There are two related stories this week of some scientific interest. It turns out that lemmings do not commit mass suicide by blindly following other lemmings over cliffs, as discussed in the article below. However, it also appears that 64 percent of Republicans want Gov. Sarah Palin to run for president in 2012 despite her disastrous impact on independent and moderate voters this election.
First the real lemmings. An article this week disclosed that, not only is the mass suicide habit a myth, but it was created by Disney by throwing some lemmings off a cliff.
Apparently, the myth took hold with the 1958 Disney documentary “White Wilderness.” Instead of shooting an actual migration, the filmmakers took it upon themselves to transport a few dozen lemmings to a riverbank in Alberta, Canada, a landlocked province where the animals are not native. They then tossed the rodents off a cliff into the “sea” and filmed them as they drowned, thus propagating a persistent urban legend.
You can see the original 1958 documentary on this YouTube clip here or here. They do not show the Disney men throwing the creatures off the cliff (though the film says the myth is “true and false.”). This makes the award-winning documentary something of a Disney Snuff film. For an article on the story, click here.
Now onto Gopers. It seems out that they do commit mass political suicide. As an independent, I have witnessed the same conduct in prior years among democrats, but this is the first scientifically based study. In a new Rasmussen poll out today, sixty-four percent of GOP respondents said that Palin would be their top choice in 2012 (presumably if polled 100% of Democrats would want Palin as their standard bearer also):
When asked to choose among some of the GOP’s top names for their choice for the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, 64% say Palin. The next closest contenders are two former governors and unsuccessful challengers for the presidential nomination this year — Mike Huckabee of Arkansas with 12% support and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 11%.
This true urban story is based on the fact that 69 percent of Republicans said that Palin “helped John McCain’s bid for the presidency,” despite exit polls found that 60 percent of voters felt that she was “not qualified to be president if necessary.” Of course, with the lemmings now distinguishable from modern Republicans, political science may have to rely on the mass sheep suicide in Turkey.
Notably, the Disney film says that “it is not given to man to understand all of nature’s mystery,” which seems more appropriate to the study of herding GOPers in the political wild. Disney’s alarm over “the destruction of a species” assures that these creates will simply be replenished by new animals, which will gather again for another “rendevouz with death.” So true, and yet so tragic. And so the cycle of political life continues.
[Thank you Patty C for the mass sheep suicide link!]
Leo, Buddha: BWAHAHAHA!!!! Well said, both of you.
BIL, you don’t have to convince moi… 😮
I signed on to let JT know I just ordered ‘A Fish Called Wanda’ on VOD, again – in our honor.
I love it AND it’s cheap!!!
I’m makin’ popcorn seasoned with homemade curry powder and freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano with a basket of warm nuts, honey, autumn fruits and cheese – on the side.
Patty,
Creating reality (what an arrogant concept in totality) is becoming more and more difficult in the age of information. No amount of spin will save/fix Palin. Objective reality (as opposed to perceived reality) always wins out over words – it may come at a high price, but objective reality always wins. Doubt that? Read Nazi war propaganda and contrast with the reality of Nazi atrocities. They certainly weren’t The Master Race, were they? We didn’t have the Internet or computers to speed the process either of “Truthification” as Colbert might say either. Memes spread faster now. Facts spread faster now. That is the tao of things. The world is as it is despite what people think and words are ephemeral. To fight the tao is to invite disaster.
I thought you’d like it, JT…
Thanks for the mention.
I’m honored indeed!
Patty C:
Brilliant grab. I will add it to the main body in your honor.
JT
Get with the program – ‘creating reality’ is where it’s at…
p.s. However, I am reminded of a mass sheep suicide in Turkey in 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4665511.stm
Prof. Turley,
It is strange that the more people express their dislike of Palin and the more we learn news of her less than intelligent responses and decisions that the “base” yells even louder for her to run in 4 years. And you are spot on when you say the Dems would love to see her run as the Republican candidate. I am not sure she will be still in the public eye 4 years from now.
What is fascinating is how the most extreme right has embraced Palin more in the face of criticism from the media, other Republicans (including McCain senior campaign staff), and Democrats. Even Republican commentators have criticized her selection. It is a bizarre reaction. The more ridiculed and ridiculous a candidate, the more she is embraced. The fact is that Democrats would dearly love to have her run in 2012. It was what Dan Quayle did, though I expect that she will meet the same fate.
Oh Dearest Dunk,
You’re right we fear her getting elected to anything other than Salmon Queen, or Mrs. Northern Lights, or Mrs. Great White North. But man-o-man, we can’t wait for her to run as president.
Clunk,
Fear is not the first word that comes to mind when you mention Sarah from Alaska. She has to be one of the most uninformed national politicians I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. That being said, her ultra-far right wing beliefs are just what the country voted down. I think any of those Republican that you have been mentioned for a possible run in 2012 would be smoked by Obama again. The country is tired of the “Unitary Executive” fictions that Cheney and Bush and Yoo and Addington have pushed on the country. It is an anti-Constitutional theory. I was actually hoping that the Republicans would run a Palin/Bachmann ticket in 2012 to make it a complete wipeout. It is possible that a ticket like that might just be the final blow to the life of the dying Republican party.
Clunk,
That is the sound of a rear differential or universal joint about to fail…or a fool tryin’ to think…
I am a conservative 30-year registered Republican who voted for Obama because I am ashamed of the current GOP. You and other ignorant “clunkers” like Sister Palin are why. I want My Party taken away from religious fools and miscreants. You talk about the ‘left and the right’ when you have neither hemisphere within your grey matter ‘crankcase’.
You illustrate what is wrong with the current GOP. I would like to see you and the other misfit Palin followers and disciples start the PTNP (Politics to Nowhere Party) and quit hijackin’ the Republican Party of Lincoln and Eisenhower.
You mistake fear for scorn, little one.
My my how the left fears Sara Palin. Take a look at Rasmussen polls, over 90% of Republicans said she united the party. The only reason Republicans lost this election is that the solid Republicans do what they always do – stayed home rather than vote for a moderate like McCain.
Don’t believe me? take a look at voter turnout. It was the same as 2004 as a % of the population but the party that stayed home the most was the Republicans.
“Now onto Gopers.” Funny.
GOPers, lemmings, and other “rodents”…
Ho, ho, ho!
Not intended as a double entendre, but take it as you will. She’ll further fractionate the party if nothing else. She’s a nightmare and will be lucky to be hosting a QVC show in four years, so let her run. Obama will stomp her hate filled organization into a mud puddle and make it look easy and effortless like the verbal Judo master that he is. I guarantee no matter who the moderator would be, he wouldn’t let her get away with that “I’m not going to answer your questions” bullshit in a debate. Under the bright lights of scrutiny, she just looks more and more like a stupid self-serving little narcissistic Nazi. The poster girl for Neoconservatism. So bring it on. Palin/Mussolini 2012.
As an aside, I have a well-documented weakness for red heads. Do you know how vile you have to be to become unattractive to me, Sarah? You managed it about 3 minutes and I’ll stipulate that you’re physically hot. Pretty is only skin deep though and your ugly shows every time you open your mouth. And it’s not to the bone. It’s to the marrow. Your ugly may be so ingrained as to be mitochondrial. I’d sooner make a pass at a lamp. A plugged in lamp. This is coming from a guy known to say, “Duuuuuh . . . okay” to ridiculous demands from red heads. But your request to be President will be denied. Not just by me either. Pray for that Lemming vote, Sarah. It’s all you’d get.
Sixty-Four Percent of Republicans Want Palin to Run for President in 2012”
…and 87.4% of Democrats really really want her to run. Oh, please, Santa.