{"id":323535,"date":"2010-02-12T19:18:37","date_gmt":"2010-02-13T00:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com\/html\/northwestvoices\/2011060243_palinthepopulist.html?syndication=rss"},"modified":"2010-02-12T19:18:37","modified_gmt":"2010-02-13T00:18:37","slug":"palin-the-populist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/323535","title":{"rendered":"Palin the populist"},"content":{"rendered":"

She\u2019s full of contradictions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Editor, The Times:<\/p>\n

In response to David S. Broder\u2019s \u201cThe appeal of Palin\u2019s populist pitch\u201d [Opinion, Feb. 11], I have nothing against populism. Populism \u2014 or representing the point of view of the common people \u2014 is the essence of democracy. This is a country that is run by representatives who are elected by the common people and are entrusted with protecting their interests.<\/p>\n

But populism doesn\u2019t mean being intellectually vapid in a manner that evokes a South Carolinian pageant contestant holding forth about maps. Governing is a mental challenge, requiring a strong understanding of how one decision has multiple ramifications and we elect those who can understand and balance these ramifications. You don\u2019t hire a 90-pound weakling to play in the NFL because he has a pretty face and some good ideas about where the ball should go.<\/p>\n

Populism doesn\u2019t mean abusing the power given to you by your constituents to exact personal revenge and then denying that you have been found in ethical violation for it, as was the case in \u201cTroopergate.\u201d Populism isn\u2019t about flying in a private jet and then hopping onto a tour bus for your arrival at speaking engagements. Populism doesn\u2019t mean preaching to a \u201cgrass roots\u201d choir full of \u201ccommon\u201d people who have managed to pay almost a thousand dollars apiece to see you speak.<\/p>\n

If Palin is speaking from the heart, why would she need to write it on her hand? The answer is simple: She needs to hit the poll-tested talking points that her handlers have laid out for her.<\/p>\n

But the problems with Palin come down to a lot more than writing on her hand. This woman may come from humble beginnings, but she is being packaged and sold by the economic elite in this country and that is about as far from populist as you can get.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Eric Shinkle, Seabeck<\/em><\/p>\n

Palin speaks non-elitist language<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me try once again to explain to the self-styled American elite why the president\u2019s star is waning while the popularity of Sarah Palin is waxing. And I\u2019ll try to be as simple as it\u2019s humanly possible because soi-disant elites claim an uncanny ability to read the hoi polloi mind and I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Palin speaks a language that the majority of Americans speak. She is on the same material and moral plane with average Joe and Jane, while the average elitist goes to McDonald\u2019s once in decade and only with his\/her press agent and TV team.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Velikin, Kenmore<\/em><\/p>\n

Appealing to the fringe<\/strong><\/p>\n

I read David S. Broder\u2019s article lauding Sarah Palin and with all due respect to him, she is a certified airhead and unqualified from any perspective to be president of the United States.<\/p>\n

The most recent polls showing a 71 percent disapproval rating aside \u2014 which is an insurmountable negative to overcome probably at any time, but more so by 2012. She is appealing to the lunatic fringe in this country once reflected by the John Birch Society and now by the Tea Party.<\/p>\n

The best thing that could happen to Obama and the Democrats would be for her to be the Republican nominee. My Republican friends are terrified that she could be the nominee. I happen to vote Republican now and then, but I would never vote for her.<\/p>\n

\u2014 J. Byron Holcomb, Bainbridge Island<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She\u2019s full of contradictions Editor, The Times: In response to David S. Broder\u2019s \u201cThe appeal of Palin\u2019s populist pitch\u201d [Opinion, Feb. 11], I have nothing against populism. Populism \u2014 or representing the point of view of the common people \u2014 is the essence of democracy. This is a country that is run by representatives who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2861,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}