Dana Milbank: "I'm declaring February a Palin-free month. Join me!" - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Willravel · 01-21-2011, 02:01 PM

Quote:

I'm declaring February a Palin-free month. Join me!
By Dana Milbank
Friday, January 21, 2011

Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth. I have a Sarah Palin problem.

I have written about her in 42 columns since Sen. John McCain picked her as his presidential running mate in 2008. I've mentioned her in dozens more blog posts, Web chats, and TV and radio appearances. I feel powerless to control my obsession, even though it cheapens and demeans me.

But today is the first day of the rest of my life. And so, I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin - in print, online or on television - for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February. With enough support, I believe we may even be able to extend the moratorium beyond one month, but we are up against a powerful compulsion, and we must take this struggle day by day.

I came to this inner strength by trusting in a power greater than myself: my former Washington Post colleague Howie Kurtz, now with the Daily Beast. A week ago, on his CNN show, "Reliable Sources," I was complaining about the over-coverage of Palin when I found myself saying that "the best thing would be - it's impossible, of course - that we in the media should declare some sort of a Sarah Palin moratorium."

It's impossible, I figured, because Palin is a huge source of cheap Web clicks, television ratings and media buzz. If any of us refused to partake of her Facebook candy or declined to use her as blog bait, we would be sending millions of Web surfers, readers, viewers and listeners to our less scrupulous competitors.

The media obsession with Palin began naturally and innocently enough, when the Alaska governor emerged as an electrifying presence on the Republican presidential ticket more than two years ago. But then something unhealthy happened: Though Palin was no longer a candidate, or even a public official, we in the press discovered that the mere mention of her name could vault our stories onto the most-viewed list. Palin, feeding this co-dependency and indulging the news business's endless desire for conflict, tweeted provocative nuggets that would help us keep her in the public eye - so much so that this former vice presidential candidate gets far more coverage than the actual vice president.

We need help.

I found some hope in last Sunday's New York Times, where columnist Ross Douthat said it is time for the media and Palin to "go their separate ways" and for the press to "stop acting as if she's the most important conservative politician in America."

Let's take it one step further. I call on Douthat (who has mentioned Palin in 21 of his Times columns since 2008, according to a Lexis-Nexis search, and in scores of blog posts) to join my moratorium - thereby forming a bipartisan coalition of The Post and the Times. I challenge columnists Eugene Robinson (33 Palin mentions), Paul Krugman (14), Kathleen Parker (30) and Maureen Dowd (45) to do the same.

I also call on Keith Olbermann (345 shows mentioning Palin) and Rachel Maddow (183 shows) of MSNBC, as well as Sean Hannity (411 Palin segments) and Bill O'Reilly (664 segments) of Fox News, to take the pledge. Will Politico - with 96 Palin items in the past month alone - join this cause? Will the Huffington Post, which had 19 Palin mentions on a single day last week - stand with me?

Palin clearly isn't going away: "I am not going to sit down. I'm not going to shut up," she told Hannity on Monday. But if we treat her a little less like a major political figure and a little more like Ann Coulter - a calculating individual who says shocking things to attract media attention - it won't matter. Sure, we might lose some Web traffic or TV ratings, but we might also gain something. Remember the "Seinfeld" episode where George Costanza, by giving up sex, suddenly frees up brain power to learn Portuguese and Euclidean geometry, to teach Derek Jeter the physics of batting, to become a "Jeopardy" whiz and to solve a Rubik's cube? If we stop obsessing over Palin, we might suddenly become experts in the federal budget or Medicare reimbursement rates.

And so I pledge to you: Sarah Palin's name will not cross my lips - or my keyboard - for the entire month of February. Who's with me?

I'm declaring February a Palin-free month. Join me!

I, for one, am with Dana Milbank. I'd like to learn Portuguese and Euclidean geometry instead of simply reaffirming for the millionth time that Sarah Palin is an attention-hungry fool. Talking about one more Palin story adds nothing to the national dialog, solves no problems, and generally just wastes everyone's time. Short of some truly new or different information, talking about her only serves to feed the troll, and as internet forum savvy as I have likely become in over 6 years of TFP and others, I know it's never a good idea to feed the troll.

So who else is down for taking a step back and re-prioritizing your political interests to phase out Sarah Palin, at least for the month of February? I'm hoping CNN, MSNBC, and other major media outlets will get in on this, too.

Cimarron29414 · 01-21-2011, 02:07 PM

I plan on creating one new Sarah Palin thread every day in February - just to test your sincerity. The obsession, whether good or bad, which people have over her is pathetic.

Tully Mars · 01-21-2011, 02:13 PM

And to prove their obsession is "pathetic" you're going to start a new thread about her everyday? Umm, yeah that makes sense.

Cimarron29414 · 01-21-2011, 02:17 PM

No, I'm obsessed with proving how silly this is...and I'm not actually going to do it. Sheesh.

