Not only that, Sacha. This whole convention is about "country first," sacrificing for a good cause. Obama went straight out of college and bypassed Wall Street to go to the poverty-stricken streets of Chicago to help people improve their lives. And Sarah Palin says this is a bad thing? Most GOP talking points merely annoy me. This one angered me. Community organizing is a noble and thankless task for most people. It's all about putting others first, more than riding in the Wasilla town parade every year.

The difference is that these people have day jobs and volunteer in their spare time.  Obama thought "community organizing" was a career.  Hence Palin's line about a Mayor being a community organizer with "actual responsibility."

Thank you for bringing attention to this. One of the ugliest marks in a mean, nasty night.

This is loaded short hand for the African-American community - it will be employed all the way.

It's because most Americans don't know what "community organizing" actually is and "community" sounds kinda like a euphemism for "communist" and "organizing" sounds a lot like, well, labor, unions, all that. And, no, a Republican delegate, even if he organized a community, would  not call himself a community organizer; he'd call himself a "civic leader" or some such.

New Republican motto: "Real Americans bowl alone."

Slightly more seriously, when your party has gained power, screwed over the community but good, and then the community responds by telling pollsters that they'd rather elect decomposing possum carcasses than your party's candidates, it's only natural to start feeling a little anger toward the community and anyone who would help the community organize to act on its preferences. The basic theme of the 2008 GOP is that America would be a great country if not for all those goddamn American people. "Democracy is not a popularity contest," as Yogi Berra would say if he were a bitter Republican.

It depends on the community you're organizing, doesn't it? Republicans want poor people in urban areas (Democrats)  to sit down, shut up, and accept their stewardship and demonization. Anyone who tries to fool with that idea is both a foolish idealist and a dangerous radical. When they think of urban organization, they're thinking of imported Brooks Brothers rioters or fired up hardhats eager to beat up cultural elites and nattering nabobs. What year is this again?  

Maybe the slogan:  "Why do Republicans hate democracy?" might have some traction.

The Plank Disrespectful, Angry, and Effective , by Franklin Foer Why So Down on the Community? , by Sacha

Because, Sacha, to most people, "community organizer" sounds like a bullshit job.

And the unspoken response of most people to a person describing himself as such is "get a real job".