Posted on 09/08/2011 9:38:59 AM PDT by Steel Wolf
So, I inadvertently crashed an O4P event last night. Long story short, I wanted to see Undefeated, and I wound up with a little more than I bargained for. I thought I'd share some insights, while the scene is still fresh in my head.
The local theater was hosting a private screening of the Undefeated, followed by a Q&A session with the director, Stephen Bannon. Mr. Bannon, was apparently pulled away at the last minute 'For a project that I think you'll all like', we were told, at which point none other than Andrew Brietbart was called to substitute in. Brietbart watched the debate then drove down, arriving at our location as the movie was ending.
So, let me quickly give you 10 Points About A Cynic At The Undefeated
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The Viewer: Let me fess up, up front. I like being well informed, which is why I wanted to see this documentary, but I did not have a terribly open mind going in. I'm a practical, bordering on cynical person who was expecting either a soft hour-and-a-half informercial, or overt preaching-to-the-choir propaganda. I basically made myself go see this out of intellectual pride in keeping abreast of important political reference points. I’ve always liked Palin, but that support was waning lately. I had concerns with how some Palin fans act. I wasn't thrilled that Palin is playing games with the media. The whole deal was just wearing thin with me. In short, I was that guy.
The Scene: The opening sequence of the movie is actively disturbing. I'm not terribly religious, but the when the words, 'by their fruits ye shall know them' appear on the screen, the reaction was gut-wrenching. I literally wanted to go take a shower at the very thought of what our culture has become. It was clever, effective film-making. It's also drawing a distinction, a moral distinction, between the right and the left in America. It also makes you revisit the idea that liberals are just misguided, well-meaning idiots, and shows they have progressed into something much worse. It lays out the battle lines clearly, and lets you decide what side you want to be on.
The Story: For a documentary, this film relies heavily on visual metaphors that are intuitive and visceral. This is generally hard to do well, but it's done with an expert touch here. What's really interesting, though, is that these are just simple flourishes on a very basic story. That Palin was a good governor who was attacked beyond any sense of proportion by a sick, corrupt media culture, politically left to the vultures, but who refused to roll over and die. It's such a basic story that claims nothing out of the ordinary, that you can't help but wonder, "With all the wall-to-wall media coverage of Palin over the last few years, why I have I never heard this?" It's not like she's claiming she invented the internet or healed the oceans. It's really a very moral, modest, and upbeat tale of a challenger who unseated comfortable, corrupt officials, and put a house in order. It was unnerving to recognize how alien her side sounds without the media filter.
The End: As the movie drew to a close, the sharpest thing I realized was how simple this all was. Palin is for clean, honest, responsible government, against entrenched, corrupt political establishments, and ready to fight to her last breath for America. If you’re for that, you’re for Palin. Click.
The bare simplicity of it was really the most shocking thing of this whole documentary. It makes you wonder, just how sick is our entire society, when spending an hour and a half of watching some woman do her job as an honest elected official feel like a revolutionary act?
Strength and Strategy: After the ending, Andrew Breitbart came in for a rather interesting post-movie chat. Breitbart's quite entertaining in person. He's fast on his feet, funny, cocky and open in calling out the MSM as evil. He was much harder on the GOP. He tentatively admitted the candidates’ performance in the debate was moderately sufficient, but his issues with them are far more strategic in nature. "Why give MSNBC, owned by GE, owned by the Obama Administration, the time of day? This isn't the 1970s. Go on a better network. ABC. Fox. You can get your message out without having to rely on paid ideologues who couldn't make an honest cent on AM radio, and are now subsidies to spread the White House message directly." He's basically against the whole game, not just the players.
Moving on to the topic of Sarah Palin, the idea that "She refuses to accept the premise of her own demise." was central. Breitbart said this several times. Her goal is to fight back. To not lie down. To not be defeated. Not for herself but for America. There's something fundamentally appealing about that.
Invariably, the "Should Sarah Palin run?" question came up. (And I'm quoting from memory, so the wording isn't exact.) After the standard disclaimer of it not being his call and her looking at factors he’s not privy to, he certainly felt the option was still open. He also pointed out there's lots of considerations beyond 2012 and that the big picture is one of them. "I want her to be leading this movement for the next 50 years. If she can win in 2012, great. But I don't want her jumping in if she's going to be obliterated. What if the time's not right yet? What if 2016 or 2020 is? If the time is right, in her estimation, then she'll go now, but if not, she won't."
When the "Should someone else without the high negatives run?" question came up, he went back to the point about Palin refusing to admit the premise of her own demise. Then he asked, "What if people who think they don't like Palin because the MSM said not to saw the Undefeated? What would they think then? The poll numbers aren't good now, but they're not written in stone. Don’t accept anything as unchangeable."
