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News & ArtsSaturday, August 1, 2009
Politics Wouldn't It Be Nice
Posted by Dan Savage on Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 8:30 PM
I was hoping for a sex scandal. A divorce isn't quite the same thing... but fingers crossed:
The story, first reported by The Immoral Minority blog who claims sources close to the Palins, has been picked up by many other blogs and local media including the Alaska Report, source of the infamous "Iceberg Scandal" reports that promised Palin's political demise just weeks before she stepped down as governor... In addition to the divorce allegations, which state that Palin's wedding ring, conspicuously missing from her finger recently, now resides at the bottom of an unnamed Alaskan lake, IM reports that "explosive" news in the form of a recent Levi Johnston interview with Vanity Fair, is due out in October.
1
Buckle up folks, this could be a very interesting ride.
Interesting that the article mentioned that without Palin in the picture that there is a chance of negotiating on the drug charges against Levi's mom rather than the "pushing for the maximum possible sentence" that Palin was going for.
I agree with Dan, it's too early to rule out that there may yet be revelations of a sex scandal. I'm sure we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg on this.
Interesting that the article mentioned that without Palin in the picture that there is a chance of negotiating on the drug charges against Levi's mom rather than the "pushing for the maximum possible sentence" that Palin was going for.
I agree with Dan, it's too early to rule out that there may yet be revelations of a sex scandal. I'm sure we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg on this.
2
I don't buy it. I think it's wishful thinking + shoddy "journalism".
That said, I wish for it to be true.
That said, I wish for it to be true.
3
If any of this is true, it partly makes me sad. Just as a gut reaction, without any kind of intellectual oversight involved, the idea of Sarah and Todd breaking up makes me sad. It shouldn't, but it does. I'm a romantic, I guess.
But then I think about the medieval reactionary crap that these folks stump for, and I wish misery upon both of them. I think I'm a bad person in both instances.
But then I think about the medieval reactionary crap that these folks stump for, and I wish misery upon both of them. I think I'm a bad person in both instances.
4
But. But. Doesn't the Christian book say that divorce is the worst of all sins? How could they even think of such a thing?
Delicious rumor. Just delicious.
Delicious rumor. Just delicious.
5
Um, no, it wouldn't be nice.
There are five kids involved (plus a grand kid), and all of them need a stable environment. Not to mention Todd and Sarah -- divorce is hell, no matter who you are.
Can't we just despise her policies, state loudly that she isn't competent to run a hot-dog stand, and leave off with the wishing personal ills?
I know it's tempting, but let us show the right how it's done by keeping our humanity intact.
There are five kids involved (plus a grand kid), and all of them need a stable environment. Not to mention Todd and Sarah -- divorce is hell, no matter who you are.
Can't we just despise her policies, state loudly that she isn't competent to run a hot-dog stand, and leave off with the wishing personal ills?
I know it's tempting, but let us show the right how it's done by keeping our humanity intact.
6
Nope. I'm going with schadenfreude this time. I'm bubbling over with glee, and I can't wait to watch this story unfold. The kids? Screw the kids. They're going to suffer either way, being raised by either or both of those people.
The only downside is that this probably precludes the least successful presidential campaign of all time. Shame, I was looking forward to it.
The only downside is that this probably precludes the least successful presidential campaign of all time. Shame, I was looking forward to it.
7
Some people are so dangerous and filled with malice and venom, you have to give in and detest them. I keep thinking about her basically encouraging Obama's assassination when she was on the campaign trail, stirring up hatred and violence. I have not one tiny bit of compassion for her - she's ambitious and amoral and frightening.
10
the clown car that just keeps giving. she's so much fun. oh and don't cry for her--the 11 mil book deal ought to soften the blow(s) somewhat.
11
She's turned frigid and is now pissed that Todd stopped a splittin' her Cheechakos... and he sure don't want none of her Sourdough.
14
Wait, let me guess: Todd just found out little Trig isn't his - or Sarah's either, right?
And I hear you @5. We like to think of ourselves as decent human beings, above the sort of petty, spiteful, low-road expressions a situation like this engenders, but frankly, where does that ever really get us? The hyperbolic, hypocritical moral absolutists on the right will tie themselves in pretzel-knots trying to rationalize away yet another failure of one of their chosen to live up to a code of conduct few, if any of them seem capable of managing, while at the same time whining to whomever will put it on the top-of-the-hour headlines news about how intolerant those of us on the Left are should we even comment about their transgressions.
Taking the high-road seldom seems to get us anywhere, so what the hell? If stooping to their level is the only thing they seem to understand, I guess once in a while it isn't going to hurt us to enjoy a brief moment or two of the old "I told you so" at their expense.
After all, WE didn't set the Palins up on that pedestal, they did that on their own, so they really shouldn't be the least bit surprised if we, for once, choose to extract a bit of self-congratulatory glee from their predicament; they'd do the same to us in a heartbeat if the tables were turned.
But, yeah. The kids are going to get the short end of the stick no matter how this plays out, and that truly does suck.
And I hear you @5. We like to think of ourselves as decent human beings, above the sort of petty, spiteful, low-road expressions a situation like this engenders, but frankly, where does that ever really get us? The hyperbolic, hypocritical moral absolutists on the right will tie themselves in pretzel-knots trying to rationalize away yet another failure of one of their chosen to live up to a code of conduct few, if any of them seem capable of managing, while at the same time whining to whomever will put it on the top-of-the-hour headlines news about how intolerant those of us on the Left are should we even comment about their transgressions.
Taking the high-road seldom seems to get us anywhere, so what the hell? If stooping to their level is the only thing they seem to understand, I guess once in a while it isn't going to hurt us to enjoy a brief moment or two of the old "I told you so" at their expense.
After all, WE didn't set the Palins up on that pedestal, they did that on their own, so they really shouldn't be the least bit surprised if we, for once, choose to extract a bit of self-congratulatory glee from their predicament; they'd do the same to us in a heartbeat if the tables were turned.
But, yeah. The kids are going to get the short end of the stick no matter how this plays out, and that truly does suck.
15
I'm with @5 on this one. I dislike Palin immensely as a person and as a politician for the cynicism with which she has conducted herself, as well as for her penchant for telling easily exposeable lies that, once exposed, she repeats and repeats.
However, having said that, the only thing that attacks based on anonymous blogs that go after her and/or her family does is give her more sympathy.
There is plenty about her that is fair game without having to rely on gossip.
However, having said that, the only thing that attacks based on anonymous blogs that go after her and/or her family does is give her more sympathy.
There is plenty about her that is fair game without having to rely on gossip.
16
@10: "(T)he clown car that just keeps giving" is is a tremendous gift to English-speaking bloggers everywhere. THANK YOU!
Having said that, I must admit that divorce is a fate that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I'm Catholic enough to consider marriage - however grueling - to be the best means of personal evolution.
Having said that, I must admit that divorce is a fate that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I'm Catholic enough to consider marriage - however grueling - to be the best means of personal evolution.
17
On wishing ill fortune on the Palins, no, it isn't necessarily ethically appropriate that we take glee in their grief, but part of what differentiates us from them (or rather the intolerant, conservative moralists people like the Palins represent to us) is that we accept that humans have foibles, including a sense of wrath when it comes to those who do us wrong, or would do us wrong if we let them. Wishing ill upon the jerks of this world is part of human nature; we prove the mettle of our civility when we choose not to extend the sentiment to our political positions, i.e the laws we advocate still give those we resent the same rights we get. The Palins, in their established positions against gay rights, sex education and abortion access have already demonstrated they do not extend others this same courtesy.
