I'm tired of hearing how potentially great Sarah Palin would be for this country. In reality, her stance on the issues is frightening and her lack of knowledge on some issues is laughable. This is a woman who is staunchly pro-life except when the mother's life is in danger. Apparently rape and incest are ok in her mind-- as far as childbearing goes. She is also for abstinance-only sex ed and that is dangerous not only in terms of unwanted pregnancy but also in terms of spreading sexually transmitted diseases.
She is also against gay rights of any kind-- marriage or even granting spousal privileges to gays. In her world, I guess it's ok to live with and love somebody but be unable to make medical decisions for them or take advantage of their health insurance so you can adopt a baby and raise it with a full-time parent at home.
She is in favor of leaving heathcare exactly the way it is-- with the insurance companies competing for customers and leaving many people without coverage. Only, in her mind, competition will drive down medical costs-- yeah right. Maybe she needs a better pair of glasses because she can't see what free maket heathcare has led to.
She favors drilling in the Alaksan Wildlife Preserve and off the shores of the US to get more oil. She thinks global warming hasn't been caused (at least in part) by humanity. Last time I checked, environmentally-minded individuals favor moving away from fossil fuels because they contribute to global warming. They don't support seeking more fossil fuel to extend our dependency on it. So this means she isn't an expert on environmental policy. But that's what the McCain campaign would like us to believe.
She has been praised for curtailing federal government earmarks that were designed to fund pork projects in Alaska. The feather in her cap here was the so-called "bridge to nowhere" project. The only reason Palin nixed that project was because she found out federal earmarks weren't going to fund the entire thing. When she found out Alaska was going to have to ante up, she axed it. In reality, Palin has accepted more in eamarks than any other governor over the last two years.
Palin has also taxed the people of Alaska so she can remain in her own home instead of living in the governor's mansion in Anchorage and she is championing a bridge to connect her hometown to Anchorage (while possibly necessary, it would certainly facilitate her commute). This is self-serving behavior. Will she be willing to move her family to DC or is she going force the American people to pay for it every time she has to fly down to DC to fulfill her duties as VP if McCain is elected?
She's tough on drugs and tough on crime. But she is also embroiled in a case in which she may have abused her powers to get an individual fired from a job. That sounds like corruption to me-- just not of the fiscal kind.
She has no national level political experience. She is ignorant of foreign policy and international relations. She never even had a passport until last year. But having Russia as her next door neighbor and visting some American troops abroad makes her an expert while being governor of one of the least populated states in the nation supposedly makes her more qualified to be president (if McCain dies) than Barack Obama (if he's elected).
Hmmm. . .I think there is something wong with that because a US Senator with some foreign relations experience and a whole lot of national-level policy-making experience makes Barack Obama a thousand times more qualified for the presidency than Palin could ever hope to be.
I think Palin was put on the Republican Presidential ticket because she rallies the ulta-conservative Republican base and she might appeal to certain so-called feminists who would vote for a woman just because she's woman. I honestly hope most American women are smarter than that.
So let's focus on the issues in this election. Let's dispense with the mud slinging and the name calling (McCain's entire campaign stratgey thusfar). And let's move away from "family values" because, in all honesty, the government has no right to force any values on anybody-- especially when the values the government pomotes are those of the ultra-right. The government should be responsible for keeping people safe from its enemies, themselves, and the people and organizations that mainpulate the financial markets and make life harder for everybody.
The debates should help you choose who to vote for. Because the debates will tell you what each candidate stands for and what his plan for the country is. So watch the debates and ask yourself these questions as you do:
Who really wants out of Iraq? Do they have a plan?
What would the benefits be of getting out of Iraq?
Would pulling out of Iraq be any more damaging than pulling out of Vietnam was?
What could we do in the US with all the extra money that goes to fight Iraq ($10 BILLION a month)?
What would it be like to have affordable health insurance for everybody?
Does saving Social Security matter?
Does affordable college education matter?
Does actually funding the federal mandates for grade school and high school education matter?
Does a healthy economy with good jobs for Americans matter?
How have tax breaks for the rich and the corporations screwed the rest of us?
How would continuing these tax breaks or amending them but keeping them screw us for even longer?
Does the candidate have a viable plan for accomplishing their platform?
Who is willing to confront issues?
Who is willing to outline how they will fund their plans and how realistic is this outline?
Then ask yourself how each candidate's positions jibe with your own opinions and your own needs. Then make your choice based on the issues-- not on who would be more fun to hang out with or who has the best family values platform. Vote the real issues and vote with your heads.
Just THINK before you vote.
THINKING. . it hurts. but ya gotta do it sometimes
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Comments 1-10 of 10
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Posted by Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:35pm PDT
Report AbuseWell said about Palin. She is a ticking time bomb in my eyes. She scares me and what she may be capable of. Scary.
