I've got a rant in me that's dying to get out

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

I may as well post it here.

When I look at Republican candidates I always feel like they don't mean "ME" when they speak of "Americans". "Americans" to Republican candidates seem to all come from the South or the Midwest. "Joe Six-pack" is not who I am. I was a band mom, not a soccer mom. I play classical piano and am not interested in sports and have always wished music and art got as much recognition and funding. And when a Republican says he represents "Real Americans", he (or she) doesn't seem to realize that *****I****** am a real American. Just as much as Joe Six-pack Soccer Mom. All it takes to be an American is a birth in this country. That is all.

I do not want to see Republicans starve or lose their home, or die in an emergency room or lose a child to illness or see a child with rotten teeth because the parents can't afford a dentist. But it doesn't seem to bother a Republican at ALL to see an American suffer, unless they are Joe Six-pack Soccer Mom. But what Joe Six-pack Soccer Mom doesn't seem to understand, is that Republicans ONLY care about their votes. If they die or starve, all a Republican is going to do for them is tell them the Democrats caused it.

When John McCain got the nomination, I was surprised. Even though I do not have the same political beliefs as John McCain, I thought, well, at least he is real. I honestly thought that unlike Reagan, unlike Bush, McCain was NOT a puppet with someone else pulling the strings. Then he pulls Palin out of the woodpile, turning the Vice President of the United State into a great stunt. Making a mockery of the office. Making a mockery of women everywhere.

I was an admin for someone who was just like Palin many years ago. Pretty and dumb as rocks, she could memorize, with a lot of coaching, a presentation that I wrote and prepped her to deliver. She wore tight short skirts and had a dazzling smile. I worked my ass off, and she, without any embarrassment or even any appreciation would take the credit. Then she'd buy me some obscenely expensive Christmas present, but make a point of making a public show of giving it to me. When she was awarded "Employee of the Year" and given a trip to Hawaii, she called me up to thank me in such a condescending way I almost puked. As I walked up, someone said, "WHO is she" and I heard another admin say, "She's Traci's BRAIN."

So I listened to Palin tonight, and I wondered who was sitting on the sidelines that was Palin's brain. And it occurred to me, I have wondered that an awful lot of times about an awful lot of Republicans. Reagan. Bush. They are not leaders. They are just spokespeople. The ONLY real problem Republicans had with Bush was that it turns out that he could not deliver his lines convincingly. That's all. He was a terrible spokesperson. They made a mistake. Maybe Palin is a mistake as a spokesperson, too. But they will keep polishing her up right up to the point where they throw her back on the woodpile, right on top of Bush. But they won't toss her right away, because they hate admitting they've made a mistake. And they'll keep on telling us how wonderful she is, and how Real Americans relate to her. And she'll keep trying to deliver her talking points, and scripts without even realizing that she is just another package, another puppet, in a long line of spokespeople. And Joe Six-Pack Soccer Mom will never even have the faintest clue who they are REALLY voting for.

Ack. I'm so tired of their games, and their cynicism and their mockery. So tired.

[Sherman A1]

1. Agreed & Well Said

You hit the nail on the head

[SharonAnn]

78. Just like Redford in the movie "The Candidate". Attractive, but a puppet.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

81. I'll never forget that movie

I remember the look of sheer terror when he realized he had won.

[pnwmom]

2. I'm not a real American either.

I grew up in the midwest in the 60's and 70's, with the dad-mom-kids family that the Rethugs fondly look back to today. But that kind of family doesn't work when the dad is gay and the mom -- when the light finally goes on -- finds herself stuck in the closet with him. Both parents are miserable and that sure doesn't make for a happy family.

My family then is living proof that the phony Rethug one-size-fits-all model doesn't work for many millions of us. But the Rethugs will keep promoting it, because it works for them. And people like me will still feel excluded when those phonies are talking about real Americans. (While they keep pushing gay men and women into socially approved marriages with unsuspecting straight spouses.)

[rebel with a cause]

43. Like you I grew up in the mid-west in the 60s and I was in a family

that the repubs would love to use as a poster for their ideal. My father was not gay, but that didn't change the fact that my mother was miserable in her marriage and a prisoner of it. We were a large family and we were dysfunctional. I began thinking about suicide when I was around five. Why I never committed it is because of my individual strength, not anything that my family did. None of my siblings are what you could call happy. I have not spoken to most of them for twenty years and am happier for that decision. I have one sister who I speak with, and she has recently cut off her connection to the rest of the family also. It seems that when I left the family, she took my place as the scapegoat and she finally couldn't take it any more.

