Is sarah Palin really this stupid?

I can hardly be considered a particular fan of Sarah Palin (I am on record suggesting she be boiled down for soup stock and fed to sick chimpanzees) but I have to say "refudiate" is a pretty good word. A portmanteau of "refute" and "repudiate", it shall mean you simultaneously refute an argument while denouncing it. Like most would do when arguing against particularly reprehensible things, like racist theories, or suggestions that Sarah Palin wouldn't in fact be better if she were boiled down for soup stock and fed to sick chimpanzees.
 
What I find amazing given her obvious stupidity is that she has as many adoring fans as she does, who apparently either don't recognize her stupidity or explain it away as part of her being down-to-earth and folksy.
 
To the OP: No. This is just Sarah Palin's current persona. If you manage to dig up any of her previous speeches (previous to her running for VP anyway), you'll find she wasn't this way before. It's a calculated, intentionally done act which she believes will garner her the most support and votes. It failed her, but she's pretty much stuck with it now.
 
AdMan said:
What I find amazing given her obvious stupidity is that she has as many adoring fans as she does, who apparently either don't recognize her stupidity or explain it away as part of her being down-to-earth and folksy.
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And it's just that homey folksiness that indicates she is full of valuable proteins, fats, and essential nutrients desperately needed by sick chimpanzees. That glossy hair, that puffy face, those scaly elbows...they all bespeak of enormous potential in the rewarding field of being soup. Why, I bet she's got enough saturated fats and mineral elements in one buttock to nurse to health six juvenile chimpanzees, or three adults! As Xmas approaches, I hope everyone will open their hearts and skins and subcutaneous fats to the needs of ailing chimpanzees everywhere.
 
Mister Earl said:
To the OP: No. This is just Sarah Palin's current persona. If you manage to dig up any of her previous speeches (previous to her running for VP anyway), you'll find she wasn't this way before. It's a calculated, intentionally done act which she believes will garner her the most support and votes. It failed her, but she's pretty much stuck with it now.
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Absolutely.
It's a page from the George W. playbook. That guy was nearly as folksy and dumb as he acted. Just watch his earlier speeches.

Repulicans acting dumb are often now setting a trap for liberal critics. When they are criticized or mocked for apparent stupidity, they simply turn it around and call their detractors ivory tower elitists. Populism is the word of the day. By criticizing the "stupidity" of certain republicans, liberals and media are simply spreading the Right's message that the Left think they're better than ordinary folk.

Instead, please criticize their policies, their greed, their actions. Not the way they speak.
 
Cavemonster said:
Instead, please criticize their policies, their greed, their actions. Not the way they speak.
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Agreed, but it's not only the way they speak--it's what they're saying. It's when someone like Palin opines on something like monetary policy and is taken seriously by some, when even Murdoch's Wall Street Journal points out that her basic assertions are incorrect.
 
Cavemonster said:
Absolutely.
It's a page from the George W. playbook. That guy was nearly as folksy and dumb as he acted. Just watch his earlier speeches.

Repulicans acting dumb are often now setting a trap for liberal critics. When they are criticized or mocked for apparent stupidity, they simply turn it around and call their detractors ivory tower elitists. Populism is the word of the day. By criticizing the "stupidity" of certain republicans, liberals and media are simply spreading the Right's message that the Left think they're better than ordinary folk.

Instead, please criticize their policies, their greed, their actions. Not the way they speak.
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I was never too impressed by people calling Bush stupid and making a demotivator meme as an argument against his continued existence either.
 
I hate this kind of criticism. There are thousands of substantive reasons to hate Sarah Palin, but this is not one of them. Every public speaker makes verbal gaffes ... even the smart ones. For example, I don't think Obama is stupid because he thought people in Austria speak Austrian. It means absolutely nothing.

Also, smart people make up words all the time, why can't idiots? It simply isn't a good indicator of anything. If it were... Shakespeare would be the biggest idiot of all time.
 
I don't think it makes much sense to see this as actual criticism. It's an attempt at humour written by and read by people who already disagree with her. As far as I know, similar quotes are gathered from the detractors of most politicians; and yes, it's possible that Palin has supplied more material for this kind of jokes than most others. Which is good, because it means less people will resort to making quotes up.

I recall laughing at some of these quotes in the past with friends who also disagree with Palin's politics, but I don't think I would try to use them to convince someone who liked Palin that she was wrong. Maybe the ones who seriously suggest some kind of hypocrisy or blatant lack of understanding on a critical issue, but just making mistakes while speaking or writing? I'm sure politicians I support do that too, and I won't change my opinion based on something like that. Those quotes are for my political opponents to laugh at.
 
NoScotsman said:
I hate this kind of criticism. There are thousands of substantive reasons to hate Sarah Palin, but this is not one of them. Every public speaker makes verbal gaffes ... even the smart ones. For example, I don't think Obama is stupid because he thought people in Austria speak Austrian. It means absolutely nothing.
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Because he's right in this case.

