If you're looking for someone to heap praise on Governor Peterson's choice for US Senator, and gushing over Washington's return to "Camelot," don't read this rant.

“Dynastic Senatorial Appointments?”

by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - December 31st, 2008

With tongue firmly planted in my cheek, I'm saying there's nothing to discuss in the world of politics... not counting the fiasco in Illinois with the Governor facing impeachment and cat-calls to resign while the media is looking into the links between Blagojevich and President-Elect via Tony Rezco (who was just found guilty on 16 accounts of corruption). All of this because soon to be former Governor Blagojevich wanted to sell Mr. Obama's senate seat that will be vacant when he's sworn in as President.

Senate seat up for grabs? That reminds me of a name that's been in the news... Caroline Kennedy! There's just so much to discuss here, this one single appointment is so ripe with opportunity for political commentary and satire, it just can't be left alone. I've scrapped everything else I wanted to discuss and do for the rest of 2008 just for this one rant.

During the summer months we heard the outrage from the left about how "unqualified" Sarah Palin is because she's "just" the governor of the inconsequential state of Alaska. Four or five years ago, when Howard Dean was the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, nobody mentioned how he was merely the governor of another inconsequential state, Vermont. As someone who grew up in Vermont and has an affection for that state and bias, even I have to admit the fact that Alaska contributes more to the Gross National Product then Vermont does... but don't let facts get in the way of your vitriol.

Mrs. Palin has been savaged by the media for being unsophisticated and unknowledgeable in international affairs, which is fine if you believe in the myths about Mrs. Palin, starting with that funny line Tina Fey said on Saturday Night Live - "I can see Russia from my house." There have been a few websites that have debunked the notion that Governor Palin ever said that. There was no end in sight for the people who wanted to take a poke or a stab at her, and in doing research for this rant, I found a few articles about one comedian hoping something awful would happen to Mrs. Palin. [Best/Worst example - Sandra Bernhard on Sarah Palin Controversy: Get Raped!] Were it anyone else - say Hillary Clinton who Ms. Bernhard would like to see gang-raped by black thugs (racist, Ms. Bernhard?) - there would be a public out-cry to have her apologize, by force. Nobody would ever think of even publicly calling Hillary Clinton a "whore" or a "bitch" - but there was no restraint in the name calling when it came to John McCain's running mate.

Mrs. Palin's "lack of experience and  knowledge" was fair game for the media, any mis-speak or misquoted statement taken out of context was tolerated, by any means necessary to keep her from becoming one-heart-beat-away from the  next President. Some of that criticism might be fair, but in the light of how the media is fawning over the idea of Caroline Kennedy being appointed to the Senate in Hillary Clinton's seat with no experience in any elected office - we just can't let that lie.

Meritocracy To Dynasty...

As stated several times by plenty of other people; Hillary Clinton would not have won her seat as a Senator if she was simply "Hillary Rodham," had not been the wife of a then popular President, or a member of the other political party. Hillary Clinton became Senator for no other reasons besides she was Bill Clinton's wife, and a Democrat. She couldn't have won an election based on her own merit, everything she accomplished was because of whom she married and her husband's office, either as Governor of the inconsequential state of Arkansas. Hillary wasn't even able to get a job on her own - the most notable example was her involvement with the Rose Law firm. Her only notable accomplishment that were not "gifts" was working for the Children's Defense Fund and ironically working with the United States Congressional Impeachment Inquiry staff in 1974.

And then there are the Bush Brothers, Jeb and George. Simple question that doesn't need to be answered: Would they have ever been elected as Governors of the inconsequential states of Texas and Florida if it weren't for the fact they were the sons of the former Vice President under Ronald Reagan? By merely asking the question, my conservative credentials may be revoked, but there it is.

Then there are Kennedy's besides Caroline that raise some eye-brows. Ted Kennedy, the mere Senator from the inconsequential state of Massachusetts. - "The Gay Illiterate" as his brother John used to call him. Could there have been any chance that he would have been elected to ANY office if it wasn't for brothers Jack and Bobby? Then there's his son Patrick - who drove into the steps of the Capitol building while intoxicated (either by drink or a mixture of Ambien and Phenergan) and who shoved a LAX security officer. It's hard to imagine Patches "I have never worked a [edited by Solera0] day in my life" Kennedy being elected to anything on his own merit. Granted, he's only the congressman from the inconsequential state of Rhode Island.

Joe Kennedy the former Congressman from the inconsequential state of Massachusetts? The less chatter about his controversially cozy ties to CITGO and Hugo Chavez, the better... but who and what would Joe be if he were not a Kennedy?

As of this writing, all of these people - Hillary Rodham, the Bush Brothers, the Kennedy's - have something in common. None of them got to where they are today on their own merit. Every one got an introduction to public life because of who they married or the family they were born into. I was going to spend my time and waste yours by going into intricate detail about who Sarah Palin really is and how she was railroaded by the media. To be fair, I can't ignore the interview Katie Couric did with Mrs. Palin which essentially proved that while Mrs. Palin is very intelligent, she lacked either the knowledge or confidence to articulate anything about foreign affairs and John McCain's accomplishments since leaving the Hanoi Hilton.

The venom and vitriol towards Sarah Palin was never about the facts or whether she was "right" for the job. It always was and will continue to be about her faith as a bible thumper and her political beliefs as an Ultra-Conservative. As soon as liberals (including some of you in my readership) admit that and be honest with themselves (or yourselves...) then the easier it'll be to discuss the true reason why many of us are angry about what we feel is the media's and the politician's hypocrisy. Sarah Palin's resume outlying her rolls as a member of the Wasilla, Alaska city council, mayor of Wasilla, chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and Governor of Alaska... it's all irrelevant to people who can't be bothered and would go so far as to demean her home state and call it "inconsequential".  They out themselves as what they really are - mean spirited.

Now, if a liberal democrat had the same resume with the same knowledge gaps about foreign affairs and running-mates history, people would be besides themselves talking about how poor Sarah wasn't allowed to be the Vice-President, and how unfair that so many chauvinist pigs don't think a woman is ready to be in The White House in any other roll besides First Lady (obviously forgetting about Albright and Rice...).  Experience doesn't matter.   She would get on-the-job training just like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would. That's what many of my conservative friends said about Sarah Palin and what they are saying now about Caroline Kennedy's lack of political experience...

Just admit it, the anger towards Sarah Palin was never about her knowledge, it was about her beliefs and political views. Admit that! There's nothing wrong in confessing the truth! Deal with it. Acknowledge the fact that Sarah Palin was so hated for those simple reasons, that someone was willing to burn her home town church down while there were still people inside.

... Then the thought dawned on me that my frustration over New York Governor Peterson's "done deal" with appointing Caroline Kennedy despite her political inexperience had nothing to do with the treatment of Sarah Palin. It had everything to do with the Kennedy mystique as "America's Royalty."