The day I, along with the rest of the world, was first introduced to Sarah Palin was such a defining moment that sometimes I catch myself trying to recall what life was like before being exposed to the snark, obnoxious, shallow and often clueless attacks only Palin is capable of making on her "liberal opponents." Have you ever noticed how Palin strategically places that thumb of hers under her point and middle fingers right before embarking on some self-righteous rant?
But what I try to recapture more than anything is what politics was like before a fraud like Sarah Palin came along. Seriously, that is what Palin is. A fraud. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no shortage of examples that show her sheer lack of intelligence ("I read all newspapers!"), or moral double-standards particularly on the issue of teens and abstinence.
But after Palin's speech at the Tea Party Convention last night in Tennessee, it is clear that fraud is the perfect label for Sarah. If the scribbled notes on her hand for her Q&A session didn't make that clear for you, let me make my case.
Dressed up all sexy and chic in black with her big hair, Palin's speech before a small, fiery group of Tea Party Convention attendees in Nashville confirmed her as the leader of the Tea Party. Anybody even have a solid idea what the Tea Party people are even mad about? Do they even have a single unifying issue aside from just being really angry? Who knows?
Not me and definitely not Palin. And that's the beauty of it. Palin doesn't need to know what these people are all riled up about. She does not even care! In fact, Palin has convinced this already confused group of people that they do not need to know either:
"You don't need an office or a title to make a difference, and you don't need a proclaimed leader, as if we are all a bunch of sheep and looking for a leader to progress this movement."
How fitting that Sarah Palin of all people should be reassuring anyone that they do not need direction! Palin went on to praise that, "The movement's strength lay in its decentralization, and its activists' love of country, political independence."
To give Palin credit, this is perhaps the single smartest move she has ever made. Ever since the McCain campaign fizzled and died, Palin has been floating around the world of politics kind of like a little lost lady looking for a home. After her abrupt resignation as Alaska's governor, her family's scandals became staples on grocery store tabloids, and every now and then Palin would emerge in the press going off on some rant about Communism, America, Alaska being great, and crazy conspiracy theories about the Obama Administration.
Who ever even really knows what Palin is rambling about anyway? All I know is that Palin takes dangerous stances that usually do not make sense. She "energizes the Republican base," but any Republican with a brain knows that Palin is too crazy of a loose cannon for the party to be associated with closely. Palin was hungry for power, but she hadn't found her people yet.
All that has now changed. Because Palin at the core really is a fraud, with no real core principles or beliefs, there could have been no better crowd of people to associate herself with, or appoint herself to lead than the Tea Party people. A group without a leader for a leader without a group.
What Palin has done is brilliant. She is telling this movement it does not need to be united, but she is bringing it together. Palin is telling the Tea Partiers that they do not need a leader, but she is leading them. It is a great strategy because while we all know that Palin will say and do anything for the spotlight, she is painting herself as the reluctant leader, the reluctant politician:
This isn't about money. It is not about a title. It is not about a leader position in this movement...it is about the people. I will live, I will die for the people of America whatever I can do to help. And this party, this party that we call the Tea Party, this movement is the future of politics in America and I am proud to be here today.
Wow, Palin is willing to "die for the people of America!" That just brings tears to my eyes. Give me a break, where does she get this language from? Maybe from the notes scribbled on her hand.
The thing is, as much as I and many, many other people just want to close our eyes and have Palin disappear, she won't just go away. She is simply too marketable. There is too much money, and entertainment I suppose, to be made off of her madness. She has already written a book, so what else is left to do but run for president, right?!
By giving herself a group of people to lead, Palin is cultivating a voice for their anger, and giving herself a base for 2012. The words smart and Palin are rarely in the same sentence, but in this case...
On the bright side of all of this, at least Palin is keeping herself and her fellow crazies together. At least they are all identified and gathered in the same place! Hats off to the Tea Partiers I suppose.
Welcome to your party, Sarah Palin. Hate to admit it, but we are all watching.
Cross-posted from Anushay's Point.