Patterico's Pontifications

2/5/2010

Palin vs. Rush

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 12:07 am



Two conservative icons. Two totally different positions.

Only one can emerge victorious.

First Rush:

“Our political[ly] correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards,” Limbaugh said on the show. “I mean these people, these liberal activists are kooks.

“They are loony tunes. And I’m not going to apologize for it, I’m just quoting Emanuel. It’s in the news,” he continued.

“I think their big news is he’s out there calling Obama’s number one supporters f’ing retards. So now there’s going to be a meeting. There’s going to be a retard summit at the White House. Much like the beer summit between Obama and Gates and that cop in Cambridge.”

Now Palin:

I asked Palin spokesperson Meghan Stapleton for comment on Rush’s rant, and she emailed me this:

“Governor Palin believes crude and demeaning name calling at the expense of others is disrespectful.”

It hardly has the passion of her response to Rahm, and there’s no call for him to step down. But given Rush’s stature among conservatives, it’s pretty interesting that she went this far, denouncing his on-air rant as “crude and demeaning name-calling.”

Your view?

Who do you support in this epic faceoff?
Palin
Rush
  
pollcode.com free polls

92 Responses to “Palin vs. Rush”

  1. much better….. that quiz made things TARFU.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  2. she has a point, and she’s being consistent in her message.

    he was making fun of the dems with their own words, but he should have known better. if he’s smart, he’ll concede her point gracefully.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  3. Rush is part entertainer and not in the administration (supposedly representing all the people) getting paid by the taxpayers. Also, it’s libs who wrote the book on political correctness and lecture us 24/7 about it. That’s why Rush doing it doesn’t bother me. And I imagine it doesn’t bother Sarah either.

    Jo (9467c2)

  4. ““They are loony tunes. And I’m not going to apologize for it, I’m just quoting Emanuel. It’s in the news,” he continued.”

    In a sense, he’s clearly goading in that ‘here’s what they do and isn’t it going to annoy them when I do it too’ shtick. But he clearly thinks the term retard is acceptable whether the dems use it or not.

    I don’t find the term ‘retard’ all that troublesome, and in fact, am annoyed that people want to ban a useful term. But that view isn’t contradicted by the idea that the White House should be professional.

    The Palin spokesperson quote is pure PC bullshit, though. It’s silly to point out that being demeaning is disrespectful. They had a much stronger argument that our White House should be run without crudeness. Not because it hurts feelings, but because it’s representing America poorly if it shouts ‘fucking retard’ at people.

    I guess I have to side with Rush, then. Palin said she didn’t want people to walk on PC eggshells, and that’s contradicted by saying we can’t demean eachother.

    At the end of the day, it’s normal quibbling behavior from a politician that is taking advantage of an easy target. I don’t know why this method is so common. I’d rather vote for Rush.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  5. I have no problem at all with the insult “retard” or “retarded”. It is a perfectly fine insult. Palin is off the reservation on this one–let the leftards tie themselves up in knots with political correctness and language police. Conservatives shouldn’t take part in that game.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    iconoclast (e235f2)

  6. I understand that calling a person retarded (who isn’t) can be offensive to those with true mental disabilities. But is it offensive to those same people to call a non-person retarded? For example, I think Obama’s plan to tax everyone out of existence is retarded. Is that still offensive?

    Also, I thought “retarded” was an actual medical term. Retardation of growth means someone’s growth was stunted. Is that offensive, too?

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    wherestherum (d413fd)

  7. Gov. Palin has been an elected official, and perhaps will be one again in the future, and so she has to live by a certain set of rules and principles. I respect her idealism for civil discourse.

    Rush inhabits a world that is (regrettably) also occupied by Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Salon, and MoveOn.org. That world has a different set of rules, and I equally respect Rush’s reasoning ability, combativeness, and humor — all of which contribute to his overwhelming success in his chosen environment.

    Poll notwithstanding, I respectfully think you might be comparing apples and oranges here.

    Steve Levy (ae012f)

  8. What I said on the poll comment thing:

    Rush was not being insensitive whatsoever. And Rush made no mistake whatsoever. Rush’s pushing of the word was intentional in that he was mocking Rahm. When you take his statements in the context of mocking Rahm, you will see a whole new level in what he said. Satire/irony/sarcasm/what-have-you.

    John Hitchcock (35ab55)

  9. Name calling is disrespectful as Sara points out, and Rush is clearly being disrespectful.

    Does it mean that he’s wrong?

    And is he being demeaning?
    Are we sure?
    Just because somebody is a mighty weasel or really good at rhetoric, that does not prevent him from being retarded in other aspects of the complexity of his human mind, like those impacting ability to work, understand economics, taking responsibilities, respecting other opinions and so on.

    Therefore I agree with myself in concluding that theres a good chance they’re both right.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    Ali mentary (d5e78e)

  10. I think the poll question doesn’t have enough options. I’d vote for “I hate blue-on-blue fights. Make it up guys, there are bigger problems to face.”