In his own way, Breitbart was very humble about his role as a media insurgent. “I started Big Government because everyone talks about fighting back, but nobody does.” He reminded everyone to film everything, including any union/leftist thuggery we could find. “I don’t care if it’s a protest at Bank of America; film it, get it to me. We’ll fight back. They won’t get away with it.” This was the basis of his support for the Tea Party / Palin movement. Stop being silent. Fight them back at every turn.
As the event let out, I thought about these next four points.
The Way Ahead: Palin doesn’t see herself as indispensable. This is a movement, not a fan club. She clearly takes great pride in the 2010 elections because it was a blow to Obama and a blow to the Establishment GOP. It was a rising tide that originated from the grassroots, sweeping away a corrupt layer of political hacks. That's the real way ahead. Fighting house-to-house, block by block, holding and clearing out the entrenched interests on both sides at every level. While it would be great if she runs in 2012, the clear gist from the ground was that the war is much bigger than an election or two. It really is a nationwide movement centered around Getting Organized, Getting Aggressive and Getting Results.
Getting Organized4Palin: O4P is far more O than I realized. (They'll be more so, now that I'm signing up.;-) ) They're passionate and principled, like many of her online fans. In stark contrast to a lot of folks online, they're also very calm, polite and reasonable. The kind of people that can persuade with a few strong words and a smile.
I’m not here to plug them or any other group, but whether for political reasons or for when SHTF, it’s long past the point of getting organized. If you’re just reading, FReeping and voting, it’s not enough. America is moving into turbulent times, and organization is what will turn a multitude of flakes into an avalanche.
Getting Aggressive:I still believe that Palin deserves better than a lot of her frankly impolite fans. But I get it now, much more than before, just why a lot of her fans are that angry. I think that anger would be better channeled into spreading the word and winning people over, but I see a little clearer what's all at stake, and the angle she’s playing at. Palin, and for that matter, Reagan, has a better template, though. You can be funny, charming and disarming as well as being assertive and direct. Palin sets a good example on how to be steadfast on your ideals, but she also makes it clear what she thinks about creepy public attack dogs. Think about how the movie starts, and wonder if that the image she’d approve for a movement to put out?
On the flip side of that, Breitbart was openly derisive of how cowardly the men in our society are. He challenged us to stop being silent and averting our eyes in the face of ugly liberal lies, slander and smears. This can be done without turning ugly yourself, but staying silent is its own ugliness. It needs to be done from a position of passionate belief in the values you’re defending, though, but it needs to be done resolutely.
Getting Results The O4P folks are in it for the long haul. It's war. War on the left. War on the establishment right. War to regain and restore America as a free, prosperous and functional nation. The first step is to disable the Establishment GOP and raise an army of insurgent Congressmen. No doubt some of them will fall prey to corruption, but they too can be replaced. The bottom line is that Palin isn’t trying to do this by herself; she’s trying to cultivate a movement and cultivate allies. We don’t need to treat potentially useful allies as threats until they show themselves irreconcilable.
So, my Perry flag is still up for now. It'll drop it the minute Palin jumps in. If she doesn't, then I'll work to get behind whoever she recommends. They are a lot of fights looming, big and small, but it's time to get organized.
Bottom line I've always been a fan, but I'm now more comfortable than ever with the idea of Sarah Palin as President. I also understand that her plan is much deeper than just being President. She’s raising a different banner. Not just as a politician, but as the leader of an insurgency. A revolutionary figure. It might not come in 2012, but the war is coming. This is the resistance movement you've been waiting for.
Ping to the second paragraph. Remember what was being discussed in the thread: “The Bizarre Palin Documentary (Director Bannon will drop a bomb 30 days before Iowa caucus)” about the tweets from Andrew and Brannon’s comment. Perhaps that is what Brannon is working on. I hope it is a BIG SHOE that will be dropped. Please ping other interested parties from that thread. Thanks.
So glad for you.
Thank you for this inspiring post.
TCP, my latest guess is she jumps in when it is truly a 2 man race and do what she did in Alaska against the two corrupt ones running for Governor. Keep for financial powder dry so to speak, many of us will join you too....
bump.
I’m with you. But I believe that “fee again” thing will be as the Phoenix rising from the ashes.
“It’s mainly a movie for true believers.”
If you’re saying it’s only for true Palin believers, you are so wrong. If you’re saying it’s for true believers who things have to change and change now, then you’re right.
It’s mainly for Palin fans. However, there have been a few who saw the film and became converts.
What struck me about Coulter’s remarks was when she suggested it makes sense to decide whether you like a candidate based on what you think about the candidate’s supporters.
With comments like this I don’t know how she can maintain a reputation for intelligence.
