We're in Big Trouble

We're talking to ourselves.

And we're not saying anything that's going to help win this election.

Everyone who cares knows that Sara Palin is a born again, right wing Republican. That she's a right-to-life, anti-gay, anti-global-warming, book-banning kind of gal.

No one seems to care.

The package and not the content is what's attracting interest. How cute she is when she says it. How cute she is when she skins a caribou. How cute are those barely grown expectant children of hers.

My first instinct was to scream from the roof tops that no self respecting woman was going to fall for this McCain manipulation. But apparently, plenty have. Plenty share her views and the crowds and the TV ratings are growing. The same way they grow for American Idol and other reality shows. Seems like we would rather watch ourselves, however diminished, on TV and in the public eye than people watch people with actual skills and talents. Watching people just like ourselves eating bugs and falling into vats of peanut butter has become a favorite American past time. And apparently, we would rather have an ill informed, inexperienced leader than one with experience and education. Experience has been denigrated to the level of liberal as a word. It's to be laughed at and ridiculed. And a lot of people are buying it. And we're supposed to slink away, like the nerd in high school being attacked by the football player.

But this isn't high school and we're supposed to know better. We have got to take back these words and what they stand for. Leaders need to be chosen from the most talented among us, not from the bottom of the barrel. And we shouldn't be afraid to say so.

What kind of misplaced chivalry would keep the Democrats from calling Sarah Palin what she is? An ignorant, misinformed, inexperienced, bigoted fraud. And unless we find a way to do it, she will be running the country before we have time to turn around.

This will not be easy. I spent hours on the telephone to Ohio Democrats last presidential election. There was no way I was going to convince these working class Democrats that they were wrong to vote for Bush. Kerry scared them. And no manner of logic would turn it around. They voted against their own economic interests, against college for their kids, against their own medical care, against their first amendment rights. Why, because they had been told that Kerry was going to challenge their belief systems. He was "for abortion", "against the troops."

We're going to have to frame the argument in the same way. Who is Sarah Palin? A woman for sure. The package is nice, but the content is out of date and spoiled. If she gets anywhere near power we can expect global warming, the destruction of the constitution, the end of Choice, and books banned in our libraries. And we've got to make people understand this. And even if we can frame it this way, the question remains, are there many Americans who would care? Enough to sustain the constitution? Life as we know it?

I am terribly afraid that we are counting on good sense, and decency and it has gone the way of the ten cent subway ride. We are not thinking about each other. We are thinking about ourselves. Why else would we even consider a woman who tried to get her brother in law fired from his job for daring to divorce her sister. Who tried to get a local librarian to remove books she disapproved of from the library.

Politeness is not in order. We need to be scared. Terribly scared. We need to pull out all the stops. She's not going to self destruct in front of an audience who likes these things about her. Who abhors the clarity and thoughtfulness of Obama. There is no drama in it. There's drama in teenage pregnancy, political scandal and moose hunting.

McCain seems to have known just what he was doing. Now the question remains, do we?

Comments

[UnbiasView]

"That she's a right-to-life, anti-gay, anti-global-warming, book-banning kind of gal."

How has this translated to her polices in office?

Has she banned gay people from Alaska or banned abortions?

I am pro-life but if I ran show I wouldn't make a law banning it because I don't believe that is the federal government's role, I would leave it up to the states.

[luckyann]

Yes but several supreme court justices are quite old (older even than McCain!) and so he is likely to get an opportunity to appoint new judges and he has said he will appoint anti-choice judges. It is the courts role to decide but the president determines the court.

[demigod]

But you don't leave gay marriage up to the states, you'd break your back to ban that, right ? A Constitutional Amendment, right ? How can you have "liberty and justice for all" when you have different fundamental laws in different states ? You support the tyrrany of the majority, correct ? What if the majority supports eliminating the church/state separation, is that OK ? What if the majority supports bringing back slavery ? She can't ban gay people, but she can refuse gay people their rights, she can prevent them having job protections, she can prevent them having family rights, adoption rights, getting health care. Palin types won't fill your birth control prescriptions, they won't sell you the "morning after" drugs.

[realpolitic]

She wanted to remove books from the library. That fact scares me a great deal! Conservatives should occasionally read books instead of banning them.