Were we the real America all those years ago when we kept our secrets and hid our pain? Were we the real America when we hated our lifes and the role we were forced to play in society? Were we the real America when we believed what they told us even when we knew they were wrong? Yes, we were the real America back then that they talk about today.

Hell no, I won't go.......back to how it use to be.

[pnwmom]

72. rebel, I hope

you and your sister have found yourself in a better place now.


:hug:

[rebel with a cause]

79. thank you. I have been better for almost twenty years now.

My father died twenty years ago, I started pulling away from my family, separated from my then husband and slowly/painfully became my own person again. Although my sister and I had always stayed in touch somewhat, we became closer a few years ago when my health began failing. Just recently she found that, like me, she was better off not having the constant contact with other members of the family. Luckily for her, she has a husband that stands by her and up for her, and the transformation for her was been made easier because of it. We talk daily now and because we have cell phones with the same company, don't have to pay an arm and a leg to do so. ;)

I don't know how long her separation from the family will last, she is different from me in her resolution, but as long as it lasts it will give her time to recover some of her self esteem and perhaps see for herself that she is capable of being her own best friend.

Again, thanks for your kind words. :hug:

[Lorien]

69. Like you I also grew up in the Midwest in the 60's and 70's

I was raised by a single mom (dad left us for another woman), I never participated in sports, but I was involved in many creative activities. Only my grandfather in rural Ohio hunted-the rest of our family found it disgusting (mom was a vegetarian). All the kids I attended school with were from liberal, academic families. Everyone I knew cared about the environment, education and civil rights. Most of my classmates went on to ivy league universities and have had very successful careers. We are EVERY BIT as hard working, moral, and "American" as any under educated moose killing, tobacco chewing, SUV driving, beer drinking redneck-probably much more so on the first two counts. I'm sick and tired of the ridiculous meme that all salt-of-the-earth morons are the "most American" and noble among us. We need a much higher standard to aspire to!

[regnaD kciN]

3. Great rant...

...and, when it comes to Republican views of "real Americans," all I can think of is the classic line from Blazing Saddles:

"You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know...morons."

:rofl:

[knixphan]

5. Yes!

That was Wilder saying that, right?

[regnaD kciN]

54. Yep...

Just after the schoolmarm had greeted Bart with "Up yours, n****r!"

[Tumbulu]

97. I object to that quote

Farmers, real one- are very smart and without us there would be no food or fiber (clothing) and not towns or cities. The marginalizing of farmers into slaves by the rethugs is just one of their many accomplishments. Farming is a low profit margin enterprise. If you want to make higher profits you listen to the dead hearted economists and you start up feed lots and put the animals is such tiny cages and pens that they cannot sit down or stand up or turn around their whole lives. And you use pesticides and the cheap chemical fertilizers full of toxic waste to help out the chemical industry dispose of them cheaply.

The smart farmers are the farmers who figured out, all on their own without any help from the Land Grant Universities how to produce healthy food sustainably without using toxins and products from toxic waste disposal as the "smart urban economists" all told them they needed to do to "make money".

It goes back to the very good OP here. The repugs think that the only "real americans" are those that make money by exploiting other people (or animals) . But what most of us think is that a "real amercian" is someone who cares about others and community, and would not torture people or animals or use toxins that injure the buyers of the food and the others in the community because you make more money doing it that way.

[eshfemme]

4. I'm so sorry about your bitchy boss. I hate people like that.

Probably why I have a visceral reaction against Palin every single time she opens her dumb fucking mouth.

And yeah, just tired of these games. It's just sad that the Obama campaign still needs to sort of play along with these games or else they risk these sort of tactics working against them. Even though EVERYONE knows that Palin doesn't have 2 brain cells to rub together, they still have to treat her with respect and deference or risk all these negative smears. It's just unfair that you can't call an idiot an idiot anymore and are actually forced to call them geniuses sometimes. It's stupid.

[ccharles000]

6. great post

[Hepburn]

12. Charles...is that you?

What pretty eyes! :hi:

[ccharles000]

59. yes and thank you

[eridani]

7. A lot of older women I talk to see her as one of those silly young ditzes--

--who shakes her tits in the boss's face and gets the promotion over older and much more competent women.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

8. That sums it up

Repulsive.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

67. You've heard her called Mooselini

What about Titler?

[Vadem]

80. DUzy!!!! ...... "Titler" ..... ROFLMAO. .....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[pipi_k]

73. What makes me cringe now

I'm 55

Once upon a time I was a silly young ditz too.

