Posted on 07/10/2010 5:00:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Sarah Palin is a polarizing figure on the political landscape. She's one of those individuals people either love and support wholeheartedly or they absolutely loathe her. There seems to be no middle ground. And those that oppose her do so with extreme rancor and venom.
Much fun has been made of her in the press and among Democrats as a party, but Palin has taken it all in stride and with grace and good humor. She doesn't get snarky and lash out at those who dislike or oppose her. She simply smiles and focuses on those that do care and are listening. Oddly, those are signs of a good leader. We could certainly use more of that in Washington in my opinion.
Shortly after John McCain tabbed her as his Vice Presidential running mate back in 2008, Who-Sucks.com posted a list of reasons why Palin "sucks"
Here are several reasons (my responses follow each one):
1. A poor record: Her only political experience has been a few years as mayor of a small town in Alaska and less than two years as governor of that state. Her record wasn’t so great: the small town she left behind is now in financial ruin.
Okay let's get this straight. Palin's "limited" political experience far outweighed that of the eventual President elect. She was also the most successful Governor in Alaskan history and at the time she was nominated for the ticket, she had the highest approval rate on both sides of the isle of any sitting Governor in the nation.
And let's not get started on the damage Obama did in Illinois, and his track record of financial irresponsibility.
2. She has no experience with national level politics. She has no foreign policy experience. At the time of her nomination, many of her views on national and foreign policy issues were unknown simply because she is so inexperienced that she hadn’t even made public statements about them. Presidential history scholars believe she may be “the most inexperienced person on a major party ticket in modern history.” The exact same can be said and was ultimately true of Obama. And we're paying for that inexperience now. Palin was not running for President, Obama was.
3. Iraq War? Our country is in the midst of a war, and Palin’s son is going to fight in that war. However, Salon.com reports that she hasn’t even given much thought to the Iraq War, and has no clear opinions about it. Great.
Palin always made her feelings known about her support for the troops first and foremost. I believe many Americans on both sides ultimately struggled with this war and were torn over it. Most still are. We want our troops home safe, and we perhaps don't agree that we ever should have been in this war, but recognize the struggle with pulling out.
4. She is a creationist, and she wants “creation science” to be taught in public schools.
This one always kills me. My first thought is, who cares? People who vote based on a candidate's views on religion and abortion, etc. should not be voting. She was a VP candidate, not the President, and furthermore, no President anytime in the foreseeable future is going to touch either of these hot-button issues when there are so many pressing problems to deal with. You know, little things like the economy, the war, healthcare, etc. Never mind those pesky disasters that pop up, like hurricanes, oil spills...
We all have things that we will disagree and never see eye to eye on. Tossing out a candidate based on their personal religious and ideological beliefs, which won't play into their Whitehouse term is faulty thinking. No candidate is ever "perfect," but what matters is how will they perform now on the matters that are pressing, NOW?
5. She doesn’t believe in man-made global warming. Maybe that’s why she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
There are many scientists and experts that don't agree with it or are skeptical as well. So what? Many Americans support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to help relieve our dependence on foreign oil.
6. Not only does she think the government should be telling people who they can and cannot marry, she also thinks that same sex couples should be denied benefits given to straight couples.
This goes back to my response to #4. I disagree with Palin on both topics, but I still believe in her overall abilities and viability as a candidate then and in the future. The Vice President doesn't make these decisions, and the President doesn't make them alone. As a child of two gay parents I don't think this is a reason to discount her. Many Presidents felt the same way but they did not even touch the issue while in the Whitehouse.
7. Palin has been accused of abusing her power as Alaska governor to try to get her ex-brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. An investigation is underway.
All politicians have and are accused of abusing their power, including Obama. This particular incident proved unfounded. Meanwhile Obama has abused his authority repeatedly in his 18 months in the Whitehouse.
8. One nation, under stupidity: When defending the phrase “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, Palin said, “If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.” Reality check: The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892, long after the founding fathers died. The phrase “one nation under God” was added in 1954….
