The ‘Wacky Races’

Editor’s note: Jessica DeLoach Sabin is a frequent contributor to Talk Business & Politics. Opinions, commentary and other essays posted in this space are wholly the view of the author(s). They may not represent the opinion of the owners of Talk Business & Politics.

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Do you remember the cartoon “Wacky Races?” I do. The original show airing was a bit before my time, but the reruns of it were a constant part of my childhood. Now it appears the second coming of the Wacky Races is now a part of my adulthood and it’s all taking place in the GOP presidential primary.

Yesterday (Jan. 19), Donald Trump received the endorsement of Sarah Palin. While Palin’s 15 minutes of fame were up long ago, the event generated a substantial amount of press. But this has more to do with the media’s fascination with all things Trump and good sense to know that when Sarah Palin speaks, strange things will be said.

I watched the footage of Palin’s endorsement only twice – and that was to see if I could detect any sort of regret on Mr. Trump’s face. Then I realized he was getting exactly what he wanted – and that was someone who, without shame, would deliver a rah-rah speech that evoked the same startling images that have served as fuel to the far right since the beginning of the Obama presidency. Palin, who seems to remain hard-pressed for attention, appeared to enjoy her brief ride on Mr. Trump’s coattails yesterday. And her remarks, which at times made little to no sense, seemed to elicit great cheers from the crowd. Palin noted: “In fact, they’ve been wearing a, this, political correctness kind of like a suicide vest.”

That line was a two-fer. She worked in “political correctness” and “suicide vest” in the same sentence. Unfortunately, that’s all there was to the sentence and the line preceding it was used to criticize candidates for not wanting to talk about certain issues until Trump did. I’m still a bit fuzzy on what those things are but the claim continues to be made.

“The permanent political class has been doing the bidding of their campaign donor class, that’s why you see that the borders are kept open.”

While I stand on the side of those who believe that money plays a greater role in politics than it should, I am fully aware how many conservative members of our Supreme Court made this our reality and am not so foolish to believe that the GOP wouldn’t recommend more individuals to the court who would act any differently. Also, this has nothing to do with borders. But I didn’t have to tell you that.

Lastly, there’s this nugget:

“GOP majorities handing over a blank check to fund Obamacare and Planned Parenthood and illegal immigration that competes for your jobs, and turning safety nets into hammocks, and all these new Democrat voters that are going to be coming on over border as we keep the borders open, and bequeathing our children’s millions in new debt, and refusing to fight back for our solvency, and our sovereignty, even though that’s why we elected them and sent them a majority to DC.”

If anyone thinks the GOP is handing over blank checks to fund health care reform or to provide funding so women can access reproductive healthcare, then we must not be living in the same country. This sounds more like “sour grapes” because Palin was one of the only conservatives who couldn’t manage to get to Washington at the same time Congress began to go fully red – which should tell us something. Also, I find it funny she is basically admitting that many of the people who did manage to find their way to our nation’s capitol did so on a bunch of promises they were never going to be able to keep and that greater problems have erupted because of this. Unfortunately, she would rather suggest that the vast majority of conservatives in D.C. are failing because they are wrong people for the job instead of admitting to the policy and partisan failures caused by those on the far end of the conservative spectrum.

But Palin is not the only person who should receive a trophy in this week’s political wacky races. While speaking in New England, Ted Cruz said this: “JFK would be a Republican today. He stood for religious liberty, and he would be tarred and feathered by the modern Democratic Party.”

I’d say that only Ted Cruz would attempt to co-opt the legacy of John F. Kennedy, but to do so may be to speak too soon. Rather than comment any further on such nonsense, I’ll leave you with something to ponder. Which noteworthy conservative political figures of our past would lean to the left today?

One of my most incisive political pals has cast his vote for Chester A. Arthur. What say you?