Sarah Palin Draws Huge Crowds Despite Misogynous Assault from Obama Supporters and Their Media Allies

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her family

When Sarah Palin set foot on the national stage about six weeks ago, the Obama campaign at first responded with derision. Then she gave her convention speech. They got the message. Here was a genuine threat to the ascendancy of Barack Obama. How dare this small town female upstart from Alaska compete with Obama in drawing huge crowds and raising millions of dollars?

It took a few days to gear up Obama’s netroots shock troops who had polished their skills in vulgar sexist assaults on Hillary Clinton. But soon they were up in arms, dead set on destroying this latest female daring to crack that glass ceiling. It didn’t take the national media long to get in sync with the netroots, and I held my breath as I wondered how long it would take for these misogynous forces to destroy the youthful Palin who lacked the experience and thick skin of a Hillary Clinton.

I’m a long-time liberal when it comes to most policy issues, but this second assault in one election year on a female candidate stirred up my sense of solidarity with another woman I sensed was in danger. How crude could Obama supporters get? Here’s an example posted at the Hillary Clinton Forum; it’s an email from Frank P., a Democrat for McCain:

‘“I was at a Sarah Palin event in Philadelphia, at the Park Hyatt Hotel - late Saturday afternoon (Oct. 11th). If you are easily grossed out by the ‘C’ word, I am sorry. But as Andrea says below, if McCain supporters wore a shirt that said ‘Obama is a ___’ or even ‘Obama is a ____’ or ‘Obama is a ____’ at an Obama Rally, they would either be thrown off the premises, have their heads kicked in, or even be detained at the local police station (I know this for a fact: I just had on a McCain button at a recent Obama event and I didn't think I was going to get out alive).

‘“Sorry the picture is not clearer. But these four young people were right in front of the hotel. They have on the nicest shirts. There were worse. There was group as well carrying around a fake dead fetus - exclaiming that ‘abortion should have been the path for Bristol(?) Palin.’ And quite a few smoke bombs, etc. etc.”’ Read more and see photo here.

But the misogynists haven’t won yet. True to form, Patrick Healy at the NY Times reports with a heavy dose of sarcasm this morning on a recent McCain-Palin campaign rally in Virginia Beach. Sarcasm aside, Healy is forced to admit:

“As the Republican vice-presidential nominee for six and a half weeks now, Ms. Palin has emerged as the most electrifying speechmaker among the four politicians on the major party tickets. She generates enormous fervor at her events; people sometimes do not stop clapping or shouting words of praise until Ms. Palin pauses.

According to Healy, the Virginia Beach rally drew 10,000 supporters, demonstrating that the hate-mongering assaults by the Obama campaign and its media allies have done little to dampen the enthusiasm of conservative Republicans for Sarah Palin. Could be the low-life tactics of the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party have even increased the intensity of Palin’s support from her base.

A Quagmire of Misogyny: The MSM, the Netroots, and MoveOn.Org

The Wall Street Journal has an opinion piece today by Dorothy Rabinowitz titled News Flash: The Media Back Obama. Here’s a news flash for Rabinowitz: the media has backed Obama since the early days of the Democratic primary when it began its relentless assault on Hillary Clinton. Princeton historian Sean Wilentz remarked months ago that the media chooses our presidents and clearly, if Obama wins, as is very likely at this point, we will have the media primarily to thank.

We also need to know that the liberal media – liberal that is in every way except for its rampant sexism and ageism – has been ably served in its obeisance to Obama by his thousands of youthful, white male supporters collectively known as the netroots who are frightening in their overwhelming viciousness toward any woman in a position of authority – they even compulsively trash Katie Couric.

And then there’s Moveon.Org, led by – you guessed it – a 27-year-old white male Obamaphile and described thusly in a Washington Post article today: “Although it's not a formal arm of the Democratic Party -- and the group doesn't rule out endorsing and financing third-party candidates -- MoveOn has become synonymous with the party's left wing.”

As I’ve said before, the left wing of the Democratic Party elite and their media allies in both the MSM and the blogosphere are driven by a pathological hatred of women, technically known as misogyny. And mark this: in its progressive disguise, the left is even more deadly than the extreme right.

To read more of WaPo’s article on MoveOn.Org, go here.

