The media is in a frenzy and elite pundits are all atwitter. Why? Because Sarah Palin refuses to let them define her. As Palin puts it, “I don’t owe the media anything.”
The political and media elites on both left and right are rising up in anger at former Governor Sarah Palin. Stories abound, all negative, about this American citizen whose message resonates with ordinary citizens yet doesn’t conform to the current political and media template.
By all rights, Palin should be kowtowing to the media. Doesn’t she know that? Instead, this upstart dares to ignore the unwritten rules governing political behavior. Palin is playing by her own rules and that just isn’t done.
In the elite world of the old media, any contender for public office must give due deference to the unwritten and ever-changing rules of political correctness. The sacred cows of diversity, multiculturalism and social justice cannot be ignored. And the media is the only one allowed to define the issues (thereby winning the debate by default).
But Sarah Palin has her own agenda. And whatever her agenda is, it most certainly doesn’t fit into the template the media and political elites have insisted upon. This is not only unacceptable, it is downright dangerous.
When Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska, the media immediately defined her decision as a failure to fulfill the obligations of her office. That was only explanation the media allowed the American public to consider. Palin, seeing the writing on the wall after months of negative and scurrilous attacks by the media, rightly deduced that her remaining time in office would be spent countering frivolous legal and media attacks instead of governing. So she quit.
Palin understood that while in public office, one is constrained by politics and media. One must play by certain unwritten rules, rules that would have deliberately silenced or distorted her message. She rightly deduced that she was in a lose-lose situation. She exited the political arena. She refused to play the game, knowing the deck was stacked against her. I call her decision courageous and I applaud her.
Conservative columnist and author Ben Shapiro sums it up best:
“Television made Barack Obama. Television it supported bigger and bigger government, from Welfare to health care; pushed abortion-on-demand and the radical gay agenda into the mainstream; it stumped against war and for meaningless buzzwords like diversity and dangerous buzzwords like multiculturalism. Television has done more to change the politics of our nation than simple politics has.”
Sarah Palin realizes this. The media is not on her side. And she rightly refuses to give them the ability to define her. She is more than capable of defining herself, through her own words and actions. She has the courage of her convictions and, thanks to social media, the ability to convey them, unfiltered by a hostile press. No wonder the press hates her.
The media, like myself, has no idea what Sarah Palin’s agenda is. Lacking concrete facts, the media automatically assumes her motives include gaining political power. They have completely overlooked the fact that Palin already has more than enough influence and political power to participate in (and possibly prevail) in our national debate. That this influence is not subject to constraints from either politician or the media is unprecedented. And dangerous.
I believe Palin realizes that real change is almost impossible within the existing political system. It could be argued that right now, Sarah Palin has more ability to influence political outcomes than does the president of the United States. So why should she play by rules that have been set up by those already in power, rules that are designed to keep them in power? Rules that place her at a great dis-advantage.
Palin is like millions of Americans. Americans who are tired of the futile attempts to change the system from within. I believe Palin’s goal is the goal of millions – to bring about positive change. And she has found that one does not have to be an elected official in order to do this. She directly threatens the status quo and the good old boy system. If she continues to prevail, she will prove it is possible to be effective working outside the system. And this can not be allowed.
Palin has rightly decided not to kowtow to the media and political elites. Her tactics and message resonate with a large segment of America. The segment that still believes in the greatness of America and the ability of individuals to accomplish the impossible.
Palin proves it is possible to change the system from without. She proves it is possible for one un-elected American to effect real change. Just think what would happen if others decided to follow her example. No wonder the elites hate her.
Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for conservative news site RightBias.com
She lives in South Carolina.
Moe Lane
PG DeFreese
Victoria Coates
Daniel Horowitz
Dan Spencer
Nice Try
westernliberal Friday, June 3rd at 4:31PM EST (link)Haha, yes, elites are afraid of “real American” credentials. Here’s reason number 10,454 that elites distrust and dislike Palin: At a “non-campaign” event in Boston yesterday, Palin made up more history:
“PALIN: He (Paul Revere) who warned, uh, the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms uh by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free and we were going to be armed.”
