Politics, Meh - Palin, Anyone?

My wife got me a fantastic Palin birthday card yesterday and then today I saw this on Think Progress:

Former Alaska governor and Fox News analyst Sarah Palin spoke to a crowd of Republican Party activists in Arkansas yesterday, where she lavished praise on the Tea Party movement and played down speculation that she might run for president in 2012. She also then mocked Twitter:

When she was asked what she believed was the number one threat to America today, several audience members shouted, "Obama!"

Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb, who moderated the Q&A session, responded by adding, "Besides Obama."

Palin then chimed in as many in the crowd laughed.

"See, they said that, I didn’t," she said. "Just you watch now, too, because somebody will be here with their little Twittering thing, and it’s going to be on the Internet any minute now."

It’s unclear what Palin has against the "little Twittering thing," considering she is also on Twitter (@SarahPalinUSA) and has actually been noted for supposed new media saviness. Last night’s event in Little Rock’s 18,000-seat Verizon Arena had a significant number of empty seats. In fact, fewer than half the seats "in the lower bowl were occupied, and the entire upper level was shrouded by black drapes." In the hours before the Palin event, "the Arkansas GOP was advertising on its web site a heavily discounted '$20 ticket special.'"

Case in point: Republicans don't get technology or the internet.

There seems to be a brewing schism in the Republican party: Those who want to make the party appear less the "white man" party and are willing to push Palin to the forefront of 2012 and those who say it would be political suicide. So what's the call, Pubbies? Do you appear to be even more misogynist by saying a woman who has no right running for president has no right running for president or feign acceptance of her lack of qualifications to appear more inclusive? I'm guessing they'll go the latter and blame America if she does't win the primaries and blame America (I can hear Hannity now: "America was just not ready for a strong, independent woman to lead the country!") when she doesn't win the general election. And then they'll ride that feather in their cap for the next 20 years, that they had a woman run. And that's how they'll phrase it. And that's how they'll get it so, so wrong in the short and long run.


Other politics? No, not really. Shitty, really. We're still buried in snow so my ears have numbed from the deniers saying global warming is a hoax or that it might be real but not man-made and some guy posted something on a blog about how it's all collapsing around the "warmalists" but really its not and it's become so political that it ceases to be scientific. And McCain can't even remember if he said something about capping carbon at some point.

It's all quite pointless. The Right will continue to push for less carbon regulation because business will continue to grease their asses for doing so and the Left will continue to push for more regulation. In my opinion, whether it's AGW or just GW, the Left's doing the only thing that will help the problem. They're shipping snow into Vancouver for chrissakes.

Enough politics already. Bring me the van murals!