From the comments section of another hilarious paean to Sarah Palin at Red State, a number of memorable comments, but this stuck out:
Do you realize that most of the people that voted for Obama thought that Palin was the one who said “I can see Alaska from my house” when it was actually Tina Fey?This has nothing to do with Palin but the stupidity of liberal and uninformed voters in general!!! It doesn’t matter who runs on the right, the media will go out of it’s way to smear them.
The author of that comment is, of course, merely echoing the results of the “poll” of Obama voters produced by John Ziegler (and if you missed his interview with Nate, you missed comedy gold) in which we learned that the reason Obama got elected was because “86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her “house,” even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!”
Did Sarah Palin say she could see Russia from her house? Absolutely not, as that was, in fact, Tina Fey. However, what the poll and the erstwhile Palinites at Red State fail to remember or refuse to concede is that she might as well have, and actually said the following just a few days before the SNL skit in question:
“They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.”
Tina Fey and the evildoers at SNL didn’t just make this up out of nothing- this was based on things Palin and her defenders said. We then spent a surreal few weeks in which Republicans all over the establishment defended Sarah Palin’s national security credentials/foreign policy experience based on her geographical proximity to Russia. Think Progress gathers a few of them:
ALASKA IS NEAR RUSSIA
“Alaska is right next to Russia. She understands that. Look, Sen. Obama’s never visited south of our border. I mean, please.” [McCain, 9/3/08]
“You know, the experience that she comes from is what she’s done in government, and remember, Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia. It’s not as if she doesn’t understand what’s at stake here.” [Cindy McCain, 8/31/08]
“But the other thing about her, she does know about international relations because she is right up there in Alaska right next door to Russia.” [Fox News host Steve Doocy, 8/29/08]
FISHING ISSUES
“She worked with permitting issues and with fishing issues dealing with the sea fishing industry there in Alaska.” [GOP strategist Tyler Harber, 9/5/08]
OSMOSIS
“As that state’s governor, Sarah Palin would know more by osmosis –- if nothing else –- about the necessity for U.S. anti-missile systems than either Messrs. Obama or Biden.” [Neocon activist Frank Gaffney, 9/2/08]
And on and on. I could link more of this, as there were dozens of people taking to the airwaves to laud her foreign policy creds based on Alaska’s “shared borders,” (if I remember correctly, there was a period when they were talking about Sarah as Commander in Chief of the Alaskan National Guard). As I said earlier, it was surreal. I remember thinking at the time that they can not possibly be serious (and occasionally, there were moments of candor or times when the operatives thought the microphones were off, and some honesty would slip out. This sort of break from the company line was then swiftly retracted and “apologies” were issued.) And yet, there they were, seriously pushing this stuff as evidence of her foreign policy cred, as Palin herself kept feeding the meme (this, from two weeks AFTER the SNL skit):
We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.”
The context of all of this is important, as well. This was after months of John McCain telling America that the number one requirement for a VP nominee was to pick someone with the requisite experience ready to take over at any moment, after months of McCain playing up his national security creds while attacking Obama’s, during the time of the Georgia/Russia flare-up that McCain seized upon as a campaign tool, all with Afghanistan and Iraq in the background, and Palin’s disastrous interviews with Gibson (in which she had no clue what the Bush doctrine was- surprise, surprise, movement conservatives had her back there, too) and then Couric.
Did Sarah Palin say “I can see Russia from my house?” Not in those exact words, but this is the problem for the Republicans- they have spent so much time and money pumping the wurlitzer that they no longer are able to separate reality from their echo chamber. When you look at them and think “My god, these people are not dealing with reality,” you are more right than you realize. They don’t believe anything they see in the media. They think they are the victims of malicious plots everywhere they look. This is what it looks like when a major party exists solely within an echo chamber of their own creation.
And what makes it even better is the sneering condescension in the comment- only the stupid “uniformed” voters think this. This, coming from the party of the people, who, we are told, will be riding a populist backlash to Washington in 2010. Not only are they deluded and wrong, but they think you are the stupid one. Fortunately, at least in the last election, the average voter was smarter than the average Red State commenter.
smiley
It’s true. She can.
Josh Hueco
I can see the Alico building from my apartment.
Laura W
OSMOSIS.
That is the funniest damn thing I’ve read all day.
But it’s early.
(If I weren’t so sleep deprived I’d try to do something clever with it a la Krista’s astronaut crack, but I can’t. Josh? Anybody?)
headpan
"Gore invented the internet" tactics finally turned around and bit them in the ass, mayhap?
Snail Darter
That echo chamber was in high gear this morning, with John Ensign claiming that states currently have "bloated" budgets and need to make cuts on things they can’t afford. I suspect he means things like Medicaid.
Priceless, after underfunding the No Child Left Behind mandate and countless other fiscal reamings by Bush and wingnuts to pay for killing Arabs in Iraq, they bark out this crap without one single iota of self reflection on their own actions causing the problem. I no longer believe wingers are human. Martian maybe, or spawn from some malevolent virus.
