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…

Read more about: Election 2008, mccain, Politics, Sarah Palin

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

her ideology is very right wing extremist. I doubt the Independents will be enchanted or impressed. I have to say, I am very bothered by the baby being there. No 4 month old should be subjected to that, let alone a special needs child. And I can not imagine that the parents of special needs children, don’t find it a little obscene that she is using the child as a campaign prop. That’s really amazing, to me.

By Deni G on 09/04/2008 1:43 am

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Thank you Deni. As the parent of two special needs children, I’ve been saying all along that she’s using Trig as a prop.

By Lorraine Bates on 09/04/2008 8:19 am

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Deni and Lorraine…had to go look up cynicism…again….The special needs child as prop makes me cynical…I wish it were otherwise…

By georgia fatwood on 09/04/2008 1:58 pm

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Deni, Then why did GW win the last election?

By Brooklyn Gal on 09/04/2008 10:48 am

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Dearest Carol, He didn’t. If you consider, as I do, that 2006 was the last election. The one Rove guaranteed they would win. They didn’t. No matter what the Republicans say, people still get up and drive to work everyday, watching their car drink their income, watch their grocery bills rise, their electricity bills rise, the health care costs rise. The anxiety we feel is not something from without, it is here and now. There is no covering that up with rhetoric and smears. The republicans may be screaming about taking down the good old boys. But they are the good old boys, who fashioneed this mess, they are railing against. They are chanting the same mantra, they have chanted for 8 years. The highs and lows are not the destination. When we focus on the ‘moments’ and let our emotions ride on them, we wear ourselves out and get tired and despondent. That is a long used tactic. Do not fall for it. Don’t indulge in it. Just like some goal in our lives, we are striving towards, if we invest ourselves in the moments that seem to put up roadblocks, we live in anxiety and lessen our chances of success. But when we do not hand-wring, when we keep our eye clear and on the goal and keep going forward, we do achieve that goal. Think about the poeple you know, who have achieved their objectives. Think about the mental and emotional process that got them there. And which is going to give you a better quality of life, confusion and doubt or a clear vision, followed through with strength and conviction? Follow the self you believe in, not the self that doesn’t believe in you.

By Deni G on 09/04/2008 1:58 pm

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Deni, I know where my votes is going. But many people I know and relatives are going in the other direction. Today it was reported that McCain and the RNC have way more money than Obama. I hope my donation will help make a difference, but it’s the big-time Hillary donors who have yet to contribute including the fat cats with the most money. I am hoping Palin lights a fire under these people.

By Brooklyn Gal on 09/04/2008 4:06 pm

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There are several answers to that. In 2000, as you know, it took the Supreme Court ordering the counting of the votes STOPPED for Bush to become president. Jeffrey Toobin wrote a very interesting book reviewing this and the followup efforts by media outlets to determine who Florida really voted for, and he concluded that had every vote been counted, Gore would have won. In 2004, there were hijinks in Ohio. The Ohio electoral votes re-elected votes. But the precincts in Ohio where there were more Democrats had too few voting booths, and long lines to vote, and some of the electronic voting machines arrived at precincts with votes already on them for Bush. There was an investigation about this in Congress, but sadly there is no Constitutional mechanism short of impeachment to vitiate an election for fraud. So what happened is that the “base” of the Republican party was energized by various issues to come to the polls and that made it close enough for the fraud to work. If you looked at the exit polls, in 2000 and 2004, Bush lost. If you looked behind the voter fraud, Bush should have lost. Also, in 2000, over 80,000 Florida Democrats were disqualified from voting for illegal reasons. And in 2006, a majority of the House and Senate became Democratic. Unfortunately, it was less than the number needed in the Senate to stop filibusters of key votes. So the minority of Republicans in the Senate has continued to stop votes like the vote to end the war.

By Elizabeth Bennett on 09/04/2008 4:22 pm

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Hi Elizabeth, First, I was not speaking of the first “stolen” election. And if you haven’t seen the movie Recount., please try to rent it. However, it was reported last night on Charlie Rose that soccer moms went for Bush the second time around in big numbers. Hopefully, this time around the security issue won’t scare them as much, and they will see the Palin pick is nothing but pandering. btw, did you hear about Peggy Noonon dissing Palin when she didn’t realize her mike was on. I hope she decided to speak her mind openly.

By Brooklyn Gal on 09/04/2008 4:31 pm

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Peggy Noonan is pretty smart. Maybe she knew her mike was on. I saw Recount and thought it was amazing, but it did not go far enough. It did not even mention the 80,000 disqualified votes or the ballots marked GORE in north Florida that were thrown out. Here is a resource for you, but there are several organizations working on getting fair elections in the USA. http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

By Elizabeth Bennett on 09/04/2008 4:37 pm

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Carol L., Rove is not a magician! Go explore the internet documentaries an discover how he stole both elections. No media outlet has explored this. I’m afraid this election will be stolen as well and I don’t know what to do about it.

By Tee Zee on 09/04/2008 8:07 am

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Hi Tee Zee, Rove is a manipulator. He got Texans to vote out a popular governor and Independents and soccer moms to vote for GW the second time. This is what worries me.

By Brooklyn Gal on 09/04/2008 10:45 am

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I think you really spoke to the truth of the differences between the people we heard last week and those we heard tonight. I had hoped Sarah Palin would step into her higher self in this speech and use the magnetism she has to move people forward in a positive way, Instead, she chose to mobilize their hate and hurtful energies again and again. I felt sadder and sadder as the speech went on and would have turned it off if it hadn’t been such an important cultural event. It is clear to me that we have serious thoughtful people running in the Democratic party who have done their best to present what they are about and be respectful and caring for the people of this country. I am appreciative of the effort Senator Obama did in the primary (even though I support HIllary), and hope he uses the same thoughtfulness in garnering enough electoral votes to win the election.

By Jenny G on 09/04/2008 12:03 am

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Yes, Jenny, it was a sad spectacle indeed. Maybe hoping that Sarah Palin would step into her higher self was unrealistic. Maybe she has no higher self. The rest of the Republicans certainly don’t. Hillary Clinton has said repeatedly that she trusts the good sense of the American people. I hope and pray that she is right in that assessment, and that when we go to the polls in November, we all take a good, hard look at the risks ahead for our children and grandchildren, and we vote for the party and the leaders who will treat the Constitution as the honorable document it is and who will restore dignity of this country I love. Only one party is committed to that effort - the Democrats with Barack Obama and Joe Biden as its leaders.

By Maurine H on 09/04/2008 12:28 am

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I’m not sure how we go about evoking that in people for this election. The republicans are so effective in their tactics that I think many people get disheartened and just withdraw from the process. I was amazed at the lies that are so acceptable in this group of people. In talking with people throughout this spring and summer about voting and making a difference, I was told over and over, “they all lie”. I wonder how we can go about establishing integrity in the majority of the people in our country…. and develop trust again. I think the Democrats just have to be consistent and as clear as possible and firm about their convictions. I sure admire the determination of those who are willing to step forward and fight this fight for all of us. Thanks for your good words.

By Jenny G on 09/04/2008 12:55 am