I am growing increasingly tired of Sarah Palin posing as some kind of working class hero. It just rings false, and she’s been doing it since she first arrived on the political scene. Recently she was regaling a NRA convention crowd with “you might be a redneck if…” jokes and claiming they described her to a T. One of the jokes is “You might be a redneck if you think Wal-Mart is expensive”. She states, “It is sometimes!” I’m sorry, but I find it really hard to believe that the woman who spent $150,000 on clothes at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue during the ’08 election and who consistently wears expensive suits that are most likely NOT sold at Wal-Mart would find their prices exorbitant. Her “schtick” is so disingenuous it hurts. I’m not even working class and I find it offensive. It amazes me how her fans just buy into her whole “Everywoman” image. Wait, no, it doesn’t amaze me, because her fans are mostly people that glean all their information from Fox News.
Speaking of Fox News, Think Progress recently asked some NRA members at the convention if they agreed with their leadership that people on the Terrorist Watch List should be allowed to buy guns. The members were told that the Washington Post had reported on the issue and made the discovery that those on the watch list are indeed allowed to buy guns, and that their leadership supported that. Most interviewed said they disagreed with the NRA leadership on the issue and felt that those on the Terrorist Watch List should be prohibited from buying firearms. But of course, there’s always those few fanatics that beg to differ. Here’s what one of the members, who apparently sells guns, told Think Progress:
NRA MEMBER: The Washington Post, I think that’s part of like the Communist News Broadcasting and everything. … The Washington Post lies on everything. … I don’t know how I can believe the Post. You need to find better facts than the Washington Post. … I wouldn’t believe a word I read in the Washington Post. It’s one of the worst papers in the whole country, from what I’ve heard.
TP: Oh, then which newspaper would you believe?
NRA MEMBER: Which newspaper? I don’t know, I would stick to Fox News over everything.
Can you visualize me facepalming? Because that’s exactly what I did when I heard that. That answer reminds me of a Teabagger protest covered by New Left Media in which they asked the TPers to explain the reasoning behind some of their opinions. Sadly, their knowledge of the issues is skin deep — they basically form their beliefs based on what Glenn Beck or some other ideologue tells them to believe, and they have no idea why they believe the things they do. The kind of people who engage in this sort of intellectual laziness and are so vitriolic about their learned beliefs are dangerous. These are not the kind of people you want owning guns.
And yet, they do, and unsurprisingly, Sarah Palin agrees with the NRA leadership on this issue. Personally, I don’t know what you have to do to land yourself on the Terrorist Watch List or if there’s any recourse you can take to challenge being put on the list, so I don’t really have an opinion either way about the subject — other than the fact that I think we need way less guns in the hands of anyone, period, and it does seem prudent to red flag anyone on the watch list who buys a gun. But who needs prudence when the precious 2nd amendment is at stake? This is the same group that thinks basic regulations on selling semi-automatic assault rifles are oppressive. Why am I surprised?
Seriously, when it comes to Sarah Palin, I should never be surprised by the complete lack of critical thinking on her part.
