Historians Say: Sarah Palin Really Garbled the Paul Revere Story
Right wingers across America are now totally convinced that Paul Revere rode through Boston ringin’ bells and shootin’ off guns to warn the British not to take away American firearms (it’s already become an impenetrable article of faith on the right), so this won’t make any difference to them. But historians agree: Palin’s account was just goofy.
“He didn’t warn the British,” said James Giblin, author of “The Many Rides of Paul Revere.” “That’s her most obvious blooper.”
During her “One Nation Tour” last week, the former Alaska governor uttered a now-infamous recounting of the Revolutionary War hero’s midnight ride, telling reporters that Revere “warned, uh, the … the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells.” She defended her explanation on “Fox News Sunday,” saying “Part of his ride was to warn the British that we’re already there — that, ‘Hey, you’re not going to succeed. ‘”
Experts agree that warning the British — Revere was an American patriot, remember, he was against the folks across the pond — was not crucial to the midnight ride.
“Revere’s assignment that night was to go to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were moving in that direction from Boston,” explained Kristin Peszka, director of interpretation and visitor’s services at the Paul Revere House, which Palin visited Thursday. (Peszka noted that Palin offered her convoluted account before touring the historic site.)
Frank says: