Republicans On Palin

Lots of Republicans are criticizing Sarah Palin these days.

Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.



And if you want more of the back and forth, here:



There's former Republican Speaker of the House (and possible Presidential candidate) Newt Gingrich, here:

She’s got to slow down and be a lot more careful and think through what she’s saying and how she’s saying it,” Mr. Gingrich told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”Ms. Palin was widely criticized for remarks she made last week defending herself from criticism that her rhetoric had anything to do with the shooting spree in Arizona earlier this month that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.) gravely wounded. She called the political attacks in the wake of the tragedy – which hasn’t been linked to her in any way – a “blood libel.”

Newly-minted-Republican-darling, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, here:

“I think people need to be judged by the way they conduct themselves in the public arena, in a way that is as minimally staged as possible,” he said. “That’s where you really get to know people.”

When it was noted that Ms. Palin has preferred communicating with the public in ways she can control, Mr. Christie said that “rightfully has been criticized.”

Even former Vice President Dick Cheney couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm for her. But evidently, he does like her TV reality show about life in Alaska, saying “it’s very good.”

The last thing Republicans want is Sarah Palin at the helm. They know an all-too-powerful-Palin is a disaster in the making for them. Watch the power struggle in the coming months. They will use and abuse her and her followers, to their making.

Mourner-Consoler-Inspirer-In-Chief

Very brilliant, from last night’s episode of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Uncompromising satire in response to criticism of Wednesday’s University of Arizona-sponsored memorial service in honor of the Tuscon shooting victims. 

Poking fun both at our individual inability to set aside personal preferences about how things should be done, and our collective blind-sightedness to how broad based culture informs the ways of others.

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Something for everyone. To the newsman who questioned the seating arrangements, Stewart reminded us we were not watching the Emmys. In response to one who called the memorial a “show,” a great play on words between “morning show” and “mourning show.” To Brit Hume, who found the inclusion of a Native American prayer “peculiar,” a rant about the memorial not being quite American enough for the likes of the Fox News commentator. And in response to those who thought the memorial was more like a pep rally than the somber event it should have been, he invoked the cheer of an Irish wake.

And kudos to the pundit round table at the end. All about “me, me, me, me, me."  And to the little character-sized figurines of Italian widows dressed in black, memories of my childhood.

Most Peculiar, Indeed

It seems that Fox New’s Brit Hume found the Native American blessing given by Dr. Carlos Gonzales at the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shooting “most peculiar.” Dr. Gonzales is an associate professor at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine.



The emphasis is mine:

HUME: It was a similar hall. It was just -- the whole tone and atmosphere was different. And I kept thinking this week, you know, that he was going out on Wednesday -- Wednesday, it's just a few, just a couple of days and yet it seems somehow longer to me. It almost seems as if this event is a little late. Certainly the mood in that auditorium suggested that the sense of mournfulness that you might have expected and sobriety you might have expected was not to be found tonight. And of course, I think, the whole thing is attributable in part to the remarkable opening blessing that was delivered by, what was his name, Carlos Gonzales, who by the time it was over with, he had blessed the reptiles of the sea, and he had prayed to the four doors of the building, and while I'm sure that all has an honorable tradition with his people, with it was most peculiar. [Fox News' Coverage of the Tucson Memorial, 1/12/11]

The subtext of such a comment is a clear lack of understanding that yes, aspects of American culture different from our own do matter. Comments such as these further deny the fact that such aspects of culture intertwine in a complex manner to produce, in part – what we call “America.” Perhaps most distressing however, is that comments such as these represent a lack of interest in understanding the complexities of present-day America. This sheer lack of interest is dumbfounding. Especially when it comes from those who get paid a lot of money to inform us.

After all, it is ridiculous to think that in a state like Arizona, Native American culture would not in part, help inform how the general public interprets the horrific events of last weekend. And it is equally absurd to think there is no place for the type of reflection offered by Dr. Gonzales, through the lens of Native American healing.

It’s in the air. It’s in the water. It’s in the four directions Brit Hume so unfortunately chose to mock. It’s in Arizona, therefore it's in America.  In my book then, not peculiar at all. 

Five-term Arizona Senator, and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater knew all this. He knew and loved Arizona. And he understood how a culture other than his own could (over the span of 80+ years), come to influence his life, and subsequently help color how he interpreted the world. And perhaps I am wrong, but I don’t remember an outrage when at Barry Goldwater’s funeral, a Native American prayer and music were offered.

The five-term senator, born when Arizona was still a territory, was hailed as the state's favorite son.

Native American flutist Robert Tree Cody also honored Goldwater's longtime relationship with the Native American community with a flute solo and a prayer.

You are a great man, you are with the elders now. You are a chief,'' said Cody, a Maricopa and Dakota Indian. ''My people will never forget you as long as we shall live.''

