No one will take on Obama, and the Washington establishment, like Newt Gingrich
Fantastic: Obama would like to replicate Detroit’s foibles elsewhere
New York Times scandalized as NYPD is trained on Muslim-perpetrated violence
Detroit boldly choosing to crackdown on the innocent
South Carolina stopped Romney. For now
Cartoon: Down and out
In which I praise Mitt (but explain why I won’t vote for him)
Bernero the gambler sells Main Street for a shot at the slots
The Emergency Financial Manager law is undemocratic, but opponents need an alternative to guard against local fiscal calamities
Memo to Snyder: Don’t stop the radical reforms now!Palin knows the issues, Ed Rollins (and unlike your boy Perot, she’s sane)
December 2nd, 2010 | 
Author: 
Dan Calabrese
I like Sarah Palin, but you already know that. And as I’ve often said, I have no idea if she wants to run for president. The resolution of that question is not terribly important to me. I am more interested in policy substance than in politics, especially when it comes to campaigns that are yet in the future, and I don’t sit around obsessing over whether someone I respect is going to run for this, that or the other thing.
Who are you telling to study?
But it seems that just about everyone else is obsessed with Palin’s presidential prospects, and that includes a certain Ed Rollins, who holds forth today on CNN.com with a piece titled, “Palin, I knew Reagan. You’re no Reagan.”
Well.
There is much to mock about a piece on Gov. Palin’s supposed lack of presidential qualifications, especially coming from a man who once tried to help win the presidency for H. Ross Perot, who was not only unqualified but also insane.
But the one that deserves to be exploded is one of the most oft-repeated, condescending slams on Palin. It certainly does not represent any original thinking on Rollins’s part, as it’s been expressed many times by the likes of George Will and just about every D.C.-based political consultant. It is this:
“If you want to be a player, go to school and learn the issues.”
Bullshit, Mr. Rollins. Bullshit.
The notion that Sarah Palin isn’t up to speed on the issues is one of the most groundless ideas on the political landscape today. Take your pick where it comes from: The stupid Charlie Gibson “Bush Doctrine” question? (In which Gibson demonstrated he doesn’t know anything about the Bush Doctrine.) The media’s full-court coverup of Palin’s truthfulness in talking about death panels? People’s confusion between Tina Fey’s caricature and the genuine article?
Whatever the source, it only goes to prove that lots of people believing something doesn’t make it true.
Spend some time on Palin’s Facebook page, where she regularly holds forth on the issues. See what she has to say about tax policy, the WikiLeaks fiasco, monetary policy, energy policy, Iraq and the crucial priorities facing the incoming GOP Congress.
And that’s just the most recent. Palin regularly uses her Facebook platform to deliver her thoughts on leading issues of the day to nearly 2.5 million fans who receive her posts in their newsfeeds. So she not only knows the issues and expounds on them with eloquence, she is smart enough to go directly to the public with her message, bypassing the idiotic legacy media in the process.
You may not agree with everything Palin has to say about the issues. You may not agree with any of it. But to presume to send her off to “school” to somehow bone up on the issues is the height of condescension and chutzpah. Especially coming from the likes of Ed Rollins. What the hell has he accomplished since the Reagan years? He demonstrated today that he’s capable of writing a snippy commentary that apes conventional wisdom, but otherwise Rollins doesn’t show even a morsel of understanding of real issues – certainly not compared to what Palin knows.
Look, there are legitimate questions to be raised about whether she has enough experience to be an effective president, assuming she even wants to run. But these people who think they can tell her to go away and come back when she’s learned the issues deserve to be smacked. Hard. Repeatedly.
Palin knows the issues. Not only that, but she has demonstrated the tenacity to make good things happen on the policy front in the event she wants the chance and is able to win the chance.
I’ll take Sarah Palin’s knowledge, experience and character any day over the sniveling likes of Ed Rollins, who will advocate for anything or anyone if someone will pay him, and might just be a little ticked off that Palin shows no interest in availing herself of help from the likes of, shall we say, him.
Become Dan’s friend on Facebook.
Become a fan of The North Star National on Facebook.
Buy Dan’s new novel, Pharmakeia.
To book Dan as a speaker, contact Lourdes Swarts at Speakers Access.
Posted in Dan Calabrese
24 Responses to “Palin knows the issues, Ed Rollins (and unlike your boy Perot, she’s sane)”
Leave a Reply
- Listen to compelling 911 tape of 2-year-old trying to help authorities save her great-grandmother's life (AUDIO)
- 'Simpsons' joke about Sharia threat in Dearborn
- Fire Marshal: Too soon to say whether fatal fire at 230 Myrtle in Muskegon is arson; investigation continues
- Electrical problems likely cause of Strong Avenue fire in Muskegon; Investigation ongoing
- WXYZ asks a blogger with no law enforcement experience to weigh in on escort murders
- By the numbers: Detroit has spent $20 million demolishing homes since 2009
- 'Simpsons' joke about Sharia threat in Dearborn
- Age-shy Warren Mayor Jim is officially 69, two years older than he claimed, so let's all move on
That’s gonna leave a mark
NICE smackdown. I couldn’t agree more. I guess Rollins doesn’t read Human Events. Michael Reagan penned a piece there in ’08 about Palin titled “Welcome Back, Dad” …
Ed thinks he knows Reagan better than his own son, apparently.
and his other son thinks she’s a moron. You palin people are beyond incorrigible.
