The 1896 presidential race represented the high point of populism in America”

No, populism was just another name for Progressivism, which had its high points under Wilson and FDR. And Palin is NOT a Progressive, even though she reforms things and likes God.


10 posted on 09/16/2008 7:28:13 PM PDT by Tublecane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

“The 1896 presidential race represented the high point of populism in America”

No, populism was just another name for Progressivism, which had its high points under Wilson and FDR. And Palin is NOT a Progressive, even though she reforms things and likes God.


11 posted on 09/16/2008 7:28:30 PM PDT by Tublecane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084
When someone gushingly quotes Mencken you know that when they eventually move on to their own words we'll get more of the same egotistical tripe - only much more poorly written.

"The inferior man" indeed.

12 posted on 09/16/2008 7:28:32 PM PDT by wideawake (Why is it that those who like to be called Constitutionalists know the least about the Constitution?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Tublecane

I’ve always understood a different definition for populism. The Peron type of populism is essentially class warfare. You line everyone up on an economic scale from richest to poorest. You then tell the poorest 51% that the richest 49% are responsible for their economic condition. We see what happens next.


13 posted on 09/16/2008 7:29:01 PM PDT by Archie Bunker on steroids (Democratic initiatives: the antithesis of every single one of America's traditional core values)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Petronski

More like Mud Hind!


14 posted on 09/16/2008 7:30:50 PM PDT by Gator_that_eats_Dems
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Petronski

The writer begins his temper tantrum with the words “I confess” Well , he better confess as I’m thinking of sending a bunch of private detectives to take a look in his closet for skeletons.


15 posted on 09/16/2008 7:31:21 PM PDT by timestax
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Archie Bunker on steroids

“The Peron type of populism is essentially class warfare. You line everyone up on an economic scale from richest to poorest. You then tell the poorest 51% that the richest 49% are responsible for their economic condition. We see what happens next.”

Populism and Progressivism are really subcategories of socialism/fascism, which you describe well in your post.


16 posted on 09/16/2008 7:31:21 PM PDT by Tublecane
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084
This is the biggest pile of pretentious dreck I have seen since Obama's last speech.

It is possible to be a populist and a conservative. It is also possible, albeit a bit harder, to be an elitist and a conservative.

Paul may be a conservative but there is no doubt that he has his nose in the air.

17 posted on 09/16/2008 7:31:44 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (Just say No to Lawyers! Palin '08! (oh and McWhatshisname too. I guess))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Petronski

He took it upon himself to add the “Moron perspective alert”. Hey, his house, his rules. It’s his column and blog.


18 posted on 09/16/2008 7:34:33 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084 (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms shouldn't be a federal agency...it should be a convenience store.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084
"...to her complete lack of any experience..."

Stop right there, read no further. The article is a time waster.

The good news is that come the morning of November 5th, 2008, we get to see the author of the article cry like the little Obama wussy that he is.

19 posted on 09/16/2008 7:35:55 PM PDT by avacado
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Eric Blair 2084

The only candidate I see employing the populist/fascist shtick is the Dem.


20 posted on 09/16/2008 7:37:24 PM PDT by Harry Wurzbach
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-48 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson