Politics | 12/12/2008 7:25 am

Powell Blasts Palin for Polarizing, Endangering Republican Party (Video)

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

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Sarah Palin helped push the Republican Party farther to the right this election – a polarization which could lead to the downfall of the party, insists Colin Powell.

Oh, and he also says Republicans should stop listening to conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and we need to rethink the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“Gov. Palin, to some extent, pushed the party more to the right, and I think she had something of a polarizing effect when she talked about how small-town values are good,” Powell told CNN in an interview that will air Sunday. “Well, most of us don’t live in small towns. And I was raised in the South Bronx, and there’s nothing wrong with my value system from the South Bronx.”

He adds: “It was that attempt by the party to use polarization for political advantage that I think backfired.”

If the GOP doesn’t wake up and realize the far-right wing can’t carry the rest of the party, Powell – who created shockwaves throughout the political establishment when he endorsed Barack Obama for president, albeit, late in the game – thinks they could become obsolete.

“There’s nothing wrong with being conservative … but if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities,” like it has to woo blacks and Hispanics, who are quickly becoming the majority in this country.

“I think the Republican Party needs to stop shouting at the world and the country … the party has to take a hard look at itself.”

Here’s video from the aforementioned interview.

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Belnda Sarah Palin is the cause of polarization? Polarization has been here for a long long time.

By Frannie Em on 12/13/2008 2:27 am

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Oh, I apologize for saying she had a role in polarizing our country. You’re right Frannie. To the contrary she played a role in uniting us. She always spoke in the most inclusive ways. Never once did she attempt to polarize our nation by speaking of “the REAL Americans and REAL parts of the country” that being those areas that supported she and McCain views. You’re right and I’m wrong. I must have misunderstood what she was saying during the campaign. Sorry about that.

By Belinda Joy on 12/13/2008 9:28 am

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Belind Not my point. Polarization started with politics in American, but the latest streak started with Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton with a heavy dose of Rush Limbaugh thrown in there. MSNBC and Fox News love to keep it going. I don’t see much difference in some of her statements as opposed to PE Obama’s statement of “cling to guns and religion.” Wasn’t that an insinuation that certain citizens didn’t have much intelligence to do otherwise? Or they just don’t get present day politics? That wasn’t very uniting. Certainly Obama took a page from the Bill Clinton campaign playbook, because Clinton was a great and rapid corrector of his mistakes while on the trail, as Obama was and is. Obviously, it worked well for Obama. Palin could take a few pointers. She is new on the national scene, but she will get it. Give her time. Belinda I appreciate your frank sarcasm, well done, but I don’t think Obama has united us yet. 57million people voted for McCain, I don’t know if they all feel united by PE Obama. I don’t believe it is his job to unite this country, it is our job. Actually, the two times in recent history that the country felt the most united was after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor launching us into WWII, and after 9/11. So that was the Japanese and 15 Saudis and a couple of Egyptians, and I can remember the countries of the other few.

By Frannie Em on 12/13/2008 10:09 pm

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Belinda Sorry, I keep spelling your name wrong. My mac keyboard is very flat so I have to hit softly, but makes me miss letters.

By Frannie Em on 12/13/2008 10:20 pm

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Frannie, It’s unfortunate that you, Fox News, conservatives and Republicans insist on distorting Barack Obama’s words in regard to the statement you quoted. This is a transcript of what Obama actually said Frannie. It’s a bit long for a post on the wOw site, but given our conversation, it is worth the length for a full understanding of what was said. OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it’s fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people are most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre…they’re misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to ‘white working-class don’t wanna work — don’t wanna vote for the black guy.’ That’s…there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it’s sort of a race thing. Here’s how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn’t buy it. And when it’s delivered by — it’s true that when it’s delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism. But — so the questions you’re most likely to get about me, ‘Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What is the concrete thing?’ What they wanna hear is so we’ll give you talking points about what we’re proposing — to close tax loopholes, uh you know uh roll back the tax cuts for the top 1%, Obama’s gonna give tax breaks to uh middle-class folks and we’re gonna provide healthcare for every American. But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you’ll find is, is that people of every background — there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you’ll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I’d be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you’re doing what you’re doing. So as you can see what he said is indeed true. Can you accuse him of making a broad generalization? I would argue yes. But that does not mean what he said has no validity. However on the reverse side of our conversation, when Palin and McCain engaged in polarizing and divisive language on their campaign trail about the “real parts of America and Real Americans” there is no validity in those statements. I live in the Midwest and I can tell you I am every bit as much as a Real American as anyone living in the south. And what is so ironic is that Obama’s very words used in the sentence about clinging to guns about anti-immigrants and anti-trade are the very issues Palin and Mccain used during their campaign to stir up their supporters. I couldn’t disagree with you more about the role of the President as it relates to uniting us as a nation. That is indeed one of the most important roles he plays. Bush himself did an excellent job at uniting our nation following 9/11. In retrospect some of his actions are questionable, but his words, emotion and raw compassion brought us all together. This is something you and I clearly disagree on. As for the 58 Million (the actual final number) of Americans that voted for McCain and Palin, that is huge. He received a large number of support. The problem is those 58 Million people followed their campaign, heard all the same divisive, polarizing, in some instances racist comments, ill-informed and thought out, inaccurate statements AND STILL felt they were better equipped to lead our nation. 58 Million people who as you say are not united by Obama. All the while the 66 Million people who did vote for Obama will each tell you they felt united by his campaign and win. 66 Million people who voted who each had a choice between Barack Obama and John McCain. 66 Million people (who may I add were comprised of Democrats, Independents, Conservatives and Republicans) who walked into their voting booths and didn’t see any of the flaws you are laying out as proof that he is somehow not deserving of the position. Those 58 Million people who cast their votes for McCain have two choices. They can either support their new president, even though (based on their votes) they believe he is not qualified, prepared or ready to lead our nation. Or they can continue to complain nit-pick, conspire and bemoan his win for the next 4 years. It’s clear there are no gray areas in this regard, one choice or another. And if they opt for the latter, in my opinion all I would have to say to those 58 Million people is……oh well, deal with it.

By Belinda Joy on 12/14/2008 4:03 am

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Belinda Thank you for your response. You have left a lot of food for thought. There are a couple of things I would like to edify. If you will indulge me, I would appreciate it. Many times when I say something, people assume me to be something I am not. When you say “It is unfortunate that you, Fox News, conservatives and republicans insist on distorting Barack Obama’s words…….” I believe you started your accusation about distorting because you think I thought Sarah Palin was right in saying those things about Americans. I didn’t think she was correct. I think she was wrong, that is why I said she should take a lesson from Obama. It is not a complimentary or uncomplimentary statement, just stating an opinion. I did not hear the original press release of the quote on Fox News, although I do listen to them at times as well as CNN and all the rest so I get a full picture. I heard it driving in my car and I was listening to NPR. I listen to NPR in my car because I don’t need a lot of shouting on the radio while driving in LA. They did not play the entire quote, but they played more than the “cling to guns and religion.” Did you hear Sarah Palin’s entire speech that the media took that quote from? Did you hear the entire context it was said in? I didn’t, so I don’t know one way or the other if she was taken out of context, and I don’t think you do either. So it seems you could possibly be doing to her what you are accusing me of doing to Obama? But know this, in the long run, those arguments are not that important to me because they don’t end up being that effective. You and I could go back and forth from point to point on each candidate and get nowhere, as so often happens on this site. Besides, it is a mute point now. I would rather that we as women, be more effective. As I said, the first time I heard it I did not hear the entire quote, but I have heard the whole quote before. PE Obama is a very intelligent and studied man. I like that in him. I have no problems with that. He was speaking to a San Francisco, very liberal audience because he wanted their financial support. Obama was essentially saying what they believe about middle America, yet I can see he was, to a certain extent, trying to bridge the gap between that millionaire/billionaire group and the middle class who were losing their jobs. But, in context or out of context, and like it or not, it remains a polarizing statement to those people who believe he is talking about them. Just as Sarah Palin’s statements are polarizing. I don’t find either statements extraordinary during a campaign. But remember, Obama said those words long before Palin was even on the scene. I imagine that is one of the reasons McCain/Pailin took that tact in their campaign about “real Americans”, as if they were defending those who have guns and do cling to their religion, or God, against rich San Francisco liberals. Politics to be sure, yet they played their bet wrong. In terms of validity, I am not going to judge either side, it only results in more polarization, and less unity. Was McCain anti-immigrant? I don’t think so. He was in a lot of trouble in his state for wanting a comprehensive immigration plan, he supported President Bush’s plan, that was very inclusive and expanded immigration. My sister lives in Arizona and so I hear about it. Do you remember that for a long time in the republican primaries he was not doing very well because Arizonians wanted a tougher stand on illegal immigration? He took a lot of flack for his position. He is not anti-immigrant, but he is a politician and constituents push for legislation the way they want it. As far as one person being able to unite this country? God bless your optimism. If it happens that would be wonderful, but with the financial crisis, we have some rough roads ahead. I understand the divisiveness, this country has always been that way, everyone has different reasons for what they believe. I accept them. By far, the biggest mistake you make about me is your concept that I don’t think Obama deserves the position; What was the quote “that he is somehow not deserving of the position”? You will have to find a quote by me that says that, but I know you won’t because I have never said it. Nor would I. Maybe you read that into it, but I believe if he won, he deserves it. If you have taken my concern for the favorable bias in the press towards Obama as if to say he didn’t deserve to win, you are wrong. Bias of the press is a different issue. Lack of objectivity in the press is destructive for our nation. Furthermore, I have a civil right, as an American to question any politician I want to, as many times as I want to. I have a civil right to state what I believe if I want to, as do you, along with every other person in this country. In that way we are united. I can question his cabinet choices, just as I questioned Bush’s and Clinton’s cabinet choices. I don’t see anything new there. Whether we can always agree with each other, or on their choices, is another issue. I think you took my original quote as sarcasm to you, it was not. Nor am I being sarcastic now. I was sarcastic to Gen Powell because he seemed sexist. Like it was some little woman that got out of line. He was a general for a long time and the headset is that you do what you are told. This thread was about of Palin was a polarizer, by thoughts are that polarization is the bread and butter of American Politics.

