Why Can’t She Speak?

During the Democratic Primaries, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigned for 18 months, every single question was asked, and every rumor was treated as news. They each went on numerous interview shows and participated in 20+ debates. Has everyone forgotten?

Sarah Palin has been in the race for almost 2 weeks now. She is running to be Vice President of the United States. The press, on behalf of the American people, has the right to ask questions; reserving or requesting special treatment for her undermines everything this woman has achieved.

Sarah Palin ran for Mayor and rose through the ranks until she ran for Governor. She should be disgusted that the McCain campaign is traipsing her out to stump the same convention speech day after day while sequestering her from answering any unscripted questions. McCain is really acting as if he doesn’t have any faith in her abilities. That is a shame. She should demand more respect than that; after all she is the Governor of a State; not a rinky-dink Senator.

Why does she need so much time to study for interviews? Her first quiz will be a lightweight gabfest with Charlie Gibson of ABC News later this week. Her silence and the need for all of these “crib notes” sessions makes the case more pressing; If she is really ready to be Vice President, why does she need so much prep time? What is the McCain camp afraid of? Why don't they trust her to speak for herself? Let her speak for herself! I, for one, want to know what she has to say.

Gov. Palin and Reproductive Rights

When McCain chose Palin to be his Vice President, she was heralded as the poster child for religious-right conservative values. Though she is an ambitious woman, do not be mistaken, she does not support any progressive women's rights; the most critical being reproductive rights. Gov. Palin is a fundamental pro-life advocate. Gov. Palin is against abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Women, think it through. If your daughter is raped or the child is a product of incest, do you really want to force your daughter to have that child? Men, do you?

Barack Obama stated in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, “we may not agree on abortion but we can certainly agree on the fact that reducing unwanted pregnancy is vital to the abortion debate.” The single most substantive method of teen pregnancy prevention is education yet Governor Palin favors abstinence-only training in lieu of sex education. There is plenty of documented evidence showing that abstinence-only training does not work including within her family. Only education and contraception can prevent pregnancy; wishing that teenagers can put aside their hormones until marriage is not. Forcing a 17yr old to marry to remove the stigma of being an unwed mother is also not a solution.

Clearly, in a nation as diverse as America, we cannot have a policy that does not teach but leaves females to a consequence of parenting as punishment for sexual transgression on their part or by an aggressor. We should not force our females to be single mothers or to marry when it is clear that the father will not accept responsibility for the pregnancy. It is unrealistic to expect pre-marital abstinence on the part of the American female in a culture that is over-sexualized and rewards men for their conquests. Hormones are very powerful! Females need education so that they can combat the pressure and desire to be sexually active and to uphold the sanctity of her body. It is a tall order.

Women, if you choose Palin, you may be giving up your future choice. Men, if you choose Palin, you will help her take that choice away from all women. If you are pro-life, we respect your choice as you respect ours. Gov. Palin chose to have her baby; her daughter is choosing to have hers. I want my daughters to choose too and I certainly don’t want McCain and Palin attempting to uphold their views and enact legislation to stop all of us from having our choice.

Nevertheless, for better or for worse, under current laws, everyone can function, pro-life and pro-choice. We are not a religious state, we are not a theocracy like the Middle East states we denounce; we are democracy. McCain-Palin would seek to reverse abortion rights that would unleash devastating consequences for our female citizens. I know there are many Americans who support strict conservative ideals and this is fine but the rest of us prefer separation of church and state.

Let’s Face Facts: The Republican Economic Policies Have Failed

Now that we have had time to digest both Political Conventions, the gloves are off. In the next 60 days Americans have to decide once and for all the direction of this country. Many people were impressed with both shows and it appears that the polls are neck and neck once again. While we all want what’s best for the country, we all need to do a little math and ask ourselves the age old question; “Are we better off today than we were 4 years ago; in this case 8 years ago?”

