By
Russ Wung
November 18, 2008
People on the East and West Coasts tend to think of themselves as superior to everyone else. I am part of this imaginary “master race”, as are most of us at the UW. We are given to imagining ourselves as more sophisticated, more tolerant, more world-wise and, essentially, above the ignorance of the hillbillies that inhabit the rest of the country.
Many coastal inhabitants wish they could get rid of such people and become the United Municipalities of Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston and New York — minus those Bush-voting hicks on Staten Island.
This is not a political attitude, it is a cultural one, and one that afflicts people of all political persuasions in varying degrees.
These biases came through briefly for us conservatives in our treatment of Mike Huckabee during the primaries. Though what was really bothering us was his harebrained economic populism, some of us were sometimes prone to mocking his Southern Baptist mannerisms and those of his supporters instead of really articulating our concerns. We should have challenged Huckabee on the issues instead.
For the other side, there was Sarah Palin, the most abused person in the 2008 election. Here was a woman who once ran a business — more than can be said for Obama, McCain or Biden — got into municipal politics, took on and beat a corrupt governor from her own party in the primaries, won a tough general election battle and ran a superb administration for two years afterwards.
Her husband, Todd Palin, is the very model of a modern stay at home dad. Somehow, Sarah Palin has subverted the supposed work-life balancing act to have everything — a high-powered job, a supportive husband, a nice house and a thriving family.
Being skeptical of the “culture of life,” I shared the general liberal bewilderment at the reproductive choices made by the Palins and vague irritation at her extension of those beliefs to the political sphere. In their shoes, I would’ve been for abortions. But the issue is one that sane people can reasonably disagree on, extremist histrionics notwithstanding.
In part, the amount of political venom thrown at Sarah Palin also came about because she poses a threat to radical feminism, with its culture of victimhood and its orthodoxy on unrelated political issues. By being a successful, powerful woman who shares none of those values, she has once again highlighted the fact that women don’t need far-left ideology to take their place as the equals of men.
Then, above all things, there is the matter of her origin. She’s from Alaska, that far-flung outpost of the heartland. The McCain campaign had a good quarterback but made the wrong plays; it overemphasized Palin’s humble origins and personal traits while failing to capitalize on her successful record as a corruption-fighter and governor. This unfortunate dumbing-down played into the stereotypes fostered by regionalist bias — she doesn’t talk like us, likes guns, doesn’t agree with our politics and comes from a rural background; ergo, she’s a stupid redneck. More than anything else, this gut hatred of a certain segment of our country drove the anti-Palin hysteria.
Even so, it’s time to pat ourselves on the back for a moment; we coastal snobs, conservative and liberal, have at least managed to largely overcome our innate racial and gender prejudices. However, given the political baggage that the overly simplistic and wantonly polarizing “colored state” dichotomy has created, we’re going to have a tough time overcoming our regional biases.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.
55 Comments
#1 Of course.
on November 18, 2008 at 1:19 a.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
Sarah Palin as an example of women being an equal of men? Not even her own party believes that - they threw her under the bus the first chance they got.
Talk about a culture of victimhood.
#2 anonymous
on November 18, 2008 at 2:25 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
If you're going to talk about this kind of bias, don't use Sarah Palin as an exmaple. Yes, people made a lot of derogatory statements about her, but she was ridiculed first and foremost for being blatantly underqualified for the VP office. Her penchant for moose hunting may have come up a few times, but more often, people talked about her disastrous interviews with Katie Couric, the fact that she attended five colleges in as many years, the fact that she has never held federal office...etc. I don't doubt that the anti-redneck bias exists, but on the other hand, I think George W. is a bigger redneck than Sarah Palin and he got elected twice.
#3 Greg Crowther
on November 18, 2008 at 3:41 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Many people, liberal and conservative, found many reasonable reasons to oppose Sarah Palin that had nothing to do with her being from Alaska. Among my favorites: (1) her very limited knowledge of foreign policy; (2) her general inability to explain and defend specific policy proposals; (3) her belief that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science classes; (4) her ridiculous attacks on Obama for being a community organizer and for "palling around with terrorists."
