by Nan Rhyner
How DARE you stand on that stage, on the shoulders of generations of women who have struggled and sacrificed to allow a woman to achieve what you have, and spit in their faces the way you have done over the past few weeks? For a serious candidate for vice president to turn in such a poor performance in interview after interview that the fact that you managed not to pee on the stage meant that you exceeded many people’s expectations is a crying shame. In the month since you were named as candidate for VP, you have embodied every single negative stereotype ever put forward as a “reason” why women are not fit to lead a nation. You have been shallow, superficial, disorganized, and clearly uninformed on a wide range of issues that the president MUST understand. That is absolutely disgraceful. You are no longer Miss Wasilla – this is not a beauty contest that you can win by chirping “World peace!” into a microphone and waiting for someone to show up with your tiara and sash – it is deadly serious. How do you propose to take over the presidency, should that be necessary, when it takes you weeks of preparation and drilling and rehearsal in seclusion to get through a 90 minute debate? You are so afraid of the press after your three disastrous interviews that you have decided to avoid them completely – don’t think that we can’t see through your attempt to spin the situation to cast yourself as a victim of the evil, mean, press corps. Do you seriously believe that that would be an option for you, should you ever become president? What will you do then?
How DARE you stand up there and criticize other nations’ lack of women’s rights, when you have systematically worked to strip women of their rights since you have had power of any sort? Your city led the fight in Alaska to charge women for the rape kits used to gather forensic evidence after a woman has been sexually assaulted. Your state leads the nation in number of forcible rapes per capita, but you’ve done nothing to stem the tide. You speak out against socialized health care – you don’t want the government involved in what you believe are private decisions – but you’re more than happy to take away a woman’s right to choose whether to continue an unwanted pregnancy, even if that pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
How DARE you stand in front of us as a nation and claim that you are prepared to lead us in finding a way to improve education, when you have demonstrated over and over again your own lack of understanding of basic principles of science, history, and civics? Any high school freshman should be able to name at least one or two other Supreme Court cases. Finding ones you disagreed with might be a bit harder, although for me, Bush v. Gore, Plessy v. Ferguson, and District of Columbia v. Heller come to mind pretty quickly. One would hope that you would also disagree with the verdict of at least the second case in that list. How is it that you propose to lead our nation in its interactions with other countries, yet you can’t be bothered to do some studying to find out what the Bush Doctrine might be? You don’t seem to grasp the concept that if you do not understand what is causing climate change, you will not be able to do anything to stop it. Yes, the climate has warmed and cooled in the past without it being caused by human activity – but the difference is those climate changes happened over centuries and millennia — not decades. They also tended to be accompanied by mass extinctions. It seems to me that, even if you don’t believe that humans are to blame, it’s worth taking action to make absolutely sure that we’re not part of the problem. Your position in opposition to comprehensive sexual education is fatally flawed. As the gap between puberty and marriage widens for more and more young people, abstinence becomes more and more unlikely. Young people will have sex, and nothing that we say or do will ever stop that. Sex is a basic drive for humans. We can either accept this fact and make sure that these young people have comprehensive sex ed – including a thorough understanding of how to prevent pregnancy and disease – and access to condoms and other forms of birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of STIs, or we can continue to see young people’s options in life severely limited by disease and unplanned pregnancies. I have been unable to definitively substantiate reports that you are a young-earth creationist who believes that dinosaurs coexisted with humans, but if that is true, it is one more proof that you are unfit to lead this nation. Science and technology are the US’s only hope for maintaining its position in the global economy. We cannot move forward as a nation and maintain our position in the vanguard of science and technology behind a leader who rejects even the most basic scientific understanding in favor of myths and legends.
How DARE you claim to be part of a middle-class family? The AP reports that your family income is approximately $230,000 per year, with assets in excess of $1 million. That’s almost 4 times the average income in Alaska, and over 5 times the average income in the entire US. That’s approximately 3 times the net worth of Joe Biden. The folksy, aw-shucks routine is a calculated fake with which you hope to lie your way into national-level power – what other reason could there be for you refusing to release your financial information before the VP debate, other than your hope that no one would bother to fact-check your claim to be in the middle class? God help us if you actually succeed at this. You are nothing more than a conniving, grasping politician who favors style over substance. You talk of your status as an “outsider”, but your true colors showed tonight as you talked of your hopes of expanding the power you would wield as vice president, were the American people crazy enough to elect you. Dick Cheney has already had his crack at running the country into the ground by wielding powers to which he had absolutely no right, from a Constitutional standpoint. The LAST thing we want to do now is expand those powers further for the likes of you.