God, I had NO idea how offensive I must have been. And to make it worse, I got pissed when nobody took me seriously. Well, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Act like a ditz, get treated like one.


anyway, I'm not even jealous of silly young ditzes. Mostly I just feel really sorry for them. Because they'll either be silly (clueless) ditzes the rest of their lives, or they'll have an awakening and cringe each time they remember how stupid they must have looked (and sounded)

[eridani]

76. I didn't do that particular thing when I was younger--

--but I did do plenty of stuff that I now regret.

[Wednesdays]

9. K&R!

:kick:

[Hepburn]

10. Oh, man....

....what a great rant! K&R...and wish I could do that a few more times?

:applause:....Bravo, Sistah!

[treestar]

11. So absolutely true; they are just figureheads

Their "President" is never truly in charge. As you say, they are just spokespeople. They started this with Reagan and have never quit since then. It explains the choice of Phailin.

[mcollier]

52. That is the truth

SNL Should be good this week.

Republicans don't define me...

[Marrah_G]

13. Wow- very nice rant !

[Vinca]

14. What generally bothers me about Republicans is they sneer

at people with intelligence. Education, to them, is not terribly important - which should be obvious in their choice of candidates.

[Solomon]

15. They have to do that to get their people elected because their

people are STUPID. Ergo, to be smart is a detriment.

[MaryEllen9399]

28. self delete

I replied to the wrong post

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

34. And they sneer at hope

And community service. And trying to save the planet. And peace.

[rvablue]

40. Did you happen to notice Palin's face when she retold the lie

that "Barack Obama cut funding for the troops in Iraq."
It gave me the chills. It was just this mean, nasty, cold look.
What a bitch.

[minfellman]

87. You are so right.

I am continually amazed by the constant denigration of knowledge, education, and accomplishment by these spokespeople for corporate America. I am old enough to remember when Reagan was hosting the GE Theater on television-which promoted "the peaceful atom". Then he took a job as host of "Death Valley Days". This was aptly named since it too turned out to be toxic and was pulled from the market. In college he pushed cigarettes. Like all good salesman he could rationalize away anything.
He was obviously just doing his sales pitch while president. Stand up to the marks and say your lines. I must come from a different planet where people are actually responsible for their actions-short and long term.
Growing up pretty much as a cowboy, I find this dumbing down of culture depressing. I have heard great Mozart played on an upright by a wood burning parlor stove, discussed philosophy around a kitchen table in a kitchen without running water. I have long believed that by dumbing down the working class it has made them easy to manipulate.
The only way to understand McCain the Moron is through the eyes of class. His crassness and meanness know no bounds. As an acolyte of the ruling class he will go to any extreme to to preserve the privilege of the wealthy to not be held accountable for any of their actions. For example, he shows no remorse at all over the million dead Iraqi men, women, and children his mistakes have caused. In short he is a sociopath and W. is a serial killer by Proxy.

[barack the house]

16. I think Gov. Palin totally blew it last night, it was all very insincere.

[polichick]

17. Wonderful rant! Republicans seem to desperately need to hold on to...

...a manufactured image of themselves that makes them feel justified in taking what they want at others' expense ~ whether it's a job situation, an accumulation of wealth or power, or enjoying rights that are denied to others. I avoid them like the plague.

[Starry Messenger]

18. Wow. Happy to recommend!

This is the definitive post on the issue for me. Thank you for putting it so beautifully.

[bdamomma]

19. great rant.

and in regards to this notion that took place during the last 8 years is this fallacy and total brainwashing of this bush regime and they promoted, was someone to have a beer with? or go to a barbeque with? whatever happened with professionalism and intelligence and defending the Constitution? I want someone who is NOT like me in control of the country and with some intelligence and diplomacy instead of this notion of bombing someone if they do not agree with you.

dumbed down America we all need to wake up (excluding DU'ers)

[olegramps]

20. Am I wrong about the Republican Spokeswomen

It seems to me that nearly all of the women that I see on TV who are representing the Republican view point are attractive dyed blonds with shrill voices. They are rude bitches who butt in and have very little of substance to say except to spout the same tired generalities without any substance. Why is it that I find most Republicans to be obnoxious know nothings? Maybe I am just prejudiced, but being an Independent this has been my take. For a recent example, I watched Brokow who had on this arrogant bastard by the name of Schaffer who is running against Udall out in Colorado. I found him to be a loud mouthed oaf and Brokow to be an incompetent moderator for letting him butt in and rave on and on.