#4 David Nash-Mendez
on November 18, 2008 at 4:54 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Your opinion really doesn't match up with what you are saying. Your opinion seems to be that Sarah Palin is a decent candidate and her being from Alaska shouldn't be held against her. But yet you claim that this ridicule of her is because of being redneck. The problem is that redneck is not just middle America. There are plenty of rednecks on the Western side of the Cascades too. Redneck is just an identification with a blue-collar lifestyle. It has nothing to do with whether one is rural or not but it does have everything to do with how one earns a living.
Sarah Palin was a mayor and a governor which are decidedly not redneck occupations. One's geographic background does not make one redneck. Just look at Bill Clinton. He's from Arkansas and he still has that southern drawl, but he's not redneck.
If your opinion article is about Sarah Palin being a redneck than make it that way. If it's about Middle America vs the coast than write about that. But for goodness sakes, get your arguments straight and don't assume that not being from your "United Municipalities" makes you redneck.
#5 Dan
on November 21, 2008 at 11:28 a.m.(Santa Clara, CA | Unverified Name)
Living in the Bay Area, CA, I have on many occassions heard someone comment that "we are not like Mississippi, Alabama, blah blah..."
The reality of life in progressive Bay Area is that there are plenty of segregated neighborhoods and schools.
Glass houses...throwing stones...
#6 Nashville
on November 21, 2008 at 11:31 a.m.(Nashville, TN | Unverified Name)
<i>Clinton</i> is NOT a redneck? Are you insane. I have one of those special bottles of rum that has cigar wax sealed inside the bottle. I call it my special Lewinsky rum.
Also, once any redneck becomes a mayor, in that moment they become the sophisticate. REALLY?
Absurd.
#7 JDW
on November 21, 2008 at 11:31 a.m.(Marietta, GA | Unverified Name)
People refuse to admit that Palin had and still has more real-world business and executive experience than Obama. I'm no Palin zealot, but the constant omission of this FACT is puzzling. Many people, like one poster above, mentions how unqualified Palin was for the #2 slot, while never confessing their guy, even less qualified, but better on a teleprompter, got the #1 slot. Palin wasn't qualified for VP. Fine. She didn't get the job. But, by that measure, Obama isn't qualified for POTUS and you voted for him.
#8 Assistant Village Idiot
on November 21, 2008 at 11:44 a.m.(Concord, NH | Unverified Name)
I have heard the rationalizations of why people believe they "really" dislike Sarah Palin, but I don't believe they are generally true. I think Russ is on the mark and others here are deluding themselves. Those good and acceptable reasons for disagreement were part of the equation, but the cultural leakage was far greater. I base this conclusion on 1. what people actually wrote and said about her, 2. their inability to even slightly modify their views during discussion, 3. similar difficulties which were ignored in other candidates* (not only national) 4. tones of voice and choice of vocabulary when talking about her (I work in the all-progressives field of mental health), and 5. refusal to criticise even vile attacks on her.
People want to believe the best about their own motives and the worst about their opponents'. Self-honesty cures that, campers.
* Here in NH, Sen John Sununu had 30+ IQ points (literally) on his cipher of a (female, Democrat) opponent, but still lost badly.
#9 elHombre
on November 21, 2008 at 11:48 a.m.(Ashland, OR | Unverified Name)
Interesting. Even in the face of the obvious, which you have insightfully pointed out, a number of your readers still rationalize the stereotyping of Palin.
#10 Ben
on November 21, 2008 at 11:48 a.m.(Atlanta, GA | Unverified Name)
Totally agree with the last poster. In what way was she less qualified than Obama, who has NO foreign policy experience? Palin ran a state, Obama ran a neighborhood coalition. It's over and done with, but it still irks me that no one judged Palin on the actual facts, just on the narrative the media told us. So many things that everyone "knows" about her just aren't true. She didn't spend $150k on clothes (the RNC did), she didn't say she could see Russia from her house (Tina Fey did).... She did lead a successful life in business and then in politics all while raising a family that seems to have been raised fairly well (yeah, one kid is pregnant, but most 17 year olds are having sex, so I can't really blame the mother for this one).