Ed’s just jealous because he has neither brains NOR beauty.
But seriously, and more to the point of what Dan is conveying here: Sarah Palin is genuine. Political insiders don’t care for genuine, everyday schmoes who have G-2 tempered by a generous amount of Gee-Whiz.
“Even you Jedi should appreciate the difference between knowledge and [chuckle] wisdom.”
[...] — Arthur KoestlerCalling B.S. on Ed RollinsPosted on | December 2, 2010 | View CommentsDan Calabrese has had it up to here with the anti-Palin crowd: it seems that just about everyone else is obsessed with Palin’s presidential prospects, and [...]
Ed Rollins is the ex campaign manager for Mike Huckabee. He’s just vying for his old job back when/if Mike decides to run again.
i can see russia from my house–
5 colleges—-
lisa murkowski (sp?) said it best–”she lacks the intellectual curiosity” aka–she is a dumb ass–
yah shes smart–
“honey maybe someday when you grow up you can go to 5 colleges and be lucky as hell and be a heartbeat away from the President”
everyone —everyone will be running away from the kim kardashian of politics soon–so give your love to palin while you can —soon she will be vanilla ice—ice ice baby
Drinking the Palin kool-aid again Dan??? She’s no more informed on the issues than when she was first picked by McCain for the VP spot. “I can see Russia from my house.” Not even if your house is on the westernmost island in the Aleutians chain. She couldn’t name a Supreme Court decision she agreed with, couldn’t name a news source she uses, is wrong about death panels – sorry Dan you’re delusional on that one. And her “real America” is a joke. Large cities and the two coasts are home to a majority of the population, create more jobs, small businesses and a larger share of the GDP than her real America. She’s a joke.
hot irish girl,
I wonder if you have any idea how stupid you make yourself appear.
If you think Palin said the russia from her house you my dear are stupid. If you think Palin is a dumb ass you my dear are beyond stupid. The lady that rose to gov of AK with no politcal training, no money and no connections? Yeah that’s stupid.
If you think working your way through college is something to be ashamed of you are stupid.
And if you are the caliber of her opposition than I can see Palin being sworn-in in 2013. Her opposition, like you, are so much a bunch of uneducated snobs that gov Palin could defeat them one handed.
Craig,
I love it. you speak of drinking kool-aid then repeat a Tina fey quote an mistakenly think Palin said it. Yeah nothing like an uneduacted person calling someone else stupid. Got to love it.
As far as Death Panels see Krugman and Obama’s budget director confirming that Palin was right about them.
like I said above if you are the caliber of her opposition Palin will waltz into the whitehouse. Next time before you attack someone at least learn the turht so you don’t make yourself look totally stupid.
You’re referring to Ronnie Reagan, who is a frothing-at-the-mouth hysterical liberal?
Why would I listen to anything he said?
Are you misunderestimating the refudiator – the mama grizzly who is heretofore terrified of Katie Courick because of the awesome unfair questions like “what was the last newspaper you read” and I told her “all of ‘em, any of ‘em that have been in front of me over all these very years?” I do take issue there with some of the principle there with which seems to be espoused there by you and theretofore my concern has been the relevance to me with that issue as we spoke about that there were kind of the people succumbing to the dictators when Putin rears his ugly head and the corruption of some collapsed governments that heretofore didn’t have our so very great constitution and the relevance that we so very theretofore misunderestimate.
Great Article! I was a Democrat until John McCain chose Gov. Palin as his VP running mate. I then became a volunteer for the McCain-Palin campaign and switched to being a registered Republican. Now, that I look back at all the years I voted for Democrats like Gore, Dukakis, and Kerry, I don’t know what I was thinking. The more people wake up and shake off the media brainwashing the more they realize that Gov. Palin would make a great President.
Great Article -
It is truly sad that the politics of the day can be so easily influenced as in a popularity contest.
How anyone could have voted for Obama, when he was without any substance, and refused to provide proof of his alleged intelligence.
Sarah Palin connects directly with people in an honest, from the heart, real manner… and she is as smart as a whip.
She has what it takes to make a Great President.
