Democracy Has Prevailed.

August 29, 2008

Some Facts About Governor Sarah Palin

By now we've all heard that Senator McCain has picked Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

Palin is currently the Governor of Alaska. It's a big state (the biggest, by far) with a teeny tiny population (almost the teeniest, tiniest). According to the US Census the population of Alaska is estimated to be 683,478 (as of July 1, 2007).

Currently, that's her constituency.

She's about just 20 months experience as a Chief Executive. Before that she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population about 5,500).

To put this in context, Allegheny County (were I live) has a population that's nearly double that of Alaska: 1,281,666 according to the 2000 census. The city of Pittsburgh (also where I live) has a population that's roughly half of Alaska: 312,819.

And that's who John McCain wants to put one 72 year old man's heartbeat away from the Oval Office. Tell me again that Barack Obama doesn't have the experience to be Commander-in-Chief?

37 comments:

John K. said...

John K: And Biden and Obama have never been mayors of any city of any size. Nor have they been governors. In fact, the have only managed Senate staffs of what, 10 people. Obama has 143 days in the Senate. Palin has more time as Gov than Obama has in the Senate. She has been to Iraq. Of course, I am not sure what Allegheny County has to do with anything since no one from either party is from Allegheny County. And besides, based on the mess the Democrats have made of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh 5th poorest city LMAO LMAO) that is a good thing. Hussein Obama had to be goaded by McCain to go to Iraq. And, of course, Obama passed over Hillary. He did not even consider her. LMAO LMAO

John K. said...

John K: So we have Hussein Obama, passing over a woman for the VP slot. One who got 18 million votes. And then, since you mentioned it, we have the Democrats in Pittsburgh removing the 2nd ranking woman in the fire dept for a male. Looks like you folks are a wee bit jealous. LOL LOL You should join the Republicans, we promote women. Oh yah, Palin is a pro-life feminist. Grrr I bet that alone makes your teeth grind. LOL LOL

Dayvoe said...

John K needs to do his homework (again). He wrote, "She (Palin) has been to Iraq."

Turns out that reality (again) has eluded our troll. From The Wonk Room:
Remember — seems like years ago now, way back before the entire Iraqi government endorsed Barack Obama’s plan for Iraq — when John McCain and his flunkies were attacking Obama for having been to Iraq only once? Though she did visit Alaska National Guard troops stationed in Kuwait in 2007, Sarah Palin has apparently been to Iraq…never.[emphasis added]
Of course given John K's admirable reading abilities, I am sure he'll read the above and say that it actually says that Sarah Palin has been to Iraq. In fact she's been to Iraq more than anyone other than John McCain himself.

John, if you want to talk with the grownups you have to SOUND like a grownup.

Something for you to think about.

Dayvoe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dayvoe said...

Of course John McCain has never been a mayor of any city of any size, either. Nor has he ever been the governor of any state, either.

By your criteria, maybe Governor Palin should be the presidential candidate and Senator "I've never been a mayor or a governor" McCain should be the Vice President.

God knows he knows about vice.

Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

So the argument from the progressives (or in Dave's case "independents") is that Palin as a does not have the experience to be President. But Obama the community organizer does.
Glass houses, stones

Nice of you link the hacks at think progress.
Think Progress Covers Up Child Abuse in Palin Nomination Smear

John K. said...

John K: Yep Gov Palin made a visit to Iraq. That is documented along with the pictures. Obama has never been a mayor or a governor or in charge of anything. Same for Biden. She has 18 months experience as a Gov with an approval rating of 80%. They love her in Alaska. Obama has 143 days in the Senate and according to Chris Matthews no legislative initiatives of any note. WE WIN!

Dayvoe said...

Mein Herr;

Of course John McCain has never been a mayor of any size, either. Nor has he ever been the governor of any state, either.

By your criteria, maybe Governor Palin should be the presidential candidate and Senator "I've never been a mayor or a governor" McCain should be the Vice President.

God knows he knows about vice.

Bob said...

