Yesterday I began covering former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as my beat for David Horowitz’s Newsreal blog. My post about her debut last night on The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News as a news analyst went live a couple of hours ago. It begins as follows:
From the first moment of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s debut as a Fox news analyst on The O’Reilly Factor last night, the deathknell began to sound for the Leftist meme that she is dishonest, not intelligent and not ready to be president of the United States.
Gov. Palin’s move to Fox News is a win-win because the leading cable news network now has a telegenic and eloquent insider with a proven ability to generate high ratings while Gov. Palin now has direct access to the public and plenty of ability to prove herself. Why, it might just be that last night was the moment the planet began to heal and the oceans to still be primarily influenced by sunspots and tides because there’s no such goshdarn thing as anthropogenic global warming.
I do expect my coverage of Gov. Palin to focus on her positive qualities because I do not think people understand them. I also think hardly anyone writes about them in a useful way — or at all. So those are what I think deserve the emphasis. People who want to read negative coverage about her have plenty of alternatives, so that niche is saturated while I am virtually alone, except for Hill Buzz.
I also expect my coverage of Gov. Palin will be about explaining her “common sense conservatism” to help people understand how much more it can do for them than the elitist, statist totalitarianism of the Left, however much they sneer at the talents of a woman who has risen high in politics and become a multi-millionaire by dint of her own efforts while they worship a man who thinks money comes from rich people rather than creativity and the incentive of getting to keep the fruits of one’s labor.
Right from the start Sarah Palin was attacked without mercy by the MSM. She needs all the help she can get. Thank you Cynthia.
.-= Dr. sipmac´s last blog ..Pornomiseria en Haití =-.
This is wonderful news! I am thrilled you will be writing regularly about Gov. Palin b/c I have tremendous respect for her and I always enjoy your perspective on her.
Should Gov. Palin decide to run in 2012 (and I hope and pray she does – never before have we needed her common sense conservatism so desperately), I fear that the greatest threat to her victory comes from within her (and my) very own party.
It seems that the Tea Partiers would enthusiastically embrace Gov. Palin. And from what I can tell purely by observation and by reading reader comments on blogs that attract tea partiers, this movement seems to include far more disgruntled democrats than the MSM would like us to believe. What seems to have made the Tea Party so successful and contagious is that it has remained focused on issues of government size and fiscal and individual responsibility; its goals are straightforward and uncontroversial. (Except if you ask Chris Matthews – it’s all just would-be domestic terrorist, crazy, racist, white extremists!)
If this assessment is true – that Gov Palin could win the centrist/disgruntled dems and repubs drawn to the Tea Party – is that enough voters to push her to a victory? I worry it’s not. But there’s time!
Obviously Gov. Palin will never get the lefty loons. So it’s the remaining GOP vote that we need, and it seems these people are too busy trying to promote Harvardite Mitt Romney, and far too educated to ever deign to giving someone like Gov. Palin a serious look.
This is the divide that concerns me. And it’s a divide I see as totally caused by elitism.
I, for one, have grown fascinated with how elitism manifests itself on both sides of the aisle (b/c it IS a problem on both sides – it’s just that on the left, it’s far more insidious and ideologically-driven; on the right, it unwittingly enables the leftist takeover by way of white guilt, perpetuation of political correctness, and plain, pathetic lack of guts). I could talk about this all day. But for now, I’ll cut to the chase (which I have failed to do thus far!):
For Gov. Palin to become our president in 2012, we have GOT to humble the GOP elites. We have got to make it clear to them that when they react negatively to her, they are actually responding to some insecurity in themselves – one that makes it hard for them to break from group think, or (and I think this is the most pervasive reason), one that causes them to view themselves as too good, too pedigreed, too what have you to be governed by a state schooler like Gov. Palin. “How can that woman be MY president when I am so clearly smarter?”
The question I have been thinking about and that I am going to begin posing to my friends and family is this:
Which quality is more important to you in a president (or any leader):
1) That his/her mind is filled with a litany of statistics, data, details, facts and trivia (ideally gained while at a “top” university);
or
2) That his/her values and core principles, against which all policy and decisions will be made, are clearly and honestly articulated and in sync with yours?
The absence of one of these qualities can easily be compensated for by the very simple act of a president shrewdly selecting experts in a host of fields to surround him/herself to fill in his/her knowledge gaps.
The absence of the other has no fix.
Wisdom is very different from knowledge. I know which quality I prefer in a president – particularly at such a risky moment for our liberty and sovereignty (elites: this ain’t no time to be too proud). And wisdom need not be spoken in overly-complicated or nebulous “intellectual” language (which is designed to confuse and deflect anyway, and is often a red flag or mask of idiocy).
Common sense and clarity is what this country needs.
In your inaugural Newsreal post, I think you were dead on to drive home the fact that intelligence comes in many forms. And no one person knows everything; any belief otherwise is held only by fools (this is particularly important to remind the elites about themselves). I think this is the most vital conversation we have to have about Gov. Palin in the quest to eradicate GOP elitism, dispel the fallacy that she’s not smart, and pave the way for her victory in 2012.
How’s that for a ridiculously long comment! Whew.
If you point an ear toward the southwest and listen very carefully…
Hear that? That’s me clapping and whistling down here in Texas. Good article and good writing. I was a Palin fan before I ever heard of Cynthia Yockey. Then I became a Yockey fan. and now I’m a News Real fan.