Tully Mars · 01-21-2011, 02:23 PM

Knock yourself out, sounds silly to me. But so does reporting every time she posts a new face book update. Bottom line is the major new outlets can stop reporting on her all they want, her audience isn't there anyway. She sticks to Fox and the net as her outlet, she's not really trying to gain support rather rally existing support.

hunnychile · 01-21-2011, 02:30 PM

Wish we could declare a Palin-Free decade.

Willravel · 01-21-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cimarron29414

I plan on creating one new Sarah Palin thread every day in February - just to test your sincerity. The obsession, whether good or bad, which people have over her is pathetic.

Trolling is against TFP rules.

Tully Mars · 01-21-2011, 02:52 PM

He changed his response to my post to include "...and I'm not actually going to do it. Sheesh." So I see no possible future trolling to worry about. Plus only after he created a thread could it be determined whether or not it's trolling. With the amount of "news" Ms. Palin generates he could very likely create a valid thread every day.

Cynthetiq · 01-21-2011, 03:25 PM

Weird.

My months are always Sara Palin free, as they are also Glen Beck free, and Rush Limbaugh free.

It's not much different for me than any other brand. I know it exists, and I sometimes hear about features and debacles, but for the most part, if it wasn't for the headline itself, I'd probably not ever know about it.

Baraka_Guru · 01-21-2011, 03:51 PM

It'd be different if we were were talking about Paris Hilton instead of Sarah Palin. Hilton doesn't have much of an impact on the fate of American politics.

Redlemon · 01-21-2011, 04:20 PM

I've noticed that the more Sarah Palin there is in the news, the less Ann Coulter we get. I'm not sure if the tradeoff is worth it, however.

fresnelly · 01-21-2011, 06:27 PM

I wish there was a contemporary, PC alternative for "Tar Baby" because that's what iconic reality stars like Palin are. You are drawn to them for the spectacle but can't pull yourself off of them and the more you poke at them the more you get stuck.

These days I'm going with "Tar Pit": a tourist attraction that is fascinating but all devouring.

I'm sensing a general pull away from her on a broader level than just her haters these days. I think the ~~crosshairs~~ surveyors mark controversy pushed this a bit, but what I really think she's suffering from is market saturation and a lack of new "content" and Washington activity.

The Republicans have some clout again yet she's not truly part of it. She's competing with other pundits now more than the President.

Cimarron29414 · 01-22-2011, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willravel

Trolling is against TFP rules.

Trolling??? You have GOT to be kidding me. This entire thread is a troll! There's no room for discussion here. It's your declaration to ignore another human for a month, and you asking others to do so. That's not a thread. It's a troll.

Good for you, Will. "Knock yourself out". Wait, is that violent rhetoric? Murder in discourse? Meh, Tully said it first.

roachboy · 01-22-2011, 09:00 AM

i prefer my reality show characters less packaged. that's why i go for celebrity rehab.

i think it would be interesting to organize a consumer boycott of all cable "news" outlets, starting of course with fox. let them go white. like a blister in the sun. and so forth.

Tully Mars · 01-22-2011, 01:34 PM

I think you guys need to look up what "troll" means.

Cimarron29414 · 01-22-2011, 01:38 PM

Yeah, well, I thought I knew until Will accused me of it.

dc_dux · 01-23-2011, 08:41 AM

If Sarah Palin expects to be a national leader, she needs to stop whining that everyone is picking on her.

And stop with the ignorant notion that criticism of her remarks is somehow an infringement of her right to free speech.

The same for her followers here....when she suggests that liberals are enemies of the country, or mischaracterizing the health care law or tweeting other inflammatory statements, others have a right to criticize her.

Tully Mars · 01-23-2011, 09:01 AM

It's not very "leader like" to run around yelling "why is everybody always picking on me?" Wonder how people would resound if Obama spent anytime bitching about how the "birthers" won't leave him alone?

Baraka_Guru · 01-23-2011, 09:04 AM

Palin prefers classifying criticism as infringements rather than addressing them. She prefers softball interviews on Fox News and using the vehicle of social media to avoid the prying of the "lamestream" media.

She prefers these things because it sidesteps her responsibility to own up to her methods, and they provide a smokescreen to protect her positions from those who oppose them. No, this isn't characteristic of a national leader...but what characteristics of leadership did George W. Bush have before his two terms as president?

We don't need a Palin-free month. We need to demand the real journalists out there to keep doing what they're supposed to do. They need to keep doing their jobs despite the other noise that goes on.

dc_dux · 01-23-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

....

We don't need a Palin-free month. We need to demand the real journalists out there to keep doing what they're supposed to do. They need to keep doing their jobs despite the other noise that goes on.

Absolutely.