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Posted by Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:46pm PDT
Report Abuseand good ol osama,,,has a whopping,,143 days in the senate?
you kids really need too do your homework
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Posted by Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:49pm PDT
Report Abusestraightforward;
my thoughts excactly.
thanks to you for the post.
peace and blessings to you and yours.
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Posted by Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:59pm PDT
Report AbuseI haven't done enough research on Palin but judging so far from her speech and the trouble she's going through, i just don't think she's capable enough. I really don't care for the fact she's a woman. That would never affect my vote.
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Posted by Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:47am PDT
Report AbuseExcellent post and well stated.
After examning her political past in Alaska, I've discoverred that Sarah Palin is just clever enough to play a shell game. She will appeal, with her " aw shucks" speeches, to those voters with little education or who were drop outs... like her pregnant daughter's boyfriend. He is in good company.,. Alaska has the highest drop out rate in the country.
Last Thursday, Sec. Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke laid the groundwork for the biggest government bailout in history. This will leave American tax payers deeply in debt to the tune of one trillion dollars.
But John McCain insists on promising tax cuts to the tune 3.3 billion and staying in Iraq at the cost of 10 million a month. He is a sad,senile old man who just doesn't get it.
John may win, but it will be a one term presidency. Hillary Clinton will run again in 2012 and will wipe the floor with him. If Americans think they are in dire straits now, just wait until you have a McCain presidency.
It might be wise to withdraw your money and bury it in coffee cans in the back yard. Ill winds have always surrounded McCain. No reason to believe his "maverick" nonsense now.
As one Canadian said, " If Americans elect John McCain, it will show the world just how collectively stupid they are."
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Posted by Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:52am PDT
Report AbusePK. . First I'd like to see where your data comes from. Mine comes from
http://www.ontheissues.org/Sarah_Palin.htm
You can compare her record with Obama's using http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm
And you can compare McCain and Obama using
http://www.ontheissues.org/John_McCain.htm
Overall, Obama has 143 more days, over a thousand more bills sponsored, and several hundred more bills passed than Palin. It also means he has been building ties on the national political scene for the last two plus years (he was sworn in in January 2005).
Obama and McCain are more or less polar opposites on every issue except the environment and, to a degree, gay marriage. McCain's environmental position changed drastically and his position on gay marriage softened slightly only when he started running for president. So he is seemingly telling people what they want to hear to win votes when his actual track record indicates that he was not friendly to either issue until the last year or so.
Obama has been consistent in his actions and his platform since his first day in the Senate. It may 143 days. But it's 143 days of consistency.
So let me ask you this. . .Do want a president who is going to tell the people what they want to hear so he can be elected? Do you want to risk that he will turn around and continue supporting the policies he has supported consistently over the years-- policies that are the exact opposite of what his campaign platform claims? McCain presents that risk.
Do you really want somebody as inexperienced as Palin serving as the head of the Senate? That is one of the VP's jobs. Do you really think she's qualified if she has no idea what Charles Gibson meant when he referred to the Bush Doctrine? Anybody who has watched the national news consistently over the last years would know what Gibson meant. Do you really want a VP who still thinks Iraq was somehow connected to 9/11 when all but the most staunch Bush supporters know different? And how many days do think Plain will actually be in the Senate as the presiding officer if she continues her current insistence on living in her own home in Alaska?
She's not a national level leader. And if McCain is elected and something happens to him, she's be a much worse alternative than Dan Quayle was for Papa Bush.
Like I said. . thinking hurts. . but ya gotta do it sometimes.
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Posted by Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:24am PDT
Report AbuseLast Wednesday, McCain held his first townhall meeting with Palin. Unlike other town hall meetings with John, this one was by invitation only.. and although he tried to distance them, campaign reporters were there as they have the right to be.
Palin began her famous one liners, ( where she laughs at her own jokes) and her " aw shucks ", obviously rehearsed statements. But then it happened.
Reporters started throwing substansive questions at Palin. ( AIG, Iran, North Korea...). McCain tried to deflect, but of course, he's helpless without Phil Gramm or Rick Davis prodding him on.The meeting ended abruptly.
It is beyond amazing why anyone with even a few brain cells would find that debacle to be acceptable behavior for two people who want to make policy for this country and assist in policy for the free world.
Perhaps some Republican can shed some light on this and enlighten us about the true purpose of a town hall meeting. I have never heard of a town hall meeting that has restrictions.
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Posted by Sat Sep 20, 2008 11:08am PDT
Report AbuseGreat post F&S,and some really great comments. Unfortunately it won't make much difference for those who support McCain/ Palin. I say thanks but no thanks. Keep fighting. OBAMA08!!!!!
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Posted by Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:59pm PDT
Report AbuseThinking does hurt! But ya got to do it. I can't tell you how grateful I am for these posts. So helpful.
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