Palin's Fetal Position
We really don't need to know anything more about the Sarah Palin celebrity action figure.
We don't need to know where she buys her glasses, when she decided to start wearing her hair in an up-do or how she handles the demands of motherhood and government work.
We don't even need to hear her answers on energy policy, the Iraq war or God's will.
What an awful lot of voters really need to know about Palin may already have been revealed -- years ago -- by one dark and unforgivable policy instituted under her watch as mayor of the small town of Wasilla.
After taking office in 1996, she allowed the town's police department to begin charging rape victims for the forensic work done in their cases. She signed off on the budget that detailed the new police policy -- a directive instituted by her hand-picked police chief after she fired his predecessor. The unexplained reversal in Wasilla's procedure dictated that rape victims, unlike the victims of other crimes, now would have to pay for the investigative work done at the crime scene.
In a rape case, of course, the crime scene is the woman's body.
When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the town suddenly started charging rape victims between $300 and $1200 to have the rapist's DNA and other forensic evidence taken, tested, cataloged and investigated.
That meant that women who came to local police for help after being battered, brutalized and victimized, faced one more violation. These women had to pay for the privilege of having their cases treated as crimes.
Palin's then-police chief Charlie Fannon defended this policy with the explanation that he wanted to save taxpayers' money. He said the raped women's insurance policies were billed -- when possible. In those cases, the women only had to pay the deductible. Of course, this being America, many women were uninsured, unprotected from both their attackers and the big bills.
Gee, thanks, guys.
Oddly enough, Fannon did not make the same kind of choice in other criminal cases. He did not make people injured by hit-and-run drivers or mugging victims or the families of murdered men and women cough up money to investigate their cases or collect evidence to catch their attackers.
It only happened in rape cases.
Hmmm.
Now, why would that be?
There is one terrible possibility: that this happened because somebody in charge in Wasilla -- either the police chief or the Mayor or both -- hails from the craziest corner of the pro-life community, the people who believe that birth control is abortion.
These people oppose paying for forensic work in rape cases because as part of that process -- as a final step in a humiliating and dehumanizing procedure -- a woman is typically asked if she would like a "morning after" pill, a medication that will prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the lining of her uterus. The treatment is believed to be about 80% effective in preventing pregnancy.
Sarah Palin has not deigned to take questions from the unwashed masses in the media, but if she ever does, this might be a good place to begin.
Does she believe that giving a rape victim a "morning after" pill is committing murder? Does Palin believe that the taxpayers shouldn't pay for this or that police shouldn't offer this as a matter of course? Does she really believe that a woman should have to bear the child of her rapist?
We already know that's what she would want for her daughter.
During her successful gubernatorial campaign in 2006, Palin declared that she would not choose an abortion for her daughter -- then 14 years old -- even if the girl was raped and became pregnant. "I would choose life," Palin said.
Eric Croft suspects that these pro-life beliefs were the reason behind Wasilla's no pay police policy on rape victims.
He is the Democratic legislator who got the system changed by sponsoring a state proposal in 2000 that required local police departments in Alaska to pay for victims' "rape kits," as the evidence-gathering process is called. He wrote the bill with Wasilla's misguided police procedure in mind.
Croft told me that he was working at the time with a victim support group called "STAR" -- for Standing Together Against Rape. "We kept hearing reports out of the Mat-Su Valley that a police department there was charging for rape kits," Croft says. "We didn't know who it was."
Finally, a rape victim came forward with a copy of her insurance bill, which listed the rape kit charges filed by Wasilla police. Croft says his organization contacted the town's police chief who confirmed the policy but could not be convinced to change it.
Croft says he was dumbfounded. "I thought they'd be shamed out of it. But they weren't. They weren't."
So he proposed a change in state law. As a result, there were public hearings, public testimony and overwhelming public support. The bill passed unanimously. Democratic Governor Tony Knowles made a point of signing the bill into law in front of cameras outside a sexual assault clinic.
The amazing thing is that, through all of this, Palin herself apparently didn't speak publicly, didn't come out for or against her police chief's policy, didn't take responsibility for what her town was doing to already wounded women.
Part of what makes this suspicious is that Wasilla's policy is not the first time rape victims have found themselves in the crosshairs of the country's culture wars over abortion.
In fact, their bodies have long been a battleground.
Right-to-life groups around the country have often stepped into rape cases, fighting to make sure that pharmacists, police and medical personnel don't have to participate in procedures they deem "immoral."
From the Deep South to South Dakota, from Missouri to Arizona, rape victims have too long had to fight for the kind of equality and empathy that other crime victims can regularly expect.
The question of emergency contraception -- who gets it, who pays for it and who gets to decide -- is at the heart of this heated debate.
A few years ago, there was a dustup down here in Texas, when a pharmacist in a Dallas suburb refused to fill a rape victim's prescription for the "morning after" pill, saying that he couldn't dispense the medication "because it ends life." This poor woman had to go to a different pharmacy in order to protect herself in the most personal, most private, most important way possible.
