Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Desperate Housewife or Extreme Evangelical Hack Sarah Palin?

(Or do Republican values include abandoning family for the Vice-Presidency of the United States?)

Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin says she’s seeking the Vice-Presidency of the United States to “serve the people of this great country” but I suspect this "pro-life”, “abstinence-only”, “pro-capital punishment”, “anti-same-sex marriage”, “pro-creationism”, “anti-environment”, “anti-polar bear”, long-time member of the National Rifle Association, hockey Mom is running away as fast as she can from the stress of family. Her 17 year old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant by an 18 year old who doesn’t want to get married, her 4 month old infant Trig has Down’s Syndrome, and her 19 year old son Track is being sent off to war to defend a lie. What else is this desperate housewife running from?

No mother with an infant with Down’s Syndrome chooses a higher political office over her infant son. Isn’t family a Republican value? When Governor Palin became pregnant with Trig, it’s understandable she would continue with duties of the governor. After all she was the governor. But Palin returned to the governor’s office a scant 3 days after Trig’s birth, probably at the same time Palin noticed her daughter’s pregnancy.

The Republicans cannot have it both ways. For Jamie Lynn Spears, Bill O’Reilly said Spears’ parents are to blame for Spears’ pregnancy. They “obviously have little control over Spears. Look at the way she behaves”. However, for Bristol Palin, it’s a “personal matter”. I highly suspect if the teenager was black, not only would O’Reilly blame the parents for the pregnancy but he would label the teenager deviate, immoral and a burden on taxpayers.

Palin professes to be experienced because she’s the 11th governor of Alaska; Alaska gained its statehood in 1946. According to John McCain, Alaska is the biggest state in the Union and therefore Palin has experience but the question is, experience at what? Managing icebergs and the polar bears Palin wants to eradicate! Alaska is 47th in population; in 2000, only 626,932 people lived in Alaska. In 2000, New York City had a population of 8,143,197, Los Angeles 3,844,829, Chicago 2,842,518, and Houston 2,016,582. By McCain’s account, dozens of U.S. mayors have greater executive acumen than Sarah Palin.

This “desperate housewife” wants to “serve the people of this great country” in the Republican mode of lies, misrepresentations, and slight of hand.

Palin boasts she’s "protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere." The truth is as mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

As mayor of Wasilla, Palin left her hometown $20 million in debt when she left to become governor. [Anchorage Daily News 10/23/06; the Politico, 8/29]

As Governor, she did not get behind the most significant piece of health legislation offered -- a proposal to ensure that all residents have health insurance, without disrupting the coverage that many Alaskans already have." [Anchorage Daily News, 5/17/2008]

As early as six months ago, Palin encouraged Alaska to secede from the United States.
[LA Times, 9/3/2008; ABC News, 9/1/2008]As President, you are supposed to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, not the flag of Alaska. People jumped all over Barack Obama for not wearing a flag pin, and questioned his patriotism. Where are the accusations for Palin?Palin "tried to get a state trooper fired and she then fired the trooper's boss because he wouldn't act on her request" because Palin's sister was involved in a "bitter child custody battle" with the trooper. [Anchorage Daily News, 7/18/08]

Palin refused to release e-mails requested by the state's trooper union, citing executive privilege. Questions have been raised, however, as to whether these documents are actually related to official business, since her husband was copied on some of them. [KTUU, 8/6/08; TPMmuckraker, 9/1/08]

Palin’s Lobbyist Was Part Of 'Team Abramoff. Steven Silver, the lobbyist Palin hired as Wasilla Mayor, also listed Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, as a client. Silver lobbied on issues similar to those headed up by Abramoff, including "Indian/Native American policy" and "legislation relating to gaming issues." [TPMmuckracker, 9/2/08; Washington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin raised unlimited funds from corporate donors as a Director of 'Ted Stevens Excellence In Public Service' 527.

Palin broke executive ethics branch and hiring rules by hiring surveyor Tom Lamal, who once co-hosted a Palin fundraiser, for a state right-of-way agent job in Fairbanks." [Anchorage Daily News, 9/7/08]

Sarah Palin’s party continues the tradition of George W. Bush’s party - right-wing hypocrite and liar.

McCain was desperate to solidify his right-wing base. Experience was thrown out of the window and Country – not God and Family – become the Republican theme. Why else would this hockey Mom abandon Republican family values, abandon her four month old challenged son, send her 19 year old off to die in an illegal war, and shame her 17 year old pregnant daughter?