Sarah Palin: The Madame Defarge of the Right Wing....

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 02, 2009 · 6:19 AM PST

2009/11/02 · 06:19

For those of you who have never read Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities or have never seen any of the movies versions, one of the central characters in the book is the bitter, vengeful woman, Madame Defarge, who has made it her life's work to bring all the "aristos" to justice on the guillotine. She takes advantage of the madness that the revolution has unleashed to take revenge on those whom she believes personally had abused and slighted her. Her guise as the loyal "citizen" of France allows her to spread rumors and lies about her "enemies" leading to their eventual arrest, trial, and public execution.

"As the novel progresses, Madame Defarge moves from a relatively passive position, we first see her knitting in the wine shop she owns with her husband, to a much more active place. It is this devious needlework that often gives people the chills when they first meet her character. The reader later finds that Madame is knitting the names of all those who will be guillotined or charged with crimes in the coming Revolution."

"In the end, Madame Defarge is defeated by the thing she lacks most, love of others."

Now in the midst of the Republican Revolution, Sarah Palin has stepped forward to take on the role of Madame Defarge. And just like Madame Defarge, she is surrounded by sycophants who take up her call to arms and rally the mob to destroy all those who oppose the movement. And from her secluded lair in the frozen north, she twitters away her hours plotting her revenge on those whom she believes destroyed her future. And like any predator, political or otherwise, she seeks out the weakest and most vulnerable to attack. And this weekend, she scored her first major coup.

Palin went after the Republican candidate for the House in the 23rd district in New York state. There are so many reasons why she set her sights on Dede Scozzafava that I don't know where to begin. One must first understand that Palin has established herself (either cravenly or earnestly) as the de facto leader of the ultra-right conservative wing of the Republican party. Her life's work now is ridding the party of all those who are not true believers. And she has determined what defines the true believer. Scozzafava became her first victim because she did not hold the same radical ideological and societal tenets that all true believers must profess. Scozzafava while adhering to the fiscal and governmental beliefs of the Republican party showed herself to be a liberal when it came to abortion, same-sex marriage and other family value issues that the true believers uphold.

Add to that the fact that aside from her Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, there was a parvenu "conservative" candidate, Doug Hoffman, who chose to oppose Scozzafava. (Hoffman doesn't even live in the district he wants to represent.) So the stage was set for Madame Palin to swoop in and declare Scozzafava anathema. (One has to believe that there must also be some underlying bit of jealousy Palin has for any woman who seeks higher office in the party.) And once Madame Palin had issued her diktat, her lackeys and lickspittles rushed to overwhelm and destroy any chances of Scozzafava winning.

At the moment, the race is too close to call. But Scozzafava with her dying political breath has called for her supporters to vote for Bill Owen. Treason! It would be too too delicious to see Madame Palin hoist on her own petard tomorrow when the smoke clears. But if the opposite occurs and Hoffman wins, be prepared for a bloodbath in the Republican party beginning with the 2010 elections. Madame Palin will have acquired a taste for it.

This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member.

Make YOUR voice heard!

Comments are closed on this story.