[OwnedByFerrets]

21. Fine post.

[demokatgurrl]

22. EXCELLENT rant! I especially like

this line: But what Joe Six-pack Soccer Mom doesn't seem to understand, is that Republicans ONLY care about their votes. If they die or starve, all a Republican is going to do for them is tell them the Democrats caused it.

It captures what I feel when I see an old, barely-running car on the road with a Bush sticker on it (and now, sadly, a few with McCain stickers). These poor folks actually think somehow that the Repubs give a rat's ass about them, and I cannot understand why.

[MaryEllen9399]

30. 3 words:

God,Gays, and Abortion.

[awoke_in_2003]

62. Don't forget guns...

welcome to DU

[Arkansas Granny]

23. Great rant! K & R

[riona]

24. It's sort of like "Deal or No Deal"

The powers that be behind the scene have created a show full of enthusiasm, glitz and promise. Guess what folks, you may win something, but only the select few get to win the big one.

[sammytko]

25. Beautiful rant - I've also wondered who is "the brain" nt

[Raksha]

64. The "brain" is probably Todd Palin, the "first dude."

Or he was until recently anyway. I imagine that's why he always tags along wherever she goes and gets cc's of her official e-mails.

[JPZenger]

26. Funny: Palin Debate Flow Chart - What Was Inside Her Head

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/3/43222/8057/718/618653

[demokatgurrl]

27. Hilarious!

[Mother Of Four]

29. R and a powerful KICK-

To the top of the page with you-

You speak for many if not all of us I think.

:hug:

[mtnsnake]

31. Agree 100%!

I like sports and I LOVE music and the arts, and my wife and I share your sentiments completely about how sports always takes precedence over music and the arts. Some high schools will spend a million dollars installing night lights for Friday night football games and not a penny more to promote music.

K&R!

[CrispyQ]

32. It's the fear.

They are fearful of those who are different than they are, those who believe differently than they do. They are fearful that someone might get something that they didn't get or that someone might get something they didn't deserve. Most of all they are fearful of change because they have no confidence that they can adapt because everything is black & white to them & change shakes that all up.

I think that's why so many of them are miserable. They look to some authoritarian figure to tell them what to do & how to live. They've played by the rules they were dictated, & yet, they aren't getting the rewards they were told they would get. Now they're pissed off & looking to blame someone -- anyone! Liberals, minorities, atheists, whoever they can, but never themselves. They will never examine their lives & equate their misery with the choices they made. They are very sad people but at the same time, frightening & dangerous. They operate totally on emotion, never on logic.

[BaracudaCrusher]

100. Fear and misunderstanding leads to distrust and then to hate

My sister is a Republican, and she and I are very different in many ways and rarely speak to each other. She's called me a wacko and says I've been that way my whole life. I guess that is because I enjoyed debate, history, and foreign languages in school, while she enjoyed cheer-leading and drinking beer, etc. In later years, I've been concerned about social justice and our Constitution, and she's concerned about her own family and not much beyond that. I had 2 children who've gone on to earn their master's degrees and live independently, while she has had 4, all of whom live either with her or nearby and are having many grandkids and that's been the plan for her family. I'm voting for Obama/Biden, and she's voting for McCain/Palin, and we don't understand each other at all.

[Pacifist Patriot]

33. Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale. Who are playing these roles today?

I have long thought there is a CABAL out there truly calling the shots, but when I say that out loud I'm generally asked to put my tinfoil hat back up in the cupboard.

[justiceischeap]

35. Well-written rant! Kudos to you! A point you didn't touch on that saddens me is

the fact that these Republican Joe six-pack soccer mom's and dads don't seem to have a thought for themselves. They are just as bad as the spokes people. Look at Elizabeth Hasselback from The View. She doesn't seem to have a single original thought in her head--just spews the exact same points that the empty-headed Palin does. That is what's really wrong with the Republican party in my mind. If their "followers" would demand a bit of accountability from them, they may very well be different but none of their constituents seem to want to hold them accountable for ANYTHING. It'a almost like it's too much trouble for them to think independently from Faux news.

[Raine1967]

36. A most truthful Rant

K&R


I too have worked for people like this. and I too look at these people and wonder why why why they fall for it.

[tblue37]

37. Re: "They are just spokespeople."

The word I would use is "spokesmodels."