#11 Kate
on November 21, 2008 at 11:54 a.m.(Saskatoon, Canada | Unverified Name)
Ahem.
This is the same MSNBC that published a photo of a U.S. Army captain killed during an assault on Falluja.
I think they should just stfu, now.
#12 Pacific NW Guy
on November 21, 2008 at 11:56 a.m.(Lewiston, ID | Unverified Name)
I agree with elHombre. It's the same stereotyping that Katie Couric tried to create in the "Gotcha" and "Edit out the thoughtfulness" interview that makes for comments like those from anonymous #2.
#13 southdakotaboy
on November 21, 2008 at 11:56 a.m.(White, SD | Unverified Name)
My sister in law was a perfect example of this kind of thing. Even when I showed her the facts about Palin she still made fun of her. She even admitted that there was no basis for her to do so and that it was not rational.
#14 Tom Paine
on November 21, 2008 at 11:58 a.m.(Louisville, KY | Unverified Name)
A bigot is a bigot is a bigot.
The anti-Palin crowd delude themselves that they've got "good reasons" to hate her.
But they're really just lefty bigots.
#15 Steve S.
on November 21, 2008 at 12:03 p.m.(Arlington, VA)
Russ, I think you're right on target. The "qualification" argument never held any water, and the "dumb hillbilly" epithet even less so. There's an old saying that "There are none so blind as those who will not see", and it applies to the anti-Palin rhetoric. My worry is that the awful vitriol and hatred is moving more mainstream and normal. Where will that lead us? To the Taliban and the Mahdi army? It's only a difference of degrees!
#16 SWLiP
on November 21, 2008 at 12:04 p.m.(Miami, FL | Unverified Name)
Funny how several commenters here have proven Mr. Wung's point. The media decided to portray Sarah Palin as unqualified, and that's the image that stuck, despite that fact that, objectively speaking, she was no less qualified than the junior senator who was at the top of the opposing ticket.
And yes, the myths about her being able to see Russia from her house (she said that you could see Russia from one of Alaska's islands, but I guess that was too nuanced for the media and our betters on the coasts) and wanting to teach creationism in schools (she never said that) have persisted. I wonder why?
#17 Trey
on November 21, 2008 at 12:27 p.m.(Atlanta, GA | Unverified Name)
Well, as you can see from the comments, your work is cut out for you! As a redneck, I can tell you that we just shake our heads about the costal superior types. It is not difficult to feel justified in our approach to life, just contrast the rust bucket superior minded progressives made of the North with the thriving automobile industry we backwards rednecks have in Tennessee, much less the South.
Actually, we kind of enjoy being misunderestimated. Good luck getting our guns though!
Have a nice day.
Trey
#18 Susanna C.
on November 21, 2008 at 12:28 p.m.(Birmingham, AL)
Good job, Russ. I agree with much of what you had to say, and the supporting comments handled the naysayers nicely. However, I must beg to differ with the comment that "redneck" is about a blue-collar lifestyle. The term "redneck" arises from the fact that farmers wear hats in the field so their faces are pale but the back of their necks are red from frequent sunburn. It is meant to be a sneering accusation of small-minded, ignorant provincialism, and would be applied only to those in rural or suburban contexts. They don't have to be blue-collar workers or farmers to earn that label; just a non-urban white person who holds traditional values.
And race does come into it, because you won't hear a black person being called a redneck. A black person with the same moral and political values that are sneered at in a white redneck would be called a "self-hater" or "Uncle Tom". Of course, all of these terms are served up with mean-spirited intent by the self-proclaimed "tolerant" liberals in our society. I would be interested to see what words they use when they are being "intolerant".
Those of us who come from redneck country - for me, eastern Kentucky in the foothills of Appalachia - have come to embrace the term "redneck" with affectionate amusement. We recognize that those who use it with ugly intent are incapable of making clear arguments for their views over ours, so they try to convey that superiority is a natural corollary of their belief system and does not have to be proven independently. That way you don't have to compare apples to apples (Obama's work history vs Palin's), but apples to wingnuts (Obama with an elite education and an urbane manner vs Palin with a hunting license and a brood of younguns). It's good to see that those elite educations are instilling strong analytical and argumentation skills amongst our society's superior beings.
