Palin was a member of a fringe political party

ABC News blogs are reporting that before Sarah Palin joined the Republican Party, she was a member of an Independent Party that has a plank suggesting that Alaska has a legal right to secede from the United States.

UPDATE: This story has been debunked as untrue. The person making the claim has backed off the story.

Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.

And while McCain’s motto — as seen in a new TV ad — is "Country First," the AIP’s motto is the exact opposite — "Alaska First — Alaska Always."

Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.

"We are a state’s rights party," says Clark, a self-employed goldminer. The AIP has "a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law."

She says it’s not accurate to describe the party as secessionist — they just want a vote, she says, adding that the members of the AIP hold different opinions on what Alaska should be.

"My own separate opinion as an individual is that we should be an independent nation," Clark says. Others in the AIP "believe that being a commonwealth would be a good avenue to follow." Some advocate statehood — but a fuller statehood than exists now.

Can I point out that if any member of Obama’s campaign or his VP had been a member of a group like this — the cries of “Unamerican!” would resounded at deafening volume from now until election day.

Continue ReadingPalin was a member of a fringe political party

Using the Sexism on the Left

Zuzu has an interesting post at Shakesville about how the choice of Palin may be an attempt to use the unchecked sexism within the Democratic Party against it:

Right on cue, the sexist attacks against Palin began on the left– which the McCain people were undoubtedly counting on.

Let’s look at how McCain’s selection of Palin fits in to the Rovian playbook. Already, feminists on the left are asking whether McCain thinks that women vote with their vaginas — but that only allows the GOP to turn that back on the Dems and ask why feminists think that Palin was chosen only because she’s a woman. Same with all the “what kind of mother” talk — aren’t Democrats the ones who are supposed to be all for working mothers?

Then there’s all the “Governor Barbie,” bimbo, golddigger, VPILF, CUNTRY, etc. crap. Oh, the Republicans will undoubtedly say, look how much the Democrats value women. All that unity business was a steaming pile of bullshit; they don’t value you when the chips are down.

And what the Republicans will do that the Democrats will not is call out the misogyny against their candidate. I’ve said it before — the Republicans would never, in a million years, stand by and let the media and the party rank-and-file treat one of their female candidates the way that Clinton got treated during the primary.
Thus, they turn a Democratic strength into a weakness. Or, rather, expose it as a weakness.

Now, as to why I don’t think that McCain actually thinks that disaffected Democratic women will flock to him just because he picked a wingnut gun-nut creationist woman with some ethical problems as a running mate: because he doesn’t have to get them to vote for him. He has to get them to stay home in swing states.

And what better way to get them to stay home than pick a running mate who not only helps him with his own base, but whose very physical presence he knows will bring out the misogynist bully boys who made Hillary’s life (and those of her supporters) such hell? The ones who never tire of making it perfectly clear that women who want attention paid to their issues in this election are not welcome in the Democratic Party?

Making it all the more perfect is the fact that Obama is boxed in — if he fails to rein in the football hooligans who comprise his rabid fan base, he will be (rightly) accused of supporting the misogynistic attacks against Palin, but if he publicly reins them in, he will be (rightly) accused of failing to do the same when those attacks were directed against Clinton, which will allow the Republicans to question the legitimacy of the process that put him over the top on the delegate count.

That genie isn’t going back into the bottle, not now.

And all those football hooligan fanboys who’ve turned their unleashed ids onto Palin now that Hillary’s out of the race and in the fold? They’re doing Karl Rove’s work for him. And so are the astroturfers and concern trolls.

I supposed Rove is enough of a snake to think that strategy all the way through — and to see the sexism of the Left/Democrats for what it really is; a dangerous, handy tool to be used against them. Whether he picked the right woman to place in the VP slot is another story, but the idea is plausible.

Continue ReadingUsing the Sexism on the Left

Sarah Palin and John McCain’s Judgment and Health

For progressives and Democrats, there’s lots to dislike about the GOP VP choice Sarah Palin.
As Melissa McEwan notes:

For the record, there is plenty about which to criticize Palin that has absolutely fuck-all to do with her sex. She’s anti-choice, against marriage equality, pro-death penalty, pro-guns, and loves Big Business. (In other words, she’s a Republican.)

Now for me the pro-death penalty and pro-gun stances aren’t a concern, but the rest is, and those two issues are core Democratic platform stances. Much as I dislike the folks at the DailyKos – many items on the list of 45+ Problems for McCain’s VP in just 35 Hours is worth a look.

Palin’s also got some pretty serious ethical problems, the surface of which is Troopergate as Doug Masson explains:

Palin’s sister apparently did not exercise great judgment in choosing her husband, Mike Wooten, a State Trooper. She filed for divorce, and things got ugly. No real political problem there. Messy divorce proceedings aren’t exactly uncommon.

