| Two interesting posts on Palin in the Montana sphere. David Crisp wonders whether he would be as critical of a Schweitzer for VP announcement on the experience front. He admits that he probably wouldn't, but cites Schweitzer's international business experience. He also notes that proximity may be a factor in the level of trust (while noting that explanation is undermined by the criticism of Palin coming out of Alaska political and journalistic quarters).
Meanwhile, Mark T thinks me naive since Palin herself does not matter, only the coalition she represents.
That's actually a bit hilarious. The "guy" doesn't matter, but the "guy" behind the "guy" behind the "guy" is crucial. Look, coalitions matter in politics, but the buck does stop somewhere and politicians are rarely tools of their backers, especially in those areas they value most.
We don't even know enough about Palin's background to know which coalitions she is a part of. What we do know is that her resume is awfully thin to be leader of the free world and so far, her demonstrated judgment is damn questionable.
Brian Schweitzer is probably an imperfect analogy here. A better one might be Jon Tester. Folks who have read this blog or who know me personally know that I think very highly of Jon. He's a sharp, personable, hard-working leader. I also think that he will go on to do great things in politics. Would I be gung-ho for him as the VP nominee right now? Not really. I think he's still got some teeth cutting to do.
Now, Sarah Palin has a few months to prove herself. So far the signs aren't good.
Far more troubling than her thin resume is her connection to the Alaskan Independence Party, a secessionist outfit that appears (at first glance) to be part of the far right. From what I've been reading, Alaska sure looks a lot like Montana. Even moreso. And no one in Montana politics is blind to the presence of some fairly radical conservative factions -- with ties to the militia movements. These factions aren't exactly helpful. The notion of putting someone with such ties in the White House is unsettling. It's a bit like putting an unreconstructed Maoist in there.
Update -- The Alaskan Independence Party is apparently the Alaska affiliate of the Constitution Party. Montanans know the Constitution Party because of Rep. Rick Jore, its sole state elected official anywhere in the country (although the Montana Constitution Party disaffiliated with the national party recently). Rick Jore is widely known for being a nice guy personally and a radical politically. Sounds a lot like Sarah Palin. Palin strikes me as the type of politician I'd like to have over for dinner, but who I wouldn't exactly trust with the Health and Human Services budget. |
