On "Caribou Barbie"

Andrew Sullivan, who I still suspect is closet Republican instead of the "recovering" one he claims to be, has a good article out about why we must continue to fight against Sarah Palin (who is now in the spotlight more than the man who defeated her, Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden; who would have thought that windbag* would surrender the cameras so easily?).

*I use the term "windbag" here good-naturedly; Biden's a great guy and will be a fine veep, but he can (and has) run his mouth too long without saying enough on occasions. Occasions like "days ending in the word 'day'."


Of late, Sullivan has had a lot of sound ideas and pleasing words, and keeping the heat on Palin to come clean (particulary on those medical records -- why is she hiding them?) is a noble cause. But I can't help but think, however, that he's not doing this for our benefit, he's doing it so Palin will be too wounded to assume a leadership role for the Republicans going forward. Which means he's really working for the good of the Republicans.

See, Democrats want nothing more than for Princess Mitzy Gaynor to take over the GOP; she'll run that bloated, flaming dirigible into the ground with the same guileless aplomb with which she has ruined a) Wasilla, b) her family and c) her state.

Oh, didn't you hear? They who live by the oil, die by the oil; oil prices are in the tank, so no fat refund cheque redistributing the wealth of the oil companies for you this year, Alaskans! Oopsie! Gosh darn it, doncha know! Oh, and for all the talkin' and non-sequiter-izin' she's been doin' lately, wouldn't ya know she hasn't yet managed so much as one word about the possibility that her Senator and Representative (yes, both of them!) will be expelled for various graft and corruption convictions.

If she wants to run the country, don't you think she ought to first figure out how to run a statewide election? We're ten days past Election Day and they're hoping -- hoping! -- to get a vote total out the door before Christmas. This isn't a recount, it's the first count. That's whatcha git for hirin' a bunch of hill-billas from Wasilla to do yer countin' for ya -- they're like Uncle Joe, he's-a movin' kinda slow at the Junction! Petticoat Junction!

Yes, that level of executive competence is just what America needs -- to keep Democrats in power for a generation or more, that is. Sullivan, in his article, still can't believe that after eight years of stupid, stupid is still as popular as Forrest Gump:

That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling. 46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural "identity". Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able to prevent it from happening again. And we have to find a way to prevent this from recurring.

There's your answer, Mr Sullivan: half of America is so brain-damaged they can barely work the remote on their teevee box, and will believe any obvious lie that's told to them provided it's shouted in a chipper voice couched in the language of artificial fear and urgency. Just ask Billy Mays , Karl Rove or anyone at Faux Noise.

How did this happen? Easy -- we let Republicans manage the public education system, and mingle church and state for most of the last 40 years. How do we prevent it? By keeping the religiously-retarded wing of the We Love Power But We Hate Governing Party the hell out of office for the next decade or two (at least).

The GOP should, by all rights, be exactly as big and powerful as Ross Perot's Reform Party or the Dixiecrats of yore on the national stage until they finally find their real roots, kick out the nutball social conservatives, and embrace the real Conservatism that made them -- at least up till Goldwater Reagan -- a viable, respectable, thoughtful and worthy opponent to the Democrats. Democracy depends on at least two such parties to function, and although the Dems may have "seen the light" and sworn off corruption for New Year's, that won't last forever. We need a real opposition, not the "Freedom to Shoot Randomly at Moose or People Dressed Like Moose From a Helicopter" Party.

Duh.