Regarding divorce, part of the problem is not the act of divorce, but the social stigma and the degree of drama that continues to reign when it occurs. We've become a long lived species, and now tend to outlive the cohesiveness of our relationships, simply because we change over time. When you and your spouse are significantly different people from those who you were when you married, it makes sense that you might not be meant to stay with each other any longer. If we could learn to regard such a shift not as a relationship flaw, or a weakness of character, but just the natural process of living and aging, divorce wouldn't be anywhere near the Hell that it is on partners or their dependents.
Regarding the Palins, as I said before, an affair would indicate that they have some semblance of humanity left in them, and for that reason I hope the scandal in question is a matter of the heart, rather than the alternatives (i.e. matters of money, property or other abuses of power).
More...
Regarding divorce, part of the problem is not the act of divorce, but the social stigma and the degree of drama that continues to reign when it occurs. We've become a long lived species, and now tend to outlive the cohesiveness of our relationships, simply because we change over time. When you and your spouse are significantly different people from those who you were when you married, it makes sense that you might not be meant to stay with each other any longer. If we could learn to regard such a shift not as a relationship flaw, or a weakness of character, but just the natural process of living and aging, divorce wouldn't be anywhere near the Hell that it is on partners or their dependents.
Regarding the Palins, as I said before, an affair would indicate that they have some semblance of humanity left in them, and for that reason I hope the scandal in question is a matter of the heart, rather than the alternatives (i.e. matters of money, property or other abuses of power).
20
Ah, but fortunately for the both of them, they are hetero. And it is their God-given right to marry multiple times, should they choose to do so.
So really, things aren't that bad for them.
So really, things aren't that bad for them.
21
Suborned in the U.S.A.
The theory that Obama was born in Kenya, that he was smuggled into the U.S., and that his parents somehow hoodwinked Hawaiian authorities into falsely certifying his birth in Oahu, is crazy stuff.
[...]
But the real question is: Why don’t the media — the watchdog legions who trekked to Sarah Palin’s Alaska hometown to scour for every kernel of gossip, and who were so desperate for Bush dirt that they ran with palpably forged military records — want to dig into Obama’s background?
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmJ…
Suborned in the U.S.A.
The theory that Obama was born in Kenya, that he was smuggled into the U.S., and that his parents somehow hoodwinked Hawaiian authorities into falsely certifying his birth in Oahu, is crazy stuff.
[...]
But the real question is: Why don’t the media — the watchdog legions who trekked to Sarah Palin’s Alaska hometown to scour for every kernel of gossip, and who were so desperate for Bush dirt that they ran with palpably forged military records — want to dig into Obama’s background?
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmJ…
23
Dear kook: your idiot links won't work until you register here. Please don't. We don't need The National Review's bullshit around here.
24
@21 You are so right. The Marxists keep making stuff up about Sarah because she is a strong intelligent Christian conservatives, and they can't stand that.
Feminists are only good when they're leftists, otherwise they must be destroyed.
But Sarah will not be destroyed. I predict that she will need a traditionalist revival in Congress in 2010, and Barack Hussein Obama will get his ass handed to him in 2012 (even with the media advocating for him again). Buyer's remorse has already set in, and this Marxist fool will be lucky to win 10 states.
That is, of course, unless the USSC does it's job and demands to see his birth certificate.
Feminists are only good when they're leftists, otherwise they must be destroyed.
But Sarah will not be destroyed. I predict that she will need a traditionalist revival in Congress in 2010, and Barack Hussein Obama will get his ass handed to him in 2012 (even with the media advocating for him again). Buyer's remorse has already set in, and this Marxist fool will be lucky to win 10 states.
That is, of course, unless the USSC does it's job and demands to see his birth certificate.
27
"That is, of course, unless the USSC does it's job and demands to see his birth certificate."
Darling, even if he was born abroad, he would still be a citizen because his mother is. By your "logic," multitudes of Army kids born overseas wouldn't be citizens either. Your argument is so utterly moot, and all the Black Panic attempts to cast him as the nation-sabotaging spawn of Fu Manchu and Sumuru are not going to convince anyone who isn't already writing angry letters to the government under a bare bulb. Bush was loathed because of bad policies and epic stupidity. No one had to make shit up.
