From Opinion LA:
There's word rumbling around Great Britain and beyond that Sarah Palin is angling to meet Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to be that nation's prime minister.
It's a photo op that would be a triumph for Palin, an image supposedly showing the solidarity of conservative female leaders.
But it would be bogus. Not photoshopped-bogus, but dishonest nonetheless.
Baroness Thatcher is suffering from dementia, according to her daughter, Carol. Writing in the Daily Mail more than a year and a half ago, Carol Thatcher chronicled her mother's decline: "On bad days, she could hardly remember the beginning of a sentence by the time she got to the end.''
For a woman of Thatcher's formidable intellect and unflagging energy, it's a sad decline. For Palin's camp to use her as a human prop, as in a photo op, it's unforgivable.
For one thing, Thatcher was never about female solidarity. For another, she did not suffer fools gladly; her exacting impatience with anyone not up to snuff was legendary. And what the woman who fought to become prime minister and fought harder to stay there might have said of a governor who walked away from her elected office can be vividly and acidly imagined.
Of course as we all know none if this will matter one bit to Sarah Palin and her graceless sycophants.
If the worst came to pass and Thatcher's life ended before Palin was able to get her "pitchure" taken with the Iron Lady , it would not even slow Siser Sarah down. She would still show up, stand next to the corpse while flashbulbs popped to record the historic moment, and then later tweet, "Met PM Maggie Thatcher. Thrill of lifetime! She was SO polite and just like me never blinked ONCE! Great conser hero/role model, exactly like Pres Reagan. It was eery"
I so hope Thatcher's family doesn't allow Palin to get photos taken. They'll be plastered everywhere and her followers will take it as a sign....
ReplyDelete*sigh*
Relieved to see that an opinion piece in a major paper called Palin's quest for a Thatcher photo opp for what it is. Hopefully, more papers, radio talk shows (won't hold my breath there) and broadcast news shows will call her out even more. Perhaps, just perhaps, the folks who grant access to Thatcher will realize that the money isn't worth their reputations.
ReplyDeleteI hope the UK press jump on this and shame the Thatcher's handlers to the point that they get the point because, as you said, Palin's people won't care. All they care about is the superficial impact - the celebrity photo op. Her followers won't even understand the difference.
"Bogus?" No shit.
ReplyDeleteIt's as bogus as Sarah Palin sitting down (in a short skirt) with Kissinger as "proof" of her mastery of international relations (or whatever the hell that was supposed to be).
Sarah Palin meeting with political dinosaurs of questionable ethics and/or lucidity to show that she's the heir to the Reagan throne? Truth is much stranger than fiction, isn't it?
Reagan was downright dangerous and changed the political face of this country, bringing the nasty republican machine to power it had never seen before and created the culture wars that Sarah Palin feeds off of like an eel. Still, I can imagine even Ronnie (and especially Nancy) laughing at the floundering, winking, flirty Palin.
Let's end this farce once and for all...please.
almost half term quitter governor uses her own children for props, why would she not someone she does not even know? What is wrong with Mrs Thatchers caregivers, why would they allow Palin to do this?
ReplyDeleteYou know Palin will make up some imaginary in her head conversation.
ReplyDeleteIn case you don't know it, your message counter shows only 1 comment, while I count 4 here. I noticed it on the last post too--counter is way off of actual # comments. FWIW
ReplyDeletewell given that sarah is willing to use a disabled child, why wouldn't she be willing to use a disabled adult? it's totally characteristic of her. she has absolutely NO scruples.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Thatcher's twins, Mark and Carol, haven't exactly turned out so great. Mark, an arms dealer, is a convicted felon who cannot enter the U.S.; Carol made a racist remark that got her yanked from the BBC. Unfortunately, they sound like low-life scum who'd allow a photo op with their senescent mum...
ReplyDeleteThere is no low that Sarah Palin will not stoop to in order to benefit herself.
ReplyDeleteEven I, a dumb ass Brit, can work out what she is doing. Thatcher in her better years would never have given her more than a civil nod. As she is now a mere shell of the person she was, even La Palin would seem to be a more superior mind. What a devious madam she is eh?
ReplyDeleteKind regards to you Gryphen
Josephine.
I think that we should help Sarah in her quest for photo opportunities. She can pose with any former famous politician, living or dead and claim it as an endorsement.
ReplyDeleteFor example, right across from the US Stock Exchange on Wall Street, there is a statue of George Washington, standing on the site where he was sworn in as first president of the United States. (The original building is gone, and so is George). Sarah can pose with the statue, and then have her IT people colorize him to look real and life like.
