Sarah Barracuda: The Tea Party Queen - By Eugene Robinson

[kpete]

The Tea Party Queen

Friday 12 February 2010
Eugene Robinson
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She's a great performer, though. And I'm not mad at her for writing notes for the Tea Party speech on her palm; it was almost charming, in a regular-gal kind of way. Palin knows how to whip up a crowd, and her nickname from her days as a high-school basketball star, Sarah Barracuda, aptly describes a finely tuned killer instinct. Her put-down of the Obama administration -- "How's that hopey-changey stuff working out for you?" -- might have been unfair, but it did have teeth.

Where does any of this really take her, though? It's certainly true that Palin has a knack for expressing the restlessness and anger of many Americans who are buffeted by economic crisis, fed up with a dysfunctional political culture in Washington and tired of feeling as if their voices are being ignored. So far, however, all that Palin's talent has accomplished is to make her the Tea Party Queen. That could be a valuable platform for a national campaign, but even a politician with Palin's undeniable charisma is eventually going to have to, you know, say something. Beyond nostrums about "common-sense solutions," I mean.

What does Palin actually propose? I realize she might consider this a trick question, like the time that mean Katie Couric asked about what she reads. But isn't it awfully patronizing to act as if her followers are so dazzled by her very presence that they will never seek to pin her down on a single issue? The polls certainly suggest this is a serious miscalculation.

There's a word for those who, like Palin, act as if the voters are mere sheep who don't need to be troubled by discussion of what their government should actually do. The word -- and Palin might want to cover her ears -- is elitist.

more:
http://www.truthout.org/eugene-robinson-the-tea-party-queen56847

[spanone]

1. k&r