I'm German, and have visited Austria. Those people down there speak Austrian. :D
 
AdMan said:
What I find amazing given her obvious stupidity is that she has as many adoring fans as she does, who apparently either don't recognize her stupidity or explain it away as part of her being down-to-earth and folksy.
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No, she's just carrying on W's legacy of complete unfamiliarity with the English language.
And her flock aren't any brighter. :(
 
NoScotsman said:
I hate this kind of criticism. There are thousands of substantive reasons to hate Sarah Palin, but this is not one of them. Every public speaker makes verbal gaffes ... even the smart ones. For example, I don't think Obama is stupid because he thought people in Austria speak Austrian. It means absolutely nothing.
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I agree that there's no need to resort to this sort of tactic when she can be easily be dismissed on legitimate grounds, but let's not pretend her command of the language isn't important.

For example: you need heart surgery and are given a choice between two doctors, both native English speakers. You know nothing about their backgrounds save that they're at least minimally qualified and experienced, but you get to talk to them briefly.

During the course of the conversation, one says, "refudiate," the other doesn't. Which one do you choose to break open your ribcage and use a knife on your heart?

Try it with any profession: a lawyer to represent you in a murder case in which you've been falsely accused, the person in charge of your finances...etc.

Certainly there are more important factors, but all things being equal, command of the language is usually a good indicator of intelligence.

NoScotsman said:
Also, smart people make up words all the time, why can't idiots? It simply isn't a good indicator of anything. If it were... Shakespeare would be the biggest idiot of all time.
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I think you can answer that one on your own.
 
By the way, here's a much better reason to heap scorn and ridicule on Palin:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/sarah-palin-federal-reserve_n_780833.html

It's not just that she was completely wrong about the substance, that she lied about the Journal article so transparently (or just didn't understand it), it's the smarmy, sanctimonious sarcasm she used in dealing with the reporters critique of her speech:

Now I realize I'm just a former governor and current housewife from Alaska, but even humble folks like me can read the newspaper. I'm surprised a prestigious reporter for the Wall Street Journal doesn't.
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Again, she was either lying about that article or too dumb to understand it, but that didn't stop her from making such an infantile comment.

And yes, I find either her inability to understand the issue or her devotion to distorting facts to be deeply disturbing. This is not someone who should be given any sort of responsibility.

(waits for the Tu quoques)
 
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TraneWreck said:
Again, she was either lying about that article or too dumb to understand it, but that didn't stop her from making such an infantile comment.

And yes, I find either her inability to understand the issue or her devotion to distorting facts to be deeply disturbing. This is not someone who should be given any sort of responsibility.

(waits for the Tu quoques)
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It makes a lot more sense when you understand that Movement Conservatism (as opposed to the wider philosophy of Conservatives etc) is partly driven by what is known by the colloquialism "Dirty Flippin' Hippy Punching"; it's a pure, visceral desire to just offend liberals as much as possible, for what ever reason the individual Movement Conservative thinks they need punching.

On 4Chan, it would be known as doing something for "the lulz", but in this case, they love that Sarah Palin is so incredibly dumb because, even if it means the country burns, it'll burn up some liberals even more! Which raises the question of who really loves their country... but that's the basic drive behind some of her support; not just that it allows them to declare liberals "Ivory Tower Elitists", but that they know it causes genuine anguish to them.

It works so well politically however because people with real power in the media, but who wouldn't define themselves as Movement Conservatives have a lot of sympathy for "DFHP" too; partly because it's all become so dominated by the interests of the corporations that own the media outlets... there's not much sympathy for alternative lifestyles except as freak show entertainment. "If it bleeds it leads" has now become "If it bleeds, it leads, but only if it leads to profit"; someone making a moral choice is only newsworthy if they suffer for it, and then sell their life story to Oprah and hawk it around the publishers. Hence the massive bias towards pro-war reporting for instance; fear is big business. Reporters and opinion makers then don't call it out "DFHP" for what it is because it would require awareness of their own biases; they just know that everyone in the office, when they report on environmentalists or educationalists or even scientists who try to talk about pure knowledge is going to snort "Dirty f***ing hippy!" and it becomes conventional wisdom.

You might think I'm exaggerating about how emotional, how below the level of self-awareness this response is. If only; Here's how Rich Lowry at The National Review reported on Sarah Palin's Vice Presidential Debate;

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it.
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http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/171291/projecting-through-screen/rich-lowry

Compared to giving Rich Lowry little starbursts, who'd want to listen to a dirty... well, you know the rest!
 
I don't know. I fear that she and the others in her party may not be as stupid as they appear. Sadly, if this is the case then I have to accept that they are amazingly selfish and evil.

The GOP seem to be determined to hurt the liberals no mater what the cost, even if it means the country itself is harmed. That just doesn't seem right. What happened to the GOP, how did they come to be like this?
 
elgarak said:
Because he's right in this case.

I'm German, and have visited Austria. Those people down there speak Austrian. :D
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I learnt my German in Switzerland. They point out that it's you guys who speak it funny......
 
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