Next, Sarah should head to the Lincoln Memorial where there is a large statue of Lincoln. This time, she can climb up and pose sitting on his lap. Same deal, colorize the statue and claim that the First Republican endorses her.
Around the country, there are statues of famous politicians: Ronald Reagan on his horse, Teddy Roosevelt. Please send them to Sarah so she can pad her photo album. (No jokes here about padding, please).
If Palin meets Thatcher after she's shuffled off this mortal coil, you can bet the Palin camp will say Thatcher was so thrilled to meet Palin, she was speechless!
ReplyDeleteTo mrs Tarquin BB, while I agree with you about Mark Thatcher, Carol is actually quite a nice person. She got stitched up by by people who should have known better than to shout about an innocent remark said in private.
ReplyDeleteAs a Brit I know this for a fact, and she did not deserve the harnging she got.
In friendship.
Josephine
"pitchure"
ReplyDeletefunniest thing I've read today
Todd must have some extra time on his hands Gryph. I notice with each article you post now somewhere within the first 10 comments or so they try insulting you because you aren't rich, you didn't win a webby (ha), etc.
ReplyDeleteThe tone makes it so apparent that it's a Palin family member most likely Todd or Track. I'm sure they take such great pleasure in zinging you one each time Gryph. Must really sting ey?
Poor Sarah gettin her feelings hurt by Gryphen so they have to leave you stupid comments on every article. You must crack up each time you approve them Gryph.
Keep up the hard work. This pig of a woman will NEVER, EVER end up leading my country.
Great post! This bullshit with Palin will never end. Palin using Thatcher like this is even worse than using Trig. And that is about as low as most would dare go.
ReplyDeletePlease, please get someone to talk!! She is just getting more self-confident with the more she gets away with. I hope to God that someone brings her down before the mid terms. I knew she was a low life sleaze bag, but to use someone with Dementia is beyond sleazy! If she does manage a photo-op, you know she'll swear they had the most intelligent of meetings and how Thatcher taught her all about Foreign Policy.
I just can't take too much more of Palin and her ego. At first it was shock ans awe, then curiosity, then entertainment, but now, I am really getting so upset with what she gets away with.
Can you even imagine a Democrat acting this way under a rethuglican't administration>>
Sell photo ops with an infirm elder? Maggie Thatcher would be so proud of the capitalism in action. She probably planned the asking price before the Alzheimer's settled in.
ReplyDeleteThatcher and Palin deserve each other.
I hope that everyone slams SP for this blatant attempt to use a sick woman as a publicity stunt. Sarah should be condemned to a mental facility. I know we can send her Judge Rotenberg Educational Center. After all she is ret....
ReplyDeleteOT Hurray for Lawrence O'Donnell getting a new gig at MSNBC @ 10 PM EST.
As a person who previosly had the pleasure of living in the UK, the former PM would NEVER have agreed to this meeting as she always demanded that the other person had, at least, stature of some kind that approached her own. This is a travesty. Does attending a "wake" give you yanks stature?
ReplyDeleteSarah better be warned that an elderly person with dementia can slip in and out of their dementia state, and forget who they are with. It's just not good diplomacy to seek out someone who has this onset of forgetfulness, rapidly changing moods, from rage to crying, all levels of emotion, sudden inability to express themselves. I doubt Sarah Palin has ever stepped into an elderly care facility.
ReplyDeleteI wish Mr. Bean was there to muck things up for SP.
While I agree with many people that both Ronald Reagan (I didn't vote for him) and Margaret Thatcher were not the "Ideal" leader, I really hope that whoever controls access to Lady Thatcher reconsiders and prevents the photo-op. The multitude of low information (i.e, dopes) voters will eat it up
ReplyDeleteDoes Sarah know that Mrs.Thatcher is ill? Shame on Sarah either way.
ReplyDeleteI was in London when Sarah's interview with Katy Couric hit the You Tube circuit. She is a laughing stock in London. And, she hasn't done anything to improve the impression that they have of her.
ReplyDeleteI do have a great idea for Sarah Palin. Considering that another Sarah was in the news recently, if Sarah pays Fergie enough money, maybe she can meet royalty. Hell, she can have tea with the other Sarah, that's close enough.
EVERYTHING about Sarah Palin is bogus.
ReplyDeleteYou can count on her to do the wrong thing every time.
The Thatchers are in England. Sarah Ferguson was caught on tape trying to sell her former husband for a mere $700,000 or so. Palin probably got a better deal for her photo op with a nursing home patient. That's what people should be promoting. This might just be the most fiscally conservative move the Palin camp has ever made.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little disappointed Sarah couldn't get that photo op with Eva Peron. Wrong time and place, I suppose. I will be happy if she has her twins with her, Sarah's twins from Belmont.
