To reiterate a point I made during the KJZZ show last Friday.
Posted by: Donna
Jaime Molera, John MacDonald, host Steve Goldstein, and I were talking about Governor Brewer. Jaime insisted that Brewer is a formidable politician who has bounced back before and shouldn’t be underestimated. John agreed and said we shouldn’t underestimate Jan Brewer. Both John and Jaime chalked up Brewer’s stunning ineptitude as the normal learning curve of a new Governor. She’s really hitting her stride now that her first year is behind her, apparently.
In exasperation I turned to the mike and explained that Democrats most certainly do not underestimate Brewer or any conservative politician. It’s an annoying strawman that conservatives (with the complicity of the MSM) love to throw at liberals to steer the conversation toward the political skills of people like Sarah Palin and Andy Thomas and away their awfulness as public servants. Back in 2008 I did a panel on Channel 12 with some bloggers where we watched McCain’s speech and the RNC Convention and blogged about it on the air. A prominent GOP former officeholder was in the studio to do a segment with a well-known former Dem officeholder. In the lull between segments the Republican was shaking hands with us and talking about the election. He was positively giddy about Sarah Palin, claiming she was just the boost the McCain camp needed. I made some derisive remark and he pounced. “Admit it! You guys are scared of her!” “Yes,” I replied, “we are scared of her. She’s scary.” That wasn’t enough for him as he taunted me like 3 more times that the Dems were scared of Sarah. Dude was practically dancing a jig over our fear of Sarah that dared not speak its name. Sigh. It was like talking to a 3 year old. “Yes, you’re right. We are scared of Sarah Palin.”
Democrats have a painful understanding that a right wing politician being clearly dumb and obviously mean is no impediment to electoral success. So no, I don’t underestimate Sarah Palin as a politician. Or Jan Brewer or Andy Thomas. The problem Dems have with them is that they suck at their jobs. Badly. So badly that real people are harmed and the community is damaged. Give me a break on Jan Brewer needing time to adjust to her position as Governor. She was elected Secretary of State in 2002 and reelected in 2006. It’s the position second in line to the Governor. Is it too much to expect that she should have, you know, brushed up on the ins and outs of the job a bit? You know, just in case? And let’s not forget that she spent several years in the Lege, where she shepherded through the Fife-ster’s revenue destroying tax cuts. She didn’t learn a thing or two about whipping up votes during her time as Majority Whip??
But hey, why bother with trifles like competence and compassion when you can pander to your base with easily regurgitated soundbytes about freedom and low taxes and abortion and gays, right? What we’re seeing with a lot of right wing politicians today is a highly accelerated form of the Peter Principle. The principle holds that people within an organization will be promoted, usually from jobs they’re fairly good at, to a point where they are put into a job at which they suck. Unfortunately, by the time they’ve reached that level of incompetence, they’re in really important positions with a lot of power and stinking up the joint. See: Michael “Heckuva Job Brownie” Brown. But local politics offers right wingers with no particular aptitude or inclination to be good public servants the opportunity to babble a stream of platitudes and code words and win elections, thereby stinking up the joint from day one. See: 1700 W. Washington St. and Maricopa County.
Now the stench has gotten so foul that even the Republic has to acknowledge that a bunch of rabid ideologues who suck at their jobs and don’t care about the majority of people who live here are running the state. Oh my, oops, how did that happen? Maybe Dems were underestimating their political prowess for a time (not anymore, I assure you) but we’ve been correct in our (poor) estimation of them as public servants all along. Too bad that the opinion leaders in this state have chosen to prioritize political theater over policy direction lo these many years.
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Why does the media prefer political theater over competence? It makes their job easier. It take far less effort and is more fun to write about “personalities” instead of boring old policy issues. A reporter for a media outlet, who I shall not name, once said that Joe Arpaio becoming governor would be the best thing that could happen for someone who reports on state politics. They would never again lack for a story to write or a provocative sound bite. Our course, it might not be so good for the state, he admitted.
Jeez, Jan Brewer makes Jane Hull look like a politcal savant.
Yes,yes, I’m waking up. (eek!)
I am of the opnion to just let the Goopers have their floor act.
Guns!
Abortion!
Speed cams!
Sarah! (pant,pant, ick)
I think the more they do idealogue and less substance the voters are getting fed up.
“Concern for childrens education, healthcare, parents jobs? Pfft! We gotta sue each other!”
Zelph is correct-the teabaggers get the attention because they are wild and crazy. The immigration and anti-war rallies only get attention when someone does something wild and crazy (which is why Code Pink is much more widely known.)
The solution as far as I can tell is to insane in public and a serious policy wonk in private.
Senator Franken comes to mind.
To be insane, oops, forgot a word.
Friday from hell. Still. Again. Too. Also.
Give me a break on Jan Brewer needing time to adjust to her position as Governor.
Pretty rough there. What about the Gooper learning curve?”
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Ah, here’s the base )))))))))))))))))))))!
Donna,
” It’s an annoying strawman that conservatives (with the complicity of the MSM) love to throw at liberals to steer the conversation toward the political skills of people like Sarah Palin and Andy Thomas and away their awfulness as public servants. ”
Could you give an example of the ” awfulness ” of Governor Sarah Palin . I thought I knew a lot about her . I just hope you are not being sexist by bashing a woman, the way anyone who criticizes President Barak Obama is a racist .
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/jon-stewart-explains-to-c_n_363387.html
Sarah Palin is an awful public servant. Andy Thomas is an awful public servant. Ken Blackwell is an awful public servant. There, I feel I’ve sufficiently demonstrated that I’m an equal-opportunity critic of awful public servants.