No, I'm not running for the presidency. By "my Vice President", I mean the person I believe is working for my interests; someone I could be proud of, and in turn would inspire me to get off my butt and help fix the mess we're in.
She's not a candidate for being "my Vice President" because I don't believe she is at liberty to view all of the facts and then, thinking for herself, do what the evidence says must be done. More specifically, if she were in charge of finding solutions to my concerns, there would be three entities in line ahead of me:
1) God (for lack of a less ambiguous description). I don't actually believe Sarah Palin knows what God wants, even if she is intent on taking everything in the Bible literally. All words are open to interpretation, and words written centuries ago and translated several times increase the confusion many, many times. But I think she would agree that the Bible tells us nature is here for us to rule over and improve upon, and if anywhere in the Bible we are directed to look at nature for examples of systems that work, I'm inclined to think she will assume we are in the final days anyway, so to hell with nature. "Be fruitful and multiply" is also one of the clearest passages in the Bible, and I think that's about the last thing humanity needs to be doing right now.
2) Mr. Palin. The Bible directs women to submit to their husbands. This is pretty ambiguous, as the word "submit" can mean any number of things. Still, of the fundamentalists I've known, the man says how things are going to be and the woman submits to that will. I do not know what Mr. Palin thinks or wants his wife to do as Vice President, and I'm pretty sure he will be kept in the background at least until the election is over, so I won't get to find out. I have no problem with having a woman as Vice President or President, but I do insist on a person who knows her rights and responsibilities as an adult.
3) The Republican Party line / Carl Rove. If there is one thing the Republicans are exceedingly good at, it's speaking with one voice, and those who are best at sticking to the script are the loyal voters who were enengized - in a very calculated way - by adding Sarah Palin to the ticket. For all this talk of change, she is pro-war, anti-choice, pro-oil, anti-Ullah, and so on.
If I were still a Republican, and needed to explain away the single-mindedness of the Republican mantra, I know just what to say. "Republicans are all agreed on all things because they can see the facts. They have the truth on their side, so as long as they all speak the truth, they will all be agreed." This does not work for me now that I'm standing outside the little tent that is the Republican party. It is not true that Iraq had a hand in the attacks on 9-11. It is not true that Sarah Palin opposed the "bridge to nowhere". It is not true that George Bush Jr. honorably served his country while John Kerry was off being a coward. It is not true that Oliver North is an American hero, or anything but a traitor. It is not true that they are the party of fiscal responsibility. It is not true that the Republican party will - if only we elect John McCain president - have a change of heart, and start looking out for the little guy. It is not true that the Republican party believes in free markets; if they did they wouldn't give out no-bid contracts, and they wouldn't distort the market by giving tax breaks to an industry that is already enjoying record profits.
Yes, I was once an apologist for the Republicans. Back when Ronald Reagan was first elected, I - even though I had voted for Anderson - preached Reagan's trickle-down, every-man-for-himself idealogy. Then they sent missiles - many tons of missiles - to a country they had been telling me was our enemy. It took me a while, but I started to see more lies and more lies and now as a matter of conservative and patriotic principle I will always vote against anyone they run for office. And that's the truth.
One of my fellow conservatives expressing his dismay during the Ouray, Colorado Fourth of July parade.
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Comments: 146 ( 1 removed by Ron Hall )
I am neither Republican nor Democrat, but I do think we need more than a two-party system, so as to allow a couple others to really go for the nomination, as well as members of other partys to be able to vote in the primarys. Good post, you speak your mind very well, but you always have :)
If I were a Democrat, my mantra would be "It's Bush's Fault." That seems to be their answer for everything.
Mark my words the current credit crisis is going to rain pain and suffering down to a multitude of people. We are a very long way from the bottom.
I hate to admit it but I used to be a Republican. Iran/Contra changed my mind. I am now a proud independent.
MJ, the concept of the end days has a more suitable home in the politics of Osama Bin Laden than in does in my country. Taking the apocalyse seriously leads to irrational behaviors, like crashing planes into buildings.
WAB, if you'd listen to Democrats, you'd know they blame Al Gore, John Kerry, W, Ralph Nader - and on and on. Their biggest weakness is this seeming obsession with calling their own champions losers. Gimme an "It's Bush's fault" t-shirt any day, with that embarrassing hug from John McCain plastered underneath.
I used to admire John McCain, but he can't get elected as a Republican unless he reads from the script.
Kevin, it's a shame so many Americans don't remember Iran/Contra. We could have saved ourselves a lot of pain and humiliation by learning from the past.
I also object to you personal viewpoint of point 11 as you have just repeated what you heard and did not research yourself.
