Will Sarah Win?
Seems obvious to many on the Left. Sarah Palin? “Plllllleeeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeeee!!!” I hear many on the Left praying Sarah will be in a face off with Barack Obama: 2012. After all: fumble mouth combined with insert foot reflexes, odd religious beliefs that she seems to shift according to political needs, ignorant/clueless statements, quit every job voters gave her and a voice that could pierce the hide of a porcupine. How could Barack lose?
Be careful what you pray for. Your prayers may be answered.
I could go to George Bush, Junior, both elections, and other odd “wins.” But, really, all I need is to yell out one name…
“Alvin!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Wasn’t all that long ago that some on the Left were shaking their heads, wondering how Alvin Greene wound up as the Democratic candidate. Little to no money. Little to no campaigning. Ads that should have made sure God himself would have lost, despite any miracles. And, of course, once he got to the main election he did lose, but not until he knocked out his well known, well financed, Democratic challenger, while most were saying, “Alvin who?”
Now most of you who have read Inspection for a while know I believe black box voting is more than just a bad idea, at best. Now admit it! Some of you are already shaking your head right now as you think I’m about to launch into what some consider a “tinfoil hat conspiracy,” right?
I don’t have to go there. I don’t have to go there at all.
Plain and simple: Alvin won… at least until he lost when it was best for Republican rule. My guess is right now you’re trying to think of excuses as to why he did win, including, “Hey, it was South Carolina, what did you expect?” But excuses don’t matter, true or bogus. He came out of no where and defeated a well established politician, former Circuit Court judge, former criminal prosecutor and a former National Guardsman: 26 years.
Alvin: clueless.
Alvin: who could hardly speak a discernible sentence when being recorded: that means there could be a second, a third… any number of takes. He still couldn’t do it.
Alvin who had no money, did little campaigning and most of South Carolina was saying “Alvin, who?”
Alvin: no website at the time, no yard signs.
Alvin: going into it all with obscenity charges.
Like the old phrase sh__t happens, Alvin happened. That’s history. And my guess is there were a large number of shaking heads and cynics when Alvin started running. Forget about any challenges if something really weird and obviously bogus happens in 2012: just like Kerry’s promise to have thousands of lawyers, and many DLC types in Gore’s contest all the way to the Supreme Court, the Democratic Party leaders in SC ran like the roaches they are when it came to challenging an obvious fishy result.
Has anyone else noticed that every time there’s another suspicious outcome it’s even stranger, more unprecedented and more impossible for it to have happened? Why it’s almost as if someone’s is pushing the envelope: see how much they can get away with. Dem leaders even less interested in pursing? Of course George Bush, Jr., proved long ago they have spines of Jello.
But let’s steer away from my meander into conspiracy thinking for a moment. It’s 2 years out. Anything can happen. And the main claim as to why Alvin ascended can be tossed right back at Barack Obama: messaging sucked and not as appealing to your base as you should be.
Please. Please. Please. Look back to the 90s. How many of these absurd things, that many claimed the public would never stand for, never vote for, actually came to pass?
Look, I have never been a fan of electronic voting, but we don’t need that as an excuse or a reason. Though I think we should make damn sure that we either know these machines and those who program them are on the up and up, or just go back to counting votes by hand: no matter how long it takes, I think far more important is not taking our cynicism regarding Sarah for granted. I guarantee, if we do, supporters of someone, even as bad as Sarah Palin, will be laughing all the way to inauguration and beyond.
And why would I not be shocked, if Barack did decide not to run, if she won defeating another person considering a run in 2012…
…Alvin Greene.
“I’m the man. I’m the man. I’m the man. Greene’s the man. I’m the man. I’m the greatest person ever. I was born to be president. I’m the man, I’m the greatest individual ever.”
-Alvin Greene
No, It’s Not “Your Money”
Whomever came up with, and uses, that idiotic talking point should be exposed by the mainstream media, and forced to sit in the corner with a dunce cap for the rest of their political lives. Instead they are rewarded with power, positions and buckaroos out the wazoo. The mainstream media? Just ignores the obvious.
No, it’s not “your money.”
Why is it it’s often those who claim government should be run like business who use this stupid talking point, when the comment alone proves they have a fundamental misconception of money as it relates to both business and government?
How do they prove it? Every time they say, “It’s our money.”
My home in the Adirondacks is heated, in part, with propane. The propane man comes to my door on a regular basis with a new tank. I give him money. Then he leaves.
I have the propane. He has the moolah. Is that money mine, or his?
Duh.
