Sarah Palin won't shut up

By Nicholas Wilbur

Thirty-eight percent of Americans let out a long sigh of relief this week when Sarah Palin assured them – and the rest of us who sighed for different reasons – that no amount of criticism will silence the mother of all Mama Grizzlies.

"I will continue to speak out," Palin told Sean Hannity Monday on Fox. "They're not going to shut me up. They're not going to shut you up – or Rush or Mark Levin or Tea Party Patriots, or those who, as I say, respectfully and patriotically petition their government for change."

Damn. Here I was thinking that this new wave of civility in political discourse might convince Fox News contributors (and their big brother, Rush Limbaugh) to embrace a more measured tone – maybe even abandon the venomous, fearmongering rhetoric that has entranced even ideological opposites, if only for its theatrical contributions.

Then I realized that there is no new wave of civility in political discourse, and that describing right-wing radicals as "patriots" who "respectfully petition their government" is about as believable as claiming Paris Hilton is a frugal, teetotaling virgin. There is only those on the left saying the right is venomous and those on the right defending their venom as "patriotism."

Here I was thinking that if the demagoguery ceased, maybe we could all sleep at night knowing that, despite previous news reports, President Obama in fact wasn't going to force us to abort our unborn children and serve their bodies with collard greens to his Kenyan colonialist brotherhood at a dinner funded by Jew-killers like George Soros and domestic terrorists like Bill Ayers.

Then I realized that conservatism thrives and survives on the sensational rhetoric and extremist sound bites aired daily on the Fox network, and for a businessman like Rupert Murdoch, abandoning his bread and butter would be a boon for the evil empire of MSNBC.

Thanks for the reassurance and the clarification, Sarah. It's relieving to know that the sky will continue to be blue.

(Cross-posted from Muddy Politics.)