    Evil Pundit (42e904)

  11. Palin’s a hypocrite. Stop the presses.

    Intelliology (00d844)

  12. 5.What I said on the poll comment thing:

    Rush was not being insensitive whatsoever. And Rush made no mistake whatsoever. Rush’s pushing of the word was intentional in that he was mocking Rahm. When you take his statements in the context of mocking Rahm, you will see a whole new level in what he said. Satire/irony/sarcasm/what-have-you.

    Comment by John Hitchcock — 2/5/2010 @ 2:11 am

    Ohhh! The big traipsing cow was using nuance. I wonder if Michael Richards was able to use that excuse when he used a word he shouldn’t have…

    Intelliology (00d844)

  13. I think there are two issues at heart here:

    a) Rush does not claim or support the whole PC element of postmodern liberalism. It is with that intention that he is flaunting their sensibilities, while being admittedly somewhat boorish about it.

    b) His comments ARE public utterances, and as such can be reasonably identified as needlessly hurtful towards those whose conditions are unfortunately qualified as “retarded” and/or their loved ones. Hence my reference to the fact that he’s being somewhat boorish.

    I think that Emmanuel is being a hypocrite, while Rush is being “substantially impolite”. I favor the latter as better than the former. I believe, however, that by making comments which are boorish he distracts from the issue of Emmanuel’s hypocrisy and thus reduces the effectiveness of targeting Emmanuel by providing the opposition with some desperately needed ammunition for a distractive purpose.

    Because postmodern libs don’t accept the idea that there is any gradation of “bad behavior” — either you are innocent and pure as the driven snow (And, of course, a Democrat) or you are eeeeeeeeevil incarnate (Republicans).

    So when you give them a distractive thing to focus on, they WILL proclaim it long and loud, without the least margin of shame or guilt.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    IgotBupkis (79d71d)

  14. > Palin’s a hypocrite. Stop the presses.

    Imbecilliology is a troll. Anyone previously confused on this issue?

    IgotBupkis (79d71d)

  15. Considering that she told Glen Beck that we should worry about becoming a country that is too politically correct, then called for Rahm’s resignation, and now is calling out Rush. Will the real Sarah Palin please stand up?

    Since she seems to have a Beck position, Rush position and Rahm position I think it shows her capacity to be opportunistic and certainly reveals that she is not as plain spoken and sincere as some of her more ardent fans would like others to believe.

    voiceofreason2 (84baa2)

  16. I think it’s about time to redefine retarded – humans of normal intelligence who act in a manner that indicates their brains fell out.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    Vivian Louise (643333)

  17. You didn’t listen to the show. Rush was using satire to bash Emmanuel.

    Elle (3d0b57)

  18. I listened to the show. Both days. The quotes from Rush (here) are not framed with enough substance (IMO). He was pointing out that by repeating Rahm’s quote the day prior that now the media was coming after him as if they were his words. (Demonstrating the medias’s all too willingness to protect the WH and vilify him) He stated he was was putting the ownership back on Rahm by quoting him as that is what he does on the show. He explained that Palin is a long time listener of the show and understands he is quoting Rahm to tweak the WH and the media.

    I believe he was employing one of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals –Make your opponents live up to their own rules. The left is known for their use of political correctness and came into this administration promising to be a new civil “enlightened” form of government. I believe Rush was employing this tactic on behalf of Palin as it was used most brutally against her with all of the bogus ethics charges. ( A series of bizarre, orchestrated events and a flooding of the Gov.’s office that imo, most people do not still fully understand)In fact, another smear arose last night by some of the same specious characters and was printed dutifully by the note blog.

    Rush has no patience for political correctness and pointed out that the R word was actually in the HCR bill 9 times. (I believe he even remarked about what Ezekiel would want to do with the mentally handicapped)

    Rush thought it was funny that it was being used as a pejorative against Rahm’s own party.(And Rush readily agreed they were, “kooks”) He reported that Rahm had promised to remove the word from all legislation -a hollow promise, to be sure. Rahm is definitely feeling some heat-much to Limbaugh and probably Palin’s satisfaction.

    My personal reaction was that unless you have had a family member or friend live helplessly with the stigma of being less than mentally (and they do understand their deficiency in most cases) one would not understand how the word retarded, does cut to the quick. I was not ever permitted to use it growing up because my mother’s brother had suffered a nuchal cord at birth that had rendered him “mentally challenged”.

    After Rush had fun laughing at all of the media clips castigating him for something he did not say, but for quoting Emanuel, he then ceased using it.

    I do believe he was piling on in defense of Sarah and not being offensive (ignorant maybe). One must remember that Rush is not a father…yet. If Sarah was particularly upset with him she would have used his name in the one sentence reaction given by Stapleton. I can imagine how mother Cuda must feel upon hearing this term. I have seen the voluminous pictures of the handicapped coming to see her both on the trail and book tour and I do believe she wants to do right by them. It’s also nice to get back at the guy who bankrupted you and made your life a living hell.

