I am down on most career politicians (are there any other kinds?) but the Republican party has become particularly scary during the Bush administration. The Grand Old Party has shifted farther and farther right. McCain and the current party leaders are grandly continuing this new tradition. It looks like McCain’s platform, like Bush’s, boils down to this:
- Fundamental Christian Americans know what is right, not just for America but for the whole world.
- The laws of the USA should reflect fundamental Christian beliefs (e.g., anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage).
- The United States of America has a moral obligation bring its vision of “right” and “truth” to everyone in the world.
- The ends justify the means (witness the Iraq war and trumped up security theater which does little to actually enhance our national security).
Selection of Sarah Palin as vice presidential candidate illustrates this brilliantly. She is certainly pro-life and very Christian. She is also powerfully driven to realize her visions for the city and state which she has governed. She is such a “babe” that one of my neighbors actually has a sign in the front yard reading, “I (heart) Sarah.” Is that supposed to be a good reason to vote for someone???
Palin comes with a bunch of political baggage neatly summarized by an email written by Anne Kilkenny which is circulating on the internet. In all my years dealing with email, this is the first chain letter which I remember being objectively verified as factually accurate. Even with all of Palin’s bizarre and sometimes illegal behavior, McCain chose her as his running-mate. Why? I think because what she did is less important to McCain than that she follows his “platform” as I wrote it.
Do I want a president who will tolerate a VP who has knowingly violated Alaska ethics act to try to get someone fired? No.
Do I want a president who will tolerate a VP who creates the political and legal turmoil which is coming to light these days? No.