#19 KenB
on November 21, 2008 at 12:29 p.m.(San Antonio, TX | Unverified Name)
How can any sentient being say "I opposed Sarah Palin because she was unqualified, so I voted for Barack Obama." Barack is not more qualified than she. It's just that he's more urbane than she, and many people feel more comfortable with urbanity. Fine, but urbanity is not a quailification for the presidency.
#20 James Bass
on November 21, 2008 at 12:29 p.m.(Thousand Oaks, CA | Unverified Name)
Sarah Palin is green on foreign policy, but at least she has potential for growth. Joe Biden, on the other hand, has 35 years experience and is a dope. He ain't gettin' any smarter.
He was wrong about bringing down the Soviet Union, wrong on the Gulf War, wrong on the surge, wrong about partitioning Iraq.
During the VP debate, he cited an event that never happened -- Hezbollah being ousted from Lebanon. But Joe sounds good to people who cannot/won't think, and that includes most of the media.
#21 tsj017
on November 21, 2008 at 12:31 p.m.(Milwaukee, WI | Unverified Name)
And once again, we see the anti-Palin smears being invoked as absolute truth.
"her belief that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science classes"
Please cite for us an example of when she's said that, or governed as if that was her policy.
You can't. Because she hasn't.
On a message board, I had someone tell me--about a week after her pick, when most of us had never heard of her--with absolute conviction, "Sarah Palin hates intellectual freedom."
Wha? Based on WHAT? Well, actually, based on nothing, apart from the froth-flecked ravings of the Republican-hating left.
But it's TRUE, you know.
One more thing: The argument that Palin clearly wasn't qualified but the at-least-as-inexperienced Obama WAS qualified is, frankly, stupid. There's no logic to that at all.
#22 Vinny Vidivici
on November 21, 2008 at 12:34 p.m.(Doylestown, PA | Unverified Name)
I never bought the 'qualifications' critique, either.
In 2004, Veep nominee John Edwards, a former one-term Senator, had no executive or foreign policy experience.
Ditto for Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter (during the Cold War, fer chrissakes).
Ditto for Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton.
But Alaska Governor Sarah Palin . . .
#23 Ray W.
on November 21, 2008 at 12:35 p.m.(Brooklyn, NY)
As a business owner, and a political executive at the local and state level, and a fairly successful one at all of the above, Palin was woefully unqualified to be VP of the United States. Yet a single term US senator with little to no executive experience outside of his campaign was qualified to be President. Four years before that, John Edwards, a single term senator with no other governmental experience was qualified to be VP (and maybe would've been the VP right now if he could've manage to not cheat on his sick wife), yet most of the people that trash Palin had no problem voting for that ticket.
#24 RR Ryan
on November 21, 2008 at 12:46 p.m.(Yorba Linda, CA | Unverified Name)
I'm a bit baffled by the problem some people have with the fact that Palin went to several colleges. Some members of my family did that and never seemed to receive any ciriticism for it. Of course, they were Ivy's and Seven sisters, so I guess that's different.
#25 Danny G.
on November 21, 2008 at 12:51 p.m.(Lawrenceville, GA)
Name me one Republican Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate or office holder who has not been portrayed in the media and pop culture as stupid, bumbling, or lacking social graces.
It is a tired old theme, but hey might as well stick with what works right?
Now that we are headed for the Clinton's third term I wonder how long before the media and pop culture get over their fawning of this president they selected.
The other big point is doesn't matter what opinion liberals have of Gov Palin, she is after all a conservative and therefore should only be concerned with how she is treated by conservatives. There is at least 35% of the people in this country that won't like her just because she has an (R) for political affiliation. No good reason needed.
#26 Azed
on November 21, 2008 at 12:54 p.m.(Monroe, WA | Unverified Name)
Let us leave the state then. Eastern Washington can become the State of Jefferson or Madison. There's no reason you guys should have to pay for us dumb rednecks any longer.
