Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 04:43 pm
Unintentional comedy gold took center stage on Fox News’ Hannity as Sarah Palin gave her expert analysis on why Santorum rises to the top.
Here’s the video from Fox News:
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Sean Hannity asked Sarah Palin about the timing of Santorum’s surge, and she answered, “Well, there in Iowa it was a good place for Santorum to be and to rise to the top, and even though he was eight votes short, I think most people would say that he was the one who rose to the top because for many it was unexpected, his finish, but Iowa there with, I believe sort of a microcosm of America, when you consider median income, when you consider education levels. I think Iowa really represents much of America and the voters who are going to show up in a general election.”
What Sarah Palin really meant when she said that Iowa Republicans were a microcosm for the rest of America had nothing to do with education and income, and everything to do with race. 99% of Iowa GOP caucus participants were white. Fifty one percent of them identified themselves as born again Christians. The GOP caucus goers were also 69% small city and rural.
Sarah Palin believed the GOP Iowa caucus represented America, because it represents the America that Republicans see. The GOP doesn’t see African American and Latino voters as positive contributors to society. To most Republicans, Hispanics and Latinos represent illegal immigrants, and to Rick Santorum, African Americans are people on welfare and food stamps who don’t work and take other people’s money.
Of course, Republicans like Palin want the general electorate to look like the turnout for the GOP caucus. Iowa Republicans are the embodiment of the Republican base. The GOP base is white, evangelical, and rural. Rick Santorum is the perfect candidate for Iowa Republicans, but I have some bad news for Sarah Palin. The general election electorate is not going to look like Iowa. There will be lots of African Americans and Latinos voting on Election Day, and the vast majority of those non-white faces will be supporting Barack Obama.
Notice that Hannity and Palin stumbled into one unintentional Santorum joke after another. Hannity discussed the timing of Santorum surge. Palin mentioned the good place for Santorum to be and Santorum’s rise to the top. What we are seeing here is a repeat of the hilarity that ensued when the right didn’t know what the term teabagger meant.
I think we found the one thing that Sarah Palin is truly an expert in. Sarah Palin certainly knows all about Santorum.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
