It's My Party, and I'll Cry if I Want To

For those of you who have never read, or are sporadic readers of my weekly blog, let me say again, I am a registered member of the Republican Party. I was once a member of the Young Republicans of Morris County, New Jersey. I attended fund raisers with Rodney Frelinghuysen and then Governor Tom Kean. My first presidential ballot was cast for Gerald Ford; a decent, upstanding man, and a loyal public servant, who inherited such a shitstorm from Richard Nixon, it’s no wonder he couldn’t accomplish anything during his abbreviated term. He wouldn’t have got elected on his own even if he’d have been able to walk on water. The voting public was so blinded by the nefarious behavior of Nixon and his cronies, that we would have elected the devil himself had he been the Democratic nominee. Instead, we got stuck with Jimmy Carter for four years. By the way, for all you naysayers, history has proven that Ford’s pardon of Nixon WAS the first step toward healing our country. History will not be so kind to Jimmy Carter.
I voted for Ronald Reagan once I served out my probation. I voted for the Bush’s, Dad and his impaired son. I watched as my party has gone from keeper of the flame of capitalism, foreign policy mavens, with a reputation for steadfast resolve; to a party that can best described as disorganized, antiquated, conservatism, with a hint of the absurd. I have not, as Arlen Specter bravely did, switch parties, as yet; though I do believe the Republican Party in its current state, no longer resembles the one I formerly embraced. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, there is talk that Sarah Palin may make a run for the nation’s highest office in 2012. Are you fucking shitting me?!!!!!!!
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of listening to her acute oration skills, her finely honed ability to reason, her well articulated turning of a phrase, well, let me clue you in. She is an idiot, a dope, an imbecile, a moron, a dolt, a dullard, an inane drone, a pinhead, a ying-yang, devoid of any productive cranial activity, and until recently, held the highest public office in the state of Alaska. Why is she no long governor? Because she quit. At least that’s what I got out of the sometimes rambling, sometimes unclear, sometimes disjointed, resignation/self-praise speech. Even the moral charlatan Rush Limbaugh, that bastion of self-righteous, ultra-conservative, so far to the right wing politics that he’s on the other side of the Greenwich meantime line, was at a loss for words when asked what to make of Palin’s resignation, and what it might mean. The only time Limbaugh is without comment is when he’s eating. Limbaugh’s partner in crime, Bill O’Reilly, who’d just returned from vacation, sidestepped the Palin resignation, choosing instead to weigh in on the hoopla surrounding Michael Jackson. When was the last time you heard of Bill O’Reilly avoiding to opine about anything that had to do with the well being of the Republican Party. Other notable Republicans were as perplexed as these right wing pundits, yet they dared to comment.
Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, called Palin’s resignation “astounding.” Karl Rove, former political adviser to George W. Bush, said that he and other GOP strategists are “perplexed” by Palin’s “bombshell” as USA Today called it. Meghan Stapleton, Palin’s communications director, said “she expects Palin to remain active as a speaker and campaigner. Oh be still my palpitating heart, I hope I can get a ticket to her next speaking engagement, that ought to be enthralling with the tremendous grasp of Palin has on the English language. Stapleton also added that Palin is “working to complete her memoirs due out next spring.” I wonder if it’s more than one page. Do they let people write memoirs in crayon? There must be a ghost writer even if it’s a pop-up book. If you think I’m being too harsh, let me sight some examples from her resignation speech and you can draw your own conclusions.
She opened with a short history lesson most middle-schoolers learn about William Seward and his role in the purchase of Alaska. She then cites Alaska as strategic due to it being “the air crossroads of the world,” whatever the hell that means. Call me crazy, but when was the last time you flew over Alaska when you went anywhere in the world? Palin states she is “determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and not so comfortable.” From what I understand, quitting something is about the most comfortable out you can take. Palin used the phrase “no more politics as usual” no less than five times by my count. A copy of the speech as written was obtained from the governor’s office. In the text there are innumerable words typed in capital letters. I’m assuming this was done so Palin knew where to put emphasis. However, this seems almost to have been done on an arbitrary basis at completely unnecessary times. See for yourself at www.huffingtonpost.com, who, by the way, weren’t the only media source to offer their observations.
Ruth Marcus from the Washington Post had this to say. “It’s fair to say I’ve been no fan of Palin’s since John McCain picked her (if she thinks John McCain did the picking, she’s mistaken, approved her is a better term) as his running-mate, and my estimation of her has only gone downhill from there. I think my hostility has to do with our shared gender: I’m eager to see women succeed in the political arena, as elsewhere, and I think McCain’s cynical choice of Palin and her faltering performance since has served to set back that cause.” So there. And if you’re one of those folks who’s sitting there saying, “Oh, that’s just the liberal media talking,” think again. Who owns the “liberal media,” and to whose party are they affiliated?
Marcus is as confused as I am over what Palin cites as her reason for quitting. On her follow up Facebook posting Palin said that she was being held to a higher standard than others who left their jobs for a “higher calling.” The media failed to understand “it’s about country,” but a sentence later she suggested it was about family. Marcus wonders if Palin is “planning to stay in the spotlight or get out of it?” The Anchorage News speculated that Palin might have resigned in order to “elevate her profile” for a possible run at the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination. But the paper goes on to hypothesize about what caused this abrupt turn of events. The paper cited that perhaps she found the “ethics inquiries paralyzing.” Marcus concurs with Palin’s home state press stating Palin’s “unconvincing explanation [for resigning] combined with refrigerator-magnet wisdom – “Don’t explain: Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe you anyway” – underscores the image of a woman unable to withstand the heat of political pressure.” How about her bizarre basketball analogy? I know her she had coaches everywhere cringing. Then she moves to a football analogy that was empty and vague about calling an audible. The only audible Palin called was not telling anyone was moving from basketball to football with a reference to football. Confusing isn’t it. Don’t worry you’re not alone.
Mary Matalin referred to Palin’s strategy as “brilliant,” Bill Kristol said Palin was “crazy like a fox.” These two observations only served to tarnish the legitimacy of both analysts, and erode their credibility. If they are trying to convince me in any way shape or form that Sarah Palin is the future of the Republican Party based on this recent move, well then let me paraphrase Palin’s last “hey look! I know some more history” quote from Gen Douglas MacArthur, I am not retreating [from the Republican Party], I am advancing in another direction,” until it can get its shit together.