busyYesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.
Huh?
Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:
* She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1
* Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
* She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.3
* Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
* She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
* She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She 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.6
* How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.7
This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.
We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:
She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. --Rose M., Fairbanks, AK
She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. --Christine B., Denali Park, AK
As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. --Karen L., Anchorage, AK
Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.--Sherry C., Anchorage, AK
She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. --Marina L., Juneau, AK
I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.--Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK
So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.
In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.
In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.
Thanks for all you do.
--Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=10
3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=11
4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=12
5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin--ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=13
6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=14
"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=15
"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=16
7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13660-302037-M0CX7Ox&t=17
August 30 2008, 16:50:15 UTC 12 years ago
I have seen this sentiment rippling across my friendslist and the liberal blogosphere. Needless to say, I entirely agree.
August 30 2008, 16:58:13 UTC 12 years ago
Palin doesn't seem to support issues that affect women directly, such as reproductive freedom. She also takes a shortsighted view of things like climate change, oil drilling, and the environment rather than considering how people's actions now will affect what kind of world we leave to our children.
August 30 2008, 16:58:38 UTC 12 years ago
Let's just hope they don't win then.
Point number two disgusted me, greatly.
August 30 2008, 17:04:21 UTC 12 years ago
Have you read Sherri S. Tepper's novel The Fresco? One of the more amusing subplots involved large numbers of pro-life men being impregnated by aliens.
August 30 2008, 17:19:11 UTC 12 years ago
Hmm...
August 30 2008, 17:36:29 UTC 12 years ago
Re: Hmm...
12 years ago
August 31 2008, 19:42:07 UTC 12 years ago
O_O
12 years ago
12 years ago
Hmm...
12 years ago
August 30 2008, 19:23:18 UTC 12 years ago
August 30 2008, 20:17:44 UTC 12 years ago
I could make all kinds of disparaging remarks to others about what McCain's choice means in terms of Sarah Palin's astounding inappropriateness as a potential Vice President, but what I'd really like to see people emphasizing is what this choice says about John McCain.
This choice is a "win at all costs" move. This choice shows absolute disdain for the discernment of women, to think that having Any Woman would be enough to draw their votes. This apparent opinion of women's discernment is particularly insulting to any women who might (still) be disappointed that Hillary is not in the running, as Sarah Palin is about as diametrically opposed to Hillary's politics as one could possibly find in a female candidate.
But what is most telling, I believe, is what this says about John McCain's decision-making abilities. This is, perhaps, one of the most important decisions he has had to make in his quest for the White House - and in this decision, he has failed ... horribly.
Forget what might happen if his health fails -- do we want someone who has demonstrated such poor decision-making abilities leading us for the next four years?
Hmm...
August 31 2008, 02:34:03 UTC 12 years ago
August 31 2008, 09:06:42 UTC 12 years ago
August 31 2008, 14:00:38 UTC 12 years ago
Apparently she was also a beauty queen. It seems to be a requirement for McCain's women.
Hmm...
August 31 2008, 14:30:58 UTC 12 years ago
September 3 2008, 20:36:24 UTC 12 years ago
*laugh*
September 3 2008, 20:50:49 UTC 12 years ago