PALIN PIPES UP…. We haven’t heard too much from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) lately, aside from her resistance to education standards and her ongoing efforts to reject energy-related stimulus funds. But rest assured, the controversial governor still has her eyes on the nation’s capital.
Alaska governor Sarah Palin let loose Wednesday on the Obama administration for enacting fiscal policies that “fly in the face of principles” and “defy Economics 101.”
In a speech introducing Michael Reagan — the son of former President Ronald Reagan — to an audience in Anchorage, Palin warned that the government is planning to “bail out debt ridden states” so it can “get in there and control the people.”
“Since when can you get out of huge national debt by creating trillions of dollars of new debt?” Palin asked. “It all really is so backwards and skewed as to sound like absolute nonsense when some of this economic policy is explained.”
Oddly enough, “absolute nonsense” is one of the first phrases that comes to mind reading about Palin’s odd concerns.
Usually, when someone is this confused, he/she doesn’t flaunt it so blatantly. Whoever tried to “explain” this “economic policy” to her either didn’t do a very good job, or the governor wasn’t paying close enough attention to the explanation. (Does she really think the government is spending more in the midst of an economic crisis as part of an effort to “get out of huge national debt”? And what makes her think the federal government wants to “control the people”?)
I’m reminded of a recent item from Reihan Salam, a prominent conservative blogger and Republican strategist, who defended Palin for months, made excuses for her shortcomings, and tried to convince any who’d listen that she’s really not as awful as she might seem. After watching Palin’s post-election train wreck, Salam gave up, calling her “a clownish, vindictive amateur,” who appears to have “undergone some kind of secret lobotomy.”
In the wake of last year’s presidential election, Palin had a real opportunity to position herself as a credible national figure and a leader in Republican politics. The governor, for some inexplicable reasons, has chosen the wrong path.
