Dana “Mad Bitch Beer” Millbank wants to girl-cott Sarah Palin:
I’m declaring February a Palin-free month. Join me!
Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth. I have a Sarah Palin problem.
I have written about her in 42 columns since Sen. John McCain picked her as his vice-presidential running mate in 2008. I’ve mentioned her in dozens more blog posts, Web chats, and TV and radio appearances. I feel powerless to control my obsession, even though it cheapens and demeans me.
But today is the first day of the rest of my life. And so, I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb. 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin — in print, online or on television — for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February. With enough support, I believe we may even be able to extend the moratorium beyond one month, but we are up against a powerful compulsion, and we must take this struggle day by day.
I’ve been saying for two years that if the media really wants to hurt Sarah Palin they should ignore her. Now that it’s too late they finally take my advice. But just like the progressive bloggers they won’t be able to help themselves.
I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. Not a week goes by that we don’t see at least one poll showing that Sarah can’t win along with two or three stories explaining why she would be crazy to even try.
Back in 2007 we saw lots of stories extolling the virtues of Grandpa Fred and Rudy Ghouliani and explaining how they could sweep to victory. Neither one had a snowball’s chance in hell.
Sarah Palin consistently polls in the top two or three among the GOP contenders yet guys stuck back in the low single-digits are treated with more respect. Her unfavorable rating is similar to Obama’s but nobody in the media questions whether he should run.
Normally when a candidate (or potential candidate) is not considered a contender the media simply ignores them. Palin hasn’t even officially announced that she’s running and she gets more attention than all the other GOP contenders combined.
The closest thing I can compare this to is the 2008 Democratic primary. Normally the media loves a “horse race” and that year they had the closest one in half a century. There was plenty of drama and excitement has Hillary came from behind to win the popular vote lead and finish a close second in the pledged delegate count.
But the media anointed Obama the winner way back in January and kept insisting Hillary had no chance. They actually got annoyed at her for continuing to win primary after primary, some by huge margins.
Besides the way they get treated by the media, what do Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have in common?
The Crawdad Hole 
Milbank is going to have to not show up on MSNBC for the next month to keep to his pledge. Olbermann may be gone, but Matthews had three Sarah Palin segments in one show this week. I saw Kathleen Parker on CNN (apparently her and Spitzer are now separated from each other for segments) saying she will keep talking about Palin when it’s news. I can see why. Her new career as a TV gadfly was created by Palin.
Do you mind if I post here ?? I have some deep thoughts on this .. yeaah really deep LOL well, I think they are ..
You want to say it here or on the front page?
Either way is okay.
Thanks , this isn’t the front page?
This is the jeering section
I love how he expects everyone else to help him out with his addiction to Palin. Having made a huge mess all over the floor, now suddenly he’s found the high road and everyone else has to do cleanup?
He and his media pals made Palin into a infotainment moneymaker, does he or any of them really think their robot overlords are going to let them let that go? Ha.
Hi, my name is Dana and I am a Palinaholic…
well I probably fit in better here 😉
Me too. 🙂
Actually, as the Red Queen used to say, “it’s a distraction.” Focusing on Palin allows them NOT to report on The One’s shift to the right by appointing Jeffrey Immelt et al.
For some, it works. For others, we’re not so easily fooled. Milbank thinks we are, but doesn’t get it.
This may actually be an opportunity for her. If she can manage to get her supporters to fill the vacuum with positive stories, it will do two things: raise her positive profile, & make sure the likes of Dana Milbank get provoked into breaking their own pledge, thus exposing them (further) as hypocrites.
But yes, Hillary and Sarah both have handsome husbands. (Ha!)
I think the only viewers of MSNBC are conservative bloggers who write about the bad treatment of SP. A month long boycott’s sure gonna hurt their ratings, heh.
I cannot help but jeer at a media and political left that misses a chance to take on violence against women , by perpetrating verbal violence on a woman . I just cannot . So how conscious do you think DM is , barely , or minimally , because he cannot be fully conscious or aware of his underlying dynamic in attempting to ignore Sarah.
