Sarah-noia
My WSJ colleague James Taranto published a provocative piece yesterday trying to explain the hatred toward Sarah Palin. Well worth a read. When I spoke to him, he thought that a lot of it is abortion, and the fact that she lives her convictions there (carrying Trig to term even after she knew he had Down).
I think that abortion has a part, but is not the whole story (read James' whole story for some of the other factors). My reasoning is that there are any number of Republican and conservative women who are pro-choice and yet seem to suffer from being considered not quite legitimate. A parallel example might be Clarence Thomas, whom people declare not really being black. To me that is because the left tends to define identity for a "woman," "gay," "black," etc. in highly politicized terms. (Claire, if you are reading, weren't there people who didn't consider Mrs. T a "woman" in this sense -- not that Mrs. T would care).
Point is, James has posted a piece well worth reading. And I'd like to hear the reactions. Again, this isn't about whether Gov. Palin should be the nominee, or even if you agree with her. It's about the nature of the liberal hatred for her. Anyone?
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Dec '10
Re: Sarah-noia
The commentary on the Ace of Spades HQ blog on both James's column and on a follow-up post (about Conservative women who dislike Sarah) has been very illuminating.
My wife admires Sarah Palin because Sarah has everything that feminism promised my wife: a loving husband, a brood of great kids, a career that's propelled her to great heights, and looking great all the while she was accumulating her prizes. I suspect a lot of women -- and not a few men -- dislike, even despise her for the same reasons -- having decided to favor jealousy over admiration.
Aug '10
Re: Sarah-noia
If you're checking out Taranto's excellent piece on Palin scroll down the page to see his take on Gail Collins' pathetic column about Lieberman. I saw the column on RealClearPolitics and wondered how long it would take to see it dissected? Collins is a gift that keeps on giving.
Dec '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Perhaps Victor Davis Hanson can be persuaded to post or link to his essay on Palinoia from Pajamas Media: The War Against Palin Goes On And On And...
Jun '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Taranto nails it. The Ace discussion was incredibly rambling, and was based on one guy's data points of his wife & girfriend who have a "visceral" dislike of Palin. They are "professional class" conservative women, so therefore, in his eyes, this group dislikes Palin. Palin, Ace concludes, hasn't clarified that she distinguishes pseudo intellectuals, from true intellectuals. She must learn to flatter conservative intellectuals, and if she doesn't, she proves she's not all that clever afterall.
Nonsense on stilts, I say. There is nothing anti-intellectual about her writing or speeches. It's her gosh-darn folksy delivery and Alaskan accent coming from a gal who earned her education from the school of hard knocks (and a string of public colleges) that create a "visceral" reaction. She has risen above her station in life, as Taranto points out. How dare she!
Now, I like Palin, and am not suggesting she is the intellectual equal of Ronald Reagan. But I can't ever remember Reagan pandering to or flattering intellectuals. He seemed to delight in tweaking and teasing them a bit. So does Palin! Maybe we found it charming coming from a guy, but not a gal?
Jul '10
Re: Sarah-noia
I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin. I will not comment about Sarah Palin.
I'm sorry...what was your question?
May '10
Re: Sarah-noia
If I unfocus my eyes, I can see the Aleutian mountains.
Aug '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Kenneth, Did you type that word for word or did you use some word-processing device...or cut and paste from a previous comment? Let me be clear,I genuinely am interested to know.
Jul '10
Re: Sarah-noia
It was a cut and paste job. I'm such a slacker.
Aug '10
Re: Sarah-noia
I would like to propose that this isn't about Sarah . Maybe this is another exercise in power of ideas. We could never put the genie back in the bottle after Vietnam, when Uncle Walter surrendered and bronzed the new media babyshoe. It's been on the nightstand ever since, shined at Watergate, lost during Clinton, and brought out to prove up a paternity suit where Sulzberger prevailed. She is an enormous target for them. Soap is being sold ! I propose that they're doing their darnedest to pick our candidates for us . It's not like anyone is claiming Gore, Kerry, Edwards. Best part is ? FAIL.........
Re: Sarah-noia
Taranto is right on the money. She is an affront to feminists -- an accomplished woman hostile to abortion who is willing to accept the consequences of her convictions -- and she is everything that Hillary Clinton is not -- stunningly beautiful, self-made, self-reliant, a natural executive, and astonishingly quick-witted. The one thing that I would add to Taranto's analysis is class.
Remember Bill Clinton. None of the feminists cared how disgracefully he treated women they considered lower class, but when it was reported that he had tried to grope the kind of woman who wears pearls . . . well, that one caused consternation. Palin lacks what the elite feminists consider class, and it drives them crazy that she is, despite all of this, a genuinely classy dame. Hell hath no fury like a feminist outclassed!
May '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Don't get me wrong, I think some of the Palin hatred is over the top and unfair. But it's also clear to me that some Americans dislike her strongly because she attacks them and their way of life.
When part of your shtick is to separate the country into "real America" and "fake America," to insult "the left" and "liberals" at every opportunity, and to mock "coastal elites," is it any surprise that folks who live in blue states and lean left tend to dislike her a lot?
Wouldn't you?