When Palin goes on Hannity's show and complains that her critics want to "shut up dissent" and thus "destroy our Republican"....she needs to be taken to task for her ignorance of what free speech is all about.

Tully Mars · 01-23-2011, 09:09 AM

Yeah, I kind of feel Milbanks move was a cop out. Instead of standing to her and reporting the facts he's simply shying away from the whole issue. As you stated previously- it's not like she's Paris Hilton and has no effect on the political climate of the country. She has a rather larger following and thus reporters ignoring her really makes no sense.

Baraka_Guru · 01-23-2011, 09:26 AM

The thing about Palin is that she has a high profile for a number of reasons. A big reason is that she came from nowhere (well, Alaska) to become a candidate for the vice presidency. She came to the spotlight at a time when the Tea Party came into the spotlight. She has essentially aligned herself with them, and so you get this individual who has popularity, has a high media profile, and is supporting a high-profile political movement during a high-profile economic/political upheaval in the U.S.

Also, take a look at the recent poll numbers regarding support for the GOP presidential nomination:

Code:

Mike Huckabee   18.2% 
Mitt Romney     18.1%
Sarah Palin     16.6%
Newt Gingrich   12.4%
Ron Paul         5.6% 
Tim Pawlenty     4.1% 
Mitch Daniels    2.8% 
Haley Barbour    2.3% 
Mike Pence       2.3% 
John Thune       1.7%

I fail to see how Palin truly matters so little that we should stop talking about her for a month. I can see this as a personal exercise in your own relationship with consuming and publishing within the media, but I don't see the wider application within the public and within the practices of the media.

If anything, most of the attention she gets is deserved. If anything, Huckabee and Romney should be getting more attention than they are. But the thing to understand is that this isn't just about political positions and plans for the presidency; it's also about how you communicate that and engage in the political environment.

Palin's methods get her a lot of attention. To look away is like looking away from a train wreck. Well, maybe it's more like looking away from a runaway train that just might wreck itself.... Should we look away from that?

ASU2003 · 01-23-2011, 10:50 AM

One month...I would say she has nothing more important to say than any other citizen until 2012.

filtherton · 01-23-2011, 11:41 AM

Sarah Palin doesn't actually produce anything but hot air for the empty balloon that is the political media apparatus. Ignoring her for a month would be a useful reminder of how little she actually matters to the vast majority of people.

aceventura3 · 01-25-2011, 08:55 AM

Within minutes after the AZ shootings were being widely reported in the media, Palin stated that her phone and her husbands phone started ringing asking her for some kind of reaction, then the media used her "target" map as evidence of how the use of supposedly violent imaging contributes to people prone to violence going over the edge. Palin did not volunteer to be thrust into the middle of the AZ controversy, media outlets were beside themselves to inject her into it and I would argue for their ratings.

Millions of Youtube videos get posted every day, almost all get no mass attention, when Palin posted hers, I was interested because I am a fan and supporter, there was absolutely no reason for anyone else to view it, nor make it national news for the weeks that followed.

I watched the Fox News interview because I was a fan and supporter, there was absolutely no reason for anyone else to watch the interview.

I simply wonder why all the pretense? If I thought she was ignorant/idiot/insignificant/out of touch/media whore/or whatever, I wouldn't think twice about what she had to say, why do you folks care?

As it stands today Palin would be a fringe candidate in the Republican Party and if she did pull off a miracle and get the nomination she would be going up against a President with a very high popularity rating even during a deep recession, during war, with a 9% unemployment rate. Obama is also moving to the middle, he has a Republican House that he can blame problems on so his popularity is likely to go up - that as a given why even worry about Palin? I don't get it, can anyone please explain this...before 1/31/2011?

roachboy · 01-25-2011, 08:59 AM

palin is a fringe far right candidate.
there's nothing to explain.

aceventura3 · 01-25-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roachboy

palin is a fringe far right candidate.
there's nothing to explain.

I disagree, explanation is needed. On TFP-Politics, lately, there has been more interest in Palin than any other topic. I understand why I am interested and comment, why do you? Is it typical for you and others to waste time and effort on what is "fringe", if so why?

Baraka_Guru · 01-25-2011, 09:05 AM

ace, are you saying that Palin's YouTube production and the Hannity interview were meant to be featured as a part of the Sarah Palin Fan Club™?

aceventura3 · 01-25-2011, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

ace, are you saying that Palin's YouTube production and the Hannity interview were meant to be featured as a part of the Sarah Palin Fan Club™?

Yes. We have been through this in another thread. She has no interest in appealing to a broad audience - she says and does what she believes is the right thing to do and say. She is not "political", the way many professional and polished politicians are and believe they have to be. If at the end of all this her popularity is 1%, it would not bother her.

But you have not addressed my questions.

Baraka_Guru · 01-25-2011, 09:29 AM

I think my head asplode.

dc_dux · 01-25-2011, 09:42 AM

Palin has said as recently as a month or so ago that she is considering running for President....and that she believes she can beat Obama.

