Sarah Palin Who? & the Hypocrisy of the GOP

Yes, that sound you hear is the collective sigh of people everywhere who are wondering who the heck Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is. The next sound you hear is the cackle made when millions of us realize WHO she is and WHAT she has done so far, and it makes the GOP leadership look like the hypocritical, opportunistic fools that we know they are. This woman's political resume is thinner than a toothpick, and it's just another great example of how the GOP repeats a talking point about their opponent over and over and over, the media runs with it like it's the Gospel truth, and then THEY end up doing the SAME exact thing they decried the Democrats for doing. Whether that talking point is "Experience", "Timetables for Withdrawing from Iraq" or "Negotiating with the Terrorists--i.e., Syria, N. Korea, Iran".

Let's start with the "inexperience" argument which we have had drilled into our heads for the last 2 years regarding Barack Obama, the 47-year-old presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Yet, let's hold his record of 12-plus years of public service inlcuding Illinois State Legislature (1996-2004) along with being a lecturer on Constitutional Law at University of Chicago Law School (1992 to 2004) plus 4 years as a US Senator (2004-2008...). Is there even any comparison? And let's not talk about, Obama's VP choice, Joe Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a man with such foreign policy expertise that he was personally requested by President Saakashvili of Georgia to come for talks during the recent crisis with Russia. Contrast this with the more "experienced" candidate who chose Palin, a political neophyte who has been Governor of Alaska for 1 1/2 years (December, 2006-present) and was former Mayor of Wasilla, population 6,715 from 1996 to 2002! Of course, at this point, her foreign policy experience comes apparently comes from her state Alaska facing Russia across the Bering Straits. Take that, North Korea! Above all, Palin's own peers in Alaska, who should be rooting for a fellow Alaskan don't think much of her executive qualifications. Says Alaska's Republican Senate President, Lyda Green, "She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" Most sane, political analysts wonder though, why McSame would pick Palin instead of say, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. After all, she's TX senior Senator, has been in the Senate since 1993 (15 years), and possesses a considerable amount of national clout in the party in addition to hailing from a key southern state with 34 electoral votes (instead of only 3). Somehow, the good Senator had too much experience for the GOP ticket. In the meantime, the Candidate of Experience came to the conclusion that Palin was perfect for the position after only meeting Palin once in February and talking with her once by phone. McCain never met Palin in person prior to this weekend. As a McCain spokesperson Nancy Pfotenhauer put it, "You're running flat into the wall of my ignorance here," she said. "I truly have no indication whatsoever the extent of a relationship that exists with the Governor of Alaska.".

To her credit, Palin thinks Creationism should be taught in public schools. I agree with that, after all if evolution is recognized as a "theory" by scientists, then it stands to reason that Creationism should also be taught as a "theory" as well. OK, but that's all we have in common. Now for more of Palin's accomplishments & platform... Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest. How inflexible is that? It's commendable that she should bring into the world a child that she was warned would have Down Syndrome, but as I explained in my previous post, "Abortion & The One-Issue Party" there are exceptions to every moral rule. Palin also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska. Also, consider how the irony of Palin running for Governor on the basis of reforming a corrupt state government (Sen. "Uncle" Ted Stevens anyone?), yet Palin ran a 527 for Stevens, the aptly named Excellence in Public Service, Inc., and is herself now under ethics investigation by Alaska's Legislature for politically motivated firings. Yep, she'll definitely fit in well in Washington! Finally, let's discuss Palin's commander in chief credentials, or lack thereof.

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin "extremely responsive and smart" and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.

But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.

Certainly if strong beliefs are all one needs to run for Executive Office in US government, then Sarah Palin definitely has what it takes to run as a Republican candidate. I have no problem with Governor Sarah Palin--0r any woman, for that matter--being considered for VPOTUS, if she actually had significant experience and legislative accomplishments to back up her ambition, but she doesn't.

Of course, if there is any indication from the rousing domestic and foreign policy "successes" of our current President Who's-Name-I-Don't-Like-to-Mention, maybe it really doesn't take that much experience to be Clown-in-Chief of the USA! After all we (not me of course, because I never voted for him) twice elected (and allowed to steal the election) a man who's only claim to fame was being the C-grade son of old money Texas/Connecticut oil barons and bankers. Certainly President George W. Shrub has lowered the bar so that anyone can be President of the US. So if you are a moron, but at least a little bit connected, you too could be President one day!

Abortion & The One-Issue Party

Today I read this Huffington Post article about how the Republican party keeps successfully using the abortion issue (as well as gay rights, guns, affirmative action aka "Stop those Blacks from taking our jobs.") election after election, and the American public is complicit in letting them get away with it.

It is quite disingenuous that the Republican party has nothing to offer over 90% of us but continuous war(s), an increasing $500B federal debt and counting, an economic climate resulting in some of the largest corporate layoffs in history, taxes that take more and more out of the little guy's pockets, conspiring with big insurance, health management and big oil to severely limit our choices for competitive alternatives (in Florida for ex, the insurance industry is famous for buying the Republican lawmakers so that pro-consumer laws are not passed in the state), deregulating the financial industry to such a point that it's players feel no shame about a record number of home foreclosures, under-performing schools, supporting our troops in the form of giving them 3-5 consecutive tours of duty without adequate R&R with family, and the list goes on and on.

Has anyone ever considered that in all the years that Republicans have held the White House & even in the years that Republicans have controlled Congress, abortions have NEVER been reduced? (Since 1980, Republicans have been President 20 out of the last 28 years). It's more rhetoric over substance, and as long as the American voters continue to let one party hold one or two issues over us while screwing us on every other issue we care about, then all we have is our own ignorance to blame (refusing to see the truth). The greatest example I can cite is the 2004 election fraud. We KNEW that George Bush was a sorry President made possible by his father having stacked the Supreme Court. But instead of going with the guy who was smarter, had a more accomplished record, a REAL war hero with command experience (not someone who dressed up and posed by fighter planes like GW), we collectively (especially Christians) chose to be hoodwinked and distracted from those issues most important to us by the Gay Marriage amendments which were introduced state by state by the Republican party for this exact reason. Our resulting disenfranchisement has continued until this day.

I certainly don't condone abortion except in cases where the mother's life is in danger or in extreme cases of health-related complications. As an example, I once had a neighbor named "Mary". Mary was physically limited due to several chronic illnesses & health conditions which she had suffered with her entire life. She and her husband tried for a child, and the Drs. warned her that she was literally risking her life if she tried to birth a child. Well of course they went ahead anyway, and now her quality of life has deteriorated in such a way that I'm not sure how she makes it from day to day. Additionally, Mary's child is severely handicapped as well. Mary herself is to all intents walking dead. In this case, clearly I believe that Mary did the wrong thing by having a child. This situation I cite only as an exception, and it is an exception nonetheless.

The bottom line, though is that we as voters must educate ourselves and find out our local and national candidates platforms and whether they just spout this rhetoric at election time when it counts the most (politically) and whether this matches up with their track record when it really counts (morally). Ask yourself, how is it that we can claim to care so much about a baby before it is born (I myself am pro-life), but yet we stop caring about that baby after birth (the farce of No Child Left Behind which guarantees that schools in better neighborhoods will continue to get state funding while the failing schools in predominately poor neighborhoods who actually NEED the financial assistance will not receive such, no cost-effective health coverage for millions of youth, etc).