[tdpubs]

The biggest problem we have is the illusion of freedom we as humans cling to. When Barack Obama pointed out the obvious, he was panned by the right and ignored by the left. The fact is that humans do not make decisions logically. The guns, gays and God situation is very much a psychological trick of the light. It is used very effectively by a very large collection of media outlets geared at one of two things, control of our economy and or control of our actions. If you don't believe me, take a look at the logic behind the selection of Sarah Palin. Palin turns every argument that the Republicans had against Barack Obama on its head. They don't even acknowledge the hypocrisy. Republicans have mastered the art of electioneering so they don't need to learn how to govern.

When you realize that this is not an election about issues but about personalities, you begin to see the strategy for what it is. John Kerry and Al Gore both narrowly won the popular vote. That's right; they both narrowly won the popular vote. The Republicans do not have to win; they just have to keep the margin narrow in the eyes of the public. Their local precinct operatives will do the rest as they have done in the past.

[bodo]

During the Republican convention it became very clear that most senior Republicans are not exactly crazy about Palin. Nobody -- not even John McCain -- really knew this woman until a week before her nomination, and now they are all stuck with her. Obama-Biden are a well matched team who have known each other for years and worked closely together in the Senate. But poor old McCain must now travel around the country with a woman he hardly knows, and whose statements even Mrs. Cain does not agree with.

[Dreamreader]

Even though I'm not from the US I follow closely these elections. While the primaries were extremely interesting, almost entertaining at moments, I find this part much more severe and sobering. At one point elections started focusing on personal attacks (particularly from one side) rather than important issues that are not only of American concern but global as well, and I got worried. But then came McCain's choice of VP - I was utterly stunned.
I was in shock for one reason - all the information about this woman pointed to only one possible explanation of McCain's choice - his unprecedented cynicism in times so serious both for Americans and the rest of the world.
We read of all the consequences should this woman somehow becomes the president, but my fear is that it would be bad beyond comprehension if she becomes what she's running for - Vice President.
Does anyone honestly think that woman of her ambition will just sit idly in the office? When big ambitions are combined with almost insignificant achievements in one's education or experience or just common intellect on more broader/global issues, that's when nations are in trouble. I know because I come from one where I've seen many 'SarahPalins' in both men and women.
Pair hers with Senator McCain's modest intellectual background, not to mention some very questionable characteristics, and you have every reason to be afraid, very afraid.
My problem lies in the fact that this fear is not only applicable to the

[truesoccermom]

I cannot begin to explain how stunning it is to me to see so many Republican commentators argue with a straight face that Sarah Palin, although running for Vice President, is somehow more qualified to be President than Barack Obama. Is there no value, whatsoever, placed on the educational and intellectual qualifications of these two candidates? Can we honestly say that a person for whom it took six years and five college transfers to earn a journalism degree (Palin) is somehow better equipped to run our country than a person who earned a political science degree from Columbia University, was top of his class at Harvard Law School, and went on to teach constitutional law at the Universtiy of Chicago (Obama)? I'm not saying, by any means, that education and intellect should be the sole criteria in selecting our President and Vice President, but the silence on the educational and intellectual differences between the two is deafening. And, while some may consider me "elitist" for thinking that what you did with your education is important, I really thought that, in these uncertain times, we had gone beyond electing our national leaders based on the assessment of whether or not we feel comfortable having a beer with them.

[Decipherer]

It's called the "Big Lie" -- the same falsehoods repeated over and over, to the point where the human brain believes them to be true.

The GOP is a master of this propaganda, an approach perfected and proven in the 1930s by Nazi Germany and used many, many times since.

As for the four candidates, I will take education and deep legislative experience over this idiotic "maverick" nonsense (even if there was a shred of truth to it). If this is "elitism," give me more of it.

By the way, how is it that a guy with seven houses who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth having benefitted from every privilege imaginable is not an elitist, when the guy labled as such was raised by a single parent on food stamps who bootstrapped himself to his present status somehow is an elitist? Are you kidding me?

The choice is clear -- Obama & Biden have the vision, knowledge, judgment and temperament to give the U.S. at least a fighting chance of getting out of the gigantic mess that Bush, Cheney, and McCain have gotten us into.

The task, however, is to combat the "Big Lie" with the truth and facts -- repeated as often and as loudly as possible. Now.

