# Palin defenders, are you fucking stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 12, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360 "2008-09-12T23:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/141 "2008-09-13T21:17:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*She is doing what is the absolute most important thing she could be doing right now, and that is energizing the Republican base and other voters outside it to vote for McCain. > > Her selection was stunningly brilliant. If I’d known McCain was capable of this type of shrewdness and political genius I’d have supported him long before I did. If he can deal with foreign leaders and matters of domestic concern with anywhere near that kind of adroitness, he may wind up there with Reagan in my pantheon of great presidents. > \* Perfect. **Starving Artist** provides for us, in these few short lines, all the evidence we need of the right’s craven political cynicism. Let’s break it down for the viewers at home. **SA** claims that the selection of Palin was “stunningly brilliant.” Why? Because of her adroit command of the issues? No. Because of her experience and policy expertise? No. Because of her outstanding moral qualities and leadership abilities? No. Then why? Simply because she’s “energizing the Republican base” so that they will vote for his candidate. He as much as admits that her selection is a craven political ploy, designed to manipulate a certain block of voters into supporting McCain. The fact that she is utterly unprepared to act as VP, let alone as President, of the US, is irrelevant to him. Doesn’t even make it onto his radar screen. So brilliant is McCain’s ploy, says **SA** , that it might make him the equivalent of St. Ronny the Invincible, the crown prince of political cynicism. This is the point. Not only is **SA** utterly immune to logical arguments and matters of fact – as he has so clearly demonstrated in this thread, and many others – he’s also entirely morally corrupt when it comes to politics. Issues don’t matter to him, truth doesn’t matter to him, Palin’s record doesn’t matter, the fact that she’s under investigation for ethics violations doesn’t matter, the fact that she has already on numerous occasions blatantly lied doesn’t matter, her lack of experience doesn’t matter – nothing matters except getting enough votes to prop up this corrupt system for four more years, and viciously slandering anyone who tries to change it. This is what we’re up against. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Svinlesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@Mr.Svinlesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Svinlesha)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/142 "2008-09-13T21:19:46Z")
> [@](#): > > _Everyone’s using McCain’s age as the basis for their hysteria over Palin’s appointment, but he’s only two years older than Reagan was when he took office, and Reagan lived another twenty years despite having been shot and a bout with cancerous polyps in his colon._ Snort! He was also senile for at least the last two years of his final term of office. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/143 "2008-09-13T21:29:49Z")
I remember the speech he gave as Iran-Contra wound up. He stood there and said that mistakes were made, and it was his responsibility, etc. But then he said something rather odd, that he agreed that the facts of the matter were clear, that these bad things definitely did happen but…that’s not how he remembered it! At the time I thought of it as nothing more than the old “I don’t recall” ploy, but looking back, remembering what appeared to be genuine consternation on his face, I wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/144 "2008-09-13T21:30:07Z")
> [@Mr.Svinlesha](#): > > …nothing matters except getting enough votes to prop up this corrupt system for four more years… No, nothing matters to me like keeping the goverment of this country out of the hands of lefties. I’ve watched with disgust and revulsion every step of the way the damage that the impassioned do-gooders and judges and politicians of the left have wrought in this society over the last 40 years, and I’m determined to see it held it in check. It really has nothing to do with supporting allegedly ‘corrupt systems’; wanting to murder brown people; or starve the poor. Now, we reached something of a denouement the other night and I’d like to see that continue. But if you continue to mischaracterize my comments and my position on these matters, we’ll very likely wind up right back where we were before the olive branch was extended. > [@Mr. Svinlesha](#): > > He was also senile for at least the last two years of his final term of office. No, he wasn’t. And now, work beckons and I must leave. Later. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Booker\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@Happy\_Booker\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Booker_1)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/145 "2008-09-13T22:49:47Z")
