debunking some common misconceptions about Palin

i'm really surprised. Newsweek has published an interesting article concerning a spate of rumors surrounding Sarah Palin. interesting. seems most of this crap was generated by a Dem in Alaska. who must have thought she was doing her political duty making crap up. read and learn.

politics, and the role of women in them

Commander Salamander has a pretty sharp entry where he suggests Obama man up. great job, as usual Cmdr.

and to use part of a phrase i read today, the wheels may not have fallen off the Obama bus yet, but the lug nuts are certainly backing off. one or two too many curves, and that bus may end up in the weeds.

the role women play in modern American politics has experienced a relatively radical sea change in the last couple of years. hillary, pelosi, and others have shown that women are simply not to be discounted or ignored when it comes to leadership roles in this country. i say it's about damned time. too bad the two examples i used are from way over on the other side of the fence from me, but it does point out that huge strides have been made. and what is particularly sweet for me is that the biggest step may be taken by one of those women often denigrated and underestimated by the liberal factions in this country. that would be gun toting mom from out west, with no law degree and close ties to "small town" America. what also fascinates me is the apoplectic paroxysms of the feminists, leftists, and the others out there. oh my, here is a woman, but she isn't in our club.
yesterday's SF Chronicle Insight section had a front page essay by one of the members of that select group of women. or she WAS a member. let's see, she was a life long member of the Dem party until recently (she's registered as "declines to state") now, and was the former president of the L.A. chapter of N.O.W., the epicenter of feminism in this country.
a quote or two from the article:

...There was a lot of pandering and lip service to women's rights, and evenings filled with anecdotes of how so many have been kept from achieving their dreams, or failed to be promoted, simply because they were women. Clinton's "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" were mentioned a heck of a lot. More people began to wonder, though, how many cracks does it take to break the thing?

Ironically, all this at an event that was negotiated and twisted at every turn in an astounding effort not to promote a woman.

Virtually moments after the GOP announcement of Palin for vice president, pundits on both sides of the aisle began to wonder if Clinton supporters - pro-choice women and gays to be specific - would be attracted to the McCain-Palin ticket. The answer is, of course. There is a point where all of our issues, including abortion rights, are made safer not only if the people we vote for agree with us - but when those people and our society embrace a respect for women and promote policies that increase our personal wealth, power and political influence.
...
Palin's candidacy brings both figurative and literal feminist change. The simple act of thinking outside the liberal box, which has insisted for generations that only liberals and Democrats can be trusted on issues of import to women, is the political equivalent of a nuclear explosion.

The idea of feminists willing to look to the right changes not only electoral politics, but will put more women in power at lightning speed as we move from being taken for granted to being pursued, nominated and appointed and ultimately, sworn in.

check out the article, and see what i'm talking about.
hell, even the Brit's get it.

...
People have concluded that politicians of all parties seem to inhabit a world apart, governed by self-interest, cynicism, corruption, incompetence, deep contempt for the electorate and an incorrigible instinct to deceive them.

Politicians know this. Which is why they all purport to stand on a platform of 'change'.

But change from what to what, precisely?

Unless there's a clear answer, 'change' becomes a pointless soundbite which risks creating an impression of yet more political sleight of hand.

This is the trap into which Barack Obama has fallen.

Yes, he has amazing gifts of charisma and oratory; along with his youth and black ancestry, this all helps create the impression that he is an outsider and embodies a fresh start.

But, on closer inspection, he looks suspiciously like yet more of the same old same old. The way he changes his political message to fit the audience he is addressing sits ill with his pitch to represent a new politics of integrity.

And his voting record and positions on social issues place him firmly among the Left-wing elite which has waged such devastating war upon the West's moral values.

By contrast, Palin has a very strong sense of right and wrong rooted in her evangelical Christian faith. Perversely, this damns her in the eyes of the Left as the 'hard Right'.

This is clearly absurd: she is a working mother of five who has shown herself as capable of felling Big Oil and other political cartels against the public interest as shooting moose.
...
For she has taken the supposed characteristics of the Left - youth, dynamism, change, excitement and social conscience - and presented them as conservative virtues.

Since the Left habitually shores up its own position by demonising conservatives as nasty, backward-looking, mean-spirited, lifedenying, prejudiced, stupid and boring, it recognises her as a mortal threat - not just to Obama but to its whole political platform.

Accordingly, it is frenziedly hurling smears and allegations at her. And maybe she will eventually fall apart under the pressure.

read this article at The UK Daily Mail

ayup, going to be an interesting 59 days....

Palin's nomination didn't surprise everyone

check out this entry at Stubborn Facts for a well linked readout about Sarah Palin's selection. Want to know what the red meat folks are thinking? don't read the NYT. There is a virtual who's who of the right's biggest bloggers listed in the post, and if you really want to know what "WE" are saying, check them out.

and before you think i'm claiming to have known ahead of time... i'm not. i was as surprised as everyone else. i didn't think McCain had the balls to pull this one out of his hat. i was happily wrong.

updateDave came in laughing his ass off. he said he heard on the radio that "Palin is doing to Obama what Jackson said he wished he could do."
what a hoot!

it's official, McCain and Palin

dang, i just watched the Palin speech at the convention. i can see why the folks that know her in Alaska call her "Barracuda". a kid in one hand, and a set of brass knuckles on the other. i don't think the dems are prepared for someone like her.
oh, they'll dig, and squawk about everything, and if she's been a real campaigner for her constituents all along, there will be things that can be used, i'm sure.
guess we really won't know the mettle of her until the VP debates. a great delivery of a speech written by a staff is one thing. one on one with the old guard, a known scrapper in his own right, that will be one of the deciding factors.
but i have to say that speech was well crafted and well delivered.
McCain and Palin in 08

i may have to move out of the house until after the election, since i married a dem. a well read dem at that. dammit.

Media's 360 degree coverage of the Palin family

From today's email:

For Immediate Release Contact: Robert Romano

September 3rd, 2008 Phone: (703) 383-0880

To Whom It May Concern:

It is rare that we at ALG News are actually disgusted with the coverage of a political campaign, but the truth is, we have been positively appalled by the vicious attacks against the family of Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee. So much so that ALG’s award-winning cartoonist, William Warren, produced the following cartoon portraying a ravenous media feasting on the Palin family.

click for larger image


We believe that all fair-minded journalists were as shocked by some of the coverage as we were, and in that vein, we encourage you to republish and redistribute the cartoon. There are no royalties or restrictions involved.

Clearly, the attacks against Mrs. Palin and her family have gone far beyond the pale, and have no place in a mature discussion about the direction America is going in this year.

Sincerely,

Robert Romano
Editor
ALG News Bureau

###



Americans for Limited Government is a non- partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms,private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at Get Liberty.Org.