When two powerful forces come together, the results can turn out to be memorable and satisfying, like Pacino and DeNiro in "Heat" — or an unmitigated disaster, like Pacino and DeNiro in "Righteous Kill." It's a tightrope scenario, plain and simple.
The recent news that Governor Sarah Palin has reached out to beauty pageant contestant-***-conservative standard bearer Carrie Prejean on the heels of Prejean's controversial comments regarding gay marriage seems likely to turn into an "Oh no" moment for the Republican Party. But that doesn't mean that it can't result in some hilarity along the way.
Prejean, as you may remember, even if you've spent the better part of the last month trying to forget, made headlines in April when she answered a pageant question posed to her by Internet gossip site Perez Hilton regarding whether or not gay marriage should be legalized in all 50 states with this unforgettable reply:
"Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman."
Prejean continued to make/shamelessly pursue headlines in the days and weeks following the episode by doing everything from appearing as a guest on Sean Hannity's basic cable version of the Algonquin Roundtable, to cutting a public service announcement for the conservative group the National Organization for Marriage, to appearing all over the Internet in various states of undress. (Those images you can Google yourself). All of these defenses of marriage and personal conversations with God came at a high cost to Prejean, however, as she was publicly lambasted by the Miss California organization and had to have The Donald himself defend her honor — at a press conference, of course.
It seemed for a brief shining moment that Prejean had finally gone the way of Susan Boyle into the Internet insta-celebrity ether. That was until Sarah "In What Respect, Charlie" Palin stepped up to the plate and offered her hotly anticipated take on the situation.
In a statement published on the Anchorage Daily News' Alaska Politics Blog, Palin defended Prejean against "the liberal onslaught of malicious attacks against Carrie Prejean for expressing her opinion." Palin continued by noting that "Carrie and I spoke soon after the attacks started; I can relate as a liberal target myself. What I find so remarkable is that these politically-motivated attacks fail to show that what Carrie and I believe is also what President Obama and Secretary Clinton believe — marriage is between a man and a woman." Of course the Governor fails to note that both Obama and Clinton actively support civil unions and equal rights for gay couples, things that Palin has voiced her opposition towards as both a candidate and a Governor.
If anyone knows about malicious attacks it should be Palin. After all this is a woman who while a candidate for Vice President presided over rallies where her supporters vocally clamored for the death of Barack Obama. Of course calling for the murder of a Presidential candidate is nothing in terms of maliciousness when compared to the constant flogging Prejean has endured at the hands of the Internet gossip blogging community. Apparently Lee Harvey Oswald's got nothing on Perez Hilton in the malice department. Who knew?
Both Prejean and Palin are entitled to their opinions on gay marriage, or any other subject for that matter. What they are not entitled to do is play martyr whenever they are faced with criticism for the public pronouncements of their beliefs. The moment a political candidate, or a beauty queen, or any other public figure makes a public statement regarding a controversial, they open themselves up to both support and criticism. That's the name of the game.
The tragedy of this whole situation is Prejean's apparent obliviousness to the fact that she has been co-opted by groups that are using her admittedly appealing image as a means to further their own agenda. She is not a victim nor is she a hero, she's merely a tool. Once that has been established the question then becomes not if she realizes this fact, but if she even cares. Of course if Prejean starts getting talked up as a serious contender for 2012, we really have a problem.
An all beauty-queen GOP ticket in 2012?
Also Interesting:
[+] The week's best political jokes - 5/15/09
[+] Gay marriage equals money for states, new studies show
[+] Arizona approves health coverage for partners of gay state employees
[+] The gay marriage ban aftershocks
[+] Tennessee school system sued for blocking LGBT educational sites
[+] State Dept. to extend benefits to same-sex partners