The visceral hatred of Sarah Palin flowing from so many in the commentariat, even on the right side of the pundit class, has made me wonder. How could anyone hate someone so ordinary and normal?
Sean Paige, who used to run the editorial page of the Colorado Springs Gazette, has an intriguing theory over his blog, the American Contrarian.
I tend to write off the sniping from Noonan and Parker as cattiness and envy; there’s a hot new conservative “it” girl in town and they’re old news, as charter members of the conservative cougars club. Parker swung from swooning over Palin to dissing her in a matter of weeks, based, in seems, on Palin’s poor showing in the Katie Couric interview. She seemed like a fickle teen dumping her latest BFF over some perceived slight. Plus, Parker is savvy enough to know that the quickest way to become a “mainstream” media darling, and get invited to the right parties, is to attack someone else on the right. I never saw Parker on the cable news gab shows until she did her hit piece on Palin. You shouldn’t discount the element of self-promotion in her actions.
Following the money is always a good reportial instinct. Maybe that explains some of the conjurred-up outrage.
But consider the hypocrisy angle. Peggy Noonan, a onetime Palin cheerleader who is now a harsh critic, is author of new book called Patriotic Grace. I’ve read its beautiful meanderings. It is, as my mother would say, like a cup of tea with an old friend. Her book argues against the kind of instant diabtribes that Noonan unleashed on Palin. Physician, heal thyself first.
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13 Comments
1. David Thomson:“Following the money is always a good reportial instinct.”
The same is likely true of Ken Adelman. He will now be celebrated as a “responsible conservative” and be invited to the best parties—and receive lucrative book contracts and speaking fees. It is also my understanding that Colin Powell is paid about $100,000 per speech. Does anybody really believe that this would be occurring if he were perceived as an “unthinking reactionary conservative?” There is a widely held myth that conservative writers earns vast sums of money from the so-called capitalist pigs. Nothing could be further from the truth. I strongly suspect that left-wing writers minimally “earn” ten dollars for every dollar earned by a conservative one. Some conservative writers have told me in private that they could have made more money washing dishes at a local restaurant. And they were dead serious! In no way, shape, or form, were these people exaggerating or seeking a cheap laugh.
Oct 23, 2008 - 11:23 am 2. R. Lapidus:Stop whining.
There has been, for well over half a century, an intellectual tradition within the GOP. It’s finally fed up with the Rush’s and the Palins and the goober part of the South that was allowed to invade Republican precincts in the last third of the 20th century. Truth be told, they were always wary of it but allowed themselves to be coopted by it in return for power and access.
The crash, the folly of Iraq and the rise of a concerted Democratic effort to push back on eight years of governmental misrule have all combined to not only place the GOP in dire straits but to give heft to conservative intellectual cujones
However the battle at the top of the ticket plays out, across the board Republicans are going to reap a whirlwind, on Nov 4, and I suspect that the Wills, Noonans and Parkers realise this.
Oct 23, 2008 - 11:34 am 3. Chris Sivley:R. Lapidus:
You are a “O Bama” Party Hack!
The GOP has never been the Party Circuit or the New York-Washington Country Club, it’s always been the average american Joe who has been the backbone of the GOP.
Go back to your hole and find someone else to hate!
Sincerely: A Patriot
(Otherwise known as a Southern Cracker)
Oct 23, 2008 - 12:07 pm 4. Jim Pharo:Why is the press’ and others’ dislike so irrational? Implicit in your thinking is that Palin is terrific. Maybe all those who perceive her as woefully unprepared to step into the Presidency are right and you’re wrong?
Your unwillingness to contemplate the world around you meaningfully limits your credibility profoundly.
If everyone in the world thinks there’s something wrong with an idea, it just might be that the idea is not a good one, rather than the entire world is hamstrung by bias and hatred toward the idea, no?
Oct 23, 2008 - 12:13 pm 5. paulejb:Lapidus: It is true that there has been a long tradition of go along to get along republicans. They used to be called Rockefeller republicans. Now they are known as rinos [republicans in name only.] These weak sisters have always been willing to accomodate the socialist initiatives of the democrat party. They are always the first to abandon ship when the going gets tough. Yes, these poseurs will reap the whirlwind.
Oct 23, 2008 - 12:19 pm 6. PJ:“There has been, for well over half a century, an intellectual tradition within the GOP.”
Yes, and since when did that intellectual tradition go about ranting against Republican political candidates for being insufficiently steeped in elitist mind-think? I recall WFB’s remarks about rather being governed by random names in the phone book than Harvard faculty members.
