On Palin and the Real Republicans

We have much to thank Governor Sarah Palin for this morning. What we have seen is the soul of the Republican Party. Her speech, riddled with ridicule, sarcasm, condescension and spite (and they have the nerve to call us the “angry left”?) has let the cat out of the bag in terms of what is hiding behind McCain’s party.

The ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing, Palin’s “awe shucks” accent and diminutive stature did little to hide the ferocity of her demeanor. For the unbelievably homogenous crowd at the RNC, her speech was the proverbial “red meat” they desired. That meat was bloody Alaskan game, and the frenzy it produced was worthy of a discovery channel shark week special.

But the rest of us have something to thank her for as well. Because for some time, the Republican Party (the REAL Republican Party) had been uncharacteristically and reluctantly hiding behind the not so extremist views of their standard bearer McCain. For the most part, it was difficult to argue that McCain was a typical Republican, because he isn’t. It’s the reason he was getting luke warm support from his own party. Over the last few years, he’s been paddling his way back to the right-wing to get their support, and Palin is that guiding light to their shore.

Her personal family issues aside, Palin should scare this country out of its complacency in this election. Palin is a Buchannan disciple, and she has brought the culture war back into this race. She will try to bring back the old favorites to wrestle away the discourse from change – Democrats will raise your taxes, take away your guns, steal children from your wombs and have gays getting married in your living rooms. She attacked Obama with the glee of a high school cheer leading captain berating the chess club kid, favoring style over substance and going for crowd reaction over reality. The fact that she pounded on Obama so hard on being a “mere” community organizer in his 20’s (while she was doing what, PTA?) shows the callousness she and her party have of the efforts of others to help the very same people they try to say they identify with.

This is the Republican Party we’ve come to know and hate. To start, it reminds us of the hypocrisy of their cultural snobbery – the reason Palin’s daughter is of such interest to the media is not because they want to attack her kids, but because her pregnancy is such a glaring antithesis of Palin’s “abstinence only” stance of sexual education. It reminds me of Marcia Cross’s character in "Desperate housewives," who’s culturally conservative rigidity forced her to banish her gay son and "fake" a pregnancy to cover for her teenage daughter. I am not saying Palin did the same, but it shows how ironic and uncontrollable life can be to those who wish to control life so much.

The other reason Palin best reflects the Real Republicans, is because of their ability to confuse the debate with their cultural demagoguery so that voters will vote against their economic and social best interests in order to adhere to the fundamentalist code of right wing morality. They laud “service” as if no other party has ever served or died for this country. They shout “USA! USA!” not out of pride, but out of defiance, both to the world and to those who disagree with their beliefs, hijacking patriotism to conform to their limited view of what it means to be an American. They belittle the masses of people who are suffering under their watch and try to equate change in leadership with some type of apocalyptic scenario where people no longer “know their place” and “the good people of America” will be overrun. They are the first to wrap themselves in the flag as if the appropriation of those colors shields them from criticism or debate. They do the same with the military, hiding behind “supporting our troops” to assail those who would criticize them for placing these troops in harms way.

Best reflecting what is behind the horned-rimmed glasses are the speakers who warmed up the crowd, Huckabee, Romney, and my favorite hypocrite and political opportunist – Rudy Giuliani. Along with Palin, they now constitute the four horse men of the Republicans leading this new charge.

The problem is that many will not see past the mommy machine and the cute kids to what lies underneath. A work colleague of mind who I don’t consider overly conservative said his wife cried during her speech because she could relate to her as a mom. What? Being a mom is universal and all parties have them. The Nazis had moms. The fact that the Republicans flaunt this part of Palin but protect her from criticism by pulling the sexism card is typical hypocrisy, but may work in their favor. The media is scared and doesn’t know how to proceed, a position they were bullied into by the cadres of conservatives who last night openly mocked the only thing in this country that continues to keep the powerful in check in both parties. It is because of the press that the Republicans struggle, not because of bias, but because they shed light on the scandals, cronyism and ineptitude that came to characterize this administration and era of Republican leadership.

The challenge for the Democrats is that they must realize they no longer fight for the presidency but for the soul of this country. This is a tougher fight then they can imagine, one the Clintons (I feel) had anticipated all along. Now that Obama is the leader, those who support him need to show their true worth by not loosing focus and maintaining the energy and drive that brought him this far. Those who support Hillary must join the fray as equals, because they can best combat the Republican’s anti-intellectual, anti-media war. Hillary needs to join the fray – Obama needs her more than ever or he WILL lose Middle America. Biden will do his part no doubt, but Hillary is best suited to battle Palin for the hearts of the “working class,” (AKA "White folks").

As far as McCain is concerned, he has in essence, made himself irrelevant with his “maverick pick.” His party is no longer thinking of 2008, but of 2012, when they can promote their star cheer leader to the top spot. They can now truly ignore him (poor man) and focus on their moose hunter. Palin is the true reflection of their party, and we want to thank her for reminding us.