Very long, magazine-length pieceSource:
The Observer... Sarah Palin is everywhere. It is an astonishing achievement for a woman who holds no elected office and whose career should have flamed out in the wreckage of last year's defeated presidential ticket. But while the former presidential candidate John McCain has retreated quietly back to the Senate, his former running mate's profile has soared. She has tapped into a rich vein of discontent among conservative Americans, and as the Republican party has fallen increasingly under the sway of its extreme right wing, she has become its patron saint.
... The final part of Palinism is flag: the uber-patriotism that is common throughout America but which thrives on the right. Palin's America is a simple place: it worships the military; it believes Islamic terrorists hate American freedom, not American policy, and it thinks America is a God-blessed country that is by far the best to have ever existed. It uses words like "pro-America" with no real definition of what that means beyond drilling for oil, spending money on defence, owning guns and paying less in taxes to a government it distrusts.
... That Palin power is on the rise – and not just in its ability to inspire grandmothers to go through the night – is clear. It is taking over the Republican party in a vicious civil war that is being waged between conservatives and moderates. "We have a Republican party that is willing to tear itself apart," says Larry Haas, a political commentator and former aide in the Clinton White House.
... That victory charge is like nothing seen in American politics for a long time. Spurred on by a horrendous economic crisis, a widening equality gap and – whether consciously or not – the election of America's first black president, the Republican right has morphed into a paranoid, angry social movement with a mob mentality. It is also overwhelmingly made up of white people, often from economically suffering sectors, who treat media stars such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh as secular preachers. It takes the form of various groups, such as the Birthers, the Deathers and the Tea Party protesters, depending on which conspiracy theory is in vogue.
... The paranoia is getting uglier. Across America, gun owners have been hoarding ammunition out of a misplaced belief that Obama is planning anti-gun laws. In some areas, stocks have run so low that police stations have had trouble getting supplies. A group called the Oath Keepers has emerged over the past six months, made up of serving soldiers, police and firemen. They believe their government is a threat to its citizens and have vowed to disobey orders they deem unconstitutional. Those orders include rounding up American citizens and helping foreign troops invade America.
... These are clearly dangerous times in America, fuelled by a rising unemployment rate and a crash in many Americans' standard of living. "In this economy there is a search for simple answers, and that is when conspiracy theories take off and play on a fear of the unknown," says Professor Ken Leicht of the University of Iowa, author of The Post-Industrial Peasant, which charts the collapse of the American middle class. For Leicht, the growing economic disaster gripping America is a recipe for potential disaster. "We have the perfect storm for some pretty uncivil political activity," he says.
Read more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/06/sarah-palin-president-book-tour
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
