Yo Sarah Palin, Americans live in big cities, too [Forum Archive]

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Yo Sarah Palin, Americans live in big cities, too

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Posted by: min0 lee

-1 Sarah

Yo Sarah Palin, Americans live in big cities, too

Tuesday, October 21st 2008, 4:00 AM

Doggone it, Sarah Palin's small-town schtick is making me sick.

And kinda scared, you betcha.

I know most of the nation is not like New York City - or Chicago, or Boston or Los Angeles - so when John McCain picked her as his running mate, I thought it was only fair that "Small Town USA" be represented on a presidential ticket.

But she has taken provincialism too far.

I'm getting tired of her implications that city folks are not truly American, that country folk really "get it."

Her acceptance speech at the Republican convention was about as genuine as Main St. in Walt Disney World, with the facade of good ol' American homespun wisdom, but underneath it's just trickery, it's a way to do business, an appeal to people who wish for days gone by, clouded over with nostalgia.

"We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity and dignity. ... I grew up with those people," she said at the podium.

"They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America...who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.

"They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America."

I'd say New Yorkers are a bunch of strivers too, and that building skyscrapers and running the subways is pretty hard work.

And the nearly 70 men and women from the city who've died in Iraq must have loved their country, and been proud of America.

Her Joe Sixpack and Hockey Mom and Wal-Mart Mom fanbase loves how she bashes the "media elite" in the big cities, the urbanites who might wear a white collar, people who kept reaching higher.

This from someone who doesn't read newspapers, and as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, "suggested" that the librarian remove certain books from the shelves.

The fact is the small towns she talks about don't exist anymore.

The "quaint Main Streets" are mostly one strip mall after another, with the same faceless franchises - Applebee's, Chili's, T.G.I. Fridays, Dunkin' Donuts.

But these areas are never thick with Barnes & Nobles stores, though.

In the Bronx, you can go to Arthur Ave., or Tosca's or Patricia's, any number of authentic Italian restaurants, instead of an Olive Garden.

The small towns long ago embraced Wal-Mart, and all its anti-worker, anti-competitive practices, helping drive out small, mom-and-pop businesses so they could get cheap stuff, and lots of it.

Whenever I have been in a small town in a rural area, whether the Arizona desert, the Cascade mountains in Washington, the coastline of Maine or Massachusetts, the rolling farmlands upstate, I stop and think what it would be like to live surrounded by the awesome beauty, the slow pace.

But then, I miss the spectacular sight of the East River bridges lit up at night, or the colorful, bobbing sea of people you can find at most any hour. And the fast pace of people who are in the know, who are going somewhere, who are always on the move.

But Palin keeps hammering at the differences between the true America and the cities, because Obama is from Chicago. And she has taken it up a few notches, to appeal to the worst things about small towns - small minds.

In Clearwater, Fla., where Palin tried to link Obama to the 1960s Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers, the crowd booed before she even mentioned him. They booed when she said the New York Times.

When she did get to Ayers and Obama, the crowd got so stoked up, one man yelled out "Kill him!" We don't know if the shouter meant Obama or Ayers.

At a rally for her in Estero, Fla., the local sheriff, in uniform, ranted about Barack Hussein Obama.

She doesn't do anything to discourage this borderline mob mentality.

These scenes do not recall Norman Rockwell and Mayberry.

New York is full of people who came here from small towns, to make it in the greatest place in the world. They came from towns and villages in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, as well as Ohio, Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon.

And Palin, you should remember that, when Osama Bin Laden wanted to attack the most powerful symbols of the U.S., he not only chose the Pentagon, he chose the World Trade Center, the gleaming towers that represented sky-high hopes and dreams in New York City.

Twice.

Is that American enough for you?

poshaughnessy@nydailynews.com

Posted by: bio-chem

Posted by: PreMier

there are tons of small towns like palin talks about.. fuck, i went hunting this weekend in a town called mayfield. we had truck problems, and they didnt even have a mechanic!! it was some guy that worked in the coal mine and did it on the side.

other than that, i think the article is ok

Posted by: bio-chem

Originally Posted by PreMier

other than that, i think the article is ok

I would disagree with the thought new york city is the greatest place in the world.

as well as many other opinions stated

Posted by: min0 lee

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told a fundraiser in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday night:

"We believe that the best of America is in the small towns that we get to visit, and in the wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation," she said.

