Sarah's Boykin Moment

So now we know all about Alaska's famous jet.

Thanks to that vast left-wing media conspiracy, we know Sarah Palin didn't sell the thing on ebay.

We know her administration tried several times - and failed.

And we know that it was finally sold - at a loss - to businessman Larry Reynolds, an Alaska refugee from Texas, who was brought into the deal by a Palin pal, John L. Harris, the Speaker of Alaska's House of Representatives. (Reynolds' wife reportedly donated $1,000 to Harris' campaign.)

But we also know that the day after the Republican Party's convention, while campaigning with Governor Palin, John McCain told the ecstatic crowd, "She took the jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on ebay... and made a profit."

What we don't know is whether Mr. Straight-Talk knowingly lied, or whether he was simply parroting the talking points provided by his campaign aides (misinformation also confirmed by a Palin spokesperson).

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If he was intentionally peddling misinformation, he lied. Sound familiar? It should; it's a chapter straight out of the Bush/Rove playbook (let us not forget that this was precisely the kind of thing George W. Bush did to McCain in South Carolina in 2000).

And if McCain was simply playing Charlie McCarthy, it should remind us of Governor Palin's vetting process and all the "judgment" that went into that process.

Either way, the ebay caper will likely be forgotten long before Election Day -- it's already being dismissed by some as nothing worse than "good old American politics."

Meanwhile, there's an issue surfacing that's far more serious than the sale of Alaska's jet. It's far more serious because it goes to the very heart of Governor Palin's approach to governance.

The issue is God. Specifically, the ideological intersection between God and public policy.

Sarah Palin's approach to public policy is God-driven. God's on her side. She doesn't just think it - that would imply some sort of rationality. She knows it. And that Bushian construct is arguably the scariest part of Palin being just a single beat away from a 72-year-old heart.

During a speech at a Pentecostal church, Palin exhorted the congregants to pray for our service members in Iraq who are "carrying out the will of the Lord." The United States sent troops to that fight on a "task that is from God," she said.

She continued: "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

And, as if God didn't already have enough on His plate, Palin told her church audience that God was also interested in pipelines, specifically the $30 billion national gas pipeline project that Palin was pushing for. She asked her church audience to pray for it. The pipeline, she said, was "God's will."

She told graduating students of the church's School of Ministry, "What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys." As they preached the love of Jesus throughout Alaska, she said, she'd work to implement God's will from the governor's office, including creating jobs by building a pipeline to bring North Slope natural gas to North American markets. "God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she exhorted.

A pipeline -- God's will?

So America's voters will be violating God's will if they disagree with Gov. Sarah Palin's views on Iraq or energy policy? Does sound a tad that way, doesn't it?

Now, I can't read this kind of stuff without being reminded of the poster-boy for the God-is-on-our-side school of public policy.

That would be Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, one-time commander of the Army's top-secret Delta Force and former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.

This born-again evangelical, you may recall, was the guy who appeared in dress uniform and polished jump boots before a religious group in Oregon to declare that radical Islamists hated the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian ... and the enemy is a guy named Satan."

Other tidbits of Boykin's wisdom:

"I knew my God was bigger than his (a Somali warlord). I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

"We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God, have been raised for such a time as this (Iraq War)."

President Bush is "in the White House because God put him there."

Oh. I always knew there must be a reason, but I thought it was the Supreme Court. Now I know.

What Sarah Palin needs to know is that the world is complicated, short on absolutes and full of grays. But if God is your public policy advisor, there are no grays. There are no ambiguities. The world is black and white, good or evil.

From that theocratic starting point, public policy gets built on certitude and hubris. And we've all seen where that takes us.

Comments

[4real]

So it's okay with God when you lie too.

[moodpost]

Students of religion should note just how undeveloped Sarah Palin's theology is. She is at the second stage of theological development. She is bargaining with God for what she wants. This is not a very high rung on the theological ladder, but sadly, is as high as most Americans probably get.

[SaltySaltillo]

For 7 years her husband was a registered member of the state affiliate of the Constitution Party, a political party that believes that America's laws should be rewritten to reflect the Bible (AIP isn't so much a secessionist party as a front for the theocratic Constitution Party). Why should we be surprised? I guess its time to get out Leviticus again and throw away my cotton-wool blends.

[rwt1138]

I beg to differ. The AIP has a lot of fundamentalist members, but to suggest it is anything other than a secessionist party is just wrong.

