Monday, November 08, 2010

When has a complete lack of comprehension about a given topic EVER kept Sarah Palin from providing her opinion?

From Huffington Post:

In an unusual detour, Sarah Palin waded into monetary policy Monday, lashing out at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and urging him to "cease and desist" his attempt to jumpstart the economic recovery by committing to buy up to $900 billion in U.S. government debt.

In prepared remarks to be delivered to a trade association in Phoenix, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate said she is "deeply concerned" with the Fed's plan, announced last week, arguing that the nation's central bank would be "printing [money] out of thin air" and that it is "far from certain" to "even work." The argument was unusual in that monetary policy is supposed to be immune to political pressure.

You know what is even more unusual?  The fact that ANYBODY would give Sarah Palin a platform to discuss a topic that she is completely unqualified to provide an opinion on. 

Palin, whose monetary policy credentials could not be deduced Monday, addressed one side of the issue in what is likely to be an appeal to the Tea Party movement, which is deeply suspicious of the central bank.

Oh, now I get it.  Somebody told Palin that the Teabaggers don't trust the Fed and so she feels compelled to weigh in on the subject in an attempt to garner more of their support for 2012.

You know to be honest I am not exactly sure that the statements attributed to Palin (You don't think she actually wrote them do you?) are completely wrong here.  What the right thing to do to stimulate the American economy is a very complicated question, and there are arguments both for and against what Bernanke is planning to do.

The reason I point out that Palin should not be the one offering her opinion on this matter, is because she does not have the intellect to really grasp the complexities that are facing those whose job it is to fix the economy that the Republicans broke.

And the facts are that THIS opinion has been spoon fed to Palin for her to broadcast to the Teabaggers in order to agitate their emotions and continue to turn them against the current administration.  I doubt very seriously that Sister Sarah has ANY idea exactly what the words in the speech she is about to give even mean, and I would love it if she opened the floor to a Q&A after she finished giving it.

But of course we all know that she won't.  In fact she can't.  If she did, it would quickly become crystal clear that she had no earthly idea what in the hell she was talking about.

This is what the people supporting Sarah Palin's potential run for the White House in 2012 need from her.  They need somebody who is attractive, who connects with the average ignorant American, and who will put a pretty face on their anti-government propaganda.  Essentially it is the same old pile of mooseshit wrapped in a new and relatively attractive wrapper.

There ARE those who could offer a negative opinion concerning the approach that Bernanke is using to stimulate the economy who I would readily listen to, and perhaps even respect.  But Sarah Palin is CERTAINLY not one of those people.  And until she can show her credentials, or provide a resume laying out her years of experience  in this area, I would suggest that nobody else give her the benefit of the doubt either.

30 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:01 PM

    ...and she got a D in economics at one of those many colleges she 'dropped in' on.

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  2. Ask Rand, Sarah. Go on.4:03 PM

    Maybe Sarah should consult with Rand Paul on the issue--you know, the teabagger who today reversed his policies on earmarks for KY, after running on the Tea Party platform of NO EARMARKS?

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  3. Doesn't it make you wonder who would be running the country should she be elected President?

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  4. Anonymous4:18 PM

    I think you can reach into Sarah's past relationship with the John Birch society to understand her issues with the Central Bank. She of course appeals to just a bunch of people who never drug themselves out of 1950's race baiting and anti-communist witch hunting. It is as if they simply missed the last 40 years.

    Well, maybe they did.

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  5. Anonymous4:19 PM

    Well, we know why she won't take spontaneous questions at appearances and why she avoids real journalists are all costs: because doing so would reveal her utter lack of comprehension.

    She could answer the simplest follow-up question. I bet if you asked her to define one the words she uses in some of her "statements," that she would be completely stumped. Why? Because she is a stump mentally.

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  6. Anonymous4:28 PM

    It's so simple- just ask Sarah......What IS the Fed.. OK Sarah I'll even give you the full name.. The Federal Reserve Bank-- so What is it???

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  7. Anonymous4:33 PM

    4:03: Ya beat me to it!
    Thanks tho.
    I was rand-ian downed by his
    100% reversal once he got
    *elected*.
    Typical hypocrite bullshit steal the vote.

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  8. Anonymous4:40 PM

    You know Sarah, since you've got ALLLL the answers, why not share them on the political news show circuit?

    Oh, yeah, they're not your ideas...

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  9. Anonymous4:45 PM

    Paulian/Birch Society bullshit = The new Palin.

    Dangerous & stupid.

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  10. Anonymous4:51 PM

    What a dumb ass.

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  11. Anonymous5:27 PM

    I hope to see her presentation on
    C-Span just for the Q & A. National Review Online wrote an article for her. If she were just so busy that she needed an assistant to write her column there,I could understand. But it was written with SENTENCES and PUNCTUATION... you know, like someone that understood the content. That was my clue that it was ghost-written,just as her comments on monetary policy. It's really sad to hear the shills and fans cheering her on. The people who follow her blindly are truly in the dark are unaware that she has no clue what's ahead of her. It is their personal choice, I suppose. But folks, this half-ass, er,-term governor doesn't read govt white papers, books, or even newspapers. She spends all her time twittering, reading what RM writes for her on FB, and otherwise she's skimming blogs for anonymous insults about her dysfunctional family so she can whine and play the victim to get her "drama fix".

