The Height of Insult

Women are not swayed by her lies....not to worry.

Cat! It's so nice to see you. And thanks for this clear, intelligent view of a most depressing topic. I agree with Lea; I don't think intelligent women (or men) are impressed with Sarah Palin. From what I've seen, the only people talking her up are people who would vote the Republican ticket if they ran Hitler and Marilyn Monroe (the last few have been brain dead, so why not).

We still have HOPE and the best candidate for CHANGE.

But I agree with everything you said in the article. How can any woman not be totally insulted by this most vile, sexist move ever?

"It is amazing to me that fear is still speaking to people at least as loudly as the promise of true change."

Cat, I totally agree with this statement. Why you would post an article based on inaccuracies and the liberals campaign of fear, I can't imagine. We have two candidates, McCain and Palin, who promise hope for and belief in the common everyday people as opposed to an elitist "wonderboy" who promises so much more than he can give without bankrupting those common everyday people.

"Ask them whether they value their own reproductive rights, human rights, animal rights, foreign policy, domestic policy, environmental policy, a separation of church and state, science, sense, or anything, really."

Then ask them what the candidates value in this aspects and how they view these aspects at the federal and state levels.

Please, you've been following all the trash talk and taking it to heart because you couldn't have possibly done research on all of this, have you? Animal rights? Because she hunts? And the other allegations in your commentary? This is all fear politics. No basis, just fear.

I see Sandy's been drinking the same Koolaid! And absorbing the same fear politics. It's a shame.

I'm an elitist wonderfrog and proud of it.

Nicely written and succinct.

Cathi,
Well done...you've summed up this piece quite well. No fact only internet rumors spread and spread again. You can definitely tell who's done their homework and who relies solely on what they've heard and read at the rumor mill.
Cat
If you want thinking people to listen, do the leg work, the reseach, and present credible information based on fact. Then we'll be more than willing to listen and take your opinions seriously.

You wrote an incredible article. If you don't mind, I'd like to copy it and mail it to a few people with your name and logo visible, of course.

My daughter has been doing battle with her Republican relatives. As a result, she has been called every name in the book, her faith questioned, her sanity deemed non-existent, her patriotism considered more that of a traitor than an American. I'm very fearful that those who want to vote another Republican president in will not listen to anything that matters.

Cat, this is a well-stated article, and some of the responses to it are shocking examples of exactly what frightens me.

It seems keeping people afraid is the key to much of the Republican strategy. It's said we tend not to change horses midstream, but that isn't really going to work for them as well as they hope. The weather issues only remind us how badly the sitting Republican mishandled the previous tragedy.

This new approach of superficial suitability should insult everyone, not just women.

Cathi and Kathy,
I can understand your non understanding where we come from.
Party identification is strong in America and for the last 40 years the GOP or
'Great oligarchy proliferation 'machine has constantly spewed its hateful message against the left. I am sorry to say I voted republican few times before I did my research and learned of the conspiracy to manipulate young and naive or just busy people who have no time to learn what their policies are and how they are implemented.

i want no part in the military complex machine
My tax money should be spent here in my country and not send over to Pakistan or Israel or other beggars all over the world.
If your liberal gop party wants to do charity it should spend their personal money not the country..tax money.
Tired frankly of the growth of government who get fat salaries at my expense, but they are unqualified to do the job.
Tired of lunatics Palin style religious crap from people who are anything but religious and will kill their citizen for a barrel of oil
Take your GOP and shove it out of the country, get settled in Portorico I heard everyone there is on food stamps, you can fit right in.
You people are the most uneducated I have ever seen of lately and spend too much time on the web...get a job and pay taxes .
Do your research rather than defend this fascist government.

Cathi and Kathy. I have already done th eleg work which is why it is so easy to see the real sham for which you have fallen. Everyone of the so called platform pieces of which you speak from the republicans has played a part in the lowering of standards in this country. I refuse to engage you in dribble when we are dealing with a stifling budget deficit brought on primarily by your party. The dollar has dropped to historic lows yet you are trivializing community activist's. While the country is trying to deal with teen pregnancy and family planning you want to stifle any teaching of sex education beyond abstinaence. How deep do I need to read and research to find something substenant you support. You already havea wayward cowboy in office who can't lead a parade but now you want to put a man whose biggest claim to fame is that he voted with that cowboy 90% of the time.
How utterly sad and to say nothing of the fact that this country has suffered greatly under the so called leadership of republicans yet somehow you want us to believe that now those same people are going to get us out of this mess.

Spencer, I supposed you think Clinton, Carter and Johnson were dandies to be proud of. Sorry, I too, have done my homework. I haven't any idea who "you people" are. But your rant hasn't any relationship to my beliefs. I've read your posts before and find you a part of "the collective". It's a shame your thinking isn't original, but follows right along the same path as "the collective" liberal mindset. If you think Obama, or Ron Paul, or whoever the heck you are following is your savior, then have at it. But you heart, mind and soul are closed by the liberal fear machine, or perhaps Obama, deus ex machina.