Of course Alaska loves a woman in office - there are only about a hundred women in all Alaska. I wonder if she's gotten that Highest State Rape statistic down yet?
======
Hussein JohnK wrote, "Blah blah blah blah Palin blah blah blah blah Hussein blah blah (LMAO LMAO) blah blah blah blah blah blah.
I am Hussein JohnK and I approve this message."
======
BTW, Biden is a Senator.
======
Hussein JohnK, What's with McCain saying he'll vote against the Immigration Bill that he wrote? Does that make any sense?
======
What about Palin saying Obama has no long term coal energy outlook? Obama just said the day before he wants clean-coal energy.

Anonymous said...

The wingers are really spinnin' their tires on this one...

First, McCain completely ceded the experience argument with the selection of Palin. If Palin is ready to become President, Obama has her beat by a country mile.

And, um, Obama has FOUR YEARS in the Senate.

Sorry to say this, but I'm afraid the responsiblities of a Senator significantly outweigh those of a mayor of a town with fewer than 6,000 people(a town called Wasila that Palin bankrupted). Honestly, are conservatives going to argue that that kind of executive experience prepares you for anything other than being the mayor of a small town?

And as the governor of the 47th largest state, not only did she praise Obama's energy plan just a few weeks ago but she also supported a windfall profits tax. Still, being governor of Alaska - for 1 1/2 years - is just a little below the stature of the US Senate.

Of course, as governor, she was endorsed wholeheartedly by Ted Stevens and Don Young, to of the most corrupt Republicans in the game.

Republicans promote women??? It only took them until 24 years after Democrats nominated the first woman ever for a Presidential ticket to do the same...wow! You guys are so with it!

But look at what Rush said: "We have a babe on the ticket." Pure sexism from the party of sexism.

McCain's selection of Palin had nothing to do with her experience or her qualifications and everything to do with the fact that she's a woman. For many women, that's a huge slap in the face, especially when McCain passed over a number of Republicans that are far more qualified than Palin - Hutchison & Whitman to name two.

Women haven't been fighting for centuries for equal rights just to receive a token appointment because John McCain thinks it will be a great campaign gimmick.

Unfortunately, the Republican party still falls woefully short when it comes to women's issues.

They do not support equal pay.

They do not support maternity leave.

They do not support education.

They do not support improving health care.

They don't support programs like Head Start.

They don't support laws to stamp out violence against women and harassment in the work place. They call that political correctness.

Listening to wingers, who come from a part that has never championed the rights of women, is quite laughable, because it's so clear that they're out of their element. These simply aren't issues that they are used to talking about because they don't!

All of these conservatives praising Palin's selection never gave a hoot about women's issues until today. And even then they have selected a person that is beholden to the extreme rightwing on a number of domestic issues.

To see just how unprepared Sarah Palin is - and let me say that otherwise she is a very nice person; it's not her fault McCain is putting her through this - Republicans are burnishing her foreign policy creds by saying that she, in fact, has some because...wait for it...Russia is near Alaska.

What?!?

Now, John K., is fibbing again, as usual.

Obama was instrumental in passing the largest ethics reform since the 1970's. He coordinated broad bipartisan support for tackling the problem of nuclear proliferation. As a senator in Illinois, he was responsible for expanding health coverage to millions of people. And that's just to name a few.

The right has been reduced to lies and smears from here until election day.

The Dems absolutely destroyed them with their convention. And, now, we have the Repubs prepared to flee Minnesota out of fear over a storm that will make landfall nearly 1500 miles away.

The Republicans can run, but they can't hide from the voters.

Their day of reckoning is fast approaching...

Anonymous said...

The first major decision that a Presidential candidate gets to make is the selection of a running mate. Barack Obama chose Joe Biden.

John McCain chose someone he talked to twice, and didn't know at all. He is risking our country for a campaign gimmick. Can anyone, including John K., think that she is even remotely qualified to be President should god forbid something happen to John McCain?

m dachshund said...

It seems that Ms.Palin's brand of Christianity is one that wants to smuggle the teaching of creationsim into our public school science classrooms.

