Why the Left Viscously Attacks Governor Sarah Palin

By:  Carol Fessler

Sarah Palin has returned to front stage on the national scene and another round of nasty, puerile attacks from the left and hopeful enthusiasm from the right.  The right can’t understand why this attractive, self-made woman who has risen to the heights of state power should elicit such a visceral response of unabashed loathing from the left.  What is it about her that brings out of some Americans – who are usually generous-hearted people – the instinct to pounce on her, pluck off her wings and gouge out her eyes?

It is one thing to do solid research on a figure with whom the American public is obviously fascinated and to provide stories that illuminate this fresh face in national politics.  But it is quite another to scrape up a few facts, toss them into a poisonous potion of condescension and force feed this concoction to the American public.  To a certain extent, these types of attacks are part of the left’s modus operandi.  But the strident tone of the voices, even from women’s groups, is quite extraordinary this time around.  So the pundits keep asking but fail to answer the question: What is it about Sarah Palin that elicits this level of reaction from the left? 

Palin attributes it to their rejection of her “common-sense conservative solutions” to the nation’s problems.  Others demean her Idaho potato education, beauty queen crown, and sportscaster gig as the wrong pedigree for leadership.  And still others, especially those who equate verbal skills with intelligence, hear in her cliché-filled, campaign-style speech a lack of intellect and understanding of the issues.  These could all add up to a rational rejection of the candidate for vice president.  But the left has gone further.  It seeks to destroy Sarah Palin, not merely reject her.

I’ve been watching the discussion for a while and I think we are looking at this the wrong way.  The question should be:  What is it about the left that they respond to Sarah Palin with such visceral rancor?  It is said that we respond most negatively to somebody or something that reminds us of our own failings, insecurities or guilt.  If that’s what is going on here, we should be looking at Sarah’s critics more carefully.

The left holds itself up as the champion of racial and cultural diversity, women and minority rights, the value of the common worker, and respect for nature.  Accordingly, it demonizes the right as being out of touch or a threat to these interests.  Then along comes Palin who embodies these principles – not with silvery words – but with who she is and how she conducts her life.  There is no need to explain her stand on these issues because we can see with our own eyes. 

We see the seamless blend of race, culture and class in her family.  Compare this with the bigotry of her class-conscious critics.  We see a woman who has put herself through school, started a business with her husband, and overcome stereotypes to become a powerful and effective city mayor and state governor.  Compare this with the coddled children of the Ivy League elite who have had positions and prosperity handed to them.  We see the Palins working at blue collar and union jobs, drilling the oil that propels our economy, providing food for our tables and training the youth of Alaska.  Compare this with jawboning know-it-alls whose contribution to society is a clever quip.  We see the Palins working to sustain the natural bounty and beauty of Alaska just as they too are daily sustained and awed by Alaska’s wonders.  Compare this with the limousine liberals who need a stylish ski wardrobe and après-ski drinks to entice them to an annual visit to Mother Nature.

All of these characterizations of Palin’s critics are simplistic and unkind.  But at the core there is a kernel of truth in each.  And it is to this core of truth that the image of Sarah Palin pierces and shines a light for all the nation to see.   This is what terrifies liberals and works their Palin zealotry to a froth.  They fear that their hypocrisies have been revealed and the con game is over.  The powerful images of Palin attest to her bona fides on core liberal issues.  They can’t attack her on issues, so they attack her personally. 

Remember the scene on the Saturday Night Live show where Palin walks up to Tina Fey as she is doing her impersonation of the governor?  Until that evening the water-cooler review of Fey was that “she’s more Palin than Palin.”  But placed side by side, the comedienne was shown to be a small, pale impostor.  Palin is the real deal – a woman who embodies and lives her principles.  Her critics are not.  Until now the spotlight on hypocrisies has largely focused on conservatives.  With the arrival of Sarah Palin, the spotlight may be refocusing on liberals.

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