The [New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp) has done the investigative reporting that needed to be done. Hire school chum for $95K job for which her qualifications are liking cows as a teenager. **Check** Objects to the Speaker of the House hiring an EA because the new EA has fallen in love with someone of whom the Gov and the First Dude disapprove . **Check** Faces the revelation of one of the books that she wanted gone **Check** Views the sign of a good person as loyalty and secrecy **Check (sounds like W)** Don’t give me “The Times is biased.” She had the opportunity to refute and didn’t take it. It’s time for the McCain/Palin folks to fess up and acknowledge that this is a tinpot dictator who adds no credibility to the ticket but (scarily) energizes the base. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/146 "2008-09-13T23:08:03Z")
> [@Mr.Svinlesha](#): > > **Hentor:** > > Do you have a cite for that assertion? I saw this at Daily Kos: [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/12/122359/661/796/596201](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/12/122359/661/796/596201) It seems compelling and well-sourced, but it could use further confirmation. > [@](#): > > However, I was able to eventually track down Irl Stambaugh, police chief of Wasilla from the founding of the department until Sarah Palin fired him for “not fully supporting her efforts to govern.” Stambaugh sued for breach of contract, but lost when a federal judge ruled that “police chiefs serve at the behest of the mayor unless otherwise specified.” He later served as the executive director of the Alaska Police Standards Council. > > It turns out that Wasilla did not bill sexual assault victims for the cost of rape exams while Irl Stambaugh was chief of police. As chief, he had included a line item in the budget to pay for the cost of such exams. He had only just heard about the Mayor Palin/Chief Fannon policy today, and was just as shocked to hear about it as I was. > > Checking the budget confirmed former Chief Stambaugh’s claim. He had included a contingency of $15,000 in his budget for the department’s 1st year of existence (1993-1994), $5,000 for 1994-1995 and 1995-1996, and $13,000 for his final year as police chief in 1996-1997, spending $11,625. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/147 "2008-09-13T23:13:19Z")
Debka article today says that Russia destroyed 2 airbases in Georgia. They were to be used for attacking Iran without flying over Iraq soil. Now if they have to get US authority for that. I am sure Palin could resolve the complexities of world interplay. We will sleep well with a person of her stature behind the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/148 "2008-09-13T23:19:27Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I recall no other vice-presidential candidate being grilled as to what we should do about the Soviet Union, and I recall no other vice-presidential candidate being required to prove their intelligence and mettle and fitness for the job of president. Hate to be the one to break the sad news but McCain has a reasonable probability of dying in office. He’s past retirement age and he’s had health issues in the past. Being President greatly accelerates the aging process; compare pictures of Bush in 2000 and 2004 to see what I mean. A Palin presidency isn’t a far-fetched possibility. That, on top of her obscurity on the national scene, is why she is being grilled. **SA** , aren’t you hungry for some leadership that is truly intelligent? I don’t think Palin is a dummy, but she’s not a powerhouse in the knowledge department from what I can see. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/149 "2008-09-13T23:29:26Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > **SA** , aren’t you hungry for some leadership that is truly intelligent? No, he’s not. He’s just stated that his only requirement is that they not be liberal. They can be incompetent, selfish, careless, maybe even evil, but as long as they’re not lefties they’re a-OK with him. I really can’t wait for the older generations to move on, or at least relinquish power. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/150 "2008-09-14T00:26:16Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > …I really can’t wait for the older generations to move on, or at least relinquish power. Could you wait until I actually get some first? I mean, if that’s not too much to ask, and all. Now, get off my LAN. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@Hawkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkins)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/151 "2008-09-14T00:29:44Z")