#27 Sundog
on November 21, 2008 at 1:19 p.m.(Cary, NC | Unverified Name)
"This unfortunate dumbing-down played into the stereotypes fostered by regionalist bias — she doesn’t talk like us, likes guns, doesn’t agree with our politics and comes from a rural background; ergo, she’s a stupid redneck."
In other words, the coastal liberals -- who pride themselves on being enlightened, broadminded, tolerant, and cosmopolitan -- revealed that they are actually narrow-minded, parochial, xenophobic bigots whose view of anyone outside their hermetically sealed leftist bubble is based entirely on ignorance and prejudice. Predictably, they respond with mindless hatred to anyone who isn't exactly like them.
#28 quo vadis
on November 21, 2008 at 1:41 p.m.(None, None | Unverified Name)
Definitely a lot of irrational double standards being applied to Ms. Palin by her critics. I have no problem with criticisms of her positions on issues, but for people who believe Obama is qualified to be President to claim Palin is not qualified to be VP is ridiculous.
She got where she is on her own, without powerful family like Clinton and Pelosi and without the advantages that Harvard connections give. The way she was treated by the media and the various pundits is appalling.
#29 Newagegop
on November 21, 2008 at 1:57 p.m.(Orlando, FL | Unverified Name)
I have no doubt that Sarah Palin didn't personally know enough about foreign policy to be President. Thankfully she was running for Vice-President.
I also have no doubt that Obama is not simply ignorant about foreign policy, taxes, energy policy, education policy, and social policy he is clearly wrong. Despite his attendence at an ivy league school he never managed to learn what economic system worked. He seems not to realize nuke power, oil, coal, ect. all need to be exploited as energy policy is a nation security issue. He missed the class that examined why the 10 worst urban education systems have been run by democrats since the 70's.
Sarah Palin may be ignorant concerning some issues, but Alaska is the only state not currently in a recession. My guess is that the U of Idaho must have had a class on capitalism and Sarah showed up. Obama on the other hand allegedly has a mind and its being wasted terribly.
#30 Marc R.
on November 21, 2008 at 1:58 p.m.(Kissimmee, FL)
Honestly! We let the rednecks run the country for the past 8 years. They told "us" to take our latte and arugala and get stuffed -- they knew how to run the country best.
They got their boy into power, they shopped for NASCAR paraphenalia, they got their war, and now the country looks exactly like we snobby elites said it would if we let the Clampetts take care of it.
Redneck rule is over now, thank god. It isn't prejudice to hate them. It is the exact opposite -- we gave them a trial run. We said, "go ahead Peckerwood-America, here are the keys to the car, you drive!" They drove, they brought the car back with a wrecked transmission, seized engine, and spray paint all over it.
No, it is not prejudice. It is a post-screw up indictment of all that this "culture" brings to the political stage. Rednecks belong in jobs where you wear a smock, like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. They are good at those jobs. Leave running the country to people who believe in evolution (because their family trees have experienced it) and think that education and intelligence are positive things. There is a place for the rednecks -- but that place is behind the wheel of a tow truck, or selling snow machines, or working at Cracker Barrel... not running the country.
#31 Tennwriter
on November 21, 2008 at 2:09 p.m.(Fairview, TN | Unverified Name)
Um, Palin is the frontrunner for 2012.
...Thrown under the bus?????
Well, we do have a few ignorant bigots in our party that would like to do so, but we're hard at work at clearing out them out.
#32 George
on November 21, 2008 at 2:14 p.m.(Richardson, TX | Unverified Name)
#18 Susanna C has the origins of the term "Redneck" wrong. The red is blood, not sunburn. It has more to do with the rural culture of Scotch-Irish origin, skeptical of authority, fighting for a set of self-reliant strong individual values.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck
"...Many of the Covenanters signed these documents using their own blood, and many in the movement began wearing red pieces of cloth around their neck to signify their position to the public. They were referred to as rednecks..."
#33 Heather
on November 21, 2008 at 2:15 p.m.(Hopkinsville, KY | Unverified Name)
The Bush administration is full of REDNECKS? I'm sorry, the last I heard it was full of neocon Jews.
The left did not give anyone the keys to anything. C**p. We shoved Bush into the driver's seat and the dems spent the last 8 years trying to wrench the wheel away while screaming "You never let me drive! Go left! Go left!".