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  12. Anonymous5:41 PM

    Palin is trying to be POTUS from the sidelines.

    She has a pathological need to express any and every opinion that is contrary to President Obama or the Administration, even if she doesn't really have a complete grasp of all the facts or an understanding of the underlying theory. It is enough that she publicly disagrees.

    She is being spoon-fed by her high-priced consultants. I suspect she probably doesn't really understand what she is saying half the time.

    What she does understand is how to present her disagreement in a way that gets the red meat base in an emotional tizzy. THAT is her own special gift. Well, that and her looks and her "Alaskan" mystique. Gah! If she were a homely woman from Indiana, she wouldn't get the attention.

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  13. Anonymous5:46 PM

    Can't you just see 2012 Pres. Palin taking questions in a Town Hall forum in India! Palin can avoid the press, but how can she represent the US while visiting another country when she won't know where she is?

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  14. In this morning's New York Times, Paul Krugman, the Nobel Laureate in Economics wrote an op-ed piece on Ben Bernake's plan. When he got to the subject of quantitative easing even he wrote, "don't ask, its too complicated to explain."
    We don't have to worry, Sarah will offer no explanation and take no questions. She is a walking, talking soundbite with simplistic expressions guaranteed to appeal to the base instincts of her herd.
    PS: Anon 2:10 Did she really earn a D in Economics? I love it. If true, she is poster child for "Ignorance is bliss"

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  15. Anonymous6:03 PM

    she's getting pressure from republicans to back down and this is her "f" you to them. it's going to get ugly.

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  16. Anonymous6:07 PM

    well, we know Palin's opinion about cookies

    .Hmm...may bring cookies to my PA school speech tmrw to make a pt "PA mulls ban on cake/cookies/candy@ school parties.. http://bit.ly/dvoI6d"
    about 2 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

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  17. Someone should tell Sarah that the Fed has been printing "paper out of thin air" since Nixon moved us off the gold standard. The Fed also printed "paper out of thin air" to the tune of 12 trillion dollars at the end of the Bush administration to bail out the bad investments of the banking system. And yes, she should STFU. She's an ignoramous leading a generation of ignoramouses. Every time she opens her mouth, I want to puke.

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  18. Anonymous7:06 PM

    She's starting to show her age in that photo. Her features never really matched all that well, but now she looks a little like "Mrs. Potato Head."

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  19. Are we really going to endure two years' worth of this crap? I can't take it anymore. While I want to know what she's up to on any given day [because I'm waiting for the train wreck that never seems to come] I can't stand it that she shows up in legitimate media venues. Ick. Double ick.

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  20. Anonymous8:28 PM

    Lol- Don't know why this came to mind- she never answers unscripted questions.
    In an alternate universe Serror Plain would be asked by some reporter "Was Richard Nixon who did not veto the EPA and the Clean Air Act a real Republican?"

    Some possible answers she might give..
    A. No because he got caught lying.
    B. No because he was a quitter.
    C. No because he said he'd stop the war if elected.
    D. No because he took corporate campaign contributions.
    E. No because he didn't bomb Iran.
    F. Yes because he and his vice president John Mitchell hated reporters.
    G. She announces this is a trick question- Because why would a Republican veto the Clean Air Act? But she can't remember- Which industry did the Clean Air Act deregulate? Oil,car,electric or coal companies so they could pollute more and increase their profits. Maybe more than one...?

    No wonder she hides from reporters.
    Beam me up.

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  21. Anonymous8:29 PM

    Hey Sarah, how did that giving away of half a BILLION to a Canadian company work out for Alaskans? Where is the gas pipeline this was supposed to guarantee?

    The above is the extent of Sarah Palin's economic expertise.

    Rick

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  22. Anonymous8:36 PM

    Bug? Or feature?

    All her supporters are too stupid to understand the topic. They are also too stupid to understand the answer proposed by Palin.

    They do understand that the Federal Reserve is where the Democrat Party hides their byurokrats when out of power, so that they can staff up quickly when President Pelosi is elected. BAN THE FEDERAL RESERVE!

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  23. Anonymous9:01 PM

    Rick at 8:29

    Do you think that she'd call the Gas Pipeline shovel ready infrastructure
    spending?- or would she call it socialism?- or more tax and spend? or?

    Federal loan guarantee on gas pipeline construction cost borrowing- 80% guarantee on up to $30 Billion. Lisa M. a cosponsor of the increase from $18 Billion in 2009- not that that would have anything to do with Sarah's opinion.

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  24. No Really. Some one got the queen to talk about economics. Boy talk about being punked. She did not even know she was set up from the inside. It get's better every day.

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  25. Yup, I had the same thought: wondering about a Q&A. I've been reading Bob Woodward's Obama's Wars and have been imagining Palin in the situation room talking to the generals about troop levels. Conclusion: she wouldn't question any request from the Pentagon. If she's in the White House we won't know who is the decider. Randy Schuenemann?