That makes her newsworthy and a person of interest in any political discussion....despite her increasingly higher negatives each time she opens her mouth.

She's been a whiner since her first flubbed interview with Katie Curic at the start of the last campaign.

And yet, the aces of the world still see her as a victim...go figure.

Tully Mars · 01-25-2011, 10:11 AM

I just watched the whole Curic interview again and kept thinking "Wow, this person was really almost a heart beat away from the oval office?!?!" Just plain freaking scary. I really would not be interested in her at all if she didn't manage to get so many people to support her, the major issues she had no clue about is simply staggering.

roachboy · 01-25-2011, 10:15 AM

ok then...let's think about this, shall we. putting aside ace's bizarre-o take on things as a first step of course. the right has a brand identity problem. almost every aspect of their ideology has been pulverized by the realities that conservative ideology hath wrought. confronted with a clinton-style centrist in obama, they reverted to clinton-period form and began to systematically lie about obama's politics. because that's how those paragons of personal responsibility roll. when they're in trouble strategically, start lying. do it early and often. lather rinse repeat. you know the drill. thanks to the conservative-dominated supreme court decision that corporate persons are people too and that those person's free speech "rights" are compromised by campaign limits, and thanks to infighting amongst the reactionary set which presumably didn't find michael steele to be fascist enough, the tea party way born.

palin (tm) is simply a figure-head used by the right to keep the teabaggers mobilized.
this as the momentum they putatively had going into the last elections was dissipated by reality--the tea party elected versions of the same old same old reagan-period milty-freidmany degenerates. and the money people wouldn't have it any other way.

so palin (tm) is never going to get elected president. she knows it. you know it. everyone except maybe aceventura knows it.

she's making bank being a shill for the republican establishment. her function is to help them maintain such grassroots energy as there is amongst the neo-fascist tea party set.

the people who run the show on the right know that the worst thing they could do to themselves is let palin run for anything.

insofar as the tucson shooting were concerned, the only reason i was interested at all in what sarah palin (tm) had to say was a function of what a debacle it was. i thought it was funny. i still think it's funny.

what it reveals, however, is more interesting: the right can't respond. if they loose initiative in a news cycle environment, they collapse. they are only adapted to the funhouse where their's are the only voices. this is a very basic weakness. the way to adapt to that would be to impose an authoritarian media environment.

conservative incompetence should save us from that.

Baraka_Guru · 01-25-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roachboy

the right has a brand identity problem. almost every aspect of their ideology has been pulverized by the realities that conservative ideology hath wrought. confronted with a clinton-style centrist in obama, they reverted to clinton-period form and began to systematically lie about obama's politics. because that's how those paragons of personal responsibility roll. when they're in trouble strategically, start lying. do it early and often. lather rinse repeat. you know the drill.

I think this sums up well the current situation the right faces. If they know any better, they know that Obama's taking a page out of Clinton's book of politics is going to cause them serious problems with regard to how the public views Democratic vs. Republican perceptions of effective governance, especially with regard to the economy from 2008 and onward.

So you have Democrats in power having done what they could to prevent an economic collapse now trying to do what they can to steer the ship to gentler waters. However, with the recent surge in Republican power, the GOP has an opportunity to either a) enable Obama as a Clinton-style centrist appropriator or b) become obstructionists in both communication (media propaganda) and practice (stop or undo Democrat initiatives). Unfortunately, the way the Republicans (as you would say, comrade) "roll" is to be destructive rather than above board. I guess they too learned from Clinton's playbook and wish not to let that sort of thing happen again. It's just unfortunate that the only alternative seems to be steeped in reactionary politics.

Quote:

thanks to the conservative-dominated supreme court decision that corporate persons are people too and that those person's free speech "rights" are compromised by campaign limits, and thanks to infighting amongst the reactionary set which presumably didn't find michael steele to be fascist enough, the tea party way born.

palin (tm) is simply a figure-head used by the right to keep the teabaggers mobilized.
this as the momentum they putatively had going into the last elections was dissipated by reality--the tea party elected versions of the same old same old reagan-period milty-freidmany degenerates. and the money people wouldn't have it any other way.

I think the so-called obsession over Palin is more a concern over a wider scope of American politics. It's not just about Palin; it's about Palin, the Tea Party movement, the Republicans doing their best to raise Reagan from the dead. It's an interest in watching how neocon neolibs flail about with this recent economic upheaval and the political fallout thereafter.

Quote:

[...]

what it reveals, however, is more interesting: the right can't respond. if they loose initiative in a news cycle environment, they collapse. they are only adapted to the funhouse where their's are the only voices. this is a very basic weakness. the way to adapt to that would be to impose an authoritarian media environment.

conservative incompetence should save us from that.