So You Doubt That Obama’s Online Supporters Smear Sarah Palin with Sexist Trash Talk?

In case you have any doubts about the level of depravity in the ignorant sexist, misogynous venom spewed forth by Obama’s online supporters toward Sarah Palin, I’ve copied from the Huffington Post a page of readers’ comments in response to a photo of Palin’s arrival in St. Louis, accompanied by her husband and children. And I probably don’t need to tell you the Huffington Post is a left-wing pro-Obama Web site. Incidentally, this is exactly the kind of trash talk found on left-wing web sites directed at Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary and that continues to erupt occasionally when anyone writes something positive about either Hillary or Bill.

Warning! You might become nauseated from reading the comments copied and pasted below.

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that baby is so her grandchild. can't wait for the truth to come out about THAT. why do you think that whenever she is filmed awkwardly holding that baby, that bristol is never more than a few inches away.
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unbelievable. This woman is lugging an infant around running for Vice-President. so what do you think she will be doing at 3 a.m., answering that proverbial call or breastfeeding?
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Man, you'd think she doesn't know how to hold a baby the way she totes it like a text book. And you'd almost think maybe it's not really her baby, since her daughter doesn't look pregnant at all... and hasn't announced a wedding date... even though, you know, she's due in, what, two and a half months?
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IF SARAH PALIN HAS HER HAIR DOWN DURING THE DEBATE, SHE'S PROBABLY WEARING AN EARPIECE. IS THERE ANY WAY TO MAKE SURE SHE'S NOT???
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I volunteer to strip search her.
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why is she shuffling that child all around? one dumb pit.
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That is why I came to these comments, is she using holding the baby to get sympathy votes from women?
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It is so good to see a photo of a woman and mother, heading off to an important political event, with her beautiful children with her, and her husband along to help. Isn't this the Feminist idea of Nirvana?
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Mmmm... where is the mother-to-be (the eldest daughter)? Very interesting election!
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"While in the air, we learned that while running on the McCain ranch on Monday afternoon Palin slipped on some gravel and cut the palm of her right hand. She is wearing a large band-aid on the palm of her hand."

My god, the oldest trick in the book; the "SYMPATHY" vote. Didn't Scooter Libby try it too during his trial for obstruction of justice for the leaking of secret information regarding Valerie Plame? These guys pull this stunt every time they don't have truth and justice on their side.
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a lot of people think she had an earpiece in the Couric or Gibson interview. A lot of good that did.
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Actually, that does make me feel a lot better. I was starting to get really worked up about the bar being set so low that she would "win" just for showing up. And was afraid of hearing "WE LOVE SARAH" all day tomorrow from the MSM.
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"Tahddd! Tahddd! Did you ship my shotgun? I'm gonna need it tonight."
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What kind of mother luggs her newborn around like this. What is this woman out to prove. Can't she find a baby sitter? This is awful.
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There is absolutely no sign of a bond between that woman and that poor little baby. It's horrible to watch. I don't care whose chilld it is but, it's clear that she is not in "mothering mode" with him. ANYONE with a child of their own can see this.

WTF????? Can someone please explain it to me?
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Yeah, she carries him like she's never held a baby before. Like a sack of potatoes. Weird. I agree, there seems to be little bonding there. Actually, when her daughter Bristol looks at the baby, it's with a more loving expression than the baby's own mother. So I guess I'm saying, I can't explain it! It's just so strange.
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It's not her baby.
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Adding onto the comments here that SP is really taking a chance with a small baby, and the way she holds it, am picking up on her holding this child with one arm, down a flight of stairs - unbelievable. Her careless behavior along with her arrogance, just tells about the person she really is. This is all a dream, right?
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the way she is holding it is the way you hold a baby when it's not yours.
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Totally something wierd about the way she holds the baby. It's like they never bonded. She's probably been with him rarely.
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No, its a nightmare.

I can't WAIT tell this debate.
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I know this might be seen as "sexist" but whenever I see that baby, I wonder why she said yes. The baby, special needs, and not even a year old just breaks my heart. The truth is, you can't do it all. Things will get done, but not well.

