And the bankrupt intellectual tradition continues.
Over at The Weekly Standard, the Neo-Cons rejoice with glee over the Palin nomination, which makes as much sense as the nomination itself. "She turned me into a Newt" Gingrich states that this pick represents the "authenticity" that Obama-Biden does not as she relates to the common people since she played basketball, hunts, and is a hockey mom; she reformed Alaska, even as Troopergate hangs over her head. Read: she is a real religious conservative.
Stephen F. Hayes writes how unconventional the pick is. And when you think about it, the selection of a white, evangelical, Pro-Life, anti same-sex marriage, hunter is a very unconventional pick for a Republican. McCain could have selected Joe Lieberman, a Pro-Choice, Jewish Democrat-- a pick that would have challenged the Religious Right and the Conservative base and still made "sense" in terms of the War on Terror, remember that? However, as you can see, McCain bucked tradition with the selection of Palin, to advance its own form of identity politics. But this time it is better because she's a woman; her family represents her faith.
Rather than select Romney, wait the base would not approve of that choice. Rather than select Pawlenty, which would fulfill the desires of the base and nomiate someone who is known nationally, he chose Palin, a person that McCain met with only once before she was vetted. I wonder...I know it is for Palin's support, no rejection, no her keeping of money even though she eventually would not support the "Bridge to Nowhere." Nope, it is solely to attract the "Hillary" voters. And the best way to attract these voters is not to offer them policies they desire or represent their interests, but to nominate a woman.
Next on the list is William "more sophist than Plato" Kristol. He writes that in opposing the Pick of Palin, "liberals" will, "appeal, sometimes explicitly, to anti-small town and anti-religious prejudice. All of this will be in the cause of trying to prevent the American people from arriving at their own judgment of Sarah Palin." Kristol may be correct on this as there is absolutely nothing else on which to criticize. Since she has very little experience and there are few examples in which we can question her judgment, though Troopergate comes to mind, we can only wonder if she speaks in tongues and why conservatives believe religious tests are necessary for office.
Strangely enough, I must have missed the part where Kristol discussed her judgment to lead the country during the War on Terror and how her qualities represent that judgment. It must have been on the third page of a two page article.
Only Charles "I want war and I want it now" Krauthammer questions the pick because it ends the "is Obama ready to lead" argument.
The more I think of this pick, the more I despise the pick, especially the way in which the Republicans have destroyed the country since March of 2003. This pick is a symbolic end to the war on terror as it admits that judgment on foreign policy is not necessary as a prerequisite for office. This pick means that the existential threat of terrorism matters only in relation to winning an election. This pick means that the religious qualification is more important that knowing something about Iraq and Islam. There is no legitimate argument for the War on Terror if your number two person expresses no judgment on how to conduct the war and, consequently would not be able to conduct the war from day one. Appease the base and G-d will provide, I guess. Non-Republicans knew this, even if independents were to scared to vote for a Non-Republican. But this selection is more banal than banal; it represents the failure of War on Terror as it argues for how unnecessary it actually is.
The Neo-Cons love the pick because they know with McCain and Palin they will have two empty vessels to fill with noble lies; two people with no knowledge on the difference between a Shia and Sunni; two people that will follow ideological pursuits regardless of empirical consequences. Like they did with the Bush administration, the NeoCons can rely on the executive to make the world safe for Democracy even if spreading Democracy occurs from the barrel of a gun. This is the consequence of religious tests, faith-based realism, and the noble lie. This is what happens when education concerns whether or not there is prayer in public school rather than understanding the world.
And they way in which McCain is using Palin to advance an argument seriously disrespects Palin and reveals an arrogance that is unmatched. For McCain, Palin represents the argument if you object to a VP because of little experience you must then object to a President. Judgment does not matter for the presidency, only experience in terms of who has been elected the most, right President Lincoln? No matter how many errors, no matter how lapses in judgment or ethics, no matter how many of John McCain's laws get struck down by the Supreme Court for violating constitutional standards, experience to some is the most important qualification. Even though it is almost impossible to vote an incumbent out of office and experience refers only to time in office, "experience" still matters to people as if it is self-evident qualification for office.
If Palin does not bring votes because she is a woman and does not energize the Religious Right because she speaks in tongues, then the inexperience that she represents may help diminish votes from Obama. This demeans Palin- you bring very little to the ticket except for conservative identity politics and the possibility you can attract "Hillary" voters. Affirmative action in the face of racial discrimination is one thing. This is a Religious Right Legacy Nomination, which is similar to a legacy admission for college, an affirmative action policy that conservatives ignore as it helps them.
This is another sign the McCain lacks the judgment to be president and, most likely, lacks the judgment necessary to be a US Senator. The election of McCain represents an existential crisis for this country. Even President Bush showed some limits; McCain has yet to show any limits. He will contradict his "honor" to win an election no matter how devastating it is for the county.
And just think, his motto is "Country First." The selection of Palin is a rejection of Country First. It is McCain first, as it always is.
In a sense, McCain is a maverick. Yet, it is not because he selected a woman; it is not because he selected an "authentic" member of the Religious Right. McCain is a maverick because he undercuts the War on Terror and the reason for his nomination in the first place. For a temporary increase in enthusiasm, he selects someone he undercuts McCain's argument for being a president in the first place.
It may just be the economy, stupid.
3 comments:
Love the Sunday Tour of the Assy McGee Class, and what they have to say. Kristol really is a piece of work: Just before the selection he was saying something altogether difference about the prospect....
One thought, turns out that Rhetorically and in the Short term, the Palin pick was, as you indicated in an earlier post, effective from McCain's perspective.
Certainly it created a buzz sufficient to drain off the possibility of Obama's dramatic cry, "ENOUGH!" lingering in the discourser.
More importantly, it put Us on defense as we wrap our heads around how to engage the selection. Because of the infuriatingly cynical attempt to exploit the Barack/Hillary Primary, our First Impulse was not oiur best--that is, to attack her along gender-charged lines.
But both of those advantages are only short term. Even if the thing with the State Trooper turns out to be nothing much (which Harrogate suspects it will--surely they're not THAT stupid), through the rest of the Fall Obama will succeed in continuing to frame this as about Ideology and about Judgment.
I think that attacking her because she is a "token" represents the failure, and hypocrisy, of the Conservative and NeoCon ideology, which has been governing this country.
It is not that she is inexperience or lacks judgment because she is a woman; it is that she lacks experience or judgment and she was chosen because she is a woman. Mr. Creation science himself, Gov. Pawlenty, would fulfill the criteria of the religious base but he was not selected for some reason.
But this pick represents the failure of the ideologically and partisan driven war on terror. This means that the election is not going to be about any issue, because McCain will avoid all talk of the economy, and cannot bring about experience and Iraq; this election will be just about identity politics and supporting the base, G-d help us all.
This legacy pick mocks the system in the way that PUMA mocks the system. This is the culmination of identity politics, and we should be proud.
Remember when people argued that the Clarence Thomas pick represented the culmination of Identity Politics?
Sadly, some things never culminate, it seems.
What we facr today is a caricature that, like all potent caricatures, quite seriously reveals the seamy underside of the thing it openly mocks.
yay. We are looking at the very real possibility of Palin getting her hands on the Whole Shabang. In terms of there being a World for our Children to Inherit, at all, McCain/Palin is as scary as it gets.
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