I'm disappointed in American conservatism these days. Do you think it's maybe because it's shifted too far right and has left too much of the "conservative proper" behind?

As a contrast, just recently, PM Harper marked his fifth year as a minority leader. It's the longest minority government in Canadian history. There are a number of factors at play as to why this has happened. Minority governments don't normally last very long, most often not even lasting a full four-year term. Harper's staying power, however, has a lot to do with being a shrewd politician. He happens to be intelligent and knows how to play the limits to get what he wants within what's reasonable given the political environment.

Canadian conservatism differs from American conservatism in that no matter how crazy Canadian conservatives might appear to be, they always seem to be rooted in reason and accountability. Although I disagree with their politics, I must say I respect their approach to politics. They're not perfect, and they often do things that I strongly disagree with, but at least they do it in such a way that doesn't test my perceptions of reality.

As a Canadian, what I see in the U.S. has entertainment value. The kind of shit that happens south of the border just doesn't happen here. I do primarily have an interest in American politics, given that America plays such a huge role in Canadians lives; however, I tend to see much of what goes on and watch as though it were some kind of reality show.

aceventura3 · 01-25-2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dc_dux

Palin has said as recently as a month or so ago that she is considering running for President....and that she believes she can beat Obama.

If you asked me the question, I would respond the same way. It should not surprise anyone that Palin would keep her options open. And if a person like Palin, believes Obama is wrong for the future of the country, of course that person would believe they can win by making their case. But, your response is diversionary, there are scores of people considering a run for President who have a stronger resume than Palin - not to mention the need to over come a resignation from political office.

Quote:

That makes her newsworthy and a person of interest in any political discussion....despite her increasingly higher negatives each time she opens her mouth.

Come now, there is more to this. You don't talk about Chuck Baldwin of the Green Party, isn't he is going to run?

I think many of you fear Palin. I think many of you realize that she is a serious contender who can actually pull it off. I think her strategy borders on genius. She is developing a solid foundation of die-hard supporters, like me. There is a level of enthusiasm for her candidacy that I have not had since I was in college. If she can leverage her die-hard core she might just pull it off, although it is a long-shot. but as long as she is in it, I am with her and if she decides to just enjoy life in AK I would still be proud having supported and defended her.

Quote:

She's been a whiner since her first flubbed interview with Katie Curic at the start of the last campaign.

Look at it this way - if you go around poking a rattle snake with a stick, and the rattle snake bites - who is the victim?

---------- Post added at 11:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tully Mars

I just watched the whole Curic interview again and kept thinking "Wow, this person was really almost a heart beat away from the oval office?!?!" Just plain freaking scary. I really would not be interested in her at all if she didn't manage to get so many people to support her, the major issues she had no clue about is simply staggering.

What I find amazing, and what I respect is not where she started but where she is now and how she has grown. The woman is a winner. To go from being a mom from Wasila, to being in the national lime light overnight with no credential or special training, support or coaching is amazing. It takes special character to come back from that interview the way she did. It takes something else special to basically end her political career by resigning as Governor, to still be feared as contender for President. It is truly amazing, and then to think people need to make special proclamations to stop talking about her....???

filtherton · 01-25-2011, 03:15 PM

Come on. Nobody fears a Palin candidacy.

aceventura3 · 01-25-2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roachboy

palin (tm) is simply a figure-head used by the right to keep the teabaggers mobilized.

Obama keeps Tea Party people mobilized. With or without Palin the Tea Party will be a force for the next election. Also Palin hitched her wagon to the Tea Party (based on a shared view on the issues), not the other way around. Anyone paying attention would know that.

Quote:

so palin (tm) is never going to get elected president. she knows it. you know it. everyone except maybe aceventura knows it.

Dude, i assumed she retired from politics when she resigned as Governor. I thought her plan was to sell some books and make speeches here and there. I also felt that she earned the right to profit from her notoriety given the viciousness of the attacks against her. And even now I think the odds of her becoming President are pretty small. It would take a little effort to understand the difference between the level of enthusiasm I would have for her running and what I would actually expect.

Quote:

she's making bank being a shill for the republican establishment.

This statement clearly illustrates a lack of understanding of what is going on in the Republican Party. The Republican party establishment sees Palin like Superman sees kryptonite. I don't think you know what you are talking about on this issue.

dc_dux · 01-25-2011, 03:24 PM

ace....you're tripping all over yourself to defend Palin's victim mentality.

Comparing her to yourself and/or a Green Party candidate running for President? Neither you nor Chuck were a VP candidate for a major political party.

Then, in the next breath, you suggest she is a serious contender. So is she like Chuck Baldwin or is she a serious contender. You cant have it both ways, ace.

