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Rovian Politics Chose Sarah Palin
What does it say about John McCain that he picked not only the least experienced Vice Presidential nominee in America's history, but someone he really doesn't know? Departing so far from any normal concept of appropriate background, he should at least have had a sense of why this individual is so special. Meeting Palin once at a Republican governors' conference and having a single phone conversation on the eve of her selection just doesn't pass muster-particularly for the oldest presidential candidate ever, who's had four malignant melanomas.
What makes Palin such a cynical choice is that McCain doesn't know her and doesn't know what drives her. Until she was selected by the Karl Rove types running his campaign (like campaign manager and Rove protégé Steve Schmidt), McCain might not even have recognized her on the street. Instead, she's a category selection, made for the crassest reasons by the same kinds of political operatives who brought us George W. Bush.
Their motives are obvious: Palin is an energetic and attractive woman who just might pick up some disgruntled Hillary supporters. She's a westerner and a hunter who might appeal to rural voters. She's likely to energize a previously tepid base of hard-shell religious conservatives through her opposition to abortion even in cases of rape or incest: Hard-right king-maker James Dobson just said that because of her he'd vote for McCain.
These attributes may indeed prove Palin's worth as a vote-getter. But except for an abortion position that seems a stunning denial of reality (and a major affront to women), they have no relation to Palin's fitness for the job. McCain can't have any sense of what lies beneath the facile marketing categories-like who Palin actually is, what she could contribute to the Vice Presidential office, and what it would be like to work together. He doesn't know her and has had no chance to. But because she fits the Rovian categories, none of that matters. Echoing so much that the Republicans have done for eight years and more, it's a choice likely to produce grave consequences, yet based overwhelmingly on political expediency.
Leave aside all the other troubling questions about Palin: her extreme abortion position; her backing the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" while campaigning for governor, then later claiming to disavow it; her support for teaching creationism as science; her Cheney-style vendetta of firing the Alaska public safety director who refused to fire her former brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper; her laughing during an interview at the jokes of a radio shock jock who mocked one of her political opponents (a cancer survivor) for her weight, and called the woman a "bitch" and a "cancer" on the state.
You can even leave aside that in a week where Hurricane Gustav threatens another Katrina and the Arctic ice cap separates from the adjacent land for the first time in human history, Palin insists that the jury is still out on whether humans are changing the weather of the planet.
In fact, leave aside Palin's actual record, because John McCain barely knows it. His vetters didn't even bother to go through the archives of her local newspaper or talk with the former public safety director she fired. What choosing her shows most is a politics that once again subordinates any greater common good to a raw pursuit of power. It echoes McCain praising Jerry Falwell after once calling him an "agent of intolerance." Or embracing Bush's campaign and administration after Bush's political hitmen defeated him in South Carolina with Swift Boat-type lies. Or when instead of challenging Obama's ideas, the McCain campaign tried to caricature him as one step up from Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Karl Rove's minions may be smiling at the brazen gamesmanship of this pick; but if Americans fall for it, we should know all too well what to expect.
- Posted in
122 Comments so far
Show AllHere's the real Rove plan:
After they steal the election they will be able to explain the odd exit polls as a last minute switch of disgruntled Hillary voters. That's why they put the PUMA's out there and why the press keeps harping on "Hillary voters".
I thought exit polls were Illegal. After decades of being the gold standard for predicting elections they became controversial. Welcome to "THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY"
The Hillary supporters and PUMA are very real. I'm a Hillary supporter. I'm glad the media recognized us.
Now what I wish the media would do is interview us and broadcast to the world that we are not stupid and will not vote for McCain simply because his VP pick has a vagina. I noticed that there are several other women governors he could have chosen, but it's very obvious that they were bypassed because they are older and not as *pretty*, thus increasing the offense.
I feel like this year my choices are:
1) vote for two assh*les
2) vote for two idiots
3) vote 3rd party
4) don't vote
I'm waffling between 3 and 4.
Making California or Massachusetts more BLUE with Palin doesn't count. The Rovians are going for the kill in the OH-PA-FL microcosm of the USA. Biden needs to resign next week. Hillary needs to be put on. Otherwise, loss is likely for Dems.
Loss to a "hockey Mom", I might add, who wasn't looking while one of the hockey playing dudes impregnated her daughter.
I disagree that Hillary would stem the loss for the Dems. Single-payer health care maybe, or some nod to his base which he has only promised hope.