A real relious wingnut, it seem..as opposed to the maverick's current religious posturing with Hagee and Parsley (End coming soon...prophecied cosmolobical showdown between good America and evil Islam... God's wrath = scourgre of US military might.

This pernicious zealotry must be stopped...

billrott said...

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/

Above is a link to one Alaskan's viewpoint on the pick. The information presented in it is very interesting and not at all as the Republicans portray this individual.

billrott said...

From the Alaskan Blog:

Governor “Squeakyclean”….or not.

Another focus of Palin’s introduction today was her reform image. Listen to John McCain and you’ll hear about a maverick reformer who took on big oil, took on corrupt Alaska politicians, and whose ethics are unquestioned.

Alaskans really want to like Sarah Palin. In a state where corruption is the rule, and the same faces keep recycling over and over and over again like a bad dream, a new face, with a promise of reform seemed like a breath of fresh air. Palin defeated incumbent governor Frank Murkowski (father of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski who he appointed to his own Senate seat when he was elected governor) because he was such an obnoxious, bloviating, downright BAD politician. This staunchly republican state voted with relief, not having to cross over and vote Democratic, but still able to get Murkowski the hell out of office. In the general election Palin swept into office running against a former Democratic governor, Tony Knowles, who was capable but came with baggage. And he represented to Alaskans more of the same, tired old-style politics, and special interests that we have come to loathe.

So, if McCain had made his selection six months ago, the squeaky-clean governor meme would have made a little more sense. But, Sarah Palin is currently under an ethics investigation by the Alaska state legislature. The details of this investigation read like a trashy novel, and I suspect that the players will soon have newfound celebrity on the national stage. I’ll try to explain for all you non-Alaskans who suddenly have good reason to want to know more about Sarah Palin. For those of you not interested in trashy novels, feel free to skip ahead. Here it is…what we in Alaska call “TrooperGate”.

Sarah Palin’s sister Molly married a guy named Mike Wooten who is an Alaska State Trooper. Mike and Molly had a rocky marriage. When the marriage broke up, there was a bitter custody fight that is still ongoing. During the custody investigation, all sorts of things were brought up about Wooten including the fact that he had illegally shot a moose (yes folks this is Alaska), driven drunk, and used a taser (on the test setting, he reminds us) on his 11-year old stepson, who supposedly had asked to see what it felt like. While Wooten has turned out to be a less than stellar figure, the fact that Palin’s father accompanied him on the infamous moose hunt, and that many of the dozens of charges brought up by the Palin family happened long before they were ever reported smacked of desperate custody fight. Wooten’s story is that he was basically stalked by the family.

After all this, Wooten was investigated and disciplined on two counts and allowed to kept his position with the troopers. Enter Walt Monegan, Palin’s appointed new chief of the Department of Public Safety and head of the troopers. Monegan was beloved by the troopers, did a bang-up job with minimal funding and suddenly got axed. Palin was out of town and Monegan got “offered another job” (aka fired) with no explanation to Alaskans. Pressure was put on the governor to give details, because rumors started to swirl around the fact that the highly respected Monegan was fired because he refused to fire the aforementioned Mike Wooten. Palin vehemently denied ever talking to Monegan or pressuring Monegan in any way to fire Wooten, or that anyone on her staff did. Over the weeks it has come out that not only was pressure applied, there were literally dozens of conversations in which pressure was applied to fire him. Monegan has testified to this fact, spurring an ongoing investigation by the Alaska state legislature. But, before this investigation got underway, Palin sent the Alaska State Attorney General out to do some investigative work of his own so she could find out in advance what the real investigation was going to find. (No, I’m not making this up). The AG interviewed several people, unbeknownst to the actual appointed investigator or the Legislature! Palin’s investigation of herself uncovered a recorded phone call retained by the Alaska State Troopers from Frank Bailey, a Palin underling, putting pressure on a trooper about the Wooten non-firing. Todd Palin (governor’s husband) even talked to Monegan himself in Palin’s office while she was away. Bailey is now on paid administrative leave.

