Explaining Palin’s ‘Constitutional Law Professor’ Jibe
Monday, March 29, 2010 at 10:52 am
I’m a little surprised that ThinkProgress’ pull from Sarah Palin’s Tea Party Express speech this weekend has gotten so much attention. Well, not completely surprised — it’s a quote from Sarah Palin. But is this supposed to embarrass her?
In these volatile times when we are a nation at war, now more than ever is when we need a commander-in-chief, not a constitutional law professor lecturing us from a lectern.
That’s basically a sauced-up version of this line from her speech at the National Tea Party Convention:
Treating this as a mere law enforcement matter places our country at great risks because that is not how radical Islamic extremists look at this. They know we are at war. To win that war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.
The ThinkProgress take is that this is hypocritical because the “Tea Party movement loves to express its affection for the Constitution.” Well, yes. They love the Constitution. But “Constitutional law professor” does not, for Tea Partiers, sound like someone who loves the Constitution. It sounds like a liberal elitist who dreams up ways to work around it. Maybe this is the start of some liberal pushback against that narrative, but it’s a Palin dog whistle, not a Palin gaffe.
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28 Comments
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 3:38 pm
Personally, I think it is still a gaff on her part. Sure, tea party supporters take umbridge with the “liberal elites” but they also appear to take offense by anyone who is educated and well, competent, in the subject matter to which they speak. Educated, “elite” conservatives (George Will, David Brooks, etc.) get as much flak for trying to explain the nuances of constitutional issues as any liberal “professor” would. Thus, it further confirms Palin and the tea party's hostility to education, and any thoughtful dialog.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 3:38 pm
As if Sara Palin knows anything about war, law and the constitution. Barrack Obama,Best President, EVER!
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
America needs a groundswell of defiance. What do you think Nazi Germany was like in those very early years? Liza Minelli in green nail polish? Marlene Dietrich growling? Snap out of it kids. What good can come of this…and when I say this…I mean all the hate mongering coupled with the apathetic mood of our nation. Sarah Palin, and her “Tea Party,” could very well be the next Hitler and Nazis. Read more at Huffington Post approved blog, IMeanWhat at http://bit.ly/aFicNI
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 4:07 pm
Of course it is. After more than a year of Glenn Beck's infantile rantings, which are an extension of Hitler's methodology, the ignorant are easy targets.
I guess she really didn't learn from history. Considering how little she DOES know, it comes as no surprise.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 4:14 pm
A person who needs multiple colleges and an extended amount of time to earn a degree in the fluff discipline of journalism is not likely to care much for professors of any kind other than the Easy-A type. Sarah wouldn't like me at all; weak thinkers (and I use the term “thinkers” generously in association with Tea Party folks) don't pass my courses. Then again, although Mr. Obama might make it, some of his own illustrious appointees would be challenged, too. (Biden and Sotomayor come to mind.)
It's a new age, though. Hateful rhetoric, foul language, bullying intimidation, and ludicrous hyperbole are much more fun than civility, respect, and dedication to reason over ideological affiliation. We might as well all join the fray, I suppose. The past is just history, and we all know how boring history is.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 4:15 pm
Hey, who said it can't be both “Palin dog whistle” and “Palin gaffe” at the same time? Gaffe for those who don't feel strongly about Palin–to show that some ignoramus thinks she knows more than someone who has actually studied and taught aspects of our foundational document.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 4:51 pm
so says the bimbo lecturing from a lectern.
what's she gonna do to defend the USA, pull out a moose rifle? flash a little leg while inspecting the troops?
pretty funny. sara the talking head, talking about talking. but she talks a good game, lol.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 6:20 pm
Since their inception the Teaparty crowd (not a movement since they do have the numbers or clout) have been “haters not debaters”. In my opinion this is what the small portions of the republican party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” have brought you. They are good at “Follow the Leader” of their dullard leaders, they listen to Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush and Savage and the rest of the Blowhards. Are you surprise at what they do when you know what they think? The world is complicated and most republicans (Hamiliton, Lincoln, Roosevelt) believe that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now its about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. Although some republicans are trying to distant themselves from this fringe most of them are just going along and fanning the flames. Lets face it the Republicans had 8 years to deal with health care, immigration and financial oversight and governance and they failed. They could not even win one of the two wars they started, the body bags are still coming in. The Republicans wanted to give Obama his Waterloo defeat over healthcare but instead they gave themselves their own Waterloo defeat by not participating in the debate of ideas and by becoming the party of obstructionist. But they now claim they have changed, come on, what sucker is going to believe that?
