Ross Douthat Gets the NYT Gig
I know I've been a blogging fool today and should probably lay off, but it's been announced that Ross Douthat of The Atlantic Monthly has got his hands on Bill Kristol's former gig at The New York Times. It's something that Palin followers should be aware of, given the NYT's still-prominent role in shaping the opinion of the "elites".
I'll admit I have a little trepidation. Douthat was an early defender of Palin in the 2008 campaign. See this article, or this one. I particularly liked this discussion with Jonah Goldberg. (Fun fact I learned from that article: Jonah Goldberg's wife played high school basketball against Sarah Heath.)
Douthat's early concern seemed to be primarily that the McCain campaign was not using Palin correctly. (Something with which I can agree.) He even took a veiled shot at fellow Atlantic writer Andrew Sullivan's Trig Trutherism in this entry. But as the campaign stretched on, Douthat's tone changed, and he seemingly became more concerned about the "elites" and Palin's "polarization" of the electorate. This piece, quoted at HotAir, resulted in many conservatives using the nickname "DoucheHat" for Ross, something that had normally been reserved for use by his left-wing critics.
We'll have to see how this plays out. Will Douthat conquer his fear of cocktail-party rejection and return to his original appraisal of Palin, or will he be the next David Brooks? Stay tuned.
Posts
23 comments:
No good can come out of being a commenter in the Atlantic. Of the reporters, Mark Bowden and Robert
Kaplan are still good, than again I haven't read them in a while since Sully's freakout. I did see
a recent cover, where they think the downturn will make NYC dominate
over the Sunbelt; that's too ludicrous for words.
Not a Douthat guy, I like his co-author Reihan Salam more (though I disagree with his argument that the GOP should focus on "going downscale." Yeah, I guess I'm a different type of Palin supporter in the sense that I'm anti-Joe the Plumber and very pro-McCain). Though he's not a Palin supporter, Reihan is a Mitch Daniels guy, whose corner I would be in if there was no Sarah Palin.
I just don't see very much in some of Douthat's articles or posts on the Atlantic in terms of ideas and proposals besides trying to sound smarter than everyone else and telling the GOP and conservatives what they are doing wrong. At least Reihan provides some suggestions, though I might disagree with them.
Reihan Salam is no friend to Sarah Palin. Period. Nor is Mr. Douthat. They seem like nice enough people, but talk about the elitist of the elite. I wouldn't mind the martini crowd of the GOP if they wouldn't so often resort to MSM talking points in their criticisms of Gov. Palin.
Dude, Daniels is a global warming prick. If a guy believe in that nonsense, he doesn't deserve consideration.
Ross is not a tedious jerk like Brooks.
Danielle,
Reihan may be an elitist but his electoral strategy is actually to go "downscale" because those voters already agree with us more on the social issues.
Reihan is no friend of Palin's...that much is true. But he hasn't actually wrote an article tearing her to shreds, unlike others such as Douthat (where he says she's a laughingstock) and Dreher.
It's sad because both Dreher and Douthat loved Palin initially, as did most of America besides liberals.
Isn't global warming in our platform now? Let's face it, every contender, even our gal, has conceded that global warming is an issue. The difference is that Palin doesn't feel the need to shut down economic growth to save the ice caps from melting under the theory of global warming. I think Daniels is to her left on the issue but he's not in Charlie Crist-Jon Huntsman hysteria land (though note both Crist and Huntsman could be her running mate in '12 because she'll likely pick a moderate). Daniels has been a very good governor for that state and I respect most from the first Bush administration who presided over an economy that experienced growth, something we won't see again for quite some time.
Ross is not much in my book. Levin went off on Douthat, Frum, Brooks, and Jonah Goldberg (which caught me off guard).
It is a wait and see for me. I hate The Atlantic. Ross, I don't know. I am not confident.
This is a very easy prediction: of course, he will go Brooksian on Palin. He knows who is signing his paycheck.
I share RSM's attitude toward Douthat.
The great blogger Pamela Gellar of Atlas Shrugs wrote that Palin might campaign for John Tedesco:
"One important race Gov. Palin presumably will be focusing on is the effort by Republican Assembly leader Jim Tedisco to win the open seat in NY's 20th congressional district. This is the seat formerly held by Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed to Hillary Clinton's old Senate seat. The 20th CD is in the Albany-Saratoga Springs-Hudson Valley area, and Tedisco is ahead in independent polls. He gained national recognition when he led the fight against former Gov. Spitzer's bizarre plan to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens. The election will be on March 31."
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/03/we-are-soooo-close.html
Governor Palin did indicate on today's e-mail that she might campaign in the lower 48. That will be awesome. While the RNC chair is busy with his interviews, Sarah will actually do good work for the conservatives.
Breaking news again (another Tommy Scoop!)
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/719704.html
Palin has scheduled some outside events (the pro-life event in Indiana with Steele and a special needs event in Indiana).
Problem is that the session hasn't ended yet by the 16th...she'll take some heat, I'm starting to believe she won't run for re-election now. She cannot really claim this as relating to state-business and it was evidenced by Meg Stapleton, who is now one of three PAC employees.
TommyReport, the article also mentions she will be in NY to celebrate the man that negotiated the deal to get Alaska from Russia to the USA. Meaning she will campaign for Tedisco!
I think this is awesome news. Thanks for the heads up!
Happy news! I hope I can make it to NY to see her.
TommyReport said:
I was one of the few who never thought that Sarah running for re-election was a done deal. I always considered it like a backup plan if 'this national gig' did not come to fruition. But I get the impression now that Sarah has so far raised some serious coin, that it's serious enough that she no longer has to worry about sucking up or acquiescing to those who hate her guts on the home front, that she has bigger fish to fry, that she sees the performance of the Messiah (which she predicted)and sees an opening, that she is going to strike while the iron is hot, and finally through recent polls in sporting terms Sarah's in the driver's seat and it's her game to lose.