56 percent of Americans view Sarah Palin unfavorably. That is many millions of people more than hard core left-leaning ideologues. Says Taranto, "there is no denying that she is a highly accomplished person." Well, I deny it. When I think of Sarah Palin, or other failed governors (Gray Davis, say) I cannot deny that they accomplished getting elected to an impressive office. But did they achieve anything of great consequence? If so I'm not sure what, besides celebrity and riches.
Aug '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Kenneth
Charles Mark: Kenneth, Did you type that word for word or did you use some word-processing device...or cut and paste from a previous comment? Let me be clear,I genuinely am interested to know.
It was a cut and paste job. I'm such a slacker.
Honesty is it's own reward.(I can't even manage to quote properly with a touchscreen).
Edited on Jan 20, 2011 at 5:19pmJul '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Conor Friedersdorf: Don't get me wrong, I think some of the Palin hatred is over the top and unfair. But it's also clear to me that some Americans dislike her strongly because she attacks them and their way of life.
When part of your shtick is to separate the country into "real America" and "fake America," to insult "the left" and "liberals" at every opportunity, and to mock "coastal elites," is it any surprise that folks who live in blue states and lean left tend to dislike her a lot?
Wouldn't you?
56 percent of Americans view Sarah Palin unfavorably. That is many millions of people more than hard core left-leaning ideologues. Says Taranto, "there is no denying that she is a highly accomplished person." Well, I deny it. When I think of Sarah Palin, or other failed governors (Gray Davis, say) I cannot deny that they accomplished getting elected to an impressive office. But did they achieve anything of great consequence? If so I'm not sure what, besides celebrity and riches. · Jan 20 at 5:16pm
Um, um...I will not comment about Sarah Palin.
But I'm glad you did.
Dec '10
Re: Sarah-noia
She moved the Alaska natural gas pipeline project off top dead center. That's a damn sight more than Gray Davis did for America's energy security -- and more than Obama has done.
Dec '10
Re: Sarah-noia
StickerShock: Taranto nails it. The Ace discussion was incredibly rambling, and was based on one guy's data points of his wife & girfriend who have a "visceral" dislike of Palin. They are "professional class" conservative women, so therefore, in his eyes, this group dislikes Palin. Palin, Ace concludes, hasn't clarified that she distinguishes pseudo intellectuals, from true intellectuals. She must learn to flatter conservative intellectuals, and if she doesn't, she proves she's not all that clever afterall.
Nonsense on stilts, I say. There is nothing anti-intellectual about her writing or speeches. It's her gosh-darn folksy delivery and Alaskan accent coming from a gal who earned her education from the school of hard knocks (and a string of public colleges) that create a "visceral" reaction. She has risen above her station in life, as Taranto points out. How dare she! · Jan 20 at 4:57pm
The illumination is in the comments, in which stark examples of both Palin loyalty (such as mine) and Palin aversion are on display.
Dec '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Worth quoting...
"But some people do seem to be anti-intellect sometimes. Or at least they sort of talk that way. They sometimes seem to signal they're denigrating the intellect per se, and not just the parasitic weeds of pseudo-intellectuals that has grown up around it.
And this is what I've noticed with Palin: Sometimes I do not know if she's speaking specifically against the self-annoited "smart set," consisting chiefly of people who aren't notably smart, or if she's speaking against intellectual excellence altogether.
I assume, actually, she means the former-- but I do have to say she often, to my mind, leaves the question in too much doubt."
For the most part, Palin does not "speak" to the political class (including the MSM) or to the "pseudo-intellectual" class. She ignores them. They dislike her for it. The questions are.. Can she? Should she? Will she? Does it matter?.... That is, if she runs.
Edited on Jan 20, 2011 at 5:47pmJun '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Since 1973, there've been about 50 million legal abortions in the US, so that means there are probably 35 million American women alive today that have a deep preexisting reason not to like pro-life conservatives like Sarah Palin. Because, if what Palin did so publicly with her last pregnancy was the right thing, the moral thing (and I think it was,) then what all the women who went for abortions (of convenience in most cases) did, by implication, was the wrong thing, the immoral thing. People don't like to face the sad truth about their own moral shortcomings , and they especially don't like the people who bring them to the fore. For that reason alone, Palin's popularity started in a deep hole.
May '10
Re: Sarah-noia
I defy Paul or anyone else to cite three examples that demonstrate Sarah Palin is quick-witted.
Re: Sarah-noia
One of the main points of Taranto's column is that females have a special sort of Palinphobia. My own experience could not be more different. I know many, many, many, many women who admire her or simply have a higher-than-average view of her.
All of the people I know and many who I read -- such as Conor's boss Andrew Sullivan -- who lose their mind over Palin are men. So what's that about?
I need a WSJ columnist to explain the male freakout over Palin. Is it her sexiness? Her fertility? Mommy issues? What?
It's not like there aren't a gazillion politicians out there who say things you disagree with. What is up with the loss of mental control over this one?
May '10
Re: Sarah-noia
Are people really irrationally freaking out about Sarah Palin any more than they did with Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton or George W. Bush? Or for that matter, Barack Obama? Or Dan Quayle? Or Hillary Clinton? Again, I am not disputing that the former Alaska governor is attacked unfairly sometimes.
But I don't think it's so different in degree from other extremely polarizing politicians and political figures. I do think that Palin is particularly canny about using the attacks to bolster support among her fan base.