Don't get me wrong. I am more than impressed with Sarah Palin. She seems like an exceptional republican politician. I admire her professional abilities and straight forward attitude. I think it's awesome to have such a powerful woman running for office. I really think it's clear she sticks to her ideals. That doesn't mean I agree with her ideals but she's clearly principled.
That said, her stances on the environment terrify me.
Here's an AP article that sums up her 20 months of experience in regards to the environment: Environmentalists Can't Corral Palin
Some highlights:
-Palin sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, arguing that the Bush administration didn't use the best science in concluding that without further protection, the polar bear faces eventual extinction because of disappearing sea ice as the result of global warming.
"Palin's administration relied in part on research from scientists funded by the oil industry to fight against the polar bear's listing, arguing that the impact of global warming on the bear 20 years from now can't be predicted. But e-mails obtained by a University of Alaska professor show that the state's marine mammal experts supported the federal government's conclusions on the bear."
Palin doubts any correlation between human activity and global warming. (Um.. McCain, could you talk to her?)
Palin's administration disputes conclusions by the federal National Marine Fisheries Service and its science advisers that the beluga whale population is in critical danger. The state argues that 2007 data shows the whale rebounding.
Palin opposed a state ballot initiative to increase protection of salmon streams from mining operations. It was defeated.
Palin defended Alaska's right to shoot down wolves from the air to boost caribou and moose herds for hunters.
The order resulted in the controversial shooting this summer of 14 one-month-old wolf pups taken from dens on a remote peninsula 800 miles southwest of Anchorage — an act that environmentalists claim was illegal.
Wow-she kills puppies? I guess I understand her RNC joke that the only difference between a hockey mom and a bull dog is the lipstick. I am afraid.
14 comments:
I am afraid too... I seriously had a dream that Sarah Palin was trying to murder me the night before last. She was this scary pale robot version of herself and she was trying to suffocate me with make-up powder... to be fair, though, I think that my dream was influenced by a combination of watching lots of John Adam's mini-series, especially from the King Louis court, work stress, and being afraid of Sarah Palin herself. She creeps me out. But I definitely agree with you that she's a strong woman and she sticks to her guns (literally).
I love Sarah Palin. She is a strong woman, has consistently stood up to special interests including Big Oil in Alaska (not easy to do) and is a demonstrated reformer. She has a 90% approval rating in her state as Governor, which is really remarkable. She is an accomplished, experienced woman who manages tens of thousands of state employees and a multo-billion dollar state budget. She sold the previous governor's private plane on e-bay her first day in office because she thought it was extravagant.
She is a unique, new voice and I think by and large stands for much of what middle class America believes in--pragmatic politics, family values, and faith. I do agree that her environmental policy leaves something to be desired. The media though is giving her a really raw deal. She has received a lot of media criticism that would never be leveled at a male VP candidate. It is sad that our society is still so sexist. I think a female VP would do much to change that.
I know you love Sarah Palin. This post was written in a jealous attempt to win your love back. Just Kidding.
I agree with you that Sarah Palin brings a lot to the table. That's why I'm so disappointed she's so anti-environment. I guess I need to be disappointed in her and 90% of the Alaska public. A lot of the media attention for Palin I've seen has been pretty measured. I do think she's a fresh figure that is galvanizing the base but the stances that are galvanizing the base seem to be the old hot topic issues: abortion, evangelical religion and fiscal responsibility.
I disagree. Much of the media coverage (granted not from many of the flagship news organs, but a significant portion nonetheless), has focused on her appearance and her parenting, including whether or not she should run for public office with a kid in diapers. No male candidate would ever face such scrutiny. Hillary Clinton faced some of the same issues. I think that sex has been more of a discriminating factor than race has in this presidential election.
Okay, now I'm confused. Why would you stand up to Big Oil if you don't care about the environment?
Pallin Kills puppies? Bush kills trees? Obama raises taxes? Man, this is going to get interesting with Sarah (my little sister's) simplified politics...
