Politics, ridiculousness of the media, and why I respect Barak Obama.
So, while in the hospital with my sister visiting her and her newborn, my fiance called me to say that Sarah Palin has been picked as John McCain's VP running mate for the 2008 election. If this is news to you, please come out from under your rock. A couple days ago a "scandal" surfaced that her 17 year old unmarried daughter is pregnant. Poor Bristol Palin is now cannon fodder for the likes of MSNBC, CNN, and (more locally) the News Journal and Delawareonline.com message boards.
First let me clear something up: I hate the message boards on delawareonline. This state truly amazes me in its two-faced ridiculousness in general, but these boards seem to be the cesspool of society for this area. Nothing but a bunch of racist, sexist, right wing idiots who want to hide behind the anonymity of the internetz and act like the jerks they can't be in public because of political correctness. Then want to rant and whine about how ridiculous political correctness is in the first place. I'm sorry, calling a 17 year old girl a slut on a message board is not being "anti-PC", it's being a sexist jerk. It has nothing to do with you wanting to show how much you hate being PC and everything to do with how much of an ass you are. Anyway, moving on.
Now, those of you that know me either through LJ or in real life know that there's not a chance in hell I'm voting for McCain this fall. He could be running with the second coming of the son of the Christian god and I wouldn't be voting for him. Also, it shouldn't surprise anyone, I am never going to agree, politically, with Sarah Palin. I don't think that she should be in the VP position for a number a reasons, the least of it being that John McCain is in his 70s and should something happen, she'd be President. After serving less than 2 years as Gov. of Alaska and before that as the mayor of a town of less than 8,000 people. The Republicans want to slam Obama for being "inexperienced" and then look to this woman as the next VP? Give me a break. Also, she's staunchly anti-choice including in the case of rape or incest while I am pro-choice all the way. She's pro-drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness as well as a slew of other right-wing politics that I will never agree with. Her push against birth control and comprehensive sex ed is harmful at the least. Regardless of all of this, I think that it's inappropriate of the media and the Democrats and so-called liberals to attack her candidacy based on the fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant.
Today I've heard everything from "this is what she gets for not pushing for comprehensive sex ed" to "she should have stayed home and taken care of her children instead of run for political office" and "if she can't control her family she can't run this country". Give me a break. What mother of any 17 year old in this COUNTRY can control their child 100% of the time without it resulting in child abuse (ie- locking them in the basement)? Palin's been attacked for everything BUT her politics (the fact she's divorced and remarried like 50% of the population who's been married; the fact that her 17 year old is pregnant; the fact that she didn't tell people she was pregnant until she was around 7-8 months pregnant; the fact that she has a child with Downs Syndrome) and it reeks of the anti-Hillary nonsense we heard from the political right from the start of the 2008 Presidential campaigns. I will never be OK with Sarah Palin's politics but damned if I don't think it unfair to discredit her based on the fact that she's a woman. Really, that's what this all comes down to. Her worth as a human being is wrapped up in her motherhood and the kind of woman that makes her. We saw the same nonsense when Sen. Clinton was still in the race, her worth as a human being was intricately tied in with her womanhood and with Sarah Palin her worth as a woman is being judged by her abilities as a mother.
Obama, Biden, and McCain are examined for their politics and their political experience for the most part. I'm sure if there were scandal in the Obama-Biden campaign the Republicans would jump on it in a heartbeat but really, overall, the ticket is being judged on the balance between Obama and Biden. Yes, I remember very vividly when people found out about Dick Cheney's daughter being a lesbian yet that didn't hold people back from supporting him. Why? Because, even though many right-wing politicians see "queerness" as being a failure of parenting, Cheney's ability as a politician is not wrapped around his ability as a father. No one ever says you can't be a father and a politician, but everyone gets upset when a mother does it. "You must be ignoring and neglecting your children". Give me a break.
All that being said, I have to extend my extreme respect for Barak Obama in light of this nonsense coming out about Bristol Palin. He's done a remarkable job making it very clear that attacking someone's family is off-limits, regardless of the gender of the politician. I commend him for that. He did a very good job at the DNC with relation to McCain's war hero background. I think he did a very classy job of noting it and commending McCain's patriotism. He also has made it very clear that he doesn't want people slamming Sarah Palin as a bad mother because of something that is, essentially, out of her control. He made a speech about how anyone who slams her based on her family is not a true supporter of his and that if anyone in his campaign makes disparaging remarks about the other side's family they will be fired immediately. I think that's very classy of him and not something there is a precident for in American politics.
In the end, my sympathy goes out to Bristol Palin. I think she has a tough road ahead of her, regardless of the fact that she's a very privileged 17 year old and will be able to rely on her parents for support during her pregnancy (not to mention the fact she'll continue to be covered on her mother's health insurance...). I also know she'll be made into the poster child of the anti-choice movement ("She's 17 and she did it" without mentioning that she is a child of privilege with her mother as a politician). I wonder how much of her "decision" is really her decision. I wonder if it was up to her to marry her baby's father or if it was really her decision to keep the baby. I do wish her the best of luck with a healthy pregnancy and I do hope that, eventually, the media will leave her alone.
