# Palin Resigns as Gov? WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 3, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843 "2009-07-03T19:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 32
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/621 "2009-07-13T02:31:24Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > One of the most prominent proponents of such a position was Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for president in 1964. He opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but later admitted that he was wrong. He didn’t abandon his oppostion to ‘big government’, but he did conclude that the advancement of civil rights warranted intervention at the federal level. You know, maybe that’s the natural progression of growth. Enough people push to get it enforced on a federal level and after a few generations have passed, if it has the strength of moral correctness, it becomes the accepted way. Isn’t that a pattern we’ve seen? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/622 "2009-07-13T02:36:50Z")
So now that we’ve all had an afternoon of congratulating ourselves on the advances made against racism in this country, can someone explain to me exactly how crassness, vulgarity, promiscuity, rampant STDs and teen pregnancy, criminals walking the streets with 25-page-long rap sheets, kids being passed from grade to grade because failing them would make them feel bad, etc., etc., etc., killed racism? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/623 "2009-07-13T02:55:40Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So now that we’ve all had an afternoon of congratulating ourselves on the advances made against racism in this country, can someone explain to me exactly how crassness, vulgarity, promiscuity, rampant STDs and teen pregnancy, criminals walking the streets with 25-page-long rap sheets, kids being passed from grade to grade because failing them would make them feel bad, etc., etc., etc., killed racism? [STDs](http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats07/figs/fig28bw.gif) and [teen pregnancy](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/infosheets/infosheet_teen_preg_fig2.PNG) are lower than they were in the past. Long rap sheets rose as measures against police intimidation were introduced, and have shrunk again as 3-strikes laws have been passed. Vulgarity is no more nor less common than it used to be, there’s just fewer things that are _considered_ vulgar. Kids are being passed grade-to-grade because teachers have less ability to punish the kids (probably). None of these have anything to do with racism in either a positive nor negative way, so I’m not sure why you’re bringing them up. This thread is also about Sarah Palin, not racism, so I’m not even sure why racism is on the table as a subject. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/624 "2009-07-13T03:03:45Z")
I guess I clicked on the wrong thread. I thought this was the one I started about Sarah Palin, but I see that I was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/625 "2009-07-13T03:07:39Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > None of these have anything to do with racism in either a positive nor negative way, so I’m not sure why you’re bringing them up. > > This thread is also about Sarah Palin, not racism, so I’m not even sure why racism is on the table as a subject. It’s **Starving Artist** Day on SDMB, wherein he rants in multiple threads about how the unintended consequences of the elimination of racism was/is the downfall of polite society. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/626 "2009-07-13T03:09:14Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So now that we’ve all had an afternoon of congratulating ourselves on the advances made against racism in this country, can someone explain to me exactly how crassness, vulgarity, promiscuity, rampant STDs and teen pregnancy, criminals walking the streets with 25-page-long rap sheets, kids being passed from grade to grade because failing them would make them feel bad, etc., etc., etc., killed racism? Sure. Just as soon as you provide a citation to the speeches and legislation of purported liberals that called on those events to occur. Promiscuity and STDs? They came from the Pill, an event embraced equally by the Right and Left. Criminals with long rap sheets? Came from overcrowded prisons that were forced to turn loose less violent criminals because they were overcrowded with useless drug-user convictions with lengthy mandatory sentences. Social grade passing does tend to be more of a left-leaning event, although it has more to do with school administrations looking to avoid blame about social failures than hurting the feelings of children, (just like the current right wing golden child, standardized testing, has resulted in schools teaching to the test, to the exclusion of good education, and Needy Children Left Behind, originating on the Right, has resulted in more dishonest testing reports as frightened school administrators seek to avoid unjust sanctions from the government for suffering social ills.) There are several posters in this lengthy hijack that have made really silly straw man arguments about conservatives, ( **Senor Beef** , in contrast, has made a solid contribution to this thread, although one that might be too subtle for some of the participants), but you encourage the overreactions with your blanket claims for how and when and why the country changed, (most of which claims are inaccurate and none of which you have ever supported with facts). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/627 "2009-07-13T03:10:07Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So now that we’ve all had an afternoon of congratulating ourselves on the advances made against racism in this country, can someone explain to me exactly how crassness, vulgarity, promiscuity, rampant STDs and teen pregnancy, criminals walking the streets with 25-page-long rap sheets, kids being passed from grade to grade because failing them would make them feel bad, etc., etc., etc., killed racism? Racism was so disgusted, it turned the reigns of conservatism over to Greed, which found a way to make a buck off of all of the above. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/628 "2009-07-13T03:11:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > This thread is also about Sarah Palin, not racism, so I’m not even sure why racism is on the table as a subject. Actually, this old and weary nonsense was long due for retirement, but the hijack to re-fight the culture wars of the 20th century simply extended the flagging thread for a few more days. ---