The AIP is listed as an affiliate of the Constitution Party because they sponsored the latter when they went for recognition in Alaska. That doesn't reflect so much a wholesale endorsement of all of the CP's positions as it might suggest, nor should it be implied that they work in concert. The Constituion Party happens to support the rights of states to secede, as a very small part of their overall platform. That would make them compatible with AIP goals and beliefs, not congruent. To suggest that the goal of the AIP is to secede from the union AND make Alaska into a theocratic state is, quite simply, preposterous.

Of the two options, Alaska seceding from the United States and Alaska becoming a theocracy, the former is remotely possible; the latter isn't. Anyone who lives there will tell you that, even the pastors. Show me someone who thinks they can make Alaska into a theocratic state and I'll show you someone who just stepped off the boat and missed the gangplank.

[lboucher]

Obama lost his gas in March and Hillary kicked his butt. He never won a major state from March on- ward. Hillary should have been the Dem. candidate.

He is running on fumes, no money, no energy and no message.

The latest Fox News/Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Ohio, finds John McCain out in front of Barack Obama 51% to 44%

[CindyKay]

Get Over It !

[AWomanElder]

Thank you for bringing up the most important issue in this election. Having reviewed the info at talk2action.com about Palin's associations with The Third Wave movement, I believe her religious associations should be brought out to the public and exposed. If there has ever been a threat to our democracy, this is it. Most Americans don't know about the strong move by many, but not all, of the far right religious people who want to replace our democratic government with a theocracy (sounds like advocating treason to me). It's about time this becomes an open topic. I have read a few blogs by some religious right folks that are actually praying that McCain will die so Palin can become a theocratic President. We have to stop being so complacent. Read, research, and become informed. The media and Republicans attacked Obama about his church and he had to explain. Palin should have to do the same. Palin is worse then Bush/Cheney.

[SaltySaltillo]

I suggest you also visit the Constitution Party's web site (AIP, the political party of her husband, is the AK State Affiliate of the Constitution party).

[jalyn]

Am not in support of these Palin remarks on God; but what I find curious is the constant battle some writers here have with ``God`` . No one really takes this woman seriously, but as soon as she speaks the word ``God`` you guys get weak in the knees. I`m not sure why you think readers are offended by matters pertaining to God. Palin`s exagerrations and possible lies are the things that are offensive.

[Gidster]

It is her flippant use of "God's Will", that has most of us up in arms. She claims prophetical knowledge of God's will? Does she, like Bush chat with God on secular matters? Will she, like Bush tell us what God has told here to do?
Our Democracy has no room for Theology.
Your faith should be a guideline for how you live your life, not a governing ideology in a free society.
Remember freedom OF religion also means freedom FROM religion!

[jalyn]

Yes, I agree. But, is it just a bit over-reactive to think she would go so far as to act on her divine commission? Am pondering if people are really fearful and think she is a danger. I think her lack of empathy towards real America is the real danger.

[grailknight]

Let's say, just for the sake of arguement, that we are in Iraq to fulfill Yaweh's will (that's his name, you know, not "God"). Why is it then, that the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard hasn't been paying attention to what those troops have been doing to fulfill Yaweh's will?

[rwt1138]

Because Yaweh doesn't cut his paychecks and isn't listed on the Order of Battle

[darker]

Now let me see...8 YEARS OF
"Highest Unemployment Rate In Five Years... Housing Crisis... Stretched Military... Resurging Taliban... Energy Drought... Never-Ending War... Growing Nuclear Enemies... Global Warming... Lack Of Healthcare... Underperforming Schools..."

And American VOTERS gave McCain-Palin the HIGHEST POLL RATINGS just now??

For what?? The past 8 REPUBLICAN YEARS OF PROFITEERING FOR THEM and MISERY FOR US?

And voters want 8 MORE YEARS of that republican crap? And republicans' NANNY STATE FOR RICH PROFITEERS??? Yikes, American voters sure are STUPID.

[sonshine]

She wants a theocracy and we'll all be fundamentalist christians if she is elected.

[Gidster]

Or imprisoned, stoned , or burned at the stake..You know, Old School Christian values

[paixa3]

I misread the headline as Sarah's BONKING moment....now, that would get real attention.

whoops........

[dva1946]

Ya, I put some swam land in Florida on eBay, too. However, just like Sarah, I never sold it. Did however telll the buddies at Poker Night that it sold - for a profit. LOL.