[fatchen]

Imaging yourself play an away game in hostile town and please stop relying on refs (MSM) since they trust only their own refs (Fox news). How are you going to win? No, you won’t..
So, there are only few things we can do: (McCain is willing to go all the way, what stops us?)
1) scare tactics: If Republican wins there will be a NUCLARE WAR: Didn’t Palin said we might go to war with Russia over Georgia?
2) bribery: Why do you think Iowa is in our column? When people say I didn’t hear the DETAILS that means I didn’t hear what I want to hear: What do I get? Health care, tax cut and all that are not good enough since they don’t believe Obama can deliver. Remember what Bill Clinton said before convention: There is one candidate promises everything but can’t deliver anything and there is another promises something and can deliver . Obama should say he will tear up NAFTA or cooperate with people like Pickens that promises REAL jobs in Ohio, and Michigan.
3) sell out to the Hispanics: find out what they want and give it to them.

[plooger]

Thanks for your thoughts; but you're wrong. There's still time to define Palin as a serial exaggerator and hyper-partisan, Gingrich Repulbican. VERY FEW people know her stance on issues, her dearth of knowledge and her scandalously bad record as mayor and governor.

[FuturePrez]

The author is absolutely correct - most of us are talking only to ourselves.

Some, like me, need a little more guidance. What exactly do we do?

I call a spade a spade and am not reluctant to speak up, in the workplace, social gatherings, public functions, etc. But, the only people listening are those on the bandwagon.

We need our leaders to begin standing up for themselves and us. Docile courtesy has only encouraged those abusing power, privilege and celebrity.

And, since it is minds we have to change, we need to become more active at the local level, even if that means doing painful things such as running for school committee or town council, applying for advisory or board positions, attending every town meeting and bringing our friends, starting community programs or donating time, or simply volunteering for and donating to local campaigns.

And, the progressive and liberal Parties have to work harder to make their presence known in these smaller communities, whether through support to local campaigns, community development or by grooming future community leaders and participants.

[djsmiami]

We should all be very scared, this cutesy candidate is going to steal this election if someone or people do not display her for what she is. I can not imagine how we got to the point that a journalism major will be running the country! This is a JOKE and the world will be laughing at us come 11-5-08. We thought 9-11 was bad, if these 2 clowns end up in the white house, that day will look like a day at the beach. Be afraid very, very afraid!!!

[AshleyH]

Obama has to raise his game and quit being so middle-of-the-road.

He needs to craft a list of 5-10 key things he will do the first 100 days. I offer a few off the top of my head. Ideally they all either break corruption and/or are game-changers, like:
1. New truly independent 9/11 commission.
2. Repeal of all legislation, esp. those with Bush's signing authority only, that is non-consitutional.
3. Outlaw use of electronic voting machines and go back to paper.
4. Disallow all contributions by corporations to elected officials.
5. Disallow any officials in the administration with dual citizenships, at least 10 years back in past.
6. Form National Energy Review Commission and craft plan to be self-sufficient within 10 years.
7. Form National Defense Commission to consider removing all US bases outside US territories.
8. Revise tax code to give 20% to Feds, 30% to States and 50% to Counties and reduce Federal Bureaucracy by 50% at least.
9. Form National Commission for Single-Payer Healthcare, which is preferred by majority of medical practitioners.
10. Eliminate the Federal Reserve.

Right now there is nothing offered other than pretty standard boilerplate election promises held together by the fervent hope for real change. But for this hope to translate into action more needs to be articulated by the candidate who then gets votes for them, including millions who usually sit out the elections because things like this are never proposed.

[Dunelm]

I am afraid that talking about fact and issues and policies is not going to make a difference. We have to compete at their level and tell a compelling and competing story!! I am not sure how to do this, but we have to find a way to expose the phoniness of their stories. I think we have to go back to Cuomo's "tale of two cities," and talk about the scenario of two countries--the make-believe country of McCain and Palin and our future with them, and the country that Obama believes in and that many of us want to live in. I am really worried. I was glad to see that Obama is trying to expose their lies today, but so many people will still believe the lies.

[NJFamilyGuy]

"10. Eliminate the Federal Reserve."

Yeah, that'll show em. Currency and a banking system are roadlocks to true socialism.