John O
Seriously, I may as well just change my own blog URL to yours and get it over with.
We are living in a very strange world. The people you are describing are legion and are wielding an enormous amount of political power.
55% of Republicans want the party to be MORE like Palin. Whoa.
El Cid
You all are mocking the woman charged with keeping us safe from attack by her commanding leadership of the Alaska National Guard, which is all the stands between Russian ICBM’s and the Heartland.
headpan
Because we don’t understand that tax cuts, and only tax cuts, will stimulate the economy.
they don’t do self-reflection, that’s how they can keep this up — they need to be herded up and scientifically studied, like sociopaths – find the source of the problem (some chemical or physical deficiency of the brain) and treat it with medication, counseling, etc., something — just stop them from hurting people — just like we do with psychopathic criminals
NS
I’m also struck by how much mileage conservatives try to get out of supposed Democratic condescension: the Obama "bitter" and "clinging" quote, for example. But then their explanation for Obama’s electoral success is the "stupidity" of over 66,000,000 voters .
RPh
fixt
MattF
If you already accept the argument that Palin is ready-to-take-command because of her courageous leadership of the Alaska National Guard, then blaming Tina Fey for McCain’s defeat is only a baby step away.
The big step would be breaking away from all that. But anyone who has stuck with the winger pack up to this point isn’t going to stray.
amorphous
Russia (and Canada don’t forget) but who’s counting.
Joshua Norton
Help me out here. What is so diabolical about saying the Governor of Alaska can see ALASKA fro her house?
I know what they’re trying to say, but as with their addiction to slamming out emails with and overabundance of misspelled "teh"’s in them, they can’t quite communicate a complete thought without skidding off into the bushes in a Bush/Palin-esque manner along the way.
dmsilev
Somebody should explain to these fools that satirists often work by taking defining features of their targets, and then dialing the strength of those features up to 11. Good satire, political or otherwise, only works if it plays off some aspect of the target. Tina Fey’s line wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for the prevalence of the sorts of quotes listed above.
-dms
kay
My sister, who is a political independent, rabid free-trader, and fiscal tightwad, puts it simply, I think.
She said yesterday that all the good people have left the Republican Party, and only the bad people are left. It’s a typical black and white statement from her. She’s not angry, she’s just shut them out, unless and until they "attract better people", meaning, probably, her.
Davis X. Machina
Sad to say, but the truth of all three of those propositions are borne out by recent American history..
August J. Pollak
Umm, yeah. These are the same schmucks who are flogging such pristine examples of insight such as "we’ve achieved victory in Iraq," "Al Gore said he invented the internet," and "we don’t have proof Obama’s an American citizen."
The media just lets them say it, so why should they bother tying to restrain themselves? I’m starting to be unable to actually blame Republicans for being insane any more than I can blame a dog for shitting on the carpet because his owner never house-trained him.
Brick Oven Bill
I have listened to Sarah Palin, and am familiar with her life story, as presented from several different angles. I do not believe that she will ever be ready to be President.
I have also listened to Geraldine Ferraro, and am familiar with her life story, as presented from several different angles. I do not believe that she will ever be ready to be President.
But if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick Sarah Palin. Ferraro did the government victim lawyer-Congress jump, which I am sure had nothing to do with her husband, who is a developer’s son who refused to disclose his tax returns.
Palin rose in local politics, took on the power structure and won, and seems to have an agenda beyond girl power. I also like this picture of Palin with fish guts on her gloves.
amorphous
By only six percentage points (i.e. NOT a mandate, obvs). We are fucking doomed.
Zifnab25
John, there was a bit more of this quote you missed. I included it below.
Stupid liberals. Always taking people’s words out of context to make them look stupid. I hates them. I hates them so much.
The Thinking Man's Mel Torme
I can see half a dozen foreclosed homes from my driveway.
Joy of joys, the most e-mailed story from the New York Times site is how I live, if not in, the end-times vortex of misery, at least close to it. I would argue my town is the vortex of misery, but I don’t think the visuals are as dramatic.
I bought my house – a modest one, at that – before the boom, and my job isn’t tied to real estate. Thus, my heart is especially black at how home prices are down 80% from their peak and I just want it to get worse, at least for the real estate grifters who created the bubble. Unlike, say, New York, where the run up was created by a real excess of demand vs. supply, here the prices were completely artificial. Average sale prices exploded even as the housing stock about doubled in size. Where once developers would build, say, 100 houses an a golf course on as many acres, we ended up with section-sized mega-projects. Some of us tried to stand athwart history, getting mocked at county commission hearings, saying that, even if these new developments weren’t Ponzi havens, there would be no way to pay for municipal services if they filled with actually existing residents.