Sarah is the only normal human being to run for VP in my lifetime and I am 55. She knows what it is to struggle to pay bills, house payments and the other every 30 day arrivals that pay on time or pay with your credit rating etc. Sarah does submit to her husband not that it matters.
Katie Koric never missed a day of work while her husband was dying and her two little children at the time were with the Nanny.
Why is it the Democrats think they are so much better than the average Joe on the block. EIther party has only those running for office that come from the silver spoon society. I think having someone who can go to any Congress or Senate person and explain the reality of normal life in the US stands a chance of making REAL change.
Which is why McCain will win.
WOW! If she's "normal," with her views on guns, the War, abortion, the age of the Earth, and secession of Alaska from the union, then most people in this country are completely wacko, Jeanne. I think I will check myself into the nearest insane asylum immediately.
For another view on Palin, Obama and the recent statements about both in the media, read this.
Bulls**t... for example McCain spoke out against Bush on many occasions to the point that I vowed never to vote for him simply because I thought it was wrong at the time to pile on -- and leaders should make their disagreements known behind closed doors -- and in that sense McCain showed a lack of understanding of what true leadership is. This is not about being a yes man -- it's about letting your leader (President Bush) lead and advising him when you think he is wrong without doing it in a public forum.
"It is not true that Iraq had a hand in the attacks on 9-11"
Wow... stuck on stupid there. Nobody ever said Iraq had a hand in 911... except maybe the press. If you want to argue this point then I invite you to go to WhiteHouse.gov and pull the speech where Bush made any such claims. It never happened. That is towing the liberal line.
I could keep going... but this is so tired.
If you want to hear lies,distortion,half-truths and bias just listen to a McCain pep rally.The new one is he wants to reform Wall street,it was just a short time ago he was the Keating Five.
Obama a homosexual drug user forever video of The Honorable James David Manning preaches about Obama
I lived in the town of Coeur d'Alene Idaho where Palin attended North Idaho college. A local paper called the Inlander ran a story where they went to that college to talk to teachers or fellow students that may have known her then. Despite records confirming that Palin did indeed attend NIC, no one who taught or simulataneously attended classes that Palin was confrimed to have attended could remember her much less anything about her.
This is reaaly wierd because she was majoring in journalism. Which is an area of study full of people who fantasize about becoming famous. Not getting noticed in that kind of environment equals utter failure. But not leaving any impression at all? Wow...
Please read the New York Times investigative report published in Sunday's paper -- I have a feeling this is the tip of the iceberg. Read how she left an important meeting of mayors and elected officials to attend an anti-abortion rally. What has happened to the idea of the separation of church and state???
Is a Barack Obama bombshell lurking in the shadows, waiting to derail one of the biggest Cinderella stories in recent history?
While most political prognosticators in the mainstream press presume that Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, they still wonder aloud if Hillary Clinton (or some other entity) has something up their sleeve.
The bombshell may involve the murder of Donald Young, a 47-year-old choir master at former Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ—the same congregation that Obama has attended for the past 20 years. Two other young black men that attended the same church—Larry Bland and Nate Spencer—were also murdered execution style with bullets to the backs of their heads—all within 40 days of each other, beginning in November 2007. All three were openly homosexual.
Then it should be easy for you to pull the quotes (which you will find impossible to do)
What I hate is that there ARE people out there that will eat this up like a starving dog with a t-bone steak. So sad... so very sad...
Even before the war in Iraq, most Bush officials did not explicitly state that Iraq had a part in the attack on the United States two years ago.
But Cheney left that possibility wide open in a nationally televised interview two days ago (sept 2003 after the war started), claiming that the administration is learning "more and more" about connections between Al Qaeda and Iraq before the Sept. 11 attacks. The statement surprised some analysts and officials who have reviewed intelligence reports from Iraq.
NO WHERE DOES HE STATE THAT IRAQ HAD A HAND IN 911.... he only talks of finding new information that MAY lead to that conclusion.
The lies from the left are spread daily... just thought I should give you a taste of your own medicine. Besides, there are no lies... only circumstantial stories that have yet come to a conclusion.
And that LIE certainly has had legs for a long time and continues as though it were fact.
But in the aftermath of 911 they were quoted about ten thousand times claiming a connection between Iraq and alQaida. Which was a LIE!!!!!!
"(Cheney's) willingness to use speculation and conjecture as facts in public presentations is appalling. It's astounding." said Vincent Cannistraro, former CIA counterterrorism specialist"
Well, first -- speculation and conjecture are NOT lies... they are what they are and people understand them to be just that within the context that Cheney framed them ("We've never been able to develop any more of that yet, either in terms of confirming it or discrediting it. We just don't know")
But this gets VERY interesting when you look at who this guy Vincent Cannistraro is. Cannistraro linked Iraq with Osama bin Laden when he alleged that Iraqi intelligence agent Farouk Hijazi had invited bin Laden to live in Iraq during a December 1998 meeting in Afghanistan....