Palin (((ping)))
Yep, keeping the powder dry. And I’ll fork out more gladly to save my country.
Hell I spent enough to add 4 more guns to the collection and 7000 more rounds of ammo when Barky got elected. I started adding the morning after the election.
If only I’d bought gold when it was 600 an ounce!
I thought I knew a lot about Sarah after 3 years, but “The Undefeated” really gave a non-Alaskan the true scope of her effectiveness as a leader and reformer.
Glad you’re on our team!
Patience, my friends, our Palin and Pizza parties will start soon....
Welcome to the Resistance movement. Good post.
Yet what some don’t understand is that every insult, lie, spin, calumny and betrayal that was hurled at Palin, was in reality hurled at every one of us who love this country with her traditions and values.
As Rush said so poignantly one day: We are ALL Sarah Palin!!!
I think we need Palin now to save our country but this philosophy doesn't map to real life. How many times did McCain run for president before he won the nomination? Even Reagan lost the nomination in 1976 before he ran again and won.
.
(((ping)))
Ann makes her living lambasting liberals and now apparently Sarah Palin. Our nation is crumbling from within just as Kruschev sic said it would, yet we think it is fair game to shoot an ally. Strange stuff going on here.
Did anyone beside me notice that CSPAN cameras at the Palin event went out of their way to point out the goofiest looking people they could find?
That is exactly right!
I grew up in a town that made Hezbulla look like a model of tolerance. I was short, fat, near-sighted, clumsy, hopeless at sports, and had snots running down my face from terrible hay fever. I was also a Jewish kid from one of the two streets in town that allowed Jews to buy homes (yes, that was how it was then). From the 7th to the 10th grade I was weekly beaten-up and sometimes left unconscious by the side of the road by townie anti-Semites. From this I learned that you fight back. No matter how big and ugly and angry the opponent. I lost most fights, but after a while, the bullies left me alone because it hurts to have your nose broken even if you win the fight. Israel has always known this. Colonial America knew this. Western Europe knew this before it castrated itself with a scimitar. Our current moderate Republicans don’t have what it takes to win, although some have as of late shown more spunk than I’d expected.
No political organization in this country can win without taking this lesson to heart. Put on your NBC suit, grab your radiac, and wade into DumpsterUnderground or dailyPSYkosis. These people do not hide their feelings. They openly hope for the deaths of conservatives. If you delete the “f” word, their posts become scattered, unreadable sentence fragments. One can only wonder what the moderators have deleted as too extreme. I’d rather share dinner with a snapping turtle than with one of these people but their passion wins elections.
Taking punches can and does win elections as long as you also let the entire world see the film. Perhaps the best thing a conservative can do is carry a camera or video device and use it. Perhaps we need a conservative version of Youtube, which has apparently been taken-over by Debbie Wassermann-Schultz and Nancy Pelosi. The traditional Marxist media networks are failing but will never disappear as long as there are fascistic pomegranates like George Soros to finance them.
When pro-gunners began stating that armed self-defense is a basic civil right, the tide began to turn in their favor. Without a doubt, Obama and his smiling brown shirts will do anything, including physical violence, to win next year, while the Rancid Media films Al Sharpton being given an award for civic service. The Left has learned to dominate the discussion. That works only if our side lets them. Tonight Obama will give another speech demanding more taxing and spending, branding those who disagree as ‘enemies of the state’ (has a familiar ring, doesn’t it?) Watch closely. See if any conservatives boycott this mess or refuse to applaud. They are our best leaders. And we best be deeply involved in local elections next year. Voting fraud will be the only way Obama can win reelection. Be prepared. Cameras. Videos. Watchfulness. Court injunctions to stop conservatives from being ejected from the polls so that Obama can again get 103% of the vote.
Traditionally, conservatives — with few exceptions — either can’t or won’t fight. Unless this changes, we will be fully cooked. The smarmy, nasty, condescending questions asked at last night’s Republican debate should have resulted in boos and rotten tomatos thrown from the audience. Far better had it been a webcast with responsible moderators than that fiasco we saw.
Want a look at what’s coming under Obama’s second term? Look at the agenda of the Massachusetts State Legislature. On this year’s schedule, laws banning all firearms except single shot rifles; Laws outlawing transfer of any firearms to other family members, even in case of the owner’s death; Laws banning all large magazines and rifles with a more than 10 shot capacity; Laws banning ownership of handguns; laws banning possession of firearms by police except for issued duty weapons; Laws banning purchase of more than one firearm by one person every 30 days; Laws requiring the recording of a person’s ID whenever ammo is sold; Forbidding possession of ammo components with which to make ammo; Forbidding firearms from any public property; and lots more.
This is for keeps, people.
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