Her lack of knowledge about current events and history is completely astonishing. She’s an entertainer, and a bad one at that. Not to mention a quitter who wasn’t even able to finish one term as the Governor of Alaska (my God, how difficult could that possibly be?).
westernliberal
deboch Friday, June 3rd at 5:18PM EST (link)And you have accomplished what? You have given of yourself to change how many folks in need? You have personally given of your income and savings to help who? Almost every liberal I have ever know is always generous with the money of others and very “conservative” with their own.
You smart from the fact Sarah is loved and adored but you with all your wisdom and compassion influence no one. Create your own light and stop obsessing about Sarah.
Vocatvs
atque non
Vocatvs
Deus aderit
I Can Name Magazines I Read :)
westernliberal Friday, June 3rd at 5:29PM EST (link)No where did I say I was mother theresa. Besides, almost every Conservative I know is a hypocrite when it comes to being a real Christian (you know, all that helping the poor and less fortunate), as well as small govt B.S. They would just love legislate who you can and cannot marry.
But to suggest that Sarah Palin is a media maverick and is going to change the system from within her Fox News bubble is ludicrous.
“If she continues to prevail, she will prove it is possible to be effective working outside the system. And this can not be allowed.”
How has she prevailed? What are her expected numbers if she were to run in a general presidential election? Independents dislike her in huge numbers. Is she really a conduit of change?
So wanting marrage to stay defined as it has been....
gekster (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 5:38PM EST (link)for centuries, the bedrock of families, makes conservatives hypocrytes.
One thing I have found out in life is that you only attack things you fear.
So what exactly makes you afraid of Palin.
And after reading your posts attacking conservative principles, what do you fear from conservatives.
note: I did not say Republicans.
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved
The blam stick has met the Talking-Point-o-Matic
civil truth (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 5:41PM EST (link)…and the blam stick won.
The greatest evil…is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern. -C.S. Lewis
http://www.gmsplace.com/
I see he is a ghost now.
gekster (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 5:44PM EST (link)I bet his aim was to post his talking points to the point of being banned, and now can brag to his lefty friends how the conservative site couldn’t handle his intellect and had to get rid of him.
I presumed that was his aim from his second post.
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved
Probably.
Moe Lane (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 5:58PM EST (link)And I’d much rather that they do that than phone bank, lick envelopes, knock on doors, and/or organize meetings.
The Kim Kardashian of blogging.
Check out my blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://moelane.com/filthy-lucre-filthy-lucre/
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (combined) wish list.
Things You Fear
Donald Ayotte (Diary) Sunday, June 5th at 11:17AM EST (link)I agree that both republicans and democrats attack things they fear. They both preach change and both fear change.
I am a conservative republican and endorse and invite change back to the values that our founding fathers established in the newly formed America when they wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
I am one of those conservative republicans that deposed the GOP Chairman in Delaware and overthrew the Sussex County GOP for their RINO tactics. On June 13, we are electing all new County wide officers and ED’s (Elective District Chairs) or in other states, “Precinct Captains).
The whole county took at least three or four steps to the right and gained another State Representative Seat due to redistricting.
We will gain more delegate votes at the state GOP Convention. We will be in a much more powerful position to promote conservative values for our state and possibly be able to break the democratic super-majority that exists in Delaware’s General Assembly.
On that, I wish you luck.
gekster (Diary) Sunday, June 5th at 12:13PM EST (link)nt
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved
Congratulations Don. Please grace us with a
mbecker908 (Diary) Sunday, June 5th at 1:08PM EST (link)diary on your exploits!
I'm seconding becker's request
lineholder (Diary) Sunday, June 5th at 1:16PM EST (link)I think it is still difficult in a lot of ways for normal everyday ordinary people to understand just how much of a difference they can make when they get proactively involved. The more we hear success stories, the more encouragement it provides.