Not a quarter mile south of me is a large condo development with highrises that were completed in 2004. Speculators camped out overnight (really, tents and all) to buy units starting at $600000 before the first dirt had been turned. If the lights on at night are any indication, there are exactly six occupied units now.
Meanwhile, 30 miles down the road in Naples, the vacuous rich prove they’re just as tone-deaf today as they were at Versailles.
Bob In Pacifica
I can see our dog peeing in the backyard. But then I’m not running for Vice President. Or dog-catcher.
kay
@Brick Oven Bill:
It’s a bit of a myth, Bill. Palin ran her first mayoral and campaign for governor partly on her husband’s considerable (in Alaska) star power. He’s a celebrity there. She traded on that. She packed early events and garnered contact lists from rallies where Mr. Snowmobile was the star. Nothing wrong with it, but it happened.
Paddy
My co-blogger’s hubby had Zeigler on the reality dating show he writes (yes, really) and she wrote up the experience here. He’s a HUGE tool.
Zifnab25
What about Dan Quayle? If it was between Palin, Ferraro, and Quayle, then who would you pick? Oh, oh! What about Spiro Agnew? If your options were Palin, Ferraro, Quayle or Agnew who would make the best VP? In your opinion? And what do you think of Dick Cheney? Would he have made a good VP? I mean, assuming Bush and Cheney had their roles reversed?
Shawn in ShowMe
"we’ve achieved victory in Iraq," "Al Gore said he invented the internet," and "we don’t have proof Obama’s an American citizen."
as well as "Obama’s a Muslim," "I have seen the Whitey tape", "The Clintons ordered the murder of Vince Foster", etc. If only these people used their imagination for good.
JGabriel
Red State commenter:
Actual Palin Quote:
It would be nice if someone could explain to the wingnuts that the only meaningful difference between these two statements is that Fey’s is funnier. But they’re both equally stupid.
Just to clarify for the R’s: The distinction between seeing Russia from land in Alaska and seeing Russia from Palin’s house becomes meaningless in the face of its gobsmacking stupidity as an assertion of national security credentials.
.
JGabriel
smiley:
Not really. Unless she has a hitherto undisclosed cabin on Little Diomede Island.
.
demkat620
@August J. Pollak: I think that is a key point. And until somebody starts saying to these people you are crazy and stops treating these assclowns as rational it won’t stop.
Newt Gingrich looked like a crazy person on Snuffleupagus’ show. Why is he even allowed in polite society let alone on tv?
He should be in a straight jacket.
JGabriel
JGabriel:
Oy Vey. I can’t believe I missed that Alaska for Russia substition.
Need Caffeine.
And apologies to Smiley: you’re right, she can.
.
Fulcanelli
@headpan:
A lot of people’s eyes glaze over when you try to bring this issue up while trying to have a serious conversation about politics. They seem to think you’re trying to be a wise ass, but it’s the empirical, undeniable truth.
Think of the aberrant mindset and behavior of your average Red State, Town Hall or NRO caliber wing nut, or more importantly, Republican Senator or Congress Critter. Then go here and see how their behavior compares to the facts.
The problem is you can’t stop them, and treatment ain’t gonna happen. You can only expose them for what they are and hope to motivate enough people wrench the levers of power away from them, like what happened to DeLay and Frist.
DeLay especially was a galactic-class asshole and a perfect example. He swore he sat at the right hand of God, doing the Lord’s work and would slit your throat if you crossed him.
JL
>@Brick Oven Bill: It’s not a fair comparison. Geraldine is not going to run for anything. Sarah tried to tout her experience over Obama’s and although she holds office in Alaska, she could never explain why that prepared her for VP of the United States.
(how’s that pipeline across Canada coming along)
Obama was also an elected official and he could not only tout his experience, he could explain why his experience prepared him for the office of President of the United States. Resumes matter.
kay
@Zifnab25:
Bill has a real sanctimonious streak regarding taxes. Apparently, that doesn’t extend to Governor Palin.
Who plays fast and loose with per diem. And takes family vacations on the taxpayer dime.
She’d have trouble surviving Senate confirmation, as per the conservative guidelines.
JGabriel
demkat620:
I have been wondering about this for 20 years, and am no closer to an answer.
On the other hand, it has become increasingly common in the past few years for people to inform wingnuts that their views are no longer acceptable in polite conversation – so there has been some improvement.
.
Brick Oven Bill
I think Dick Cheney was a pretty good VP. He is the only grown up that I can think of on the ticket since President Reagan.
Re: Dan Quayle. Dan Quayle runs a division of Cerberus, the company that owns Chrysler, and bought GMAC shortly before GMAC qualified as a bank holding company.
People complain about Cheney’s interest in Halliburton, but I trust Cheney more than the others because he does not try to hide his connections to industry. See Joe Biden and MBNA.
Palin pissed off the money players in Alaska, which is another reason I like her.
JGabriel
headpan:
It’s been done. And it’s very scary. Read The Authoritarians, by Bob Altemayer.