    And to be fair, this excerpt, I believe, is from the criminal front group Media Mutters….

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    Cincy insomniac (f3eb7f)

  19. Hey, voiceofretardismtoo. Is it too much to ask that you, A) spell Glenn Beck’s name correctly; and, B) make a point that has even a scintilla of substance or sense behind it?

    Try to follow: just because Sarah-cuda told Beck that we should worry about becoming too politically correct DOES NOT mean that there is no line that shouldn’t be crossed. Palin is a ‘freedom-with-responsibility’ conservative libertarian, not an ‘anything goes’ anarchist (read: Leftist) libertarian.

    And where exactly is she “calling out Rush”? Sorry, buddy. That attempt at creating a fake feud is a no-go.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    Icy Texan (c0568e)

  20. 7.Palin’s a hypocrite. Stop the presses.
    Comment by Intelliology — 2/5/2010 @ 2:56 am

    — Okay, boy. Let’s try this slowly: What is it that she is a hypocrite about?

    Icy Texan (c0568e)

  21. Icy Texan,

    Consider the troll source. All it does is call names as a weapon. Call it a name and call it a day.

    PCD (46d16c)

  22. Palin is a hypocrite because she’s used her uterus. Seriously, how is this still a question? (insert sarcastic font here)

    Vivian Louise (643333)

  23. They both win. Hello……

    Any publicity is good publicity!!

    DrTony (ceb4d2)

  24. I’ve been listening to Rush just a bit lately. His take on the Tea-Baggers is as tone deaf as any.

    Re-taking the GOP is indeed the path of least resistance but real pressure has to be brought to bear as GOP leadership MUST be complete inorder that government be unwound and states reassert federalism.

    This is not possible without threatening GOP’s very continuance, and 2/3 of its candidates.

    Rush is just not strategically competent.

    gary gulrud (75a696)

  25. Sarah Palin is PC for people with mental disabilities and their families.. This should not be confused with empathy.

    imdw (8f8ead)

  26. Yesterday on Fox, Rush was very clear about the Tea Party protesters. Their objections are growth of government and out of control spending. He understands that it is not a political party, but a real grass roots rebellion.

    As for GOP Leadership, it’s doing pretty well. The conservatives who foolishly sat out the 2006 and 2008 elections are back. Thanks to Obama’s overreaching agenda, the republicans have won races in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Senate seats in New York, California, Delaware, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nevada and several other states are in play. McCain has a primary opponent. Too bad Lindsay Graham’s not up.

    My prediction is that the democrats will lose both houses of Congress in 2010. It will not be a social issue election. The key will be fiscal responsibility.

    arch (24f4f2)

  27. Considering that she told Glen Beck that we should worry about becoming a country that is too politically correct, then called for Rahm’s resignation, and now is calling out Rush. Will the real Sarah Palin please stand up?

    Since she seems to have a Beck position, Rush position and Rahm position I think it shows her capacity to be opportunistic and certainly reveals that she is not as plain spoken and sincere as some of her more ardent fans would like others to believe.

    Comment by voiceofreason2 — 2/5/2010 @ 3:07 am

    One would say all that if one didn’t consider there being different orders, families, genera and species in a wide ranging class called political correctness.

    That Palin was, on this subject, uniformly plain spoken as regards her position on the use of retard despite the differing occasions and employment, your assessment is rather shallow.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    Dusty (7bba43)

  28. There’s no conflict. Stapelton must not have been aware of the context in which Limbaugh used the word. Limbaugh’s got this shtick where whenever a Democrat says something embarrassing, and the press don’t blast that person for it, he repeats it and waits for the inevitable attack on him, and the trolls who have no idea that he’s quoting someone and think they’re his words. In that context any language that the person he’s quoting has used is by definition acceptable, because it’s not gratuitous.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  29. No, Meg doesn’t make a statement without Palin approving it, it’s a general statement, now falling into the same Democratic meme tournament, doesn’t really suit us does it; he’s a good man, lets give him a chance, to ‘fundamentally transform the United States of America’. Just like jumping the gun and assuming that O’Keefe was guilty, when it turns out that wasn’t close
    to certain.

    ian cormac (79614d)

  30. I had a hard time voting in this one.

    While on one hand I agree with Rush, I also agree that on a fundamental level name-calling doesn’t do anybody any good…

    But in the end, Palin is being consistent, and in the end she’s right.

    Scott Jacobs (46e187)

  31. #18/#26
    Next time Sharpton or Jackson do some foolish thing and plays the victim/race card we shall see how quickly your view changes.
    Unless you are saying she gets to define the acceptable lines and you nod your head up and down at whatever that may be. As the Church Lady used to say “How Convenient!”

    vor2 (c9795e)

  32. 30, No, vor2 troll, it was “How Special!” And, that is you, how special (Education) of you.