[frogmarch]

38. Super rant! K&R nt

[Hellataz]

39. Great Rant, thanks for posting it!

ITA, I am tired of the republican machine trying to manipulate the voters with slogans, sound bytes and a "just like me" candidate. I'm sorry, but NO, I'm not that dumb, I want a leader who is smarter then the average american and is articulate without being sent to a week long camp to "cram". I want my leaders to talk about real issues not just spend their time making shit up about the other guy, and trying to slide by with one liners, all while avoiding the real topics we want t hear about.

[codjh9]

41. Well put, and I understand and agree with all of your points. I've worked under 'Traci's' before

too.

[OHDEM]

42. They aren't talking to me either!

We all don't fit into Republican-defined sterotypes.

I'm a stay-at-home mom with some college from a middleclass background who grew up in an industrial area. Yet I value intellectualism & science. I'm Catholic, but only as a means to worship God - not as the end all be all or something to force upon others. I love my country and I'm a history geek about it, but I don't wear a flag pin. I technically live in the midwest (red), but near a large city (blue). I enjoy Hollywood movies and feel they have every right to voice their opinions, but I don't view either their lifestyle or views as a guide for my own life. I have tried radicchio. Guess I'm an elitist!

[lyonn]

44. Your rant has been floating around in my head

only in a scrambled form. You got it together beautifully. So many others have added some neat extras describing/completing the picture of the "Palin" woman and the repub industry.

Thanks!!

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

46. Oh wow. Thank you all.

I was shocked to see my wide-awake 4 a.m. ramblings hit the greatest page.

In the end, I was laid off and Traci was promoted to the point where she eventually got exposed as being incompetent. Happily, I have a great boss now, who appreciates me, and who chose 53 year old me, over many many applicants, because he knew I was competent and smart. We respect each other, and laugh a great deal through our work day.

It is gratifying to see that it isn't just me, that my thought resonate with a lot of people. Real Americans.

[BrklynLiberal]

45. Very insightful and perceptive. I agree with what you said about these empty heads++ just being

spokespeople for those behind the scenes...like the puppets for the ventriloquists.
Now that you have pointed it out, it seems so obvious.
I guess your first-hand experience with someone like this had made it all the more obvious to you.

[Odin2005]

47. "Joe and Jane Six-Pack" are, by definition, morons.

I am sad to say this, but I am losing faith in democracy because of how stupid most people are. Populism has become voting for someone because he/she just as stupid, ignorant, and shallow as you are.

[madaboutharry]

48. I guess that I am not a "real American" either.

Years ago, when I was a student, I knew a girl who came from Phoenix. She was brought up in a very "Christian" family. Her mother was an out and out racist who was upset that her daughter was friendly with someone who was Japanese American. One day in the course of a rather benign conversation she dropped the phrase "We were here first." I remember being so taken aback that at the time I was speechless. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that there is a segment of the population who believe that white anglo-saxon protestants are in fact a superior group of people. I don't know how else to say it.

[firedupdem]

49. Great Post! I loved It! So True! n/t

[ecstatic]

50. I feel the same way. I've accepted that I'm not considered a "real American"

long ago... But it still irritates me every now and then to hear about how Sarah is real and folksy? To what folks?

[santamargarita]

51. Republicans are not Americans - they're Fascists!

Great post!

[catrose]

53. Cheers for classical musicians!

[DrZeeLit]

55. Yeah... why is their "normal" American always about BOOZE and SPORTS?

I know... I know blahbitty blah blah.... football is American, baseball is American, basketball is American... and HEY... Bud give me a Bud.

BUT...

I was married to professional baseball for 17 years, but that doesn't define me (or him actually, but he can speak for himself). I'm a scholar and a writer; I like to travel (whoa! outside the U.S.ofA). I love to read, collect seashells, and cook.

I might even be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

My life is not defined by what I watch on t.v. and what I drink while I watch t.v. BECAUSE I don't want that mind-zapping machine in my house.

I didn't say I don't like sports. I do. I hope you get that, but I know the pollsters and the pundits and those eejits that tell us what we just experienced or should experienced or will do or won't do -- I know those people have NO IDEA what or who we are.

I am soooo much more. Years of experience, art, work, relationships, hobbies, beliefs, hopes, dreams.

And I am a mother. I don't want to be marginalized as a HOCKEY MOM or a SOCCER MOM.

I'm a MAINSTREAM MOM.
I pay attention to the issues.
I work.
I pay taxes.
I am against war and poverty and ignorance.
And I teach my children those values.

I am a woman who THINKS and ACTS and tries with all her might to match the two.


