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Politics | 09/03/2008 5:52 am

wowOwow Reader Forum: Governor Palin Addresses RNC

TOne of the most important moments of the campaign unfolded as Sarah Palin took the stage to give the speech of a lifetime.  What will it mean to the women’s movement? What will it mean to the country?  Join in the comments…

605 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Rush L
The Choice of Sarah Palin is a bold, well thought out decision. Her extensive experience with executive and foreign affairs, combined with her spotless ethical record, demonstrate the firm grasp Senator John McCain had of the vital importance in selecting a Vice Presidential candidate who is ready to lead from day one. And, now, she can stand up for the rights of women and fight for their values. In 1865 the Republican party freed the slaves. In 2008 we will free women of the bonds of oppression. Long live the cause.
By Rush L on 09/03/2008 6:58 am
Lorraine Bates
She sure as heck doesn’t stand for my values. And remember, El Rushbo, that the Republican party of the 1860’s was the LIBERAL party, who put up a candidate for president with only 7 years of experience in the Illinois state legislature, and only 2 years as a US congressman, and who was considered the most liberal and inexperienced presidential candidate to date. You may remember him better as Abraham Lincoln.
By Lorraine Bates on 09/03/2008 10:17 am
Rush L
Such revisionist history. Next you’ll be telling me that the American Revolution its self was a liberal act.
By Rush L on 09/03/2008 5:19 pm
Frank Peterson
For ita time it was. It was against authoritarian nonsense and that’ a liberal cause if I ever heard of one.. the only revisionist history in happening in Minneapolis with Palin.
By Frank Peterson on 09/03/2008 6:24 pm
James the Game
Franko, I’m going to try to sit through the McCain speech tonight. If he actually talks about the economy and health care a bit, maybe I’ll be able to stomach it. It sounds like you got the dry heaves watching Palin last night?
By James the Game on 09/04/2008 5:25 pm
Sally S
If the democratic party of today had run the revolutionary war, they would’ve demanded we tell the British when and where we would be attacking and when we were planning on quitting. We’d all be saying God save the queen.
By Sally S on 09/06/2008 1:17 pm
Frank Peterson
lol that’s is hilarious. thanks for the laugh.
By Frank Peterson on 09/06/2008 1:25 pm
Sarah is White Trash
McCain selected the least formidable candidate in Sarah Palin, the former mayor of a hick town and the two-year governor of an already Republican state with three electoral votes, isolated from the mainstream. McCain could save a lot of time, money, and exertion by conceding now.
By Sarah is White Trash on 09/03/2008 11:28 pm
DeBúrca obj
Want to know EIGHT reasons why Palin is the best choice for VP?? Check this out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-grahamesmith/8-reasons-sarah-palin-is…
By DeBúrca obj on 09/03/2008 3:30 pm
Sarah is White Trash
As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on Sarah Palin. 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 thecountry. 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. 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 may 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 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.
By Sarah is White Trash on 09/03/2008 11:03 pm
Maizie James
Dear Jackie S. We often form opinions based on information we receive from the media, including well respected news journals and organizations. We make decisions based on advice from well respected award winning political analyst, and other prominent figures in academia. However, I must confess, that of all the ‘spin’ I’ve read - pro and con - about Sarah Palin, your first hand, personal reflection has impressed me the most. Thank you for taking time to share this information with us here at wOw. I cannot speak for anyone except myself, when I tell you … your message is truly an eye-opener for me. All the best to you. Maizie James
By Maizie James on 09/03/2008 11:22 pm
Diana T
Thank you so much for your timely information, and keep it coming as you are aware of it. We need to know from the horse’s mouth.
By Diana T on 09/03/2008 11:37 pm
Dona Howlett
Thank you, Jackie S It’s nice to hear from the front line………….. I am so uncomfortable with the very thought that she could become President.. I watched her speach tonight. All she did was Attack the democrats…………her little sly winks and smiles were unbecoming to a person who is standing where she is in the History of our Country. Her winking reminded me of George Bush and his disgusting smirk on his face.
By Dona Howlett on 09/04/2008 12:52 am
Jan N
Dear Jackie S., As a former Alaskan of many years, I want to thank you for coming forward with these comments. Although I don’t have any personal experience with Palin, I do share all of the concerns you mention. One of my real concerns has been that as much as I love Alaska, it’s been my experience that many Alaskans feel themselves to be separate and apart from the rest of the “lower 48” and in fact, want nothing to do with the problems and issues that face us here “outside” of Alaska. We cannot afford a vice president with the same mindset. I encourage you to write lots of letters to the editors of papers in the lower 48 in the next 60 days hitting on all the issues you mentioned above. Jan
By Jan N on 09/04/2008 1:45 am
Dana Jae
Jackie, thank you so much for taking the time to write such an important piece from your vantage point. In the late 1980’s, my band toured through Alaska performing in 6-weeks stints in Juneau and Fairbanks for several months. I can’t agree with you more regarding what I found to be a total disconnect with “the lower 48” as they called the rest of the nation. I definitely found it to be the “old frontier” type of thinking. And believe me, people talk to you when you’re a band playing in the bars especially ours as my band was quite an anomaly with three women in the band. I’ve been posting here quite a bit about my feelings on Sarah Palin and her choices and what I feel is her lack of good judgment. I’ve even questioned her character quite a bit. Now I find myself more than just a tad nervous at the astounding ability for the Repugs to rise to such a level of deception in their rallying around this woman. If this isn’t the rise of Fascism in America, then I don’t know what is and we all have a LOT to worry about in this election if these two end up governing this country. This is way more than “four more years” of the continuation of Bush-Cheney. This goes way beyond that. I am infused with a sense of major foreboding after seeing this family parading around their pregnant daughter hand-in-hand with the boy who has been declared the father. I’m sure poor Bristol didn’t receive this familial attention and love until just recently when the campaign decided it may do well to show (image) what a caring mother Sarah Palin is. If this woman can stoop this low, there is no end to what she can do to anyone who has crossed her. Call me crazy, but it’s time to change the personal profile because this is the kind of woman who would most assuredly track down those who’ve crossed her. (I hear that librarian was run off the road somewhere up near Lucile Lake off of Hwy A3). WOOF! It’s an interesting time, folks. Aside from Rush L who somehow finds time to clear through the haze of his fogged up mind to post here (ugh, that picture and talk about Fascist!) I have found most of you to be the type of American who truly cares about our future (and not just the future of the humans here, but of the landscape and the animals as well). Read a couple of pages out of Lee Penn’s “From Liberty to Leviathan…the War on Freedom”, and you’ll get that distinct feeling that something is not just a little remiss but scarily building in the core of 1/2 of this nation’s beliefs. Jackie, what you’ve written here definitely needs to be told and retold and people, we can’t give up in our work. This is most definitely the time to get as active as you possibly can to remove the horrific possibility of the McCain / Palin ticket. We must work together to get the calls out to those “undecided” voters and not let the stench of deception that has taken over this Repuglican ticket sway them. And ladies, those of you who feel disenfranchised by the lack of the DNC to rise to the occasion and help HRC represent us, this is NOT the time to exercise a protest vote. If you can bring yourself to look at all of the facts about this ticket, you know in your heart that it’s not the time to vote for M / P. And a vote for them allows them to sneer in your face because they know they have a woman who is the complete antithesis of Hillary Rodham Clinton and they’re betting that we’re dumb enough to fall for it.
By Dana Jae on 09/04/2008 6:28 am