Cat, rest easy. The vast majority of Americans actually CAN see that Palin is just a really bad joke. The vast majority of Americans are sick and tired of the crap that's been rammed down our throats these last eight years, and that same majority is not so blind as to miss the fact that Palin/McCain just represent more of the same.

The "bounce" (oh, it's so fun to use buzz-words! I almost feel 'cool'.) that Palin has given the McCain campaign is nothing but media-generated hype designed to keep you tuned- (read: plugged-) in, stirred up and engaged in the debate (and otherwise distracted from the real issues). Will it steal them an election? It might. But if it does, you can bet the outcome of that election was decided by 'those in the know' long before Palin ever came on the scene. Palin will have changed nothing...

So true, Donald. She is a bouncy (maybe I'm not cool enough to know how to use the buzz word correctly) toy they tossed in to entertain the kids so they don't notice that their lives are falling apart or see horror films like this one, .

The truth is, neither Sarah Palin nor John McCain are significant. The Republican machine is in control, no matter which fossil, actor, monkey, or barbie doll they dangle in front of their supporters. Four more years with any Republican in office means four more years of war, debt, lost jobs, inflation, violence, hunger, and homelessness. I can't believe there are people who actually look forward to that.

Cathi you must be an alien robot who repeats himself..the liberal spending are your friends who can claim a 3 thrillion dollar deficit...your grandchildren will pay for that..

Cat, I've missed you! I have to ask you, do you dislike her more than you would if she were a man? Does it insult feminism for a woman to have her political beliefs? Not that I have the answers to these questions; that's why I'm asking you.

My liberal fiance can't answer them, and it usually starts an argument. If I recall correctly, you and I enjoyed some rather "spirited" arguments, in the past. That's what I'm commenting about, though I'll be glad to debate the points made in your piece.

I have to say, it's GOOD to see you are still on Gather, and posting great stuff, even if I disagree with your opinion. You are as thought-provoking as ever, Cat!!!

Cat-Quote:

"Please talk to the women in your life. I've been surprised to see the people swayed by this. Ask them whether they value their own reproductive rights, human rights, animal rights, foreign policy, domestic policy, environmental policy, a separation of church and state, science, sense, or anything, really."--End.

I have, and they all LOVE her! Thankfully, I've only REAL Women in my Life.

This is a humorous "piece." The fact that you share "the same body parts" (though with not NEARLY the panache) and yet hate her, because she doesn't "think" like you, is what I find to be the "Height of Insult."

Oooh! More buzz-words! "I have only REAL women in my life." The notion that Sarah Palin represents "real" women in any way is just ludicrous. The implication, of course, is that she represents, in some way, the average woman. It's bizarre, and all it is is more hype, tossed into the swirling and whirling media cesspool by the right wing spin machine, and the inevitable result is a PR tornado...

But the fact that there are so many people (but still, a shrinking minority) so willing to absorb their message and shriek it back at the rest of us just doesn't make it true. Sarah Palin is a zealot who is very clearly and publicly sacrificing her own family for the sake of her ideology, her ego and gross personal gain.

Real? If that's real, then our troubles run far deeper than just McCain and Palin and the bad people that hold their strings...

Sorry, I would have replied sooner but I lost the large response post I wrote yesterday so I gave up and went berry picking instead. Let's try again.
Cathi and Kathy,

I would be happy to address each and every point that you seem to think is inspired, on my part, by fear. It would be my sincere pleasure. I've simply found that on Gather it's best to make your statements digestible and then move on to in-depth discussion in the comments. Additionally, I believe that most of what I've said is self-evident. It doesn't take much in the way of research to demonstrate any of this. I've noticed that you have criticized me for lacking citations, but have brought nothing to the table yourselves. So in lieu of posting on the one topic you did touch on (Palin as animal rights defender) I'll eschew writing out her entire history in relation to climate change and environmentalism (and I would hope that the connection to animal rights would be obvious) and her more recent role in creating an illegal bounty on wolves using specious reasoning with no input from wildlife conservation experts, continuing to pay bounties when it was declared a violation of national law (you didn't want a candidate that had any respect for existing law did you?) and spearheaded the movement to de-list the polar bear as an endangered species due to the interference with gas and oil, or her attachment to the secessionist movement that wants to reclaim National Parks for resource use, etc... I'll just offer you the opportunity to educate yourselves with some easy reading:

News:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17735990/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/opinion/05palin.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/29/polar.bear.concern.ap/index.html
http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/080514a.html

Articles:
http://biology.usgs.gov/ecosystems/polar_bear.html
(USGS)
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=3569
(UAlberta)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508132549.htm
(these guys: http://www.informs.org/)

All of this is exacerbated by her connections to oil and her lack of belief in anthropogenic climate change. Refusing to believe in something that the global scientific community agrees upon and that even the Pope believes to be a threat is nothing short of delusional. It's a line that people were barely getting away with five years ago. I'm not sure how you can justify that line of thinking without believing in some kind of mass-liberal-scientific-conspiracy. Let me know what you think.