The credibility of the people selling this Bush Lied story stinks to high hell when you look at the facts and some of the stories they are involved (he works for ABC News now)....
No. THAT WAS THE TRUTH. You call it a lie, but that in itself is the lie.
As a conservative I am lovin this election. Who ever thought Hillary kicked out,Mac the maverick drops a grenade in the midddle of the Obama victory tour,Sarah causes a complete melt-down in the kook left.Wow I thought as a NY'r the Giants winning the Super Bowl last year was as good as it could get,boy was I wrong. WHYYYY??
Sarah**Sarah**Sarah**-----What a Babe and brilliant too.
It's too late now.. .the damage is done. But... hey, we did win two terms and we are about to get McCain in office.
Do we want to elect someone a heartbeat away from the presidency that the majority of Americans think is out to lunch? I hope not. It is dismaying to me that the polls are so tight. We cant let McCain and his scare tatics rule the day.
Do we want to make our decision based on what teenagers were saying about her? LOL
Sarah Palin has a higher approval rating the Obama, as well, she has over 70% approval rating as Gov of Alaska. Just thought you might want to know that ;)
Really? Do you have quotes of her lobbying for that specific bridge?
Palin denies she lobbied for 'bridge to nowhere'.
Palin insists she helped kill the project but critics emphasize that she was in favor of the bridge when she was a candidate for governor. It is an assault on her attempts to present herself as a reformer.
Palin, who was mayor of tiny Wasilla before becoming governor less than two years ago, told ABC News she did seek money for infrastructure in the state," saying it was "not inappropriate for a mayor or a governor" to seek such funding.
But ultimately, she said, "I said, 'Thanks, but no thanks. We're not going to spend it on the bridge.'"
I would think SOMEBODY would be able to produce something to absolutely refute Sarah Palin. So far, I've not seen it.
....Just cause we tried dumb once and didn't work doesn't mean 2nd time is the charm!
Yeah... born in Hawaii , the moved to Indonesia from 1967 to 1961, then back to Hawaii.... hardly your average middle-class American upbringing.
Evangelicals and social conservatives have embraced McCain's vice presidential pick for what they call her "pro-family," "pro-woman" values. But in Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children.
Critics say Gov. Sarah Palin, , has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most dangerous places in the country for women and children.
(DONNA SVENNEVIK / ABC)Alaska leads the nation in reported forcible rapes per capita, according to the FBI, with a rate two and a half times the national average – a ranking it has held for many years. Children are no safer: Public safety experts believe that the prevalence of rape and sexual assault of minors in Alaska makes the state's record one of the worst in the U.S. And while solid statistics on domestic violence are hard to come by, most – including Gov. Palin – agree it is an "epidemic."
Stop sending your garbled crap!!
Everybody has already seen it. It is old. It smells of smear. It reeks of distortion.
You and Sean Hannity should go beat up a homeless guy to get your stupid, self-righteous, right-wing, intolerable anger out.
How about this?
Since you are so entrenched in your party. Do you take ANY responsibility for the following.
Dependence on foreign oil
Economy
Mortgage crisis
That's those small town values the GOP couldn't shutup about at the convention.
Hmmm...what would those values really be? Why don't you tell us Don?
I watched the same thing happen to Lincoln Chaffee, the former senior senator from here in RI, and a moderate Republican from a long line of moderate party stalwarts. Heck, the Chaffees were the backbone of the GOP in RI for more than a century! But the advent GWB and the influx of neocons and religious fanatics made him a persona non grata in his own party. He stood up to Bush and was the only Republican senator to vote against Bush's rush to war in Iraq, and had the gits to get up on the floor of the Senate and say so, and give his reasons. He paid dearly for that. Now he's an independent and a college professor. And that's a shame, because he was a damned fine legislator, especially in the areas of the environment and maritime law. But the Republican Party no longer allows moderates in its ranks. Karl Rove won, it seems.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/17/palins_yahoo_account_hacked.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gwb2EuzGN4
so they change their tune...when they want.....cmon...
Of course Anne Coulter says anyone who doesn't embrace this war, or her politics, is a traitor.
Would it make you feel better if the liberal lies being spread here went unchallenged? Speaking of which, you moonbats are unable to adequately respond to my posts in a fair manner with factual information. Somebody please show me where she gave specific requests for the bridge to nowhere, or even where she supported it after the money was available. I would not be happy if it were true, but I would admit to her failure if someone would just provide irrefutable facts to back up the stupid liberal talking points. I just want sanity in the debate and you people don't provide it and instead just pile on more lies.
