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Too
Cool for the Room
by Chris Stigall
It
is nothing short of stunning this election year to read and listen to some
of our most noted national conservatives demonstrate no practical
understanding of conservative America. It would serve Peggy Noonan, Charles
Krauthammer, Fred Barnes, Kathleen Parker, and Bill Kristol well to shirk
cocktail parties and mid-town lunches with the broadcast and publishing
hierarchy in Manhattan and D.C. and travel like a presidential candidate for
a time.
Potluck dinners, small-town festivals, state fairs, church picnics and
bowling alleys would be great places to start. Shake some hands. Converse
with people. Were they to dare attempt such a journey, it is without
question our conservative "All Stars" would find far more Sarah Palins and
far fewer Peggy Noonans. A fact, one might suspect, embarrasses them to
their core.
Average American, working class conservatives have disdain for the
dishonest turn their "intellectual superiors" have taken. Their attempt to
discredit Governor Palin as an empty "follower" with nothing to offer is
both disrespectful and transparent. Palin was elected by a state's majority
citizenry. This instantly qualifies the Governor for the national debate
and singly trumps any perceived qualifications of both men on the Democratic
ticket.
In an election year when youth trumps age, speeches trump
experience, and "cool" trumps all - sometimes even the most thoughtful among
us transform into high school teens who simply want to fit in. Ms. Noonan
and her once conservative ilk are this year's homecoming queen candidates
and Senator Obama is their football captain.
The conservative television and print establishment has no doubt
succumbed to the well-crafted speeches well delivered by the freshman
Illinois senator. It is a disappointing but perfectly understood turn for
individuals like the former Reagan speech writer. They would, however, be
received more believably and credited with more integrity were they to begin
making an honest explanation of their support of the Democratic ticket.
Instead, their newfound infatuation has led to an elitist, deceitful and
unwarranted attack on the "vulgar" Americans who love their kids and drop
their "ings" at the end of a sentence.
Ms. Noonan and company
have been making the rounds for weeks now asserting Governor Palin remains
an affront to conservatives' intelligence. In truth, it is Ms. Noonan and
her weak-kneed colleagues carrying that banner. It is not enough for them
to simply join ranks of Obama's flock and sing his praises to Pennsylvania
Ave. No intellectual heft involved in that. To their liberal colleagues
and friends, it is considered brave and intellectually honest of them to
pile on Governor Palin. Simply, it is cool to kick conservatives this
year. Cooler still? A known conservative kicking another conservative.
Now that's the pinnacle of cool.
We read them like a book. Like the newly authored book Ms. Noonan
is currently pedaling to the electorate. Penning and marketing a new book
as a conservative in such a challenging year for conservatives is no small
task, to be certain. Surely Ms. Noonan would not sacrifice her once proud
conservative principles simply to appeal to Bush loathing, Obama sycophants
roaming through a book store in an election year.
Now that would be
vulgar. In this case, however, vulgar is cool. |
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