Palin Nailin' It

September 10, 2011 at 12:47 am (By Amba)

She—or at least her speechwriter—just went up in my estimation.  (There she goes again, reminding me of Obama circa 2004.  Words, words, words.)

She made three interlocking points. First, that the United States is now governed by a "permanent political class," drawn from both parties, that is increasingly cut off from the concerns of regular people. Second, that these Republicans and Democrats have allied with big business to mutual advantage to create what she called "corporate crony capitalism." Third, that the real political divide in the United States may no longer be between friends and foes of Big Government, but between friends and foes of vast, remote, unaccountable institutions (both public and private).

These ideas hit the nail right on the head—diagnostically.  But is there a cure?  Can anyone we send to Washington buck these trends? Is there any way to mobilize the power of the little guy?  When big fund-raising has to pay big media to get a well-groomed version of the rough-hewn message across on a mass scale?