[JustDanish]

Do you want to make a difference, send out the word about TRUTH to your friends and family.

More people read emails than listening to the news or read news paper.

State the facts and sources as a reference. Use reliable source, like www.factcheck.org a non partisan web site.

Here is one example that I did this weekend and send to everyone on my mailing list and asked them to forward if they agreed:

John McCain: I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.

Fact: According to the non patrician and non profit organization, Tax Policy Center Obama will decrease the tax burden on families with an income of $250,000 or less:

“The Obama plan would reduce taxes for low- and moderate-income families, but raise them significantly for high-bracket taxpayers (see Figure 2). By 2012, middle-income taxpayers would see their after-tax income rise by about 5 percent, or nearly $2,200 annually. Those in the top 1 percent would face a $19,000 average tax increase—a 1.5 percent reduction in after-tax income.”

“McCain would lift after-tax incomes an average of about 3 percent, or $1,400 annually, for middle-income taxpayers by 2012. But, in sharp contrast to Obama, he would cut taxes for those in the top 1% by more than $125,000, raising their after-tax income an average 9.5 percent.”

Source: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411750_updated_candidates_summary.pdf

[frank438]

Wrong. More people care than you want to belive. Your problem is that you live in an alternate universe.
More Americans can relate to Palin than the chosen one Obama. Kerry lost an election that he should have won, he lost because just like Obama they think they are better than the average working person. That elitism does not relate well. And it's showing in the polls. The dems will lose another election because you can't pick a real american candidate.

[DrEight]

That is a ridiculous argument. Since when do we vote for the candidate we can relate to? You elect the candidate who has the policies you most agree with and whom you think will best lead the nation forward. One of the retrospectives on the 2000 election was that Gore lost because he was "too smart" and people could better relate to Bush. Canada is currently having an election with the conservative ahead because the opponent is a professor...too smart. We have become a nation that considers education and intelligence a negative trait! You can vote for whom you relate to but i don't think the best candidate the one that Vinny down at the body shop can best relate to. The best candidate is not necessarily the one that Sam, the Wal-Mart greeter who never finished high school most relates to. You vote for the one who will best get the job done that needs to be done. America voted for Bush because he was the one people related to. Look where that got us.

[UnbiasView]

Obama screwed up big time by not picking Hillary. If he did that, McCain would have picked Romney or Pawlenty and that ticket wouldn't have a shot.

Obama believed he had a lack of experience so he went with an old guy. Most people decide on the top of the ticket and not the bottom.

[mpell]

Then lean way over, average working person, and let the Republicans know how hard you want your behind kicked.

Who in their right mind thinks the Republicans care one thing about you?? They care about wealth, wealthy people, protecting wealth, and increasing wealthy people's wealth.

So keep working, average working person, and send it all to them.

[JustThisGuy]

What is with the whole "Chosen one" thing? As far as I can tell, he has been tagged with the 'elitist' labal because he does not fake being a blue collar worker. Most national politicians are not. I prefer the honest ones.

[fun2bfree]

HE IS BETTER THAN THE AVERAGE WORKING PERSON!!!! I WANT SOMEONE BETTER THAN AVERAGE AS OUR LEADER! Why would anyone want an average person when you can have an extraordinary, exceptional, talented person?????

We have had 8 years of what comes from letting Average people do their thing--they are doing a heckuva job, aren't they?

[DragonMama]

FORECLOSURES, CEO $$ UP OUR $$ DOWN, TRILLION$ IN IRAQ, NO HEALTH CARE

EIGHT IS ENOUGH!!!!!!!!

(try that with the "low information voters", anyone with money to spend on a billboard or 30, feel free to steal that, preferably with a donkey kicking an elephant upside the head)

[FargoRanger]

Look at history, demagoguery always trumps reason. The counter is revolution, not reason. McCain represents the party in power, Obama is the leader of the insurgency. We need to throw the bastards out, not argue with them.

[rasthedestroyer]

fight the good fight.

[rasthedestroyer]

this is only a blip.. Gov. Palin is no more than we make her out to be... facts don't change.. if your scared then stay at home and cry. but if you really believe in what your what Sen. O is trying to do then fight.. fight like the retread fight.. fear is the only tactic that they have.. enough!!