The Failing of Sarah Palin
Although John McCain has voted with President Bush 90% of the time, it’s his Vice-Presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, who is most like Bush. You would think that after eight years of enduring the most unpopular president in modern times, Americans would balk at an anti-science candidate who calls the war in Iraq “a task of God” and admits that she hasn’t thought much about it. The media, who seem to have been bullied into backing off from further probes into Palin’s background, are now touting her as a down-home rising star.
But the folksy thing backfired with Bush. His lack of foreign policy experience and lack of interest in the world beyond Republican politics proved to be devastating. Are we going to fall for it again? Do we really want (by her own admission) a pit bull in lipstick who wants to ban books and have creationism taught in schools a heartbeat away from the Presidency?
Not only does Palin denounce the science behind climate change, she is gung-ho to drill in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Preserve (a band-aid solution to our reliance on foreign oil). She wants to deny a woman’s right to choose abortion even in the case of incest and rape, and is willing to play politics using the same old bent rule book that Bush used, the one that got us into Iraq in the first place: Saying it is so makes it so whether it’s true or not.
In Palin’s RNC speech, written by George Bush’s speechwriter, we heard once again about those evil Democrats who raise taxes, and yet Democratic candidate Obama proposes a tax break for 95% of Americans. We heard that Democrats can’t wait to pass programs they can’t pay for, and yet it was a Democrat (Clinton) who balanced the budget and paid down the deficit and a Republican (Bush) who has blown it sky high. We heard that Senator Obama hasn’t passed any significant legislation when the record shows that is not so.
I find it ironic that Palin puts down Obama’s celebrity-like appeal when that is what she herself is riding on, or that she feels comfortable belittling his grassroots community organizing two decades ago in Chicago, while complaining at the same time that her past job as a mayor of a small town isn’t being taken serious.
I’m tired of linguistic twists that dumb down smart voters and candidates by calling them elitist. Sadly, the spirit of hope and non-partisanship I was uplifted by listening to Obama at the DNC has been deflated by Palin and others using the same old Rush Limbaugh-like name calling tactics that stop debate on the issues, make differences personal, and further separate Americans. ~ Colleen Redman
Post note: Watch the video of Republican political pundit Peggy Noonan and others questioning Palin’s experience while unaware they were being broadcast HERE.
September 5th, 2008 12:35 am
AMEN! I wish I could write that about 100 times bigger!
September 5th, 2008 7:03 am
I agree 100 times over!
September 5th, 2008 7:16 am
I couldn’t have said it better…it scares the heck out of me to think McCain/Falin could get elected…that the American people are either so easily duped or worse, that this is what they want.
September 5th, 2008 7:27 am
PS…I’m sure the Bush speechwriter was jumping for joy…he finally had someone deliver his speech who could speak! Too, is it me, or does McCain get the same stupid on his face as Bush after delivering a line? He says it,pauses, and then smiles…as if on cue. Oh noooooooooooooo!!!
September 5th, 2008 7:27 am
And shouldn’t we be able to ask Palin some questions? Like say, asking her where she stands on the issues? But guess what? She’s going back to AK for awhile rather than on the campaign trail.
Read about it at Mudflats: http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/palin-leaves-campaign-trail-flees-north/
And while you’re at this wonderful blog, check out his other entries. He’s the best. Groundbreaking news before it gets to Daily Kos, Huffington Post and all the rest. He’s from AK himself and knows the people and places. As he says, “I am a citizen who is paying attention.”
Thanks for paying attention Colleen. Great post.
September 5th, 2008 8:03 am
I find the whole situation scary and useless. We need honest dialogue about the problems affecting people, not more grandstanding.
September 5th, 2008 8:08 am
colleen, this very powerful and truthful text is so well written and succinct. i wish you could send it to the op/ed pages of all the major newspapers in the ocuntry. i am so weary of the radical republican right and everything they stand for. interestingly palin and her family wanted to “choose” how to handle bristol’s pregnancy, but she doesn’t think i or my friends have the right to choose how to handle our own?! who do they think they are?! we can only hope the independents and undecideds are wise enough to look beyond the propaganda and pay attention to platform and history. international inexperience, the absence of intelligent skill in many arenas, sheer arrogance, and extraordinary narcissism is how we got into this nightmare. why repeat it?
i am certain the recent republican attacks on the national media is an offensive move to protect palin from interviews. if the party is angry with the media and cancels interviews as a result (already done!) then palin will be protected from the reporter, pundit, or commentator who might ask her a specific foreign policy question. for example, i am sure the party would like to delay a question about georgia which could result in a reply about how much growth has occurred in atlanta during the past decade.
September 5th, 2008 8:58 am
That is the best commentary on Palin that I have read in the past week, because it doesn’t resort to her “inexperience” as the reason she was a poor choice.
Truth is, for McCain, she was a great choice. I think he improved his chances dramatically by chosing Palin.
It’s her positions that make her a horrible choice. I hope Obama can deflate the bubble over the next 60 days.
