Republican VP candidate Palin’s speech last night sort of puts the lie to George Lakoff’s nuanced, subtle, meta-analysis of the important symbolism and cultural meaning of code words, stereotypes and emotional appeals (see yesterday’s post or just read his book).

Thanks, Governor Palin!

I appreciate her address, and Giuliani’s speech and those of the others who lined up yesterday to, in the words of Dick Nixon, make things perfectly clear.  It’s great when things make sense, and are exactly what they appear to be.  So that sarcastic sneering about “community organizing” and just plain outright attacks on teachers’ unions (and big government unions) don’t really require that much clever progressive socio-cultural analysis from the likes of Thomas Frank, Chris Hedges or George Lakoff.  We wacky leftists have a neat little slogan:  The personal is political, and so this morning I take the attack personally.

All that’s necessary for me to remind myself of who’s being attacked here is to pull out my own CV, which documents my own apparently suspect career as, yes, a one-time community organizer, and, currently and officer and activist with my own union, the American Federation of Teachers.

So, no, it’s not at all necessary to interpret further the above remarks by Thompson, Romney, Giuliani and Palin.

Except I can’t help myself.  So, two questions for today’s quiz

1.  Do these candidates oppose all labor unions, or only those which represent the interests of teachers and government employees?

2.  How do they, in the face of never-ending Republican boostering of “points of light,” volunteerism, religious programs, private school vouchers, charitable and other non-government schemes to replace government (all examples of community organizing, no?), reconcile their derision of, yes, Obama’s work as a community organizer?

I’ll make this quiz multiple choice.

1.  (a) Yes.  They oppose all trade unionism, with its proud history of workplace justice and representation of worker rights, along with shared governance.

(b)  No.  They oppose only teachers’ unions and government employee unions because teachers are easy to stereotype as “liberals” and government is a bad, very bad, word courtesy Ronald Reagan (see Thomas Frank).

(c)  They don’t really believe any of this stuff, but it pleases the crowd.

(d)  All of the above.

2.  (a)  Anti-community organizing on behalf of corporate and private interests is good organizing.  Community organizing is bad.

(b)  It’s impossible to reconcile, to make sense of an obviously dishonest position.

(c)  Don’t even try.  Unless you want to risk the nuance deal re racism and classism.  (To most Americans “community organizing” means Civil Rights organizing on behalf of disenfranchised African-Americans, poor people’s and Native American organizing, gay and lesbian and senior citizen and consumer rights and environmental organizing.  Nuff said?)

(d)  All of the above.

Eyes on your own paper.  Fill in the answer bubble completely.  Good luck.

Posted in: Political thought • UCI • college • repubilcan • sarah palin • teachers unions • university |

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