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Tuesday, September 2. 2008
Who Will Carry Her Bags?
Well, the holiday is over, the last weekend of summer … sigh … and the Republican National Convention is supposed to be in full swing. Haven’t watched it yet but according to the news, the prez and vice prez cancelled their appearances because of Hurricane Gustav. Don’t wanna be caught partying if New Orleans drowns again.
So, here it is, Tuesday Morning. Hurricane Gustav has now been downgraded to a tropical depression and is dumping rain by the tons on Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas and the Republican Party is breathing a sigh of relief. They can get on with their convention. There were very few “problems” with the hurricane and President Bush will even be able to address the convention tonight.
But his speech is scheduled to take place before prime time; before Senator Joe Lieberman, the newest Republican and former senator and actor Fred Thompson. What does it say about the Republican Party if they don’t even want their president — their standard bearer — to appear on TV when the majority of Americans will be tuning in to the coverage?
The Democratic Party, on the other hand, had their latest and most successful president in a generation speak in prime time — sort of like they were proud to call him president. Even Jimmy Carter, who many consider to have had a failed presidency, spoke in prime time.
You can’t very well leave the Republican president out of the convention (they put his wife on in prime time), so what do you do? You put him on when most people won’t be watching and by god! The perfect excuse to leave the vice president out of it altogether! The excuse being the truncated schedule due to Hurricane Gustav.
Now, someone will use that truncated schedule excuse to explain why the president won’t be speaking in prime time; the other speakers, Thompson being the night’s keynote speaker, were already scheduled to speak so they had to put the president in the most “convenient” spot.
Yeah … he isn’t a keynote speaker any night and the thoughts and opinions of a former Democrat and an aged actor take precedence over a sitting president? You gotta laugh! The Republican Party would gain a lot of credibility if they were honest about it: they’re embarrassed by the failed presidency of George W. Bush.
Even Dick Armey, the former Congressman and porn movie producer (There’s always something to like about everyone), spent his five minutes with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC distancing his candidate from his president. He specifically told Mitchell they would highlight — during the convention — how John McCain is different than President Bush — despite the record of McCain voting with Bush over 90% of the time.
But none of that is the real news surrounding the McCain campaign. No … That would be McCain’s vice presidential pick, Alaska governor Sarah Palin.
McCain’s first choice for a running mate was (is) Senator Joe Lieberman. The reason Lieberman isn’t on the ticket is that there would have been a major battle on the convention floor had Lieberman been “the guy” so McCain, the so-called “maverick,” bowed to pressure and picked, without vetting it turns out, the Alaska governor. Not very maverick-like.
So, Sarah Palin was picked without a thorough vetting. A team was sent to Alaska on the Thursday prior to McCain’s announcement that he was picking Palin to do some research. The campaign of course has a reason why it was done this way: they didn’t want to spoil the surprise!
Well, surprise, Sarah Palin has some baggage. Her single, 17-year old daughter Bristol is five months pregnant. The McCain campaign claims they knew that. Really? The state of Alaska hired a private attorney to defend Palin for the investigation into whether she fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan for personal or professional reasons. Monegan says he felt pressured by Palin’s staff and her husband to fire state trooper Mike Wooten who had gone through a nasty divorce with Palin’s sister. Did the McCain campaign know that as well?
I should post a sarcasm smiley here.
Who really picked Sarah Palin? Obviously she wasn’t on anyone’s “short list.” Certainly not on McCain’s. Because Lieberman was McCain’s short list, McCain, to keep the Religious Right backing him during the general election, had to pick someone who was totally in their camp already and Sarah Palin was that person. The “Religious Right” has a formal — hidden but formal — association: The Council for National Policy.
Formed in 1981, they have been the real power behind the Republican Party and without them the Republican nominee won’t have a significant portion of his party’s support, and no support from the base.
So, Sarah Palin has issues. Who really cares that her teenage daughter is pregnant? Personally, it makes no difference to me. When you only teach “abstinence only,” statistics show teen pregnancy is not only higher in those areas, it’s almost expected. Palin is a staunch advocate of abstinence only. What does her daughter’s pregnancy do to Palin’s position on birth control?
One of the great hypocrisies of the Republican Party platform has been their “pro-life” stand, which is then contradicted by their support of the death penalty. You’re either pro-life or you’re not and if you support and advocate the death penalty, you’re not pro-life. Period. Sarah Palin embraces that hypocrisy.
