ESSAY- It's okay now: Now that you're a Republican
IOKIYAR.
In Internet circles, that's the acronym for "It's OK if you're a Republican," the recurring phenomenon in which Republicans get a pass for the behavior that would doom Democrats.
And in the past couple of weeks, there's been no shortage of IOKIYAR incidents.
Once upon a time, teen pregnancy was bad. "Bearing children out-of-wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child's parents, and society," wrote Christian Right leader James Dobson. But that was before one of their own was involved.
With unwed 17-year-old Bristol Palin's pregnancy suddenly in the news, what had previously been a societal ill became the most wonderful thing in the world. Bristol had "chosen life"! All other teen mothers also "chose life," of course, but they don't have the good fortune of being born to the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Even conservative writer Byron York of the National Review, struck by this blatant example of IOKIYAR, observed, "If the Obamas had a 17-year-old daughter who was unmarried and pregnant by a tough-talking black kid, my guess is if that they all appeared onstage at a Democratic convention and the delegates were cheering wildly, a number of conservatives might be discussing the issue of dysfunctional black families."
Asked to comment on the situation, the McCain camp responded: "The bottom line is no, we're not concerned about it. [Bristol] chose life when it came down to it." Sarah and Todd's Bristol statement declared, "We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby." It was surprising to see Republicans talk the language of "choice," given they've fought so long to deny that choice to other women. Then again, IOKIYAR.
As is community organizing. Ironically, one Tuesday night, the theme of the Republican convention was "Service." In George H.W. Bush's inaugural speech in 1989, he said, "I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding." But apparently, community organizing is OK only if you are a Republican, since convention speeches by Rudy Giuliani, Palin, and others mocked Obama's work as a community organizer.
Remember, IOKIYAR. Like ... using sexism as a shield to hide from legitimate political criticism. When Hillary Clinton complained during her primary campaign earlier this year, none other than Sarah Palin said, "When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate, with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism or, you know, maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think that doesn't do us any good, women in politics, women in general wanting to progress this country."
"Perceived whining?" IOKIYAR. "The Republican Party will not stand by while Gov. Palin is subjected to sexist attacks," said top GOP surrogate Carly Fiona in an effort to shield Palin from legitimate criticism of her shocking lack of qualification for high office.
What about qualifications for the office of vice president? When Tim Kaine's name was floated as a potential Democratic vice presidential pick, top GOP strategist Karl Rove mocked his experience on "Face the Nation": "He was mayor of the 105th-largest city in America [...] it's smaller than Chula Vista, Calif., Aurora, Colo., Mesa or Gilbert, Ariz., North Las Vegas, or Henderson, Nev. It's not a big town."
Richmond has a population of 200,123. Wasilla, Alaska, had a population of 6,000 during Palin's mayoral term. Not a big town. But IOKIYAR.
Finally, how many flag pins did McCain and Palin wear during their convention speeches?
None.
IOKIYAR.
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Moulitsas is founder and publisher of liberal blog site Daily Kos and a columnist at The Hill, the Capitol Hill daily Congress-covering newspaper where this essay first appeared.
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