Go. to. Hell.
#34 Jeff Foxworthy
on November 21, 2008 at 2:22 p.m.(Chicago, IL | Unverified Name)
If you have degrees from both Yale and Harvard, you might be a redneck.
#35 George
on November 21, 2008 at 2:25 p.m.(Tacoma, WA | Unverified Name)
The comments here demonstrate the point better than any essay can. The Palinophobes need to look in the mirror. But they won't.
#36 Sundog
on November 21, 2008 at 2:55 p.m.(Cary, NC | Unverified Name)
Marc R. could be the poster child for the bias that Russ was describing in his column. There's not a single original thought anywhere in Marc's comment, just a mindless recitation of stereotype-cliches: NASCAR, Clampetts, Wal-Mart, tow trucks, Home Depot, inbreeding, Cracker Barrel . . . I don't believe I have ever seen a more effective case of hate indoctrination in my entire life. Clearly, Marc R. has no firsthand knowledge of actual resident of Middle America, since all of his attacks on them are based on sitcoms, slogans, and bumper stickers. But he hates them anyway.
And he's trying very hard to convince himself that his hatred is OK. "It isn't prejudice to hate them," Marc says. "No, it is not prejudice." You're not really talking to us, are you, Marc?
#37 Ross
on November 21, 2008 at 3:06 p.m.(Kearney, NE | Unverified Name)
Russ,
Nice post. If some of your commenters did not exist you would have to make them up. They certainly do a great job of reinforcing your point.
#38 Sundog
on November 21, 2008 at 3:07 p.m.(Cary, NC | Unverified Name)
"I'm a bit baffled by the problem some people have with the fact that Palin went to several colleges."
Yes, and these are the same people who will make fun of you if you haven't traveled abroad. Apparently, living all of your life in one place and not being exposed to other cultures and societies is a BAD thing. But where your education is concerned, isolation suddenly becomes GOOD. For best results, you should quarantine yourself in one university for your entire academic career. God forbid that you should ever have any diversity in your studies.
#39 Vinny Vidivici
on November 21, 2008 at 3:08 p.m.(Doylestown, PA | Unverified Name)
Marc R.:
I'm afraid your sneer is showing. What ludicrous hyperbole.
Your comment is either pitch-perfect parody or a perfect illustration of Mr. Wung's point.
Rule by a self-annointed elite -- just what the Founders had in mind.
By all means, enjoy living on your knees before whatever superiors intimidate you sufficiently -- pedigreed bureaucrats, public opinion polls conducted by The Guardian, 'What Not To Wear' fashionistas, whatever. Just don't expect the rest of us to join you.
#40 Bob Hoskins
on November 21, 2008 at 3:22 p.m.(Hancock, NH | Unverified Name)
I have to laugh at the leftists who talk about "Sarah Palin's inexperience" but who had no problem putting the most inexperienced man in history into the White House for the next four years.
Talk about sexist double standards. I guess it's okay to be sexist if you're a liberal and the person you're voting for is a half-black man.
Hypocrites.
#41 Your Mom
on November 21, 2008 at 3:26 p.m.(Chicago, IL | Unverified Name)
The same people alleging Palin has no foreign policy knowledge didn't know (Zogby)that the democrats controlled congress and voted for two guys, neither of whom has any executive experience; one thinks there are 58 states in the union and the other thinks we threw Hezbollah out of Lebanon. (He's the one with gravitas, remember?) They are good at argumentless claims. Why don't they let Biden speak more? He was such a joke that to distract attention from his gaffes they had to hide him from the public and try to find something about Palin to ridicule. After infinite trash digging they found...nothing.
#42 Tim H
on November 21, 2008 at 3:50 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
Russ...stop it. Your faux-anti-intellectualism is really irritating sometimes, especially when you us it to be such a cynic.
You need to stop repeating the mantra of "the liberal media abused Sarah Palin" while dismissing the fact that when the McCain campaign first rolled her out, the media LOVED her. She was a big hit in St. Paul, and completely ate up several media cycles in a row, effectively stomping out any coverage of Obama's acceptance speech the night before. She was called a game-changer and a brilliant pick by people who you wouldn't exactly call conservative.
