Former Vice President Joe Biden’s selection of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as his running mate was hailed by the liberal media.
The last woman to get the number two slot says it’s proof positive that leftists have it a whole lot better when it comes to the press, and she’s lending some advice to media’s new Wonder Woman.
Palin was of course selected in 2008 to be the running mate to the late Sen. John McCain, becoming the first woman on a major party presidential ticket in a generation, and the first ever for the Republican Party.
Harris’ moment is even more of a milestone, being the first woman of color on the ticket for either party – but while she’s enjoyed fawning coverage largely uncritical of her checkered history on policy, Palin was attacked right out of the gate.
And she knows why.
“I think that those who are just really, really close philosophically, even with politicians and those in the media, the media is going to treat them with some kid gloves,” Palin added.
In other words… it’s all smiles until a conservative shows up.
Then, the former governor said, it’s the “complete opposite treatment when it comes to the different philosophies.”
She said she would never have gotten the same level of press without compromising her principals and her core beliefs – but added that’s just not how she operates. Palin said she “would not have prostituted myself in terms of changing any of my positions in order to garner better press.”
McCain believed his selection of the little-known governor would be a game-changer that would shake up the 2008 campaign, winning him praise from both sides for choosing a young, vibrant woman as his running mate.
And he couldn’t have been more wrong.
The liberal media went into attack mode, highlighting every verbal slip and trip and refusing to cut her even a little slack.
Palin even got the brunt of it from comedy shows, with Tina Fey portraying her on Saturday Night Live as an empty-headed simpleton rather than the accomplished governor of America’s largest state.
Harris, on the other hand, gets a much gentler ribbing from the same show, with Maya Rudolph portraying her as a glamorous made-for-TV candidate.
The portrayal was so friendly that Harris contacted Rudolph and the two “exchanged pleasantries” online over it, the actor told Variety. Harris “said something really funny and cool,” Rudolph gushed.
But Palin’s not bitter about it.
In fact, Palin’s on record saying she hopes Harris has an easier time.
“I hope that the media will treat her candidacy not as personally rough as they treated mine,” she told Good Morning America.
Palin even put politics aside and offered up some friendly advice via Instagram, telling Harris not to trust all the new faces that will appear, fight to keep her own team of advisors who know her best, and “don’t get muzzled.”
“Connect with media and voters in your own unique way,” she wrote. “Some yahoos running campaigns will suffocate you with their own self-centered agenda so remember YOU were chosen for who YOU are.”
And most important of all, she urged Harris to “have fun.”
“This IS the greatest country in the world and hopefully you’ll be blessed beyond belief, like I was, with meeting new people from all walks of life and see just how great it is!” she wrote.
— Walter W. Murray is a reporter for The Horn News. He is an outspoken conservative and a survival expert, and is the author of “America’s Final Warning.”