As for … “goober part of the South” and “push back on eight years of governmental misrule” … you’ve just outed yourself. You are not a conservative. So your attacks on Rush and Palin should be taken with that in mind.
Oct 23, 2008 - 12:31 pm 7. PJ:“Why is the press’ and others’ dislike so irrational? Implicit in your thinking is that Palin is terrific. Maybe all those who perceive her as woefully unprepared to step into the Presidency are right and you’re wrong?”
Obama is MORE unqualified and unprepared to be President than this Governor and former Mayor, who at least has run something other than her own mouth. As such, we have to assume hypocrisy, irrationality, or simple blindness to those who dont bat an eye at Obama’s unpreparedness, while casting aspersions at Palin.
Oct 23, 2008 - 12:34 pm 8. R. A. Mansour:Out of curiosity, I looked through the archives of National Review Online’s The Corner to see what Kathleen Parker’s immediate reaction to the announcement of Sarah Palin as McCain’s vp. And surprise, surprise — we see that bit of cattiness right away, and it has to do with her looks! You got it. Kathleen wrote, “Ranging over to more superficial turf, I’d like to suggest a style makeover…soonest.” Later she wrote, “Cornerites say they like the hot librarian look. Maybe she’ll be a trendsetter. Specs and french twists are suddenly cool again. Can Villagers and Papagallos be far behind? If you know what I’m talking about, you may be older than Palin.” I find it telling that she gravitated towards Palin’s looks. None of the other women writers at NRO did that as part of their first reaction.
Oct 23, 2008 - 3:41 pm 9. narciso:So what part of respect for family values, strong gun rights, strong military, missile defense, support for law enforcement, tax cut, small government, strict constructionism
Oct 23, 2008 - 6:50 pm 10. curious:does Obama embrace; that has won him the support of Buckley, Noonan, Brooks & co. Who knows that Putin’s neo-Czarism, various brands of Islamist insurgency are not to be catered to. It is hard to imagine any candidate; that has been as under assault, on personal as well as deliberate lies as much as Palin, has been. The closest example was Barry Goldwater; those who the dissenters
genuflect, with Gingrich a close tie.
before now.
Oh Richard, oh Richard. Why do you keep insisting that people who think that Palin is a bad choice as a Vice President are guilty of “hatred” … even “visceral hatred”? People disagree with her. They disagree with her policies. They disagree with her positions. They think she has too little experience. They even think she has serious character flaws that are inappropriate for a leader of the country. Heck, they even think McCain made a huge cynical blunder, and demonstrated poor judgment, by selecting her as his running mate. But hatred? I don’t see it. Frankly, Richard, I think you’re projecting your *own* tendencies onto others. Maybe *you* hate the candidates on “the other side.” And maybe *you* try to present your visceral hatred in ostensibly-logical flowery prose. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us are. (Physician heal thyself your-own-self!
Respect the fact that there are people who disagree with you … and not just on your opinions and preferences, but also on what you perceive and tout as “facts.” By the way, I *love* the call to follow the money and look for hypocrisy. I was doing that just the other day at the Neiman Marcus store in Minneapolis 
Oct 24, 2008 - 10:02 am 11. DPedrosa:Narciso
What do you mean my family values? Honesty, integrity, decency, fairness? Yep that’s your party all about honesty and hardworking real Americans. So nice of you to let others make their own choices without intervention, don’t dare mess with our right to own guns, but excuse me you what; wish to have an abortion, not over are cold dead bodies.
And what does it mean really to be patriotic? What is loving your country without loving and caring for all fellow Americans, not just some theoretical America. Sure you’ll support your soldiers as long as their off killing people in some useless confrontation. But don’t raise my bloody taxes to help some sleazeball living below the poverty line. Well if he/she’s down there they gotta be a sleazeball cheating the rest of us out of are hard won dollars.
America must be the least patriotic country the world has ever known. People are just incredibly selfish, they don’t put their country first.
Yeah call me a liberal, call me a socialist insult me but at least I can feel good about my values and how I live and let others live.
Oct 24, 2008 - 4:03 pm 12. Say What?:A public servant putting the people they serve first is a frightening thing to people who live and breath Washington politics.
Nov 11, 2008 - 6:36 pm 13. John Charles:What panic one honest Woman can strike in the hearts of the multitudes of hypocrites. Sarah Palin totally panics the Leftist/Feminists and their bankrupted model of “Womanhood” that they perpetuated on the American public for the last 30 years. As Sarah Palin walked on the National stage for the first time, the Leftist/Feminists realized they had an inferior idea that was now doomed to extinction. A big “shout out” to Sarah Palin. You go girl!
Jan 1, 2009 - 2:18 pm