Wow, I was wrong about Sarah Palin. She has convinced me with her brilliant oratory that being mayor of Polar Bear Spunk, Alaska has made her completely ready to be President of the United States if John McCain croaks.
Just kidding. She fucking sucks.
A few notes as I listened and looked in abject horror at the hyper-"patriotic" Pleasantville presentation that unfolded before me:
-I'm sorry, but her voice is fingernails-on-the-chalkboard irritating. She would be a prime instrument of the torture that John McCain used to be against but now supports.
-She says that "John McCain puts country first." Maybe he used to, but not lately; and certainly not when he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate.
-I'm not going to say anything bad about her children. If she had taught her teenage daughter about birth control like any responsible 21st Century parent, the kid wouldn't be in the national spotlight as a right-wing Juno.
-She mentions that her husband, Todd, *sigh* is a fisherman and likes to kill moose with his bare hands, etc., but fails to bring up his affiliation with traitorous fringe groups who want Alaska to expatriate itself from the good ol' USA.
-She praises Harry Truman, who was a Democrat. I wonder if she knows this.
-Oh, let the pandering to "small towns" begin. Those damn city dwellers and their uppity ways will flat ruin us!
-If I had a dollar for every time someone said "hockey mom" I'd have several dollars.
-She says she joined the PTA because "I wanted to make schools better for my children." I guess she thought she'd achieve that noble goal by eliminating the teaching of science.
-She speaks about John McCain in glowing terms, of course, but then insults "Washington insiders". John McCain IS a Washington insider, no matter how many times Sarah Palin calls him a "maverick" in that annoying, hooked-on-phonics cadence of hers.
-Then she claims she is against the "status quo". Madame Governor, you are the vice presidential candidate for the Republican party. It doesn't get any more status quo than that.
-Wow, what a reformer! Sarah Palin sure cleaned up Alaskan government, and if you don't believe her, ask the Republican attorney general who "investigated" ethics violations against her.
-She claims to have always been against the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska, but people who were there at the time
remember differently. In other words, she's a filthy liar.
-This Republican crowd sure likes ol' feisty Sarah. I like the way she condescends to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and anyone left of Joseph McCarthy. Way to appeal to those independents, GOP.
-She mentions solar, wind, and geothermal energy, which is great. Seriously. Too bad the guy at the head of the ticket has never mentioned any of those things. Of course, since they hardly know one another, it shouldn't surprise me that they may differ on policy.
-Sarah basically calls Obama and Biden pussies because they weren't tortured by the Viet Cong like "Ironsides" McCain. Hey, does that means she's calling Chuck Norris a pussy? Fuck her!
That was very heart-tugging, really. It reminded me of a time long since passed in a place that never really existed, a place called Republicanville; where all the men wear nice-but-not-too-nice suits, all the women have kids until their uterus collapses, and all children are taught abstinence only, to mixed results.
As Sarah Palin tried to appeal to "average hard working Americans" while representing the party that viciously ass-rapes them on a daily basis, she forgot to mention that she's against abortion in all cases, including rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother; and several other FAR right wing policies she supports. Since John Kerry's milquetoast ass isn't our nominee this year, I'm confident the public will be notified of her extremism.
But wait, there's more
I was too angry last night to effectively express my outrage at Sarah Palin's smarmy, dismissive attitude toward Barack Obama's work as a community organizer.
For years the Republicans have said "Hey, don't always rely on the government to help you out. There are grass roots community organizations that will be happy to lend a hand." Well, Sarah Palin took a big healthy shit on all of that last night. Community organizers, who according to Palin have no real responsibilities, feed and clothe poor people and their children, shop for senior citizens who can't get around anymore, help people find jobs TO KEEP THEM OFF OF WELFARE, and even take potential voters to the polls on election day. A lot of these community organizers are faith based, which you'd think would be appealing to a fundamentalist like Sarah Palin, but I guess not. I guess she only wants churches to validate her closed-mindedness and tell people who aren't just like her that they're going to hell.
Several years ago I was with a Habitat for Humanity group that helped build a house for a family in Sumter, South Carolina. A community organizer made sure that the pros did the important work while schlubs like me helped with the more mundane details. I'm sure the mother of two who was moving into the house (and was there alongside us, helping us work), a very religious Southern Baptist, was extremely grateful for the work of the community organizer Sarah Palin mocks.
Oh, and while she's been governor of Alaska, she's cut funds to special needs children by 62%. That may change now that she has a special needs child of her own, but what a shame that she felt the need to cut funds in the first place.