Regardless of how busy you’ve been in the last week its doubtful that you haven’t heard about Sarah Palin new book “Going Rogue”. The amount of press that the Palin machine has been pumping out resembles Hollywood’s promotion of the newest Twilight movie. Usually it would be bad form to compare a politician’s memoir with a sexy teenage vampire series but in this case I feel comfortable with the comparison.

It seems that Sarah Palin has become a franchise for the far rights incendiary politics. Palin brings with her the type of controversy that news networks dream of, her catchy one-liners seem to have been scripted for the tempo of the six O’clock news, her supporters give candid interviews with little prompting and, lets not forget, she winks.

The reviews of Palin’s book fall largely across partisan lines, some fact checking reports have given her a failing grade but I think it is important to remember that Palin does not need credibility to have a powerful impact on mainstream political discourse. Palin exists as apart of a network of hard right icons who have gained celebrity among some of the more reactionary factions including white supremacist and their allies. It is unlikely that any amount of fact checking will rattle Sarah Palin base.

For those of us who have been following Sarah Palin’s career it has become increasingly clear that Mrs. Palin will not suddenly transform into the conservative policy wonk that Rush Limbaugh seems to think she is, nor will she start to make sense or offer any real substantial input during her many nationally televised interviews because that is not her purpose. Palin operates as a mechanism to divert and refract the male privilege and white supremacist policies that the far right traditionally delivers. In ths role Mrs. Palin has found her niche.

If Palin is successful in her role then her presence could turn out to be much more lethal to the left wing than anyone anticipates. Like it or not Sarah Palin has been incredibly skillful in her maneuvering as a women in the male dominated right wing. Palin has made her way through the national spotlight as both a hockey mom and a good old boy. Perhaps one of her greatest accomplishment to date is how she has managed to point her finger on the “liberal media” and blame the left for the sexism she has suffered.  Incredibly she has been able to mobilize these sexist attacks on her as a way to get around the large craters in her credentials. And, amazingly, she has done all this without overtly identifying as a feminist.  Its a strange twisty road that leaves most of us baffled at how we’ve ended up almost wanting to defend Palin against misogyny that has been launched around her.  What is important to remember is that Palin is not the flippant character she plays on TV, she is an anti-choice, anti-woman politician who has harnessed the nations attention.

The question going forward is what is the appropriate response to a force that is so logically irreverent? The impulse to disregard her is just as strong as the impulse to go on the attack. Both approaches only seem to feed the dragon.

PWCL in the Willamette Week Give!Guide

Posted by Kelsey P. on November 16, 2009

Lucky us! We’ve been picked for the Willamette Week’s Give!Guide for the second time in a row. Every year, the Give!Guide gives local non-profits exposure in a colorful, fun booklet. The opportunity really is golden - it allows us to communicate our mission to the larger public while also asking the community to help support us as we answer thousands of calls every year.

You can help out. First, follow PWCL on Facebook. Every week, we’ll be giving away goodies from our generous local business partners to those who give to PWCL in the G!G during a specific time period. Next, give! Go to the Give!Guide website and make a gift to Portland Women’s Crisis Line.