Pingback posted March 29, 2010 @ 7:31 pm
[...] Explaining Palin's 'Constitutional Law Professor' Jibe [...]
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
Good comment.
What sucker is going to believe that? The same ones who believe anything that starts with “A majority of Americans believe”, or ” More Americans want this”.
Some truly are ignorant to think their attitudes and policies are what Americans want after eight years of Bush. The same guy who had that vacuous look trying to figure out what he was meaning to say.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 11:47 pm
Obama's hardly a constitutional Law proffessor. They let him lecture there a few times because he was going to be candidate. He's a Community Agitator i.e. punk.
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 11:56 pm
Palin and her type hate smart people, they make them feel inferior .
Comment posted March 29, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
I guess that you and Sarah know more than Obama does ?
Comment posted March 30, 2010 @ 12:01 am
They don't like smart people. When you think that Evolution is an opinion, you aren't going to be too inclined to care about facts. Palin and Co think that opinions and facts are on equal footing .
Comment posted March 30, 2010 @ 2:03 am
Another of the ignorant who bought into the lies. Notice the transferrence? President Obama is an agitator, but $arah Palin is a “phenomenal” “speaker”.
You'll see more of it, that's the methodology. Transfer to the opposition what THEY are. Pretty old tactics. Shopworn, too. Problem with their thinking is, we can all see it. They just don't think we can. Just confirming how stupid they really are.
Comment posted March 30, 2010 @ 7:01 am
You know not of what you speak. He was at the college for years, first as a fellow while he was writing his book, for a couple more as a lecturer, and then several moer after that as a professor, teaching constitutional law. I believe all together it was from 1992-2004. His Community Organizer days were prior to his attending Harvard.
Comment posted March 30, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
Don't know about the Vice President, but anyone who goes to an Ivy or one of the Seven Sisters won't have any trouble at the average college. Unless you teach particle physics, I think Justice Sotomayor would be fine in your class.
Comment posted March 30, 2010 @ 3:21 pm
Based on her ignorant rhetoric, I don't think Sarah Palin has cracked a book since she finished her sports journalism degree….
Comment posted March 30, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
Yah, She's like my recently disowned “sister”, She has a degree, so she's suddenly better than everyone else who didn't have her fortune.
Of course, just because of that doesn't mean you stop learning. They both sound and act exactly the same.
Pingback posted April 5, 2010 @ 10:50 am
[...] “In these volatile times when we are a nation at war, now more than ever is when we need a commander-in-chief, not a constitutional law professor lecturing us from a lectern.” http://washingtonindependent.com/80748/explaining-palins-constitutional-law-professor-jibe [...]
Comment posted April 6, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
Explaining Palin’s ‘Constitutional Law Professor’ Jibe
Sarah Palin thinks that a “constitutional law professor” is someone who could, if trapped on a desert island, make a radio out of the constitution.
Pingback posted April 9, 2010 @ 12:07 am
[...] speech sneering references to Barack Obama as a “law professor” — saying America needs a President not a law professor. (That was before Rudy Giuliani said America needs a President not a — add contemptible look [...]
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 11:32 am
Huh? How on Earth could being an expert *on* the constitution be construed as “a liberal elitist who dreams up ways to work around it”. That's like saying a pro football player sounds like someone who dreams up ways to cheat at football, or that a top surgeon sounds like someone who comes up with ways to expertly kill you.
This type of nonsensical association is exactly why people mock Palin and the Tea Partiers. They just make up nonsensical arguments that you might hear from a 5-year old who doesn't understand what the words mean.
Pingback posted May 13, 2010 @ 10:09 pm
[...] Explaining Palin's 'Constitutional Law Professor' Jibe « The … [...]
Pingback posted May 17, 2010 @ 4:27 pm
[...] Explaining Palin's 'Constitutional Law Professor' Jibe « The … [...]
Comment posted June 16, 2010 @ 12:41 am
What I blame Obama for is his very negative blame game. He sounds much to much like a lawyer looking for someone to take to court and punish, instead of a leader who is looking for ways to heal the land and encourage the citizens of our country. We need to pull together and work together, and Obama's tactics seem to pull apart and cause scorn and frowning. A good president would have encouraged us, and jumped in to help and humbled himself to help BP, not just blame and “hold accountable ” for a tragic accident. I would think there has to be a limit to the liability that BP has. We as a country have to accept some of the responsability and get to work fixing the problem.
Comment posted December 2, 2010 @ 12:38 am
Palin and her type hate smart people, they make them feel inferior,
I AGREE WITH IT!
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