That boy is thick as a brick.
Why does he even need to announce he’s ignoring her? Why not just do it?
just chuckling at this … because I constantly wonder when we are going to get past middle school .
You know, like telling someone you are not speaking to them , for a week , or so , or until they change their mind ,or forget they are not speaking to them.
Amen! I’ve already raised an adolescent. Not interested now. 🙂
Hillary and Sarah , both know how to CONNECT with people and their audiences . They reach them .
I don’t think that’s the reason they get treated different.
I think that’s the reason they get treated different so much.
oh yes both are absolutely true .
They are powerful women with strong views and not part of the club. That scare the beejesus out of the powers that be.
The man powers that be except for Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy couldn’t abide a woman with more power that herself in government.
Well, Hillary connects in an intellectual and personal way and Sarah on a gut level emotional way.
These two women could NOT be more different.
Hillary has gravitas. Sarah does not.
But they still have something in common
Well, both of them have been just as backstabbed by the power-brokers of their own parties as they have been by the other side.
Both express views that are very much within the mainstream of their respective ideologies, but somehow are batshit crazy SHE-DEVILS for positions that pass without notice when espoused by the males of their parties.
True.
Both seem fearless.
Strong women scare the beejeebus out of most people. Especially if they refuse to shut up and sit down.
Vagina Dentata. Ouch.
Sarah Palin had gravitas as the governor of Alaska. The oil companies found her to be a tough negotiator. I would say that Hillary has more gravitas and Palin has had a lot of bloggers chipping away at her gravitas. Then again, Obama is about as substantive as a fart, and he got elected.
Yep, and she got further with the pipeline than anyone else had in decades. Got Canada to agree to build it, iirc. I’m sure the Canadian government was very influenced by her beauty contest.
I think Canada actually got rid of the Miss Canada contest, so they’re even less impressed by it than you might think.
Unless they’re scared of lady parts.
I don’t get the impression Sarah would care one bit about bi-partisanship. She argues for what she believes in and doesn’t give much room for compromise. Hillary is more inclined toward diplomacy and compromise.
There were plenty of times Hillary connected with me in a gut-level, very emotional way…
She did for me, too. But in my campaigning for her, I also found a lot of people who wanted to vote for her even though they felt no real connection. Heck, I met people who told me point blank they didn’t even like her much, but still supported her. They just simply thought she was smart, and capable, and the best most kick-ass person for the tough job.
I don’t think that the “gut” thing is absent in Hillary. I just think it’s not as prevalent and widespread as in Sarah’s case. Hillary, to her credit, remembers and nourishes her blue-collar roots. Sarah IS blue-collar to the core. It’s a different dynamic.
The response to Sarah is more like people’s response to Bill. It’s just more charismatic at first glance.
Very good way to describe the difference, WMCB. And you’re right, Ralph… Sarah definitely has charisma.
Powerful women…TERRIFYING!!
That’s why I cheer Palin on. Not because I agree with her politically at all, but because, like Hillary, she has the guts to keep speaking up–with panache–and sticking the arrogant elitists in the eye. I don’t care how ‘stupid’ people think she is–she refuses to buy into WWTSBSTFU. As a woman, I feel: “You go girl!”
Besides, if you actually watched her show on Alaska, she didn’t have horns or speak in tongues or anything. I think she’s actually human.
I feel similar to this fif. I cheer her on for the value of her contribution in opening up communication channels as a woman.
I have e theory that she is like the Silent Sentinels, who stood vigil outside the White House for more than two years before the 19th Amendment was passed, despite being heckled and jeered, and finally, imprisoned. Sarah is taking the brunt for us the same way those Sentinels did, and the culture is reacting very much in the same way it did then. It can’t understand a woman like this, so it attempts to rhetorically and violently impede her at every step.
I also appreciate much of her reform efforts as Alaskan gov. She has kind of lost her flare for that, but I hope that she can get it back.
