The Atlantic Pushes the "Irrelevant" Meme in Wake of "No Invite" Newsweek Story

The left has spent years trying to convince Americans that Governor Palin is "irrelevant." The fact that they are still claiming the same garbage in the year 2012, proves how ridiculous the claim is and has always been.

Today, The Atlantic used the revelation that Governor Palin has not been invited to the Republican National Convention to rehash this old, laughable attack-line. The article they published to "prove" their case is titled, "Sarah Palin's Incredible Shrinking Act Is Almost Complete." Oh, how they wish it were so...

The piece began:

Last December, after Sarah Palin announced in October she wouldn't run for president, we started to notice she was shrinking. Now, four months ahead of the election, she seems smaller than ever. The latest sign of her diminished political significance is that Palin hasn't even been invited to the Republican National Convention by Mitt Romney, Newsweek's Peter Boyer reports. But it doesn't appear that it's because she's too busy with other things.

The writer of this piece, Elspeth Reeve, seems to have missed some key parts of Peter Boyer's piece. Such as the history of Palin-bashing from the Mitt Romney camp, the tenuous relationship between Romney and grassroots base voters, and this key paragraph towards the end of the Newsweek article that stated:

Palin’s admirers—and they are many, judging by Facebook and Twitter metrics, where her numbers are far greater than Romney’s—still hope for a rapprochement. “Palin is the female Ronald Reagan of our time,” says Kremer of the Tea Party Express. “There’s no one that excites the base, and energizes the base, the way that Sarah Palin does. There’s just not.”

None of that information fits the absurd narrative that The Atlantic is trying to sell to their readers by cherry-picking the pieces of Boyer's article that they wanted to spin. Reeve continues:

The chief of staff for her SarahPAC quit, ABC News' Shushannah Walshe reports, because he didn't have enough to do. Palin hasn't totally endorsed Romney and she hasn't done any campaign events for him, and the worst part is, hardly anyone's noticed.

This person obviously hasn't discovered the joy of breaking ideas into separate paragraphs, but I digress...

First of all, Governor Palin hired Michael Glassner while she was still considering running for office. After she made her decision, I'm sure she down-sized her payroll a bit. Why wouldn't she? And what does the size of her staff have to with the relevancy of her message? The answer is that it doesn't because people are still very much drawn to Governor Palin, and what she stands for.

Just ask anyone who has seen her speak in person, within the last few months. Or ask one of the 1,500 people who gathered in 100 degree heat to see her speak in Michigan last weekend. Governor Palin is still very much a movement leader with "rock star" popularity, and the lefties can't stand it.

The piece continues:

Palin's headlines have all announced a steady decline, even when we couldn't tell that's what was happening.

Yes, Reeve now offers up "even when we couldn't tell" as evidence that Governor Palin's headlines have "announced a steady decline." Pure rubbish, on a day that saw hundreds of "Palin" headlines, most of which found a way to trash her for getting snubbed (thus far) by her own party.

Next, Reeve dives into a long string of sentences with no time-lines attached, or context added about some of Governor Palin's staff changes, and employees who have protected Twitter accounts. The sad thing is that The Atlantic's left-wing audience is willing to accept a protected Twitter account as proof that she's finally irrelevant. It's pathetic and it's reaching.

Governor Palin didn't get passed over by Mitt Romney and the RNC because she's losing her influence, quite the contrary. If Governor Palin did attend the Republican Convention, and delivered a prime-time address, she would outshine their candidate a hundred times over. She didn't mean to upstage John McCain in 2008, but she did, just by being herself. There is no doubt that Romney's advisers aren't aware of that. It's nothing more than a left-wing pipe dream to think she wasn't invited because she's losing her stature.

The bottom-line is that she wasn't invited to the GOP Convention because their 2012 nominee hasn't extended an invitation. It fits the way Mitt Romney has treated Governor Palin, ever since his staff started publicly trashing her before the 2008 election. It also fits the way the GOP establishment treats outsiders and reformers.

I hope The Atlantic is proud that they did their part to assist the good ole boys in the GOP establishment cover their backsides, with this scatterbrained hit-piece.

'Sarah Palin for RNC Chair' Chatter

After news hit that Michael Steele had 'stepped in it,' in regards to comments he made about the war in Afghanistan, many are calling on him to resign his post as the Republican National Committee Chairman.

Personally, I take exception to what Mr. Steele said that has landed him in so much hot water. He tried to write off Afghanistan as another one of Obama's failure's. He said, "has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Everyone who has tried, over 1,000 years of history, has failed."

That war is far from over and it did not start on Obama's watch. I do not think it is productive to try to score political points off the backs of our men and women in the military, the same way the left did under Bush. The goal is to win in Afghanistan, and to win as a nation regardless of who is occupying the White House at the time.

Whether or not Mr. Steele steps down or is asked to do so, is still up in the air. Now the internet is buzzing with speculation and suggestions. One topic I have seen talked about much is the possibility of Governor Palin taking over as the head of the RNC.

Most notably, in this snobbish post over at NRO by Kevin D. Williamson titled, "An Idea for the RNC: Dump Steele, Hire Palin"

Re: Steele and the RNC: Allow me to chime in with my usual observation on this subject: This is a job for Sarah Palin. Palin would be a much better RNC chairman than presidential candidate or freelance kingmaker. She'd raise tons of money and help recruit good candidates, i.e., she'd excel at doing the things Steele should have been doing instead of appointing himself Republican pundit-at-large.

A Chairman Palin would help set the right tone for the Republican party without having to get herself entangled in the minutiae of policy-development, which has not been her forte. Sure, she'd be polarizing, but so is Barack Obama, and these are polarized times. And it's one thing to have a polarizing party chairman, another to have a polarizing candidate.

Anybody disagree?

I do! Not that I disagree that Palin would do a better job as the RNC Chair, but I happen to think she would make a great presidential candidate, and I happen to know for a fact that she is a fine "freelance kingmaker."

Mr. Williamson then goes on to say that while such a job for Governor Palin would be good due to her ability to raise money for them, it would keep her away from the "minutiae of policy-development" which he says "has not been her forte." Are you kidding me? What an utterly ignorant, yet typical response from a GOP establishment type. Perhaps Mr. Williamson is unfamiliar with Governor Palin's many public statements, both written and spoken in regards to all the issues facing this nation today, "minutiae" and all.

In fact, just last week she was praised by many, even within the GOP establishment for the recent speeches she has given. She posted the details of her fantastic appearance in Virginia to her Facebook page, if Mr. Williamson or anyone else from the establishment is interested in educating themselves on Governor Palin's actual positions. Feel free to check them out here, guys.

I have no idea what the future holds for the leadership of the RNC or Michael Steele. I also don't pretend to know what Sarah Palin would do if offered the position. That said, I do know that this has been another instance where GOP insiders have exposed themselves as willing to use Sarah Palin for fund-raising, yet downplaying who she is and what she stands for. The RNC is treading on thin ice right now. After years of selling out to positions supporting bigger government and more spending, the base has still not returned to the party in the numbers they should have. Treating Governor Palin with a lack of respect and an honest assessment of what she brings to the table will not help them any further. At this stage, I don't believe the RNC deserves Governor Palin's leadership, but that is just my opinion.

Update: Kathryn Jean Lopez also weighed in at NRO here