One of the funniest bits heard since Friday was that Sarah Palin is more experienced than Barack Obama. Seriously. Her 20 months as a governor and her years as a small town mayor make her more experienced, and therefore more prepared to be president than Obama. Republicans were on the news programs making that assertion. Due to the revelations of the past 24 hours, what with the lack of vetting by the McCain campaign and the surprise pregnancy of Palin’s daughter, the message has had to change a bit. Now, there is a new slogan for supporting Palin: “The fight against the status quo.”
The Tuesday talking points also include blaming the media for publicizing the news about Bristol Palin’s Pregnancy. Ummm ... It was the McCain campaign that sent the press release about Sarah Palin’s legal troubles and her daughter’s pregnancy.
The reason the campaign released that information, according to the campaign, was to counter the internet rumors that Sarah Palin’s youngest child, born with Down’s Syndrome, was really Bristol Palin’s child and that Sarah Palin faked her pregnancy to hide that information. Not the Down’s Syndrome, but the unwed teenage girl having a child.
As for fighting the status quo, the Republican Party’s status quo chose Palin. Well, that’s change you can believe in!
Three days ago I wrote that Palin would become McCain’s “Harriet Miers.” Two days ago, on a forum I frequent, I said Palin would not be on the Republican ticket in November. Now, I wonder if she’ll be on the ticket at the end of September. The party can’t afford to change the VP pick in October or November, so they’ll have to make a change soon and everyone is waiting for the moment.
As the questions about Palin’s experience and character begin to surface and generate even more probing questions, they will have to make a change. Either way, this is doom for the Republican Party.
“Her character,” you ask? Yep. She claims that as governor she told the U.S. Congress they didn’t want the money for the “Bridge to Nowhere.” Umm … Sarah, honey, the earmark was defeated in Congress before you were governor.
And while running for governor, Palin supported Senator Ted Steven’s earmark for the bridge. Oops. Kind of a contradiction governor.
As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she hired a Washington lobby firm to get over eight million dollars during her six years as mayor.
In the big picture, what does this say about John McCain’s judgment? He picks a running mate without a thorough vetting, in a hasty, un-informed decision without getting all the facts.
Hey wait! Where have we seen and heard this before? 2002-03 as President Bush pushed to start his war in Iraq. Granted, Bush’s decision to start that war has far more severe consequences than picking the wrong running mate, but if McCain can’t choose a running mate properly, what other decisions will he rush into if elected president?
Now I’m wondering if Palin will remain the VP nominee through the convention.
So, here it is, Tuesday Morning. Hurricane Gustav has now been downgraded to a tropical depression and is dumping rain by the tons on Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas and the Republican Party is breathing a sigh of relief. They can get on with their convention. There were very few “problems” with the hurricane and President Bush will even be able to address the convention tonight.
But his speech is scheduled to take place before prime time; before Senator Joe Lieberman, the newest Republican and former senator and actor Fred Thompson. What does it say about the Republican Party if they don’t even want their president — their standard bearer — to appear on TV when the majority of Americans will be tuning in to the coverage?The Democratic Party, on the other hand, had their latest and most successful president in a generation speak in prime time — sort of like they were proud to call him president. Even Jimmy Carter, who many consider to have had a failed presidency, spoke in prime time.
You can’t very well leave the Republican president out of the convention (they put his wife on in prime time), so what do you do? You put him on when most people won’t be watching and by god! The perfect excuse to leave the vice president out of it altogether! The excuse being the truncated schedule due to Hurricane Gustav.
Now, someone will use that truncated schedule excuse to explain why the president won’t be speaking in prime time; the other speakers, Thompson being the night’s keynote speaker, were already scheduled to speak so they had to put the president in the most “convenient” spot.Yeah … he isn’t a keynote speaker any night and the thoughts and opinions of a former Democrat and an aged actor take precedence over a sitting president? You gotta laugh! The Republican Party would gain a lot of credibility if they were honest about it: they’re embarrassed by the failed presidency of George W. Bush.
Even Dick Armey, the former Congressman and porn movie producer (There’s always something to like about everyone), spent his five minutes with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC distancing his candidate from his president. He specifically told Mitchell they would highlight — during the convention — how John McCain is different than President Bush — despite the record of McCain voting with Bush over 90% of the time.
But none of that is the real news surrounding the McCain campaign. No … That would be McCain’s vice presidential pick, Alaska governor Sarah Palin. McCain’s first choice for a running mate was (is) Senator Joe Lieberman. The reason Lieberman isn’t on the ticket is that there would have been a major battle on the convention floor had Lieberman been “the guy” so McCain, the so-called “maverick,” bowed to pressure and picked, without vetting it turns out, the Alaska governor. Not very maverick-like.
