SARAH PALIN 2012 - RESTORE AMERICA
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.
I read a book recently that you might like. It’s called “Rules for Conservative Radicals” by David Kahane, which will give you some tips to use when confronting liberals. And pretty dadgum funny. I have used it on a couple of occasions with good effect. Felt soooo good.
Only for true believers?
The Power of The Undefeated: Changing College Students’ Minds
I Just Watched Palin-Undefeated The Movie on PPV ‘The Undefeated’ Review: A Profoundly Important Game-changer (Especially For Me)
A young black conservative Palin fan who posts on Twitter under the nick "THIZDUDE_THINKZ" held showings of the film for his Dem friends; they came away impressed with Palin, some signing up for Organize4Palin as a result: THIZDUDE_THINKZ tweets about his private screenings of The Undefeated
Many anecdotal stories detailing similar changes in opinions about Palin due to viewing the film can be found on FB, Twitter, Conservatives4Palin and a slew of Palin blogs. Among my circle of friends I can attest to one die hard cynic about Palin being converted to a supporter thanks to the film.
Bannon said the film wasn't intended for true believers. His target audience are those who've bought into the Caribou Barbie caricature.
Oops, In my previous post to you I intended to write “Mainly for true believers?” instead of “Only for true belivers?”. Sorry, ES, didn’t mean to put words in your mouth.
Very perceptive and well written. Good post all the way around. Thanks, Steel Wolf.
Anyway, I'm not signing up as a mindless Palin-bot.
The mindless bot part only comes once you're fully assimilated into the collective. ;)
Yeah, and fight back we must. I don’t think Hoffa was playing, either.
Thanks for the ping, glad to read this!
Thanks for posting this.
Great stuff, Steel. Thanks.
Just finished watching the documentary.....great stuff! It was everything I thought it would be...it just made me say an extra prayer or two that God will see a way for Sarah to take the helm and help get us back to sanity as a country. Love that lady!
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who wants any financial support we give to not be wasted.
As you said, Mrs. Palin is not playing by the old rules ... in fact, she’s not PLAYING at all ‘cause it’s not a game at all. True concern by a mother for the ongoing welfare of her children and THAT’S NO GAME.
A true servant’s heart dedicated to a country in need ... what more can one ask for in a candidate?
Re: what to call those of us in the TEA Party movement.
I seem to remember from last weekend’s Indianola, Iowa speech that she said “We are Constitutionalists....” and I was so happy to hear her say that.
I’d have to check the transcript to be sure but I am 99 percent sure she said that. I heard the speech twice too.
Adding “Insurgent” to that is a neat way of decribing our committment to The Consitution.
Re: what to call those of us in the TEA Party movement.
I seem to remember from last weekend’s Indianola, Iowa speech that she said “We are Constitutionalists....” and I was so happy to hear her say that.
I’d have to check the transcript to be sure but I am 99 percent sure she said that. I heard the speech twice too.
Adding “Insurgent” to that is a neat way of decribing our committment to The Constitution.
Great idea to have Palin parties and show the movie.
Entice a few lefties or “moderates” in there with you...free pizza and beer...and Palinize them!
: )
Yep, every time a lefty or RINO insults The TEA Party or Sarah, I know they are talking to me and you too.
And most of them hear from me via the US Mail. Been kinda busy mailing out TEA Party postcards lately.
Hoffa got the latest one.
: )
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