Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« A Response to the Conservative Punditry | Main | Football Picks Reminder »
October 17, 2008

An Open Letter to Peggy Noonan

Dear Mrs. Noonan,

Once, you were a revolutionary.

You were a footsoldier in the "Reagan Revolution"; a speechwriter who augmented the Gipper's own formidable communication skills with your own ability to construct a well crafted phrase. When Pres. Reagan spoke of the Challenger crew having "slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God" it was perhaps your finest moment. It showed that you had a feel for the pulse of the nation, and that you could, in but a phrase, employ the power of words to heal and inspire a grieving nation. That sense of moment was perhaps your most important gift.

1986, when you wrote those words, doesn't seem so long ago, does it? And yet, 22 years in politics is a long time. The revolution has advanced. Many of our fellow revolutionaries, lacking the ability to "sense the moment" within the conservative movement, have been, or are in the process of being, left behind.

Today you write about Governor Palin:

This is not a leader, this is a follower, and she follows what she imagines is the base, which is in fact a vast and broken-hearted thing whose pain she cannot, actually, imagine. She could reinspire and reinspirit; she chooses merely to excite. She doesn't seem to understand the implications of her own thoughts.

How ironic that today, these words could just as easily apply to you.

Mrs. Noonan, you are no longer a leader. Once, perhaps, you were. But now you are not only a follower, but a follower of the worst kind. As a conservative you should be aware of the unique pain suffered by conservatives: our "leaders" often seem to "grow" in office. They tend to adopt positions to align themselves over time with the political left.

That's one of the reasons the base is a "vast and broken hearted thing"; whenever something or someone we can celebrate happens to it, there is no shortage of "conservative intelligentsia" who can be counted on to suddenly "grow" in their thinking. The pain comes not from any disappointment in the selection of or performance of Gov. Palin, but from the fact that all too often conservatives are left to feel betrayed by the very people who have made their fortunes by proclaiming themselves to be our spokesmen.

With your column, you too, could have chosen to "reinspire" or "reinspirit". It is you who seems not to "understand the implications of her own thoughts."

Once you were a revolutionary. And that revolutionary would have been floored by the crowds that Gov. Palin is drawing. Last night she drew 7000 people to a rally in Salem New Hampshire (population 29,000). It was heralded as the largest political event, for a Presidential or Vice-Presidential candidate, in Southern New Hampshire's history.

That revolutionary would have been impressed by similar stories of recent overflow crowds in Maine, Virginia, Wisconsin and Florida. Crowds not just of GOP partisans, but of regular Americans from all walks of life and political leanings.

That revolutionary would have been touched by the inspirational stories of the legions of Mom's with children at the rallies, all identifying with the words Gov. Palin uses, her lifestory, and the common-sense conservatism she offers. There was a time when "soccer moms" were the rage, after all. We have a "hockey mom" who pulls them in by the busload, and suddenly, you disapprove.

The revolutionary you once were, would also have made a special note of the sudden emergence of a new kind of attendee at these rallies. The parents of children with special needs see in Gov. Palin an inspiration, a champion, and a leader. They also see someone who is ardently pro-life. It's funny how you, a self-professed member of the pro-life movement, could overlook this fact. I guess it doesn't fit with your narrative.

Apparently the people attending these rallies are reacting to something about Gov. Palin. Something that you either do not understand, or are willfully blinding yourself from seeing. There was a time when the Reagan Revolutionaries used to understand the importance of talking directly to the American people and bypassing the filters of the mainstream media. But that was then. Apparently those rules don't apply for Governor Palin.

Or, perhaps, like many a faded revolutionary, you have simply lost your sense of the moment.

Once, Mrs. Noonan, you were a revolutionary. You would have understood and celebrated the Palin phenomena. You would have lauded the good it has done for our party.

It appears that those days are gone.

Once you were a revolutionary.

Now you're just revolting.

I understand that you have a book coming out soon. I'm sure today's column will grant you all the attention you could have hoped for.

Very truly yours,

Jack M.


digg this
posted by Jack M. at 11:56 AM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Decaf: "Reminds of a story my brother, a historian, told m ..."

Tim "Born to Kill" Walz: "Trump is Micheal Myers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ..."

Xipe Totec: "The most pathetic Ford evah! The ALL NEW, Piece of ..."

...: "I think it has helped them quite a bit, for decade ..."

People's Hippo Voice : "Why do people act like betting markets have some s ..."

whig: "337 Why do people act like betting markets have so ..."

ShainS -- In Trump's America, Garbage Throws YOU Out! [/b][/i][/s][/u] : "In hindsight it seems obvious. Yes, many people wa ..."

gKWVE: "[i]how did they identify male Orthodox Jews, and h ..."

Xipe Totec: "Babylon Bee: Millions of garbage bags seen lining ..."

ChrisW: "It's like when the media told us that football cro ..."

18-1: "[i]In the 80s and 90s he was going off on Japan. C ..."

Obligatory Seinfeld reference : ">>>An all white fiesta? What the hell is that? ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64