> [@Merkwurdigliebe](#): > > \ > > We democrats didn’t offer up another Kerry this year because we learned from our fucking mistakes. Well, at least you still have a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/152 "2008-09-14T00:49:32Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Debka article today says that Russia destroyed 2 airbases in Georgia. They were to be used for attacking Iran without flying over Iraq soil. Now if they have to get US authority for that. I am sure Palin could resolve the complexities of world interplay. We will sleep well with a person of her stature behind the wheel. This actually is a good thought experiment. Would she be over her head? Yes. Of course there’d be all sorts of cabinet people and military experts helping her, but it’s still a tall order. But I’d say the exact same thing about Obama. He’s smart and smooth, but he, too, lacks experience and is not the one I’d want making this decision. In the early months of an administration I’d actually feel better about Biden making it, especially the way Obama handled opining on Georgia and his call for withdrawal from Iraq instead of backing the surge. So, I’d say Palin and Obama would both be comparably over their heads. Problem is, Biden isn’t running for President and Obama is. At least the Reps have it right—Palin, less experienced than McCain, isn’t running for President, McCain is. And he IS the one out of all of them I’d want dealing with that scenario. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/153 "2008-09-14T00:53:03Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I really can’t wait for the older generations to move on, or at least relinquish power. Study a little history. Look into how presidential candidates used to be selected. The Voting Rights Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and integration of the armed forces were all achieved by ‘older generations’. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/154 "2008-09-14T05:45:28Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > What has Sarah Palin ever faced? “Mynd you, møøse bites kan be pretti nasti…” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/155 "2008-09-14T05:46:41Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > No, the point is that if you had really been raised better than I was you’d have known better to make such an arrogant and classless remark. Bro, what I said was that I was right and you are wrong. It is not the first time you have been wrong. In fact, you should be used to it since nearly everything that passes through your fingers ins stupendously wrong. Ill-advised. Fuck, I’ll go back to my first word, EVIL You are unashamed that opinions like yours, opinions that prop up the Bush administration and support a McCain administration in its place, do not continue a war based on lies to the American People. You are the shit I grind into the ground when I accidentally step on it. Your opinions are worthless. You have proven yourself an agent of Satan because what you spout has no chance whatsoever of being God’s will. Peel yourself and Sarah Palin and John McCain off the Cross because you desecrate it. Wanna know what an angry Liberal Christian believes? You bumped up against it, asshole. We aren’t all latte-drinking doormats. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/156 "2008-09-14T05:51:25Z")
> [@Hawkins](#): > > Well, at least you still have a sense of humor. AND, asshole (if you meant that seriously, otherwise “Sorry!”), we also learn from our mistakes, a sign of superior intelligence. The idea that some bimbo from Wassilla DESERVES to rule, as if the presidency was some beauty pageant, is WRONG! Oh, and she LOST her pageant, if anybody cares. Which McCain does not. He has a loser with few credentials and he’s stuck with her. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/157 "2008-09-14T06:26:14Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Bro, what I said was that I was right and you are wrong. It is not the first time you have been wrong. In fact, you should be used to it since nearly everything that passes through your fingers ins stupendously wrong. Ill-advised. Fuck, I’ll go back to my first word, EVIL You are unashamed that opinions like yours, opinions that prop up the Bush administration and support a McCain administration in its place, do not continue a war based on lies to the American People. You are the shit I grind into the ground when I accidentally step on it. Your opinions are worthless. You have proven yourself an agent of Satan because what you spout has no chance whatsoever of being God’s will. Peel yourself and Sarah Palin and John McCain off the Cross because you desecrate it. > > Wanna know what an angry Liberal Christian believes? You bumped up against it, asshole. We aren’t all latte-drinking doormats. You’re really **Der Trihs** trying to make Christians look like insane imbeciles, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/158 "2008-09-14T06:32:23Z")
> [@Mr.Svinlesha](#): > > He as much as admits that her selection is a craven political ploy, designed to manipulate a certain block of voters into supporting McCain. My God, you mean McCain let politics influence his decision? Has the man no shame? Politics should be kept out of politics! ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/159 "2008-09-14T06:42:31Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You’re really **Der Trihs** trying to make Christians look like insane imbeciles, aren’t you? Most of those on the religious right don’t need any help to look that way ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360/160 "2008-09-14T06:45:03Z")
This is a case where he put politics ahead of the well-being of his country. If he gets elected and dies, this totally unqualified religious nut will become the most powerful person in the world. Doesn’t that chill your blood? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-defenders-are-you-fucking-stupid/463360.md?page=9)