"...it was odd, to say the least, that liberals would react in such a hysterical manner to a politician whose reputation rested on bipartisan ethics reform, taking on the oil companies, and overthrowing a state GOP establishment. But... the media shoehorned her into their pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all narrative about socially conservative ignoramuses bent on taking America back to the Stone Age."You can read the full TAS Matthew Continetti interview here.
"Palin's tradition of Christianity was absolutely central to the liberal critique.... Thus it did not matter that... in both her gubernatorial administration and on the campaign trail, Palin mentioned her religion rarely and neither governed nor campaigned as a strident social conservative. The stereotype was so powerful that liberals saw zealotry where none existed."
"Victory for Palin's enemies would come if they succeeded in their attempts to drive her out of public life. That hasn't happened. If anything, she has become more powerful, more influential, over time... Alaska was holding her down. So she broke free. And now she can speak out as often as she wants."
- JP
This is one of the most perceptive commentaries about Palin and the Palin reactionaries, and not enough has been written about this aspect, and kudos, JP, for highlighting this, and obvious kudos to Continetti.
ReplyDeleteIt's an issue that needs to be tackled directly and dragged out of the shadows, because--whether we like it or not--what's going on in this nation is indeed a war against Christianity...a direct challenge to Christ and the entire Christian paradigm, what-have-you. I'm a Catholic Christian, but I certainly will stand up for "evangelical" Christians, and have no problem whatsoever seeing Sarah Palin (who happens to be evangelical) as a Christian leader that I, as a Catholic Christian, can very passionately support.
It's complex...I'm going to save this for a future post. Great reporting, again, JP.
The media keeps talking about Sarah Palin, pro-life, and anti-gay marriage. And while her message exudes Judea/Christian values, what Palin really talks about is, “. . . principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.” This is from the Hoffman endorsement, but it’s all over her Facebook notes for many months now. I haven’t yet found anything about gay marriage; if it’s there somewhere, it’s not in her priorities.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, I think the Left wants to change her true message, and divide and conquer. Separate Sarah Palin from the more socially tolerant people, who they fear may support her in order to reverse the growth of government and deterioration of our liberties, which are in fact the only things she repeatedly argues for.
With Americans by a 2 to 1 margin identifying themselves as conservative over liberal, the media is just showing how out of touch they are with their own viewers.
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