Palin/Beck In 2012? Hell, Yes!

There's a loud group of people out there who think screaming equals majority, obstruction equals fighting for something, and blind hatred equals patriotism.
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I've been struggling with the idea of
"balance" in news. There is fact, and there is spin.
There is truth, and there is fiction. But when the mainstream media covers something - showing both sides, paints the picture that
everything is 50/50 when there are certain things that are not - like, oh, let's say, climate change.

However, doing a piece where you
counter a scientist representing fact with narrowmind James Inhofe
(R-OK) -- that's less balance and more news organization covering their asses for fear
of being called biased.

Clearly, I'm biased.

Everything is polarized and everything is hyper-partisan.
Evolution, reproductive rights, Guantanamo... everything that happens
today gets tossed into the grinder so the left and right can eat each
other's faces off, for the entertainment of the news viewing public - and there's no end in sight.

Except for this little light at the end of the tunnel, courtesy of Newsmax:

It's no secret that former GOP vice-presidential
candidate Sarah Palin and Fox News host Glenn Beck share great respect and
admiration — so their fans can be forgiven for wondering: Is a "dream
ticket" of Palin-Beck ticket completely out of the question?

Perhaps not.

Palin initially chuckled when Newsmax broached the idea.
But then she had some serious words of praise for the popular Fox personality.

"I can envision a couple of different combinations,
if ever I were to be in a position to really even seriously consider running
for anything in the future, and I'm not there yet," Palin tells Newsmax.
"But Glenn Beck I have great respect for. He's a hoot. He gets his message
across in such a clever way. And he's so bold — I have to respect that. He
calls it like he sees it, and he's very, very, very effective."

Oh, sweet Jesus, yes.

Sure, it might be a little early to be thinking about / fearing
/ fantasizing about who the GOP will be serving up to attempt to knock Obama
out of the White House after one term.

If I were to put my money on a specific ticket, it would
be "Seemingly moderate conservative youngish white male" /
"Pander to the Evangelical Christian Right older white male" in 2012.
Considering how lockstep the Republicans have been against everything
Obama is pushing, it would be hard to tell the difference between Boehner,
Cantor, Huckabee, Romney, McCain or Grassley unless you judge by the tint of
their skin, the sheen of their hair, or the pattern of the age spots.

But Palin/Beck would shake that up. And, quite frankly, be the greatest male/female comedy team since
"Stiller and Meara."

Democrats should be drooling at this idea - After all,
there are two types of people who know who Glenn Beck is. People who
watch Beck on Fox News, and the people who see Beck eviscerated on programs
like "The Daily Show" or "South Park."

The idea that Sarah Palin's ego shoehorns her
into another national election, and she elevates Glenn Beck to a level where
everyone gets a nice, solid look at his everyday insanity... that's
Christmas, Birthday and Fourth of July all rolled up into one. That's the
Republiverse saying, "Here ya go, every comedian in the world. Don't
worry about finding topics for 2011-2012... we've got you covered."
Two loons walk into a bar.

So yes. Count me in as someone who would
wholeheartedly support this idea. I don't
think this ticket has a chance in hell, but it would solve the
"balance" and "majority" issue once and for all. Which gets me back to my original point.

There's a loud group of people out there who think
screaming equals majority, obstruction equals fighting for something, and blind
hatred equals patriotism. Whether those people represent one, ten or
ninety percent of the population, I can't say. Because if you look at the
news coverage, it's always one for, and one against. "Health Care
Now!" is always countered with "The Black Helicopters are
coming!" on a "one for" and "one against" basis.

So the hell with it. I say, give them their ticket.
Put it out there, get it on the ballot, and let's see who that message resonates with and how the numbers play out.

That message won't be candy-coated with a ghost-writer or
chalkboard scrawls and graphics - it'll be out there, naked as a Prejean, for
all to see. And if that message wins, I'll be the first to admit the
screeching I hear is from an outraged majority rather than the media
giving disproportionate attention to a small and vocal minority.

And then, the jokes will begin.

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