Even Fox News is bored by Sarah Palin
By Richard Barry
So, this doesn't mean she's going away entirely in the short term. She has 4.5 million Facebook fans and 1.15 million Twitter followers, and in more conservative states is sought out as a valuable endorsement.
Maybe Sarah Palin is so much a creation of the 24-hour news cycle, social media's need for new content, and the way so much of politics has morphed into one big reality TV show that she will never really go away.
If you follow politics, the only reason to pay attention to the wackier sorts in and around the Republican side of things is to discern why their brand of self-aggrandizing foolishness has any traction at all. People like Donald Trump, Michelle Bachman, Rick Santorum, and Sarah Palin may be, or have been, national political figures of a sort but this doesn't mean most people, aside from those blinded by love, think they will seriously compete for national office.
But each of these individuals, and others on the fringes, have a constituency, and any serious conservative politician has to understand it in order to cobble together a coalition large enough to win a nomination.
But each of these individuals, and others on the fringes, have a constituency, and any serious conservative politician has to understand it in order to cobble together a coalition large enough to win a nomination.
Anyway, that's my mea culpa for writing about people like Sarah Palin and, in this case, as a lead up to news that she has been dumped by Fox News.
Fox News will not renew its contract with Sarah Palin, whose bombastic appearances have been a cable staple since the former Alaska governor’s failed run on John McCain’s ticket in the 2008 presidential election cycle. When asked for comment, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network had amicably parted ways with the governor on June 1.
Palin, 51, is expected to make occasional guest appearances on Fox and Fox Business, and will appear on other networks and cables. She has a show on the Sportsman Channel, does a lot of speeches, and will announce a new publishing project soon.
So, this doesn't mean she's going away entirely in the short term. She has 4.5 million Facebook fans and 1.15 million Twitter followers, and in more conservative states is sought out as a valuable endorsement.
Maybe Sarah Palin is so much a creation of the 24-hour news cycle, social media's need for new content, and the way so much of politics has morphed into one big reality TV show that she will never really go away.
But maybe this is the beginning of the end. Let's hope.
posted by Richard K. Barry at
7:00 AM
1 Comments:
In an important way, she has gone away. I know that she has her fans. But it is rare that she gets any major media attention. She will always be a star in the sense that there will always be ways for people to make money off her.
I'm reminded of what was probably the silliest bit of television I've ever seen. Glenn Beck had her on his show and said (this is more or less a direct quote), "I can't make up my mind whether you are the modern George Washington or not." Now I'm not much of a fan of Washington, but of course, he's a towering figure for Beck and all conservatives. It was such a strange love fest. And as I recall, Palin never once said what any non-narcissist would say, "Don't be ridiculous; I'm no George Washington; but blah blah blah." No, she was quite comfortable with people thinking that she might be George Washington. Amazing.
By
Unknown, at 3:43 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home