I often disagree with those who think government should operate like business. There are important things government does better, and has to do… especially in dire times, business can, or shouldn’t, do. I include prisons and fighting wars, though obviously many on the Right disagree. Making money: unless we want our WalMart bucks to be no good at Shell, and our Shell bucks be no good at… and we want endless counterfeiting with no one to stop it.
We could always have Exxon armies doing battle with Microsoft armies, right? Would Kraft, the makers of Velveeta, and Apple join forces and conquer the world with their Mac and Cheese army?
Ah, true “‘free’ enterprise,” right?
But like the propane man, in one way business and government are very much the same: they provide services. Maybe you’re not happy with those services: think they should provide one but not the other. Since multiple, competing, governments in the same country would be a really, really bad idea, we decide those services through elections.
Now if you are paying taxes, and I advise you do… like it or not, you are paying for services already rendered, services already agreed upon through elections… even if those you voted for the other guy.
And we owe a hell of a lot. Not just for services. You took out loans. Doesn’t matter you signed no dotted line, elections are our dotted line. Once again: even if you voted for the other guy. This isn’t a government of “you.”
Doesn’t matter which party is the most to blame, or even what we owe for. You still owe, like I do.
I know. It sucks. You didn’t want any of that. Screw it all! But if you really believe that, what your feeble mental abilities still may fail to grasp is that that doesn’t matter. Not one… damn… bit. For, again, this is money, like it or not, we have already spent.
You don’t walk away from it anymore than you walk away from the bank. And even if “the bank” were bankrupt you can be sure someone worse will take up the debt and make bloody sure it get paid. Never guess who?
China.
All that time and money spent “defeating” Communism and it’s come to this? Where’s the ghost of Joseph McCarthy when we really need him? We need him to harass some of the very same folks who claimed to be anti-Communist.
“Are you, or have you ever been, a teabagger?”
(Graphic, hidden digital cam, movie to follow of said suspicious activities. Do I hear some suspicious “squeaking” at the mere thought of true teabagging in the Senate Chambers? Who do you think you are, Mr. Republican Senator, Sir… Pee Wee Herman?)
Rant or rave as much as you or I want, the money has already been spent: in our names. Whether you’re in debt to Chase, or the Red Chinese, that money is no longer your money.
Please stop saying it’s “your money.”
That would be a lie.
And a rather stupid, ignorant lie at that.
-30-
Inspection is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 30 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
© Copyright 2011
Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
All Rights Reserved
Sarah Palin will not run, nor has she had any intention of running. The reason? It doesn’t pay anywhere near as much as she is raking in right now. This year alone, she is expected to earn over $42 million just to be famous for being famous. The longer she can keep the “will she?” speculation going, the more money she will collect. It is really the only reason why there is always a camera eye on her.
Once it is clear that she isn’t running, her importance will quickly fade, and she will become a political “has been” with a huge pile of money to sit on.
People love train wrecks, and a Palin run for president is a major derailment. What makes a train wreck even better to watch is when another train is barreling down that track and about to collide with the first wreck.
Enter the Crazy Train, Michelle Bachmann. This woman makes Sarah Palin look like a Rhodes Scholar. There is barely enough room on the track for one of them, let alone the two of them together.
Other names I’ve heard:
Newt Gingrich. Kermit the Frog runs for president. If you thought there were a lot of people doing Clinton and W impressions, just wait until President Kermit takes his oath.
John Bolton. Four years of a Bolton presidency will require us all to go through anger management programs.
Mitt Romney. Probably a top contender, but his Mormon religion will work against him. He is also considered to be “too Liberal” by the self-proclaimed “patriots”.
Mike Huckabee. A favorite amongst Conservative Christians and Chuck Norris. Chuck may even end up as either a running mate or Chief of Staff.
David Petraeus. A favorite amongst those who believe in the mighty US and a need to conquer the world and continually create new enemies just to have some to annihilate.
Rudy Giuliani. Not a favorite of too many people.
Bobby Jindal. I just can’t stop laughing…
Jeb Bush. The Bush that was supposed to run in 2000 but didn’t. I am not sure the country is ready for a third one.
Charlie Crist. Not going to happen. He is damaged goods after the last election.
Lindsey Graham. He would be our first gay president.
You may be right. The purpose of this edition is, essentially, stuff we don’t expect, and think unimaginable, happens. I think being more careful and less sure of ourselves might be helpful.
If Sarah is wise… dare I continue the thought? …she won’t run. But maybe she is wise and knows “the bases are covered” by the supposed Left Wing MSM, machines, the new, incoming, House… whatever.
We’ll see. I’d just rather we not get all smug about it.
Alvin happens.
