New Wacky Lefty Meme: Sarah Palin, Scientology Recruit!
You may remember that back in February we had some fun with Andrew Halcro over a piece he wrote concerning Greta Van Susteren, Scientology, and Governor Palin. Little did we realize it was the genesis of a smear meme.
Last week, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post wrote a blog entry about the players behind SarahPAC. The list included Greta Van Susteren's husband John Coale, even though he's not affiliated with the PAC. But other journalists picked up on this, as did Gawker - prompting Van Susteren to strongly object to the characterizations.
Her objections didn't do much good. Gawker kept hammering on it, and Geoffrey Dunn took Halcro's original blog entry and photos, made some cosmetic changes, and reposted it on the Huffington Post under his own name.
Now it's been picked up by Ben Smith at Politico - and he's citing yet another Gawker story as a source. Politico is a jumping-off point for left-wing memes, so you'll be seeing more of this story.
Note how all the headlines call Coale a "Palin advisor". Hmmm - Coale has also worked with Nancy Pelosi, and even traveled with the Hillary Clinton campaign. Greta gave a softball interview to Secretary Clinton just last night. Why isn't he a "Clinton advisor"? Just wondering.
And I thought the attack meme for Governor Palin this week was supposed to be "Christianist Theocrat"? Signals are crossed and messages are conflicting. Rahm, are you trying to split Palin from Christians by calling her a Scientologist, or trying to split her from independents by calling her an Evangelical nut? Pick one and stick with it.
We've actually had some vigorous debate behind the scenes here at C4P whether we should even discuss issues like this. Some feel that to discuss these smears legitimizes them, and linking to them gives traffic to their sites. Others feel we should keep Palin supporters informed of the opposition tactics, and provide cites as evidence.
Let us know how you feel about tactics for fighting smears in the comments.
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21 comments:
It's a hard call. I'd say, if it's an isolated rant at some Halcro-like site, ignore it. But, if it's spreading, especially if it's gotten on a mainstream site like Politico, you need to mention and debunk it.
Rule of thumb: Halcro, Celtic Diva etc, daily Kos-- ignore.
Huffington Post-- Start working
Politico, ABc, MSNBC-- debunk fast.
Also, if you need to link to a truly objectionable site, you can always mention that in the post and warn the readers.
I agree, if it's something that starts to spread and is being picked up by "mainstream" sites, I think you should discuss it. The quicker we debunk these lies, the better.
As for the contradictory nature of these smears, I think it proves yet again how much the left fears Palin and how desperate they are to alienate her from ANYONE who might support her. They are targeting the Christian consevatives with this Scientology nonsense and the "independents" with the right-wing Evangelical nonsense. They tried the same tactic with her recent court appointment.
My first instinct is to fight back and correct the record. This is something that the McCain campaign was woefully inept at.
Given the new environment (blog posts that race around the net within secs and get picked up by MSM) we've got to be on top of this.
Talking points:
(1) A person's religious views should NEVER be held against him/her nor should his/her views be ridiculed.You cannot (rightfully)dissmiss the Muslim slurs against Obama, yet advocate the slurs against Palin. It's hypocritical.
(2)AGAIN Cite Coale and Susteren's own words regarding their involvement in SARAHPAC and his history of aiding female candidates/politicans of both parties
3) Find some quotes of the Guv's regarding her views on respect for other's religion. I think she was interviewed by a group that went around rallies to determine people's views on Muslims. It was supposed to be a "gotcha" doc but most people they interviewed were accepting of Muslims. The Guv was filmed saying, roughly, she doesn't believe all Muslims are nuts and they're absolutely welcome to join the Rep party. Again that's a rough quote. Hopefully ya'll know what i'm talking about
4) Reiterate that smearing a person based on her religious beliefs is repugnant to the ideals of this country and its Constitution. If they continue to harp on her association with two peaceful and stand up citizens who happend to be Scientologists then apparently Obama's association with two unrepented terrorists is far more disturbing.
Cherry pick or disregard. But I do think these smears deserve a response.
When are we going to counter-attack? I'm tired of playing defence.
Yesterday I admonished the C4P editors and contributors for drawing undue attention to Sarah's comely appearance on C4P threads.
Today I will stand with you folks and defend your decision to post threads that deal with religion or Sarah's concept of religion.
