I can't endorse Josh Marshall enough in his countering the "don't pay attention to her" crowd:
Frequently a reader will write in to say, "Why are you giving her so much attention? You're just pumping her up. If you and the other places would stop giving her so much oxygen, she and her whole circus would just wither away."
I don't know which circle of the hell of myopia you need to be residing in to think like this. But it's very deep in there, I assure you. Much as I love this thing our team has created, I assure you that Palin's popularity, notoriety, footprint on the public stage is quite independent of TPM. Indeed, TPM and a dozen other similar or not so similar publications you can find on the web. Palin is such a big deal because she's got a chunk of the political nation that is very, very into her. She's resonates deeply with her core supportes. She's one of those people who cuts an electric figure on the public stage because she slices right through the society and generates one intense response from one side and a completely opposite but equally intense response from the rest. And she says, let's be honest, a lot of really crazy stuff.
He goes on:
This is actually a real blind spot for liberals in general -- the idea that things that are crazy or tawdry or just outrageous are really best ignored. Don't give them more attention. You're just giving them what they want. Or maybe it's not so practical and utilitarian. Maybe, they say, it's just beneath us. Focus on the important stuff.
On so many levels this represents an alienation from the popular political culture which is not only troubling in itself but actually damages progressive and center-left politics in general no end. It's almost the fatal flaw. Democrats often console themselves that even when they don't win elections, usually their individual policies are more popular than those of Republicans. Too bad you can't elect a policy. It's true for instance that Health Care Reform -- which still has more opponents than supporters -- is pretty popular when you ask people about its individual components. But why is that? It's not random, because that pattern crops up again and again. It's another one of the examples where liberals -- or a certain strain of liberalism -- focuses way too much on the libretto of our political life and far too little on the score. It's like you're at a Wagner opera reading the libretto with your ear plugs in and think you've got the whole thing covered.
Politics can never be separated from policy, unless you're in a political science class or getting a Phd in health care economics. The two are inextricably combined. And any attempt to pry them apart in a deep way is not only hopeless but also deeply wrongheaded.
Bingo! Sounds like some shit I would say. That is exactly why we should be paying attention to her. Last week illustrated that when we go on the offensive, for a change, she will be caught tripping all over herself and suffer. We don't know yet if Palin will recover, but if she does, we aren't going to beat her by "ignoring her" and sticking our heads in the sand like a bunch of dumb ass ostriches. She will be in the field, hustling. We'll be standing around saying "they're no way she can win" and then before you know it liberals will be standing around calling the average voter stupid and talking about moving to Canada. Angry Mouse will tell you straight up: TAKE HER ON.
Wan't some news? Guess who is putting together an operation in Iowa? Look who is #2 in the very latest WaPo/ABC poll among Republicans:
| 1/16/11 | 7/18/09 |
---|
Mike Huckabee | 21 | 26 |
Sarah Palin | 19 | 19 |
Mitt Romney | 17 | 21 |
Newt Gingrich | 9 | 10 |
Chris Christie | 8 | NA |
Rick Perry | 3 | NA |
Mitch Daniels | 2 | NA |
Tim Pawlenty | 2 | 4 |
Mike Pence | 2 | NA |
Haley Barbour | 1 | 1 |
Jim DeMint | 1 | NA |
Jon Huntsman | 1 | NA |
Rick Santorum | 1 | NA |
John Thune | * | NA |
Other (vol.) | 1 | 2 |
None of these (vol.) | 6 | 5 |
Would not vote (vol.) | * | 1 |
No opinion | 6 | 6 |
That's right. Post "blood libel" she's exactly where she was during the heat of Tea Party anti-healthcare mania. You're saying don't pay attention? You've got to be kidding me. She's perfectly positioned to get the nomination. Who else on that list is more compelling to the Republican Base as her? Who else will have Rush and Fox News as personal dobermans?
For the more cynical among you, wouldn't the national media, especially Fox News, pull down a ratings bonanza by having a really competitive GOP primary with Palin in the mix? I don't think anybody wants to see a debate between Mitt Romney and John Thune. Or Mitch Daniels and Tim Pawlenty. Sarah Palin vs. __________? Absolutely.
Yes, we know Obama will crush her but...maybe not? Events have a way intruding on our certainties.
So you can keep dismissing her as a money-hungry, inconsequential nobody if you want to. You can demand that this blog and others simply stick our collective heads in the sand and pretend she isn't there. But that wont change the basic fundamentals: Sarah Palin isn't as far away from the oval office as we might think. We have every reason to take her seriously and treat her as roughly as possible.
(h/t to Eclectablog for the nifty table code!)