I’m going to go right ahead and start with a couple of good links. That way, you don’t actually have to read my diatribe if you’d rather not.
So…what follows is the diatribe. And I’d like to say that my usual slate of qualifiers applies. I am not a pundit. I do little, if any, research. I am a grammarian’s worst nightmare and I am laughably uninformed about so many things. Also - I needed to mow the yard today and I couldn’t get most of my thoughts into the blog so I wrote it down on paper. That’s right! Paper! Suck it, computer!
Everyone’s favorite phrase this morning is “game changer.” That the selection of Sarah Palin “changes the game” for the presidential election. First of all, it ain’t a game. It’s an election. That sort of goes without saying. But I’ll give the pundits their little phrases. Because second of all…game changer, my ass! This doesn’t change anything. It just confirms what everyone already knew; that John McCain will do anything he has to do to pander to the extreme right-wing of his party. And if making them happy wins him the election, he’ll do it. What little I know about this Sarah Palin (more about that in a bit) leads me to believe that she’s sort of a female version of Ralph Reed. And I don’t mean that as a compliment. Evangelical, neo-conservative, anti-choice, anti-gay marriage and all wrapped up in a package that’s designed to be palatable to the populous. A clean and polished veneer just barely hiding the cheap politics lurking underneath. In other words - she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
So let’s jump right into the biggie. Supposedly, the Hillary Clinton supporters are expected to drop everything and support Sarah Palin. Why? Cause she’s a woman. Nothing more.
Not only is this insulting to women voters but its doubly insulting to Clinton supporters and to Hillary Clinton herself, for that matter. Hillary Clinton certainly didn’t shy away from the historical quality of her presidential campaign. Indeed, she embraced it. As did many of her supporters. As did I. But underneath that was an expansive platform of reform-minded politics built on Democratic principles. There was a plan for healthcare and an economic strategy and a tough foreign policy and it was open to all comers including gays and lesbians and African-Americans and supporters of abortion rights and so on…I could go on but I hope you’re getting the picture.
I am well aware that there are PUMAs out there who will jump ship for this choice. And as far as the right-wing base; they were going to walk into the voting booth and pull the lever for McCain no matter how much speculation in the media over “concerns” about McCain’s commitment to conservative ideals. But by choosing a woman just because you think that all women will come along for the ride is chauvinist.
Second, if you’ve done much reading on the political blogs and elsewhere, you’ll remember that in a recent town hall meeting, McCain was pressed pretty hard on picking a VP nominee who would appeal to the neo-cons and social conservatives. And in his response, he said that the only thing that a VP is good for is to cast the tie breaking vote in the Senate and to inquire daily as the the health of the president. Well, at the age of 73, that seems to me to be a pretty fucking important job. So a VP choice with zero foreign policy or legislative experience is not the kind of person you want being a heart-beat away from the presidency. Of course, he went on the record later as saying that he was just joking about how unimportant the choice is. Just joking? I don’t get how that can be the sort of thing you joke about? Isn’t this a serious thing to him?
And yes, I get that this is supposed to negate the entire experience issue. But if you really wanted to negate the issue, why would you walk right into this dead end? Why not pick someone with scads of experience and then really press the issue over the next 67 days? Now, neither one of them can really go far with that line of attack. Not that I mind. I’d love for this to get back to the issues but like I said in my first point, its clear which issues John McCain thinks will get him elected - its the God and guns argument all over again.
I need to wrap this up cause I’m guessing that even a really committed person would have trouble making it to the end of this rambling post. But I want to touch one more issue. I can 100% guarantee that there are strategists in the McCain/Palin campaign trying to cook up ways to paint Joe Biden as just another one of the good ‘ol boy network. That’s supposedly Sarah Palin’s big claim to fame. She went into Alaska’s governorship and “cleaned up all them good ‘ol boys.” Please, for the love of Christ, remember that Joe Biden has a proud record of standing up for women including the landmark legislation on protecting women from violence and on equal pay.
And he’s just as much of an outsider as he is a man who’s been in the Senate for 30+ years. He’s always marched to a different beat and often to his own detriment with his numerous verbal gaffes. So, if there just happen to be any Democratic strategists reading this, please don’t wait until you have no choice but be reactionary and defensive when this argument inevitably presents itself. Go on the offense. Focus on the positives in Biden’s legislative history. Make sure that the voters know, in no uncertain terms, that Biden stands for the working class and stands up for women and can never be painted as just another member of the good ‘ol boys network.
Finally, and after that scornful and poorly researched post of mine, I encourage you to continue visiting two great websites:
- FactCheck.org
- and this nifty new one that FactCheck.org gave props to on a couple of occasions - PolitiFact.org brought to you by the folks at the St. Petersburg Times.