But then, while the divorce was pending, Sarah Palin got elected governor and she and her family began pressuring the State police chief to fire Wooten. The police chief wouldn’t do it, and she fired him. Then she denied that she and her family had been involved in pressuring for Wooten’s termination.

Now she is backtracking on her denial that she pressured for Wooten’s termination, and an investigation has been launched into whether the police chief’s termination was improper.

There are some other ethical questions waiting in the wings to come to light as well that list of 45 problems covers the beginnings of them. I haven’t even begun to read through all those links yet.

Palin also has very little experience governing, and as Paul Begala notes on CNN, that’s a dangerous choice for VP:

Palin a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain’s age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

Emphasis mine. Steve Benen echos that concern:

Palin’s qualifications are, to a very real degree, secondary to the issue at hand. What matters most right now is John McCain’s comically dangerous sense of judgment. He picked a running mate he met once for 15 minutes, who’s been the governor of a small state for a year and a half, and who is in the midst of an abuse-of-power investigation in which she appears to have lied rather blatantly. She has no obvious expertise in any area, and no record of any kind of federal issues. McCain doesn’t care.

Sensible people of sound mind and character simply don’t do things like this. Leaders don’t do things like this. It’s the height of arrogance. It’s manifestly unserious. It’s reckless and irresponsible. It mocks the political process. Faced with a major presidential test, McCain thought it wise to tell an imprudent joke of lasting consequence.

That may sound like a flippant question, but it deserves a serious answer. Is there something wrong with him? Might this be evidence of some kind of impulse problem, as reflected in his shoot-first, think-second approach to foreign policy?

When I think about the respect that John McCain had worked so hard to develop, the stature he’d taken years to cultivate, and the reputation he’d built his career on, it’s breathtaking to see him throw it all away. If there’s a more complete collapse in modern political times, from hero to clown, I can’t think of it.

We’re poised to learn a great deal about Sarah Palin, but we’ve just learned even more about John McCain. He’s fundamentally unsuited for the presidency.

These are all serious and legitimate questions — and ones that deserve some examination and thought. It’s unfortunate that some of the first things out of the gate we’re hearing about from many so-called progressives on the choice of Palin are:

— VPILF.com
I hope I don’t need to explain why that’s sexist asshatery.

former beauty queen/McCain’s new girlfriend
Ditto.

— She has 5 kids! How will she care for them?!
Her husband and nanny are there to help with the kids, same as if she were a guy with five children. And asking the question in the first place is sexist asshatery.

She has a downs syndrome child! How will she care for it?!
Ditto.

Her daughter had the kid, and she’s pretending to be the mom!

OMFG. You’re kidding with this, right? Way to shit on her sixteen-year-old daughter. That’s just ugly, and mean-spirited.

And I know at least one family who handled a teen pregnancy this way. (No, a real family, not Bree Hodge.) I don’t
think it’s my place to pass judgment on a tough situation like that. When a kid needs to be taken care of an a young woman needs to be able to have a young-adulthood and prepare her for her adult life, I can see why some families might decide this is the best thing.

I’ve been breathing fire lately about all of the sexism thrown around in this election — If you’ve truly not seen it — the Shakesville blog has been running multi-part series about this subject throughout the election cycle that have provided more coverage than I ever could:

Hillary Sexism Watch (currently on part #109).

Michelle Obama Racism/Sexism Watch

Obama Racism/Muslim/Unpatriotic/Scary Black Dude Watch

and now:

Sarah Palin Sexism Watch

Continue ReadingSarah Palin and John McCain’s Judgment and Health

Election 2008 – Sarah Palin

Barack gave a great speech last night. Happy to be voting for the guy. Let’s get this party started.

On Sarah Palin as McCain’s VP — I don’t think that will do what he thinks it will. I know a lot of disenchanted Hillary supporters, but none of them want to vote McCain in the first place, and I don’t think the “oh, here — it’s a girl!” thing will actually attract them in any way. They may have liked Hillary better, but they like Obama just fine and will vote for him.

Palin’s record – Ugh.

Palin has focused on energy and natural resources policy during her short stint in office, and she is known for her support of drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a position opposed by McCain but supported by many grass-roots Republicans.

Her biography on the state governor’s Web site says one of the two major pieces of legislation passed during her first legislative session was a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline.

Palin started Alaska’s Petroleum Systems Integrity Office, an oversight and maintenance agency for the state’s oil and gas equipment, facilities and infrastructure. She created the Climate Change Subcabinet that would forge a climate change strategy, according to the Web site.

At present, Palin chairs the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate panel “that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment,” the biography says.

She has been named chair of the National Governors Association’s Natural Resources Committee. That panel is focused on legislation to ensure that federal policies take state priorities into account in agriculture, energy, environmental protection and natural resource management.

She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and takes part in two of Alaska’s popular pastimes — fishing and hunting.

I can’t think of someone less appealing, other than John McCain.

Continue ReadingElection 2008 – Sarah Palin