As if this weren’t enough, Monegan’s appointed replacement Chuck Kopp, turns out to have been the center of his own little scandal. He received a letter of reprimand and was reassigned after sexual harrassment allegations by a former coworker who didn’t like all the unwanted kissing and hugging in the office. Was he vetted? Obviously not. When he was questioned about all this, his comment was that no one had asked him and he thought they all knew. Kopp, defiant, still claimed to have done nothing wrong and said to the press that there was no way he was stepping down from his new position. Twenty four hours later, he stepped down. Later it was uncovered that he received a $10,000 severance package for his two weeks on the job from Palin. Monegan got nothing.

After extensive news coverage about all this nasty behind-the-scenes scandal, which is definitely NOT squeaky clean, Palin’s approval ratings fell to 67%, still high, but a far cry from the 90% number that’s being thrown around so glibly by the Republicans today. Alaskans are quickly becoming disillusioned once again.

billrott said...

From the Alaska blog posting:

“Executive Experience”

Before her meteoric rise to political success as governor, just two short years ago Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla. I had a good chuckle at MSN.com’s claim that she had been the mayor of “Wasilla City”. It is not a city. Just Wasilla. Wasilla is the heart of the Alaska “Bible belt” and Sarah was raised amongst the tribe that believes creationism should be taught in our public schools, homosexuality is a sin, and life begins at conception. She’s a gun-toting, hang ‘em high conservative. Remember…this is where her approval ratings come from. There is no doubt that McCain again is making a strategic choice to appeal to a particular demographic - fundamentalist right-wing gun-owning Christians. And Republican bloggers are already gushing about how she has ‘more executive experience’ than Obama does! Above is a picture of lovely downtown Wasilla, for those of you unfamiliar with the area. Behind the Mug-Shot Saloon (the first bar I visited when I moved to Alaska long ago) is a little strip mall. There are street signs in Wasilla with bullet holes in them. Wasilla has a population of about 5500 people, and 1979 occupied housing units. This is where your potential Vice President was two short years ago. Can you imagine her negotiating a nuclear non-proliferation treaty? Discussing foreign policy? Understanding non-Alaskan issues? Frankly, I don’t even know if she’s ever been out of the country. She may ‘get’ Alaska, but there are only a half a million people here. Don’t get me wrong….I love Alaska with all my heart. I’m just saying.

billrott said...

Let me say, I am undecided on the Palin pick, yet the more I look, the more I find out that alarms me.

Here is a local news report investigation into Palin that includes many changes in statements and also appears to demonstrate the governor misused her office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UojMnCgqVA

billrott said...

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/08/29/did-palin-really-fight-the-bridge-to-nowhere.aspx

Here are her statements on the Bridge to No Where

Here's what she told the Anchorage Daily News on October 22, 2006, during the race for the governor's seat (via Nexis):

5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

inally, on September 19, 2007, she decided to redirect funds away from the project altogether with this sorry-sounding statement:

"Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer," said Governor Palin. "Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island," Governor Palin added. "Much of the public's attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened."

There are additional statements in the link provided.

Anonymous said...

More of what conservatives are saying about Sarah Palin:

Andrew Sullivan(IMO, he's one of the good guys now and I don't really associate him with the broader group of American conservatives any more. But that's what he says he is; who am I to argue?):

"Think about how the key factor in this decision was not who could defend this country were something dreadful happen to McCain in office but how to tread as much on Obama's convention bounce and use women's equality as a wedge issue among Democrats because it might secure a few points here or there. Oh, and everyone would be surprised. And even Rove would be annoyed.

This is his sense of honor and judgment. This is his sense of responsibility and service.

Here's the real slogan the McCain campaign should now adopt:

Putting. Country. Last."

link

David Frum:

"Maybe it will work. But maybe (and at least as likely) it will reinforce a theme that I'd be pounding home if I were the Obama campaign: that it's John McCain for all his white hair who represents the risky choice, while it is Barack Obama who offers cautious, steady, predictable governance...