Conversely, when you can supply me with La Palin's high school degree, her college diploma, an IQ test that proves she isn't hovering around 80 at best, a paper trail that reveals how her lake front home was constructed on the up and up, and her last "son's" real birth certificate, I'll buy that line.
Darling, even if he was born abroad, he would still be a citizen because his mother is. By your "logic," multitudes of Army kids born overseas wouldn't be citizens either. Your argument is so utterly moot, and all the Black Panic attempts to cast him as the nation-sabotaging spawn of Fu Manchu and Sumuru are not going to convince anyone who isn't already writing angry letters to the government under a bare bulb. Bush was loathed because of bad policies and epic stupidity. No one had to make shit up.
Conversely, when you can supply me with La Palin's high school degree, her college diploma, an IQ test that proves she isn't hovering around 80 at best, a paper trail that reveals how her lake front home was constructed on the up and up, and her last "son's" real birth certificate, I'll buy that line.
28
What is it with right wingers? Why are their woes ALWAYS the fault of someone else (the media, the unions, the gays) and not themselves?
Sarah Palin came out of nowhere to beat the entrenched Old Boys in Juneau and became the big hero for the hard right. Unfortunately THEY didn't look too closely at her, and she's provided the GOP and christianists with one embarrassing story after another. Gee, if only the media had given her a fair shake.
Some rightie on a Colorado blog, while talking about how HE doesn't believe the birthers but how it's illustrative of how little we supposedly know about Obama (whatever), quoted Andrew McCarthy:
Any rightie like the unregistered coward @ 21 should consider that when posing questions like he does. If Clinton didn't dig anything else up, it's because there was NOTHING to dig up. The press knows not to go wasting its time.
(And isn't it ironic? That quote is from the article that the coward tried to link. If only he had given it some thought...
Sarah Palin came out of nowhere to beat the entrenched Old Boys in Juneau and became the big hero for the hard right. Unfortunately THEY didn't look too closely at her, and she's provided the GOP and christianists with one embarrassing story after another. Gee, if only the media had given her a fair shake.
Some rightie on a Colorado blog, while talking about how HE doesn't believe the birthers but how it's illustrative of how little we supposedly know about Obama (whatever), quoted Andrew McCarthy:
In any event, even if you were of a mind to indulge the Kenyan-birth fantasy, stop, count to ten, and think: Hillary Clinton. Is there any chance on God's green earth that, if Obama were not qualified to be president, the Clinton machine would have failed to get that information out?
Any rightie like the unregistered coward @ 21 should consider that when posing questions like he does. If Clinton didn't dig anything else up, it's because there was NOTHING to dig up. The press knows not to go wasting its time.
(And isn't it ironic? That quote is from the article that the coward tried to link. If only he had given it some thought...
29
i bet you all an ice cream this is just a dumb rumor meant to make you wet your pants with gooey schadenfreude.
30
Levi + Cooper speaking of futuristic fantasies - but it's hot again, and I hear the Blue Angels overhead reportedly flying in the nude making my day so far. Wonder if Lord Basil's surname is Wrathbone?
31
Onion, at best we'll get false hope of gooey schadenfreude; we're clever enough to wait until it comes out in Reuters or Associated Press before we cream our jeans about it.
On the other hand, I remain convinced that something went down; Pitbull Girl (Palin's superhero name) was made of sterner stuff than to be taken down by local press slander. Were she to have become veep, she'd have to deal with daily proverbial body-cavity explorations by the press and by rival PACs. And of them making evil shit up when they couldn't find anything real.
No, her line of having suddenly become soft and squishy doesn't fly. Something real happened. We may not discover it for a while; she may have been blackmailed out of office and so everyone is keeping mum, but it did happen.
