Sarah Palin Teabags Boston

Half-term Governor Sarah Palin, probably saying something infuriating yet hilarious to a crowd in NH (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

When I first moved to Boston to attend college a few years back, I was proud to think my home was a liberal utopia of social equality, political correctness, and self righteous snobbery. I was 18, and at the time found all that political homogeny welcoming; now I find it oppressive.

I’ve since soured on the haughtiness I once considered admirable—a smartass all my life, I mistook arrogance for confident intelligence. Too often, some on the left criticize the intolerance on the right, while they themselves blather on in the same hyperbolic vein as their political doppelgangers. They claim their opponents are too stupid to comprehend reason, though they refuse to acknowledge that reason exists beyond their own.

So it wasn’t surprising to hear that protesters were among the estimated 3,000 people in attendance for the Tea Party rally today on Boston Common. Sarah Palin, ever the lightening rod, drew a huge crowd of devotees and detractors to the morning event, delivering a short speech in which she criticized, in strikingly general terms, government waste and taxes (the event was scheduled to coincide with tomorrow’s tax deadline.)

As my liberal fervency has softened with age—or at least my refusal to accept contrary opinions—I’ve become more accepting toward others’ right to speak their minds. I’m opinionated, and can’t justify trying to silence those with strong, contrasting opinions. With respect to the part-term Governor, that means I accept her right to play to frightened people’s fears with populist buzz words.

Some liberals worry that Palin will preside over a drastic backswing in American politics, and that strident vocal counterattacks are the only way to stop her. Hence the protesters today who, for whatever reason, thought they were doing something besides entertaining their own egos by screwing with Palin’s supporters today.

I, however, am not worried in the least about Palin. While she enjoys an intensely loyal fan base, she is no threat to the national political consciousness. Despite riding atop a wave of government resentment brought on by the economic collapse, Palin’s chances of running a successful presidential campaign in 2012 are slim.

A recent post in the wonderfully thorough political analysis blog, Five Thirty Eight, breaks down Palin’s odds compared to other prominent Republicans, the gist of the article being that even Republican voters don’t think Palin is very electable, and so favor other potential GOP candidates instead. Though Republican voters prefer her to other GOP candidates, she is also considered the least viable in a general election, trailing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and barely running even with Newt Gingrich. And if she can’t beat out Gingrich, one off the most divisive Republicans in recent years, she can’t be considered a truly worrisome prospect in 2012.

I’m glad Palin got her chance to come speak on Boston Common and share her views, however misguided or halfbrained they may be (Answer: totally misguided, extremely halfbrained.) When the electorate is given a chance to critically analyze what she spouts, they overwhelmingly disagree with her.

The tea partiers may be more noticeable now, but they certainly aren’t more powerful. With the economy rallying, their support will dwindle, and so too will Palin’s.

It will be sad to see her go, if only for the laughs I’ll miss having at her expense. Until then, she may as well be allowed to spout gibberish and jingoisms.