He was certainly part of the Hollywood establishment. He was President of SAG for 5 years or so. He was close friends with Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Liz Taylor, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, and just about every other major star of that time.
Being part of the Hollywood establishment is as good as being part of the DC one. It provides automatic entry. It automatically qualifies you.
The cocktail party types and salon hostesses all knew they had friends in Ron and Nancy. There was a great article in Vanity Fair last year about the DC social scene, especially during the Reagan years.
Even in the NY/DC establishment, there was never this “you are so beneath us” vibe with Reagan that I got in this campaign.
My point was that there was and still is a visceral reaction against Gov Palin. It goes way beyond issues or policy. It’s clearly personal, and other than Greta Van Susteren, the impression I got from evey other reporter or anchor or writer or pundit when discussing her was one of sheer and utter contempt and disgust that came from a different place than the usual political biases or disagreements. I think her having the baby and carrying it to term was part of it. There was a lot. Someone will probably write about it more extensively at some point.
My contention is a lot of it was class based and region based, more of a “they’re just not our kind of folks” deal. Ironically, Barack and Michelle fit right in and no one had any problems wit hthem whatsoever. I guess we have come a long way whne the leftist black radical with muslim name and his wife are instantly accepted and thw down home white couple are shunned.
Absolutely. And it relates to the abortion issue, which is an issue that both sides largely buried. In His book "The Clash of Absolutes," Lawrence Tribe admits that the pro-choice vs. pro-life issue is an instance of class warfare. The upper classes have largely abandoned Christianity except for a minority who treat it as a philosophy--and neo-platonist than Christian. The Middle and "lower"classes, or many of them, still remain Christian in their "values." and visceral reactions to things. Palin's decision not to abort her down's syndrome child showed she belonged to the latter, and for this reason she is hated by the upper crust, because she gave lie to the notion that pro-life people will not put their money where their mouths are. For a person of her standing to do what she did literally puts her out of the pale, as opposed to phonies like Peggy Noonan, who talks a good game but will not play it.
You make some very interesting and valid points. Although the establishment was very, very dismissive of Reagan and remained extremely disdainful of his policies, the society/media elites nonetheless were often rather drawn to his old-style Hollywood manner and connections. They had a certain begrudging fascination and acceptance of him, in between their condescending condemnations of his ideology and actions.
But, wow, the visceral hatred and unyielding scathingness towards Gov. Palin, her family, and her cultural backdrop, by these same media elites, has reached all-new heights. It’s really been something to behold (in a sickening way, of course).
Good observation....although I do believe that Matt Lauer should be excepted along with Greta Van Susteren. I’ve seen him discuss his visit and interview with Gov. Palin on several other shows, and he seems to have a genuine regard for her and her family.