As I try to make sense of John McCain's decision to choose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, there is just no escaping the fact that it is a desperate act of pandering to women voters. I guess McCain just does not understand that, for political pandering to work, it cannot be too obvious. Otherwise, you run the risk of insulting the very people whose votes you are trying to get. McCain's choice of Palin veritably screams pandering. Women surely must be outraged.
Does John Sidney McCain III really believe that women voters, much less former supporters of Hillary Clinton, are going to be taken in by such a blatantly cynical move? Does he think women are that shallow? Does McCain believe women are just not interested in the real political issues that affect their lives? Or maybe he's been listening to too much Rush Limbaugh...
Sarah Palin is a hard-right conservative whose political views are anathema to everything Senator Clinton stands for. Does the Arizona Senator seriously imagine that any significant number of Independent or Democratic women will vote for him just because he has a woman on the ticket? Talk about disrespect... !
Attempting to attract women voters by putting Sarah Palin on the ticket is a bit like choosing Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) for VP in hopes of getting the gay vote.
After watching CNN's Campbell Brown ask Tony Perkins his opinion of Obama's answer to Rick Warren's abortion question, I was left wondering to myself, "How many more years of my life do I have to listen to Republicans claim a moral authority over the rest of us? How many more elections will be won and lost as a result of 'conservative' politicians pandering to the most extreme fringes of the far right?"
Brown "At what point is a baby entitled to human rights? McCain said 'at conception,' and Obama was extremely vague in his answer."
Perkins "[Obama said] that's above my pay grade. And that should make people question whether or not he's ready for prime time to be President."
Here's what is certain to be true from my perspective. Too many Republicans care about gay marriage and abortion once every four years. They don't care about life. Where were they before Roe vs. Wade when thousands of women were dying as a result of unsafe, illegal abortions? Where were they during Katrina? Rwanda? Better yet, where was John McCain?
Here's what Rove Republicans do care about. They care about their own power, their own money, and of course winning elections to keep a grip on both.
If abortion is so important to Republicans, then why is it still legal? Republicans had a working majority in congress for six years while Bush controlled the White House, and the SCOTUS was tilted in their favor. For the last 20 of 28 years, they've controlled the executive branch, and abortion is still legal. And for the last eight years, they've justified a trillion dollar war which has ended more lives than it has saved. Pro life who?
In 2004, the highest number of reported legal induced abortions occurred in Florida (91,710), NYC (91,673), and Texas (74,801)
Please note that two of the three states listed are solid red and in firm Republican control. Abortions, even there, are still legal.
So, it's no surprise that with only 76 days until November 4th, the latest smear against Obama comes in the form of lies about his position on abortion (gay marriage is next, mark my word). Cash hungry slugs like Jerome Corsi could care less about life. I doubt he even cares about the election all together. After cashing in in 2004, why not try again? Here's Corsi's pie hole spreading yet another lie.
When will evangelicals and other social conservatives finally realize they're being manipulated by a pit of vipers who are only interested in their votes when there's an election?
Republicans have few legs to stand on in 2008. Guys like Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley, and Ted Stevens have reduced the GOP to nothing more than Rove campaigners who will stop at nothing to get elected. All at the same time, their President, George W. Bush, sits on an all-time low approval rating. John McCain needs all the help he can get from the far-far right. After all, that strategy has paid off in five of the last seven elections. You can be sure, there will be plenty more of these tactics in the next 76 days.
As I try to make sense of John McCain's decision to choose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, there is just no escaping the fact that it is a desperate act of pandering to women voters. I guess McCain just does not understand that, for political pandering to work, it cannot be too obvious. Otherwise, you run the risk of insulting the very people whose votes you are trying to get. McCain's choice of Palin veritably screams pandering. Women surely must be outraged.
