Blah blah blah.

[kv0925]

Okay, I honestly wasn't going to post anything political today, but then I saw this article about Sarah Palin's interview on ABC last night, and this bit in particular:

Interestingly, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis earlier told radio host Hugh Hewitt that the media's coverage of Palin amounts to an "attack on Christianity" itself.

Um, whut? Is this serious? Criticizing McCain's VP choice because it was clearly a political selection rather than a logical one; because she has the wrong ethos and temperament to be mayor of a town of 5,000, let alone Vice President (or, all-too-conceivably, President) of the nation; because she doesn't just disrespect the separation of Church and State, she'd like to trample it into the ground.. calling her out on any of that means one is either sexist or attacking Christianity?

The point Davis was really trying to make is that religion, as a personal thing, should not be made an issue when looking at the candidates, but the media is making it one and is doing so in a way that often derides the faith of some of these people. That's fair enough in theory. But you know what? It isn't the media's fault if the candidates themselves are the ones bringing their religion into the public arena, like in the furor over abortion, like in the desire to legislate abstinence-only sex education, like in the move to mandate the teaching of creationism and other pseudo-science in public schools, like when a candidate for national office speaks before an audience and says that our soldiers are in Iraq "on a task from God."

Don't worry, one of these days I'll get the memo and stop longing for things to Just Make Sense.

Comments

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

Focus, man! The zombies attacked Alaska over the summer. This is no time for politics!

[cp.livejournal.com]

Please, I wrote that off as soon as I saw the dates. If it was real, the zombie menace would have taken over the Pacific Northwest by now, at the bare minimum. :)

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

Government conspiracy!

[cp.livejournal.com]

The "slashing" of Palin, as you call it, is very well-deserved. McCain did NOT pick her because she was right for the job, he picked her to help him win the election, period. And you know, normally that would be fine, because what does the VP even do, right? But in this case it DOES matter, because I'd say McCain's chances of making it through a full term at his age are 50/50, at best. 3 years ago she was a bad mayor, she's currently a crap governor, you think next year she'll suddenly make a swell President? Hello, McFly, is anyone home?

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ypVSYoEKA) is the video I saw, and she pretty clearly says that "our national leaders are sending [troops] out on a task that is from God." The fact that she tags it with a bit about "making sure we're praying for" that is irrelevant to me, because with or without that part it's clear to me that she does believe the war, among many other things, is "a task from God." Not acceptable. Is that an attack on Christianity, or a statement that I most heartily do not want national policy dictated by Christianity? I see it as the latter, but you probably think those two things are equivalent. Do YOU see the difference?

[cp.livejournal.com]

Given Obama's resume, you'll note that I do not fault Palin for a lack of experience, although to be fair, there are certainly more people in Obama's Illinois constituency than in Palin's whole state. What I fault Palin on is HOW she's tended to behave, as mayor and as governor, and for the policies she embraces, and for her ignorance on a number of issues, which she made reverberatingly clear in her interview last night. I can't wait for the VP debate, although unfortunately I'm sure the inevitable annihilation of Palin at the hands of Biden will be interpreted by the right as a bully picking on a girl rather than what it will be, simply the more knowledgeable candidate blowing the doors off his opponent.

I do perceive the difference in saying "I pray that this war is God's will" and saying "This war is God's will." What I'm saying is that I believe Palin (and McCain and most of the conservative base in this country) MEAN the latter when they say the former, and to me that's not good.

[cp.livejournal.com]

In Christianity it is usually considered a sin to presume that you know Gods [sic] will beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Sure, but that hardly stops most Christians, does it? And hasn't for the past millennium or so. :)

[cp.livejournal.com]

Let me put on my lollerskates; you do realize that Christians are still the majority of the population of the United States, correct? I'd say I hang around a pretty fair number of them.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, my generalization is hardly sweeping. I fully realize that most Christians are what the Germans call Einjahrfreiwilligers, the sort who go to church for Christmas, if that, and more or less shelve their beliefs the rest of the year. The fanatics and real hardcore evangelicals are but the vocal minority. Problem is, that vocal minority is *very* vocal, and often very wrong, and they vote, and frankly in the past decade or so a number of them have been elected. And that's terrifying.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Also, please note that the recent uptick for McCain in the polls has been almost entirely among independents and white women; the independents in this case are mainly those who don't really grasp the issues at hand and are easily swayed, while the white women are exactly who the McCain camp was hoping to sway with their VP selection. "She's just like US!" go the typical soundbites in that group. Those of us who have taken some time to look at Palin's record feel otherwise.

[cp.livejournal.com]

"...right now, she seems to be merely an optimistic pragmatist like Ronald Reagan, someone who pays lip service to religious piety without being in the least wedded to it."
I hope that's true, but I'm really not so sure I agree.