I am an American. I am a citizen of the world. I don't see where these are mutually exclusive terms.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

75. My son played oboe

He auditioned and was accepted at Oberlin. We couldn't afford it. He got a small scholarship, but not enough. Broke my heart.

[baldguy]

56. In their eyes, you're not a *real* American.

But the sad, sick truth is - neither are most of the people who repeatedly vote for them.

[bobd0]

57. Thank you for posting your rant here

I agree with it wholeheartedly. I worked for a regional manager who "delegated" myriad tasks to me and was always delighted to take all the credit for my hard work.

I agree particularly with one other point. I was always an athlete and enjoyed playing and watching sports but I stopped watching all professional sports almost twenty years ago when our daughter was auditioning for conservatories all around the Northeast. The amount of money major universities with conservatory programs throw at athletic programs is disgusting, especially in light of the pittance they extend to students of the arts who are every bit as talented as any student on the playing field.

This sports bias is pervasive throughout our society and the results of this obsession are damaging to our society, IMO. Can you imagine what kind of society we'd have if people put as much effort into understanding government and politics as they do studying and memorizing scores and stats? Can you imagine what kind of society we'd have if people put the same level of resources into the arts they put into sports?

Our daughter was accepted into the best conservatory programs in the nation and she studied at one of the finest conservatories in the nation but we footed almost the entire bill because sports programs eat up the vast majority of scholarship money, and that doesn't say much for our society, IMO.

Thanks again for posting your rant and please excuse me for seizing on this single topic.

K&R

[crazy_vanilla]

58. thank you and kick

Bravo to you!:applause: :applause: :applause:

[AntiFascist]

60. McCain and Palin represent the height of hypocracy...

they will rail on about Democrats' plans for spending when it is their people who are bankrupting America. The $700 billion bailout plan was pushed by Bush's people while McCain (and his neoconservative backing) have no problem keeping us in Iraq, costing taxpayers $10 billion per month! Republican leadership is expert at misleading the American people and covering up their own cynicism. They love Joe Six-pack, particularly the one who doesn't know what the hell is going on and has to down a six-pack every night in order to make it through.

[honkydonkey]

61. I live in the Bible belt and I don't even feel like I'm an "American".

Since when did small town America become the definition of what America is. I like what Jon Stewart said about it. He said that New York City is no different than a small town, it just has lots of small towns in one building. We are all Americans, even those darned ole atheists (you betcha! LOL). Besides republicans don't give a rip about "Joe Six Pack". Give me a break. They only mention it because most of these Joe's are easily manipulated. SSDD.

[lutherj]

63. Actually, Republicans don't represent Joe & Jane Sixpack either. They're lying. They represent

corporate America. They would just as easily lie and say they represent the latte sipping band moms, if that was how they could further their economic agenda.

[nachoproblem]

65. I think it's the smugness.

I've been wondering for a while what got me so worked up about Sarah Palin, what was really behind all this bile and loathing. She came from out of nowhere and has no especially significant deeds that I could hate her for. Certainly a more humble person with a relative lack of experience and little more than rhetoric as an option for how to portray themselves and their intentions to the voters would not offend me immediately. Barack Obama, for instance.

But Sarah Palin is so incredibly smug. That's exactly what it was for her to kick off her campaign by laying into Obama for his lack of experience -- smugness. And I think smugness is probably the reason that Palin and your former boss are able to do what they do, to rise to the top by taking credit for the work of others and aggrandizing their own importance. They succeed because they can do it without embarrassment or appreciation, as you say. They believe it is their natural right. They believe that as fronts, they are not only essential to all the efforts or causes they represent, but that all the rest of it has no reason even to exist without them. And it's all because of that we so often find ourselves stuck with them in charge of us. We need to reach down inside ourselves, past everything we have been taught about being a good boy/girl and towing the line for the greater good, and find that part of ourselves that's determined to stand up and not suffer the crap. And I think the greater good will actually be better off for it.

What she reminds me of personally is all the stupid, self-important adults I would run into as a kid when I was at church or school -- people who would come at me out of nowhere and start babbling down to me about what's what, with obviously no understanding of anything. When most people are kids and they come to the realization that adults are all as full of it as anybody, it's because of people like Sarah Palin. And she was exactly the image of one of those mindless, self-proclaimed authorities, standing there talking to Joe Biden about parenthood and mavericks and surrender and whatever crap, because after all SHE is a Hockey Mom! Wink, wink.

