I probably should not have started a blog knowing I will be away for a month with little to know access to internet, radio, or TV for September, but I did anyways. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for you) this will probably be my last post for a month, so it will be a big one – basically 4 posts in one. Feel free to read in parts due to length.
I also want to preface this entry by saying that (as of right now) I am not voting for McCain / Palin, but neither am I voting for Obama. Neither of them represents me. The person I most agreed with was Ron Paul, but he was written off as a crazy person.
McCain’s Roll of the Dice: Sarah Palin
Alaska – Coldest state, Hottest governor.
And so it came to be that on Friday, August 29th, 2008, that Hilary Clinton wept as she was blown out of the spotlight of women’s advancement by (yet again) another woman. Immediately upon hearing that McCain’s pick for VP was a female I was excited. No, not because I particularly want a female in the Whitehouse, but because I knew it would make these next two months very exciting, and very close. Democrats also instantaneously realized as evidenced by the complete media frenzy surrounding Sarah Palin. Before I learned anything about her (extreme right) conservative positions on the issues, we learned a lot about Sarah the person and Sarah the mother. After all, this is what the populous cares about, right? Look how many bases she covers
Let’s look at some quick factoids about Sarah Palin.
1. She is Female!- - Did you guys watch the DNC? There were clearly several disgruntled female voters. Seeing women interviewed I constantly heard the line “I’m not sure who to vote for anymore” or “I will NOT vote for Obama”. As much as women during the primary season said they were voting for Hilary based on the issues, and I’m sure a lot of them were, I’m also sure that a significant amount were also voting for her because she is a woman.
2. One of the People- - She’s an every-day American. People can relate to her, she’s a union member, hunts, is a hockey mom, she made her own career, and didn’t ride into the spotlight on her husband’s back, charters a fishing boat, grew up in the middle class. She is family oriented. People can identify with her.
3. Conservative - - While not much was known about her at the beginning, it was known that she was a conservative (more so than John McCain). I was saying that McCain needed to pick Romney if he wanted to win in order to galvanize and energize his conservative base. He successfully did so here. The republican party has rallied around this ticket, much more so than I thought they would.
4. Her kid has Down Syndrome -- And she knew well before Trig (her kid) was born and kept the baby. It is estimated that 1 million families in the U.S. have someone in it with down syndrome. When she made her speech at the RNC, she looked right at the camera and said “To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.” That is at least 1 million votes right there.
5. History of outing corruption and being honest- - She has a history of going against her party when corruption was involved, turned in the chairmen of her own party, resigned from the Alaska oil and gas commission because of what she described as “a lack of ethics.”. More here
Let’s go back to number 3. She is conservative, super mega ultra conservative. John McCain was long criticized for being too liberal and many, many republicans and people were not happy when John McCain locked up the nomination. This is why I figured he would HAVE to chose Mitt Romney if he wanted a chance in hell to win. He needed to galvanize his conservative base, and rally the republicans behind him with a true conservative. He managed to do this, and still give a big John McCain maverick “fuck you” to the establishment by picking an outsider like Palin. Palin is almost as conservative as you can be on most of the issues - - for teaching creationism in schools, for drilling in ANWR, against abortion even in the case of rape or incest, against gay marriage, and even gay rights, opposes regulation that protects the environment, very against socialized medicine, etc. The list goes on. I don’t agree with most of that stuff, but I’m glad that there as at least more of a choice, and more of a difference between the tickets. McCain is very liberal on a lot of things and even was considering being Kerry’s running mate in 2004. I don’t think that liberalism or conservatism is bad, but I do think that not having clear choices is bad for our country.
You don’t take a big risk unless you expect big payoff. I think McCain’s roll of the dice will pay off greatly. It already has. Historically at this time, Democrats are usually ahead. In fact, after both conventions democratic candidates usually receive double digit bumps in polling numbers. Obama only received 8 points after the DNC, and according to the latest CBS poll Obama and McCain are now EVEN. EVEN?!?! In a time where Obama should be absolutely destroying McCain and the republicans, they are even? The climate for republicans is so terribad because of our lame-duck president, George Bush, and the war, that this race should be no contest. Obama should be decimating McCain more than a school of sharks with head-mounted laser beams would destroy Stephen Hawking if he fell in the ocean covered in pig’s blood.
And this is why I am excited. Palin has made this race interesting, and sent the media into a frenzy, it is quite hilarious to watch.
It is also hilarious to me, that in essence, Obama picked Palin and ironically, Palin may be what propels McCain to victory over him. Obama makes Palin possible, his complete lack of experience lowers the standard for people wanting to run this country (VP, President, or otherwise) and by NOT picking Hillary, which would have assured victory, and announcing that Hilary was never even considered for the position made it a HUGE advantage for McCain to chose a female. Enter Palin, stage right.
