Friday, October 25, 2013

YOU DO REALIZE THAT PEOPLE FAINT AT OTHER POLITICIANS' PUBLIC APPEARANCES, DON'T YOU?

The principal reason that Republicans, now including Sarah Palin, have become "fainting truthers" is that they're crazy and delusional and unhealthily obsessed with harming President Obama and all Democrats every waking moment of their lives.
Sarah Palin got quite a kick out of a fringe right-wing conspiracy theory that the White House staged a woman's fainting at an event earlier this week -- but she can't blame people for buying it!

... Palin, ... on her Facebook page ..., called the whole thing "hilarious" and stopped short of fully endorsing the theory. But she still sympathized with the true believers....
The woman is pregnant and has diabetes, as even the Daily Caller has acknowledged. But the conspiracy theory arose nonetheless.

Right-wingers are insane, but a minor factor in this particular mania is the notion that Obama is the only politician who ever experiences this sort of thing.

That's not true. A woman fainted at a 2003 George W. Bush speech in San Antonio. A 2011 Rick Santorum speech featured a fainting incident. Hell, there was a fainting incident at a 2007 campaign appearance by Fred Thompson. Fred Thompson!

Fainting in the presence of politicians has a long history. A woman fainted at one of Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural balls in 1953. A woman fainted at a Teddy Roosevelt speech in 1912. A Thomas Dewey campaign appearance in 1948 included a fainting incident.

You don't have to be a charismatic Democrat to have fainting incidents at your public appearances. Yes, it happened to Bill Clinton in 1996. And in 2008. And, um, in 2010. (OK, maybe it does happen more often to charismatic Democrats.) But it also happened at a Walter Mondale rally in 1984. Walter Mondale!

So, yes, people faint in the presence of Barack Obama. They also faint in the presence of other politicians. People faint in crowds. Get over it.

16 comments:

Victor said...

This, from the people in a party in which having ready access to fainting-couches, is mandatory.

If it wasn't for his travelling fainting-couch, Lindsey Graham would already have two broken shoulders, two busted knees, and permanent brain dama...
Never mind.
Some things, even a fainting-couch can't prevent.
If Einstein had to deal with John McCain and Joe Lieberman as often as Lindsey's had to, he'd be a gibbering fucking imbecile by now, too.

I'm waiting for them to criticize Obama because only ONE person fainted!

A really great speaker, like Ted Cruz-ader, would have at least THREE women fainting!!!

Now, watch for that - women fainting at functions where the great Teddy Cruz-ader makes an appearance.

Victor said...

What's it like, Dennis, to be a stalker?

I'm curious.

Do tell!

Anonymous said...

It doesn't have anything to do with the politician. A lot of people don't know how to stand still for a while. So they lock their legs and down they go like a sack of we potatoes. So if you're going to make people stand while you give a speech, best make that shit quick or fuckers are going to start dropping.

This is why there are all sorts of tricks for bending your knees in the military in ways that people can't see... because when you don't you fall out standing at attention or parade rest. Except there, nobody will help you, you just get laughed at and yelled at later.

Never Ben Better said...

Watch out! Projection vomiting just above!

Well, till out host does yet another cleanup ion Aisle 0.

Never Ben Better said...

"our"..."in"...

Need coffee...............

Dark Avenger said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve M. said...

OK, that's it:

Dennis is banned.

If you persist in feeding this troll, I will begin banning anyone who responds to him as well -- in any way, shape, or form.

Dennis is a non-person here. Is that understood?

Victor said...

Uhm...
You might want to remind us every so often, Steve, since occasionally the inter-tube filtration straining device you use actually works periodically, and blocks him and his newest IP address - for a while.

Hopefully, we'll remember that when he stalks here again - and hopes to troll some of us regulars into No More Mister Nice Blog Purgatory.

Dark Avenger said...

Gotcha, Steve.

NAL said...

Do we apply the term "fainting" to only women and the term "passing out" to men? Maybe we should use "loss of consciousness."

Dark Avenger said...

I think I'm going to have a fainting spell if I don't get banned from here.

Unknown said...

Tough as I imagine myself to be, I gotta admit that if I was suddenly confronted with Ike's inaugural balls, I might faint too.

Never Ben Better said...

Gotcha, Steve.

aimai said...

I took my children to see Barack Obama speak here in Boston a few years ago. There were only supposed to be about 600 people at this thing so it was small but still getting in, screened, and then waiting was hellishly long. This was not a venu with seating, either, so you stood for the entire of what turned out to be nearly five hours. The very elderly were given seats at the front but the rest of us stood. I'm surprised more people didn't collapse, actually. Middle class Americans don't stand around forlong periods of time. Their jobs usually involve sitting. People faint in crowds. Always have, always will.

Anonymous said...

@NAL

I've never known either term to be gender specific in the slightest. Passing out usually implies you drop due to exhaustion, alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, along those lines. Fainting is from shock, emotion, seeing blood, or when you are otherwise physically fine and then lose it.

Either gender can pull either one off.

Ten Bears said...

Ever see those holy-roller Christian Dominionist Fundamental Evangelical Nazis go all tongue-talking and such? Faint all over the place, squeal like little girls at a Beatles concert, make as much sense as a Tea Bagger.

It's really rather humorous.

Not insane, as you mention elsewhere today. Mentally ill. A menace to society.

No fear.