I posted yesterday pointing out The Charlotte Observer‘s attempt to brand mainstream conservatives as right-wing extremists. Included in the extremist right, according to the editorialists at The Observer, are Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.
Matthew Continetti of The Weekly Standard, however, shows how off the mark that analysis is:
As I listened to the speech, I was struck by how Palin’s positions are widely shared. She opposes the health care law — so does the public. She’s concerned about the federal deficit — so is the public (see question 10b). She supports the Arizona illegal immigration law — so does the public. She supports the right to life — and the public is moving toward her. She supports the Afghanistan surge and the current course in Iraq — both Obama administration policies.
Liberals have a pathological need to destroy and demonize anyone on the right that has good ideas and whose ideas resonate with the public. Palin and Gingrich certainly fall into that category. They also feel the need to destroy and besmirch the reputations of understandably angry taxpayers like the Tea Partiers.
That’s what you do when you’ve lost the argument with the American people.