The Media goes Bat-shit insane
If anyone can not acknowledge the fact that on the whole, there is a liberal media bias, then you are either blind or retarded ….. or retarded and blind. There is a bias everywhere, most of the TV new channels are liberal, except for Faux News, and most of talk radio is conservative. However, three major newspapers in this country drive most of the stories and reporting on those outlets: the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe. These are clearly left-leaning.
Most of the outlets have completely bashed Palin, or didn’t know what to do. On August 29th when it was found out that she would be the VP nominee, these news outlets didn’t know how to react. It was funny to watch Chris Matthew’s turn red in the face with eyes bulging as he did all he could to criticize Palin. Kerry blew up on ABC, Keith Olber(welli)man was no better. The Major papers which previously were all for the advancement of women’s rights (as seen by Hillary and other stories) were now asking the question “How can Palin raise her family and be VP?” “Can Palin have it all?” Are you serious? Can Palin have it all? Isn’t that the whole point of feminism? That women can have it all (just like men), a career and a family? These questions have never been asked of a man before in these outlets.
I commend Obama here for telling people to stay out of Palin’s family, but look at the front pages of these papers, what has been on them? TEEN PREGNANCY SCANDAL!! No talk specifically about Palin, or (rightfully) criticizing her on her positions. They have been parading her daughter around, and some have even reported that Trig was actually Bristol’s daughter, not Sarah’s . While this was reported on blogs, it was also mentioned in several major news outlets. Did anyone see the U.S. Weekly cover? BABIES LIES AND SCANDAL!! Only a month beforehand, the same magazine had a cover with Obama and Michelle stating “Why he loves her”.
As for the troopergate scandal at first I was a bit flustered by this. It seems as though she used her power to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monega because he would not fire or move around her former brother in-law. However, what most places failed to mention is that this person made death threats against her father, and tasered his own son.
Liberals and Conservatives switch positions
It is funny that so often conservatives take this position of having this moral high ground and a holier-than-thou attitude. This is most clearly evident on this issue of teen pregnancy. Conservatives often criticize liberals for their views on sex education, and chastise them when their teens get pregnant. I have heard the same conservative outlets and personalities bash the PARENTS of Gloucester high school students who got pregnant, and Jamie-Lynn spears now PRAISE Sarah Palin and Bristol Palin with regards to her pregnancy issue. They are saying how great it is she is having a baby, and marrying her high school sweet heart, that out there in Alaska things are different, and blaming society, not the parents (I.E. Sarah Palin) for her pregnancy. What was that about abstinence only education?
Liberals, on the other hand, are filling the roll of conservatives here, brining this out in the open, criticizing Palin, and making a whole mess of the thing. I am constantly reading and hearing “She should stay home” “How will she raise her family!?”. She should WHAT? STAY HOME? Are you serious, you can’t be serious. Liberals are telling a female to stay home with the family? I guess it’s only ok for women to advance themselves in society if they have a (D) next to their name. It’s funny how politics works. People’s true colors come out.
The Experience Issue
Let me start out by saying I don’t think that Palin has enough experience to be VP, let alone president if something happens to John McCain. She has almost no foreign policy experience, and before her (only) 2 years as governor of Alaska, she was mayor of a town the size of a high school district in Boston. That being said, I think that Obama has even less experience than her, and he is running for President.
Let’s break this down.
Current Job
Obama: Junior Illinois Senator
Palin: Governor of Alaska
Previous Jobs
Obama: State Senator, Community Organizer (what?)
Palin: Mayor of Wasilla, President of Alaska Community Organizer Conference of Mayors; City Council Member
Executive Experience
Obama: None
Palin: Governor for 2 years, Mayor for 10 years
Foreign Policy
Obama: Chaired senate subcommittee on Europe but never called it into session, once gave speech to 200,000 Germans
Palin: None, aside from bordering Russia and Canada
Military Experience
Obama: None
Palin: In charge of Alaska Nat’l guard
Bipartisanship
Obama: Talks about reaching across the aisle
Palin: Married to a non-Republican;Exposed corruption within own party; Campaigned for Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell against corrupt GOP congressman Don Young;Called out Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK) to “come clean” about financial dealings that are under fed investigation, appointed democrats to office while Governer.
Legislative Experience:
Obama: Voted present almost 130 times, when he did vote, voted with party majority 96% of the time, Missed almost 50% of the votes in this current congress session. To my knowledge (and please correct me if I’m wrong) Obama has not AUTHORED ANY legislation.
Palin: Passed a landmark ethics reform bill;Used veto to cut budgetary spending;Prevented “bridge to nowhere” that would have cost taxpayers
$400 million dollars.
Am I missing something here? I figured that Obama’s lack of experience would take this argument off the table, on both sides. But I guess not. I find myself shuddering when I agree with Newt Gingrich….
