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Sunday, August 31, 2008

McCain Picks Sarah Palin? Seriously?

I just got back from my friend's wedding and have been absorbing the profoundly disturbing news that McCain made one of the most incomprehensibly irresponsible, politically motivated decisions in the history of modern presidential politics: the selection of Sarah freaking Palin as his VP. Are you kidding me? Seriously?

I've had some time to digest a large number of reactions from around the media and blogosphere and I am still unable to fully comprehend how shockingly reckless, craven and "manifestly unserious" this decision truly was.

On the one hand, you have Sarah Palin and how dishonest, inexperienced, extreme, corrupt and unvetted (seriously unvetted) she appears to be (see below for a 50-point list of what we know about her to date). Don't even get me started on the shameless tokenism that this represents. Even the Republican Alaska Senate Senate President had this to say of her:

"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"

On the other hand, you have John McCain and how this decision so blatantly reveals him to be an intellectually incurious, cynical, impulsive, "shoot-from-the-hip" nutjob who is more concerned with winning an election than choosing a qualified person to fill the second-most important job in the world.

I will post more on the topic but in the meanwhile, check out this remarkable list of what we know about Sara Palin thus far, compiled by an intrepid kossack:
  1. Sarah Palin has an Abramoff problem - a Pro-Palin illegal mailer was sent during her gubernatorial campaign on behalf of Palin by the RGA, the DC group that got money from Abramoff, Reed, etc.
  1. She advocated AGAINST mine safety / pollution control
  1. She has an ANTI-ENVIRONMENT RECORD and is on the wrong side of global warming and doesn't think polar bears should be listed as endangered because it interferes with her drilling plans.
  1. She's against sex education - abstinence only.
  1. She appears to oppose windfall taxes on oil companies at the national level but supported them to benefit her state.
  1. Believes Creationism should be taught in science classes
  1. Don't believe the whispers that she supportive of the GLBT community. She's opposed to state health benefits for same-sex partners and only vetoed a resolution that would have ended state benefits because the Supreme Court had already declared it unconstitutional.
  1. She's opposed to universal health care and stem cell research
  1. No foreign policy experience? According to the folks at FOX think she has foreign policy experience because "Alaska is near Russia." Oh, and she didn't even have a passport until last year.
  1. She doesn't know what the Vice President really does.
  1. This choice is NOT helping McCain's polling numbers, especially with women.
  1. McCain only met Sarah Palin ONCE and talked to her TWICE making this a purely cynical and desperate political appointment by HIS CAMPAIGN not by him! She's not really HIS VP choice.
  1. She's deeply connected to the Bridge to Nowhere.
  1. She stated that she would force her own daughter to have a rapist's child.
  1. She has 3 houses
  1. Terre pointed out that she's connected to VECO - the company at the heart of Ted Stevens' troubles. She also received an endorsement from Ted that has suddenly disappeared from her webpage.
  1. She called candidate Clinton a whiner. Why does everyone in the McCain campaign think others are whiners?
  1. She apparently hasn't taken a stand on most major political issues
  1. Her selection has created a major rift among the Republicans, especially Romney & Pawlenty.
  1. Past quotes by Rove make Palin's selection look like desperation.
  1. Palin may have been scrubbing her own wikipedia page
  1. Sarah Palin, Buchanite - Palin supported Pat Buchanan in 2000, a fact which may alienate certain Florida voters. Hat tip to misslotus
  1. She was vetted too quickly and McCain only picked her the night before making the announcement.
  1. She's still focused on Alaska not the fact the she would be Vice President for the whole nation.
  1. She participated in a profane on-air attack againt the Alaskan State Senate President and giggled at the word b*tch..
  1. Like Bush and McCain, she can't admit when she's wrong.
  1. She's linked to the Dominionist movement and Joel's Army.
  1. The United Steelworkers have already spoken out against her.
  1. She was a bad mayor who left her town's economy in tatters.
  1. She supported Obama's energy plan, but suddenly these references are disappearing.
  1. Some of the PUMA's believe that John McCain is patronizing them.
  1. Additionally, this choice eliminates the "He's not ready" attack on Obama.
  1. This choice raises the issue of McCain's age (Is Palin ready to take over if he keels over).
  1. It also raises the issue of McCain's past unfavorable statements against women.
  1. Additionally, this choice reminds us that McCain is an adulterer and raises the spectre that he is just a dirty old man with wandering eyes.
  1. Palin's husband is on BP's payroll creating a possible conflict of interest.
  1. She made extremely poor use of Eminent Domain during her time as mayor.
  1. She favors censoring library books (Alert your local librarian!)
  1. Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young (both under investigation) campaigned for her in 2006.
  1. She didn't support McCain in the primaries.
  1. The top 2 ALASKAN newspapers question her fitness for the job.
  1. She supports aerial hunting of wolves even though it was outlawed by Congress. She's using a loophole.. Hat tip to Scarce
  1. Undecideds apparently don't like the Palin pick. Thanks marabout40!
  1. More environmental problems - She fighting to prevent Belugas from being listed as endangered. Thanks again Terre!
  1. In addition to polar bears, belugas, and wolves, for the first time in Alaskan history she is supporting hunting black bear sows and cubs. Thank you for the information Bodean.
  1. She's either going to be distracted by being deposed soon or she is going to draw negative attention by trying to avoid being deposed.
  1. There have been discussion of witness tampering and possible impeachment hearings related to charges of her abuse of power
  1. MEME: Palin's selection provides a clear example of John McCain's hasty decision-making and poor judgement on important issues (like who would be best qualified to take his place if he could not complete his term).
  1. She wants to destroy 1.5 MILLION ACRES of ANWR, not the 2000 acres she has lied about on the news.
  1. Palin stated "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq.."

Posted by Metavirus at 8/31/2008 07:37:00 PM  

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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

My question is....

How can someone be pro-development of fossil fuels when they don't belief in fossils?

LOL

September 1, 2008 at 3:13 PM  

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