Selling hate, fear and failure as salvation

George Orwell couldn't have written a better scene than Sarah Palin's rally in Florida. As MSNBC aired it this morning, Sarah performed against the backdrop of red tee-shirted moms, waving signs that read Country First along with chants of, USA Number One, Drill, Baby Drill, and of course boos for the enemies.

There are lots of enemies too. Who are they? Dang it all, don't we know?

if you aren't with us, you're against us. It's as simple as pie and right now the list of enemies includes anyone who isn't on Palin's team. Of course that includes the opposition candidates, characterized by Pain as planning to reduce jobs, increase taxes and cast suspicion suggesting there is a subversive and nefarious agenda on the other side of the political aisle. Give me a freaking break.

Let me count the ways the issues we the public want to talk about are ignored. We have a month to have a National conversation about the State of Our Nation. Can we talk or must we spend it listening to a rant better suited as a sequel to Mean Girls? Can we see some grownups step out of the stands to act as leaders, not cheerleaders for one pair as our only salvation, versus a plan to get somewhere fixing things?

Impress us not by being among the intellectual average but the exceptionally thoughtful concerned with that broad spectrum of critical issues that face us. Glenn Greenwald described it well.

The economic anxiety levels are as high as one can recall, teetering on panic, and even the Wall St. Journal Editorial Page is acknowledging that America's days of economic dominance are over. The national debt is over a staggering $10 trillion and has doubled in the last 8 years alone. And the symbols of our nation have become gulags, the waterboard, an endless stream of bombs and occupations, and people imprisoned forever with no charges of any kind.

And as these flames engulf America's foundations, what is the Right doing -- the movement that brought us all of this through their virtually absolute control of our Government for the last eight years? They're spending all their time chattering with each other about an aging 1960s radical and giddily cheering the increasingly repellent Sarah Palin as she skips around the country in front of rambunctiously booing right-wing crowds accusing Barack Obama of palling around with The Terrorists and pointing out that he doesn't see America the way all the Normal, Good Americans do.

Palin's rhetoric is so empty and offensive it would be collapsed or deleted under our CoH at Newsvine if it were added in a comment thread. Then again our goal is to get smarter and engage in thoughtful exchange, their goal is clearly, something else.

Where are the subjects that have some relevance to our National woes, or show a way out of the messes we're in? Can our pivotal issues get a snippet of discussion time?

Nope, by golly there's none of the pesky details of growing bankster fraud, following the Bushy Bonesmen and their Blue Blooded, Poision Ivy Leauge minions, rob taxpayers again and again.

It's too much to endure in quantities without Tina Fey to deliver it. The story line of "Whadda ya know Joe Six Pack, we've got a reformed member of the 1960's Weatherman, who's teaching in Chicago but might threaten all who love America if McCain isn't in the White House. Rise up and reject the enemy lovers, with their plans to destroy the Nation you love, flinging their criticisms at this Great Country of ours.

Guess what you Rovian thieves, only the hubris of power and isolation of lavishness could cause you to believe this would sell. In a striking parallel with the sinking of the Titanic, those of us in steerage are all seeing the water up to our eyeballs. On the uppermost decks the orchestra may play on and provide a false sense of normalcy, calm and comfort, but it doesn't matter one whit to folks on the bottom who know when they are drowning.

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