So, the difference between January 12, 2011 when the memorial service for the victims of the Tuscon shootings was held on the campus of the University of Arizona and June 3, 1998, when Barry Goldwater was eulogized with full military honors? Are we really more "peculiar" now than we were then?

Is There A Speaker In The House?

Where is Speaker John Boehner, tonight? Apparently, at a fundraiser.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned down an offer by President Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One to Arizona for a memorial service on behalf of the victims of Saturday’s shooting, a decision that has upset some Democrats.

Boehner is instead scheduled to attend a reception on Wednesday night on behalf of Maria Cino, a former top House GOP aide who is seeking the Republican National Committee chairmanship. Boehner is backing Cino’s challenge to current RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

Seemingly, Speaker Boehner thinks all is well, since he will be completing his comments at the reception before President Obama’s begins his speech at the University of Arizona-sponsored memorial event.

No cross-talk.  I guess that’s what passes as respect these days.

Civil Discourse, Moral Equivalency

Honestly. I don’t know what’s worse: 1) that conservatives cannot engage in civil conversation about whether incendiary talk helps create the type of toxic culture we are living in today. The type of toxic culture capable of perpetuating incidents of violence like the one we saw on Saturday; or, 2) the moral equivalency arguments some are engaging in.

On Civil Discourse: From the New York Times:

In the incredulous language of talk radio, Mr. Justice defended his show and dismissed the notion that Arizona’s political culture had served as the backdrop to the shooting or an inspiration for the suspect, Jared L. Loughner.

“This is a crazy person!” he said. “Politics is out the window — you’re a nutbag! No amount of controlling talk radio is going to change that!”

"People need to go and point fingers,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, but some people do. They have to find somebody to demonize.”

Mr. Justice, who has made issues like his opposition to Tucson’s ethnic studies programs for Latinos, his concerns about illegal immigration from Mexico and his disapproval of the Obama administration’s health care law a staple of his program, did not discuss those issues Monday.

Barry Young, the host of a morning show on KFYI (550-AM) in Phoenix, said: “They are telling us that we have to make sure our words and phrases don’t incite crazy people. I have one problem with that: They’re crazy.”

Some callers, however, made it clear that they believed that the state’s conservative-leaning radio hosts bore some responsibility.

On Moral Equivalency: From Human Events, partly in response to one of Paul Krugman’s blog posts.

“Something about the current state of America has been causing far more disturbed people than before to act out their illness by threatening, or actually engaging in, political violence,” pontificates Krugman. Oh, and the Left bears no responsibility for that? They’re the ones who drop titanic mandates and mountains of regulation on American citizens. Their President has given us 20 months of crushing unemployment. They stole over $800 billion from us for “stimulus” pork and slush funds, and Krugman has gone on record saying he thinks they need two or three trillion dollars more.

The Democrats cranked up class-warfare rhetoric to a fever pitch during the lame-duck session of Congress, denouncing anyone who resists higher tax rates as greedy and unpatriotic. They bent over backwards to get miserable crooks like Charlie Rangel out of trouble with the lightest slap upon the wrist, flaunting their corruption in the face of a population boiling with impotent rage. When the president of Mexico denounced America on the floor of Congress last year, the Democrats rose to give him a thunderous standing ovation. But all this “climate of hatred” is coming from the guys on conservative talk radio?

And the spin has only just begun.

On "Words"

On the Monday morning after the great tragedy that took place this weekend in Tucson, Arizona, everyone is talking about “words.” The power of words. The fact that words matter.

This weekend our country witnessed an assassination attempt on a sitting member of Congress – Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, (D-AZ). She was engaging in the most public of acts, spending a Saturday morning in her district listening to her constituents. Outdoors. Six are dead.  A young girl, a Federal judge, an aide to the Congresswoman, and three senior citizens.

So much talk this weekend about whether the actions of the man responsible for this unspeakable act of horror can be blamed directly on “words.” Much analysis as well not so much about the direct correlation between “words” and acts of violence, but rather about how a climate of anger and hate leads to the types of threats of harm those in service to our country increasingly receive. And then of course, how those threats become a reality, like we saw this weekend.

I am perhaps not as struck by the “words” that may have lead to – or helped to contribute to a climate where an act of attempted assassination against an elected official is possible. But I am taken by so many words I have heard since Saturday morning. Words of reason. Words in the form of critique. Words of contrition and apology. Words of hope. Words of silence – if there is such a thing.

From Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, at a remarkable news conference on the afternoon of the shooting, I believe we heard words of reason. I heard a working professional, reasonably trying to assess the climate that lead to the act that he is now (partly) in charge of investigating.

"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," said the sheriff. "And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."

From today’s New York Times editorial page, words in the form of critique, in the best of editorial styles. A commentary on the complex connection between words of anger, a dangerous climate of hate, and direct acts of violence:

It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge. Many on the right have exploited the arguments of division, reaping political power by demonizing immigrants, or welfare recipients, or bureaucrats. They seem to have persuaded many Americans that the government is not just misguided, but the enemy of the people.