You are correct that health care is THE issue. This is why the Palin trick must be stopped asap.
from the Palin acceptence speech:
"...where oil and gas prices went up so dramatically. State revenue followed that increase, I sent a large share of that revenue directly back to the people of Alaska."
Well, this is gonna be fun to watch, since I'm voting for Nader, I've got no dog in this fight now...
Kick back and enjoy the show! Watching all these career politicians tear each other apart is going to be enormously entertaining.
Putting in the worst of all possible people in government offices makes it just that much easier fot Corporate Anarchy to take over. That's Plan Rove.
bligh4
The whole "she doesn't have enough experience to be Vice-President" argument could hold some water if the Democrats hadn't nominated someone with virtually NO experience as PRESIDENT- not Vice President.
Palin has run an entire state, while Obama hasn't really run anything. She has been a business owner. Her husband is a member of the steelworkers union.
Argue against her ideas, but the whole "no experience" thing is a loser.
bligh4, Sarah Palin was governor for about 2 years in a state with 683,478 people which makes it 47th in size by population. Before that she was mayor of a town of 6715 people. That is a very thin resume indeed.
Your argument that Obama never ran anything is a non-sequitor and New Gingrich, of all people, agrees. I post his quote here for you to read:
Newt Gingrich, commenting on Obama's experience: "Well, Abraham Lincoln served two years in the U.S. House, and seemed to do all right." (Meet The Press 12/17)
Furthermore he served in the Illinois state Senate where he worked with both Democrats and Republicans to create the state's Earned Income Tax Credit. He worked with Republican Senator Tom Coburn to pass a measure that would help Americans build trust in government by making information on how every penny of their tax dollars are spent available on the internet.
On foreign policy he graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science with an emphasis on foreign relations. He serves on 3 of 4 committees dealing with foreign affairs. He also serves on committees dealing with Homeland Security, Government Affairs and Veterans affairs. He is the Chairman on the Foreign Relations Subcommittee for European Affairs which is responsible for foreign relations with the European Union, European nations and NATO.
So what was that experience that Sarah Palin is supposed to have again?
Bingo!...give that man a kewpie doll...she isn't running for the top of the ticket...and thats the difference
When you are the running mate of a 72 year old Alzheimers candidate...you ARE running for the top office, whether you like it or not
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
Don't you like old white guys? Think they are all stupid or Alzheimers candidate's?
Not all...but McCain certainly is.
Snowflake - of course they didn't pick Sainted Sarah to be President based on her experience. They picked her to be VICE president.
Which is only a heartbeat away from BEING president.
So don't you feel more secure knowing a trigger happy Christian Dominionist with anger management issues is next in line to be the one who could push the Big Red Button?
SnowWolf, read my entry below. Let's see if you can still make that argument with a straight face. Any nervous ticks you make disqualify you.
You must be a right winger. It is the Republicans who beat the "no experience" horse to death. And now that they've added some witch-nut who doesn't believe in evolution, who is married to a drunk, who wants to keep sex ed out of the schools but can't keep her own child-daughter from getting knocked up, who couldn't even complete 2 years as governor of the rinky dink state of Alaska without misusing the power of the office (with jail time coming)......after all of the ripping on Obama for his lack of experience (by the way, I can't stand Obama, I'm a liberal), the Republicans have the nerve to trot out this loser as their VP candidate, and you want the Democrats to drop the "no experience" issue. Nice but oh so typical sense of right wing fair play.
PLease don't use the term 'witch-nut' It makes Sainted Sarah look like a practicing neo-pagan.
Which, SHE AIN'T!
Walk in peace.
Come on...the guy gets a DWI ticket 22 years ago and hes a drunk? Her teenage daughter makes a mistake and that makes her wrong about her stance on sex-ed.
Its OK to disagree with her, but this type of stuff is simply unfair.
Her teenage daughter didn't make a mistake. The parents and the religious and political institutions failed. The Repuk and Demok parties both had a hand in it. The Demok party supports liberal media which promotes the public pursuit of pleasure for the benefit of capitalist commodity vendors. The Repuk party promotes anything capitalist, and so tolerates the liberal media. The church, and the parents, refuse to teach human nature to the children, so they grow into teenagers who haven't a clue, can't control their emotions, can't handle power relations, and get knocked up. The elites are ecstatic. They sing God Bless America! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching!