I have found people all over the US that agree with this, even Obama voters -
There are plenty of Republicans one could choose as avatars of intelligence, awareness and toughness; Sarah Palin is certainly not one of them. If your amygdala is so easily whipped into a pathetic sort of Pavlovian obeisance by the non-stop, savant-like utterances of hot-button cliches, buzz-phrases and provably false memes coming from the mouth of this intellectually lazy, deeply troubled person, your hold on reality is so tenuous that you can’t be constructive participant in a representative democracy. It’s the way of a traitor; when it comes down to a choice between a) taking the action that would be most sensible and productive for the country, and b) choosing sides and fighting for your tribe because you get some sort of bizarre validation from being on a “team”, it’s tribe over country every time. Facts, reality – these things don’t matter. Tribal victory is all.
Rollins is a loser,Palin knows the issues, she doesnt need to play jepardy to be President. We have had pointy head nimcompoops, and they have been failures. I will take common sense over educated idiots from Harvard or Yale!Zip it Rollins you punk!
Hmmn, the Palin haters seem to have tranferred their hate from Reagan to her. And, the result will be the same in 2012 as it was in 1980
“National opinion polls continue to show Carter leading Reagan by an apparently comfortable margin of about 25%. They also show that more moderate Republicans like Ford would run better against the President. This suggests that Reagan is not the strongest G.O.P. choice for the November election and that he clearly faces an uphill battle.”
“Party operatives are plainly unhappy with his selection. In Massachusetts, where both Bush and Anderson defeated Reagan, party leaders are not yet reconciled to the Reagan candidacy. Says one: “There’s a vacuum of leadership at the national level; and what appears to be the Republican Party’s response? A 69-year-old man who has done virtually nothing for years”
“Reagan has a history of committing rhetorical blunders that drive away voters. His quest in 1976 was damaged when he suggested vaguely, without proper research and consideration, that $90 billion in federal programs should be turned back to the states. He then spent months explaining that the affected programs would not be eliminated, only transferred. As Governor, Reagan was outraged by student unrest and once proclaimed: “The state of California has no business subsidizing intellectual curiosity.”
“Worse perhaps than the verbal gaffe is Reagan’s relentlessly simple-minded discussion of complex problems. He is aware that he is charged with this failing, and in his 1967 inaugural address on becoming Governor of California, he asserted: “We have been told there are no simple answers to complex problems. Well, the truth is there are simple answers, just not easy ones.”
Time Magazine – March 31, 1980
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Time+Magazine+%E2%80%93+March+31%2C+1980%2Breagan&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
[...] rest is here: Palin knows the issues, Ed Rollins (and unlike your boy Perot, she’s sane) Tags: dan [...]
Sarah isn’t sane, sorry. Ask Alaskans! She also doesn’t write the Facebook posts sorry. And if she understood the issues she would be willing to debate them, but she won’t. I know I’m wasting my breath and you all will call me names (hater!! Librard!!) but guess what I’m neither.
I feel sad for Sarahs fans because they are going to be very disappointed when truth and reality hit them on the head like it did to us Alaskans. Many of us gave her lots of mOney, campaigned in the snow and she quits?? And lies about why?? If you all believe she quit to help Alaska or cuz of legal bills, I’ve got acres of ranch land for sale right near Sarahs house (compound)on the dead lake Lucille.
I feel for ya because I used to be a supporter.
Am still waiting to hear from any big time GOP leaders coming to Palin’s defense after the recent Rollins, Bush, Murkowski, and Scarborough comments. The silence from the GOP has been very telling. Fair to say that Palin’s detractors are not only from the big bad mainstream left-leaning media types. McCain’s campaign staffers who knew her up-close and personal despised her too! How many more GOPers do you need to hear from before you start re-assessing your love of Palin???
HaHa, would the Reagan son you’re referring to be the gay ballerina? Yes, he has certainly proven himself to be a solid resource when discussing his father’s legacy, considering he barely SPOKE to his father when he was President. I think you’re absolutely right (or LEFT) to take Ron’s word for who does and does not live up to the conservative principles of our greatest President.
I googled “State Governor highest approval”. Guess who once had a 92% approval. Does this mean she is the greatest politition in US history. Read “Sarah takes on big oil” She renegotiated the share the Alaskan people receive from oil. She got BILLIONS more. Then she put out for bid the gas pipe line in limbo for 40 years and approved a contractor. There were also other major achievments.
I googled “State Governor highest approval”. Guess who once had a 92% approval. Does this mean she is the greatest politition in US history. Read “Sarah takes on big oil” She renegotiated the share the Alaskan people receive from oil. She got BILLIONS more. Then she put out for bid the gas pipe line in limbo for 40 years and approved a contractor. There were also other major achievments.
Shark Tank I would prefer to thanks for your efforts you’ve got made in composing this article. I’m going for exactly the same greatest work from you in the future too. In truth your fanciful composing abilities has prompted me to begin my own weblog now.
Wonderful weblog. Plenty of helpful information here. I was looking for this.Thanks for sharing!