    PCD (1d8b6d)

  33. I don’t care about who’s allegedly “right” on this issue, but I’m getting a little tired regarding Palin’s continued rants on just about everything these days. She’s a private citizen and can speak her mind as often as she wishes, but must her every utterance be elevated to some kind of national response? Surely there are other voices to be heard on not just this issue, but so many others.

    And while I detest Rahm and all that he stands for, it was a private comment said in the denigration of his fellow lefties who are out of their minds on almost every issue – so he had a point, however clumsily he made it. I know that conservatives are held to a ridiculous standard compared to Dems (see Lott, Trent) but enough said about this brouhaha.

    Dmac (539341)

  34. Tsk tsk PCD – check Wikipedia and what do you find
    “She was known for the catchphrases, “Well, isn’t that SPE-CIAL?!”, “How con-VEEN-ient!”, and “Could it be…SATAN?”

    Back to class for you my memory challenged colleague.

    vor2 (c9795e)

  35. Next time Sharpton or Jackson do some foolish thing and plays the victim/race card we shall see how quickly your view changes.

    Please tell us how Jackson suffered in the political arena when he uttered his infamous “HymieTown” rant against NYC’s jews. Did he lose any stature or his leadership post at RUSH after these incredibly racist comments?

    Then please detail how Sharpton suffered after his incitement for mobs to kill a Korean grocer that his group was boycotting. Please also include a detailed summary of his loss of income and stature after his smearing of the entire NYC police force after his fraudulent “Tawany Bradley” incident, which served to inflame the worst kind of passions among his followers, as did the Korean riot.

    Tell us, who was among the first loudmouths demanding that the idiot Imus resign for his “nappy – headed hos” comment? Anyone come to mind? Then please detail the conservatives who uttered un – PC things (like Lott) and basically suffered no loss of income or public stature.

    (crickets chirping)

    Asshat.

    Dmac (539341)

  36. Comment by Dmac — 2/5/2010 @ 6:37 am

    A double standard is not justifiable dependent on one’s political views.
    In other words you can’t have it both ways and not expect to be called on it chucklehead.

    vor2 (c9795e)

  37. Vor2, doesn’t change the fact you an obama tool troll. Nor does it prove anything but that you are a fool.

    PCD (1d8b6d)

  38. Well I don’t recall who it was exactly, but I believe I saw it on Instapundit first. But you’re right on one thing, Sharpton can lie, can incite to murder, ‘Freddies’s Fashion Mart’ and there is practically no outlet on the right that doesn’t have him on, Rush and probably Ingraham are the exception to the rule. On the other hand, she is pilloried for things that likely never happened, or distorted beyond all imaginings, eg; Couric interview)

    ian cormac (79614d)

  39. Rush does this all the time and on purpose (anticipating the free publi…er…expected response). Chelsea Clinton, Donovan McNabb…because he can, he will. People are free to listen or change stations.

    It’s also a schoolkid playground insult (and forgivable that way) usually directed at other children, thus questionable talking-point fodder for grown men. Even if the intent is to only “illustrating absurdity by being absurd”.

    This’ll all blow over in a week, or at least until someone in the Administration cracks another “Special Olympics” joke near an open mic. And Rush will retain his 20M+ weekly audience.

    furious (71af32)

  40. Interesting how Palin went after Emmanuel like it was a demolition derby but goes after Rush like it’s a pillow fight.

    JEA (9f9fc9)

  41. Fallout from Rahm “F***ing Retarded” Emanuel’s Incivility…

    First, read this. Am I missing something? Or does the word “retarded” simply mean slowed, impeded, held back? What is “crude,” “demeaning,” or “name calling” about the word? It seems purely diagnostic. I understand that Sarah Palin has a child….

    Big Lizards (413f0a)

  42. I heard Rush talking about this at length yesterday, pointing out how state-controlled media would distort his mockery of Rahmbo to provoke a fight with Palin. But Palin is a longtime Rush listener and knows what he’s doing is puncturing the PC pretensions of the left. Rush did the same thing with Dingy Harry’s “Negro dialect” remark and said before the week was out, the media would make it appear that Rush had said it.

    Since there is no Palin/Limbaugh conflict, despite the utmost media attempts to foment one, I didn’t vote in the poll.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  43. I don’t get why someone would label McCain sycophant Sarah Palin as a “conservative icon.”

    Personality cults are not now and have never been conservative.

    happyfeet (713679)

  44. It’s indisputable I think that Sarah Palin has hamhandedly increased the usage of her no-no word, and Rush helped considerably in accomplishing this.

    FAIL.

    happyfeet (713679)

  45. “pointing out how state-controlled media”

    What a world this guy must live in.

    imdw (306210)

  46. Sarah Palin is the most widely-reviled figure the Republican Party has ever produced.

    Let’s nominate her!

    happyfeet (713679)

  47. Palin’s comment by her spokesman (not Palin herself) is merely obligatory. It doesn’t even name Rush. It is designed to make her consistent. I don’t consider it to be an attack on Rush.