No, it wasn't us coastal latte-sipping "snobs" who destroyed Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin destroyed Sarah Palin. Anyone who watched Katie Couric's interview pretty easily reached the conclusion that this person simply was not qualified to potentially be President. Stop crying foul, for the love of God. That narrative is so old. If anything, blame the McCain campaign; they were the ones who wouldn't allow her to talk to the press for TWO WEEKS after her nomination. That's an unprecedented limitation of access, and when she finally did speak we all saw why they didn't want her to. It had nothing to do with the media deciding she was a redneck, it had to do with people realizing that her selection was as dangerous as it was cynical. Come on Russ, you're smarter than this.
The public's choice not to support Sarah Palin had little to do with any "abuse" from the media, and you know it. Come on. If you want to talk about redneck stereotypes, George W. Bush is the de facto poster child, and he still won two terms in office. So stop whining about media treatment when you don't get the results you want.
Palin inherited a state that was already running on a surplus because it has so much oil money. It had nothing to do with any policy she ever enacted, and the reason she had such a high approval rating was because she levied a windfall tax on the oil companies and gave everyone in Alaska a personal check, something a Democrat could never get away with without being called a socialist. So, please. Stop distracting from the issue. The country made a rather decisive choice for president, and instead of constantly crying foul that liberals somehow played dirty, I really think your time as conservatives would be better invested figuring out what the GOP did in the last 8 years to so badly tarnish and abuse their brand, and how you are going to fix it. It's an internal philosophical debate you need to be having, not a debate about blaming others for supposedly having an anti-redneck complex. For the sake of having a healthy two-party system, even a progressive such as myself thinks that's a discussion you need to be entertaining, not this silly culture war crap.
#43 Anna Keppa
on November 21, 2008 at 4:14 p.m.(Belmont, MA | Unverified Name)
Arrogant leftist a-holes such as Marc R are always bringing up evolution as some sort of crushing evidence of enlightened liberal rationality vs. troglodytic conservative mindlessness --- never mind that millions of working class Roman Catholics, traditionally Democrats, are very skeptical of Darwinism. (For the record, I'm thoroughly in Darwin's camp)
Anyway, Marc R(ich?)'s cruel putdown gives the left an undeserved pass on rationality.
Who is it who believes w/o evidence that expensive organic foods are healthier?
Who arranges their furniture according to the rules of Feng Shui? How about Harmonic Convergence, Pyramid Power and all the other New Age Nostrums? How about homeopathy and chiropractic, two utterly crackpot "alternatives" to real science, real medicine? Aromatherapy? Auras? Chi?
Puh-LEEEZE.
Then of course, there's the left's childlike faith in that Old Time Religion known as socialism. You know, the quasi-religious doctrine that completely violates the precepts of Darwinism by attempting to change human nature. Rational people know this cannot be done. But not liberals: they cling to a discredited evolutionary idea called Lamarckism, which basically said that if you leave rats in a cold room their whole lives, their offspring will have longer, thicker fur.
BZZZZTTTT!!!!!
So yeah, liberals have a lock on rationality--- except when they are utterly irrational whackjobs, which is most of the time.
#44 AndreainNY
on November 21, 2008 at 4:22 p.m.(Scarsdale, NY | Unverified Name)
What I always find amusing is the complete lack of introspection by the people who claim they are smarter than half the American population.
Really?
If they knew how bigotted they really sounded, they'd be embarrassed. Perhaps they need some tolerance training? LOL
#45 JAL
on November 21, 2008 at 4:33 p.m.(Penrose, NC | Unverified Name)
Making a deal for a $26 to 40 billion natural gas pipeline which involved Alaska, citizens, unions,the AOGCC, Canada (I think Palin knew it wasn't the 51st state), environmentalists, oil companies (she did piss them off some, I'ver heard), probably the EPA, XYZ, and heaven knows who else.... is something not one of the other candidates could come close to.
My guess is her plan is to stay put in Alaska and get that thing under way before she heads out on her next serious mission. Then they can dust off the old lines.