But question: If it were your decision, and you were putting your country first, would you put an untested small-town mayor a heartbeat away from the presidency?"

link

Anonymous said...

The trouble w/ Palin:

"He's betting his presidency on a naked political play for holdout Hillary supporters and other female swing voters - and hoping that a large share of these predominantly pro-choice women will ignore or overlook Palin's staunch pro-life, anti-stem cell views."

Dan Gerstein

I was thinking about this earlier this evening: If the hope is to attract Clinton supporters, how exactly does McCain expect to make the proposition of rewarding someone else with Hillary's hard work palatable to these voters? After all, a number of Clinton supporters weren't open to the propostion of a female Democrat serving as VP if her name wasn't HRC; what on earth makes McCain think that they'll accept someone who is also not HRC, who is trying to steal HRC's thunder,who also belongs to a party diametrically opposed to what HRC's supporters believe? Who is also considerably less qualified than HRC?

The simple fact is that Palin is fundamentally opposed to what HRC stands for. And by voting for McSame/Pain would essentially voting to exclude HRC from playing a major role over the next four years. These voters have come home to Obama and will continue to do so because Hillary Clinton will be a powerful voice in an Obama administration.

That's not something McCain/Palin can offer; in fact, it's a certainty that they would simply exploit Senator Clinton as a scapegoat as the wingers did so often in the 90's.

You know, wingers were hoping to play off of divisions in the Democratic Party between the Obama and Clinton camps.

Well, I just want to let our wingers understand one thing: You have NEVER seen a Democratic Party more united in your entire lives, more hungry for victory, more dedicated to the cause of righting the wrongs incrued over 8 years of Republican negligence.

You simply do not fully appreciate how much we want to hand the Republican party an even bigger ass-kicking than we gave you in 2006.

We're not afraid of you. We don't quake at the lies you tell or the smears you spread.

You are not up against some soft, effete leftwing. Hit and we will hit back.

So, we're gonna talk about John McCain's age, his temper, his love affair with George W. Bush, his connections to Washington corruption, his devotion to lobbyists, his errantry for Charles Keating, his out-of-touch lifestyle, his refusal to answer simple questions, his reliance on others for answers...and how none of that can be covered up with the selection of a good person who is woefully unqualified.

Infinonymous said...

Some reports indicate that Gov. Palin is quite a package:

Supports teaching of creationism in public schools. Opposes any opportunity for gays to have unions recognized by government. Would criminalize all abortion, with the definition of that term to be supplied by the Catholic Church. Believes in "family values" to the point of pressuring, and then firing, a law enforcement official who declined to fire a state trooper who happened to be a former brother-in-law on bad terms with her sister. Flip-flopped on the Bridge To Nowhere when public opinion turned against it. A year ago, was filmed admitting "hadn't thought much about the war in Iraq," so she really didn't have an opinion about it, except that she "supported the president." Why would she do that? She considers herself a "hard-core conservative." Just what the country wants.

Oh . . . and for the wingnut social conservatives . . . she's a dope-smoker. How did that get past McCain? He apparently had met her exactly once before last week.

Joshua said...

Add to all of that that potentially, she lied about her recent pregnancy. There's a rumor going around that she's not really his mother, but rather grandmother, and that her daughter was the one who got knocked up and she hid it from view. The rumor is substantiated on a couple of things:

1. The picture of a supposedly 7-month-pregnant Palin being rather thin. Even her colleagues noted that she didn't look pregnant. Oh, and you're supposed to be showing at 7 months.
2. She was in Texas for an energy conference when she was 8 months pregnant. Problem is, most obstetricians won't let their patients travel long distances during the third trimester, as she could go into labor at any time. I doubt most airlines would allow a visibly pregnant woman onboard for that reason. Well, her water broke in Texas, and she flew back to Alaska to give birth. But here's the rub: again, I doubt airlines would allow a woman having contractions every so often on the plane. Also, the real danger of potentially giving birth on a plane. She knew he was going to have Down syndrome, so why put him at risk for cerebral palsy as well? It's either irresponsible thinking, or something is rotten in the state of Denmark (JohnK, that's a Shakespeare reference. Just cutting you off before you ridicule me).
3. Bristol Palin (Sarah Palin's daughter) was rumored to have been absent for a long time from her high school with a "long bout with mono" at about the same time her mother was pregnant. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

So if she's willing to hide her daughter's pregnancy, I shudder to think what else she could be hiding, namely corrupt deals and nepotism. If both the Troopergate and Babygate things turn out to be real, then I'm scared to think what this woman could do when (not if) she ascends to the Presidency, should McCain be elected.

dragonlibra said...

