Have we seen the likes of Sarah Palin before?
Asked by
ljs22 (
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)
October 20th, 2008
In trying to comfort a friend of mine (both of us are experiencing The Rage over Palin’s recent comments seemingly bashing those of us who don’t live in small towns), I said “well, we’ve seen the likes of her before.” What I wanted to communicate was that America had dealt with people like her before and it wasn’t curtains. But have we? I’d love to know if some of our history savvy flutherites can tell me about past figures that Palin brings to mind. Tell me we’ve met her before (so to speak) and sent her back to Alaska. Thanks.
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12 Answers
Dan Quail. Equal parts cluelessness and arrogance to voice that they are so ready for a job that it is impossible to be ready for and not really knowing what the job is anyway.
No, none come to my mind. All the women I’ve ever known have aspired to be exactly the opposite.
Sarah Palin is similar in her populist appeal and divisiveness to George Wallace.
The real American shit reminds my of Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism.
* A note : You can love something and think it can be better. The two can coexist.
I agree jp. I think a real “patriot” is someone that loves his country so much they want it to be better all the time. It’s called progress. Wearing a flag on your lapel means shit.
Reminds me of a guy who we once knew named Dan Quayle. Here are some of his nuggets of wisdom right here
Palin is no different than George W Bush (with lipstick)....completely incurious, just a “regular person” who reminds people of a friend or a cousin, has no real political knowledge or particular interest, particularly in foreign affairs and is willing to spew forth reheared Republican talking points, has a very “hick” way of speaking, can’t pronounce nuclear, and seems to be driven entirely by Evangelical Christian ideology. Maybe not all that comforting considering what W hath wrought, but consider that without W, Obama wouldn’t even be possible, so there is ALWAYS a silver lining.
Now that I’ve let loose of the thought that I was searching for female counterparts, I’ll support jp’s nomination of Joe McCarthy. However as bad as he was, I’m more afraid of Palin’s potential for wreaking greater havoc in our society. She seems to have a lot of popular support.
She reminds me very much of a half-as-smart, pale imitation of Mike Huckabee, as well.
How about Molly Brown?
She’s got that urban charm, but she’s also brighter than she lets on.
I also like this comparison because she is most famous for being on a sinking ship.
Dan Quayle once said, “I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy—but that could change.” Well… at least the last four words were prophetic. He was not unlike a bag of painted hammers.
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