You cannot divorce the Christian religion and morality and its genuine sincerity from Sarah Palin as you cannot divorce Marxist-socialism, Alinsky and Ayres from Obama.
Please keep addressing these issues.
Forget counter-attack Emerson, we cannot even deal with legitimate issues when it comes to the Messiah. We can't speak about his crazy church or about the fact he's not attending any church right now, we cannot speak about his terrorist friends, we cannot complain about his lack of flip-flopping, his lies etc etc. We just need to lie down and let the juggernaut roll over us.
I am sick to death of it all.
Yes, this is an effort to separate Sarah from evangelicals. But once Sarah said she would serve with a servant's heart, that she is pro-life from cradle to grave and that she believes in the power of prayer to help her deal with a major event or to help her make a big decision I don't believe there is anything the MSM can do to disaffect her supporters from her.
Like I have said, like the 16 points on a compass there are 16 or more ways that Obama and the MSM will employ to see if they can penetrate Sarah's moral armor of protection.
Fagan praises the Ross pick in his Standard article today. Two days in a row that Fagan took Palin's side on an issue, hahaha.
You must continue to inform as fully as you have been doing. The integrity of the site rests on not patronizing or underestimating those who visit here. With potentially sensitive issues it becomes a question of HOW you choose to report on them, including the way in which you choose to headline responsibly. The quality of the contributions, the range of material addressed and the understanding being shown by those who leave comments sets this site apart. There is significant input to discussion by a number of very regular expert commenters, whose responses should be engendering trust and confidence that the site is being managed well, growing safely and serving the purpose for which it exists.
Counter attack and expose them quickly and often and with a harsh offensive message denouncing their hatred and devilish methods.
I think their Hatred is beginning to back lash on them, the public is outraged over the lies and deceit of Political Stimulus spending and their mood against Hatred is part of it also so now a counter attack emphasizing their Hatred agenda would seem to make sense.
Above all we must counter and clarify QUICKLY-!!!.. the Obama Dems are masters at it.
TexMex:
Thanks for the TP tips.
Team Sarah has a NewsWatch group that deals with Sarah smears/lies so that's a good contact.
Each of us can also comment at different sites to defend Sarah. I recently signed up at ADN, for example. Sometimes, if you just put your talking points out there it might reach a few reasonable people and change minds. We can't do this 24/7 but every effort can help.
The online comments that the Sarah haters write are so offensive that I believe it will backfire and turn many off. For example, I've noticed that at Politico anti-Sarah commenters saying over and over "Sarah has herpes" the last few days. I have seen these types of misogynistic slurs used to attack other prominent women online ("______ has an std") which has nothing to do with the subject matter at hand.
The religious attacks on Sarah too have increased (she is a witch/has a witchdoctor, Scientology conspiracist, Evangelical zealot, etc.).
It is so funny (in a sad and pathetic way) that these Sarah haters all repeat the same memes over and over. Eventually, I think most reasonable people will just tire of all the Sarah bashing and discount it.
A lot of it is contradictory too. She is a dumb hick yet she is a machiavellian mastermind. All they can do is throw out these personal attacks like bombs and hope they score some damage points against Sarah. It all gets so ridiculous.
I have to wonder who would benefit from questionaing Gover Palin's Christin credentials. Hmmmmmm. Could it be Romney? Huckabee? Just a thought...
No they all lose, Romney should figured this out after what he went through last year, Huckabee's momentum was stalled after a bit because of his Baptist roots. I really hate this, she was right
about everything, she is as genuine
as any public figure, you're likely
to meet, she is dedicated to helping her fellow man and women
as we're likely to meet, and all these lies keep coming, it doesn't matter if they're contradictory
she can't be a Scientologist and
a Christian theocrat, right, it doesn't matter
I know this is off topic but VARIETY magazine has an article up about Gov. Palin Vs. Ashley Jugghead regarding the wolves issue. The first post-article comment is tantamount to a threat against her life, stating 'someone should shoot the likes of Gov. Palin from a helicopter.' Most of the other posters have demanded the post to be taken down and the authorities notified, but variety refuses. Some might not consider this a serious threat, but I find it truly disturbing.
http://www.wilshireandwashington.com/2009/03/sarah-palin-rails-against-goofy-ashley-judd.html
The MSM and left blogs will continue the smears against Gov Palin. They don't have any other leverage. They will continue to selectively quote the Gov, her supporters, and her haters, to emphasize the negative. I would like to see a database built of rebuttals using press releases by Gov Palin, various youtube videos, and positive stories. I would hope it would undermine the credibility of the haters over time. For example, did you know that Chris Matthews once said, "... Africa is a country of 57 countries...". Even David Frum once said, "... Africa is a country ...". Both were slips of the tongue obviously. So, give Gov Palin the same break.