    Emanuel is still in trouble.

    Debatable (4ff715)

  48. oh happyfeet,

    This thread was tailor made for you.

    I don’t think this issue should really affect how we vote for Palin. I simply disagree that the line was crossed by Rush. A few people characterize her positino as saying she doesn’t want an unreasonable PC line drawn, but draws it here (and doesn’t think it’s unreasonable). So perhaps she isn’t being a hypocrite.

    But I would draw the line elsewhere. Rush’s broadcast on Rahm and the word ‘retard’ is not crossing my line.

    I sure wish this was the most important issue facing us, but it’s not even on our radar. It’s not a sign of GOP weakness or Palin’s incompetence. It’s just a good example of how the right shouldn’t be a damn echo chamber worshiping our One.

    Palin is not inevitable. She’s going to have to beat a lot of strong GOP contenders who will be drawn out by the Won’s weakness in 2012. Sometimes we all see examples where she just plain doesn’t act like a seasoned national politician. Here’s a good example of that. That’s both a big plus and a somewhat of a minus. It enables liberals to pull out that meaningless universal charge of “hypocrite”, even when it’s really just a nuanced honest view that can’t be summed up in 3 words like some Obama motto.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  49. Where is the “Support Neither” button?
    We are too PC. If I decide I don’t like being called old, because, honestly, I don’t feel that old. Can I scream racism or that my feelings are hurt? (I know I could if I was a liberal.)

    Get over it and move on! I don’t like the word “retard/ed”, because it is typically used as an insult. (like Rambho’s use of “F****** retard”).
    But, so what? If he had said F****** Stupid could stupid people start screaming? Or how about F****** Women/Girls (meaning not strong enough to stand up to the Republicans)?

    We spend way too much time trying to phrase things too not offend someone/something! Look at the TSA. I get searched almost everytime I fly and you can’t get more middle class/evil white guy than me! Search the ones blowning stuff up, don’t waste time “balancing the searches”.
    Example: Myself, wife and 18 mo old trying to board a puddle jumper. Call for early boards and we get up and then get pulled to side. We have a baby, car seat, stroller, diaper bag and one carry on. The jerks made us take the shoes off my freaking KID! We were the last ones on the plane, fortunately the other passangers were as mad as we were and saved us the first 3 seats, so we didn’t have to fight our way back.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    cstmbuild (be02cc)

  50. Ah, feets, her example, a generally moderate governor who no one really had any objections to, till Aug 29th, shows the pitfalls of the system, Most of the negativity comes from things that are
    known to be lies, distortions, and ellisions of the truth. Now we can chalk up part of this to the Romney partisans in the McCain apparat, but the left’s mendacity is the bigger element

    ian cormac (79614d)

  51. ian has a point, happyfeet. I wasn’t in line with him the last time Palin came up, but the truth is that an argument of ‘they all hate her’ is just an argument for giving the democrat machine authority to select our candidate. There are valid ways to criticize Palin without crediting the very dishonest hatchet jobs or their unfortunate effect.

    Last I checked, Palin is competitive against Obama anyway. And we all know that whoever runs against him will face this hatchet job. If anything, Palin’s discrediting the smears earlier than the rest is a tremendous advantage. So if electability is your primary concern (and it isn’t, we both know that you think she’s a cynical politician and not the strongest option), then she doesn’t necessarily lose.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  52. I’m much opposed to the concept of political correctness, but I’m not sure this situation is a PC problem. I don’t know what it is like to be a parent of a handicapped child. I don’t know what it is like to be a person with this handicap. Sarah is a national figure with experience in this area, and I think its great she has a platform to defend people who cannot defend themselves. So I have a lot of sympathy for her position.

    On the other hand, I don’t think Rahm was trying to demean people with handicaps. As in any argument where you think you are right, and believe you have convincing evidence of same and the other party isn’t being convinced, you wonder what is wrong with the other person’s brain. Even if Down’s Syndrome didn’t exist, this would still be the case. “f-bomb retarded” is a shorthand way of conveying that. There doesn’t need to be any association with people with handicaps. Any association of that remark with handicapped persons is the result of the person who received the communication, not necessarily the person who sent it.

    Rahm’s comment was made in a group of people that assumably did not have a handicapped person present. His comment would not be known to us had somebody else not repeated it, and no one is going after those who did. I’m fairly certain Rahm did not expect his comment to have the distribution it got. Somebody else gave the comment that distribution. I don’t read minds very well, so I don’t know if the person who divulged the comment wanted to hurt Rahm or not, but without their conveyance of his message, no one outside that meeting would have been offended. A question people could ask themselves if a handicapped person got this message: “Who made sure this person got a message that was never intended for them?”

