George W. Bush. Sarah Palin. Michelle Bachman. Robyn Hayes. These are all Republican "politicians." Why, you may ask, do I put the word "politician" in quotes when all of them, unfortunately, have been elected to represent the United States at one level or another? Because they're not real politicians, they're the GOP base polished by Gingrich media training and unleashed upon us by Rovian tactics. They aren't professional politicians, they are amateurish wingnut fans, and that's why they fail so miserably.
The question about all of these people becomes whether they actually believe the talking points. Are these four horribly cynical, or just this ignorant and crazy?
I believe that the facts, from Bush's continued belief that history will vindicate his decisions to Palin/Bachman/Hayes' failure to back down from divisive comments indicates the latter. These people are just plain ignorant and crazy, which brings us to the crux of this discussion: when Republicans say that they like Sarah Palin because "She's one of us," it's a serious problem.
"One of us" is a wingnut. "One of us" doesn't remember much from high school civics class, and didn't learn much to begin with. "One of us" is the type of person who gets their news from FOX and Newsmax, from Coulter, O'Reilly and Limbaugh.
Bush, Palin, Bachman and Hayes, are not politicians, they are wingnut trolls, they are dittoheads, they are fans of the movement, without the education or the intelligence to think beyond the talking points. When Bush talks about history vindicating him, it's because he still thinks he's right about Iraq. When Palin contradicted McCain's Pakistan position, it was because she was working from a set of beliefs, not any deep sense of policy or strategy. When Bachman and Hayes exhumed McCarthy's remains, it wasn't a cynical ploy to create a wedge, it was because they are describing their beliefs.
These are unserious, unqualified persons who do not deserve to govern, who cannot be allowed to govern. They are worse than cynical: they are dangerously ignorant. They are worse than hypocritical: they are dangerously unaware of the implications of their actions.
By all indications a surprising majority of the American people have taken their measure and have come to a serious conclusion: These are dangerous people, and in 14 days we'll save our nation from them.