B.O.B., maybe you should check it out too.
.
Cassidy the Racist White Man
Gotta love political incest. It’s dirty, but you still want to watch.
JenJen
As a matter of fact, I remember Cindy McCain going on George Steph’s show the Sunday after the Palin announcement. Cindy was one of the first to tout the proximity of Alaska to Russia as proof of Palin’s foreign policy cred. I’ll never forget watching that, jaw agape.
Ahh look, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVOKR81QCe4
Cindy McCain: "And also, remember, Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia, so it’s not as if she doesn’t understand what’s at stake here."
EDIT: Oh. I see you already caught that one. My bad. :-) But I always remember the Tina Fey line (which came up in the first Palin skit she did, opposite Amy Poehler as Hillary) as a response to Cindy McCain more than anything else.
Rick Taylor
Hoo boy. Anyone who’s defending Palin at this late date is beyond hope. What gets me isn’t that she said something stupid. Of course over time under the media spotlight anyone is going to say something stupid eventually. What got me was, after she said it, and after people started making fun of it, in the interview with Katie Couric, which she had time to prepare for, and which she surely expected the subject would brought up, when she was offered the opportunity to explain herself, to say ‘well of course I didn’t mean to suggest just living in Alaska gave me foreign policy experience but given that I . .. ," instead she reaffirmed the point, and then went into an unintelligible monologue about Putin rearing his head over Alaskan air space. It was astounding, and I say this as someone who’s expectations of Republican politicians had been driven to extreme lows. Of course later Couric was criticized for giving a "tough" interview, tough evidently meaning asking fairly obvious questions and then expecting an answer. This from the same crowd who jumped on Obama for pointing out that questions about flag pins were trivial, given where we find ourselves.
We’re beating a dead horse. After some point, there’s no use arguing. Anyone who could watch Sara Palin’s performance with Kouric knowing the back ground, and attribute her problems to Tina Fey and a liberal media is out of their minds and should be mocked, not argued with.
Mike in NC
If I had no choice but to vote for a Republican VP, then Spiro would be the obvious one to go with since he’s dead and rotting in hell, and therefore unable to do further damage.Recalling a thread from yesterday about the Red State whackos thinking "millions" of young girls will rush to vote for Palin in 2012, and the Hannah Montana jokes it drew, the sad thing is that aside from the age thing Hannah Montana is probably better qualified in many respects to hold national political office than Caribou Barbie will ever be.
JGabriel
Mike in NC:
The under 30 vote went heavily for Obama and Democrats. Why would those guys think that the currently under 18 vote would be any different?
.
kay
This is OT, but I must.
You all told me all the problems with Wasserman-Schultz, and I’m appropriately chastened, but I’m watching her on CNN and she’s the single best House Dem for television blathering.
Frank is brilliant, but Wasserman-Schultz knows how to dominate an interview, in a way that makes you want to watch.
If this is her single skill, it’s enough. She can TALK, and her whole demeanor indicates urgency.
TheHatOnMyCat
The GOP is in epic fail mode, it’s just that the fail is way out ahead of the blogs. Nobody is paying any attention to that Palin "why we lost" bullshit except the 28 percenters.
For a more positive thing to think about this morning, this (paraphrased) from Republican former GE CEO, big business magnate and billionaire, this morning:
1. Obama was smart to say he "screwed up" last week, bold and good move.
2. The economic crisis is huge and needs a big response. Pass the stimulus and get on with solving the problems.
3. Obama won the election, now let his team figure out how to deal with the big problems. Support them and get it done.
The GOP insiders in DC are crazy, when even their corporate overlords are calling for a strong stimulus response and supporting the president. The GOP is on a trajectory to become permanently crippled as a political machine in this country.
Egg them on. Write your GOP members and tell them to oppose the stimulus. Give them the rope to hang themselves.
TheHatOnMyCat
@kay:
Word up. She is the best on tv of just about any member of congress at this time. Smart, focussed, articulate, and tough, without being annoying. Awesome.
TheHatOnMyCat
Sorry, but the absurd 5 minute limit on post edits (one of many ‘features’ of the ‘improved’ website that dont work right or just make life miserable) prevent me from fixing my post at 43, I just noticed that I left out the name "Jack Welch" from the GE CEO blurb.
Welch is not somebody I have enjoyed much in the past but today he is my new favorite Republican. The guy has the current events exactly right.
Indylib
Speaking of the Sunday pundit/brainless-fucking-idiot fest if you want a laugh go read Jason Linkins‘ take at HuffPo.
TheHatOnMyCat
Yes, we know the power of millions of young girls at the voting booth. They are formidable and not to be taken lightly.
( rolls eyes )
Tony J
Wait a minute, is he actually arguing that "liberal and uninformed voters" would have voted for Palin, based on her claim that the geographical proximity of Alaska to the arse-end of nowhere in Siberia = Foreign and Defence policy credibility, if Tina Fey hadn’t boiled down the argument to "I can see Russia from my house?", and thus made it seem silly?