We’ve been lied to for eight years already. We’ve dealt with cronyism and abuse of power. We’ve watched the government stonewall inquiries into even its most blatantly illegal and unethical actions. (We’ve already seen evidence of how you’re more than happy to do these things as well, in your less than two years as Alaska governor. Why is it that you are no longer asking us to “hold you accountable” in your ethics inquiry? Why are your people now refusing to answer subpoenas so that the inquiry can proceed?) We’ve seen our homes and jobs and money stolen, and watched wealth concentrated in the hands of the rich while the poor and the middle class suffered. We’ve watched oil company profits shoot up, and no-bid contracts handed out unapologetically to companies with undeniable ties to the Bush/Cheney regime. We’ve watched scientists routinely manipulated or squelched if their findings were inconvenient to the administration’s political objectives. We’ve seen ally after ally throughout the world alienated. We’ve watched thousands of young men and women die in a preemptive war which the government lied to us to start, yet we’ve continued to fail to catch the people who were actually the ones that attacked us on 9/11. We’ve watched the economy tank, and the deficit skyrocket. You talk about “change”, but spout the same old policies we’ve seen over and over and over and over. You are nothing more than 4 more years of Bush.
And it’s time we said “Enough.”
As for you, the best thing you could do for the nation is to take your family, and go back to Wasilla. Spend time in that lovely house you own – the one by the lake. Or maybe in one of your vacation cottages. Relax. Maybe read a book. You can use your private plane to get there. But leave the rest of us alone. We’ve had enough of your type.
Sincerely,
Nan Rhyner
Nan Rhyner is an aspiring teacher, an animal lover, and a flaming liberal. Nan lives in the Midwest with far too many rescued dogs, cats, and guinea pigs, and an extremely tolerant roommate. She rants about politics in her spare time.
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 
God bless you for an articulate, cohesive and sobering assessment of Gov. Sarah (Peter Principle) Palin. Thank you
Bravo!! We need more of these kinds of articulate articles with the facts and the outrage! People need to see beyond the winks and the “Bobby’s Mom” Accent to the “real” Sarah. The Sarah who’s best interest is not helping America but helping Sarah Palen.
Takes the discussion away from McCain… doesn’t it? You’re falling my plans nicely, thank you!
The number of times I wanted to reach through and strangle her during the VP debate.
“Aw shucks? Didn’t you go to college?”
“Yes, we get it, Alaska is an energy producing state, so are a bunch of others”
“So you’re going to shake things up? Do you know which party is in power NOW?”
“ANSWER THE FREAKING QUESTION ASKED!!!”
I would have applauded if Biden had slapped her when she talked about being a parent. He IS a single parent you dolt.
Lara Amber
Biden sure has a nice house for someone worth only $150,000.
Jeff
So 150,000 x 3 equals a million, Jeff?
Jeff,
Biden’s been in the Senate for a long time. I think he can afford a nice house after 30 plus years on a Senator’s salary. He’s released his financials, if you have any questions about them look them up instead of insinuating something darker. The guy is like third from the bottom for personal net worth in the Senate. Meaning your line of attack is the very defnition of stupid.
Judy
To paraphrase the immortal Bette Davis in All About Eve:
“I want everyone to shut up about Sarah. Just shut up about Sarah.”
Yes, this is articulate, fact-based and cogent. And everyone who agrees with it already knows it, and everyone who doesn’t won’t believe it or won’t care if it’s true, and the best way to marginalize someone who deserves it is to simply IGNORE THEM.
Or better yet, laugh at them. Thank you, Tina Fey.
Thanks! I was get’n mighty tired out there on the old campaign trail. Thanks for talking about all this stupid Palin crap 24/7 — gives me the break my old bones needed.
Oh, and see you in the White House, suckers!
Oh, and thanks for the knee jerk reactions to “jeff,” changed the topic NICELY Wha ha ha ha ha….
I’d be a lot more concerned about “falling(?) your plans” if you could spell your own name.
I am so, so sick of stupid.
Dr. Slammy,
I got the info on Biden here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305_pf.html
I am perfectly capable of multiplication BTW.
Judy, One would wonder why a person who hasn’t managed his own money very well would be a good steward of my money.
Jeff
You want the government to be the steward of your money? What are you, a socialist?
Of course, McCain knows how to make money — MARRY IT!!!
Jeff,
You might want to include that external linkage, then. It looked like you were riffing on the numbers in the post and there’s no way anyone could have assumed otherwise.
Not to put too fine a point on this, Nan, but you wanted Hillary to be your candidate, didn’t you?
I’m almost hoping that you are right and the Obama/Biden Camp wins this current election. It might be instructive to move to a foreign nation for the duration and watch all the attempts to stave off the newest depression by Barack et al.
But, in any case, come visit us and lol ur pols pho paws!
Thank you for venting the frustration have had pent up for weeks.
The ramble to end all rambles. I get the feeling you don’t like her. Here here.
Bobby
@ bonfide:
I hear Liberia is nice. Send us a postcard.
How could you blame the current financial crisis on the future president?
Oh, you’re a
isn’t it funny to watch the lone right winger [undecided centrist if you must…] fighting for all it’s worth in message boards?
/signed
This article is A breath of fresh air. sarah palin, should be asked by the press. if they can pin her down long enough? how many gray alaska wolves, has she killed from A plane? and did she claim the $150.00 bounty on the wolves. with 250+ wolves killed this year. mooseburgers must be very cheap.