Somehow I don't see Todd Palin as the Mr. Mom type.
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if your a woman asking the question ,I don't believe it is sexist
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I am a woman. And I never held my babies that way.
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Does anyone notice her hair is down -- I guarantee she's going to wear an earpiece!
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Don't they check them for this kind of stuff in debates?
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Obama’s Thousands of Youthful, Unemployed Supporters Know How to Silence Critics

Throughout the Democratic primary and the ensuing weeks of the general election, I’ve been concerned about the tactics of Barack Obama’s mostly youthful and otherwise unemployed netroots supporters who number in the thousands. I’ve often seen them flood a message board with hundreds of hate-mongering comments the instant a writer says something that dares criticize their idol for any reason whatsoever.

And heaven help the TV pundit who challenges Obama. It was common practice during the primary for debate moderators to ask Hillary Clinton tough questions while going easy on Obama. That changed on April 16, 2008 when ABC hosted the Philadelphia face off between the two remaining Democratic candidates. Moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos asked Obama several uncomfortable questions, which quickly put him on the defensive. By Friday morning, more than 19,800 comments were posted on ABC News' Web site, the tone overwhelmingly negative.

With only a few weeks left before the election on Nov. 4, Obama’s supporters continue the vicious, high-pressure tactics they perfected during the primary. Anne Woolner at Bloomberg.com has posted an article titled Silencing Critics Using the Barack Obama Method and although I certainly deplore the likes of David Freddoso, I’m personally very glad that someone else has finally noticed the threat to free speech by Obama's supporters.

Woolner writes:

“Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama campaigns as if only Thomas Jefferson could match his devotion to free speech and open government.

‘“He co-sponsored a 2006 law that put more government information, such as earmarks, online and now wants to expand it. He says he would ‘shine the light’ on things like how much lobbyists spend to swing which federal contract for what clients and tax breaks for special interest groups. As president, he would post online bills that reach his desk for five days before signing.

‘“And yet, when trying to squelch debate about the more troubling aspects of his candidacy, any Jeffersonian instincts evaporate.

‘“When WGN-AM Radio in Chicago scheduled a two-hour interview last week with David Freddoso, who wrote ‘The Case Against Barack Obama,’ the campaign sent out an alarm to supporters, sparking an avalanche of angry phone calls to the station.”’

Read more.

The Well-Oiled Obama Machine Gets Some Advice from Concerned Critics

For months, Obama’s netroots supporters gleefully compared their man’s well-oiled political machine, blatantly ginned up by the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post, to the messily run Clinton campaign during the Democratic primary. The netroots, composed of mostly youthful white males, not as yet distracted by the necessity to earn a living, aggressively argued that Obama’s calm (no drama), secretive (never a leak to the press), tightly run campaign proved the One was qualified to be president of the United States.

Since the Palin effect first broke a couple of weeks ago and McCain seized the lead from Obama, pundits and former campaign advisors for the first time have criticized the Obama team led by his honor, David Axelrod.

For example, the NY Post’s Kirsten Powers in a piece titled, How Obama Blew It: Pays Price in Polls for Bungled Attacks on Sarah, writes:

“YESTERDAY'S Gallup poll had John McCain ahead of Barack Obama by an astonishing 10 points among likely voters. A Washington Post poll had that lead at only two points, but clearly showed a McCain surge - especially among women. This wasn't what Democrats were expecting when they left Denver - yet they have nobody to blame but themselves.

“Obama's toughest challenge has always been to connect with working-class swing voters. So attacking the poster child for small-town values, Sarah Palin, was a bad strategy.

“No, Obama didn't engage in the mass sneering at Palin - but he did fall into the trap of disrespecting her. When McCain chose her, the Obama campaign's first response was to ridicule the size of her town. Then the candidate himself began referring to her as a ‘former mayor’ when she is in fact a sitting governor.

“When she retaliated (justifiably) by mocking his stint as an organizer, the Obama camp was clearly rattled. Obama himself actually began arguing about the importance of community organizing. His supporters amplified this cry - claiming Palin's attack was a racist slur and passing around e-mails titled ‘Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor.’

“Meanwhile, the rest of the country was probably wondering what being a community organizer has to do with being president.

“Lured by the McCain camp, Obama supporters engaged in an argument about who had more overall experience - the top of the Democratic ticket or the bottom of the GOP ticket. This diminished Obama.

“Meanwhile, the media lit up in all their cultural-elite splendor.”

