Tuesday, September 09, 2008

The Republicans Think Women are Stupid Cows

Like many out in the blog world, I was shocked by McCain’s choice of the relatively unknown Sarah Palin as his running mate. It felt a lot like the Republicans were throwing us a bone, thinking that we would be so caught up in the idea of a woman in the white house that it wouldn’t occur to us that she wasn’t the right woman.

The Republican camp is fighting the attacks on Palin, saying that the only ones that have a problem with her are the “elitist liberals.” I was unaware that being intelligent enough to read the available information and form an educated opinion caused one to fall into the category of being an “elitist liberal.” That tells me that there are a whole lot of us out here that are distressing the Republican party by having the nerve to think for ourselves as opposed to shutting up other than to say, “Thank you, sir. I’ll take another.”

I would like to review just a few of Governor Palin’s positions on issues. To start she believes in teaching abstinence only, despite the fact that statistics show that this actually increases the rate of teen pregnancy. I would like to point out that there is clear evidence that this sort of thinking did not even work in her own house. Why would you encourage that type of policy?

She is ultra-conservative socially. Pro-Life, creationist and doesn’t believe in protecting the environment. She does not believe in global warming and would like to increase domestic drilling. She has not supported alternative energy sources. She has been accused of advocating censorship in libraries. She tried to fire her small town librarian when she “failed to prove her loyalty.” Which in reality, was the librarian just refusing to pull books at Palin’s request.

To make the whole thing worse, she is not fiscally conservative. She took over as a small town mayor in a town with no debt. She left it with nearly 20 million in debt with little accomplished in real improvement. In order to accomplish this task she fired many people that might be a threat to getting her way. She also required a city manager and was responsible for the largest increase in the size of the local city government, ever.

One of the things that the Republican’s have attacked Barack Obama on is his relative lack of experience. Obama is a US senator with a diverse background and education. Palin a small town mayor and Alaskan governor. I would like to also point out that the Republican’s like to twist the facts and focus on how large Alaska is and therefore her experience should carry more weight. Alaska has a tiny population and is actually number 47 of all the states. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Obama and Palin’s educations respectively:

“Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[9] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[10] Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked for a year at the Business International Corporation[11] and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.[12][13]
After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side.[12][14] During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.[15] Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.[16] In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks then Kenya for five weeks where he met many of his Kenyan relatives for the first time.[17]
Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review based on his grades and a writing competition.[18] In his second year he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.[19] Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.[19] He graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.[18][20]

Palin spent her first college semester at Hawaii Pacific College, transferring in 1983 to North Idaho College and then to the University of Idaho. She attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Alaska for one term, returning to the University of Idaho to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.[15][16]




It appears that Palin had to bounce around quite a bit to get that one bachelor’s degree. I didn’t catch any reference to her graduating with honors either.

I’m counting on the fact that women are going to pay attention and not allow McCain/Palin to replace the fiasco that was Bush/Cheney.

The LA Times had a good article about Palin by Gloria Steinem that you kind find here. Also be sure to check out the email from the woman that knows Palin. It’s making it’s way around the internet and it’s worth reading.

I also want to mention John McCain's ex-wife. She was recently interviewed and it was something I had never read about before. I'll most likely be on McCain tomorrow. Don't forget to register to vote before the cut-off date.

One last link for you from Comedy Central. It really shows how the conservatives change their opinion when they are talking about one of their own. Very funny but also disturbing in a way.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I won't get into characterizations here, but the sad truth is that the Republicans were right about the effect Palin would have on women, and white women in particular. According to polling data released today white woman have gone from an 8 point edge for Obama before the GOP convention, to a 12 point McCain advantage now, accounting for most of the shift seen in the overall polls that have the candidates in a virtual dead heat.

Lisa said...

Just to clarify a bit, I don't believe that women are stupid cows. I'm just really hoping that I'm right on this one.

I was changing the baby's pants right after this post and she was trying to escape. I tried to distract her with questions about what sounds animals make. When we got to what the cow says, we changed it from "Moo" to "Obama". Tricky cows.

The Diva on a Diet said...

I certainly hope you're right - as I was feeling pretty discouraged today when I heard the poll reports. Its important that everyone, both women and men, educate themselves with the *real* facts. Posts like this go a long way towards making that happen. Great job!