You can say all you want about Palin only governing a town of 9,000, but she actually DID STUFF. She was in charge of infrastructure, budgets, making sure her Alaskan town ran. Multiply that by 10,000 when she became governor. Yes, the population of Alaska might be smaller than the population of Boston, however, the sheer SIZE of Alaska presents a whole set of challenges on it’s own. Getting energy, supplies, infrastructure improvements, roads and bridges built, schools run, heat and food etc delivered across an area that large is amazing. Apparently she has done a superb job as well, she has something like an 85% approval rating.
Oh yeah, and I found this hilarious, I wish I could find a clip, but Obama is claming he has more experience. Want to know WHY he claims to have more experience? Because he ran a campaign for president. Here’s the quote: “Well, my understanding is that Governor Palin’s town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We’ve got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the last couple of years” He failed to mention Palin’s experience as GOVERNOR.
So, Obama thinks he is qualified to be president because he ran a campaign to be president? HAH! Circular logic much? I should start a campaign to be dictator of the earth. If I can run a campaign, clearly I am qualified.
Who really stands for change?
Change can be anything. If we elect a turd sandwich to office, that would be change. Obama has been spouting the “hope for change the we hope while changing hope… change.. hope”. It is very similar to 90% of bushes speeches, except substitute his “terror(ism)s” for Hope, and “Iraq or WMD” for Change. There you go. [ASIDE: Going to publish the George Bush speech drinking game in this post as well] Hillary had it right (again, shivers up my spine) To me, Obama is “Change you can Xeorx”. The current governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, ran a very similar campaign, and in his 2 years in office, he has done almost nothing, and delivered on Z-E-R-O of his promises.
What we really want is reform, and new ideas. I will give it to Obama, I think he has a lot of good, new ideas from outside Washington, but will he actually do anything? We are going to hear the “McCain voted with bush 90% of the time” thing like crazy. That is true. We cannot have another 4 years of a Bush regime. However, McCain has a proven history of also going against his party, and doing what he feels is right. McCain has co-authored legislature with democrats (see: McCain-Kennedy bill). Again, I ask, has Obama authored ANY legislature? I am serious, if you know, please tell me. I’m not saying he hasn’t, but I haven’t been able to find anything he has done. Voting, and doing are two different things. Obama was talking about ending the war for a long time. If he had any balls, he could have done so by now. The congress is democratically controlled at the moment, he could of easily wrote legislature for cutting off ALL FUNDING for the Iraq war, lobbied for it, promoted it, and had a vote on it. It may or may not have passed, but he could have at least tried. If it passed, we’d have to pull out. No money = no war.
When Obama did vote, he voted with the majority of his party 96% of the time. It is not Bush, but it is not change either. Obama is more of the same, with less experience and more rhetoric. He talks about new politics, but I constantly see him dodging questions, being involved in minor scandals (rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, flag pin) stuttering without a teleprompter or pre-written speech (though I thought he was great on the O’riely factor, which I only watched cause Obama was on it), FLIP FLOPPING (illegal immigration, NAFTA, the war, wire tapping, etc)and just generally playing the political game. Not only do I think that Obama is a typical politician, I think he is playing the game better than anyone else ever has. That is my biggest reason for not voting for him, that and he wants me to speak Spanish to accommodate criminal illegal immigrants (hereafter known as crimmigrants). I’m not saying that McCain doesn’t do these things too, because he does, but he has a record, a long record to stand on, and people DO criticize McCain all the time, that has been done. The reason I’m on Obama’s case is because these things are so evident to me, but nobody else seems to notice. I told you this blog would come off conservative. Screw Old McCrap and George Bush. Happy. I don’t like either of them.
Who really stands for change? Fuck if I know, I just want Bush out and a new era of politics in. I think both candidates bring new ideas and ways of dealing with Washington to the table, but I also think they both bring more of the same. Regardless, whoever gets elected next is hammer-fucked due to the state that this country will be left in by George Bush.
I hate some Hippies
Watch this video, I don’t think I need to explain anymore.
http://www.foundrymusic.com/video.cfm?id=18768
God damnit I hate hippies. Don’t get me wrong, I love their…. Well, their good nature, the “vibe” they give so to speak (or that may be stench), their culture is great, and hippies are generally nice people, and fun, but GOD DAMNIT BE USEFULL!! Crying in the woods over trees and rocks doesn’t do shit. Why don’t you plant some god damned trees, or start a protest at logging companies, jesus. It gives real environmentalists who actually do clean up the environment and actually do things a bad name. Fuck those people.
George Bush Speech Drinking Game
Be sure to play before he’s out! This is the one good thing about this guy, this game gets you Shit-tanked!
One Drink Bush says: Terror, Freedom, Iraq, Threats, Our Great Nation, or Goooooooooooooooooooooood
Two Drinks Afganistan, WMD, Iran, Nuke-u-lar
Three Drinks Any name of a terrorist (Saddham, Bin-Laden), Axis of Evil, stay the course, any improper grammar or mispronunciation (other than nuclear)
CHUG!! Any 9/11 reference, any Bush-ism
Barrragh!