"This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans," Palin added.

When the towers came down on 9-11 we volunteered to help in any way we could.

We had our close friends help in the rubble, I went and help install and repair Motorola radios for Fire Department, the local Gm and Ford dealers replaced the crushed cars free of charge with new cars and trucks.

We all came together that day, we also had "Small town USA" donate fire trucks free of charge ......thanks by the way.

We also share the same values of "Pro-America'', what values do they have that we dont?
Some of the oldest, most beautiful churches in the nation are in New York and Boston. The biggest religious congregations, of any religion you can name, are in cities. Jews, Muslims, Atheist, Moonies name it we have it....and we are not the worse for it.

New York City and other cities not lacking values in any way, it's that they have so many. Take the 7 train and you sit between a hard core Con and to your left a looney liberal. Sure we have our lowlife degenerates but so does small town USA....we might just have more, hey it's a big city.

Small-town values are just that: small and I don't mean that in a bad way.
I remember living in New Jersey in the '70's for a couple of months,they only had 3 television stations while in New York they had over 10....on for 24 hours. This was before cable TV came into the picture

They don't have anything that big cities don't,maybe they simply have far less diversity, it's good to have additional points of view, additional belief systems, additional lifestyles (not just sexual) much like it was here.

Rant over....well not reallly a rant

Posted by: min0 lee

Originally Posted by bio-chem

I would disagree with the thought new york city is the greatest place in the world.

as well as many other opinions stated

It's called pride, and please do tell.

Why pit us against each other? Not the thing you would do in this time for "Change"

Posted by: min0 lee

We had to take whatever equiptment we could save of them.

Posted by: bio-chem

Originally Posted by min0 lee

It's called pride, and please do tell.

Why pit us against each other? Not the thing you would do in this time for "Change"

I have no problem with pride in ones town. And I have no problem with New York. I would love to visit someday.

Sarah has an appeal to "small town usa" they are playing that up. doesnt really bother me. Republicans know that they are not going to play in the big cities. they are not alienating anyone from new york or LA when they know they are going to loose by an overwhelming majority anyway. Im from washington state. and if you look at the last presidential election bush won every county but 2 in the last election. washingtons electoral votes still went to kerry because of king county (seatlle). thats how it is across the country predominately.

for whatever reason there is a large difference in opinion between big city and the more rural towns. im sure a big part of it is economic. i disagree with the democrats views on taxes and spending. im not overly happy with the republicans right now either. i would love to see a third party moderate develop to really attack the democrats and republicans to make them speak to my issues.

Posted by: KelJu

I am pretty sure that small towns have exactly the same percentage of dickheads as big cities. I grew up and spent 18 years in a small town. I have spent the last 7 years in a fairly nice sized city. There is no difference in values and morals between the two. They are different, but equal.

Anybody that thinks otherwise is probably an ignorant fuck anyway, so who cares.

Posted by: min0 lee

Originally Posted by KelJu

Anybody that thinks otherwise is probably an ignorant fuck anyway, so who cares.

I do, I am Pro- American till the day I die.

Posted by: bio-chem

Originally Posted by KelJu

I am pretty sure that small towns have exactly the same percentage of dickheads as big cities. I grew up and spent 18 years in a small town. I have spent the last 7 years in a fairly nice sized city. There is no difference in values and morals between the two. They are different, but equal.

Anybody that thinks otherwise is probably an ignorant fuck anyway, so who cares.

these differences are what make america much of what it is. also these differences will very much be highlighted during an election year.

Posted by: min0 lee

Living in Fake America

Posted by: min0 lee

John Stewart

That makes Washington D.C. and New York the capitol of fake America.....the ground zero of fake America

I bet Bin Ladin must feel like a real asshole now " What??? I bombed the wrong America?"

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Yo Sarah Palin, Americans live in big cities, too

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