Gooey schadenfreude all around when it finally gets aired. At least, here's hoping it's gooey.
On the other hand, I remain convinced that something went down; Pitbull Girl (Palin's superhero name) was made of sterner stuff than to be taken down by local press slander. Were she to have become veep, she'd have to deal with daily proverbial body-cavity explorations by the press and by rival PACs. And of them making evil shit up when they couldn't find anything real.
No, her line of having suddenly become soft and squishy doesn't fly. Something real happened. We may not discover it for a while; she may have been blackmailed out of office and so everyone is keeping mum, but it did happen.
Gooey schadenfreude all around when it finally gets aired. At least, here's hoping it's gooey.
32
Comte . You should still tAke the high road for your sake and for the sake of our party. We know it's mostly the extremists on each side that get the press . But the are more rational voices on both sides. Some of those rational people on the left and some on the right only see the worst in the other side, and like you, toy with the idea of taking the low road. This only makes it worse for everyone (even yourself) nut especially for those who still try to take the high road. It may not be the most satisfying approach in the short term, and it may be difficult, but we will all be better off by morenof us taking the high road. Instead it's like some are just looking for excuses to take the easier path...
33
Palin's lawyer sent the blogger a letter on her behalf demanding he retract the story and issue an apology or he would be sued. He also threatened the blogger that the papers would be served to him at his job.....as an assistant kindergarten teacher. Stay classy Palin!
http://alaskareport.com/news39/x71284_fl…
http://alaskareport.com/news39/x71284_fl…
34
Delighting and wishing for personal misery for others;
especially divorce where children are involved;
is sad, petty, small, anti-family and anti-children--
but par for the course from Dan.
especially divorce where children are involved;
is sad, petty, small, anti-family and anti-children--
but par for the course from Dan.
37
Dan,
Could you please refresh my memory? Umm, which party is it again that subscribes to the Politics of Hate?
Dan,
Could you please refresh my memory? Umm, which party is it again that subscribes to the Politics of Hate?
40
I keep hoping that Palin will create a pemanent split in the Republican party. She needs to keep her appeal to the religious nutjobs. A sex scandal might ruin that.
41
Everyone knows that Sarah Palin was actually John McCain's love child from back in his Navy days, so even though she was born in Finland, she's an American due to her dad.
There, cleared up that birther problem for you.
There, cleared up that birther problem for you.
42
Billcat @37, there's a difference between politics of hate and pure honest hatred. The former is activism that either legislates or appeals to segregationist sentiments. The latter (other than being a Klingon virtue) is a feeling that is openly acknowledged or expressed.
From what I understand of Dan, he would advocate that ones sexual misadventures, be they an addiction to nookie, a previous career in pornography, or explorations of a different orientation (or whatever) should not figure into one's public appeal as a representative (unless said misadventures curb one's ability to govern). Given that Palin has been of the sort to judge otherwise, the revelation of such a scandal would essentially be hoisting her on her own proverbial petard, seasoned well by her obvious lack of empathy for those outside her personal range of experience.
And I think poetic justice is delicious, no matter the ideology from whence one comes.
From what I understand of Dan, he would advocate that ones sexual misadventures, be they an addiction to nookie, a previous career in pornography, or explorations of a different orientation (or whatever) should not figure into one's public appeal as a representative (unless said misadventures curb one's ability to govern). Given that Palin has been of the sort to judge otherwise, the revelation of such a scandal would essentially be hoisting her on her own proverbial petard, seasoned well by her obvious lack of empathy for those outside her personal range of experience.
And I think poetic justice is delicious, no matter the ideology from whence one comes.
43
@37 My hatred of Palin has nothing to do with politics. I don't even have to go there. I hate her because I hate stupid, unqualified people who can't form a coherent thought.
And by hate, I mean I'm too busy to think about her much at all... :)
And by hate, I mean I'm too busy to think about her much at all... :)
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