September 5th, 2008 9:08 am
Way to cut through the grease. This is a cogent and powerful summary of the facts in the Palin case. I would certainly like to see it reprinted in the national media, where few analysts seem able to penetrate the current “glamor” of this mean-spirited individual . I only wish that more voters were motivated by the kind of reason expressed in this piece, rather than by the kinds of manipulative rhetorical sentiments that surround this candidate. Bill Mahr shocked me recently when he said that “Americans are too stupid to be governed.” But, when so many voters seem bedazzled by the likes of Palin, in direct opposition to the facts, their own self-interests, and expressed dissatisfaction with the current regime, I begin to wonder. As Spock said to Kirk….” They are not logical, Captain.”
September 5th, 2008 10:05 am
I’ve sent it to the Roanoke Times to begin with.
September 5th, 2008 10:25 am
My wife looked at me during the speechifying and asked just one question…Where in the world would you like to move if they manage to steal another election? Keep in mind that my wife is not politically motivated at all. Doesn’t follow the issues doesn’t watch the shows…She just knows what she saw wasn’t what she wants to live through for another four to eight years.
The straw that may break this camel’s back is the feeling, that seems to be growing, that our kids will have a rougher time than we did in trying to get ahead in the American dream.
I just can’t help but wonder in what America these Republican Politicians have been living, trying to lay every thing at the feet of the Democrats…Didn’t they have a “Contract With America” starting about 14 years ago? Didn’t they shut down the government trying to force their agenda through? Didn’t they, starting in 2000, take over control of every branch of the government? In the past 15 years haven’t they privatized practically every portion of the public sector to our detriment? Yet, in every speech for two nights, they laid all of the failings of their agenda at the feet of Democrats…Isn’t it enough that the Democrats, if we can get “selected”, will have to try and repair the damage the Republicans have caused?
Sorry for the rant…I just have had enough of the Red state of America here lately.
September 5th, 2008 10:55 am
Colleen, I actually felt/feel all four candidates have strengths and weaknesses…I was just hoping to figure out which had the best combination. I don’t like everything the Democrats stand for or everything the Republicans stand for. And yet, I was looking forward to finding out more. However, in the last couple of days the half-truths/lies/slamming on both sides has pretty much made me feel like “I give up.” I don’t know…politics is politics and there’s just no getting around it. Feeling rather jaded today so I better get outside and listen to the trees. 😉
Susan
Susan
September 5th, 2008 12:05 pm
I think you’re right that Palin may be more like Bush – but I don’t know if she is going to be cast in that role. Personally, I think it appears as though Sarah Palin is going to be used purely for the headlines that she is able to grab. It appears more and more that the Republican Party is shifting this election to a referendum on personality, and shoving the issues further back under the rug. John McCain is banking on Sarah Palin the person, not Sarah Palin the governor or politician. I did a big write up on this, for anybody that is curious:
http://wearevotingyes.blogspot.com/2008/09/transformation-of-republican-party.html
September 5th, 2008 1:04 pm
I don’t like Palin at all…I think she’s a horrible candidate.
September 5th, 2008 2:44 pm
hear, hear!
September 5th, 2008 3:19 pm
Col,
Do you want to meet me for Samantha’s next football game at the home school (A)? It might be next Thursday night. Visit my blog or email me on the link.
September 5th, 2008 6:03 pm
Brava.
September 5th, 2008 8:04 pm
Thank you for posting this. It’s nice to see a balance view of someone who is just weird. Everything about her is non-transparent and surrounded in secrecy. From the baby she supposedly had, but never looked pregnant and went back to work 3 days later, to her daughter’s pregnancy to Alaskan oil to…. sigh.
I feel hopeless most of the time. My heart cheers when I see you write this.
Someone else sees what I see….
September 5th, 2008 10:28 pm
I think Palin is the end result of 30 years of TV watching by Americans. Their reasoning faculties are gone, dumbed down by watching too much Jerry Springer. Americans are the most entertained and least informed people in the world. Palin is what happens when the National Enquirer/Star mentality takes over the country. I’m with Gary Boyd’s wife – where do we move to?
September 5th, 2008 10:40 pm
More evidence, should you need it, that most Americans could care less if any of their “leaders” know anything at all about economics, diplomacy, international issues, or anything other than celebrity gossip.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/05/no-questions-palin-wont-t_n_124256.html
Clinton and what’s-her-face is Exhibit “A”. That the Republicans could nearly drive the man from office over that incident and the Democrats can’t drive Bush out of office over his crimes, says everything. Long live the National Enquirer!!
September 6th, 2008 9:30 am
“She wants to deny a woman’s right to choose abortion even in the case of incest and rape, and is willing to play politics using the same old bent rule book that Bush used, the one that got us into Iraq in the first place: Saying it is so makes it so whether it’s true or not. In Palin’s RNC speech, written by George Bush’s speechwriter”
Where do you get this horse crap? You should wake up to reality, and at least give credit to where you get misinformed!
September 6th, 2008 10:23 am
Thanks for succinctly putting into words what I’ve been feeling all week. Its hard to beleive that McCain thought he could sway Hillary voters by putting a woman on his ticket who is as anti-woman as any right wing republican male.
