Thursday, September 04, 2008

Why the Panic about a Palin?

Since her announcement as McCain's running mate, there has been a steady stream of derogatory statements by our friends on the Left. The most recent being Helen Thaomas' screed. Now Helen Thomas, is like Dave Barry (unintentionally) without the humor.
When you add up all the others, Wulfgar, Mark T. and my personal favorite Left in the West you see a consistent theme. Sarah Palin is going to be the next President after McCain.
Get used to it. I know that I am looking forward to it.

6 comments:

Matthew Koehler said...

As I saw it, the two biggest energy moments of the Gov. Palin night for GOP faithful were:

1) The complete, childish mocking of "community organizer." Funny thing, no matter how you vote, "community organizers" do a lot of great work in this country and everyone knows it and appreciates it. Heck, isn't being on the PTA (where Palin got her start) really part of the "community organizer" family? How about delivering meals to the elderly? How about taking part in a big brothers/big sisters program? How about looking to clean up your neighborhood from crime, drugs, pollution? How about working as a tutor in your local school? Will the GOP faithful mock these examples of "community organizing?"

Last time I checked, "community organizers" (no matter how they vote) work day and night for little, if any, pay to make their communities better. So because Obama finished collage (it's my understanding that he earned scholarships) and instead of going to work for a big DC law firm he came back home to Chicago and helped working people who were down on their luck recover from steel plant closings and economic turmoil we should be mocking him and all "community organizers?" Seems pretty childish to me. I wonder how this played outside the walls of the GOP convention, especially with all those TV viewers who actually know the great and meaningful things that community organizers do for our communities and country.

2) The very general energy policy talk, by both Rudy and Gov Palin, (including mentioning how we can't drill our way out of the problem) was followed by the male-dominated chant, "Drill Baby Drill...Drill Baby Drill...." Enough said.

While these might have been the biggest energy moments of the night for those who attended the convention, I seriously doubt that these moments played nearly as well across the country.

P.S. Below is more specific info on Obama's "community organizing" efforts. When you read the information below, keep in mind the mocking, childish behavior from the GOP faithful last night over "community organizer." I mean, being the director of a successful, faith-based program that provides south-side Chicago residents job training and college prep tutoring, while helping to ensure tenants' rights just smacks of liberal elitism, doesn't it?

Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side.

During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.

Steve said...

Outside of the fact that your entire comment is a non-sequiter to the original post, I decided it might be fun to include some other definitions of "community organizer" courtesy of James Taranto:
• Nelles Hamilton: What's the difference between a "community organizer" and a pit bull? Teeth.

• Dagny Billings: What's the difference between a "community organizer" and a seeing-eye dog? Even a blind man can see the dog is actually helping someone.

• Michael Roberson: What's the difference between a "community organizer" and a Chihuahua? The Chuhuahua will eventually shut up.

• Bob Vorick: What's the difference between a "community organizer" and a puppy? One will grow up to become a loyal servant of mankind.

• O. Nara: What's the difference between a "community organizer" and a shih tzu? Zu.


Left-liberal blogger Ezra Klein, meanwhile, argues that it's racist to make fun of "community organizers." (It seems that Barack Obama, a former "community organizer," is African-American.) Which gives us another idea for a joke:

What's the difference between a "community organizer" and a pit bull?

It's a black thing, you wouldn't understand.

Matthew Koehler said...

Steve, Thanks for your jokes. That's about the level of discussion I figured my comments would get. Good day and good luck.

Anonymous said...

It’s a pity Matthew can’t get any traction with his adolescent take on “community organizer.” Seems he doesn’t understand that a community organizer organizes people to act collectively. And that’s why rugged individual Americans associate community organizers with losers.

And it goes without saying that “community organizer” sounds awfully close to “communist organizer.”

Matthew Koehler said...

So, e5: It's always a pleasure to take criticism from someone without the guts to even post using their own name. Must really make you feel like a man to fire off a salvo anonymously. As I told Steve, that's about the level of discourse I figured I'd encounter on this site. Make sure to tell George W. Bush that his faith-base initiative and all the "community organizers" that are most certainly a result of it is really just a "communist" plot. And you're right, e5 working collectively for the common good has no place in America. Not for fighting the terrorism. Not for figuring out our economic troubles. Not for growing more of our own food. Not for figuring out where energy is going to come from. Go it alone you rugged individual American!

Steve said...

Matthew - Once again, you totally ignore the substance of the original post and try to carve out your own agenda in the comments section. May I suggest that you get your own blog. They are free, easy to use, and if you want I will give you some linky love.
But just for fun, while we await your new blog, let's address your claims that Palin was dismissive of Obama's "community organizer" work.
A little history first though. When Palin was announced on the day after the Democratic Convention, the first response from Obama was that she was just a small town mayor. They later retreated, but that is why you should think before you speak. Because they sought to diminish her qualifications, the same qualifications as those of Carter and Clinton, their qualifications became fair game (pun intended).
So, Ms. Palin used humor to respond, and especially effective tool against a campaign that takes itself too seriously.
To now cry that they are being dissed is to falsely claim the mantle of being the victim. That is dishonest, and certainly indicative of the low opinion they hold of us.