Ya know, some of the early suffragettes and feminists were anti-abortion. Some of them were also pro-prohibition.
But I can applaud and appreciate what they did for women, while still disagreeing with them in other ways. Why is is a great crime to give Sarah that same respect?
What do you mean, lost her flare for reform? I was disappointed when she resigned, because she was a good wonky Governor. Not much scope for that out endorsing candidates.
Bemused leftist, I mean she doesn’t really talk about reform much anymore, except for hinting at toppling the party structure from the outside. But she used to easily talk about specific–I agree wonky–ideas she had, but she spends too much time defending herself now. I don’t blame her for not having the time, I just wish she would talk reform policy again.
Agreed WMCB.
From what I’ve seen Palin says a lot of wonky stuff. The media just ignores it.
She’s no Hillary, but then who is?
She’s no Hillary, but then who is?
Exactly!
“Besides the way they get treated by the media, what do Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have in common?”
A. Scary lady parts
B. More scary lady parts
C. They refuse to sit down and shut up.
They refuse to sit down ON THEIR SCARY LADY PARTS and shut up.
Hillary and Sarah don’t back down and the more s**t that gets thrown at them, the stronger they get. They both can play hardball as well as or better than the boys.
Hillary grew up LITERALLY playing hardball with the boys. Father taught her to throw and to get up and not cry.
Dunno about hardball with snowballs, but Palin was raised the same way: to go hunting with her brothers for the night’s supper, and no excuses if she failed. Treated just like a boy.
I grew up the only girl among rough boys too, so I recognize the vibe.
Yes, syl and bemused, both Hillary and Palin can play with the boys and beat them at their own game. They know the unwritten rules and, according to some (men and women alike), this is a crime.
They both make immature, inept men feel like crossing their legs.
I have to get into my thoughts about verbal violence directed at women here, and why it is tolerated and even encouraged by the segments of society that are still knuckle-dragging by unconsciously /subconsciously still regarding women as property .
Hillary and Sarah are more fully evolved and present as independently powerful . Men and women who are ok with that have no problem with women in power.
Hillary and Sarah are threats in that context , to people who cannot tolerate evolving that far 🙂
by here I meant the USA
“Besides the way they get treated by the media, what do Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have in common?”
Hmmmm….
1) They are both women.
2) They are both mothers.
3) They both ran against Obama
4) They both don’t care what the press thinks about them
5) They both want to do what is best for the country.
6) They both have more “cajones” than Obama
….
Sarah Palin is at a disadvantage, vis-a-vis Hillary, in that Hillary has been more connected to Washington early in her career, but both have the tenacity to learn the ropes to move forward. Sarah didn’t start the TP, but saw its potential and took advantage of group. Hillary is usually way ahead of other recognizing issues. Hillary for example talked about the sub-prime mess in 2007, and talked about the gay suicide issue months before they were headlines.
Mainly I just hate the overt sexism of so many Obot progressives. They will not stop. Either the misogyny is learned behavior from the campaign or it’s a case of those who’ve always been sexist self-selecting themselves in supporting Obama. Probably a little of both.
Palin wants to drill baby drill.
Oddly, for a way-leftie, I’m on her side on that one.
The reality is that sooner or later we’re gonna.
Both women give voice to the average American citizen
Both women remain loyal to the country.
Both women speak out and shed light on many things that some wish would remain in the dark.
They may come from different parties, and would not always agree on everything, but both listen and learn.
That scares the hell out of both parties
WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE, MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE CHATTERING PEOPLE RULE
Where did you find the photo of Palin describing Milbank’s private parts, or was she talking about Obama?
Milbank’s article is pretty funny. It’s a good thing they’re not going to start their vow until February because the article is followed by 1589 posts about why Palin is not worthy of being talked about.
ROTFL! I’ve said before they remind me of my teenage daughter when she had to call her old boyfriend 47 times a day to tell him how OVER him she was.
LOL Right on point, as usual.
“It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” (Othello)