We know now that he does not advocate a free press, the hallmark of any free republic.
Now I agree that Palin's daughter, Bristol, has a right to privacy. In fact, I feel that it's her life and if she wants to drop puppies all over the Arctic wilderness, it's her business and it has nothing to do with the presidential campaign. There are a lot of things about the Alaska governor's life that makes her seem to me like the average American schlepp. Good for her.
But what about where she stands on issues that are important? After all, if a President McCain suddenly croaks, then it will be up to this woman to lead the Free World.
Her positions will tell us much about her capabilities. ...
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Before Sarah Palin was a controversial Republican veep pick, she has served for the last year as Governor of America's Last Frontier. While there, she proved that she's your typical Evangelical politician. I'm not sure if she was influenced by nut jobs like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, but she certainly shares their perspectives.
Since I'm the media that John McCain says is hell-bent on skewing the opinions of the American public by holding his campaign to scrutiny, I'll present Palin's positions as reported by Issues2000.org.
Like I said before, she's an advocate of "abstinence-only" education, a really stupid proposition that throws away teaching adolescents anything about human sexual biology at the exact time it is happening within their own bodies. She has also said she is against abortion, even in cases of rape, which aligns her with other conservatives who feel that a woman's body should be government property.
-- Supports teaching intelligent design in public schools, and would actually have teachers instruct students in creationism alongside evolution. So I guess her vision of a balanced education on humanity's origins and Christianity would be to show your kid A Flintstone Christmas.
-- Believes global warming affects Alaska, but is not man-made. Then what the hell is it? Oh, crap...my bad,
it's the product of intelligent design.
-- Eager to unlock and drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, although there is no proof that it would make even a dent in gas prices. But there is lots of proof that it could harm natural resources in Alaska.
-- Has no stance on foreign policy or immigration, which is no surprise since she's only been out of the country once.
-- Supported Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" debacle, which would have cost taxpayers $320 million, before she bailed on it and funds were diverted toward hurricane-stricken Louisiana. Love that fiscal sense.
-- Lifelong member of the National Rifle Association and supports the "right to bear arms." I don't have to tell you how much I hate guns and abhor the NRA. That's enough for me to diss her right there.
-- As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, cut property taxes but increased sales tax. I guess she felt even if death isn't certain, taxes should be. Have you seen the Wasilla city hall? It has a drive-thru window!
-- Opposes gay marriage, but she did veto a bill denying benefits to gays as unconstitutional. Ok, so she gets one rainbow for that one.
-- As evidence she needs to take a history brush-up course she said when asked about the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance: "If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me"...Well, the phrase wasn't added to the pledge until 1954. Our nation's founders, who were serious about keeping the Republic secular and inclusive, were long dead by then.
-- And let's not forget that little controversy about an alleged abuse of power when she fired the state's public safety commissioner for not firing her brother-in-law. Or the doozy in the national tabloids about an affair!
So that's just a short list of things that show me, and should show you, that she is really not qualified to serve as president should something unfortunate befall a sitting Commander-in-Chief. I mean, she's cute and all. But then again, so is Raven-Symone.
Lastly, here's the thing that I lose sleep over and so should you: her speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday reminded me of the popular girl campaigning for senior class president in Napoleon Dynamite. It would be pretty dumb for America to put someone like that in a position to possibly become president.
Then again, we were dumb enough to elect George W. Bush to a second term.
1. she did not fire the trooper....get your facts straight, bozo
cindy at 11:27AM on Sep 4th 2008