ReplyDeleteSo Sarah is abroad? How lovely, darling! Perhaps she will try to see the Queen while she is there too! (Now that would by hysterical!)
ReplyDeleteAnd while Mama Paylin abroad, Bristol is hanging out with Levi? (What happened to the guy who was supposedly living with her?) Ah, to be a fly on the wall when Mama Paylin gets wind of this one!
Now Scarah claims that she is "invited" to meet Thatcher.
ReplyDeleteFrom her facebook: "...I have received an invitation for a visit to London, and part of that invitation included the offer of arranging a meeting between myself and one of my political heroines, the "Iron Lady," Margaret Thatcher..."
It could be the work of some rare Palonbots in UK.
I wanted to comment on slimey Palin traveling all the way to the UK for a photo op which is as disgusting as Palin's photo op with a DS baby or crashing funerals of people who did not like her. But I see there are lots people with the same thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGryphen thanks for the info. I knew something was contrived when the announcement was made.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like Thatcher but am sorry to hear that her mind has gone.
After Sarah gets her prized picture with Thatcher.
ReplyDeletePalin: How about me and Princess Diana getting’ a picture with each other?
Thatcher Aid: I’m sorry Mrs. Palin, Princess Diana passed away several years ago.
Palin: Well I came way over here from Wasilla, somebody go dig her bones up!
"Weekend With Margaret"
ReplyDeletehey gryph....i just came across this....there aint no way in hades that im EVER EVER EVER going to alabama!!!! just check this video out.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQdTgkY321s
ReplyDeleteI hope she tries to find Benny Hill.
ReplyDeleteAlso too, she may as well pose with a wax Maggie. It would be more honorable.
She can always pose with Big Ben.
ReplyDeleteWhat an attention whore.
ReplyDeleteUN says shock treatments at Judge Rotenberg are inhumane? How embarrasingly obtuse can some people be? And who the hell do these nitwits in the UN think they are? Go back to your seat in front of the TV and finish snacking. Not saying there isn't a need for strict, tight, constant, quality control over shocks delivered to anyone, but here's a reality checko u self important sacks of arrogant ignorance: Try waking up everyday to a 6'2" profoundly mentally retarded man, who immediately, upon getting up, starts pounding his head into a wall. Five minutes later, he's running into the street, naked. Then he's scratching everyone. Biting his fingers. Pulling chuncks of flesh off his forearm. Punching his teeth. Poking his fingers into his ears, drawing blood. It takes about 4-5 people to protect him from himself and from hurting others. He has been to countless doctors, had numerous possible etiologies RULED out, as to pain being the cause of such behavior. Though acute pain can certainly trigger such behavior. He's had chiropractic care, holistic treatments, including massage, herbal wraps, amino acid shakes, physical therapy, occupational therapy, etc...teeth exams to rule out dental pain. Nothing, outside the sadness of his inability to understand how to deal with the world around him, and how he feels, can explain such BIZARRE and dangerous behavior. Experts certainaly don't understand it, though they write volumes trying to figure it out. Dozens of behavioral "experts" have worked with this individual. All have failed to provide effective treatment to stop this savage and brutal behavior. So then what? WHAT? What next when nothing else works? You drug him. That's right. You wip out the Geodon. Haldol. Mellaril. Thorazine. Maybe a cocktail of two or three. Oh, and some benadryl, IM (intramuscular). Then, after he's drooling and sedated to the point of semi-coma, you place him in four point restraints and toss him into a room, where he's left alone and watched on a camera, while nurses and doctors talk about where they will go to lunch. Then, you do that day after day, until his liver and kidneys fail and he dies. Yep, that's much better than an occasional moderate shock that is less intense than a TENS UNIT. You betcha. Yep, non stop drugging a person into submission and sedation is not torture, but an occasional shock to the skin is. Now that is what I call intelligent thinking. You go you brilliant advocates. You're such an assest to this small minority of people who need this life saving device. I can't imagine how they must feel knowing how you're out there "fighting for them" NOT to have access to a skin shock, and settting them up for a life filled with getting constant injections of psychotropic drugs. Awesome. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. You are all so superficial and sad
ReplyDeleteI am English and also work with dementia sufferers.
Iknow enough about Baroness Thatcher to know that she would probably be delighted to be visited by someone who sees her as some kind of role model.
I do not at all see this as insensitive. People with dementia have good and bad days and STILL LIKE TO FEEL INCLUDED and especially VALUED.It is even more important with dementia sufferers.
You are lucky to have Ms Palin as a politician and I don't buy your left wing wishy washy paranoia.