Sarah Wailin': Professional Victim

Today, I bestow the new nickname of “Wailin’ Palin” upon Sarah. Rather than the strong example of womanly leadership she pretended to be, Wailin’ Palin has made herself a career victim not worthy of the public’s respect.

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From the moment she stepped into the national spotlight at the Republican National Convention, Wailin’ Palin has complained about her detractors. But William Kristol of the Weekly Standard was one step ahead of her!

the Democratic party and the mainstream media . . . will ridicule her and patronize her. They will distort her words and caricature her biography. They will appeal, sometimes explicitly, to anti-small town and anti-religious prejudice. All of this will be in the cause of trying to prevent the American people from arriving at their own judgment of Sarah Palin.

Kristol continues, explaining the grave threat Wailin’ Palin posed to the heathen Left (and moderates, and independents, and libertarians, and all other non-conservatives):

Palin will be a compelling and mold-breaking example for lots of Americans who are told every day that to be even a bit conservative or Christian or old-fashioned is bad form. In this respect, Palin can become an inspirational figure and powerful symbol. The left senses this, which is why they want to discredit her quickly.

From then on, the Weekly Standard and other conservative publications trumpeted every insult, every attack, as though Wailin’ Palin were the only public figure to ever be subject to criticism or the vulgarities of late-night comedians.

A recent Wall Street Journal article — Yes, the Rupert-Murdoch-owned WALL STREET JOURNAL — presented a portion of Wailin’ Palin’s laundry list of complaints:

When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced her resignation two weeks ago it was after a series of strange, petty bouts with her detractors. Many “frivolous ethics violations” had been alleged against her, she noted. David Letterman had told an ugly joke about her daughter. A blogger had posted something that was probably not true. Someone had photoshopped a radio talker’s face onto a picture of her baby — a “malicious desecration” of the image, in the words of Ms. Palin’s spokeswoman.

Team Palin got duly indignant at each of these. They took special, detailed offense. They issued statements magnifying their wounds. And, finally, the governor resigned her office, a good woman cruelly wronged.

We [still don't know what Palin stands for; we] know only that she is constantly being maligned, that when we turn on the TV and see her fair face beaming, we are about to hear that some liberal someone has slurred this noble lady yet again.

Indeed, if political figures stand for ideas, victimization is what Ms. Palin is all about. It is her brand, her myth. Ronald Reagan stood tall. John McCain was about service. Barack Obama has hope. Sarah Palin is a collector of grievances. She runs for high office by griping.

This week, the Weekly Standard continues its “Palin Persecution” theme with a cover story by Matthew Continetti (rumored to be authoring a book titled, “The Persecution of Sarah Palin”). The article chronicles the horrible suffering of Wailin’ Palin . . . If this is an outline of Continetti’s coming book, I can’t wait to burn it!

Palin-hatred is visceral and unrelenting. “Our state was inundated with opposition researchers trying to dig up dirt, the Democratic blogosphere up here making stuff up,” Palin told me. The file on my desktop labeled “Insult List” is an attempt to track every foul thing that’s been said about Sarah Palin since she rose to national prominence. At the moment, the list is seven single-spaced pages long. Palin’s been called, among other things, a “bimbo,” a “cancer,” a “farce,” a “jack in the box,” a “provincial,” a “maniac,” an “airhead,” “Lady Gaga,” and “political slime.” And that’s just a small taste of the G-rated stuff. The blue material is far worse.

Ladies (and gentlemen), ask yourselves: Do we need a victim for a leader in national politics? Which would you prefer — A strong person who handles adversity, or one who plays the victim and runs from challenges when things get tough? As Continetti puts it:

Why is Palin leaving? At this writing, there is no reason to doubt her stated position: Her enemies’ concerted efforts to tear her down have caused her family financial stress and distracted her from her duties as governor. Since she returned to Alaska in November 2008, she has been hemmed in. Ethics complaints, insults, invective, undue attention, and legal bills have been all-consuming. “I can’t fight for what’s right when I’m shackled to the governor’s seat,” Palin said. For the last seven months the governor’s office has been a ward. A trap. She is breaking free.

Breaking free? From an elected position?

It’s not a trap, it’s a responsibility which she has abandoned, to strengthen her hold on Victim of the Year status.

I think this deserves a commemorative bumper sticker.

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Jenny Donati is webmistress and co-editor of Secular News Daily. Jenny is an outspoken secularist who believes firmly in the separation of church and state. She demands evidence to support arguments, and holds herself to the same standard. She doesn't write about herself in the third person . . . but there's a first time for everything.

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