I don’t think Sister Sarah will run either, not only for the reasons DJ mentioned, but because the GOP Elite are dead-set against her. They control the purse strings and, if she becomes too much of a serious threat, they’ll pull out the stops to ruin her credibility, which is tanking anyway. Her book sales are down, including the paperback version of “Going Rogue”; her TV show has lost over half its first-episode audience; two-thirds of Alaskans don’t like her anymore; and her personal appearances and book signings have a much lower turnout than a year ago. She’s like the William Hung of the GOP — clueless and off key — and she’s made the mistake of badly over-exposing her flaws to the public. I think she’s finished in politics, except for the media shouting.
The only credible national candidates the GOP has right now are Mike Huckabee, ‘Mittens’ Romney and, maybe, Jeb Bush. Huckabee’s a religious nut, Romney’s a doofus, and Jeb’s a Bush, so it doesn’t look good for the GOP against Obama. But all that can change rapidly and someone new could emerge — after all, at this point in the ’08 election, Obama was barely a blip on the radar and not taken seriously.
I think it’s a pretty safe bet it won’t be ‘vanity’ candidates like Newtie, Haley Barbour and Rudy Giuliani. They just like the action.
I do agree with the following statement…
When I think of the rest all I can think of is in the 90s I remember how idiotic Bush seemed. And the Right. I think of Kerry. I think of proclamations that a skunk could win against… fill in the blank. Then I think of Alvin.
So my only response to all of you is “I ain’t putting any money down on any of this shit!” Not on Barack, not on no Sister Sarah, not even Alvin not becoming the sacrificial lamb to a President Palin. Frankly I think it’s all crap, all corrupt and they keep pushing the envelope. Beyond that? I make no absolute claims.
John McCain proved they’re willing to do anything. Claim they support him while undercutting his bid. I can’t help but think the plan was, “Let’s give it to the nigger for four years and blame it all on him!” And they’re doing it. They’ll do something like that again. The MSM is mostly absent and often complicit, especially the anointed “leader.”
More than anything 2000 opened up a goddamn Pandora’s Box that never, ever should have been opened: Supremely “elected,” supremely corrupt, lying, Constitution-fornicating, mass murdering war criminals as President and VP… and everything else that followed.
Good luck in 2012 America. We’re sure as hell going to need it.
Ken, you may be right that it’s all corrupt — obviously a lot of what goes on in Washington is — but if that’s true, why are the corporations dropping such large amounts of cash to defeat the mild reforms of the Dems and Obama? If you own both sides, it’s just a waste of money, and these crocodiles didn’t get rich by wasting money. George Lakoff had an explanation for why many of the Dems are so weak — they listen to pollsters that use ‘Luntz lingo’ rather than try and counter GOP BS with their own talking points. If the Dem pollsters are asking people what they think of ‘death panels’ and then report back to the Dem pols that the public is against health care reform, no wonder they’re so cowardly. They believe the Washington cocktail party chatter that’s it’s a center-right country and they fear the Right-Wing Media Machine because they don’t know how to fight it. They don’t know how to fight it because they don’t listen to people like Lakoff, or their base. I know it’s stupid, but even though a record two million people showed up for Obama’s inauguration, they still get the shakes at a Glenn Beck rally of 80,000. Of course, some are DLC Dems who want that corporate money — but many of them were defeated in the last election.
It’s our duty as citizens to be extremely skeptical if not cynical about politicians and the government, but let’s not let that taint the possibility that the future could turn out much better than we anticipate. After all, most progressives, if asked in 2000 if we’d have a black president within ten years, would have answered a resounding “hell, no!” Things are changing gradually, but they are changing, and our history is that they eventually chnage for the better, although it doesn’t look like that when you’re in the midst of the crisis. The seniors I worked with 30 years ago who were young men and women at the start of the Great Depression nearly all said they thought this was it — the end of America, and there was no light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. They were very grateful they were wrong.
Despite media hoohah and the 2010 elections, the GOP is still a minority party — more people identify as independent or Democrat — and they are tearing themselves apart trying to appeal to both the corporatists and the Teabaggers. Boehner can’t count on votes the way Pelosi could, and the GOP won’t do anything to help the economy in the next two years anyway. The present crisis may very well be setting the stage for some real progressive change in 2012, and Obama and recalcitrant Dems will sign on just to get reelected.
I don’t claim “it’s the end.”
I certainly think there had been some progress: a president who has some Black heritage proves that.
I do claim that I won’t spend a penny betting who will run and who will win 2012. Too much has happened that qualifies as, “That’s too f-ed up not to mean the whole process is f-ed up.”