Posted on 02/13/2010 7:03:37 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Sarah Palin’s most ardent supporters in “real America” love to suggest that those of us who don’t buy into her silly shtick fail to grasp why they adore her, citing her realness, plain-spokenness and whatever else they can conjure up.
Folks, nice try, but as a native Texan, I’ve seen many politicians and wannabes over the years that had charm, wit, charisma and a twinkle in their eye.
You want a media darling politician with substance? Try the late Gov. Ann Richards, a woman who could cut you deep but beam ear to ear with her motherly smile. But unlike Palin, she had a host of strong ideas in her head that actually made sense and appealed to a cross-section of folks.
Congressman Charlie Wilson, who died this week, was a smooth-talking Texan who loved to party hard, but when it came to politics, he knew how to get things done. The media loved him because he could sit with you and enjoy a beer over a barbecue, give a hilarious quote or two and explain foreign policy better than Henry Kissinger.
So why haven’t I cottoned up to Palin? Because she desires to portray herself as a straight-talking politician, but she is nothing more than a political celebrity willing to cash every check she can grab.
What truly exposed her? The ridiculous way in which she reacted last week to two political heavyweights using the word “retarded.”
When it was reported that President Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told a bunch of liberals that they were “retards” for threatening to run ads against fellow Democrats who weren’t jumping on the health care reform bandwagon, Palin demanded his resignation.
As the mother of a child with Down syndrome, Palin has often used her bully pulpit to demand respect for the mentally challenged. Nothing wrong with that. It is an issue that is close to her heart and she should be a fierce advocate.
Yet when one of her biggest supporters, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, also castigated liberals by calling them retards, Palin provided him cover -- even trying to explain away his comments.
In an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace, Palin said Limbaugh was using satire, while Emanuel was blasting those who disagree with him. But anyone who can read or listen could understand that Limbaugh did the same thing as Emanuel.
Emanuel and Limbaugh used retard to describe folks they disagree with, but only Emanuel was wrong? Yep, that’s how it is in Palin’s world. She was quick to pounce on someone she disagrees with politically, but not her patron saint, Limbaugh.
Sarah, if you were true to your cause, you would have demanded an on-air apology from Limbaugh and scolded him for using the word. Instead, you showed your true colors.
I haven’t bought into the fake “I’m a real American” persona you are trying to portray, Sarah. You slam the president for using teleprompters, but write crib notes on your hand to remember basic beliefs that should be easy to regurgitate. You decry the “lamestream” media, but you bask in its glory and have now joined its payroll as a Fox News contributor, even having them build a studio in your home (talk about media elite!). You give a speech riddled with falsehoods about the president and national security, and then try to shrug them off as the “lamestream” media attacking you.
You don’t fool me, even as your legion of fans considers you the second coming of President Ronald Reagan.
You quit on the people who elected you to become a political celebrity. You had the opportunity to show everyone that you’re willing to take on anyone who crosses the line against those mentally challenged, and you failed to do so.
Please, make as much money as you can. Paraphrasing comedian Martin Lawrence, ride this train until the wheels fall off. But please, cut the crap. You’re a crass politician with no true conviction. Your actions have shown that.
*******
Roland S. Martin is a CNN contributor and a talk show host for WVON/AM in Chicago.
Martin of COurse. I know you better than that! LOL.
I thought as much. Martin is the typical Chicago hack presstitute stuck in 1976.
You mean Obama or Gibbs?
Martin!
How could I have missed that?
He actually has a point here. Unless the word is used in context with, or soemhow references, the mentally disabled per se, then she will be subject to these kinds of contradictions. Calling someone "f***ing retarded" is not enough to make that association. I sympathize with her, but if she's going to play the game, she needs to play it well, and on this point, she didn't, and she left herself wide open. Better to learn from such mistakes now though, than during the Presidential campaign to come, which I fully support.
I know it's "The One". Sheeesh!!
Maybe you're too young to have seen Church Lady on SNL to understand my post? I don't know. Just guessing. :>)
LOL. I have not watched TV since 2000, ten years ago. My fault! LOL.
Sorry Roland, I " don’t buy into" what impresses you about that...it seems incredibly shallow.
This just provides another proof that we are two societies living in one space. I don't care for yours, as I find it essentially corrupting.
I don't ask that you agree with me on Palin. But stupidity on your part does not obligate me to act the same. Don't offer chicken$hit and tell me it's chicken salad.
You don't like Palin, and you're failing at making it sound reasonable or logical. It's a waste of time asking me to pretend it's anything else.
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