That’s… what do you call that?
demkat620
@TheHatOnMyCat: Yes. Which is why she should be running for the Senate in FL.
John O
Major personal victory this morning. Withstood Newt for just a while, turned on MSNBC and saw Ron Christie, and shut it all down.
Couldn’t even deal with the idea of Jack Welch.
TheHatOnMyCat
@demkat620:
Wow, she would be great in the Senate. Is that a possibility?
The only drawback I can see is, the Senate seems to impose a several-year dues-paying thing on new members, during which time the new Senator is expected to keep quiet and do as they are told. I’d hate to see that for Wasserman right now. But if she can win that seat, I guess it will be worth it.
The Grand Panjandrum
Wow trade missions to Russia.
By that standard, Bill Richardson should have won all 538 electoral votes last November.
1. Lead trade missions to more than a dozen countries as Governor of NM.
2. Commander-in-Chief of NM National Guard
3. Balanced the state budget EVERY year AND cut taxes! (That should get the wingnut vote, right?)
Fixed!
demkat620
@TheHatOnMyCat: It’s an open seat in 2010. I think she could take it but one of the other thirty somethings in the house has said he’s in, Kendrick Meek. Now, I like him to but I like her just a little bit better.
Tsulagi
Yeah, that RS Palin thread had plenty of unintentionally (clueless is the best kind) funny comments in it. But still my fave by one relatively sane commenter on his party’s fawning adoption of Sarah to lead the way…
Also pretty much sums up the entire Bush presidency. In slow motion.
Seeing that iceberg, the really smart ones on the Titanic/USS Wingnut deck just put on their lapel pins and clapped while cheering “Stay the Course!” The berg gutted the ship, it hasn’t yet sunk, but those same really smart ones are still on deck saying let’s find another berg and do that again. No turning the ship for them. They’re stalwarts like that.
jrg
Hilarious. Reminds me of this post where "the other McCain" blamed Palin’s redneck image on Republican intellectuals.
Laura W
I felt this same way about her as soon as she fell in behind Obama.
And she is not mean or bitchy or nasty-contentious. Though she presses and pushes back hard, she always ends with a gracious smile. And she even laughs. I love it when Tweety has her on.
And she has like more than a few small kids!?
How do these women do it?
(I know how Palin does it so no need to bring her up again.)
Mike G
Dan Quayle. Dan Quayle runs a division of Cerberus, the company that owns Chrysler
Yes, he ‘runs’ it in the same sense that Bush ‘ran’ those companies his daddy shoehorned him into to keep him off the street — a glad-handing empty-suit tool kept around because he might have useful connections. I wouldn’t invest a cent in a company where Quayle actually attempted to manage on a day-to-day basis.
B.O.B., your expectations for competence and integrity in leadership positions are incredibly low. I guess that’s the only way to remain in the Repig wingnut orbit these days.
fredrick's of hollywood
I signed up to comment at RedState, so that means I now get occasional e-mails from their fearless leader, Erick Erickson. On election day Nov. 4, he sent out a message encouraging his troops to lie to exit pollsters about how they actually voted. This was somehow supposed to confuse the media and create all sorts of panic and disruption. Oy….
Hyperion
@TheHatOnMyCat:
and Balloon-Juice.
trollhattan
I have listened to Sarah Palin and my Dalmatian and on reflection, I’d vote for Palin because to my knowledge, she has never peed on the livingroom rug or chased a squirrel up a tree.
Truthfully, I’m not sure about #2.
Rome Again
@The Thinking Man’s Mel Torme:
Ah, that’s where I used to live, good old Naples. I got out of that god-forsaken rich man’s playground.
Are you 30 north or 30 south?
Nevermind, you appear to be in Lee County.
TheHatOnMyCat
Heh. Well, that’s the underlying theme of my current campaign.
Why BJ is focussed on the morans is beyond me. The world has its morans, but it has its smarties too. The morans are good for laughs, but ….. meanwhile we are swirling around in the bowl and one big glug away from economic oblivion. Can’t we focus on the smart people once in a while?
Jack Welch is a big cheese and a republican who is saying, Obama is right, support him. THAT’S what I am focussing on today. Not the whinyassed talking points of John McCain or Kyl the Empty Suit or Lindsay Fucking Graham the Demented.
Or RushLamebaugh.
Tsulagi
Of course you do know your post “proves” another central meme of the brilliant RSSF types: The left is afraid of Sarah Palin running for president. Now they may already have been shown to be fools thousands of times, but as the previous Decider said, they can’t be fooled again.
Hell, if I was the DNC chair, I’d offer Sarah a line of credit at Saks and Neiman Marcus if she’d promise to run in 2012 with a makeup artist bonus if she secured the nomination.
opium4themasses
@Laura W: If anything she’s like reverse osmosis. Applying pressure to force all the relatively normal folks out of the Republican tent only to leave behind the scum.
