Tuesday, September 2, 2008

The Campaign to Kill Sarah Palin and her Daughter

Like everyone else the unfolding saga of Sarah Palin and now her daughter's pregnancy has gotten my attention. There are legitimate questions about John McCain's vetting process or lack thereof. But the real story here is the unprecedented attack on Sarah Palin and her family by the left. Not since liberals savaged the character of Clarence Thomas by using whack job Anita Hill's sketchy accusations have I seen anything like this. Her sin? Sarah Palin is everything the left and particularly the feminist left hate. She's pro-life, happily married with five kids, loves hunting and fishing and has thumbed her nose at the corruption in Alaskan politics and she didn't need a Melissa Ethridge soundtrack to do it. If Sarah Palin becomes Vice-President and becomes a roll model for young women, the feminists lose face. The Planned Parenthood crowd don't want the likes of Sarah Palin rewarded for their values. Any more than the left still can't stomach Clarence Thomas, they will do anything to derail Palin even if that includes eviserating a pregnant 17 year-old girl. I wonder how these people would have reacted if 17 year-old Chelsea Clinton had gotten pregnant. You can be sure the same folks now attacking Palin's daughter would have screamed privacy for the Clintons. If she'd had an abortion, they'd have declared a national holiday.

3 comments:

Jane said...

OK, just a few points of fact:

1) Anita Hill is not a whack job. She is a professor of law at Brandeis. Not the wackiest of places.
2) Clarence Thomas' character was not savaged. His supreme indifference to the law, the Constitution, and his appalling lack of credentials were quite enough to convince many people that he was the wrong man. Were we wrong? He has made it hard to tell: he is the most reticent (or cunning? or lazy?) judge on the court – offering meager opinions if any. We could have done better, and we should have.
3) Nobody really cares about Gov. Palin's hairstyle, shoe size, her preferred shotgun gauge, or her private life (messy or otherwise). Yes, some people are making hay out of this loco weed - but not the leadership of the DNC, our candidates, their staffs, nor most anyone I have heard from or heard about. Yes there are exceptions and I don't much care about them either.
4) There are still rumors out there that Sen. Clinton murdered Vince Foster. Therefore no attack, unfortunately for us all, is unprecedented.

The difficulty I am having with Gov. Palin is the dearth of any quality which would make her a viable Vice President (and God Forbid) President. To wit:

a) No foreign policy experience, or any interest in it heretofore (and no, Jim, the relative proximity of Russia to Alaska does not, I repeat, does not count.)

b) A viewpoint on education policy more akin to W.J. Bryan than William Bennett. Nothing wrong with homeschooling, but something very wrong with granting I.D. the same weight as the theory of evolution. Again, not a very big deal as Gov. of Alaska but a terrible prospect for the White House.

c) A rigidly conservative economic policy that will ensure that all the useful goodies imparted to us by W’s administration will continue and continue and continue. Check under your couch cushions for change.

d) Despite connections to the oil industry, she seems unconcerned by the fact that that industry is dying. Its not about the polar bears, it is about the 3 months of oil you might, might get. Arguing for drilling now is like running out of smokes and rummaging through your ashtray for a viable cigarette butt. When its gone – its gone.

e) Despite her past reliance on Sen. Stevens and all other things ear-marked, she portrays herself as a maverick. Ummm…gee, if it all hadn’t been so recent perhaps nobody would have remembered.

f) She doesn’t seem to understand that pro-choice also means pro-life decisions in the overwhelming majority of cases. It’s all about the choice, Sarah, OK? And about a woman’s privacy. After all the hee-haw over your daughter, wouldn’t you admit that privacy is a good thing?

and lastly –

g) Good God she is not qualified! There are many, many other women in the Republican leadership and even more in the Republican party who would bring far more judgment, experience, gravitas. W. wanted to tell me that one little seat in the Supreme Court didn’t matter so let Harriet have it. By choosing Gov. Palin, Sen. McCain is telling me that the office of Vice President doesn’t really matter. And for that cynical and snarky and misanthropic piece of business, we have Karl Rove and McCain’s ego to thank.

This really is unprecedented.

Anonymous said...

Jane- Sorry but Anita Hill was and still is a whack job. She was an abject failure as a lawyer going from one bad firm to another in spite of being black with a Yale Law degree. She's an affirmative action hire at a school noted for way left faculty and positions.
Experience as evidenced by Obama's success is overrated and voters are looking for Harry Truman's not effete liberals with a thick passport. There's more chance Hillary whacked Vince Foster than Palin faked childbirth. Both are preposterous. Abortion shouldn't drive your vote or disqualify anyone. As for qualifications...ie. Being Governor of Alaska means nothing, I have one word...Arkansas.

Herbert Sweet said...

Could it be that the daughters of conservatives rebel by having babies out of wedlock and the daughters of liberals join virgin clubs at evangelical outfits?