By Frannie Em on 12/14/2008 5:05 pm

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last sentence should read This thread was about if Palin was a polarizer, my thoughts are that polarization is the bread and butter of American politics.

By Frannie Em on 12/14/2008 5:12 pm

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You’re absolutely correct Frannie, We can turn this into a back and forth exchange and in doing so nothing productive would come from it. In reading your response it is clear we differ GREATLY on every issue and point of discussion as it relates to politics, the presidential campaign and the media. I would never be able to change your opinions in this regard and vice versa. Of this I am sure. As with every other person that posts on this site you and I will simply have to agree to disagree. Belinda

By Belinda Joy on 12/14/2008 5:47 pm

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Belinda What you don’t realize, is that we agree on quite a bit, just express it differently. Don’t you think that you have a right to question? I think you do. I am not invested in either of the candidates, former or present winner. I believe that now that Obama has been elected, give him a chance. For me it is a wait and see. If he can help the country, I for one would be grateful. It will take a lot more than just one man to change this country, but I do believe, in his heart, he wants to do it. He has earned that chance, and so I say, go for it, we shall see what happens.

By Frannie Em on 12/14/2008 6:33 pm

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Frannie, I’m not so sure about your statement that we agree things, just express them differently. I was somewhat stunned and surprised (although I don’t know why, what was I expecting you to voice in your posts?) at the degree of issues you and I disagree on. And I’m not talking just a few minor differences, I mean huge differences on really important issues. :-) Issues that for me have more weight in my life than they do in yours. But then again Frannie, if we all agreed on every subject, it would make for one heck of a boring exchange of thoughts. It’s nice to hear you will give Obama your support (of sorts) even though it sounds like he wasn’t your choice as being most qualified for the job. Hopefully others of your mindset will be as open minded. Take care.

By Belinda Joy on 12/15/2008 8:23 am

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Belinda Actually, I was up in the air for a long time about my vote. My state always goes democratic so it doesn’t make that much difference who I vote for. I am not disappointed in Obama’s election. For me, principals or standards are more important than personalities. I get mad at issues and leaders who are not doing their jobs at the expense of the electorate, but for the most part I know the limitations of my influence on the democratic process. I am just one person with one vote, trying to get along in a world I cannot control. Just like everyone else. I am not sure what issues we would agree or disagree on unless you express them in regards to this conversation. Otherwise, new things are on the horizon, and we shall see what happens. Take care.

By Frannie Em on 12/15/2008 4:31 pm

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Frannie: …57million people voted for McCain, I don’t know if they all feel united by PE Obama. A trip around the web will soon affirm the fact that the 57 million or so have not changed their mind concerning Obama. Anger has been replaced by ridicule. Obama might be a quick corrector, but I don’t think people are buying it anymore… if they ever did.

By Marjorie C. on 12/17/2008 3:02 pm

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Walter Wallis, you are an example of what’s wrong with this country. Too much rancor and not enough knowledge about the issues. Condoleeza Rice has not brought honor to this country. Think about her testimony during the 9/11 Commssion? I think that Powell was duped by Cheney’s “intelligence” finders, people who had an clear agenda about going to war. Believe it or not, the country used to function before Americans learned to distrust one another on issues of national importance. The hate mongers and the shock jocks who have gained prominence in our society laugh all the way to the bank while spewing vitriol, derision and hatred against non-whites who don’t support the neo-conservative republicans. The legacy of this group of greedy, dishonest people: a country left in economic shambles, legions of young men and women who fought in a war based on lies have returned home broken emotionally and physically, a lost claim to being one of “the good guys” globally because of torture camps, renditions, etc. It’s time we all took a real hard look at the legacy of the past eight years, and you don’t have to look to cloesly to see that the scene isn’t too pretty.

By Allene Swienckowski on 12/12/2008 12:28 pm

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I can’t believe all of these people who have thrown Sarah Palin under the bus! She was the only reason the popular race wasn’t as big of a landslide as the electoral! Maybe politicos don’t believe in her, but the American people do! And that is just what we need, someone who makes Washington scared! Come on Sarah lets shake things up!! Every day I look at my Sarah Palin calendar and I am inspired to fight! She will make it to the White House! (the calendar by the way, is on amazon, and is GORGEOUS!! it also makes a great gift!!) SARAH PALIN 2012!!

By Katie Norman on 12/12/2008 12:50 pm