Punchy
WTF would she have to have a cabin on an island to see Alaksa?
kay
@Laura W:
I was insanely jealous when she backing HRC. I wanted her advocating for my side.
I heard her gently smack the CNN anchor around on the relative importance of Palin’s gender on women voters. She started this rattling riff on the cost increase of a gallon of milk in Florida. She knows the local price. She said that’s what women her age were worrying about.
She made the CNN jerk look like and out-of-touch elitist, and defined women in her coveted voting demo as sensible, hard-nosed realists who had to look at the FACTS OF LIFE, JACK.
It was masterful.
nylund
The funny thing is that if you’re making an argument about who is more familiar with Russia, I’d give more credibility to someone who can see Russia from their house rather than someone who merely lives in a state that has an island from which you can see Russia.
Of course, the whole idea of foreign expertise being based on visual proximity is laughable. As was the idea that Sarah gained some great insight into foreign relations during that touted layover at the Dublin airport.
The reason the SNL joke worked was because it was almost believable. Remember that this is the lady when asked to name what newspapers she read answered, "all of them". And that was no Tina Fey line.
Even then, the number of people in the GOP that believed (and still believe) that a) Obama is a muslin, b) Obama wasn’t born in the US, and c) Obama refuses to say the pledge of allegiance, wear a flag pin, salute the flag, etc. etc. dwarfs anyone confusing two similar quotes said by two similar looking ladies.
But I’m not complaining. Hell, as a democrat, I am hoping and praying the GOP nominated a Palin/the-Plumber ticket in 2012, and I am thankful as all hell that the GOP base actually thinks that is a brilliant ticket.
Rome Again
You put that there just for my benefit, didn’t you?
That man seriously needs to be committed to a mental hospital on a permanent Baker Act – never to be released again.
El Cid
The only problem with Sarah Palin is that she’s too intellectual and reflective for today’s Republican Party. True, her sentences are often weird and meaningless, consisting of confused dodges and misdirections.
But today’s Republican Party needs to go beyond the wordiness of a Sarah Palin or even the philosophical blurting of a Not Joe the Not Plumber.
They need leaders who speak even more from the gut, and maybe no much speak as bark, groan, wail, and howl, showing teeth and banging on the hard surfaces around them. Someone willing to knock down weak people nearby and take their stuff, and beat the children and elderly while laughing wordlessly at their victims.
Only then can we begin to have a GOP led by the pure impulses and gut-driven needs which the GOP really desires to highlight.
Krista
The Palin-ites are just angry because they’re convinced that those evil gender traitors Tina Fey and Katie Couric deliberately made a fool out of their heroine. They’re not giving Palin enough credit for her ingenuity, however. This is a woman who excels at making a fool out of herself, and like the independent Alaskan she is, needed nobody’s aid or assistance.
Rome Again
@El Cid:
Sarah Palin is not pitbull enough for you?
RSA
another hilarious paean to Sarah Palin at Red State
Oh my God. That was funny to read and funny at the meta-level–how much effort did it take to pull up all those quotes about Sarah Palin being so smart? Whenever I get in a discussion of this sort of topic, I bring up the question, "So, as a supporter of Sarah Palin [or George W. Bush, or whoever], you’re asserting that she is smarter than you?" Hardly anyone is willing to admit this, which I think is telling. Sure, so-and-so is really smart, but of course not as smart as me!
demimondian
They’re such suckers. Obama is a percale.
Laura W
@opium4themasses:
Even if you were not the only contestant, I would still declare you the winner.
Laura W
@demimondian:
Nice, nice, nice.
Tonal Crow
"It’s way"? Um, Mr. critic-of-stupidity, it’s "its way". And more, "the media" is a plural noun, so you really should say "their way".
cokane
Good post. I’m glad to see you put all the work into something like this, with the links and the history. It’s interesting though, that RedState commenter misquotes Tina Fey and is then attacking liberals/MSM for misquoting Palin?
It’s true that so many are incapable of self-reflection. It seems to run the gamut from the Brookses to the Gershons.
cokane
Tonal Cow, that "media" correction is a very good point. If you look at wingnut blogs that spend alot of time attacking the EVIL "MSM", you will notice that they often seem to treat media as a singular noun. It’s not only a grammatical mistake. It is an insight into how little they understand the world.
gnomedad
@Rick Taylor:
That astonished me, too. Before the interview, I genuinely pitied her, imagining the endless briefing and drilling (the other kind) she was being subjected to. But apparently not. For the Repubs, teh stoopid is a feature, not a bug.
opium4themasses
@Laura W: If only you knew how long it took to come up with that. More time to come up with stuff = less of the "That’s what I should have said!" feeling.
Laura W
@kay:
I
hatedwas not overly fond of her.Laura W
@opium4themasses:
Do you have an eBook I can download?
opium4themasses
umm… I have blog linked in my name (woo hoo plug!) but my sarcasm sensor is going all crazy-like.