:grr: :puke:

[Canuckistanian]

66. So right, on so many levels. Good post

Haven't Americans had enough of phony candidates who bring NOTHING to the table other than their apparently dazzling personalities?

Can you name me ONE GOP candidate who dazzled exclusively on their ideas?

No, of course not. They run to sell the sizzle, not the steak.

[Bryn]

68. I am from the South

Never have been a republican. Thank you very much.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

71. Me too.

Howdy.

[Azlady]

70. Awesome Post,

Thank you for your music too.

[redqueen]

74. Excellent rant.

Thank you very much for posting it.

[bertman]

77. Honey, that's no rant. THAT'S JUST TELLIN IT LIKE IT IS. Brilliant!!

[Withywindle]

82. K&R - fabulous rant.

I'm sick to my stomach and beyond of all the qualifiers, all the people who aren't "American enough." Too brown. Too smart. Likes to read too much. Lives in a city. Doesn't care about sports. Speaks another language. Has a passport. Isn't afraid of subtitles in movies.

It really started to blow my mind back in '04 when the Pukes kept implying that people from Massachusetts weren't as real-American as someone in, say, Oklahoma. Massachusetts! Boston Fucking Tea Party, dipshits! It didn't happen in Cow Patty, Kansas, that's why it's not called the Cow Patty Tea Party.

Oh, but I'm effete and elite for even knowing that. I should have been cutting history class. 11-year-olds with beer guts who like to beat up kids with books, that's an American!

[mreilly]

84. Shout out from Massachusetts

I've lived in Massachusetts just about all my adult life, and I'm proud - very fucking proud - when Republicans criticize and complain about my state, because they fear and loathe us. We have the best universities and hospitals in the nation; more intellectuals than they can shake a stick (or fist) at - and much better values than these pukes from red states who run around killing and divorcing each other. 13% of the voters here are registered Republicans, and as far as I'm concerned that can drop down to zero. Simply put: Republicans can get the fuck out of my state, and go to New Hampshire, Texas, or some other red state... or just plain straight to hell, for all I care. Republicanism is a filthy, selfish disease and I'm glad to live in a state that hasn't been infected by it. Every single representative I have, whether state or Congressional, is a Democrat. I will never live in a place where some fucking Republican has any right to make decisions for me or my family. And when they try to pretend that my state is somehow "less American" than any place else, my response is "Fuck you. I pay my taxes and have just as much right to my opinion as you assholes. Hard working blue states carry the load for the lazy tax-dollar-sucking red states, so shut the fuck up and thank God on your knees for my state."

Like others have posted in this thread, Sarah Palin's smugness is bad enough, but last night's debate, in which she tried to pretend to the average voter "I'm just like you," was nauseating. You are not just like me, Sarah. You are an ignorant, gun-toting, bible-thumping fucking redneck imbecile. I am a white collar intellectual who actually reads newspapers and who places more value in science than faith, who lives and lets live (except when it comes to right-wing assholes incapable of managing this country or culture), and who knows Republicans are the cause of most if not all of the problems in this society.

[ann_american2004]

83. Thank you for saying this

:patriot:

[stoge18]

85. Bless you! k&r

Those who take credit for the hard work of others are some of the most dishonorable people in the world. I believe that once the dust settles, Palin's act will have done more harm than good. People, will see through the very thin veneer or genuineness and take it for what it is -- a mockery (as you state in your closing line).

She was WAY, WAY over the top. I think it's going to backfire.

[propel]

86. Republicans

come off as CEO's to me. Cold and distant.

[happygoluckytoyou]

88. PALIN'S BRAIN IS VALUABLE... unused and still in its container

[GTurck]

89. My family...

has been here since before the Revolution yet I too often feel that I am labeled not a "real American" because I am not a Republican.
In some ways I am no more a real American then my daughter-in-law who became a citizen this year to those who would say "real" Americans do this or do that. We both prefer classical music to country; we don't particularly like sports (except when I watch my grandsons). In fact I know few people who ever could be this mystical "real American".
Palin is playing in a movie only the right could write. One that so delusional as to make one wonder what horror movie they came from.

[Enthusiast]

90. Good rant!

And right on!

[BlueGirlRedState]

91. I agree with much of this but...

I must take issue all you need to be an American is to be born here. My daughters are naturalized citizens, born in China, and they are Americans. My mother is a naturalized citizen, born in England, and she is an American.

I have lived in the South most of my life, and yes, football is king and culture and the arts get short shrift. But I have a lot of hope this year.