I think I'm going to start a Ben Smith tin foil fund.
Why should Sarah Palin fight or deny the rumor or smear that she is a 'Scientologist'?
1)it simply is false and inaccurate
2)it would brand her a member of a cult and a religious wacko and her supporters likewise
3)evangelicals would stop donating to SarahPAC and stop supporting her
4)Greta Von Susteren and her husband would be offended
5)secular voters would turn away from Sarah
my answer: I would be less than truthful if I gave #1 as my answer; therefore my answer is #3 for strictly political reasons
Well she's not one, it would to be cute by half and not in her nature to do otherwise, her strong point is her honesty and integrity, but she can say respects the faiths of everyone; which is true.I hate that we even have to go into this stupid distraction now, but it's par for the course.
She didn't get the evangelical vote that solidly at election time, but I think she'll do better in the future, because I think church leaders now know they can't let abortion as an issue slide. You can't "rescue those who are being led away to slaughter" only when it's fashionable!
Certain attacks like this Scientology one are more likely to backfire, especially if Huck shows his true colors and lends his hand with it and the Bristol thing. But my view is that she will do so much better of a job in calling the shots in her campaign that she'll get evangelicals far more solidly.
hey guys, Christian conservative here. just wanted to let you know that a lot of this was branched not from the left, but from the anti-Scientology movement which I am proudly a part of. We're not looking to take SP down, but if she is getting involved with Scientologists, people need to know. This group has tried to take over the US gov't before, I wouldn't put it past them trying to influence Mrs. Palin.
This article is addressed to you. Unfortunately I all too often see or hear comments from you such as, "Scientology is a religion, so why should I worry if Sarah Palin has friends of a different religion?", or "We need as many people as possible to like Sarah, it doesn't matter if they are Muslim, Jewish, or Scientologists" and "Scientology money is as good as any other money." and "There is no way there are Scientology slave camps right in the USA under the governments nose. I don't believe it." It is not acceptable to be willfully uninformed about Scientology, just because you trust Sarah Palin. As this article reveals, Palin is definitely not the first politician to be touched by Scientology or to give cult members access to political power. This has been a long term goal of the cult, and Palin is only the most recent, perhaps most energizing politician that the cult has began working itself onto like a parasite. Scientology does not hold the same status, nor deserve the kind of tolerance that is granted to the world's long standing religions. This is because of its self-proclaimed aims and its history of abusing its own members and outsiders who investigate the cult. We have common ground here. I do not support Sarah Palin, but she deserves better than to have the yoke of Scientology attached to her politically. So do you. Palin does not need Scientology connections, and in the end, these connections will only become political dynamite for her. Palin is uniquely positioned to lead the way in publicly shaking off connections with Scientologists. She will only gain respect and admirers if she does so. Please take some time to examine this cult more closely. When it comes to Scientology we need to all be on the same side, no matter what our political persuasion.
Scientology is not a religion. It is a money grubbing cult, and it is a dangerous cult. It flourishes in a twilight zone of fake respectability, and relies solely on people being generally uninformed about it. Ignorance, gullibility and isolation - this is the human compost in which the cult thrives. Scientology threatens men and women, it threatens children, it threatens families, it threatens outsiders, and it also threatens every single one of its own members with tragic losses - loss of self, of soul, of spirit, of freedom are the most intangible of these.
No politician should be considered reputable or respectable that takes money from Scientology or any powerful Scientologist - that includes Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the current Governor of Maryland, O'Malley. Scientology is a taint and a stain upon the face of our nation, and it is up to the public to demand that any public figure - including politicians, musicians and actors - must become "100% Scientology Free" if they are to remain popular or be granted the public's trust.
Full article here: http://nailinpalinnow.blogspot.com/
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