The Palinettes--Just Part of the Chorus

In the past few days, a lot has been written about Palin's comments protraying Barack Obama as having terrorist connections and about the hateful words shouted by some of her supporters at her rallies. While all this is disturbing, a first-hand account written by Linda Milazzo for AlterNet about being thrown out of a rally in Carson, California is more elucidating. I don't agree with the author's bad manners (shouting at Palin which caused her ejection) because I don't think it accomplished anything but making her seem offensive and giving the Palin crowd ammunition against all of us who disagree with them. That is how prejudice works--one person is chosen as representative of a group, so the entire group gets blamed for the sins of the one.

The interesting thing about the post is Milazzo's description of whom she calls the "Palinettes," those who devotedly and without qualification, support Palin. (BTW, I think it is just as chilling whoever the candidate is when supporters seem to worship the person without caring about his or her stands on the issues, background, knowledge, experience, or character.) Here is part of how Milazzo describes the Palinettes: 

I have had “baby killer” shouted at me on more than one occasion, the last time as I participated in the Va Tech homecoming parade last Saturday. When the term has been heaved at me simply because I was identifiable as a Democrat, it‘s almost as if it was a reflexive action--see a Dem, attach an obnoxious label. The man who shouted at me last Saturday doesn‘t know me as an individual. For all he knows, I might be personally against abortions. Perhaps, I am a voter who doesn’t vote on one issue only. I taught at a Catholic University where some of the nuns and students were adamantly anti-abortion. They attended rallies in D.C. consistently, but never was that term used against me. Some even supported Democratic candidates. We disagreed, but we could have a dialogue about our thinking and our beliefs. I wonder how well the man who shouted could articulate his reasons. That is what is so scary about Palin is the response provoked by her words.

The general public might not have known about her before she was seemingly plucked from obscurity to be McCain’s running mate, but she was well known among the neo-con far-right wing-nut fringe groups. She’s highly ambitious, doesn’t know what she doesn’t know, has a history of performing to win acclaim disproportionate to her skills or work. In other words, perfect fodder for the likes of Steve Schmidt, a protégé of Karl Rove and the neo-con cabal that has run this nation into the ground for the last eight years. Little wonder Schmidt recommended her to McCain as a running mate. Vaguely reminds me of someone else who didn’t know what he didn’t know, but thought the job must be easy because his poppy had done it. We as a nation had the bad luck to have had him pretending to lead the country when the worst terrorist attack in our history happened, which allowed him to start an unprovoked war costing untold billions or even trillions and ruined our economy, reputation, and possibly, our Constitution. So now, the same people who wanted a good ol’ cowboy they would like to have a beer with suddenly see a maverick in a skirt from the ultimate frontier--Alaska--a down-home gal who shoots off at the mouth without letting facts get in the way, just like them. Someone not too smart and not too uppity.

So, here is what we have--same neo-con beliefs being played out by Caribou Barbie. The perfect symbiotic relationship. Palin gets to play George Bush in a skirt and the shadowy neo-cons have a new doll to play with. The Palinettes get the chorus part--not much money, but a paternalistic organization freeing from making decisions, and the feeling that they belong to something even though the “stars” don’t know they exist. They are interchangeable and easily replaced. So sad for them, but so dangerous for the rest of us who need a reasonable, inclusive leader. Hopefully, these follower are just the fringe group, not enough to sway this election.