That being said, there is without a doubt that I'm not voting for McCain-Palin in the fall. It does not, however, have anything to do with Sarah Palin's personal life.
First let me clear something up: I hate the message boards on delawareonline. This state truly amazes me in its two-faced ridiculousness in general, but these boards seem to be the cesspool of society for this area. Nothing but a bunch of racist, sexist, right wing idiots who want to hide behind the anonymity of the internetz and act like the jerks they can't be in public because of political correctness. Then want to rant and whine about how ridiculous political correctness is in the first place. I'm sorry, calling a 17 year old girl a slut on a message board is not being "anti-PC", it's being a sexist jerk. It has nothing to do with you wanting to show how much you hate being PC and everything to do with how much of an ass you are. Anyway, moving on.
Now, those of you that know me either through LJ or in real life know that there's not a chance in hell I'm voting for McCain this fall. He could be running with the second coming of the son of the Christian god and I wouldn't be voting for him. Also, it shouldn't surprise anyone, I am never going to agree, politically, with Sarah Palin. I don't think that she should be in the VP position for a number a reasons, the least of it being that John McCain is in his 70s and should something happen, she'd be President. After serving less than 2 years as Gov. of Alaska and before that as the mayor of a town of less than 8,000 people. The Republicans want to slam Obama for being "inexperienced" and then look to this woman as the next VP? Give me a break. Also, she's staunchly anti-choice including in the case of rape or incest while I am pro-choice all the way. She's pro-drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness as well as a slew of other right-wing politics that I will never agree with. Her push against birth control and comprehensive sex ed is harmful at the least. Regardless of all of this, I think that it's inappropriate of the media and the Democrats and so-called liberals to attack her candidacy based on the fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant.
Today I've heard everything from "this is what she gets for not pushing for comprehensive sex ed" to "she should have stayed home and taken care of her children instead of run for political office" and "if she can't control her family she can't run this country". Give me a break. What mother of any 17 year old in this COUNTRY can control their child 100% of the time without it resulting in child abuse (ie- locking them in the basement)? Palin's been attacked for everything BUT her politics (the fact she's divorced and remarried like 50% of the population who's been married; the fact that her 17 year old is pregnant; the fact that she didn't tell people she was pregnant until she was around 7-8 months pregnant; the fact that she has a child with Downs Syndrome) and it reeks of the anti-Hillary nonsense we heard from the political right from the start of the 2008 Presidential campaigns. I will never be OK with Sarah Palin's politics but damned if I don't think it unfair to discredit her based on the fact that she's a woman. Really, that's what this all comes down to. Her worth as a human being is wrapped up in her motherhood and the kind of woman that makes her. We saw the same nonsense when Sen. Clinton was still in the race, her worth as a human being was intricately tied in with her womanhood and with Sarah Palin her worth as a woman is being judged by her abilities as a mother.
Obama, Biden, and McCain are examined for their politics and their political experience for the most part. I'm sure if there were scandal in the Obama-Biden campaign the Republicans would jump on it in a heartbeat but really, overall, the ticket is being judged on the balance between Obama and Biden. Yes, I remember very vividly when people found out about Dick Cheney's daughter being a lesbian yet that didn't hold people back from supporting him. Why? Because, even though many right-wing politicians see "queerness" as being a failure of parenting, Cheney's ability as a politician is not wrapped around his ability as a father. No one ever says you can't be a father and a politician, but everyone gets upset when a mother does it. "You must be ignoring and neglecting your children". Give me a break.
All that being said, I have to extend my extreme respect for Barak Obama in light of this nonsense coming out about Bristol Palin. He's done a remarkable job making it very clear that attacking someone's family is off-limits, regardless of the gender of the politician. I commend him for that. He did a very good job at the DNC with relation to McCain's war hero background. I think he did a very classy job of noting it and commending McCain's patriotism. He also has made it very clear that he doesn't want people slamming Sarah Palin as a bad mother because of something that is, essentially, out of her control. He made a speech about how anyone who slams her based on her family is not a true supporter of his and that if anyone in his campaign makes disparaging remarks about the other side's family they will be fired immediately. I think that's very classy of him and not something there is a precident for in American politics.
In the end, my sympathy goes out to Bristol Palin. I think she has a tough road ahead of her, regardless of the fact that she's a very privileged 17 year old and will be able to rely on her parents for support during her pregnancy (not to mention the fact she'll continue to be covered on her mother's health insurance...). I also know she'll be made into the poster child of the anti-choice movement ("She's 17 and she did it" without mentioning that she is a child of privilege with her mother as a politician). I wonder how much of her "decision" is really her decision. I wonder if it was up to her to marry her baby's father or if it was really her decision to keep the baby. I do wish her the best of luck with a healthy pregnancy and I do hope that, eventually, the media will leave her alone.
That being said, there is without a doubt that I'm not voting for McCain-Palin in the fall. It does not, however, have anything to do with Sarah Palin's personal life.