I Will Write a Diary
Donald Ayotte (Diary) Sunday, June 5th at 1:29PM EST (link)I have been incredibly busy with politics in Delaware and working to create a change. However, we have been successful but not successful enough to change the whole state. I will start to write a diary on Monday explaining what has been happening in little Delaware. I would like to say that many good republicans backed my did for the State GOP Chairman and I give them all my thanks; the fight has only begun!!
Although I’ve made many good friends, I’ve made many powerful enemies who are true elephants in the regard that they will never forget. I’ve learned the value of, “watching my back.”
Thank you, Mr. Ayotte [nt]
lineholder (Diary) Sunday, June 5th at 1:37PM EST (link)Why these people think...
Moe Lane (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 5:44PM EST (link)…that it’s our job to cure their feelings of anger and betrayal from events in their personal lives always eludes me. I mean, shoot, obviously people that are actually acquainted with these people’s life narratives don’t care; why should I?
Shoo. And if your therapist thinks that this behavior is therapeutic, fire your therapist.
The Kim Kardashian of blogging.
Check out my blog at http://moelane.com/.
http://moelane.com/filthy-lucre-filthy-lucre/
http://twitter.com/moelane
My (combined) wish list.
Recommended, but only for the fact...
gekster (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 5:25PM EST (link)that Palin doesn’t kow-tow to the media for favors.
People usually like you and will say nice things about you if you kiss thier butte.
I don’t see any butte kissing in Sarah.
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved
I know the palinistas cant understand this
Goldwater_Conservative (Diary) Friday, June 3rd at 7:57PM EST (link)and its not really Sarah saying these words…or in some weird universe what she says is correct, but the bottom line is Palin really needs to tour to learn basic American history.
http://beta.news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/palin-flubs-explanation-paul-revere-ride-215549982.html
Paul Revere's ride: a stupid canard
mspector (Diary) Saturday, June 4th at 12:17PM EST (link)This shows exactly how desperate the liberal media is to discredit Sarah.
Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the Revolutionary War and they were fought to protect colonial armories from being seized and looted by the British. So yes, it was about “not taking our guns”. No, Revere was not warning the British about anything, but that was certainly the message of the moment: you British want our weapons and you are not going to get them.
When the day comes that liberal boot-lickers are willing to excoriate Obama for his own flubs, such as mispronouncing “corpsman” as “corpse-man”, announcing in 2008 that his campaign had gone to 57 states leaving one to go, persisting in his toast to the Queen of England while the British National Anthem was playing or signing the Westminster Guest Book “May 2008″, then I’ll take this sort of criticism seriously. Until then, the media gets no respect at all on this kind of thing.
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” (Thomas Paine)
“A friend of mine was asked to a costume ball a short time ago. He slapped some egg on his face and went as a liberal economist.” (Ronald Reagan)
Thanks Nancy, I read it while crawling over broken glass to my Palin shrine in the basement...
audax (Diary) Saturday, June 4th at 12:55AM EST (link)“People fear this woman. They should. She aims to win.”….quote from EE.
(Oh! I don’t have a basement, were too close to the Danube).
Isn’t it amazing that when Pain gets out there to educate herself about our history (so she can better define American Exceptionalism?) all the naysayers come out and denounce her for doing what they recommended she do all along.
The race for the Republican nomination is just STARTING to heat up folks. The field is still open and being shaped. NOTHING has been “decided” by the voters yet! Palin, and I hope she enters that field, will spice up this race to the nomination. On that thought:
Are you a precinct committeman/delegate who is eligible to attend the 2012 GOP National Nominating Convention in Tampa where YOU can vote for YOUR prefered choice as THE GOP nominee?
While you get your bottom down to your local County GOP meeting, I have to crawl back out of here, over the broken glass, and do some chores, horses need a good brushing today and gotta muck out those stalls…..