So you are saying that if they had just taught sex-ed in school, or explained sex to the daughter which they may very well have, she wouldn't have become pregnant?
Things must have changed since I was a teenager.
"Her teenage daughter makes a mistake and that makes her wrong about her stance on sex-ed."
...Um... Yeah, it does. So you are trying to tell us that while Palin tells the world "Abstinece Only" education is what is effective... and HER OWN DAUGHTER meanwhile is having not only pre-marital sex, but UNPROTECTED premarital sex (incase you didn't know this, up until 3 days ago this was a big no-no for religious nutcases)... that calling them out on it is unfair?! How is that? Their hyporcrisy is what is the issue here. So even though it doesn't work for her family, we are supposed to believe that "Abstinece Only" is right for the rest of the country? ... Give me a f***ing break. This is an issue. Any way you slice it.
Yes, the Republicans nominated George W Bush in 2000, a man who had never been in another country.
Yes, Palin did run a state that has a population smaller than Austin, Texas.
Obama's campaign is likely bigger than the whole state Gov't of Alaska. And he's done a pretty good job of running that for last 19 months.
John McBomb has nothing going for him in this election. If that woman, Palin, is picked to turn McBomb into the next US king, it’s got to tell you a lot about the American electorate. If he’s elected, you really deserve worse.
Fox News suggested that international affairs was Palin's strong suit, what with Alaska being up there right next to Russia and all...
I wonder if the Fox News people get bonuses for saying something especially stupid.
Looks like governor Palin of the State of Alaska is going to get that foreign policy experience only after she gets Alaska to secede from the Union. She was a member of the Independence Party which is a group seeking secession from the US. See the New York Times article reference to it here:
"Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge." New York Times, Sept 1, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/politics/02vetting.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
PS: If she were to successfully get Alaska to secede would the US reaction to this be, "To the State of Alaska please remit $315 Million dollars for convicted felon and former Alaskan Senator Ted Steven's Gavina Island Bridge Project (aka: The Bridge to Nowhere)."
PPS: Governor Palin, the proponet of rugged individualism, was particulary active with Stevens on supporting this particular piece of pork which was to be used for Katrina recovery. Stevens threatened to quit Congress if the funds were reallocated. Palin then cancelled the project in 2007.
Foreign policy has never been a Republican strong suit. "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb" McCain says all.
Besides, George W. Bush lived in Texas, and that's right next to the Gulf of Mexico! Think of all the valuable foreign policy George brought to the White House.
I heard that....I think they must.
I laughed outloud when I saw the Jon Stewart segment on this. ... The sad thing is... is that they weren't joking. Pathetic.
McSame may not know her, but he sure likes her ass....did you see him staring at it and fiddling with his wedding band during her acceptance speach? Dirty old fart.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
With that handle you have the nerve to call him a dirty old fart. Are you counting on people not speaking spanish?------------------lizard
SP is Rove-chosen but not for the reasons stated. Clearly, the neo-loons have decided they'd better pull back and regroup before the incredible hell they've unleashed sucks them into the abyss forever. Hence, SP was chosen to help JM lose, not win.
The more worrisome quote from the above essay, though, is this: "What does it say about John McCain that he picked... someone he really doesn't know?"
Even the most moronic of so-called "leaders" knows to surround themselves with trusted 'family' members only, and if a candidate can even be bothered to even Wikipedia his right hand and potential 45th President, he's so obviously not qualified to oversee the largest and most complex human organization in history it's pathetic. Hell, they should kick him from the f**king Senate for such lazy and extremely neglectful work ethics.
And who wants to bet McCain The Short-Fused Surly Misogynist can no way stand more than, say, 10 straight minute of SP's oh so annoying voice at a time?
Why lose?
"What does it say about John McCain that he picked not only the least experienced Vice Presidential nominee in America's history, but someone he really doesn't know?"
McCain probably does know her, in the biblical sense, and it is yet another reason he chose her. Johnny Boy likes to be around good looking "babes"; combine that with his fear of death and a lack of gray matter that would make both appealing and plausible such a poor choice and you have some understanding, dim as it might be, of what McCain is actually like.
If fitness for the job was the most important criteria, we wouldn't have got 8 years of Bush.
or 8 years of Clinton and 4 of Carter...lets face it....The Washingtons, Jeffersons and Lincolns just don't go into Politics anymore...you'd be a fool to because of the 'take no prisoners' sleazy politics played today
Although on second thought it may be nothing new...