**Author:** ![otorophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ab097/32.png) [@otorophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otorophile)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/629 "2009-07-13T03:18:19Z")
I read the first page and last page of this thread. WTF happened in between? [Interesting Times article on the resignation.](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/us/politics/13palin.html?hp) Apparently, there are no shocking allegations forthcoming. Basically, she was taking a lot of heavy hits and just couldn’t handle the pressure, both political and personal. She says there are no White House plans. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/630 "2009-07-13T03:41:12Z")
> [@otorophile](#): > > Basically, she was taking a lot of heavy hits and just couldn’t handle the pressure, both political and personal. She says there are no White House plans. Yup, if McCain hadn’t plucked her before she was ripe, she might’ve led the party to victory in 2016. Now everything is _ruined!_ ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/631 "2009-07-13T03:50:44Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Yup, if McCain hadn’t plucked her before she was ripe… An interesting image. Did anyone notice how keeps using the word “tapped” (with Marge Gundersen-type accent too: “teapped”), like she’s unaware of the double-entendre: “When I was teapped fur Vee Pee…”, “When the Senaturr teapped me to be on his ticket…” Cracks me up. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/632 "2009-07-13T04:08:07Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Virtually everyone was much more civil and polite in the 50’s. > [@cosmosdan](#): > > I asked some African American folks here in TN and they seem to disagree with you. Thoughts? Pffft. Obviously just more uppity now than in the '50s. \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* (joke) ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/633 "2009-07-13T04:13:16Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So now that we’ve all had an afternoon of congratulating ourselves on the advances made against racism in this country, can someone explain to me exactly how crassness, vulgarity, promiscuity, rampant STDs and teen pregnancy, criminals walking the streets with 25-page-long rap sheets, kids being passed from grade to grade because failing them would make them feel bad, etc., etc., etc., killed racism? I’ll take this attempt at diversion to mean you can’t support any of your statements. Personally I find pursuing a political ideology to the extent that a person can’t bring themselves to honestly consider the facts to be pretty crass and vulgar. It’s part of the reason the pundits tend to piss me off as well as the political game players they cover. This is our lives we’re talking about. Not some sporting event where we root for our team to win. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/634 "2009-07-13T04:14:28Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Pffft. Obviously just more uppity now than in the '50s. > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > \* > (joke) Well yah, and there that one in particular who is the mostest uppityest. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/635 "2009-07-13T04:19:29Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > This is our lives we’re talking about. I’m perfectly aware of that. The effect is has on peoples’ lives is the very crux of why so much of liberalism pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/636 "2009-07-13T04:49:54Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’m perfectly aware of that. The effect is has on peoples’ lives is the very crux of why so much of liberalism pisses me off. Then you won’t mind backing up your statements with one or two relevant facts rather than than blaming liberals without them. You see, to actually fix things, relevant facts matter. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/637 "2009-07-13T05:10:30Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So now that we’ve all had an afternoon of congratulating ourselves on the advances made against racism in this country, can someone explain to me exactly how crassness, vulgarity, promiscuity, rampant STDs and teen pregnancy, criminals walking the streets with 25-page-long rap sheets, kids being passed from grade to grade because failing them would make them feel bad, etc., etc., etc., killed racism? The wild-eyed outside agitators who went down to the South to help had short hair, and if they were vulgar or cussed, it seemed to escape even their enemies. I don’t know if they ever did any drugs, but my guess is that they were worried enough getting arrested and killed for the sins of marching for justice that they wouldn’t give the Southern sheriffs any real reason to arrest them. I don’t recall one drug bust, but then drugs were associated with hipsters like Lenny Bruce, not the kids who went to the South. However, it is possible that the lack of respect for authority they learned facing down the racist arm of the law propagated more generally. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/638 "2009-07-13T14:24:19Z")
In a feeble attempt to reconnect this thread with the original intent, [this article](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/us/politics/13palin.html?ref=global-home) in today’s NYT is a sober, non-hysterical look at what probably led to the resignation. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/639 "2009-07-13T14:28:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In a feeble attempt to reconnect this thread with the original intent, [this article](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/us/politics/13palin.html?ref=global-home) in today’s NYT is a sober, non-hysterical look at what probably led to the resignation. 1. It’s by the New York Times 2. It paints Palin as a mere mortal. I’m guessing the folks that worship her will HATE it. Won’t mind to be proved wrong; I thought it was a pretty decent, non-vituperative take. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/640 "2009-07-13T15:26:30Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > 1. It’s by the New York Times > 2. It paints Palin as a mere mortal. > > I’m guessing the folks that worship her will HATE it. Won’t mind to be proved wrong; I thought it was a pretty decent, non-vituperative take. The implications of the article are that she cracks under pressure and is not a fit choice for the White House, but I don’t think anybody needs the NYT to tell them that. I saw a poll yesterday that indicated that 70% of Republicans would still vote for her for prez. That’s a shocking number to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=31) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=33)