Read More.

The Obama Machine’s Unscrupulous Attacks on Sarah Palin

At a news conference today, Barack Obama responded to questions pertaining to the announcement of 17-year-old Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. Bonnie Kapp at Fox News reports:

‘“I have heard some of the news on this and so let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits, and people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics,’ the Democrat said forcefully. ‘It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as governor, or her potential performance as a VP. And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,’ he continued.

‘“The candidate who himself was born to a teenage mom, reminded reporters, ‘You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and you know teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off limits.’

‘“When asked about an ‘unnamed McCain advisor’ accusing the Obama campaign of spreading despicable rumors surrounding Bristol Palin online, Obama interrupted the reporter mid-question. ‘I am offended by that statement. There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us,’ he said directly. ‘Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I ever thought that it was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that - they’d be fired,’ he added.

“With that, Obama boarded his airport-bound bus to head to Milwaukee for a rally.”

As I’ve noted many times before, Barack Obama claims he's a new kind of politician and that his campaign is above the usual mudslinging tactics. At the same time, he has consistently failed to take any responsibility for the behavior of his left-wing netroots supporters that I call – with good reason - his online shock troops. As Naomi Klein points out, the Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, and the like are all integral parts of the Obama machine.

Obama’s netroots supporters display no moral scruples whatsoever in their attempts to destroy anyone they perceive as their idol's adversary (click here to see what I mean). They did their utmost to destroy Hillary Clinton and ever since Sarah Palin was introduced, they’ve gone all out to take her down, including spreading the malicious rumor questioning the four-month-old Trig Palin’s parentage.

But here’s the deal: Barack Obama has posted on the Huffington Post. He’s well aware that he has long been the candidate of choice on this far left Web site. With the Obama campaign’s Internet savvy, he’s got to know what the blogs are saying. On several occasions, including his acceptance speech, Obama has called out the Republicans for running a dirty campaign. Never once have I ever witnessed the One lecturing his own supporters for resorting to hate-mongering tactics that arguably exceed anything right-wing extremists are capable of producing.

It’s time for Barack Obama to step forward and rebuke his online shock troops for their barbaric behavior. Until then, Obama’s claim to transcend the old politics will ring completely false.

Male-dominated Lefty Blogosphere Exploding with Misogyny Toward Sarah Palin

From the Tennessee Guerilla Women:

“John McCain knew what he was doing when he chose Sarah Palin for his VP. Already the male dominated lefty blogosphere is exploding with misogyny. And all of those alienated women voters, who were thinking of coming back to the Democratic Party, are thinking again.

‘“The 'progressive' men are actually counting the months of the woman's pregnancies! That's right folks. The formerly progressive netroots is trying to bring Sarah Palin down by proving that she is a slut! The menz over at Americablog (and followers) fervently hope to prove that one of Sarah Palin's children was conceived "out of wedlock!"’

Read more.

Rising Above the Fascism of America’s Extreme Left and Extreme Right

In the heat of the Democratic primary, the netroots were on the leading edge of the extreme left. Predominantly young, white, and male these kings of the internet could be accurately described as progressive in most ways other than their ugly sexism and misogyny, which they unleashed on Hillary Clinton, and their equally cruel and abusive ageism targeting John McCain.

I soon concluded there was little difference between the extreme left and the extreme right, as they obviously mirror each other in their fascist behavior.

Charles M. Blow’s op-ed in today’s NY Times concurs with my conclusion. He begins:

“Can you hear that? I can. It’s the sound of political action committees and party extremists sharpening their wedge issues and setting the timers on their bombshells. The fall’s battle is looming. It’s going to get ugly.”

Here’s the picture, Blow explains:

“Once again they’ll cast the opposition as binary caricatures to rally their bases, swing the independents and capture the defectors.

“The left will be reduced to fist-bumping blacks and intellectual elites with gun aversions and gay agendas. An amoral, tale-tucking lot that coddles criminals, raises taxes and has gone Chicken Little over global warming.

“The right will be lambasted as ultra-conservative cretins who want to conflate the Constitution and the Bible, are pro-life before birth and pro-death after trial and blindly follow war-hungry fear-mongers who obsess over “terrorists” like a Tootsie Roll commercial.