Thanks Nan, and may I just add, if her own daughter had had comprehensive sex-ed in school, maybe she wouldn’t have a bun in her own unwed oven. Palin is just plain hateful. She’s apparently going to spend the next three weeks trying to slam Obama with every nasty lie she can drum back up, lies that have already been debunked. For a supposed God-loving Christian (does she really believe in witchcraft but not the evolution of man?), Sarah’s “Lord, make a way” sure is sounding more like “Satan, make a way!!” She’s selling her soul. Maybe she should trade in witchcraft for Karma. What goes out, comes back ten-fold.
I’ve got one more thing I just need to get out. Obama was a member of a Christian church for years (granted with a weird Reverend as it turns out). Now they’re trying to say he’s a freakin’ Muslim terrorist. How do you pull that off simultaneously while going to Harvard, serving as a community leader and Senator? Well of course, he must be a terrorist because his middle name is Hussein. I know plenty of people with German, Russian, Israeli, Vietnamese, Chinese and other names who aren’t terrorists or spys or anything other than good Americans. This is so darned obvious that I can’t even believe I have to say it. WHAT FREAKIN’ IDIOTS!!!!!!!!! THEY CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m so sick of this. Betcha you are too.
Thank you for continuing the diversion from my man, John McCain! He’s loosing on the issues… flailing. in fact… and needed the break!
Eat your heart out. Sarah is a babe and fertile as all hell. What else is there? A dried up old hotwater bottle like Hillary Clinton?
How sweet it is. They’re going to win and there’s nothing you commies can do about it. How far ahead was Tom Bradley in the polls?
WMB, you’re a fool. First, of all Hillary isn’t running. Clearly, all you want is a body with female anatomy in the White House (“babe” “fertile”). You’re sick. By the way, the name “Hussein” means “handsome one.” Gee I guess 40-some years ago, maybe Mr. and Mrs. Obama thought they had a handsome baby boy.
I just can’t resist that “fertile as all hell”. You may want some comprehensive sex ed before you put that to the test, my boy: Down’s Syndrome is caused by aging maternal gametes whose defective meiosis results in 3 copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual 2, in the individual that is conceived. Bottom line: 50-75 years if child support if the mother is “pro-life”, instead of the usual 18. The usual coping strategy by parents with a shorter life expectancy than their disabled child is to disinherit him/her from their will, except for a small stipend, so that s/he can qualify for government support (i.e., welfare). The alternative is to saddle the siblings and their future families with the individual’s upkeep, exhausting all but the largest estates. One more little item, and this is only whispered about in circles of Down’s Syndrome families: these mothers are very likely to screen and abort the next affected pregnancy, not because they don’t love their children, but because they do love them and can’t imagine having to more to offer another special-needs child. With all this in mind, relax and enjoy!
Maternal age is a risk factor in Down Syndrome, Blynn, not a cause. If that were the case, only in mothers over thirty-five (or whatever counts as “aged”) would the abnormal cell division that is the actual cause of Down Syndrome occur. This is simply not how it is. What you’re trying to point out, for some reason, is that older women have an increased chance of those abnormalities happening, as do women who already have one child with Down Syndrome and couples where one parent or the other carries a translocated chromosome…
And the reality is, more children with Down Syndrome are born to women under thirty-five, because guess what? They’re more fertile. It’s a numbers thing.
I have no idea what that idiot was trying to say with the “fertile as all hell” comment – but if you’re somehow holding a woman to blame for her child’s disability because she became pregnant at the age of 44, watch out. Even a dimwit like Palin has the right to make those decisions for herself, whether or not she accords those rights to anyone else…
And anyway, that’s not her baby. *runs away*
Nicely articulated — I’ve been forwarding this to the blogs in hopes that it will get the attention it deserves. I see (today on Huffpo) that even Bridgette Bardot has a lot to say about Sarah (Miss So.Carolina) Palin as well. Having Palin run our country would be comparable to having a dishwaher act as the director of flight operations at NASA. God help us.
Hussein means “handsome one”? Wow. I’ll admit he looked more rugged after his dip in the foxhole, but Saddam was surely beaten with an ugly stick at some point. It was probably an actual stick given his career as a thug for the Ba’athists.
What’s the term (if it exists) for a political gadfly that posits used, tired and already-answered questions instead of novel ones? That’s what Sarah Palin is. I’ll allow spin…spin makes the world go round…but she’s not introducing anything novel to this election, only rehearsed attack lines. Disappointing.
Nan, You really need to take a deep breath and go relax somewhere. You spent way too much energy on this flaming rant. Get a life and grow up.
Looking back on this rant, it’s pretty stupid.
1-Whatever happened to wanting a mediocre woman to go as far as a mediocre man?
2-Having appointed a sheriff who attempts to charge insurance companies for rape kits doesn’t preclude her from criticizing the Taliban.
3-She is from a middle-class family. Yet she has done well for herself financially.