So, Sarah Palin was picked without a thorough vetting. A team was sent to Alaska on the Thursday prior to McCain’s announcement that he was picking Palin to do some research. The campaign of course has a reason why it was done this way: they didn’t want to spoil the surprise!
Well, surprise, Sarah Palin has some baggage. Her single, 17-year old daughter Bristol is five months pregnant. The McCain campaign claims they knew that. Really? The state of Alaska hired a private attorney to defend Palin for the investigation into whether she fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan for personal or professional reasons. Monegan says he felt pressured by Palin’s staff and her husband to fire state trooper Mike Wooten who had gone through a nasty divorce with Palin’s sister. Did the McCain campaign know that as well?
I should post a sarcasm smiley here.
Who really picked Sarah Palin? Obviously she wasn’t on anyone’s “short list.” Certainly not on McCain’s. Because Lieberman was McCain’s short list, McCain, to keep the Religious Right backing him during the general election, had to pick someone who was totally in their camp already and Sarah Palin was that person. The “Religious Right” has a formal — hidden but formal — association: The Council for National Policy.
Formed in 1981, they have been the real power behind the Republican Party and without them the Republican nominee won’t have a significant portion of his party’s support, and no support from the base.
So, Sarah Palin has issues. Who really cares that her teenage daughter is pregnant? Personally, it makes no difference to me. When you only teach “abstinence only,” statistics show teen pregnancy is not only higher in those areas, it’s almost expected. Palin is a staunch advocate of abstinence only. What does her daughter’s pregnancy do to Palin’s position on birth control?One of the great hypocrisies of the Republican Party platform has been their “pro-life” stand, which is then contradicted by their support of the death penalty. You’re either pro-life or you’re not and if you support and advocate the death penalty, you’re not pro-life. Period. Sarah Palin embraces that hypocrisy.
One of the funniest bits heard since Friday was that Sarah Palin is more experienced than Barack Obama. Seriously. Her 20 months as a governor and her years as a small town mayor make her more experienced, and therefore more prepared to be president than Obama. Republicans were on the news programs making that assertion. Due to the revelations of the past 24 hours, what with the lack of vetting by the McCain campaign and the surprise pregnancy of Palin’s daughter, the message has had to change a bit. Now, there is a new slogan for supporting Palin: “The fight against the status quo.”
The Tuesday talking points also include blaming the media for publicizing the news about Bristol Palin’s Pregnancy. Ummm ... It was the McCain campaign that sent the press release about Sarah Palin’s legal troubles and her daughter’s pregnancy.
The reason the campaign released that information, according to the campaign, was to counter the internet rumors that Sarah Palin’s youngest child, born with Down’s Syndrome, was really Bristol Palin’s child and that Sarah Palin faked her pregnancy to hide that information. Not the Down’s Syndrome, but the unwed teenage girl having a child.
As for fighting the status quo, the Republican Party’s status quo chose Palin. Well, that’s change you can believe in!
Three days ago I wrote that Palin would become McCain’s “Harriet Miers.” Two days ago, on a forum I frequent, I said Palin would not be on the Republican ticket in November. Now, I wonder if she’ll be on the ticket at the end of September. The party can’t afford to change the VP pick in October or November, so they’ll have to make a change soon and everyone is waiting for the moment.
As the questions about Palin’s experience and character begin to surface and generate even more probing questions, they will have to make a change. Either way, this is doom for the Republican Party.
“Her character,” you ask? Yep. She claims that as governor she told the U.S. Congress they didn’t want the money for the “Bridge to Nowhere.” Umm … Sarah, honey, the earmark was defeated in Congress before you were governor.
And while running for governor, Palin supported Senator Ted Steven’s earmark for the bridge. Oops. Kind of a contradiction governor.
As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she hired a Washington lobby firm to get over eight million dollars during her six years as mayor.
In the big picture, what does this say about John McCain’s judgment? He picks a running mate without a thorough vetting, in a hasty, un-informed decision without getting all the facts.
Hey wait! Where have we seen and heard this before? 2002-03 as President Bush pushed to start his war in Iraq. Granted, Bush’s decision to start that war has far more severe consequences than picking the wrong running mate, but if McCain can’t choose a running mate properly, what other decisions will he rush into if elected president?Now I’m wondering if Palin will remain the VP nominee through the convention.
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