Sarah Palin's chaw: Why did she wave chewing tobacco during NRA speech?
Why is Sarah Palin holding up a tin of chewing tobacco? That鈥檚 what attendees at last weekend鈥檚 National Rifle Association convention in Houston might have asked if they weren鈥檛 paying close attention to the speeches. You know, you鈥檙e poking around the merchandise tables, maybe getting a snack, and you look up at the video screens that show the action 鈥� and there鈥檚 the former governor of Alaska waving what appears to be a can of chaw. Does she chew that stuff herself?
No, not as far as we can tell. At least not in public. She was using the chewing tobacco as a visual aid in her battle against what she perceives as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg鈥檚 anti-freedom crusade.
In March at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, Ms. Palin defiantly sipped from a Big Gulp to mock Mayor Bloomberg鈥檚 attempt to limit soda sizes in city restaurants. At the NRA convention she went a bit further, taking the tin of tobacco (no word on what brand) out of her pocket and showing it to the crowd in an attempt to belittle Bloomberg鈥檚 new proposal to forbid stores from publicly displaying tobacco products, set a minimum price for cigarettes, and prevent stores from redeeming tobacco-company coupons.
鈥淒on鈥檛 make me do it!鈥� said Palin to laughter from the crowd, tapping the tin as if she were about to open it. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 funny, though: Todd has been looking for this all morning.鈥�
Now, earlier in the speech, Palin criticized President Obama for using parents from Newtown, Conn., as symbols in his attempt to get a gun-control bill through the Senate.
鈥淢aking them backdrops ... we have leaders who practice the politics of emotion,鈥� Palin said.
Wasn鈥檛 the tobacco tin kind of a backdrop, though? Palin herself is pretty good at riling up a conservative crowd with applause lines, which is also the politics of emotion.
That said, New York City鈥檚 Bloomberg is a good target for a lot of people, since his ambitions are large and his enthusiasms can seem nanny-like. He was even mocked in the cold open of 鈥�Saturday Night Live鈥� this past weekend. was complicated: We鈥檒l just say it involved a 16-liter cup of cherry soda, a fake 鈥淔ox & Friends鈥� interview, and gun control.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 one person American gun owners will listen to, it鈥檚 a northeastern Jewish billionaire,鈥� insisted 鈥淢ayor Bloomberg,鈥� played by Fred Armisen.
Nor is Palin alone in criticizing the proposed ban on visible tobacco. An association of small grocery owners in the city has started a 鈥溾�� campaign, arguing that the move would just create a black market in tobacco products while depriving them of crucial sales.
But it鈥檚 a lot easier to mock soda control than new tobacco regulations, given the science linking illness and tobacco products. Bloomberg has pointed out that some entire nations, such as Canada and Britain, have enacted similar prohibitions on displaying tobacco products. 聽
鈥淭his legislation will help prevent another generation from the ill health and shorter life expectancy that comes with smoking,鈥� Bloomberg .