Lynn, thank you and by all means.

Chris, thank you! I've missed Gather sometimes. I had to bring this up and get feedback because it has been bothering me a great deal. In response to your question, though anyone holding those beliefs is offensive to me, I do believe that her being female has a lot to do with it, only because it has the same effect as parading any other suppressed representative into the king's court and having them give a presentation on how much they take comfort in their suppression and how they can find strength outside of the existing system of inequality. The fact that she has been consistently corralled by her handlers and not allowed to speak to the press freely doesn't help. But I think that people who claim to be as "pro-life" as she is are not working towards a mutual understanding or the creation of fetal rights (which most pro-choice folk wouldn't even be opposed to) but rather she's moving towards the systematic enslavement of the female population to their own bodies, since she believes that even rape is not an excuse to abort.

Mark-John, I don't "hate" her. I don't have any opinion about her personality, because that's not what nominations or votes should reflect. This isn't a popularity contest, and as such insulting me or promoting her doesn't hurt my e-feelings or convince anyone else of your argument. I would hope that you cared enough about the issues to consider how these people would conduct themselves in office. I have plenty of respect for people who don't share my opinions. I'll fight for the rights of folks who do things I don't like, and I do verbally defend them regularly. I'll admit that I'm wrong and reform when given a convincing argument. But people who refuse to take science into consideration when making world-changing decisions, people who are such extremists should be questioned, not rallied behind mindlessly. Your "LOVE" for her wont keep her from destroying the world that you must leave to your children, or killing people abroad. Your hate for me wont stop me from trying to reach people who aren't thinking clearly to express my opinions.

"Why you would post an article based on inaccuracies and the liberals campaign of fear"

Sorry Cathi, I’ve got to call BS on that one. The right wing is constantly accusing the left of doing just what is that they themselves are doing and it needs to be pointed out The Republicans have been running on the “war against terror” for seven years now. They tell us over and over that our security will be threatened if we elect a Democrat. I’m not nearly as scared as they would like for me to be. I’ve been around a bit and I think that no matter who is elected to office the people of this country aren’t going to be cowed or conquered by anyone much less a few thousand religious extremist.


Nice post Cat. Thanks.

"I have to ask you, do you dislike her more than you would if she were a man? Does it insult feminism for a woman to have her political beliefs? Not that I have the answers to these questions; that's why I'm asking you."

I'm not Cat, but would like to respond. I don't consider myself a feminist because I think that defeats the purpose. People are people to me. I would dislike the lies, the cocky personality, the religious fanaticism, and the duplicity of Sarah Palin in any person, male or female.

Perhaps you have mis-understood.

What I said was this: you cannot stand the Woman, because she is the WRONG KIND of "feminist." You cannot BELIEVE that a WOMAN could believe as she does.

What I also said was this: She is the ULTIMATE Feminist. She likes Men, she likes Children, she believes in Family, she carries a gun, she is FOR Human Life, and not for Killing it; she Loves Animals and the environment, she UNDERSTANDS Conservation, she can cook, she can lace Hockey Skates, she will whip ANYONE in a debate; she Loves God, she is Tough, she is Sweet (try to teach THAT to a "feminist") she Loves this Great Country and the Constitution, she has a better understanding of "Con Law" than the "con law" professor...and she looks Hot doing it...

You disqualify her because you cannot believe that a "Woman" could hold her beliefs. I'm thankful that most Women see through your garbage and your bigotry. And they DO...

You will see and understand on November 5.

Mark-John,
It isn't clear that you've read any of the posts here (re: "she loves animals and the environment", "she understands conservation", not about personality, etc) and as far as I can tell you're just adding further emphasis to your opinions without giving anyone the slightest reason to join you in those beliefs - and those are tough to swallow, even the ones that aren't insulting. Is that "research" stuff the garbage and bigotry you were referring to previously? In that case perhaps I did misunderstand. All I see is someone desperately trying to defend their own state of mind. So feel free to try again. Bring some citations or something this time, or at least make an effort to explain even one of your statements.

Cat-

If you are uneducated on these issue's, get educated. I am not your Teacher... you do not Know me.

I never throw my Pearls to pigs...

Coffee anyone?

Yes, please. VERY black.

Coffee is for closers.

Calling me "uneducated" when I've offered sources and you've offered nothing is quite amusing. Calling me a pig though, that takes the cake.

Cat, I did not say that you were uneducated. I said that you are uneducated on these issues. It is your beliefs that expose a lack of Wisdom. Therefore, the "education" is useless. My purpose, contrary to what you believe, is NOT to persuade you. It can't be done.

I've stated my case at 8:41 am. You've simply refused to see the Truth. Your bigotry has blinded you.

Mark-John, "bigotry?" That's a bit heavy handed.

Yes, bigotry. And, indeed it is.