We have had a Republican President for 8 years with a Republican Congress for 6 of those years. They lowered taxes for business and the wealthy that along with the billions spent on war and subsidies for large corporations etc. reversed the economic policies that Clinton had in place. The wealth was supposed to trickle down and spur economic growth. Sadly, the growth was not real, it was built on debt and we are now paying dearly for it. Many thought the Democratic Congress could accomplish positive change over the last 2 years but since they did not have enough of a majority to turn the tide, they now look really bad; part of the problem instead of the solution.

Though the following numbers are even worse now, these are documented facts as they are from the 2004 census:

-Median Household Income increased under Clinton from $40,422 in 1993 to $46,129 in 2000 when Bush took over. It has declined under Bush since then. In 2004, it was down to $44,389.

-Employment rate declined under Clinton from 6.9% in 1993 to 4% in 2000 when Bush took over. It has increased under Bush and in 2004; it was up to 5.5%.

-Poverty rate under Clinton declined from 15.1% in 1993 to 11.3% in 2000 when Bush took over. It has increased under Bush to 12.7%.

And don’t forget the most important. When Bush took over from Clinton the national debt was about $5.5 trillion dollars. The debt is now $10.6 trillion dollars. Yes, in 8 short years Bush has added $5 trillion to the debt; as much as the entire debt that we had in the whole history of the United States when he took office. He is also leaving the new incoming President, who ever that is, with a 2009 budget deficit of nearly $500 billion dollars; yes that is $ ½ a trillion dollars deficit for one year of running the government.

The Republicans have run the country into the ground. They were the only ones who got rich here. The middle class is suffering under staggering debt and losing their homes. Meanwhile the government has already lent Wall Street Banks over $500 billion dollars and they still give themselves million dollar bonuses even when they fail.

I am not saying that the Democrats are necessarily going to do much better; Obama has offered some pricey panaceas given the state of the budget and the debt. However, we cannot let John McCain keep the same failing policies while bringing even more right-wing religious conservatives into government with him. We all know that “Hope” is not a strategy but in this case, an uplifted spirit is still better than negative divisive politics. The Democratic Convention made me feel like anything could happen; the Republican Convention made me shake in my shoes. In these tough times, hope may be all we have and I’d rather have a positive spirit over the next 4 years than a negative one.

Republican National Convention: McCain Wraps it Up

After another round of biographic videos and speeches in praise of John McCain, the decorated war hero, POW and Senator, wooed crowds with his non-distancing from the policies of George W. Bush as if the mere act of not mentioning him by name, Bush and his father were referred to as the President of the United States and the 41^st President respectively, would accomplish that task.

Comfortable in his new right-wing conservative blanket, John McCain ironically pitched his maverick self that has been MIA for some time as the agent of change to the very people who forced him to abandon the notion in the first place. Basically, the wrong Republicans are in office and he would be a better Republican. However, it was a gracious speech that had some nice touches and stayed away from the mocking negativity that permeated the arena yesterday. Cindy McCain’s speech and introduction of her husband was too long and, frankly, boring since the emphasis on war and service had been worn out after 3 days.

Once again, we were asked to transcend reality and join in the St. Paul fantasy that the Republicans have not been in power for the last 8 years and by not mentioning President Bush we can actually believe it. Unfortunately, there was not enough to sway this independent, as the specifics of McCain’s platform seemed to champion policies already in place. Other than trusting McCain to return to his maverick self, we are left to believe that the antiquated ideals of the Republican base will be beneficial for all Americans.

Republican National Convention: Gov. Palin Delivers to Base

Tonight’s line up of guests was an attack dog spectacle that pandered to and for the Republican base but not much of anybody else. Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee delivered although Mitt Romney faltered in believability. Once again the night centered on John McCain’s record of service with pointed jabs at Sen. Obama and the fact that he has completely surrendered to the Republican base. Gov. Palin arrived to thunderous applause and added her own two cents; long on the same rhetoric but short on her own introduction. Unfortunately, Rudy Giuliani spoke excessively long causing the RNC to nix the Sarah Palin biographic video, which I was really interested in seeing, and caused her speech to run past prime time. Maybe they will show it tomorrow.