    So even though I don’t like Rahm, I think he’s been much maligned over nothing. He has apologized, but apologies only are meaningful if the person does so because they really are sorry, not because they are made to do so. Once someone has demanded an apology, as in this case, any apology is then tainted by coercion and can’t be trusted. So I’ll never know if Rahm was really sorry. If people want to know why politicians lie, its sometimes because we explicitly ask them to.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    jeff (0204be)

  53. We see this with the mendacious garbage on the thread before and after, about O’Keefe, who isn’t a candidate, who admitted didn’t chose the swiftesr
    way to take down Landrieu, yet he was detained fora fair period of times, while a whole ‘bodyguard of lies’ was created, and a whole new set was generated by Blumethals fils, and echoed by St.Elizabeth here.

    ian cormac (79614d)

  54. Palin is not inevitable but for this to be true it would take a bit of saying so, no?

    I volunteer.

    I agree Palin was as moderate a governor but she was as moderate as she was unremarkable I think. I supported her right up until she shafted her Alaskan supporters and headed off for the bright lights and fame and money singing here’s your one chance Sarah don’t let me down to herself.

    I agree that much of what is said about her is unfair. But she’s deluded if she thinks the predictable backlash of support she’s accumulated is a ticket to the White House.

    It’s very simple. When people say Sarah Palin is white trash or stupid or self-promoting, there’s a faction of Team R what says hey if they’re saying that about Sarah they’re saying that about me. And so Sarah has become a tool of revenge and vindication and affirmation. And Sarah hopes to use that for her benefit.

    The truest criticism of Sarah Palin is that she’s an incredibly opportunistic and self-serving woman. That’s not unusual for politicians, but Sarah Palin’s ambition is not harmless. The woman is an incredible burden on Team R’s branding and the appeal of conservatism that both Team R and our little country can ill-afford right now.

    With her it’s always about her and it will always be about her.

    America needs to rise up as one and say bad lady go away. Go away bad lady. And then we can all move forward together and see what is left of our poor ravaged little country what we can salvage.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  55. With Palin, the term “retard” is personal.
    She loves Trig and is protective of him, and by extension is protective of others with the same disability and their families (imdw: should try to read this as empathy).

    She can do whatever she wants on this issue and the only way to look at it is that she is driven by her own personal experience.
    She can chastise and forgive whoever she wants, however she wants, as a mom and an advocate.
    Everyone is free to ignore her if they want.

    Limbaugh and Palin are not White House chiefs of staff and their words do not reflect on the office of the President.
    The real story is that highest office in the land has an a$$ @ named Emmanuel running it.

    [note: released from moderation. –Stashiu]

    SteveG (909b57)

  56. I wonder, when Rahm Emanuel called the nut roots “f*****g retards”, was he referring to their cognitive abilities or sexual habits?

    nk (db4a41)

  57. And Mrs. Palin should lighten up. We know she has a personal stake. But neither Eamnuel nor Rush were talking about her kid.

    nk (db4a41)

  58. Or any other kids. Stupid grownups exercising political influence.

    nk (db4a41)

  59. Sorry, Patterico. The Rush bit was an obvious satire on Rahm Emmanuel and not a slur on the retarded. I heard it personally. If you don’t believe it, pull it up on Rush’s website. Moreover, a Palin spokeswoman has called Limbaugh personally to say remarks about her supposed criticism of Rush were taken out of context. That’s where it stands as of 9:00am Friday morning.

    trentk269 (7d6bc1)

  60. happyfeet,

    I’m glad you’re volunteering. The main aspect of Palin that I don’t like is that she has some supporters who are into a (less ridiculous version of) Obama style fan worship. It’s just not how I roll.

    I wouldn’t go as afar as you do, but of course she’s a self serving self promoter to some extent. She’s a freaking politician. She wants to be the president (whether or not she goes for it, she wants it). It takes a certain kind of mind to think you should do that. So I guess I’m saying is there is not alternative to self serving self promoting politicians, and Palin is hardly an extreme case. In many of her actions, she’s been pretty good to her constituents when a politically easier choice came along.

    If someone better comes along, and I think someone will, I’ll support them. But let’s not get carried away.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  61. Was it “f*****g*(sic) or “retards” that put my comment #55 in the spam filter?

    nk (db4a41)

  62. Palin’s comment by her spokesman (not Palin herself) is merely obligatory. It doesn’t even name Rush. It is designed to make her consistent. I don’t consider it to be an attack on Rush.

    That’s what I thought of the comment. State-controlled media is frantically trying to create a controversy, just as El Rushbo predicted.

    Bradley J. Fikes, C. O.R. (a18ddc)

  63. “With Palin, the term “retard” is personal.
    She loves Trig and is protective of him, and by extension is protective of others with the same disability and their families (imdw: should try to read this as empathy).”

    I absolutely agree, Steve. This PC nonsense just gives each side an excuse to ram the person (pun intended). Lott being forced to stpe down was ridiculous, just like this is.