    On a frothier topic, I'm speculating about TLC's new suite of blogs about the Alaska show http://amyloo.com/blog/index.php/site/home/bi-popular_disorder_playing_both_poles_of_the_palin_magnet/

    Do you guys trust it? I'm cynical.

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  26. Anonymous3:28 AM

    Quitter wants bond prices to fall so interest rates, and mortgage rates will rise thus putting more pressure on people to keep their houses.

    Quitter Spice doesn't understand economics but she's giving Mitt more ammo to destroy her.

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  27. majii3:50 AM

    Palin doesn't understand basic monetary policy. When the FED buys T-bills/debt, it puts money into the economy which acts as a new infusion of cash and thereby, causes economic expansion. Her lack of understanding of anything and thinking that she can say anything and get away with it will be one of the causes of her eventual downfall. Someone should ask her about the responsibilities of the FOMC and the Board of Governors at the FED. She wouldn't have a clue.

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  28. No, Palin's comments about the Federal Reserve "printing money out of thin air" are completely absurd.

    First, the Federal Reserve has lots (and lots) of money. If anyone cares, I can explain why.

    Second, let's scale down what's happening to a smaller model. Say our very own Gryphen comes home one day, only to discover Potter Savings & Loan has sent Gryphen a credit card. A lesser man would be peeling rubber to Pete's Porno Palace & Bait Shop--but not Gryphen. No, Gryphen's on the horn, ordering three new Pendleton woolen shirts (a fine product of Pendleton Woolen Mills, an Oregon Corporation) for the little Gryphenette. That way, she'll look boss.

    Now, Gryphen has "printed money out of thin air," by borrowing money from Old Man Potter. Did Mr. Potter & VISA xerox off a big wad of Benjamins? No--Potter tells Pendleton Woolen Mills to give Gryphen the shirts (even though Gryphen don't have no money), because Potter's got Gryphen's back. Gryphen's thrilled, and the Gryphenette is both warm & stylin' in her new shirts.

    A month goes by, and Gryphen gets a nice letter from Mr. Potter, wishing Gryphen well...and some fine print about a 36% APR.

    Gryphen curses, and sends money back to Mr. Potter.

    Now, Potter has Gryphen's money (interest, plus a percentage nicked from Pendleton Mills's end), and needs to do something with it. Hmmm. I know! Send a credit card to the kind of people who seem to buy a lot of bait from Pete's Porno Palace. And so it goes.

    In the Wide World of Macroeconomics, the Federal Reserve sells IOUs to banks. When a bank has piles of these IOUs lying around, there's less cash to loan to Gryphen...or to Pendleton Woolen Mills to expand, thus better serving the needs of Alaskan Fashionistas. But when our friend "Gentle" Ben Bernanke "buys back" IOUs, the Old Man Potters of the world have more cash...and the Potters are pushing more cash into the economy...which in turn (GASP!) creates jobs.

    Does the "money" really come out of nowhere? Well....yeah. But then again, what is the "value" of that dollar in your pocket? Hint: diddly squat. The "value" of the US dollar (and every other modern currency) is the confidence "people" have in dollars as a means to exchange goods & services. So, all "money" is just printed up "out of no where."

    But can the "Government" just pour cash, willy nilly, without limit into the International Banking System? No--because those banks/bankers/The Peoples Republic of China will lose "confidence" in the ability of US dollars to hold value, and will want to exchange those US dollars for Euros or popsicles ...depending on the markets.

    A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were a gang of thugs called "The Sons of Anarchy and Monetarism" who said increasing the "money supply" (by buying back IOUs) was a bad, bad thing. Unfortunately for them, almost everything the Monetarists said, believed, and predicted has been wrong. Milton Friedman may have said "Now, we are all Keynesians--PSYCH!" but now, they're all saying "None of us are Monetarists." That's why "conservative" hacks, shills, & misc. weasels have to reach back to slipdicks like Hayek and von Mises for any kind of "authority."

    The only uses for Capitalism & Freedom now is either as a source for out of context rants about the evils of Government spending--or as a means to wipe up after immature and socially irresponsible puppies.......

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  29. Miller @ 6:01--

    Yes. Private Citizen Palin's college "education" includes one class where she hit a D: macroeconomics. And that was the only class she ever took.

    In Going Rouge, Palin goes on an extended rant about how when she was first being considered for McCain's VP, she was certain, cure the only "skeleton" in her closet was that D.

    In Henry Paulson's book, On the Brink, Paulson is careful not to criticize anyone, but he does allude to the fact Private Citizen Palin rubbed him the wrong way. Heilemann & Halperin's Game Change--along with Balz & Johnson's The Battle for 2008 also document Sarah's breath takingly unhelpful actions during the 2008 credit meltdown.

    For people who care, this is my "review" of Game Change, Battle for 2008, and Going Rogue:

    http://samsamdat.blogspot.com/2010/02/hick-on-high-wire-sarah-palin-of-game.html

    ("Hick on a High Wire: The Sarah Palin of Game Change").

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  30. Bill A @ 4:38,

    Thank you for your response. Now, I remember about the D in Economics. I have Game Change but I am going to buy the other books that you mentioned with the exception of Going Rogue.

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