J. said...

This whole thing pisses me off SO badly that I just can't say much about it right now. I'm Alaskan, born and raised, and being mayor of Wasilla or even Governor is really NO BIG DEAL! Alaska is a small (population-wise), wealthy state, with a largely homogenous population. I'll put it this way, I would vote for Schwarzenegger before I would vote for Palin! At least he has some REAL experience and has proven willing to compromise and an ability to get things done across party lines.

Jack said...

"Democrats think we're Bush-loving neocons for supporting McCain/Pallin"

Lisa,

Before tempers flare, or opinions form, I didn't make a word play on your tag line to antagonize you. It was just a simple illustration (supplied with a hint of a smile) to perhaps show that opening a discussion with a gunshot doesn't always lead to discourse - it leads to a bar fight. ;o}

With that out of the way, I hope you're at least open to hearing difering opinions. Even with his education, I simply cannot support Obama. It has nothing to do with his middle name, nor his experience. I simply do not believe in his socialistic agenda, and I do not trust his judgement.

I would suggest that those who believe that McCain chose Palin in order to "toss a bone" to women may be misunderstanding the man. He just may have selected her for the reasons he stated. Even the other side of the aisle needs to consider the fact that McCain may not be a liar just because he belongs to a different political party.

I think people spend too much time ascribing "sub rosa" motives to both Obama and McCain. What matters is what each will bring to the country - not what the "loony left" or the "vast right-wing conspiracy" says is hidden in their respective basements.

There may be a few pundits or operatives (both sides have them) who say that the only people opposing Palin are the "elitist liberals." However attributing that to the "Republican camp" as if it applied to all Republicans seems to me to be the use of the same one-brush-paints-all argument that you generally decry throughout your post.

Just as women (as a group) are not "stupid cows," neither are Republicans (as a group) mean, denigrating, hard-asses. I think that most people who oppose Palin do so because they disagree with her experience and/or her politics. Those few who can't accept that will try to find some other sinister reason.

Ascribing generalizations to women, men, Republicans or Democrats does little to further any agenda.

In truth, most of the people in the United States are more towards the center than most of us realize. And the bottom line is that the country will survive regardless of who wins.

Gee . . . that was long winded, wasn't it?

Lisa said...

Bulldog- Just so you know, I do know that I wasn't fair and balanced. Political topics are bound to make some people angry. The good thing is that now people are at least paying some attention to what is going on in our country.

It's my opinion that Palin lacks the experience required to be an effective VP. Add in the fact the McCain is practically a fossil and I REALLY don't like the idea.

It also irritates me that Palin was ONLY picked because she is a woman. Does anyone really believe it was on her merits?

Jack said...

I happen to believe that she was chosen primarily because of her political stances, and her maverick reputation. However, neither of us can actually know why she was chosen. We can only assign reasons that advance our personal agendas.

Now on McCain . . .

At what age should we disqualify people from certain jobs? How many senators should be tossed out because they're as old or older than McCain?

Lively discussion. Thanks for listening.

Vote your choice. I will.

-Jack

Lisa said...

Bulldog (Jack)- I'm a believer in the duck theory. If it looks like a ducks, quacks like a duck...well, you get the idea. Do you REALLY think that there is no benefit to the fact that Palin is female? Are you also so trusting to believe that a politician is above using that for his own personal gain?

There are a lot of women out there that are upset that Clinton is out. McCain wants them, obviously. Gloria Steinem put it best, " Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

As far as when you're too old for a job, my answer varies, depending on the job. There are mandatory retirement ages for commercial airline pilots. For the president, the most powerful position in the world, too old is too old when there is not a qualified VP waiting in the wings.

Jack said...

Lisa . . just a couple of last hitters:

- I didn't say there was NO benefit from her gender - just that it's possible it wasn't the ONLY reason.

- And no, I'm not that trusting. Either side, including your guy, will use whatever advantage he can muster.

- Any strategist, on either side, who thought all Hillary supportrs would flock to Palin's side was off their meds. You women are just too smart for that.

We obviously will continue to disagree on politics and motives, but I respect your position.

Good luck . . . but not enough luck to win. :o)

Best,

Jack