Sarah Palin Disinvited From Republican Fundraiser

Sarah Palin's invitation to speak at a Republican dinner tonight has again been rescinded by the event's organizers. It seems the Alaska moose-hunting has-been was invited earlier this spring, but did not RSVP quickly enough for event planners' comfort, so they moved on and asked Newt Gingrich to be the key-note speaker.

When Palin finally got around to responding that she would attend, she was reinvited. This put organizers in the awkward position of having two GOP stars speaking at the same event. So, out of respect for Gingrich, they advised Palin's people that she would be welcome to attend the dinner, but would not be scheduled to speak.

I wouldn't even devote space to the gun-totin' baby-granny except that this debacle illustrates two important points about the current state of affairs in the Republican party:

In the absence of strong leadership, clear direction and new ideas, the GOP is still fumbling in the dark. The country has rejected their old-school dirty politics, abuse of power and antiquated, 19th-century values. They have nothing new to bring to the table so they stay the course, with no one at the helm, heading directly into the path of an oncoming iceberg.

The second and most important point is that the "R" in RSVP stands for responde, or as our English-speaking friends say, respond. Maybe they don't teach the common courtesies in the wilds of Alaska, but in my country the delay of a response to an invitation leaves the planning of an event in limbo (or in this case Limbaugh). The hostess doesn't know how many stuffed artichokes to prepare, how many cater-waiters to hire or who gets stuck sitting next to Bill O'Reilly. Aside from the practical aspects, it's just plain rude. Just ask Martha Stewart.

What this FUBAR'd GOP sideshow illustrates more than anything else is that there are practical aspects to being gay friendly. This never would have happened if they had let the gays run things. No one can pull off a flawless suaree like we can. The cardinal rule of planning a successful party is that you never invite two divas to the same event, especially as the guest of honor. It's a hair-pulling, mascara-running cat fight waiting to happen.

This is what happens when you let your bigotry override your common sense. The elephant has become a mastodon sinking into a tar pit of its own creation.