"I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week," Harry Reid said
see the Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ_tCVnTfJI&feature=related
More of McSame. The saddest thing is that they actually believe all the tripe coming out of the (non news) propaganda coverage system.
W
I don't follow Don H's comments much, but wording things carefully doesn't appear to be his strong suit. If something is well-spoken or looks to be thoughtful, it might not be him. Consider:
"Palin, who was mayor of tiny Wasilla before becoming governor less than two years ago, told ABC News she did seek money for infrastructure in the state,” saying it was “not inappropriate for a mayor or a governor” to seek such funding."
This is/is not a quote from Don's comment above, but I copied it from another website
http://carolinanaturally.blogspot.com/2008/09/tom-palin-subpoenaed-in-troopergate.html
that appears to be dated September 13th. Maybe they were quoting him.
Similarly,
"Palin insists she helped kill the project but critics emphasize that she was in favor of the bridge when she was a candidate for governor. It is an assault on her attempts to present herself as a reformer."
is from
http://www.globaltv.com/globaltv/bc/story.html?id=a9039c04-5b2d-4309-b41c-2ee21b82fcb4
Also dated September 13th.
-------------
Back to your point though - if she is opposed to these sorts of earmarks, wouldn't she use her office to stop them? Wouldn't she campaign on that promise, rather than saying she didn't want to stand in the way of "progress"?
see the Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ_tCVnTfJI&feature=related"
That's the first time I've seen any definitive proof -- and with that I must concede that the claim can be made that she 'supported' the 'bridge to nowhere'. That said, she never asked for the funds, had nothing to do with getting the funds and what she said was a general comment of not getting in the way of any numerous projects that Alaska's congressional delegation fought for. I am sure you can agree with my assessment and this is EXACTLY what she said in a debate:
Question: "Would you try to cancel that contract?"
Palin: "I am not going to stand in the way of progress that our congressional delegation with the position of strength that they have right now. They're making those efforts for the state of Alaska to build up our infrastructure. I would not get in the way of progress of this project (the bridge) or any other projects that they're working so hard on."
The way you people make it sound, it's as though she came up with the idea and then lobbied to get the money. You can see in that statement she is merely going to not block that project or any other project their folks in congress worked on. Basically, playing it safe in a debate.
joking ;)
Well said, great article! Couldn't agree more.
I see that Don is still making inane, denigrating and insulting comments as a substitute for actual argument!
I see you're still not reading all my comments in the context they were written.
I can’t say that I buy into that “the way you people make it sound” argument. There may be some that slant it that way but what I hear is that she’s not being honest with us about it and of course, if she’s not honest about that …
I don’t expect you to throw in the towel and concede that an Obama/Biden ticket would be better for America as a whole than a McCain/Palin ticket would be, the debate is important, but I do hope that you won’t dismiss information just because it comes from a source you don’t trust and that you don’t accept information as true just because it comes from your side of the argument.
Which is why you'll never get elected to office.
"would not have made the claim that I said “thanks but no thanks” "
Well, she eventually said that. Again, her support was not specific to the bridge, rather it was support for money that was fought for by the states congress members.... and running for Governor, what is she supposed to say? "No no no.... we don't want that money... we don't want those jobs..." It's basically a 'gotcha' no matter what she said in that position. Any reasonable person would have to agree with that assessment.
That said, in this forum it matters little... everybody already knows who we're voting for. You're voting for McCain, right?
McCain and Palin are not reformers they are not Mavericks they are same old same old Republicans in the spirit of GWB.
Obama 08.
Wow. I digress...a lot. Sorry.
I expect more from someone who preaches 'transparency.'
I'll keep reading them. They are usually short and once in a while they are funny. If you write a long one, it is usually not inane. Biased perhaps, but no law against that!
McCain and Palin are not reformers, they are plagiarizers. They are simply copying a theme from Obama because it has worked well for him.
It's as though we are slowly becoming that which we abhor in our enemy, the Taliban. Dragging women back centuries as far as their rights are concerned, seeing murder as the only way to deal with our enemies, anti science, anti intellectualism, anti culture and art...
Republican policies lead us to being a much more brutal, primitive society which I think is evidenced in the quality of the comments by those who support it on this site.
"
Speaking about Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, the Nebraska Senator said it was a “stretch” to say she was qualified to be President.
He also said, in an interview in the Omaha World-Herald:
“She doesn’t have any foreign policy credentials. You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don’t know what you can say. You can’t say anything.”
Sen. Hagel also said, of Gov. Palin’s now-famous statement to ABC news that you can see Russia from Alaska:
“I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, ‘I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia. That kind of thing is insulting to the American people.”
"
Wow, now that's refreshing.