    Limbaugh deliberately says things to generate publicity and controversy, which helps his ratings (he’s a master at this). Anybody remember ‘the NFL wants a black QB to succeed’ comment? It’s all calculated by him.

    As an uncle of a child with Down’s, ‘retard’ would insult me if someone said it to him directly (or indirectly). But this ruckus over both Emmanuel and Limbaugh is over the top, and just an excuse to pummel the opposition.

    JEA (9f9fc9)

  64. Henry Ford must be tossing in his grave! If you are old enough to remember he was the one that inscribed “RETARD” or “ADVANCE” on the spark lever located on the steering column on the Model “A” Ford. Advance meant to go faster and “RETARD” meant to go slower. I understand the term then was turned into a completely different meaning by calling slow thinking persons “retarded”. I even recall a elementary teacher telling a classmate she wasn’t retarded because she was a slow learner and if anyone in the class called her that name they would answer to the teacher and their parents.

    EART (9d1bb3)

  65. I took Rush’s saying “There’s going to be a retard summit at the White House. Much like the beer summit” as “a summmit of those in the administration’s that like to use the word “retard”, so they can figure out how to cover their PC butts…not “a summit of retards”. You can’t just throw the text blurbs out there without the full context. Everyone will just view the comments from their own point of view.

    Gary Kline (dcae77)

  66. The poll is stupid. It’s not a face-off, they simply don’t see it the same way. Rush is and always has been provocative. Palin’s child has a disability. Why the feigned shock that they’d see the controversy from different perspectives?

    Born Free (b6da99)

  67. Well, the Palin vs Rush thing won’t work because at the end of the day, the result is that they both agree on the much bigger issues of the day. Both have expanded their credibility (if that is possible) with their targets, be that the ‘Be more decent’ or ‘I don’t care what you want me to say’ types, and both will endorse the policies and likely the same candidates in 100% of non-Mccain elections.

    It’s like reverse triangulation. Jim Webb and Andrew Sullivan both support the same platform.

    If this is the crack in the big tent’s foundation, we are sitting pretty.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  68. Per Rush on his show this morning: Palin’s spokeswoman denies totally that she was attacking Rush. The drive-by took a generic point, after numerous attempts to get this woman to speak to Rush specifically, and created a mess where none exists.

    Me – Palin likely welcomes Rush’s skewering of those who talk about respecting all life while doing things that demean it. The hypocrisy is all on the left. Rush was defending the dignity of those who are challenged against the mendacious pols who use them for their own purposes, and abandon them when inconvenient.

    Ed from SFV (f6a87d)

  69. Ed from SFV,
    Thanks for the update. I look forward to hearing that when I download El Rushbo’s podcast. He plays state-controlled media like a Stradivarius.

    Bradley J. Fikes (16e099)

  70. Hmm, looks like Rush and Sarah are basically in agreement, then. And ‘the media’ is tripping over itself to portray it as violently in agreement.

    All part of The Victim and Grievance Theater™, which we WILL be stuck with, until we reject the underlying rules of this toxic little game.

    One reason the libs love it so much, is that they can always depend upon those on the right to form a circular firing squad, and blaze away.

    Somewhere, Pavlov is smiling.

    Wind Rider (d928f4)

  71. actually no. Rush believed in broadcasting the r-word for humorous effect while Sarah believes the word is heartbreakingly hurtful.

    You can’t square this divergence without adducing the following facts:

    1. Sarah was jumping on Rahm for political gain. She thought this would be a Win.

    2. Sarah thinks Rush might be useful down the line so she loves him more than beans.

    Sarah didn’t think through this stunt carefully. The internet poll is probably not terribly off-the-mark. She should be very careful about parading this shrieky judgey calling for people’s jobs side of herself because men simply don’t find it attractive.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  72. I support freedom of speech for all three.

    Emmanuel’s words came as the chief of staff of the President of the USA.
    That used to mean something, but obviously the office of the President has been diminished lately

    SteveG (909b57)

  73. hf,

    I agree they fill different roles but I reach a different conclusion. Rush Limbaugh is like a columnist who opines on the news, especially political news, and sometimes he uses inflammatory rhetoric that appeals to emotion to make his points. I think Sarah Palin should be compared to Barack Obama and even Rahm Emanuel, because all of them are or want to be our leaders. As a rule, a leader’s job is to avoid inflammatory rhetoric and appeal to reason and judgment.

    Different roles means different rhetoric. I don’t favor censuring speech but that doesn’t mean I won’t judge it. Rush made his point, Rahm was wrong, and Sarah’s right.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  74. Rush made his point, Rahm was wrong, and Sarah’s right.

    Amen.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  75. don’t tell anyone but I decided to exorcise a certain word from my vocabulary…

    But … mostly … how to say? As a good protein wisdom kid I sort of see this in a certain way.