“And, never the twain shall meet. Left or right? That narrow view is just wrong. Americans are much more complex. Sadly, battle cries drown out nuance in campaigns.”

Blow guides us to a deeper understanding of the major issues our country is facing:

“So, in these relative calm days of summer, with Barack Obama on his way back from a rock-star tour of the other side of the pond and John McCain shadowboxing the media stateside, let’s pause and recognize that Americans overwhelmingly agree on many of the big issues and are changing their minds on others. It’s just that those shifting views, when taken as a whole, don’t neatly line up with either party’s platform.

“Here are a few examples, according to Gallup polls taken over the last eight years:

“• Six in 10 Americans believe that conservation should be emphasized to solve the energy problem, 7 in 10 favor the death penalty for murder and don’t want to ban the sale of handguns, and 8 in 10 believe in God but also believe that abortion should be legal, at least under certain circumstances.

“• Nearly half now believe that we are unlikely to win the war in Iraq and that the war has made us less safe from terrorism.

“• An increasing number of people believe that religion as a whole is losing its influence on American life and an increasing number want it to have less influence.

“• While more bemoan the worsening state of moral values in the country, we are increasingly shifting our opinion on what is morally acceptable. Now most believe that getting divorced, engaging in premarital sex and having babies outside of marriage are morally acceptable. Nearly half also say that gay relationships are morally acceptable.”

In effect, as Blow explains, the middle ground is the higher ground to which we are called:

“Remember this when the attack ads start up and the divisive rhetoric starts to bore into our brains. Remember that campaigns are not just about the people on the placards but about parties and power, and that the wizards behind the curtains specialize in amplifying differences that stoke our fears. Remember, and resist.”

I suggest we do more than resist. It is especially important for Americans to stand up and let our political leaders and the media know that discrimination and hate mongering against any group of people - whether it’s based on religion, race, gender, age, sexual preference, or national origin – will no longer be tolerated.

P.S.
It’s past time for members of the netroots to grow up.

The Huffington Post Reveals the Fading Glory of the Obama Brand

When someone mentions the word ‘brand’ to me, the first thing I think of is a scene from an old Western in which a tough cowhand wrestles a steer down and applies a hot iron to its hide, searing it permanently with the ranch’s insignia or brand.

Next I think of laundry detergents I’ve used over the years: Tide, Oxydol, Cheer, Ivory Snow, or maybe Arm and Hammer.

Having worked in Corporate America for a few years, I’ve learned the importance to a company of maintaining a well-known and respected brand for its products.

Notice I said products.

It’s only been recently that I’ve heard the word ‘brand’ used in reference to human beings. I cringed awhile back – and not just because I’m a Clinton supporter - when a friend remarked to me that the Clintons’ brand had suffered in the Democratic primary. How dehumanizing, I thought.

Much to my surprise when I checked in at the Huffington Post recently to see what the extreme left in the blogosphere was up to, the screaming banner headline in red was not about Hillary, Bill, or Lanny Davis. Nope. The headline shouted: Obama Undercuts His Brand, and there it was as big as life: a photo of his holiness with his mantra in the foreground, “Change You Can Believe In.”

Huffpo has since taken down the big red banner headline, but you can still Google the story (I don’t link there) and get the fun details of how Obama of the not so new politics has betrayed his netroots and if you have the time, you can peruse the 1,432+ readers’ comments. For now, though, here’s a sample of one lefty’s rationalization of Obama's determined march to the center. You’ll of course be surprised to discover that Rotwang is blaming HRC’s supporters. Here’s the comment in full:

Rotwang writes:

I'm not loving everything the Presumptive Nominee is doing lately, but I realize he has to run very hard to the right to compensate for the loss of the brooding/vindictive/victim/poor-me segment of HRC supporters, who were mostly Republicans to begin with.

In practice, he won't be able to stray too far from a center-left position, even if he runs away from the netroots who created him. The bottom line is that Mac is much, much worse. Actually, the bottom line is that all politicians are disappointing and the system is essentially broken, but hope is a tough addiction to break.

Just remember: If HRC were the nominee, she'd be be doing the same dance to win the GE,. There are no "pure" candidates, and no "heroes of the people." No one can win with their own worshipful base alone.

"No one can win with their own worshipful base alone?" Wow! What an epiphany that must have been for Rotwang.