By John K's logic Obama should've picked Onorato as his VP. Gee, Allegheny has twice the population of Alaska. And Onorato has more experience than Palin. I can just imagine Miss Congeniality going up against the likes of Putin, the Saudis, or Ahmadinejad.
But hey, Baghdad Bob Steigerwald likes her. Baghdad Bob got a mention by Fineman tonight on Countdown that the only candidate Steigie liked was Palin. Probably the dummies like his listeners will fall for her as well. As Doozy Doocy put it on Faux today she's qualified cause hey Alaska is next to Russia!

Anonymous said...

Joshua, do you have a link to her picture?

I found this story in an Anchorage newspaper about how shocked everyone was: http://www.adn.com/front/story/336402.html, but it just shows a headshot.

On the other hand, it is winter in Alaska after all. It probably isn't hard to hide a pregnancy under layers of sweaters and parkas.

She is going to unite the Democrats even more. She is so far out there that she is going to drive a wedge through the Republican party. I wonder if a running mate has ever failed to win the party's nomination.

billrott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

But question: If it were your decision, and you were putting your country first, would you put an untested small-town mayor a heartbeat away from the presidency?"
By putting an untested community organizer in the presidency?
BTW Pittsburgh's version of Keith Olbermann (hack, humorless, arrogant, can not debate against anyone who disagrees with him, flies into a partisan rage at the drop of a hat, nitwit) John McIntire decries her as right wing gun nut.
I hope Obama will push that meme with the clingy bitter types.

billrott said...

So if this person is who John McCain thinks would be a good vice president, exactly what would the cabinet in a McCain presidency look like.

Right wingers, you have to put down the Kool Aid and attempt to save your party. This pick is very bad and you still have time to stop it via the convention.

I realize your fear is the loss of the presidency hopes, yet this pick pretty much invalidates any such hope on so many levels. This pick also has the ability to destroy your party down ticket and cripple your party in the future elections.

Seriously, stand up and save yourselves.

Anonymous said...

billrott,

nfortunately, you have to use HTML. <a href="URL">Label</a\>.

URL is the link and Label is what you see on the webpage.

Mike

Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

Right wingers, you have to put down the Kool Aid and attempt to save your party. This pick is very bad and you still have time to stop it via the convention.
2 months also it was believed that there was no way Mccain would win the Presidency from Obama.
Now it looks like the bloom is going off the rose with Mr hope and change you can believe in.
Sorry, if your opponent is giving you advice, you might take it with a huge mound of salt.
Next you will be saying that Mccain should support the assault weapons ban and abortion on demand to save the party.
As for drinking Kool-aid, progressives should remember that Jim Jones was a progressive who followers seemed to be similar to Obama's.
Here is some advice for the progressives. Keep spreading the rumor that that Palin's Downs baby is really her daughter's

Anonymous said...

Thanks for playing, Heir; better luck next time.

First, this rumor you accuse us of spreading. Frankly, your mention of it is the first time I've heard of it - so, I guess it's actually you conservatives spreading it.

Second, desperate much? No luck w/ Ayers, Wright or Rezko so you bring Jim Jones into this? Are you serious? Has your winger sensibilities led you so astray that you're reduced to making an absurd correlation? That's fantastic! And completely insane.

I will give you some advice though: If you're going to pick a female for VP to appeal to Clinton supporters and other women, you should probably make sure beforehand that that woman actually supports the views of most women.

Let me give you some reasons of why this pick won't work for you.

