Infiltrating Opportunist

I posted August 30 that Sarah Palin did not suddenly appear on the scene late in McCain’s campaign but has cultivated her career to reach the national scene. Perhaps part of her drive to infiltrate our government for her religion, Palin had put significant effort into catching the attention of Republican insiders.

And she’s been promoted for at least a year by the most influential Republican pundits helping to position her. Stephan Hayes, a writer among the caffeinated crew at Weekly Standard, reported in How Palin Got Picked. On the air last spring, Rush Limbaugh promoted Palin as Vice President, “Mother of four, she is a ‘babe’, you have to notice.”

The only mainstream media story I’ve noticed about the hidden positioning of Sarah Palin is published October 28 by Richard Cohen at the Washington Post. He reveals that top conservative editors and writers were invited to the Alaska governor’s mansion in 2007 – a coterie of ideologues.

Sarah Palin says on the stump in carefully crafted speeches that she is not an insider but in truth she is glued to the rafters in a very small, secretive and arrogant clubhouse.

It’s the New Yorker, which stands out this year for robust and fearless journalism, that offers detail.

Sarah Palin promoting herselfThe Insiders, by Jane Mayer

Palin’s sudden rise to prominence, however, owes more to members of the Washington élite than her rhetoric has suggested.

Upon being elected governor, Palin began developing relationships with Washington insiders, who later championed the idea of putting her on the 2008 ticket.

She’s had D.C. in mind for years.

An interview with Jane Mayer by Amy Goldman is here:
The Real Story Behind How McCain Chose Sarah Palin

Oct 28 2008, George Monbiot at the Guardian sums up why we should put an end to Sarah Palin and rebuild our political media.

How was it allowed to happen?

How did politics in the US come to be dominated by people who make a virtue out of ignorance?

How these gibbering numbskulls came to dominate Washington – the degradation of intelligence and learning in American politics…