Reality check: Most people wouldn't know that one, myself included, and I minored in history. They certainly didn't teach the background of the Pledge when I was in gradeschool or college. This is simply cheap fodder.
9. Anti-birth control nutcase- Not only does Palin oppose abortion in all cases, she also opposes the use of birth control in all cases. That includes married couples that want to use condoms or the pill!
See my response to #4 and #6. This is all the same argument. We get it, she's a conservative who follows her Christian values. I'm not religious myself, but I understand and respect that those ARE the principles this nation was founded on.
10. Politicizing non-political jobs: When she was mayor of small town in Alaska, Palin abused her authority by firing city employees that did not fully support her reelection campaign.
This is unfounded hyperbole at its finest. Shall we drag out Obama's and Biden's laundry list? I could write an epic novel.
11. She can’t even manage her own family – rumors have given way to an admission from Palin that her teenage daughter is pregnant, and will be having a shotgun marriage to the guy that knocked her up. That’s what abstinence-only education gets you.
This one is so ignorant it defies logic. Shall we blame men who go bald for not better controlling their hair follicles. How many excellent parents have teenagers who got pregnant? Should these parents be fired from their jobs? The two never married, and in fact are now working towards reconciliation.
12. She has no clue about the role of the Vice President.
Neither do most Americans, or for that matter most Vice Presidents. Especially Dick Cheney.
13. It is quite clear she was chosen just because of her gender (most Republicans have never even heard of her), and she’s being used as a trick by the McCain campaign to gain some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters.
Number one, Palin was not selected because she was female. In fact McCain knew going in that Palin was a risky choice because she was so unknown, but her track record of standing up for what she believed in, including taking on her own party impressed him, as it did me.
Long before McCain even announced his shortlist, I did my own research on many potential VP candidates for both sides. As a registered Democrat I could already see the writing on the wall, and the media love for Obama. It was clear Hilary Clinton didn't stand a chance. I've always liked McCain, and had we grabbed him instead of Bush in 2000, America would be in much better shape right now. But that's another article altogether.
One of the people I looked at was Sarah Palin, and I was immediately impressed with the good work, honesty, and strength and resolve and character she had shown in running Alaska. Taking on her own party regardless of how it might hurt her.
I certainly didn't/don't agree with all Palin's her views, and some of them were also contrary to McCain's views as well, but I liked that she was serious and genuine about making things better. And her lack of experience with Washington politics was a plus. Palin wasn't and isn't about playing games. Something Biden and Obama are very good at.
I like her down home feel and genuine nature, and I think we need more of that "everyday American" simplicity back. Part of Palin's appeal is her unaffected sense of things. In Washington people can't decide what to have for lunch without considering how it may impact their political standing. Perhaps that's why Obama never took a stand on anything, lest it come back to haunt him.
The point of all this is, whether you support a candidate or not, do so because you have invested the time to learn about them on your own. Don't buy the hype, don't drink the Kool-aid, and don't simply accept the media's views. The media has as much agenda as the politicians. We've already seen that CNN and MSNBC think Obama can do no wrong, and Fox thinks he can do no right. Think for yourself. Invest time in discovering more about the people who may run our country and make informed decisions based on that, not what some website has fed you.
We can no longer afford to be lazy voters or lazy Americans. We have to get involved, and get informed. At the end of the day you may still not like Sarah Palin's politics, but at least you made an informed assessment and are capable of formulating and expressing to others why you feel that way rather than saying she's stupid or she sucks.
Just some thoughts from a fellow American...
I love Sarah Palin. And I love the way she drives so many liberals mad.
You go right ahead and vote for Ron Paul or whichever nobody you support and see where that gets you, okay?
I'm so glad this was written as it goes very deep in defining a person who has vision and cares not so much where others would like to divert them. The confidence that one has to have and the tolerance toward others who wish to cast doubt is seen in this demeanor. The grace not to respond 'snarkly' is an added bonus.