But it won't work twice.
#46 KJ
on November 21, 2008 at 6:12 p.m.(Missouri City, TX | Unverified Name)
Don't worry about it Russ, we don't care what ya'll think.
#47 gjg
on November 21, 2008 at 6:57 p.m.(Lake Bluff, IL | Unverified Name)
Let's see. I grew up in Connecticut, went to Middlebury (if you have to ask, boy, are you a redneck) have a Ph.D.(Molecular Genetics), live in Lake Forest (again if you have to ask, you must live in a trailer), exhibit my paintings and like wine and cheese. I must be a redneck because I'm not in love with the guy from Chicago that didn't even author a single piece of legislature (oh, by the way, all the bills he submitted were written by Emil Jones). It doesn't matter anyway because The Mayor (Richie Daley for you uninformed) has now become THE MAYOR! Barry Obama does not need a bit of executive experience, it will all come from THE MAYOR! The Chicago Way will rule the world.
#48 ArkansasTraveler
on November 21, 2008 at 8:02 p.m.(Kansas City, MO | Unverified Name)
Are you people crazy?! Who the bleep cares about qualifications, Sarah Palin was a blithering idiot in almost every non-scripted interview she ever did during the campaign. Even when she had a certain point, the woman couldn't put together a complete sentence. You must be delusional to think it was "media-bias". Were they rough on her, maybe even too rough? Yeah. But if she were half way articulate they never would have been to that degree. They all loved her after her RNC speech. It wasn't until she started spouting nonsense that they really turned on her. Seriously, I worry about you folks. And I don't give a rat's ass how much experience Obama does or doesn't have. At least the man can put together a subject and a verb. This is just crazy.
#49 White Boy
on November 21, 2008 at 8:05 p.m.(Smithtown, NY | Unverified Name)
Isn't the title of the article sort of like: "Time to do away with bias against n-gg-rs"
#50 quo vadis
on November 21, 2008 at 10:17 p.m.(None, None | Unverified Name)
The media put Palin through a wringer and gave gaffomatic Biden a complete pass. The great orater Obama isn't very good when deprived of his teleprompter either.
Palin had a month to prepare for a nationally televised debate against a Senator with 30 years experience and she held her own. Put yourself in her place. And people say she's stupid? Outrageous!
#51 josil
on November 22, 2008 at 12:14 a.m.(Oceanside, CA | Unverified Name)
After reading all the comments, if they are somewhat representative of Washington voters, it's hard to understand why WA fell for Obama, much less re-electing your governor. Unless, of course, King County became creative with the votes again.
-an ex-Washingtonian
#52 Nolanimrod
on November 22, 2008 at 12:34 a.m.(Geneva, NY | Unverified Name)
I see by the general tone of the comments that y'all are way too smart for me. I don't even know what cigar wax is.
#53 moptop
on November 22, 2008 at 5:53 a.m.(North Hero, VT | Unverified Name)
"If they knew how bigotted they really sounded, they'd be embarrassed"
They can't know it. They would have to do hard work, as in honest self examination. They wont. I am not worried about this happening.
#54 Bill Dalasio
on November 22, 2008 at 9:35 a.m.(Brooklyn, NY | Unverified Name)
Mr. Wung,
Thank you. That was perhaps one of the more brilliant pieces I've see on the internet in long while. Like you, I'm perhaps the personification of the coastal elite - live and work in the NYC financial community, married to an actress, had two gay guys in my wedding party, etc. etc. The treatment of Gov. Palin by the media and by many of our peers is a disgace. Here is someone of notable integrity and intelligence who was treated like a buffoon simply because she "talked funny" and didn't conform to the presumption of a subcultural group that is engaged in masterbatory orgy of presumed superiority. Honestly, I wish her all the best in the future. If the coastal elites want to maintain their role in the world, they'd be well advised to learn that the "rednecks" are oftentimes the meat upon which our position is based.
#55 jmang
on December 11, 2008 at 2:12 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name)
Well, this turned into an echo chamber awfully fast.
Where did all of you wingnuts come from, anyway? Did Drudge or Free Republic link to this article?
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