Just Some Fuckhead
@opium4themasses: She’s just trying to make me jealous. Your comment sucked. Use more time next time.
Laura W
@Indylib:
hyper-timid incrementalist bullshit.
"Stimpy"
Wolf-pelts!
I just re-read the first 7 paragraphs for the third time and I’m gonna surf around before I go back for the rest. When I read that guy I re-read every sentence constantly, and go real slow, because I don’t want to come to the end!
His sense of humor slays me.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: uh oh.
I prolly shoulda read thread before posting 85, huh?
El Cid
Exactly. "Let Sara be Sara."
Laura W
@opium4themasses: I’m not sure what you mean about your sarcasm meter but what I meant was that I should learn how to think a spell before I post, like you did.
(Lemme know if you need (more) proof.)
Just Some Fuckhead
@opium4themasses: BTW, I wasn’t serious with my last comment, in case yer thinking about going all lewisms on me by spending the rest of your life making me feel bad with your conspicuous absence.
My fans are clamoring for more fuck, less head. I’m just trying to keep them happy without going overboard with the recreational drug use. You can’t imagine the pressure.
Lesley
Rubbing salt into superficial Republican wounds.
from Dependable Renegade
Lesley
And what makes it even better is the sneering condescension in the comment- only the stupid “uniformed” voters think this.
While the really intelligent voters supported a woman who said so many stupid things, she made herself the ideal candidate for ridicule and parody, surpassing even George Bush.
opium4themasses
Ya, I missed the joke, should have taken my own advice. If you had said newsletter, it would have clicked.
[delurk]...[/delurk]
Here’s some free advice for any political party:
Before you nominate anybody for president or vice-president, study the cast of Saturday Night Live and see if there’s anyone who looks (or can easily be made to look) just like them!
Of course, that isn’t really a requirement–they had Chevy Chase doing Gerald Ford; and there could always be new cast members in September, right before the election. New people don’t usually get plum assignments like playing presidential candidates, though.
As for the resemblance between Tina Fey and Sarah Palin, I admit they managed to make her suggest the appearance of Palin, but why is it then that I think Tina Fey is gorgeous and Sarah Palin makes me want to vomit?
Just Some Fuckhead
@[delurk]…[/delurk]: Don’t forget about Akroyd doing a moustachioed Carter. Or hell, a moustachioed Julia Child for that matter.
opium4themasses
Admit it, you lover her for her brains. You just couldn’t take your eyes off of them.
Laura W
@opium4themasses: Yeah, but everybody says newsletter, subscribe, interesting ideas, whatever.
That’s old and tired.
I’m young and fresh, with a sassy new hairdo.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: I think it’s a sassy new update on an old worn out subject.
Just Some Fuckhead
The eBook thing, not the hairdo.
Just Some Fuckhead
Sheesh, like I had to explain that.
Just Some Fuckhead
Here, for your trouble.
Thlayli
Not sure what you’re implying by "government victim lawyer", but JFTR Ferraro was a prosecutor before running for Congress, working for the Queens County District Attorney from 1974 to 1978 (trust me — I know people who worked in that office with her back then.)
Wile E. Quixote
I still love the comment by someone on Balloon Juice where they said that just because they could see the moon from their house doesn’t mean that they were an astronaut.
Do you know what else was brilliant about that SNL sketch? Amy Poehler’s impersonation of Katie Couric. She had Couric nailed. I’d love to see someone do a mashup of the two interviews where they take Couric’s questions and match them up with Fey’s, as Palin, answers. I’ll bet it wouldn’t be that much different than the SNL sketch.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: Man, you shoulda left that and let me stew over it all night. Of course, I would’ve assumed the worst, and taken it badly, forcing you to spend the rest of your life painfully aware of my conspicuous absence.
Stuck
Remember kids, It is a school night. Homework, homework.
Laura W
@Stuck: Do you want us to get off your lawn, Mr. Stuck?
Stuck
@Laura W:
Lordy no, it’s not my lawn. I just want to razz you a little on a boring Sunday afternoon:)
Brick Oven Bill
Thlayli; Wikipedia says that Geraldine headed the New York ‘Special Victims Unit’ from 1975-1978, when she was elected to Congress. During her work at the Special Victims Unit, she reportedly complained that she made less money than her male colleagues.
This account is backed up by the New York Times via quick Google search. This was slightly before my time, but I kind of doubt SNL mocked Ferraro.
Laura W
@Stuck: OH! Well, jump in!
Got any Bee Gee links?
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: My god, how quickly it all goes wrong.
ps. lmfao
Edit: BTW, I coulda linked to the thematic Bertie Higgins on Solid Gold, hosted by Andy Gibb but I just couldn’t pass on this cheesy early 80s video. I mean, the part where he takes a drag off the cigarette before singing is a lol all by itself. I kept waiting for him to keep smoking every time a stanza ended.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: Love is fleeting and fragile, Fuckhead.
