Governor Sarah Palin

I was going to let this one go. But, I ran into a friend of mine who asked me specifically to blog on the subject. I attempted to keep this short, but I couldn't do it.

I've been puzzled by Senator McCain's selection of Governor Sarah Palin. Though, I admit that I was interested in his selection until I started delving into her views. Then, I was dumbfounded as to why he selected her. Sure, the right loves her, but will anyone else?

I expected the selection to be either Senator Joe Lieberman or Governor Mitt Romney. Personally, I didn't see what appeal McCain had for Lieberman. Many democrats despise Joe, so I can't expect much cross-over appeal had he picked Joe.

I don't know any woman that supports other women running for office simply because they are a woman. Sarah is a woman, a working mother and has an interesting story, but that's simply where it ends for me. She might as well be on another planet as her views couldn't be much more different as mine.

I don't see many comparisons between Governor Palin and Senator Hillary Clinton. Both are tough, strong women and working mothers, but that is the extent of what I feel they have in common. I don't see the draw for many democrats or independents to vote for this ticket if they were strong Clinton supporters like myself.

Governor Palin is the mother of five children. Five. You would think of all women, she would be more involved and concerned about these issues. She has two daughters.

Trig, her youngest son/baby has Down's. She may be one very strong and capable woman, but she was used to living in Alaska near her family that helped them a great deal. I wonder how crazy will things be should they end up in D.C. as a family without that extended support to fill in the slack.

I have differences with Senator Obama and his experience was a major concern. I find it laughable that McCain said that Governor Palin has more experience than Obama. She has too many skeletons and questions concerning her background and she's wrong on the issues. Not to mention as a woman, she's not remotely concerned with a vast majority of issues that concern most other women.

The most basic of issues that concerns a vast number of women:

Equal Pay.
Access to affordable birth control.
Family planning.
Affordable health care.
Affirmative Action.
Childcare.
Teenage Pregnancy.
Keeping abortions legal.
Rising college costs.
Education.

It's easy to say that Governor Palin walked the walk since she's Pro-Life and Bristol, her 17 year old daughter is pregnant. Bristol and Levi, (the boyfriend) and the child will have to deal with the consequences of their getting pregnant so young. Yes, I hope that their family and friends support and help them, but in the end--it's up to these kids to raise their baby. Let's not kid ourselves, they won't have an easy road ahead of them and I won't pretend otherwise.

Will Bristol and Levi have to give up college? Will they continue living in Alaska? It all matters as they made it matter. They massively showcased this couple in a way that I found quite strange and almost offensive. Your catering to the right and you highlight your 17 year old pregnant daughter and the guy that got her pregnant. That made no sense to me, but what do I know?

I remember the public outcry when Jamie Lynn Spears got pregnant. The difference in my mind was the the right was outraged. At least in the Spears case, money wasn't an issue. Money is a big issue with most teens that end up pregnant.

Here, they are trying to say that the Pro-Life thing works. Abstinence education didn't work in this case, but she's pregnant, will keep the baby and they will marry. Problem solved. Yep, if only life was that easy.

I'm for giving kids all the information to make an informed decision if and when they decide to have sex. The difference between the Palin family and mine is that in my household, the young couple would have had a real choice to make. Living in the Palin household, do you really think that for a moment they had any other choice other than keeping the baby? I can't imagine that they did. I will fight tooth and nail to keep abortion legal. No one should get to tell us that women have to have lots of children or under what circumstances we have to have them.

Times have changed, but teen pregnancy is still shocking and is still a problem. It's easy to say keep the baby, but the reality of what young parents face is still daunting. They are young, not as mature and will have to watch their friends move on in a different way than they will be. The support for teenage parents just isn't there like it should be. Money is an issue along with the fact that so many put their heads in the sand thinking that kids aren't having sex and then are shocked when kids get pregnant.

Like many of my fellow democrats and progressives alike, I have come to the conclusion that McCain picked Palin simply because she was a woman. What struck me was THIS was the best that he could come up with? Surely, there were more than a few Republican women that were far more qualified, vetted and willing to serve with McCain?

