Despite Hitting Critics Who Didn?t Read SB-1070, Palin Condemns Newsweek Story Without Even Seeing It
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 15th, 2010 4:37 am by HL
Despite Hitting Critics Who Didn?t Read SB-1070, Palin Condemns Newsweek Story Without Even Seeing It
Newsweek’s new cover features former Alaska governor Sarah Palin with a halo around her head and the words “Saint Sarah.” The accompanying article by Lisa Miller explores Palin’s popularity with the religious right, especially Christian women. While Miller notes the feminist criticisms directed at Palin and wonders about her “real motivations,” the article is certainly […]
Newsweek’s new cover features former Alaska governor Sarah Palin with a halo around her head and the words “Saint Sarah.” The accompanying article by Lisa Miller explores Palin’s popularity with the religious right, especially Christian women. While Miller notes the feminist criticisms directed at Palin and wonders about her “real motivations,” the article is certainly not a hit piece. “With her new faith-based message, Palin gathers up the Christian women that traditional feminism has left behind,” writes Miller.
But Palin wouldn’t know all this, because she hasn’t read the article. Nevertheless, on Friday, she went on the Fox News show of her good friend Greta Van Susteren and slammed it:
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, who could forget that infamous Newsweek cover? It shows Governor Sarah Palin in short shorts, running shorts. Well, check out Newsweek’s latest Palin cover. Things are a little different this time. It shows Governor Palin with a halo over her head. The headline, “Saint Sarah.” Now, the article’s about Governor Palin’s appeal to conservative Christian women.
Governor Palin is back with us. Governor, what do you make of the new cover? Now it’s Saint Sarah?
PALIN: Haven’t seen it, but if the title and what I hear about the content is any indication of where Newsweek is going, it’s no wonder that Newsweek is doing so poorly. People are not reading that stuff. It’s not relevant. It’s not interesting stuff that they’re making up and writing. And that’s why they’re going down.
Watch it:
On Twitter, the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz criticized Palin for mocking it before reading it. “My point on Palin is, read the Newsweek piece and then rip it,” he wrote. “Rip Newsweek too, fair game. Cover WAS mocking. But engage on the substance.”
What makes Palin’s criticism even more ridiculous is that she has sharply reprimanded critics of Arizona’s anti-immigration law who haven’t read the full legislation. From her Facebook page on May 18:
On Fox News this morning, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley became the third Obama administration official in short succession to admit that he hadn’t actually bothered to read Arizona’s 10-page long “secure the border” bill before condemning it and criticizing Americans who support Arizona’s necessary efforts to do the job the Obama Administration should be doing. Crowley’s statement follows similar admissions from Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
At first blush this revelation seemed unbelievable, but maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. This now seems “the Washington way” of doing things. If the party in power tells us they have to pass bills in order to find out what’s actually in them, they can also criticize bills (and divide the country with ensuing rhetoric) without actually reading them.
Maybe she didn’t get a chance to see the story because she’s too busy reading every single newspaper in the world.