This is a person who can stay on point, can reach a destination, all the while assuring that you'll know where you're headed. Such a person would make a good hunting guide or a very good President.
Very soon, people will be desperately seeking that very endangered and rare animal: limited, constitutional, government. Sarah would be the best guide while being the most gracious to grumpy tag holders. To bag a trophy a lot of time and effort will be required, a good guide with instincts and focus is what you're paying for and with experience, your best bet.
I'd like to fill my tag this November and in 2012. May the best 'guide' win.
Good for her. We need to take back the language...
Conservatism is progressive,
it moves individuals and thereby society forward
toward greater personal and economic freedom.
Liberal/Statism is regressive,
it attempts to impose collectivist ideas that have failed over and over again.
Well duuuugh... the author his exposes eye rolling with drooling..
She is not opposed to birth control. That’s another media lie. There were several “failure to correct” errors in that posting. When you are branded with a label, such as conservative, all manner of fantasy is attached to you. Hence the banning books, teaching creationism, shooting Bambi from a helicopter stories all resonated beacause as we all know, conservatives are all mean Bible thumping hypocrites who want to prevent people from having sex, enjoying a good book, or by any other means having a good time.
Most of us here know that “progressive” has more than one meaning.
Well said.
“Fox thinks he can do no right”
Great way to write an article. Make comments about cable channels you obviously never watch.
Um, no... I live there. No "financial ruin" anywhere that I can see. Perhaps the writer was mistaken.
Yeah. Isn’t is odd that Obama is never characterized by our oh-so-fair-and-impartial (except for Fox News of course) media as “polarizing.”
It’s almost as if the media were . . .
biased?
In the context spoken (November elections), ‘conservative’ and ‘progressive’ are opposites. She’s one or the other...she is not both at the same time.
You think she means it in the political sense, I think she means it in the traditional sense (in which one can be both progressive and conservative). Her governance of Alaska was hardly progressive as per your interpretation.
Ron Paul....hardly.
I’ll support and vote for the most conservative candidate....probably DeMint. It would be awesome if all the Palin supporters were to get behind support someone like him instead, because I’m not willing to compromise or settle for ANY ‘path to citizenship’ candidate and so frankly, I resent her constantly being shoved down our throats and nobody but the same old ‘repeats’ being allowed to have a chance. It’s Fred Thompson division deja vu. aghhhh!!! and is EXACTLY how we ended up with McCain. It’s why politics makes me want to puke.
6. Not only does she think the government should be telling people who they can and cannot marry, she also thinks that same sex couples should be denied benefits given to straight couples.
This goes back to my response to #4. I disagree with Palin on both topics, but I still believe in her overall abilities and viability as a candidate then and in the future. The Vice President doesn't make these decisions, and the President doesn't make them alone. As a child of two gay parents I don't think this is a reason to discount her.
[Uh, say what?!]
Many Presidents felt the same way but they did not even touch the issue while in the Whitehouse.
Well, guess what, kid, the next president is going to have to deal with it, because that's when the homosexual cabal matures their plan to take down the institution of marriage through an Article IV attack in the Supreme Court. DOMA has just been ruled unconstitutional by a Massachusetts federal jerk-judge, and the attack can now go forward. In the name of one state, the 5% are about to give the 95% their morals -- cramming them down their throats with a court decree.
An amendment to the federal constitution is now needed to save the institution of marriage from being burned to the ground by the armies of Sodom.
We'll need a moral leader in the White House to help turn that back.
Alan Keyes warned us, to watch out for Palin being turned into a Judas goat to bring conservatives crawling back to the RNC power structure's RiNO candidates again.
And suddenly, here you are.
“Wy isn’t Odumbo viewed as “polarizing?”
Because “Odumbo” is considered to be “mainstream” by the press and the hardcore base. Anyone who opposes his agenda is crazy, right-wing, knuckle-dragging, ignorant and not legitimate.
IMHO
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