Did McCain pull this name of a hat or was he forced to choose her by a segment of the party?

Did McCain have Palin properly vetted? I'm convinced that he didn't. If he did, they would have announced and addressed all these issues surrounding Governor Palin head-on. It seems to me that she has way too much baggage for this position and from what I read, more than a few red flags should have easily dropped her out of consideration. I feel this is a massive train wreck waiting to explode.

If they are really this happy with her, then go for it. You want to show your loyal to the end, this is your chance despite the obstacles and the numerous stumbling blocks that I'm sure are going to follow Sarah.

I don't see these distractions going away from Sarah and if anything, I expect that it will worsen as I suspect more questions concerning her background will arise.

Senator McCain's focus should have been getting everyone to know Governor Palin and putting out their message/platform. Instead, all these stories surrounding her former brother in law that she appeared to try and have fired, her pregnant daughter and a host of stories. What is true and what isn't--remains to be seen. Palin will face endless questions/concern about her qualifications. She's under investigation with the State of Alaska and the timing couldn't be worse for the election. Just what was McCain thinking?

Does John really think that most women aren't smart enough to research a candidate? The internet has become invaluable. You can Google anything. We have access to instant news and information. How we got by before seems like a very distant memory. I'm a busy Mom, so I'm not spending hours reading everything on her, but I have read quite a bit.

Her values and issues totally smack with mine:

1) Abstinence Education. Sarah supports this. I'm not a supporter of abstinence education. I feel that if an individual chooses to wait on sex, they will whether they have this education or not. Abstinence education doesn't teach you how to protect yourself if your going to have sex. I've always felt this portion of abstinence education is terribly irresponsible. I feel regardless of the issue, it's always better to have all the information to make an informed decision. Ignorance is never good.

2) Teen Pregnancy. I can't help, but find Sarah's situation ironic with the unfolding story surrounding Bristol, her 17 year old daughter who is five months pregnant. I feel for Bristol and Levi and can't understand why Sarah accepted the VP offer given the situation and the spotlight it was going to unfairly cast on Bristol, Levi and their family.

3) Abortion. Sarah is against all abortions, except when the mother will loose her life. She has stated that even if her daughter was raped, she wouldn't support an abortion. I cannot relate to this thinking as I feel that women should always have a choice in the matter. I'm not an advocate for abortions, but having the choice. I can't help, but wonder if Bristol really had a choice in the matter. It's unfair yes, but I will ask it anyway. What would their parents have done had they come to them with I'm pregnant and we don't want to keep this baby. Would they have been as supportive or would they have disowned them?

4) Governor of Alaska. Sarah has been the Governor of Alaska since December 4, 2006. She has an interesting biography, but in no shape or form on any scale would I have thought she was remotely qualified for VP or President.

5) Gay Marriage. Sarah is against Gay Marriage. I feel our country is long overdue in providing gays with some type of recognition for their commitment to their partner and legal protection should something happen to their partner. I feel that eventually it will lead to gay marriages across the board. In the meantime, I would be happy to see unions approved until then.

6) I feel that Sarah's selection was ill advised. Bets are being taken that she will withdraw.

7) Senator McCain's age: There is no way for any of us to know how healthy Senator McCain really is. The fact of the matter is that he just turned 72 years old. What if he were to promptly have a heart attack or a stroke and die? How comfortable would you really be with Governor Palin taking the oath of office and becoming our President? This makes me very uncomfortable as I feel she will be a puppet to be told by others what to do and it really scares me that Sarah could easily end up the President of the United States in short order.

Links: I believe in reading for yourselves. Much is out there and I would provide more links, but I'm busy and I have a house to put back together. If you have concerns about Governor Palin, I'm sure that you can find what your looking for.

On The Issues link to Sarah Palin

State of Alaska bio on Sarah Palin

Wikepedia of Sarah Palin