I hope the pay helps you and I hope the gig leads to something with real money.
Last night I dreamt about my comment – specifically how embarrassingly long it was.
To try to avoid more comment blathering on your blog, I was looking for a way to email you a link to a fantastic article I just read this morning, but didn’t see that option on your blog. So back to the comments it will be! You will probably come across this article on your own, but in case not, and in case this will prove useful to any future Palin posts on Newsreal, here it is:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Obama_s-education-of-little-use-to-his-presidency-8756295-81272472.html
To the point of Palin’s intelligence: We as Americans have to learn the caveats of this Harvard-stamped breed of intelligence. As Sowell and Horowitz do a brilliant job of explaining – this “intelligence” often comes with indoctrination into the left.
To save our country, we need to move away from blind trust in Ivy League education, lose our snobiness about it (that even those of us who did not go to “top” schools are capable of, by way of buying into mythology), and respect education in general.
Non-Ivy League/non-indoctrinated intelligence is exactly what we need at this moment.
Embracing the opposite – well look at where it’s gotten us. As Emery brilliantly explains.
Kelly,
I appreciated both your comments — they are thoughtful and make a positive contribution. There were not too long — they were just right for the points you were making. Thank you for taking the time and writing them! More like that, please!
I suspect that if Obama were subjected to a tenth of the scrutiny that Joe the Plumber got, let alone what Gov. Palin got, that he would be revealed as a stupid, lazy and ill-informed man. I would LOVE to see any work product that is his and his alone. There’s a reason that when he worked for a law firm he was not given much of anything to do. Obama’s one talent is his ability to get other people to do his work for him while he takes the credit.
The Ivy League elites have filled up libraries with information on the history of darkness, the science of darkness, the literature of darkness, and theories of how to remove darkness. Gov. Palin walked in the dark room and turned on the light. Imagine their consternation! The dismay! The rage! The horror! Also — and this is the point — the humiliation, the disgrace and the SHAME! Narcissists ALWAYS offload feelings of shame by putting someone down. Gov. Palin’s solid grasp of common sense conservatism and her self-made success INSPIRE healthy people and shame narcissists so they try to stop their overwhelming shame by destroying her. This is an extremely accurate litmus test.
Cynthia
I believe this is was a very smart move for Governer Palin. A great way to show who she really is and what she truly believes in. Ms Palin speaks for me!
A Teabagging Lesbo from Long Island!
Great piece – and Happy Blogaversary!
Congratulations—I’m looking forward to reading more analysis of Palin that doesn’t start with the premise that “she’s stupid, and if she says anything smart, it means somebody told her to say it, which PROVES she’s stupid!”
Also, I need to stop eavesdropping on conversations between liberals.
“Why, it might just be that last night was the moment the planet began to heal and the oceans to still be primarily influenced by sunspots and tides because there’s no such goshdarn thing as anthropogenic global warming.” LOL.
Looks like the only thing keeping the AGW theory afloat may be those foam Greek columns!
Congrats on the new gig. I’ll look forward to a great read.
Cynthia, in keeping with the theme of this post and your piece, here is another article that you may find very interesting – I know I did:
Why Sarah Palin Is Hated
http://fightinwordsusa.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/why-people-hate-sarah-palin/
Congratulations Cynthia, and what a natural fit it appears to be. Horowitz is one smart fella! Can’t wait to hear your take on all things Sarah.
Thank you, Cynthia. Some positive treatment of Ms. Palin would be a welcome relief to those of us who are tired of watching the media hound and abuse her.
O’Reilly isn’t much better, frankly. In discussing Glenn Beck’s interview with her, Beck described how guarded she is and O’Reilly accused him of being “soft” on her. The woman is not running for office. Why doesn’t O’Reilly bully someone who’s making a misery in our country, and treat Sarah Palin with the respect she deserves.
Anyway, I enjoy reading your blog and look forward to your observations, even when you disagree with Ms. Palin. Congratulations and good luck!
Aine,
I saw the part of O’Reilly’s interview with Beck that you described and thought it should have occurred to BOTH of them that Obama has NEVER been challenged in ANY interview the way Sarah Palin has. I would LOVE to hear Obama describe what he reads, especially for news. I would LOVE to hear Obama’s opinion of the Bush Doctrine. I would LOVE to hear what Obama’s favorite Supreme Court decisions are — well, on that one, I think he was asked after Gov. Palin got the question, but he sounded coached AND HE’S A FREAKIN’ ATTORNEY. I also would love to know Obama’s favorite Founding Father and why. I would love for Obama to explain why we have to nationalize the health care industry quick, quick, quick, but he’s still weighing what church to join because THAT decision requires so much deliberation.
Oh, and I’m surprised that Gov. Palin is being criticized for choosing George Washington as her favorite Founding Father. Her reasons were sound: he was reluctant to serve and went home after serving. If he had wanted to be a tyrant and rule for life, he could probably have pulled it off. In contrast, Obama has behaved like an emperor rather than a president during his first year in office. And every time Obama talks about being willing to be a one-term president, I think he intends to be president-for-life, so he only NEEDS the one term.
During the 2008 campaign, after Obama’s “57 states” gaffe, I ached to be a reporter covering him so I could have the chance to make a frowny face and ask him very seriously, “Would you support statehood for the District of Columbia so it could become the sixty-first state?” Because I bet he really does not know how many states are in the U.S.A. To this day.
Cynthia