At any rate, I think you're confusing Camille Paglia with the bulk of American women, which is ludicrous. Most of the women who Palin's nomination have swayed to the right are swayed simply *because* she is a woman, and a mother, issues be damned. Frankly that describes most of the voting populace--on most issues they're ignorant, they just lap up the non-issues and distractions the media feeds them and base their decision on that, or they pick one hot-button issue like abortion that matters not a whit in the grand scheme of things and vote based on that. This democracy thing is a rip-off, especially in the age of the mainstream media.

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

cp: "McCain did NOT pick her because she was right for the job, he picked her to help him win the election..."

linkeinabook: "People keep saying what a horrible choice McCain made and yet it has given him a great jump in the polls."

Um...isn't that what cp said?


The very fact that she's turning this into a sexist issue makes her a bad person. Just on that 1 fact alone. She's playing the sex card with one hand and the martyr card with the other. Christians LOVE to play the martyr card and try to twist anything and everything into an attack on their religion. Shame on her. As a female, I am HIGHLY offended that she is shaming my sex and setting a very poor example. Lately I'm hearing nonsense from women all over attempting to make nonsense into a sexist issue. That whole, "Shrill is sexist," bullshit for one. Shrill is a word that describes a sound. My husband is shrill when he yells, but he has a penis. The neighbor's kid, who also has a penis, and has the most annoyingly shrill screams when he's in the pool.
Here's another example, "It is funny how Washington inexperience is only an advantage when you have the privilege of a Y chromosome..." excuse me? Very very few people against Palin are concerned about what's between her legs. Most of us are concerned about what's between her ears.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Bzzzzzzzzzt, wrong, but thanks for playing.

Has Palin been in "executive" positions longer than Obama? Yes, she has, but when you consider that you're talking about a teensy tiny town (about 5,000 citizens when she was in office) and the 47th state in the Union in terms of population.. well, it really doesn't say much, especially when you consider that she needed a lot of help just to run the town of Wasilla (see the Anne Kilkenny letter here (http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/sarahpalin.asp)). Besides, it all depends on how you spin it, doesn't it? When Obama first stepped forward as a potential candidate, his "inexperience" was regarded as a good thing, since his platform was one of bringing a new point of view to Washington. Palin wants to bring her inexperience along with the same old Republican nonsense and conservative Christian agenda that has no place in government. If she were a man I'd be saying the exact same thing, though it also wouldn't be such a hot issue because no man would have given McCain the boost she has. I think there's more reverse sexism at play here than misogyny, and THAT is where the martyr card comes in, though I think it's her defenders playing it rather than Palin herself.

[cp.livejournal.com]

There may well be sexism in the media portrayals of Palin, and even in many voters' opinions of her, for both better and worse. But I assure you my own condemnation of her regards her gender as irrelevant, except for the fact that it's affecting how she's perceived among her own gender. I don't like her because her stances on most issues is anathema to me, as are her practices while in office thus far. As I said, I have no reason whatsoever to suspect that she'll be a better Vice President or President than she has proven to be as a mayor or governor (the extent of her office's powers, by the way, has little to do with how poorly she has executed that office), and I believe her selection was purely political rather than justified by her experience or abilities.

[cp.livejournal.com]

btw, the slant on that blog is of head-spinning magnitude. You may want to think twice about citing it as a legitimate source for future argument.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Exactly.. I do judge for myself, and I personally find her conclusions unfounded.

[cp.livejournal.com]

More or less, yes. People are people, and some are more worthwhile than others regardless of their gender, color, or creed. I was, after all, born and raised in Florida, where the morons run thick in every color of the rainbow. :)

[cp.livejournal.com]

So.. you don't think anyone is a moron? Or you just think that lots of people are morons, but they're all God's morons?

[cp.livejournal.com]

Ah, see, there again we're running into trouble because I'm using the actual dictionary definition of the word.

1. a person who is notably stupid or lacking in good judgment.

[cp.livejournal.com]

But both are relevant.

You meant Forrest, for example.

[cp.livejournal.com]

lol, I also really enjoyed when you typo'ed "right" where you meant "write" in a recent post. :)

[cp.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I got bored with our debate so I had to start attacking your linguistic skills. I do apologize.

[cp.livejournal.com]

Well yeah, though I don't remember seeing any of those on you...

[cinnamonbite.livejournal.com]

YOU owe me a new keyboard!
BAH HAHAhahahahahaha

[cp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I liked that one, if I do say so myself. ;) likeinabook is an old acquaintance of mine, we've been going back and forth on religious and political issues for years. Not too often these days, though--we realized it was unhealthy, so we scaled back our debates to maybe once a year or so. :)