    Nobody ever answered my question about how was the inquisition of Rahm different than that of Mr. Stacy?

    Not that anyone has to it’s just sort of a hint at what I mean by a good pw kid.

    happyfeet (713679)

  76. that third sentence isn’t supposed to have a question mark… it totally screws it up I think.

    happyfeet (713679)

  77. I’m not sure how the inquisitions were different. They seem alike to me — people talking about the words Rahm and R.S. McCain used, and using that as a basis to evaluate their motives and beliefs.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  78. You’re a good protein wisdom kid too a little I think.

    happyfeet (713679)

  79. Well, happyfeet, is there anything wrong with using the words Rahm used as a basis to evaluate his (instead of motives and beliefs) professionalism?

    If not, then Palin, PW kid or not, had a point in the larger issue about Rahm’s comments, if not so much when her spokeperson was quoted (or misquoted) ‘attacking’ Rush.

    Rush was being demeaning, and I don’t see why anyone should mind. But Rahm should either drop the attitude or find a position that he is more suited for, right?

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  80. Nobody ever answered my question about how was the inquisition of Rahm different than that of Mr. Stacy?

    Inquisition is a loaded word that doesn’t apply here. In both cases, the parties involved were called to account for their own words. Rahmbo apologized, although I’m sure it was just political expedience.

    I think RS McCain’s defense of his own statements was unconvincing. The Lincoln-hating stuff, which AFAIK RSM has not denied saying, is especially odious.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  81. Palin interviewed with Beck in mid January and made some starkly different comments about PC language. Listen for yourself starting at the 4:30 mark.
    http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/02/03/palin_and_political_correctness.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PoliticalWire+%28Taegan+Goddard%27s+Political+Wire%29

    then tell me how that squares against the events of the past week in showing she has a consistent position.

    voiceofreason2 (766fe0)

  82. whaaa? LBJ had him some words and Mr. Nixon too. We don’t elect people to tell us how to talk.

    We didn’t used to anyway. Now in personality cult America it seems we look to our leaders for a lot more than what is healthy, and it’s sad to see Team R taking to it with all the fervor of Team Dirty Socialist.

    happyfeet (713679)

  83. Even the lefties didn’t want this plan, this is back last August before ‘death panels’, so who’s being not too swift, I’d contend Emmanuel is, and his doc brother who’s not too keen on the
    hippocratic oath, excuse me. Yes we used to believe
    in principle, now we have cookie cutter people who
    don’t believe in anything. Who would not give up their lives, their fortune or their sacred honor.
    Sanford, Ensign, Craig, to just cite three sterling
    examples of what leadership has produced

    ian cormac (7b6e35)

  84. HF,
    whaaa? LBJ had him some words and Mr. Nixon too. We don’t elect people to tell us how to talk.

    Those words weren’t for the public, which never knew the truth until many years later. Today, hiding one’s words is much more difficult. That is one lesson public figures better learn.

    Another lesson, one that Rush taught well, is that the PC issues lefties use to enforce their agenda can also be used against them.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  85. we just need to nominate the most boring and judicious person we can find and I think our little country will find they’ve been very very hungry for such a one

    happyfeet (713679)

  86. Ah, HF, you make a very good point, one that I also worry about. I don’t want people rendered ineligible for office just because of some bad words.

    But look at it this way: If the lefties get cut enough from the two-edged sword of PC, maybe they’ll be less eager to wield it.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  87. maybe… but they have a media what lulls them into thinking they can always get away with whatever. Because mostly they can.

    happyfeet (713679)

  88. Totally OT, but perhaps of interest to those in SoCal, or who will be around San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 27 — A Tea Party rally downtown, near the Star of India.

    I will probably be going. For those who don’t want to drive, Amtrak takes you to within a few blocks of the event.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  89. And back on topic, I am surprised no one brought up this article from The Onion:

    Developmentally Disabled Burger King Employee Only Competent Worker
    MANCHESTER, NH–Despite his third-grade reading level and IQ of 71, developmentally disabled Burger King employee Andy Ehrman is the only competent member of the 22-person Frontage Road staff

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  90. VOR2,

    It sounded to me as if Palin and Beck were discussing PC speech in the context of censoring or banning speech, and both were against censorship — especially in light of the PC police state that Europe is becoming.

    They also discussed Harry Reid’s comments and Palin said (I’m paraphrasing) that his speech was inappropriate but she wanted Reid to go anyway — implying that her main concern was getting him out of office, not punishing him for his speech. FWIW that’s the way I feel about Rahm Emanuel. I don’t like his speech but I don’t like his politics, either, so I’d like him to go for a lot of reasons.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  91. Sorry about all the comments Stashiu had to release from moderation. It’s just that I put the term “retarded” into the list of words that toss you into moderation. Usually a great idea, as it directs idiot comments into moderation. But not so good for a day like today,

    Patterico (c218bd)

  92. No worries. 😉

    Stashiu3 (44da70)


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