As to her need to overcome a resignation from public office, focusing on improving one's understanding of, and ability to articulate, public policy issues would have been more effective than becoming a shallow talking head....not writing your top three national policy issues on your hand..or complaining incessantly about the so-called media elite out to get you.

aceventura3 · 01-25-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by filtherton

Come on. Nobody fears a Palin candidacy.

The reason I don't routinely comment on Ralph Nader is because I don't take him seriously. The reason I routinely comment on Obama is because I fear what he will do. That is me. Like I said I don't understand the rest of you, it make no sense to me and so far no one has made any type of a serious attempt to explain it in a manner that a simple guy like me can comprehend. Do I need a secrete decoder ring?

dc_dux · 01-25-2011, 03:37 PM

ace....so you are moving away from the comparison to Chuck Baldwin while suggesting at the same time that "I think many of you realize that she is a serious contender who can actually pull it off"....to Ralph Nader, who was a serious candidate at one time and was covered by the press accordingly, making the case for media coverage of Palin.

More tripping, ace.

I do see one potential Nader comparison.

If the Republicans nominate someone like Romney or a similar corporate conservative rather than a Huckabee or a hardcore social conservative, then the possibility of Palin as a third party, Tea Party, candidate becomes possible....given that she has suggested she would consider running as a third party candidate...which, again, makes her newsworthy.

She has two choices....either come out and say NO and I am not running for President under any circumstances and make the big bucks selling books or step up and act like a potential candidate and not a victim continually sniping from behind facebook and twitter or on Hannity's (her best bud) show.

01-21-2011, 02:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cimarron29414 Still Free Location: comfortably perched at the top of the bell curve!	I plan on creating one new Sarah Palin thread every day in February - just to test your sincerity. The obsession, whether good or bad, which people have over her is pathetic. __________________ Gives a man a halo, does mead. "Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."

01-21-2011, 02:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	And to prove their obsession is "pathetic" you're going to start a new thread about her everyday? Umm, yeah that makes sense. __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-21-2011, 02:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cimarron29414 Still Free Location: comfortably perched at the top of the bell curve!	No, I'm obsessed with proving how silly this is...and I'm not actually going to do it. Sheesh. __________________ Gives a man a halo, does mead. "Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."

01-21-2011, 02:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	Knock yourself out, sounds silly to me. But so does reporting every time she posts a new face book update. Bottom line is the major new outlets can stop reporting on her all they want, her audience isn't there anyway. She sticks to Fox and the net as her outlet, she's not really trying to gain support rather rally existing support. __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-21-2011, 02:30 PM	#6 (permalink)
hunnychile Alien Anthropologist Location: Between Boredom and Nirvana	Wish we could declare a Palin-Free decade. __________________ "I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

01-21-2011, 02:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	He changed his response to my post to include "...and I'm not actually going to do it. Sheesh." So I see no possible future trolling to worry about. Plus only after he created a thread could it be determined whether or not it's trolling. With the amount of "news" Ms. Palin generates he could very likely create a valid thread every day. __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-21-2011, 03:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	Weird. My months are always Sara Palin free, as they are also Glen Beck free, and Rush Limbaugh free. It's not much different for me than any other brand. I know it exists, and I sometimes hear about features and debacles, but for the most part, if it wasn't for the headline itself, I'd probably not ever know about it. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

01-21-2011, 03:51 PM	#10 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	It'd be different if we were were talking about Paris Hilton instead of Sarah Palin. Hilton doesn't have much of an impact on the fate of American politics. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

01-21-2011, 04:20 PM	#11 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	I've noticed that the more Sarah Palin there is in the news, the less Ann Coulter we get. I'm not sure if the tradeoff is worth it, however. __________________ I can't read your signature. Sorry.

01-21-2011, 06:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	I wish there was a contemporary, PC alternative for "Tar Baby" because that's what iconic reality stars like Palin are. You are drawn to them for the spectacle but can't pull yourself off of them and the more you poke at them the more you get stuck. These days I'm going with "Tar Pit": a tourist attraction that is fascinating but all devouring. I'm sensing a general pull away from her on a broader level than just her haters these days. I think the ~~crosshairs~~ surveyors mark controversy pushed this a bit, but what I really think she's suffering from is market saturation and a lack of new "content" and Washington activity. The Republicans have some clout again yet she's not truly part of it. She's competing with other pundits now more than the President. __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

01-22-2011, 09:00 AM	#14 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	i prefer my reality show characters less packaged. that's why i go for celebrity rehab. i think it would be interesting to organize a consumer boycott of all cable "news" outlets, starting of course with fox. let them go white. like a blister in the sun. and so forth. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite

01-22-2011, 01:34 PM	#15 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	I think you guys need to look up what "troll" means. __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-22-2011, 01:38 PM	#16 (permalink)
Cimarron29414 Still Free Location: comfortably perched at the top of the bell curve!	Yeah, well, I thought I knew until Will accused me of it. __________________ Gives a man a halo, does mead. "Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."