Palin's record standing up to Big Oil in Alaska is not environmental as much as ethical. She was on the powerful oil and gas commission and filed ethics complaints against two of her fellow commissioners who were in the pocket of Big Oil. Both were powerful figures in the Republican party in Alaska. Both later resigned. She has also fought "pork barrel" spending that benefits big oil. That said, she is not known as an environmentalist. She supports drilling in ANWAR, an area the size of LAX airport, and while she has supported measures investigating climate change, she has expressed doubts about climate change being a result of human action. She has proved a very pragmatic politician in the past. Hopefully her environmental views will continue to evolve. The Bush Administration has increasingly come around on the climate change issue as the science grows stronger to support it. If they can make that jump, so can Sarah Palin.
I know this old fashioned, but I don't understand how a woman with a baby that is 4 months old (especially a special needs baby) has the time and energy to campaign, let alone work at the all encompassing job that awaits her if she is elected. I admire her strength, but I don't understand her focus.
Sarah Palin has a crib in the Governors office, and often takes her kids to work with her. Additionally, her husband is taking a leave of absence from his job so that he can be there for the family when she is not. Their family is like many in America. They pull together under demanding circumstances and make it work. The husband and wife share responsibilities. I don't think that is something it is fair to criticize. No male candidate with small children, including Obama, is ever asked how he can be a good father with such a demanding job. If he can do it, why not Sarah Palin? JFK had a child just before Inaugauration Day. Another child died just after birth in 1963. Surely the VP job is demanding, but she is not running for President. VP is not as demanding a job as being POTUS is. And don't we want the women in our country to be represented? Don't we want our country's women to be leaders--strong and successful?
Sarah Palin was an enormous surprise--I'm impressed by (though not enamoured with) Palin's tough-as-nails persona, though I strongly disagree with her politically and her resume seems incredibly slim. I personally don't care whether my candidate has "average American" "non-elitist" experiences from which to draw, though many seem to find these qualities attractive. In her acceptance speech she managed to project an image both comfortingly traditional and futurist/final frontiersey. The actual content of her speech seemed to me venomously partisan and divisive, but her delivery was flawless and charismatic (and it seems the speech was largely pre-written for whoever filled the VP slot, so I can't really judge Palin herself based on it's content).
Although the cloudy Wasilla book-banning episode and the puppy-killing are of concern to me, I am still waiting for substantive evidence that Palin is a dangerous extremist. I am perfectly willing to be convinced, but right now, she seems to be merely an optimistic pragmatist like Reagan, someone who pays lip service to religious piety without being in the least wedded to it. I think there is still plenty of reason to be afraid, if only because she seems to be sliding the election in a direction that I, as an Obama supporter, don't want to see it go. I think the next two months will be grueling for her, as she suddenly finds herself swimming in an ocean rather than a pond, but I predict she'll at least survive with tenacity and bravura.
Palin's media coverage, meanwhile, seems to have begun mockingly at "the next Dan Quayle" and transitioned messianically to "the next Ronald Reagan." I wouldn't call it even-handed; I'd call it sensational.
I think the VP picks show us how the candidates will govern: Obama's carefully reasoned safe-bet choice, versus McCain's seat-of-the-pants, follow-the-gut gamble. Who's the liberal and who's the conservative?
Aaron---I can see you have no children of your own yet.
Wow, Aaron you are hard core.
Marlo, I am the oldest of 11 kids and understand the demands of a family far better than most who do not yet have children. I have already changed more diapers than many parents will in their entire life. I know it is difficult to have a family and to succeed at a demanding career, but it is not impossible. And Sarah Palin is helped by the fact that her husband has taken leave from his job to be the primary caregiver of their children.
I see mom's point. I would question a (male or female)candidate's focus if they were running for this demanding of an office while supporting 5 underage children, one of which is 4 months with down syndrome. I think it's Palin's right to make the decision or one might say her "right to choose"-- I just know that I would want (BOTH PARENTS) my husband and myself to be a LOT more available to our family if we were in that situation.
And I think that Palin does NOT represent what MOST mother's and women in America stand in need of. I agree with Steve's description of Palin now "swimming in an ocean rather than a pond" is more of my concern about her as the VP nominee.
I agree that the media has certainly sensationalized her family situation. I like that Obama said that the family should be off limits. Unfortunately, that doesn't satisfy the unquenchable puriant curiousity our nation has for celebrity persons.
But I think we all can respectfully disagree on our love/hate feelings towards Palin. Cindy McCain might actually creep me out worse than Palin, though.
I heard that SNL is begging Tina Fey to come back to perform as Sarah Palin. They look crazy similar... I really hope she does.
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