I once heard that during one of his reelection campaigns, LBJ alluded that his opponent was a bit "too fond" of the livestock on his ranch...One of his staff told him "Sir, nobodies going to believe THAT" and he replied..."Hell...I know that...I just want to hear the son-of-a-bitch deny it"
Clinton had 4 good years before NAFTA.
Let's see McCain's first wife was a cheerleader; his second wife, a model; it's a natural fit for his third--whoops!--his VP choice to be a beauty pageant queen. I'm sure he thoroughly vetted her when he laid eyes on her.
Let me count the ways Gidget and geezer have made the Republican Party so fascinating:
First there's the sexual tension between the two. As a matter of fact, Gidget with a semiautomatic is something I imagine I could find in a sex shop.
There's an extreme Pentecostal hubris now. Anyone who objects gets spat upon. This just adds to the tension.
There's the Governor's elaborately choreographed fake pregnancy. Now there's a fake pregnancy for Bristol too. What happens when that baby doesn't come out? You could not fake this V.P. choice if you tried.
They'll probably do a secret adoption...
It seems to me that no one has mentioned yet that Gov Palin has decided to go into the national spotlight but must humiliate her 17 year old pregnant daughter to do so. They are praising her mother hood qualities but what kind of mother does this to a teen age daughter to get ahead. Need we mention that having also a Dons baby and leaving it at this stage of his life to go on the road for her career seems to me to be a very shoddy way to tout motherhood.
As is now being evidenced over and over again with the progressive talking heads, the republicans with intention or not found a goldmine of progressive democratic weakness.
A fear of women.
This wound is unraveling even the soundest of minds, and bringing down such an ill constructed progressive movement, a ram shackle straw house,that with so small of a brush of air as a woman letting her hair down, we see it self imploding in a bizarre storm of indignation and utter confusion.
Once this group of people affiliating themselves as supporters of the democratic ticket get done with their shock and awe induced analysis, I wonder what the extent of damage will be?
The progressives would do well to realize this, and start the hard work of building a brick house by really including women in their movement.
"...progressive democratic weakness. A fear of women."
You're delusional. You deserve Republican misogyny if you believe your own baloney. They put a pretty face on a dying ticket and you think this is a boon to women's rights? How about Palin being against choice for women, or against equal pay, or in favor of banning books? The women's movement would have been politically dead without continued support from Democrats. Not one Republican woman supports woman's rights - you pretenders deserve each other.
From: ADITA98@aol.com
Date: September 1, 2008 7:39:51 AM PDT
To: norwestmor@att.net
Subject: Fwd: alaska witness: John McCain's VP nominee
This comes from a friend. She belongs to my synagogue. She sent this out to folks.
Please read this in all seriousness..
when you are finished with this then go to following link and read.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26426721/
from a college classmate of mine who lives in Alaska
Elizabeth M. Schneider
Rose L. Hoffer Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
250 Joralemon St .
Brooklyn , N.Y. 11201
718.780.7988 (ph)
718.780.0376 (fax)
liz.schneider@brooklaw.edu
Fall 2008
Visiting Professor of Law
Columbia Law School
212.854.8079 (ph)
eschne@law.columbia.edu
________________________________________
From: bmc1968@googlegroups.com [bmc1968@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of jacsiegel@mac.com [jacsiegel@mac.com]
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 2:04 PM
To: BMC1968
Subject: [BMC1968] John McCain's VP nominee
Dear classmates -
As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on
Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaska voter, I
know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that
he picked her.
The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works in
the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles. She is a life
time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow
indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska , particularly wolves and
bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial
hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars
that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska 's failing school
system.We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the
country. Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so bad,
but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there are
many, most without teeth), could think this use of funds is
appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial
hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to
informative web sites.
She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet
the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has "green" policies. The
only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience. She has
consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of coal-burning power
plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is being built in her home
town of Wasilla ), strip mining, and almost anything else that will
unnecessarily exploit the diminishing resources of Alaska and destroy
its environment.
Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska , she was mayor of Wasilla,
a small red neck town outside Anchorage.The average maximum education
level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade.
Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and
other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put
Palin in office in the first place. I know what I'm talking about.
These people don't have a concept of the world around them or of the
serious issues facing the US . Furthermore, they don't care. So long as
they can go out and hunt their moose every fall, kill wolves and bears
and drive their snow mobiles and ATVs through every corner of the
wilderness, they're happy. I wish I were exaggerating.
Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal.
She fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't
like how he treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's
performance and ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal
firing and is currently under investigation. While the issue isn't
close to the scandal of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin
isn't "squeaky clean" and causes me to think there ay be more issues
that could come to light. Clearly McCain doesn't care.
When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable
if it weren't so serious. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics
(admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs,
knows nothing of national government, Social Security, unemployment,
health care systems - you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads
of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.
In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in
the US , Sarah Palin is uniquely UNqualified to be vice president. John
McCain is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that
the vice president had to step in, it would destroy our country and
possibly the world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate
as Sarah Palin. The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try
to get Hillary supporters to vote for him. when McCain introduced her
today, Palin had the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and
Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton.
To those of you who, like me, supported Hilary and were upset that she
did not get the nomination, please don't think that Sarah Palin is a
worthy substitute. If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you
think the media and the democratic party may have done to undermine
her campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin. To
those of you who are independent or undecided, don't let the choice of
Palin sway you in favor of McCain. Choosing her shows how unqualified
McCain is to be president. To those of you who are conservative, I
guess you have no choice for president. But please try to see how the
poor choice of Palin tells us a great deal about McCain's judgment.
While the political posturing inherent in the choice of Palin is
obvious, the more serious issue is the fact that the VP is, literally,
a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin is totally and
unequivocally unqualified to be vice president, let alone president.
I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high.
I thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political
affiliation, to know something about Palin from someone who has to
live with her administration in Alaska on a daily basis.
Jackie S.
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Some of the best people I know are what you in elitist and bigoted language are calling
'red neck' and I don't think it is a crime to be missing teeth, nor practicing your rights to engage in what is legal in our country.
Personally I think golfing should be outlawed before any form of hunting is, but I won't hold that against Obama, nor do I need to say he won't make a good president because he spends his leisure time golfing, when he could be doing more to prepare himself to become president.
Which I think he could, he is very inexperienced and also has lost his spiritual base.
Golfing will not enrich him spiritually or administratively no matter how many holes he buts his balls into. And getting a birdie, will not save a bird.
So to not digress any further into such pointless personal thoughts as mine and yours, I'll point out that any of you who really want Obama to win, would be most wise to support him and support shifting the power back on to your shoulders.
I wonder what this person from alaska has done for the wolves, bears or children who don't get a good education? That would be most instructive at this point.
This "person from Alaska" wasn't the governor so it isn't fair to ask what she has done anymore than asking what you have done. Palin was governor and didn't do anything for those uneducated children. She is indeed responsible, it's her job! Her beliefs are obtuse, like that of most Americans, and this must be pointed out. Her 17 year old pregnant daughter says a lot about her. She deserves to be questioned on this because she is against abortion and sex education. Look at the consequences. Palin is an unintelligent person, as are most Americans, and she should be confronted and argued down. Most Americans have to be confronted and argued down. Yes, they won't listen, but the alternative is to beat them over the head. I am not for that. It is a long road but there is no choice. We have to win the arguments and better yet, present the argument in a non_hostile way if we want to change the mentality of the people. The problem is the people and Palin is a very good example of the people and the problem----------------------------------------lizard
I have a bit of a problem here. Alaskans live with wolves and hate them because they hurt their animals. We should, apparently, stop Alaskans from killing the wolves because a few of us want to be able to visit Alaska and see wolves and the wild untouched. But Alaskans, who live there, and call it theirs,don't. They want to do strip mining and drilling to ruin the pristine beauty of parts of Alaska, but we must object because a few of us want to be able to vist Alaska and see it 100% pristine. Who's state is it anyway? Don't people have a right to like what they like as long as it is legal? I agree that Alaskans don't sound like my kind of people but do I have a right to expect everyone to be like me? Of course they are probably not very bright and slow down progressive development, but don't Americans have the right to be stupid? We do need to change the mentality of the people, but we won't achieve this by belittling anyone. We change mentalities by argument, not by using terms like red neck as a blunt weapon. We need to have clear arguments in defense of abortion, environment preservation, sustainable development, freedom of belief, and individual rights. Red neck stupid without teeth is not an argument. I don't mean to say this is a bad post, a lot of it is useful, but it lacks compassion. Are they so undeserving of that? Perhaps they are and I just don't know better----------------------------------------lizard