When the story became public, dozens of outraged Texas women showed up outside the pharmacy with signs saying, "Rape violates my morals."
Those same women -- and thousands more who feel the same way -- could be headed for a Republican rally soon if Sarah doesn't start talking.
Her partner in the old policy seems to have gone to ground.
Charles Fannon, the former police chief, now has a disconnected home phone number.
And Sarah Palin seems to be in the process of completely disconnecting herself from the policy.
Palin's spokeswoman, Maria Comella, told USA Today in an e-mail last week that the Governor "does not believe, nor has she ever believed that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test.
"Governor Palin's position could not be more clear. To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
According to USA Today, Comilla would not answer other questions, including when Palin learned of Wasilla's policy or whether she tried to change it.
Maybe this is all some kind of unthinkable misunderstanding. Maybe Palin didn't know this was happening, didn't hear about it even the whole state joined the conversation, maybe this tough-talking Mayor couldn't control her police chief.
Maybe she has changed over the years, maybe she now recognizes the immorality of treating rape victims this way.
Whatever the answer -- before we vote -- before we are treated to another story about her taste in shoes or her time as Governor, would someone please pin Palin down and ask her what the hell was going on with rape victims in Wasilla?
And more importantly, why?
This person who says she's prepared to be a heartbeat away from the presidency could clear this whole thing up in a heartbeat.
Why won't she?
When Palin's name was announced as McCain's vice-presidential pick, I initially viewed her as some kind of sop to disgruntled Clinton supporters, somebody who was supposed to appeal to those of us who would rather have seen Hillary at the head of the ticket.
In the campaign, Palin has been presented as a kind of born-again Christian comic book hero -- the ultimate in multi-tasking mothers -- a woman who flies around the country in labor, kills big animals in the woods and dictates the details of other people's lives while juggling babies, Bibles and bullets.
It is beginning to look like she may be something colder, creepier and more complicated.
She has run Alaska like Dick Cheney in drag, a person who thrives on secrecy, loyalty and control.
On foreign policy, she's reminiscent of George W. Bush, without the sparkling curiosity.
And if she worked to deny rape victims emergency contraception, she is women voters' worst nightmare -- she is Phyllis Schlaffly with PMS, power and an automatic weapon.
It is long past time to figure out who Sarah Palin really is.
Getting answers on how and why she allowed her hometown to adopt a policy towards crime victims that was so beyond the pale, so outside the bounds of human decency, so heartless is a good place to begin.
In the end, it may be all we need to know.
Like Sarah Palin, I believe in the power of prayer.
I am praying that reporters can pull themselves out of the fetal position and start asking Palin some hard questions -- about hers.
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Here's the problem. I, a registered Democrat and a Hillary supporter who refuses to vote for an empty suit with a shady background and invisible qualifications, will be casting my vote for McCain/Palin because a) no one can question his patriotism; b) his party did not betray him by bringing a dark horse into the campaign and supporting him, as the Dems did to Hillary, and c) neither McCain nor Palin is Obama.
I don't agree with anything the McCain/Palin ticket supports; I abhor her stance on killing animals and denying women the privacy of their own bodies; I am disgusted with his contempt for women. But none of that trumps my fear of a shady candidate with a hate-America wife. And I'm not the only one. Trust me, if the rumor is true and Joe Biden does step aside so Obama can have Hillary as his running mate, my response will be that it's too late.
Your post makes very little sense to me. You decried Senator Obama's invisible qualificatioins as your main reason to vote for the other ticket. What is invisible to you? His Harvard law degree? His 8 years as Illinois State Legislator, his time in the US senate? It seems that once you decide not to like him, it does not count what achievements Senator Obama has accomplished. Now what is invisible to you? McCain's cognitive dysfuntion with his memory lapses, McCain's lack of honor and integrity, Palin's profound lack of knowledge in everything needed for her #2 position, Palin's obfuscation with the law in Alaska?
I am not going to change your mind with this post but I hope you think twice about your reasons for voting for McCain/Palin
Palin's spokeswoman, Maria Comella, told USA Today in an e-mail last week that the Governor "does not believe, nor has she ever believed that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test.
"Governor Palin's position could not be more clear. To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
Very true, IT COULD NOT BE MORE CLEAR, just as she initialed and approved the cut in funding to the Special Olympics, she approved the additional violation by allowing the inane policy to become her city's policy. Clear as a bell.
Sooner or later you would think that they would realize that we see the hypocracy in what she seemingly "believes" and what she actually does.
When it comes down to it, it has nothing to do with what she says, believes, or wonders, it comes down to WHAT SHE ACTUALLY DOES.
One of the biggist reasons Palin is so popular there in Alaska is because of the money she was able to give back to her citizens from the oil subsidies the state got from oil companies.