Money always talks and with Sarah it is no different.
"she'll take some heat, I'm starting to believe she won't run for re-election now."
Lets not get carried away...
I honestly think she just made time for a few things that she felt were important to her/her state...And after their week long trip can the legislators realllllly call her out on anything again lol??
Hey Tommy, Appreciate your scoop. I am absolutely chafing at the obnoxious implication in this article-" She cannot really claim this as relating to state-business" Hell, she can't even go to a few national events without raising speculation about her motives? Every governor in the lower 48 keep strutting off to wherever they please.
But, I do really love that she is going to travel outside, maybe supporting Jim Tedisco, that'd be awesome.
Do all of you get the same impression that SarahPAC at the moment is terribly informal and unorganized? Hope it grows to be a more professional outfit. Go Sarah!
hrh was right, they picked on the "law" taxes thingy.
She's honoring Seward, who was the real abolitionist; the counterpart to the real prolifers, although she shares a fair amount with the 'great railsplitter' in background and common sense
manner.
If she's a day or so out of town, on not a partisan event, but a philanthropic one, I don't think they'll really hold it against her. Frankly I don't care, she has bent over backwards to try to do her job, and as of now, hasn't evinced that sentiment you suggest.
Frankly Tom, in a contest between Joe the Plumber and John McCain, I lean toward Joe the Plumber, He's more direct, and frankly had a lot more to lose in this endeavor.
I think if she wants to run for 2012, she'd better not run for re-election. That way she won't be hampered by state business. She does have awful lot to accomplish, write books, learn policy, get a few foreign trips etc etc. No sane person can do all that , raise a young and growing family and still run a state. Go Sarah!
I also think that this is a subtle snub of the legislators who have packed away on their vacation tour. If they can do it, why can't she? She's also paying for it herself.
BTW, is the new about Jim Tedisco official or just speculation from Steve Maloney?
promachus:
To say that SarahPAC is disorganized is to say that the Obama administration is taking on water and about to sink like the Titanic.
Hey, 3 employees working out their basement, while millions and millions of dollars are being sent in on Sarah's behalf to the dismay of the elites and GOP leadership is totally 'American'.
As one poster mentioned, first you take baby steps. Meanwhile, how can you be critical of Sarah when she has not done virtually nothing to warrant such support, except of course being the superstar Sarah Palin?
As I mentioned in other posts, as the world awaited the return of Tiger Woods after months of absence from the field of combat, the political world awaits the return to the national stage of Sarah Palin. Sarah is seldom very far away in the hearts, minds and lips of conservatives and the Republican base.
You betcha!
Sadly, I believe Douhat will go the Brooks route. Those "elites" cannot stand to be a minute without their free tea and crumpets!
techno,
I din't say the PAC was disorganized. I said it was un-organized and hoping it will get more staff and become more professional, as time goes along. It's kinda exciting to watch the growth of 2012 campaign from its baby steps and knowing we are here from the start.
Two things -- first, Douthat. I don't read him as anti-Palin per se. His concern sems to be that she has been so trashed and made so polarizing that she could not "rehabilitate" her image in time for 2012 and would need to wait until 2016 or 2020. Now, I love Gov. Palin and will storm Hell with her, but she does have some work to do. For me, the key is why people expressed reservations about her. Was it because they perceived her as incompetent, or because they thought she just wasn't ready in 2008? If the latter, then she has to bone up on issues and build up her credibility. Douthat seems to think it may be the former, which would require a much more serious rehab job. We shall see as it gets closer to 2012.
Regarding re-election, I think she has to run in 2010. If she doesn't the MSM will kill her for "chickening out." Governors who want to run for President almost always have to run for re-election if their term as gov. ends before the Pres. run. Personally, I think she should run (and win) re-election and, should she decide to run in 2012, take a leave of absence from her office starting in Dec 2011, stating that it would not be right to try to run a state while campaigning full time. I don't think she'd run for a third term anyway, but she could run against Begich in 2014 if she lost in 2012 or decided to wait for 2016.
RE: SarahPAC being dis or un organized at this point. Sarah, of all people, is vigilant about not wasting money. As one who owns a small business, I can tell you that overhead costs for any start up venture can be overwhelming.
With a strong internet presence, well placed advertising, and I know that the PAC works Sarah's Facebook page, with well over 500k "friends" signed up, 3 experienced employees working out of their houses can be incredibly effective.
Why waste at least 100k in start up overhead when it's not necessary, at least not right now? There's a time and place to invest in a more structured presence, and they will know when that occurs.
I applaud their commitment to not wasting the donors' contributions on offices, equipment, utilities, etc.
And just yesterday I returned at least my 3rd plea for money from the RNC with a cheery note saying I am donating solely to SarahPAC and will for the foreseeable future.
No, he bailed on her, within the first few weeks, so he's a perfect
fit for the Times. Back in the day
when he had an open comment section
which was ruined by a particularly
vicious troll, which I won't even mention his name, he couldn't really defend his Republicanism.
A lot of trolls out tonight, and this morning, or generally
uninformed people, in other words
Obama voters.
I am very suspicious of the rumors that she will campaign for Jim Tedisco. Isn't that election on March 31st? I haven't seen anything to suggest she will come down to the lower 48 to campaign in New York in the next 2 and 1/2 weeks. Have I missed something? I can, however, see SarahPac supporting Jim Tedisco with some money.
That's what I was going to say, DougB! :)
And believe me, I was looking forward to her coming to D20, because it borders CT, and I'm so there if it's a public event.
But alas, I believe the election occurs when you say, and she won't be here. I also agree that some of her PAC's $$ may be though ...
Post a Comment