Edit: I was thinking that is what you look like on your Saturday nights when you step outside to count dead bunny bodies and smoke.
Stuck
@Laura W:
I would rather pour boiling salt water into my ears than listen to a Heebee Beegee tune. But Oprah is coming out with some new Book Reviews on the subject of sperm dumping and real love some such. I’ll report back, someday.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: That video is very disturbing in a Debra Lafave kinda way.
JL
Help! Son stopped by and was going to rewire my cable so that I could record one channel and watch another at the same time. It appears that I have an animal living in the attic which he swears is bigger than a squirrel. He’s gone to borrow a live trap to catch it but at the same time thinks that I need an air rifle. What the heck is an air rifle?
JL
@Just Some Fuckhead: and I’m not in the mood for disturbing videos… Gov. Sanford on CNN was disturbing enough.. talking about some savior economy. Savior economy wasn’t covered in my classes.
Krista
It’s a small rifle that uses compressed air as the propulsion method behind the ammunition. They’re commonly used for target practice/training or for killing small nuisance animals such as squirrels. I don’t know about the U.S., but here in Canada, you don’t have to have a gun license to have one, as they’re very low-calibre…they just use little pellets that are smaller than BBs.
Laura W
do over needed
Krista
Ha ha! Not for me. I’m taking tomorrow off for my appointment with the obstetrician. That’s one benefit to living in the sticks — the closest obstetrician is an hour’s drive away, and they’re busy as hell, resulting in a long wait. Hence, what would only be a hour-long break from work when I lived in the city is now a day-long break from work.
Mind you, if I actually liked my job, missing work to sit in a doctor’s office probably wouldn’t be quite so appealing.
smiley
@Brick Oven Bill:
Lilly sez hey.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Poor John
We’re the reason why he just can’t keep any nice threads around here.
Stuck
@Krista:
Sitting in a doctors office is kind of cool. It’s like playing hookie with the best of excuses. It’s what comes after the sitting that gives pause.
JL
@Krista: Thanks! The other son called and although he can’t help with the critter in the attic, he’s willing to stop by with a bottle a wine. The wine is not for the critter by the way. In GA you can buy guns but not alcohol on Sunday.
Svensker
@demimondian:
Ha ha. Will any guys get that joke? Sheet no! Not on this thread anyway, if you’re counting.
JL
I doubt that there is a Psychiatrist that can help Palin but Lindsay Graham is suffering from the glass ceiling and he knows it. McCain was his only chance at attaining a higher office. He needs severe counseling.
Krista
Don’t discount that as an idea…getting the critter drunk probably WOULD make it easier to catch.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: Hell, if the archives are any indication, I’m classing up the joint.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Corrected for modesty.
(Two new, fresh threads to soil! Nah…even I have my dignity. And my dinner.)
Mike in NC
When will the fat boy come out of the closet? I mean, really! He had a ton of excuses for not being Johnny Mac’s running mate.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: Sorry about that.
Mike in NC
Pity. In NC you only have to wait until noon. Be grateful for small comforts…
Just Some Fuckhead
@JL: You need to get a Reaper.
opium4themasses
@Mike in NC: Dare I say, Southern Comforts?
But ya, that’s a small-town thing. When I lived in rural Iowa, the bars were open every day but Sunday but still outnumbered the churches.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: No apology necessary. Don’t make me explain my joke to you.
Go LOOKIT the moon!!
Edit: Both of your kitties are gingers? You should make John post the one in the chair. Great photo.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: That was the same reaper. The one in the chair was him posing for the camera, the one on the spa was him dozing between killing sprees.
But yes, both of my cats are orange. The other one is an old geriatric nightmare of constant yowling to be fed and what the fuck did I just step in, goddammit!
JL
@Just Some Fuckhead: There are a few strays in the neighborhood and they are welcome and well fed but not by me. In the morning when I wake up they are in the back yard searching for whatever. I always make sure they know before I let the ferocious 18 lb mutt out. Cats are interesting. The yard is fenced but they still get in. Of course so do the bunnies and other living animals.
Martin
What they refuse to acknowledge is the one skit where Fey used Palin’s answers word for word as part of a comedy routine. No editing, no embellishing – word for word, Fey read Palins answers.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W:
I was going to wait until the cat got fat and died.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead:
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Chuck Butcher
Just a note of no consequence, for an average height human the horizon over water is 14 miles.
Standing on something really tall helps, Perry Monument at Put-in-bay (South Bass Island) allows you to see Canada across Lake Erie. You would then have foreign policy experience for getting high…
Thlayli
@Brick Oven Bill:
OK, so she specialized in child-abuse cases at the Queens DA. Why exactly is that worthy of belittlement as "victim’s lawyer"?
trollhattan
BOB-Job re. Ferraro, SNL:
http://snlarc.jt.org/imp.php?i=430
Fail.