A good governor would have looked at the problems with sexual assault that even Palin calls "epidemic" and taken some of that $ to put prevention measures in place. Sometimes doing the right thing isn't what will win you the most popularity votes.
I think that your spelling is inaccurate. I feel that phailin's position is not fetal, but feral. Just one letter off.
I wonder what's Palin position on Condoms , and Drugs like Viagra ?
Very few women are in Palin's inner circle. This is why. She has been inhumane, arrogant, selfish and self-absorbed. A quote from a blogger in her home town said that the only reason she did get things passed in legislature, was because all the Republicans were indicted or in prison, she had mostly democrats to work with, which would have changed soon. Reform, my ass. Radical, to the point of a third world country with extremes not tolerated in the lower 48.
She is not fit to be in any office. Yes, she has tenacity, knows manipulation of a crowd well. She is good at it........
This is a tragedy, a sin, for a law so sacred to anyone that is a victim of a 'crime' to not support that woman or child, with the basic needs of determining justice. Seems to me, that Sarah Palin also purchase a brand new S.U.V. for herself as mayor, compliments of her lobbyist, who just happened to be Ted Steven's lobbyist, for $24,000, and notice on her interview at her home, how beautiful her home is.
This truly is FBI's reason to be involved. Someone should be contacting them asap.
Just a hockey mom doesn't cut it. This is another corrupt mindset, similar to McCain, who claims reform, change, but it isn't that at all, it's the opposite. Now, we have all seen her projection and lies globally, I suggest this should be a police matter, right now. There is more corruption with that family, why not check it out.
Palin herself has told on tv, her husband worked with Stevens to get pipeline deal negotiations, not her, he is not a state employee, this should be verified and I will bet Cheney/Rove behind this corruption in Alaska. And I think you will find, they know each other well, all of them.
I don't give a toot about the morning after pill thing, because it is obvious what she would say, and that is it shouldn't be given.
However, how in the world did she get by with charging female rape victims for this and not be sued under a Civil Rights lawsuit? This one thing demonstrates her judgement, and any woman, or male who has a mother, sister, wife, daughter, or granddaughter should think about how they would feel if they had been brutalized and abused in this most heinous of ways, and then be told they had to pay in order to get it investigated.
They didn't charge the two drunks who got in a fight and injured one another, they didn't charge the methamphetamine boiler to investigate their meth lab, and they didn't charge the people who were shot to see if their bullet matched the weapon, but they charged women to investigate rape against them. This, and in a state with the highest rape crime per capita in the country.
I should think that she should be taken to court over this and have to pay the expenses for defending herself and pay the damages herself.
And that's why I can't figure out why she wasn't sued, if this report is true... it's discrimination loud and clear. Where were all the lawyers? There's something missing from this report, I think.
I was on Michelle Malkin's site looking for something else and noticed she has a counter propaganda piece about the rape kits. She states that Plan B is "provided with" every rape evidence kit. Weird Huh?
Just enough of the truth to twist it.
The rape kit issue in Alaska gives interesting and valuable insight into that state's politicians, particularly the one self styled after a pit bull with lipstick.
Mary Mapes is right to call on journalists to dig deeper into this, beyond the Republican party's rhetoric. Perhaps, and I hope it will be reality instead of just wishful thinking on my part, someone will pose the question to Palin during one of the debates.
One other issue that is a cornerstone of the GOP's agenda and certainly of the religious right is Evolution vs. Creation. Many on the right wish to have Creation taught in schools defying our Constitutional mandated separation of church and state.
Surely in the small town of Wasilla where so many know each other, these issues have been discussed over and over. Surely reliable sources outside of Palin's domain can be found to shed light on Palin's views of the religious right agenda before GOP mishandlers further misconstrue and misrepresent her record.
Speaking of small towns where it's hard to hide secrets, how effective were the former mayor and police chief of Wasilla as it became Alaska's meth capital with up to 42 labs? That's 200 people per lab with a generously assumed population of 8,400, counting babies, kids, elders, etc. What was the community organizer with responsibilities doing?
Frankly, in any small town of that size, in Alaska or not, everyone in town should have known and did know who was cooking meth. As Mayor, if she and her police force couldn't even catch them either cooking or possessing it, then they are a poor lot indeed.
Brilliantly done Mary!
Thank you.
Thank you for explaining this. Why won't the Obama campaign take this on? Is rape too complex for them to discuss? Wouldn't this end the surge of women for Palin?
See the Alaska native Mudflat's blog http://mud
Were the memo.
>>Were the memo.
Andy! Love ya man!
After reading this post, I had to search out your others -- and GOOD NEWS! None of them makes any more sense than this one. It's the same effect you get when you listen to people who are discussing things with the voices in their heads....k
"Were the memo", indeed! Brilliant!
Thank you for the outrage.
I hope all of American women's outrage against this abomination - Sarah Palin -
will finally wipe away the tears of millions of Americans reeling from the Bush/McCain's
insensitivity and callousness to most Americans plight of misery.
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