I worked in a department with the male equivilent of Bush and Palin and your boss Traci. My boss would prepare the numbers and analysis and hand them to her boss on his way to a meeting with the top managers. He sounded like a genius, kept getting promoted, all the while taking lots of time off to attend his daughter's afternoon soccer games.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

93. Oh, absolutely

My husband is a naturalized U.S. citizen, too (originally from England). He had to work very hard to become an American. All I had to do was get born here. All Joe Six-pack Hockey Mom had to do was get born here.

On a side note, when he was learning about American history and studying the original 13 colonies, he memorized them in alphabetical order. Every time he would recite them, I brain would start jumping around all over my mental map, because I learned them geographically. It was funny.

[RedLetterRev]

92. YES INDOODY!!

I'll only add one more thing. "Titler" is usually paired with the other corporate type I despise: "Mr Let's Just Say". I can't tell you how many meetings I've had to suffer through and after giving a report of how things really were, Titler would lean over and whisper into Mr Let's Just Say's ear. Mr Let's Just Say rearranged a couple-three pieces of paper in front of him and said, "well, when we leave this room, let's just say ..." and came out with some line of total bullshit designed to hide the awful truth from both the customers and the auditors.

And then Mr Let's Just Say would let the company go dark, pocketed a huge bunch of change, and went to some other company to trash, leaving the rest of us to find a job somewhere else.

Truth isn't valued in republiKKKon corporateworld. When reality reared its ugly head, you could count on Titler to continue to feed some "angles" to Mr Let's Just Say, and together they would conspire to line their pockets while riding the rest of us like $10 whores on 12 and 16 hour days (OR ELSE). You can always tell where a company is going by how well they treat their employees. The worse they treat the employees, the closer to death the company is and the more likely those at the top are going to jump to another company by way of a golden parachute.

I've seen it happen from the inside over and over and over. Mr Let's Just Say and Titler always wound up scot-free and sitting pretty with all the goodies. The rest never even got so much as hindmost.

One more thing: no matter how smart and motivated you are, it doesn't pay to be "the gay one" either. Oh, you just can't be put in front of people, no matter if "they can't tell" or not. My partner and I simply don't stand out at all -- if you didn't know or didn't take the time to put two and two together, you'd probably never figure it out. But if it was ever figured out or even just suspected, I've been relegated to the back rooms or even fired (we're downsizing -- yeahright -- even when I was the only one "downsized"). I've heard all the excuses. A lie hurts -- I could take honesty a whole lot better. Fortunately, where I am right now, I put it out right at the start (having gotten tired of the dance) and said, if this will be a problem down the road, I'd rather not even have my time wasted now. Nobody blinked. Very cool.

So yeah, I feel ya.

[unpossibles]

94. If it helps, I live in the Midwest and have lived in the south

yet I too am not a sports fan joe six pack voter either.

But yeah, I agree with your rant. I was shocked at the gall of Palin to come out and declare that she wants to further expand Cheney's vision of Unitary Executive. I'm making it a point to ask my few Republican friends if this doesn't scare the hell out of them, and sadly I usually have to explain why it's a bad thing. Of course, I've gotten no answers so far.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

96. I had several conversations with people at work

Those who were so happy at how well they thought she did. I'd agree with them, telling them she really held her own and came out strong (I don't really think this, but I wanted them in an agreeable spirit when I made the following point:

But do you really think she is ready to be president of the United States?

They'd tell me, she wasn't running for president, every time.

I'd tell them that the MAIN job of the vp was to be ready and able to be the president. Then I'd ask, do you think she is?

Every single one of them said, no, of course not. But that it won't come to that.

I'm simply dumbfounded.

[Not Sure]

95. I am so with you. Right on!

[Butch350]

98. I hate the small town reference...

What...if you don't come from a small town your immoral and un-american?

[nickgutierrez]

99. This post is a thing of beauty.

The Republicans don't talk about average Americans, they talk to average Americans.

[nosmokes]

101. Very nice rant! Thanks! K&R

[kleec]

102. Thank you

for posting this message. It's apparent that it speaks to many and for many, definitely myself included. I wonder if any of the supporters of the McCain/Palin ticket understand how insulting it is to those 'Joe/Jane Six Packers' it was when they are referred to in that way. I have a difficult time understanding how they can possibly believe that these candidates actually care a twit about them. The dumbing down has obviously worked for them.

Again, thanks for your rant that you stated so nicely, it's a rant that mirrors the one running around in my head.
:applause:

[1Hippiechick]

103. And I am most tired of all their HYPOCRISY! n/t