Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Love:Think Progress reports: Palin fuels presidential rumors: ‘I like’ the sound of ‘President Palin.’
Yesterday, Sarah Palin was greeted by a throng of supporters in The Villages, Florida — a retirement community northwest of Orlando. (Glenn Beck visited the same town this past weekend.) There were shouts of “We love you Sarah!” and “We want you to be president!” from the crowd. And Palin did plenty to stoke their hopes:“I addressed her as ‘President Palin,’ ” said Debbie McMillan of Orlando. “She said, ‘I like that very much — I could live with that.’” […] I think we have to take seriously the verb "love". Not in the casual sense, such as "I love it when traffic is light when I drive to work", but in its strongest form; an unthinking devotion to a person. I'd go further and say that, for the most part, liberals and progressives are more inclined towards reason and less inclined to include strong emotions in their mental outlook. Speaking for myself, I disagreed strongly with Bush on many, many issues. But I never hated the guy. Maybe it's me and my circle of friends, but I rarely encountered hate towards Bush or the Republicans. Yes, there was disgust, and outrage, but that was about as far as it went. I'd say that the conservatives and Republicans are more inclined to get emotionally worked up - to love or hate - than other people. They hate Obama; they love Palin. (They also love Jesus, which not all Christians do.) Perhaps that explains why they are impervious to reason. Reason isn't part of their world view, so why should they bother with facts, scientific consensus, or Palin's illogical statements? They love her, and that's all that matters.
posted by Quiddity at 11/25/2009 09:09:00 PM
6 comments
Eh, as ridiculous as I find Palin, I don't think this is a big deal- people did this during Obama rallies all the time, and he'd always respond with, "I love you right back."
As I type this, Sarah Palin is across the Columbia River from me in Richland, Washington, spending the day at her aunt's house. (I live in Pasco.) She'll be signing copies of her whiny screed on Sunday at Hastings. The Tri-Cities (Kennewick is the third city) is a very conservative area, so I'm sure hundreds of angry people will be lining up for the opportunity to spend five seconds with their idol. I can't begin to tell you how sad that makes me feel.
I don't think those people are pro-Palin half as much as they're simply anti-Obama. Any port in a storm, I guess.
To clarify: Conservatives by and large are angry people. I've never known a calm or thoughtful one. I don't think they're capable of genuine love for anyone apart from their own family members. They're building a cult of personality around this singularly unaccomplished woman the way the Soviets did around Stalin, and I don't think anybody loved that bastard, not even his two wives and their children.
Palin's supporters don't care if she's unqualified to be president. In their minds, she can beat Obama, and that's all that matters to them. I don't believe love has anything to do with it. Right-wingers don't love, they hate. They don't do both.
Republicans engage in Faith based thinking. They start with an objective, say 'invading iraq' or 'abstinance eduction' and then construct reasons around the goal. And it doesnt matter if it's true or not, merely that it supports their goal.
As a liberal I try and engage in Reason based thinking. with acceptable reasons being based on science, experts, common sense, the rule of law, etc.,
Palin participated in the Turkey Trot 5K run on Thanksgiving Day in Kennewick.
Well, sorta. According to the Tri-City Herald, she quit the race partway through.
Once a quitter, always a quitter.
They're building a cult of personality around this singularly unaccomplished woman the way the Soviets did around Stalin,
Missing the elephant in the room?
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