The Politico is going to find itself relegated to the ash heap of history if it allows commentary like that in a story titled “Clinton aides: Palin treatment sexist” by John Harris and Beth Frerking to continue to grace its pages. The story itself starts out innocuous enough, but by halfway though the first page, the authors lose credibility with this claim:
As the controversy over her qualifications and McCain’s vetting process overwhelmed events here, hypocritical rhetoric was flowing at full tide on all sides of the debate.
Oh? Really? And the Politico’s evidence of that?
Many conservatives, who spent a generation ridiculing the politics of victimhood and group identity, are now zealously invoking both in the Twin Cities. A common GOP talking point here is that Palin’s gender and experiences as a mother should be counted as an asset among her qualifications. At the news conference, former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift condemned “an outrageous smear campaign” against Palin, and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina said, “The Republican Party will not stand by while Gov. Palin is subjected to sexist attacks.”
Just last spring, Palin herself scoffed when Hillary Clinton’s campaign complained about a double standard in coverage.
“When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism, or maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think, ‘Man, that doesn’t do us any good, women in politics, or women in general, trying to progress this country,’ ” Palin said.
Oh PUH-LEASE! This is the evidence by these two yummy brains that there is “hypocritical rhetoric was flowing at full tide on all sides of the debate”?
Let’s examine the facts of this claim by breaking it down shall we?
Many conservatives, who spent a generation ridiculing the politics of victimhood and group identity …
This is true. But the statements that follow are not.
… are now zealously invoking both in the Twin Cities.
How so Politico?
A common GOP talking point here is that Palin’s gender and experiences as a mother should be counted as an asset among her qualifications.
Now wait a minute here. Saying that someone’s experiences make them qualified to be a leader is a far cry from playing the “politics of victimhood and group identity”! Playing the “politics of victimhood and group identity” is saying that you support someone and treat them a specific way simply because they are of a specific gender or race or group not because of what they have accomplished which MAY be related to their group, race or gender! That is not what the Republicans are saying here! They are saying that she has certain qualifications that come from her experiences and that you should consider them when considering her experience! The first position is a mile wide, but an inch deep. The second is an inch wide and a mile deep.
As for Palin’s criticism of Clinton compared to the criticism being hurled at Palin they are worlds apart. Criticism of Clinton was based on policy, at least as far as conseraveives go. It was liberals that brought up race and gender in almost every conversation trying to decide whether they wanted to support a candidat that was a white woman or a black man while both had nearly identical socialist policies.
So far criticism Palin has basically focused around claims that she did not act properly when pregnant with her youngest child (since disproven), that she had acted improperly in the firing of a renegade cop who just happened to be her ex-brother-in-law (since confirmed by the facts that the man should not have been in the position he was in), claims that her child was not hers but really her daughter’s (again, since disproven), claims of an extramarital affair (decision still pending on this one but denied by her), questions about whether or not she can do the job of being VP with five children while no one has asked the same of Barack and Michele Obama who are going to have quite hectic schedules themselves if (God forbid) Obama wins this November’s election and they become President and First Lady respectively, and so on and so forth.
So please Politico, if you are going to report on happening in American politics please do so fairly. Don’t claim something that isn’t true just to take pot shots at both sides to appear to be even handed.
Your job is not to play the middle of the road. Your job is to tell the truth – that is, if you want to be part of the media in the future.
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