[New post] 'the abyss of reactionary sloganeering'

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

[New post] 'the abyss of reactionary sloganeering'

'the abyss of reactionary sloganeering'

Chipsticks | May 31, 2011 at 8:54 am | Categories: All Photos, Articles | URL: http://wp.me/pUgO9-9LE

Michael Tomasky (Daily Beast): Liberals are tempted to rejoice in Palin's candidacy. But as Michael Tomasky argues, we should all dread the effect of her torrent of lies and demagoguery on our politics.

…. Like most liberals, I'm happy to sit back and watch the multi-car pileup in the Republican Party that she will inevitably induce. But for the same reason that we try to avoid inviting the drunk relation to Thanksgiving dinner, I'd actually prefer never having to think about her again, and I preemptively lament the corrosive effect her unvarying diet of lies and demagoguery will have on our politics. The Republican primary will likely set up in such a way that she'll be able to pull the field, and the party, hard to the right, and while that will be fine for Barack Obama come Election Day, it will help cripple any attempt to do anything constructive afterward.

….So this is where we're headed, if she runs, down into this abyss of reactionary sloganeering. And while she may not be the nominee, she's likely to have a huge impact on the race ... It's a crucial point here that all the leading candidates have histories of apostasy: Mitt Romney on health care, Tim Pawlenty on carbon and the environment, Jon Huntsman on having worked for Obama (and even now Newt Gingrich, having thundered against Paul Ryan's budget). Palin will tear into them, and they'll probably be loath to tear back, because they want her voters after she drops out.

....she should be able to set the terms of discourse by saying outrageous things and then watching as reporters ask the others whether they agree with her, and they say, out of mortal fear of the base, yes I do.

These other candidates will be like that poor protagonist in District 9 - mysterious Palin fluid will spray onto their faces and the infection will inevitably hit them. As I said, that will be fun to watch. But the fluid might someday splash on the rest of us, too ... I ache for the day she retires there permanently.

Full article here

(I usually avoid posting any articles about the poisonous half-termer - and I know most of you hate even seeing her name mentioned here - but I reckoned Michael Tomasky's piece was worth reading)

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