CON GAMES: Sarah, We Hardly Knew Ye

September 2nd, 2008 at 04:57am Michael Conniff 2

The words I said to myself upon the ascension of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin were she’s too good to be true.

Hockey mom. Moose-stew maker. Hunter-fisher. Jogger. Mom. Wife. Governor. Right to lifer. Quintessential conservative. Did we mention Republican John McCain’s veep candidate has a 17-year-old daughter pregnant out of wedlock and a hubbie with a driving-under-the-influence conviction under his belt?

“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned,” Pallin said in a statement. “As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows that she has our unconditional love and support.”

Let me get this straight, kemosabe. Governor Palin tells no one she is pregnant with her fifth child until she is seven months pregnant. No one on her staff has any idea she’s pregnant because she doesn’t look pregnant with the boy born with Down Syndrome and called Trig. A picture showing her pregnant with first son Track in 1989 shows her to be closer to normalcy and as big as a house. Worth noting: the Republican Vice Presidential nominee consistently opposed teenage sex education in schools.

So the Gov’s response to rumors Bristol had the baby and she was covering up are that Bristol is pregnant now?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Bristol being four months pregnant now has diddly to do with whether Super Sarah had Trig to begin with. Not to worry. Steve Schmidt, a veteran of the Bush-Cheney campaign war room—and now McCain’s Karl Rove—said: “I think the American people will see this news and they’d have good wishes for the young lady and they’ll respect the privacy of the family.”

The Palin family certainly has my good wishes, but no amount of goodwill is going to change the fact that picking her as VP was a Hail Mary that looks like it will never be answered, and the last brick crumbling in the wall-ball of conservatism. Present a picture of perfection and you had better make sure it’s true—especially if you’re a member of a party so far Right that contraception for teenagers is considered a fringe idea. When someone from the Republic Party got up at the truncated Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and said: “We’re a party of mavericks”—I’m not sure Bristol Pallin is what he meant.

Entry Filed under: Politics, Con Games, Women

8 Comments Add your own

1. B Jon Traylor | September 7th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

Man, oh man... I don't know.... I watched both conventions. I was impressed by Palin, but know that someone wrote her a very good speach to read off the teleprompter. In my opinion, it was a very cunning political move by McCain.
Makes me wonder now what it would be like if Obama had named Clinton his running mate. She would chew up Palin like raw cud in a milk cow's mouth. But even so, Biden will do the same thing.
I honestly can't wait to see the two of them go head to head in the V.P. debate (I think there is just one, right?) Yet it also upsets me that McCain didn't pick someone with more experience.... and it worries me that if elected, he will be the oldest elected president in our history. What if he kills over? What would we have?... a nice lookin, smooth talkin' lady from Alaska whose government experience consists of a term as mayor of a town of 9,000 and two years as a governor? That scares the ever-livin'-beegeebies outta me.
I expected more, much more, from John McCain.
I consider his pick an insult. Is he really that out of touch with the American people? Does he really think we are THAT naive and stupid?
I like McCain, but when he got Karl Rove on board, his tune and his ads changed. However, due to all the above, I continue to like the Obama/Biden ticket much, much more, as I have all along.
I said from day one that Obama, if he won the primaries, should choose Biden. I was thrilled when I got the email on my phone in Reno that confirmed his choice. My buddy Patrick and I got it at the same time, and it was quite memorable... as we let out the shouts of joy (and there were others there who did the same) at the place we were at that night.
I just think McCain's choice is a very slippery move... more slippery than a cheap kmart condom.
2. Mitch Mulhall | September 8th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

Jon,

Your slippery condom reference and the Con Man's readiness argument notwithstanding, Sarah Palin will be Commander In Chief in four years.

Cheers,
3. reckless G | September 9th, 2008 at 9:58 am

I’m pretty good at spotting Neocon fingerprints in politics and policies, but I have to admit, I didn’t see this one coming. In retrospect of course it makes perfect sense, but only if you understand what is really at stake here and who is pulling the strings.

Note; Here is where anti-conspiracy theorists should stop reading.

The selection of Sarah Palin as McCain’s VP makes absolutely no sense except for a single scenario; the choice of a woman on the ticket will lure some Hillary supporters to vote McCain, which could make the voting results close enough that another election scam will be possible. Only a very close election can be easily manipulated. If the votes go overwhelmingly for Obama then no amount of shenanigans will change the fact that he would be our next president. So by offering a woman to those voters so stuck on electing a female to executive office that they would cross party lines to do so, the results could be close enough to cover up any election fraud.

But it couldn’t be just any woman. My prediction of Condoleeza Rice was errant because the fact that she is black would repel any Republican voters that still cling to their racism, a constituency located mainly in the Bible Belt. Sarah Palin appeals to white Christian conservatives that may have some doubt over McCain’s stance on issues important to them.

It couldn’t be anyone too experienced or politically savvy, because…and here we’re delving into conspiracy again, the Neocons need someone who is easily manipulated to do their bidding, someone ignorant of the Constitution and of foreign policy, and willing to embrace the idea that we are inextricably embroiled in a war of good and evil and we are so unquestionably righteous that we can make sweeping unilateral decisions to spy on, imprison, torture, and annihilate anyone we deem a threat.

This is why the Neocons chose Bush in the first place; they knew he was too stupid to figure things out for himself and would go along with anything they said. Sarah Palin is the same sort of animal; egomaniacal enough to want the position of power and idiotic enough not to question the motives and methods of the Neocon agenda. Granted, the Vice President doesn’t normally have the kind of power to lead the nation into trouble (except in the case of Cheney), but in the event that McCain doesn’t live through his term, the Neocons will have the exact same kind of puppet president they have in Bush. How convenient that would be for their agenda of perpetual war and looting.
4. Mitch Mulhall | September 9th, 2008 at 2:17 pm

[Neocons need someone who is easily manipulated to do their bidding, someone ignorant of the Constitution and of foreign policy, and willing to embrace the idea that we are inextricably embroiled in a war of good and evil and we are so unquestionably righteous that we can make sweeping unilateral decisions to spy on, imprison, torture, and annihilate anyone we deem a threat...]

Cheers,
5. reckless G | September 9th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

Wow! Kool-Aid for president! Oh yeah! Oh wait...

That's kinda like what we have now. The Neocon slogan should be; "Oh no! What have we done to this beautiful country?"
6. Mitch Mulhall | September 9th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

Cheers,
7. B Jon Traylor | September 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am

Reckless... I absolutely agree with and understand your comments here. See? I actually do agree with you at times. Sure, I think it was a cunning and smart choice for his campaign, and I understand the probable reason(s) he did it. But thats the simple reason I don't like the choice... I guess I just like how the system works. I know, I know... I live in pipe dreams at times... but .... oh well.
8. Mitch Mulhall | September 15th, 2008 at 11:12 pm

Oh, come on. This can't stop now, can it?

Cheers,