It was strange to watch a set of people reach back to Ronald Reagan, bypassing both Presidents Bush entirely and completely, and with straight or actually condescending faces act like none of the problems that they were denouncing was caused by their very own party. No matter how much we all want to dismiss it; we have had a Republican President for the past 8 years with a Republican Congress for all but 2 of those years. Blaming big government; largely expanded by President Bush, blaming the democrats for wanting to quit the Iraq War; a War that Bush started and blaming Obama and the democrats/liberals for all the current ills as if the Republican’s had nothing to do with it. It felt very odd and cold to us watching from home but played very well inside the stadium.

The speakers simply did not reach out to any other folk other than to pretend that the last 8 years didn’t happen and that a decorated hero of a 40 yr old war who has spent the last 26 years in the Senate was the best bet for America going forward; that the party that has created this current mess and given us a President with the lowest approval rating, who they now take great pains to distance themselves from, is the choice to get us out of it because they will bring us back to a conservative 1950s America with a twist; an ambitious woman will be Vice President. Yet we Americans also fear the Democratic alternative. We can choose more of an even frightening version of the same or take a leap of faith; in truth it can't be any worse than the last 8 years.

Republican National Convention: Drumroll Please!

At last the Republican National Convention begins after a 3 day barrage of “other news.” With trepidation receded about Hurricane Gustav and the new revelations about Gov. Sarah Palin taking their spin, the Republicans had one last hurdle; how to distance themselves from Pres. Bush. This was accomplished by beaming him in from the White House where he was presidentially monitoring storm conditions, I suppose, while his wife and parents were in St. Paul. Well, not everybody can be invited to the party.

Nevertheless, the evening went well focusing on the slogans of “country first” and “service” wrapped up in a coating of “strong on defense.” John McCain’s military service was perfectly re-cast by Fred Thompson, former Senator and actor, in a rousing speech that stirred the stadium. First Lady Laura Bush delivered one of the most political speeches of her tenure by way of introduction to President Bush’s address which incidentally was much shorter than her introduction. Former Presidents Bush and Reagan were honored but the implication was that McCain followed closely on the heels of Reagan rather than the current President Bush.

The highlight of the evening was Sen. Joe Lieberman’s speech. Lieberman ran on the democratic ticket 8 years ago as Al Gore’s Vice Presidential pick and is currently classified as an Independent though he still refers to himself as a democrat and votes generally along democratic party lines. Lieberman’s speech was almost well received but it was hard to dismiss that the fact that the Republicans turned him down as McCain potential VP.

The Republicans did the best they could considering the circumstances but it was clear that the fulcrum of the Convention will be Sarah Palin’s speech tomorrow. McCain’s speech is expected to be foregone conclusion since it is clear that he is now running on his military record and does not portend to reach beyond that.

Labor Day Surprises

Hurricane Gustav narrowly misses New Orleans but still packs a wallop to the gulf coast. The Republican National Convention is cancelled for today due to fear of mishandling another hurricane disaster. It will officially begin tomorrow but with more curiosity than ever. The big news of the day is that McCain’s apparently squeaky clean conservative choice for VP is not so squeaky after all. It figures. No one is squeaky clean; I don’t know why Americans always keep expecting it of people running for office.

Gov. Sarah Palin was greeted like a breath of fresh air for the Republican party even though she is under investigation for possible ethics violations. However the big twist on her platform was revealed today; her 17 yr old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. Thankfully, she will be forced into marriage so it will all be made whole and the stigma of an being an unwed mother, not to mention daughter of the most conservative woman to hit the Republican stage will be averted so it seems. However, it will make it difficult for Palin to continue her support for abstinence-only training when she cannot get her own daughter to abide.

Fox News was already down-playing the pregnancy as a private family matter. Since it is being handled “correctly,” Palin’s daughter will marry her guy; no conservative rules have really been broken. What price political ambition? No matter the spin, this revelation will definitely undermine the conservative party platform that she was chosen to uphold.