September 6th, 2008 10:40 am
Thanks for such a well written post regarding the positions of Sarah Palin. I’m glad you are sending it out beyond the blogosphere. The folks that agree with Palin won’t listen, but there are some readers who may not know that our freedom to make decisions about our bodies is in great danger. As one writer said just think, Supreme Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court. The next president will have perhaps as many as 3 opportunities to appoint new Justices.
September 6th, 2008 10:50 am
DE: Palin’s stance against abortion even in the case of rape and incest has been reported in a number of places. Google it yourself.
As for my comment about the rule book she is willing to play from, I followed that comment with a brief list of some of what she said in her speech that was hype to make that point.
Hey, Anna! Nice to hear from you. Have you seen this video with clips on the Republican double standard here?
Thanks to all for your comments, links, and insights.
September 6th, 2008 3:45 pm
You go girl, thanks for speaking up, I couldn’t agree more. This election is becoming even more terrifying than the last. Camelot is long gone. Politics make me want to cry.
September 6th, 2008 3:46 pm
Well said and well written. Thanks for putting the research hours in for me.
~Mara
September 6th, 2008 3:47 pm
XO
September 6th, 2008 4:42 pm
Well-said, Colleen! I feel such despair over the fact that many of my fellow blue-collar friends, most of whom make under thirty-thousand a year will very likely vote a McCain/Palin ticket. When my carpenter husband went to work the day after Palin’s speech, almost all of his fellow workers were talking about how much they loved Palin. You would think that after eight years of Bush, they wouldn’t fall for that tough-talking, cowboy persona crap…but apparently, they lapped it up. I keep thinking of that Bible verse–“All we like sheep have been led astray.” We have become a nation of sheep.
September 6th, 2008 5:47 pm
P.S. I realized after I read my comment that the verse (in Isaiah) actually says, “all we like sheep have GONE astray.” But, thinking of sheep, I can’t help but remember the verse from Matthew that says, “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly, they are ravening wolves.” Perhaps that verse applies here.
And the sheep dumbly follow….
September 6th, 2008 5:56 pm
Maybe we tend to see what we want to see and often want to see the best in people, or do we want to see ourselves projected?
Anyways, I always appreciate your wise and down to earth comments, Beth.
September 7th, 2008 11:11 am
If you read my blogs from this past week, you’ll see I totally agree with all you said.
Like you, I was feeling a big discouraged a few days ago, but I’m back to feeling very energized and upbeat now. Both Ray and I are very involved as volunteers for Obama’s campaign and that alone gives me renewed energy.
September 7th, 2008 12:00 pm
Spectacular assessment of Palin. As for the whole pitbull/lipstick thing, my question is this: why would you waste perfectly good lipstick on a dog?
Thanks for this great commentary. I hope the swing voters see this sham for what it is.
September 7th, 2008 5:04 pm
I am so glad you wrote this. She scares me. She would actually set things back 40 years…and she is just so barbaric. Have you seen all those shots of her all covered in blood. She is for aerial hunting in Alaska. No sport just big money. The abortion thing got me of course.
I hope you will click the last link on my post today. It is a clip about why we can’t talk about Sarah on the Daily show and Coleen it is one of the best clips I’ve seen in a long time.
September 7th, 2008 5:35 pm
It certainly will be interesting watching from north of the border! And we have our federal election on Oct. 14th!
September 7th, 2008 10:15 pm
Oh Colleen, it is so disheartening to me. I do NOT understand what so many people see in Palin, at all. And that SHE could possibly be President given ALL she believes in frightewns me like Germany in the Early 30’s was frightening….It’s like all these people have drunk ‘the Cool-Aid’….And, as you said, the HOPE which was palpable a few months ago, now seems to have been shot down by the Rovian Tactics that are being used by The Republicans. Eight years of so much that will take God knows how many years to ubdo…And these people want more and maybe worse? Depressing, beyond belief.
September 8th, 2008 9:19 am
We live in a country where our right to choose is protected. Passion for whomever or whatever is to be expected. My only concern is the youth of this country seem to get their info from sound bites and not real research . The sound bites playing on my tv are nowhere near what the real candidates are and that is sad. That’s the way the Bush campaign went, too. Many people will not dig for the congressional records, etc.
September 8th, 2008 11:00 am
All of us who read the blogs and feel the need to get the word out, should help volunteer in Floyd. There are many ways of helping. We are going door to door, phone banking, registering and updating voters. We all need to do as much as we can. Obama needs to win in the 9th district to carry Virginia in the elections. We all have to get out to make this happen. If you have any questions about volunteering you may call me, Deborah Baum at 745-6776 or Jordon Brooks Field Organizer for Floyd at 315-243-5739
September 8th, 2008 11:07 am
Thanks, Deborah!
September 13th, 2008 2:41 am
just got contacted by “women against sarah palin”. Do you know about this. 2 women sent out an email on Sept. 3 to 40 friends asking them to send the email out to 20 friends….then they created a blog spot; http://www.womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/
They have received over 100,000 comments on the blog (in a week). You can read them at the above site. You have to scroll down to get to the actual entries and the stories are strong, beautiful, mindful, passionate and intelligent.