Right Wing Eats One Of Their Own

When it comes to Republicans' talking points and agendas, stepping out of line is worse than Benedict Arnold's actions against the Revolutionaries. Kathleen Parker experienced the brutality of her former right-wing compatriots when she advocated for Sarah Palin to step down off the ticket. Howie Kurtz had her on Reliable Sources yesterday to talk about the backlash for what she said.

From CNN's Reliable Sources:

KURTZ: What about the reaction? All those e-mails, all the vitriol directed at you, I mean, that has got to be somewhat depressing. Are you expected because you are on the conservative side of the spectrum to defend any nominee the Republican Party throws out there?

PARKER: Apparently. Apparently so.

I think the reaction to me specifically in this case was there are a number of factors, I think. One was that they very much do not want Obama to win, and so any opinion that seems to give ammunition to the other side is going to cause trouble.

I think another factor is that these people have so over-identified with Sarah Palin as one of us, you know, saying that we're all ordinary Americans, she's like us -- and boy she played that up in a big way in the debate Thursday. She really played her populist card. But I think that they felt insulted personally, so I think that accounts...

KURTZ: Were you not only wandering off the reservation as a conservative, but also as a woman who perhaps some saw as betraying or walking away from this woman, the first Republican woman on a Republican presidential ticket?

PARKER: Yes, I guess a little bit. It's sort of a funny thing for the right to be offended by objecting to the sisterhood, you know, by leaving the sisterhood. But I think most of the comments were more along the lines of -- that I was jealous, that clearly I couldn't stand for a pretty woman like Sarah Palin to be rising to the vice presidency, that probably I should be. And that actually hadn't entered my mind, but...

KURTZ: You have avoided taking this personally, but it's got to be a little frustrating to be beaten up like that for basically doing your job. You're paid to have opinions. You're paid to write a column.

PARKER: Well, of course I am. And I'm not paid by the GOP. I mean, I'm not employed by them. And I have to say what I believe.

I have to -- you know, there's an issue of credibility as well for me. So it was impossible for me to continue cheerleading for Sarah Palin given the evidence we had at the time.

KURTZ: I've got about half a minute. Did Sarah Palin's performance at the debate, which got fairly positive reviews from the mainstream media, cause you to revise your view at all about whether she should be the VP nominee?

PARKER: Sarah Palin I think redeemed herself. I don't think she helped McCain. And I think the question of whether she is qualified to be president has not been answered in a different way. How's that?

KURTZ: In a different way...

PARKER: I don't think anyone who watched her and who then listens to her answers would say, yes, this woman is ready to be president of the United States should circumstances warrant.

KURTZ: Kathleen Parker still speaking her mind.

Yes Kathleen, way to speak your mind. Too bad no one on your side of the aisle really appreciates those qualities anymore. Then again, that is what the Republican Party has been all about for quite some time now. It isn't about a free flow of idea and thoughtful debate between the array of conservatives in America. The only thing that matters to the GOP leadership is maintaining power through lockstep unity all the way down the ranks.