Audeamus pro audere est facere
Pain should read Palin, but she is a Pain to the GOP establishment, media and Dems. nt
audax (Diary) Saturday, June 4th at 12:58AM EST (link)Audeamus pro audere est facere
I don't know if she should run, because of the savage press
renny (Diary) Saturday, June 4th at 1:15PM EST (link)that will go cannibalistic on her, but she makes people respond.
Anecdote: a former good friend of mine before I told her the Marines never drafted any soldier for Vietnam, reacted to the mention of Palin a month ago with “I hate her. I just hate her!”
This is a woman with two masters degrees and 30 years in teaching public education.
I didn’t ask why she made her hateful remark, but that really exemplifies how the left feels about Palin.
The press is now running red lights and cutting off ordinary citizens as they follow the Palin bus tour, and on Politico, fair and balanced as it is, journalists were pre-blaming Palin for any accidents that may occur in the future because the Great Beast Killer Palin will not give them an itinerary or their own bus.
Sail on, Sarah, sail on. And may the tides be with you.
Palin's problem isn't the press.
mbecker908 (Diary) Saturday, June 4th at 1:41PM EST (link)It’s her incompetence in handling the press.
No Reublican is ever going to get “good press”. The issue is handling them. She is probably the single most incompetent potential candidate we’ve seen in this area. She won’t engage them, she won’t appear where she will have to take hard questions or follow-ups and they go after her because she’s an easy target.
U.S. History according to SP
jimmyg Saturday, June 4th at 1:52PM EST (link)I hope you did not learn that the Marines never drafted in the Viet Nam War from SP. The Marines drafted 42,633 men during the Viet Nam War. I hope you did not lose a friend over a disagreement over whether the Marnies drafted soldiers during Viet Nam..http://history-world.org/vietnam_war_statistics.htm
There are no soldiers in the Marines
rogershru2 (Diary) Saturday, June 4th at 2:13PM EST (link)nt
“We used to have the best infrastructure in the world here in America. We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad …” – President Obama
Palin
whiskeyjim Sunday, June 5th at 8:46AM EST (link)They hate Palin for clear reasons:
1. She represents a successful woman is not a liberal feminist. IOW, her appearance threatens everything women are supposed to be.
2. She does not come from an elite school or education and does not talk like it. She must be stupid.
3. Her world knowledge and therefore foreign policy is weak. MSM gives their favorites, like Obama, a pass on that; he after all knows the leftard talking points about the world. For people they dislike, they deride them.
"More ability to influence political outcomes" -than Barack Obama??
conservativecurmudgeon (Diary) Monday, June 6th at 7:05PM EST (link)Surely, you don’t mean this?
I am desirous of seeing Governor Palin enter this race for one reason: Rhetorically, she is the most consistently solid conservative I’ve heard over the last two years. She hasn’t wavered, and I’ve not yet heard her utter a thing that demonstrates to me that she isn’t a movement conservative. I want to see how she is refined, and how the race is refined, by her candidacy.
BUT: You trod a bridge an inch or two too far in her ability to influence. Barack Obama has the entire federal leviathan at his beck and call, and all the instrumentalities of the presidency at his disposal. That makes his political (not to mention societal– Obama has reached into my home, and ripped up my social contract with my Doctor, for example) influence unparallelled. Sarah Palin has a television microphone, a Facebook page, and a tour bus. Quite a difference.
Yes, the elites hate her for a variety of reasons, many of which you’ve mentioned. Let’s not run off the rails, tho’.
We can do better
DonPMitchell (Diary) Tuesday, June 7th at 9:13PM EST (link)I definitely do not hate Sarah Palin, but I hope we will present a set of conservative candidates in 2012 who are more sophisticated and experienced. A person who has only a fuzzy knowledge of history and geography and world issue will be a weak president, because they will end up being controlled by their advisors. Jon Huntsman is my current favorite. I wish Palin well, I hope she continues to tour and give talks.
Goldwater: In your heart, you know he’s right
You didn't get the message?
gekster (Diary) Tuesday, June 7th at 9:28PM EST (link)Palin was right on the history.
Her detractors were wrong.
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved