Here are some snippets from Alaska Republican leaders:
State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to give her the news.“She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?” said Green, a Republican from Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. “Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?” […]
State House Speaker John Harris, a Republican from Valdez, was astonished at the news. He didn’t want to get into the issue of her qualifications.
“She’s old enough,” Harris said. “She’s a U.S. citizen.”
3 comments:
But, but, all those cool blogs are jazzed about her!
Kidding aside, we musn't assume that Rove and his protege have completely lost their minds.
Sure, on any objective level, Palin is a disaster. But let's try to get inside Rove's head (scary thought.)
Karl seems to like working with complete ciphers. This candidate is unencumbered. On one level, it's a challenge for him. On another level, it is most satisfying, ego-wise, for him to take very minimal, raw ingredients and post a strong result.
The GOP has succeeded politically in recent years by constructing alternate, imaginary realities instead of coming to grips with pesky actualities. For Rove to pull in his horns would signal retreat and failure. Better to set sail boldly into the ether and deny observers any connection to reality as we know it.
The generally right-wing-oriented corporate media seems to have been taken aback by this development. They have dropped their masks in incredulity for likely a brief interval.
Soon, though, the correct tack will become clear and they will collectively say, wait, there is more to this woman, let's not be hasty.
After all, political orientation aside, the media has a vested interest, ratings-wise, in the race not being a foregone conclusion. This dovetails with the big media bosses' preference for a GOP-dominated government.
So I expect them to regain their equilibrium shortly and find much of interest in Palin. Her good looks don't hurt in this "Entertainment Tonight"-styled media environment.
As a bonus, Palin is a full-bore creationist, global warming-denying anti-aborionist. This will energize the "base" as much as is possible at this late date.
Though revving up the base barely eked out a win in 2004, and is likely insufficient by itself this election, the other elements in play at least guarantee a shot.
At the worst, Karl hopes to give the Dems a run for their money. With this pitiful pair of candidates, to make it close would count as a triumph of sorts.
And with the Dems in power, the GOP could focus on rewriting history to make Dems responsible for the hideous results of conservatism given its head.
The GOP is excellent at propaganda, if nothing else.
OK, maybe my assumption was wrong. Maybe the GOP has lost its mind... and given a bunch more lawyers gainful employment with the brewing Palin fiasco.
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