Book Review: Going Rouge: Sarah Palin – An American Nightmare edited by Richard Kim and Betsy Reed

I could not believe this line from the Introduction: “Appearances aside, it [the title Going Rouge] had nothing to do with the fact that Sarah Palin’s forthcoming memoir is called Going Rogue; any similarities are purely coincidental.” What a laugh! My own library system initially labeled their 28 copies as Going Rogue, rather than the correct title of Going Rouge.

I bring this up because it is such a perfect example of the sanctimony of the left, which translates into a total loss of credibility for the editors. You cannot even get through the introduction to the book without them shooting themselves in the foot. Yes, Richard Kim and Betsy Reed, we believe that your punning title was purely coincidental. You bet.

How lame can you get? Denying your own little jab at Palin. Take a lesson from W, or Sarah herself for goodness sakes. Go for the kill! Ruthlessness at all costs are what politics are about, or have you not learned that by now?

The best political book I have read this year was Revolution In Seattle, by Harvey O’Connor. It is a reprint of his memoirs, which were originally published in 1963. It is an absolutely brilliant discussion of the workers vs. management wars that existed in the timberlands of the Pacific Northwest from the 1880s to roughly 1932.

A lot of good people lost their lives in those struggles. Even though we are a couple of generations removed from the all-out labor battles of yesteryear, the war rages on. While it may be considered simplistic to break the sides down to their basic components, it is also pretty accurate. Management and big business are represented by the GOP, by the likes of Sarah Palin. Conversely, labor and the “common man,” have been represented by the Democrats, President Obama being a shining example of this, as was President Clinton.

As O’Connor notes in his book, “…The New Deal, with it’s labor and social legislation was an adequate answer to [their] dreams.” Some 70+ years later, the right-wing are still trying to undo the gains made under FDR. But they never had a hot chick to do their dirty work before. I’m sorry Ann Coulter, but you are just kind of frightening. Sarah is instinctually able to flirt with every man in her audience, and probably the women too. It is how she gets her way.

Going Rouge strips away the pretty face, and exposes the dark heart underneath. The essays anthologized here are broken down into eight sections, with such pun-filled titles as “Palintology,“ and “Half Baked Alaska.“ My personal favorite comes from the section “The Palin Pageant,“ and is an essay by Tom Perrotta titled “The Sexy Puritan.“ A close second comes from the pen of Michelle Goldberg, “Flirting Her Way To Victory.“

Going Rouge features a total of 49 essays about the woman from Wasilla, AK, written by a number of prominent writers. Among the contributors are Gloria Steinem, Robert Reich, Naomi Klein, and Matt Taibbi. Taibbi’s “Mad Dog Palin,” which first appeared in Rolling Stone, is absolutely hilarious.

Unsurprisingly, the most memorable pieces in Going Rouge are the funny ones. There is a lot of righteous indignation in the book, mostly coming from articles reprinted from The Nation, but the stuff that works best treats the Palin phenomenon as the sad joke it is. Tina Fey’s impersonation on Saturday Night Live remains the gold standard in that regard, but there are some great articles in here that do as well.

The full title of the book is Going Rouge: Sarah Palin – An American Nightmare. Whether you agree or not with the sentiment, the book is an excellent representation of an angry left-wing. Love her or hate her, Sarah Palin is now a fixture in American politics, and will remain that way for some time I believe. Going Rouge attempts to tear down the myth, and is worth reading if for no other reason than to see what the Democrat's fury at her looks like in full bloom.

Ignore the chickenshit Introduction, this is a group of pissed-off Lefties who have somehow mustered the nerve to tell it like it is.

Merry Christmas, Sarah.