01-23-2011, 08:41 AM	#17 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	If Sarah Palin expects to be a national leader, she needs to stop whining that everyone is picking on her. And stop with the ignorant notion that criticism of her remarks is somehow an infringement of her right to free speech. The same for her followers here....when she suggests that liberals are enemies of the country, or mischaracterizing the health care law or tweeting other inflammatory statements, others have a right to criticize her. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire

01-23-2011, 09:01 AM	#18 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	It's not very "leader like" to run around yelling "why is everybody always picking on me?" Wonder how people would resound if Obama spent anytime bitching about how the "birthers" won't leave him alone? __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-23-2011, 09:04 AM	#19 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Palin prefers classifying criticism as infringements rather than addressing them. She prefers softball interviews on Fox News and using the vehicle of social media to avoid the prying of the "lamestream" media. She prefers these things because it sidesteps her responsibility to own up to her methods, and they provide a smokescreen to protect her positions from those who oppose them. No, this isn't characteristic of a national leader...but what characteristics of leadership did George W. Bush have before his two terms as president? We don't need a Palin-free month. We need to demand the real journalists out there to keep doing what they're supposed to do. They need to keep doing their jobs despite the other noise that goes on. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

01-23-2011, 09:09 AM	#21 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	Yeah, I kind of feel Milbanks move was a cop out. Instead of standing to her and reporting the facts he's simply shying away from the whole issue. As you stated previously- it's not like she's Paris Hilton and has no effect on the political climate of the country. She has a rather larger following and thus reporters ignoring her really makes no sense. __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-23-2011, 09:26 AM	#22 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Some perspective The thing about Palin is that she has a high profile for a number of reasons. A big reason is that she came from nowhere (well, Alaska) to become a candidate for the vice presidency. She came to the spotlight at a time when the Tea Party came into the spotlight. She has essentially aligned herself with them, and so you get this individual who has popularity, has a high media profile, and is supporting a high-profile political movement during a high-profile economic/political upheaval in the U.S. Also, take a look at the recent poll numbers regarding support for the GOP presidential nomination: Code: Mike Huckabee 18.2% Mitt Romney 18.1% Sarah Palin 16.6% Newt Gingrich 12.4% Ron Paul 5.6% Tim Pawlenty 4.1% Mitch Daniels 2.8% Haley Barbour 2.3% Mike Pence 2.3% John Thune 1.7% I fail to see how Palin truly matters so little that we should stop talking about her for a month. I can see this as a personal exercise in your own relationship with consuming and publishing within the media, but I don't see the wider application within the public and within the practices of the media. If anything, most of the attention she gets is deserved. If anything, Huckabee and Romney should be getting more attention than they are. But the thing to understand is that this isn't just about political positions and plans for the presidency; it's also about how you communicate that and engage in the political environment. Palin's methods get her a lot of attention. To look away is like looking away from a train wreck. Well, maybe it's more like looking away from a runaway train that just might wreck itself.... Should we look away from that? __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 01-23-2011 at 09:30 AM..

01-23-2011, 10:50 AM	#23 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	One month...I would say she has nothing more important to say than any other citizen until 2012.

01-23-2011, 11:41 AM	#24 (permalink)
filtherton Junkie Location: In the land of ice and snow.	Sarah Palin doesn't actually produce anything but hot air for the empty balloon that is the political media apparatus. Ignoring her for a month would be a useful reminder of how little she actually matters to the vast majority of people.

01-25-2011, 08:55 AM	#25 (permalink)
aceventura3 Junkie Location: Ventura County	Within minutes after the AZ shootings were being widely reported in the media, Palin stated that her phone and her husbands phone started ringing asking her for some kind of reaction, then the media used her "target" map as evidence of how the use of supposedly violent imaging contributes to people prone to violence going over the edge. Palin did not volunteer to be thrust into the middle of the AZ controversy, media outlets were beside themselves to inject her into it and I would argue for their ratings. Millions of Youtube videos get posted every day, almost all get no mass attention, when Palin posted hers, I was interested because I am a fan and supporter, there was absolutely no reason for anyone else to view it, nor make it national news for the weeks that followed. I watched the Fox News interview because I was a fan and supporter, there was absolutely no reason for anyone else to watch the interview. I simply wonder why all the pretense? If I thought she was ignorant/idiot/insignificant/out of touch/media whore/or whatever, I wouldn't think twice about what she had to say, why do you folks care? As it stands today Palin would be a fringe candidate in the Republican Party and if she did pull off a miracle and get the nomination she would be going up against a President with a very high popularity rating even during a deep recession, during war, with a 9% unemployment rate. Obama is also moving to the middle, he has a Republican House that he can blame problems on so his popularity is likely to go up - that as a given why even worry about Palin? I don't get it, can anyone please explain this...before 1/31/2011? __________________ "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch." "It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions on vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion." "If you live among wolves you have to act like one." "A lady screams at the mouse but smiles at the wolf. A gentleman is a wolf who sends flowers." Last edited by aceventura3; 01-25-2011 at 08:58 AM..