First, a lot of women are reacting very negatively to this pick; they see it as a gimmick. And die-hard Clinton supporters are incensed at the notion of nominating someone with considerably less experience than Hillary, especially when that person presumes to assume Hillary's mantle as a leading voice among women.

Second, the Republican party has no history of standing up and supporting women's issues. Let's take SCHIP for an example. An issue of major concern to female voters is the availability of health insurance to children who need it. And yet the Republican party stood in the way until they were shamed into doing the right thing and expand SCHIP.

Frankly, women just aren't going to buy it. The only way they would is if the Republican Party and conservatives in general had a history of ACTUALLY promoting women and not one of repressing them.

Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

First, this rumor you accuse us of spreading. Frankly, your mention of it is the first time I've heard of it - so, I guess it's actually you conservatives spreading it.
This rumor started at the Dailykos.
Oh and maybe you should look at the posting 12:10 AM, Blogger Joshua said...
Add to all of that that potentially, she lied about her recent pregnancy. There's a rumor going around that she's not really his mother, but rather grandmother, and that her daughter was the one who got knocked up and she hid it from view.
Nice try at deflection.

billrott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joshua said...

A poster on Digg whose wife is a gynecologist was responding to my question on what type of damage boarding a plane after water breakage can do. For one, once water breaks, the sterile environment in which the fetus resides is breached, making it possible for infection to spread. Also, it's likely that the premature labor could indicate distress on the baby's part. Reduced oxygen levels at 8,000 feet and above may not be noticed by the mother, but it's surely noticed by the baby in distress. In short, Gov. Palin put her baby at risk for cerebral palsy and severe infection (not to mention her own life) if indeed she was really pregnant. That's Mother of the Year material there. Why she would do that, I don't know. Occam's Razor points to the high improbability of a mother who already knows her child is going to have special needs to put him at risk for needing more special needs. Hence, the "cover-up" hypothesis. No cover-up is perfect, as Nixon could attest to.

So, she covered up her daughter's pregnancy, what's the big deal? Well, for one, it could portend other cover-ups she may have committed, especially in business and political dealings which may border on the criminal or irresponsible. Second, the whole "politics of sex education and abortion" thing. It would point to a major failure of abstinence-only education, much like Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy did. Third, the potential for hidden shame that may impact Bristol's psychology for the rest of her life, pointing to potential abuse of an adolescent. In short, she's gone from "nice lady, but don't want her as my President" to "she's the spawn of Satan" in my mind.

Joshua said...

Oh, and the rumors started 4 months ago on a Reddit.com post, not on DKos. DKos is merely bringing it to attention, and even then, the diary has already been de-rec'ed.

billrott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Um, Heir, try not to be a jerk...you're mention of it was honestly the first time I heard it...sorry, but I don't read every single comment that is posted here.

Anonymous said...

And let me add, Heir, that for a winger to come on here and complain about rumors is hysterical.

Sorry, but your feigned sense of righteous indignation and incessant winger whining is lousy with hypocrisy.

If you can't take what your side dishes out, I suggest you get out of the game.

And if you didn't want to deal with rumors, your candidate should have picked a person he actually knew, not someone he met twice and talked to on the phone once.

Also, if you're looking for someone to blame...try Alaska, where all of this info and rumors about Palin are coming from.

Anonymous said...

Now I am not going to make a point by knocking any other persons opinions, but when I think of somebody who should be running for VP, I believe we should look at who is the next best choice for the presidency itself. Looking at McCain, being as old as he is, we should wonder why he is not picking a stronger VP. I do have to say, that one major issue I have with Palin is how she seems to have prioritized her life. It seems that being VP is more important then her family. And by family I am referring to her 2 month old with Down Syndrome, Her 17 yr old pregnant Daughter, Her son who is shipping off to Iraq, and a husband who is away for long periods of time with work. I understand that the VP or the president should have the national government as a high priority, as a party that strongly supports the importance of the nuclear family, it doesen't seem that she is following such. I believe that neither party is fault free, and as a supporter of the democratic party, I believe that McCain did not make the strongest choice for VP