01-25-2011, 08:59 AM	#26 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	palin is a fringe far right candidate. there's nothing to explain. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite

01-25-2011, 09:05 AM	#28 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	ace, are you saying that Palin's YouTube production and the Hannity interview were meant to be featured as a part of the Sarah Palin Fan Club™? __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

01-25-2011, 09:29 AM	#30 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	I think my head asplode. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

01-25-2011, 09:42 AM	#31 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	Palin has said as recently as a month or so ago that she is considering running for President....and that she believes she can beat Obama. That makes her newsworthy and a person of interest in any political discussion....despite her increasingly higher negatives each time she opens her mouth. She's been a whiner since her first flubbed interview with Katie Curic at the start of the last campaign. And yet, the aces of the world still see her as a victim...go figure. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire

01-25-2011, 10:11 AM	#32 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	I just watched the whole Curic interview again and kept thinking "Wow, this person was really almost a heart beat away from the oval office?!?!" Just plain freaking scary. I really would not be interested in her at all if she didn't manage to get so many people to support her, the major issues she had no clue about is simply staggering. __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

01-25-2011, 10:15 AM	#33 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	ok then...let's think about this, shall we. putting aside ace's bizarre-o take on things as a first step of course. the right has a brand identity problem. almost every aspect of their ideology has been pulverized by the realities that conservative ideology hath wrought. confronted with a clinton-style centrist in obama, they reverted to clinton-period form and began to systematically lie about obama's politics. because that's how those paragons of personal responsibility roll. when they're in trouble strategically, start lying. do it early and often. lather rinse repeat. you know the drill. thanks to the conservative-dominated supreme court decision that corporate persons are people too and that those person's free speech "rights" are compromised by campaign limits, and thanks to infighting amongst the reactionary set which presumably didn't find michael steele to be fascist enough, the tea party way born. palin (tm) is simply a figure-head used by the right to keep the teabaggers mobilized. this as the momentum they putatively had going into the last elections was dissipated by reality--the tea party elected versions of the same old same old reagan-period milty-freidmany degenerates. and the money people wouldn't have it any other way. so palin (tm) is never going to get elected president. she knows it. you know it. everyone except maybe aceventura knows it. she's making bank being a shill for the republican establishment. her function is to help them maintain such grassroots energy as there is amongst the neo-fascist tea party set. the people who run the show on the right know that the worst thing they could do to themselves is let palin run for anything. insofar as the tucson shooting were concerned, the only reason i was interested at all in what sarah palin (tm) had to say was a function of what a debacle it was. i thought it was funny. i still think it's funny. what it reveals, however, is more interesting: the right can't respond. if they loose initiative in a news cycle environment, they collapse. they are only adapted to the funhouse where their's are the only voices. this is a very basic weakness. the way to adapt to that would be to impose an authoritarian media environment. conservative incompetence should save us from that. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite

01-25-2011, 03:15 PM	#36 (permalink)
filtherton Junkie Location: In the land of ice and snow.	Come on. Nobody fears a Palin candidacy.

01-25-2011, 03:24 PM	#38 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	ace....you're tripping all over yourself to defend Palin's victim mentality. Comparing her to yourself and/or a Green Party candidate running for President? Neither you nor Chuck were a VP candidate for a major political party. Then, in the next breath, you suggest she is a serious contender. So is she like Chuck Baldwin or is she a serious contender. You cant have it both ways, ace. As to her need to overcome a resignation from public office, focusing on improving one's understanding of, and ability to articulate, public policy issues would have been more effective than becoming a shallow talking head....not writing your top three national policy issues on your hand..or complaining incessantly about the so-called media elite out to get you. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire

01-25-2011, 03:37 PM	#40 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	ace....so you are moving away from the comparison to Chuck Baldwin while suggesting at the same time that "I think many of you realize that she is a serious contender who can actually pull it off"....to Ralph Nader, who was a serious candidate at one time and was covered by the press accordingly, making the case for media coverage of Palin. More tripping, ace. I do see one potential Nader comparison. If the Republicans nominate someone like Romney or a similar corporate conservative rather than a Huckabee or a hardcore social conservative, then the possibility of Palin as a third party, Tea Party, candidate becomes possible....given that she has suggested she would consider running as a third party candidate...which, again, makes her newsworthy. She has two choices....either come out and say NO and I am not running for President under any circumstances and make the big bucks selling books or step up and act like a potential candidate and not a victim continually sniping from behind facebook and twitter or on Hannity's (her best bud) show. __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire Last edited by dc_dux; 01-25-2011 at 03:46 PM..