I’m trying so hard to understand the nexus between Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, which Palin discussed during her speech. She is trying to position herself as the woman who can use Hillary’s 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling to finally bust through. But Sarah Palin isn’t qualified to walk through the same door as Hillary, much less claim the mantle of her legacy fighting for the issues that women care about.
Let’s see. Palin is against abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. The majority of women in this country are pro choice, and even those who waver draw the line much more broadly than Palin does. I hope one of the debate questioners has the temerity to ask her what she would have done if her daughter was involunarily pregnant instead of voluntarily pregnant. Palin is a card carrying member of the NRA, not known for its legions of female members. Palin sued the federal government for trying to protect polar bears – polar bears! – saying they got in the way of oil and gas drilling.
Palin wants creationism taught in our public schools. Palin thinks global warming is a hoax. Does this sound like the kind of woman that Hillary was hoping would bust through the glass ceiling that she has spent her life banging away at?
The point being that, on the issues, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have about as much in common Barack Obama and Alan Keyes, the African American conservative who the Republicans so cynically ran against Barack Obama for Senate after his first opponent dropped out. So Palin is trying to claim Hillary Clinton’s mantle for one simple reason:
They’re both women.
These two women have nothing politically in common with one another. Having
two X chromosomes does not automatically win you the women’s vote – did
I really have to say that? And, while I guess I can understand the
"soccer/hockey mom" phenomena to some degree, are voters in key states
really going to select the possible next leader of our country because
they like the fact that she eats moose burgers and calls her husband
"the first dude?"
I’ve been reading about Palin, trying to learn more about her. One thing
that stands out is the scandal she is currently embroiled in over the
controversial firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan in July.
I don’t know the details of the allegations but I do know Walt Monegan.
I had the privilege of attending a Senior Executives in State and Local
Government session with him at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy
School of Government for a month in 2004. And what I can tell you is
that he is kind and genuine and filled with integrity. I spent a day
with him in an Outward Bound exercise blindfolded in three feet of snow,
trusting him to lead me safely down a hill in 13 degree weather. I
couldn’t have been in better hands. I also watched him tear up as he
spoke about his son during our talks about what mattered to us. We all
came to respect Walt and his quiet leadership style.
So, when I read that Walt felt his dismissal was related directly to his
refusal, as a long-term law enforcement professional and former police
chief, to make personnel decisions based on pressure from Governor
Palin, her husband and her staff, that says something to me. I’m hopeful
that the investigation can be completed prior to the vote on November 4
so that the American people have the chance to make an informed choice
for the number two leader of the free world. And while politicians have
been pressuring political appointees to do their bidding forever, this
story smacks of small-town cronyism at its worst.
The other issue that just has me dumbfounded is her daughter’s teenage
pregnancy and the religious right’s reaction. From the party that made
family values a do or die campaign issue we are now hearing that "she’s
doing the right thing" by getting married and keeping her baby and
nothing but continued praise for her mother. When Jamie Lynn Spears got
pregnant, it was proof of the coming apocalypse. The religious right was
so incensed that they stopped her mother from publishing a book on
parenting and judged her and her family with harshness and brutality. I
won’t comment on the choices this family is making, because I think they
have the right to make them without judgment but I can guarantee you
that if Obama’s next door neighbor’s cat was having kittens out of
wedlock it would be the most outrageous thing that’s ever happened and
further proof of Obama’s unfitness for the Presidency.
At the end of the day it’s the double standard that’s got me so fired
up. Either you have a lot of experience and that makes you qualified to
lead or you don’t. Either you have foreign policy expertise and that’s
crucial to success as President or Vice President or you don’t. Either
you’ve served in government for long enough to qualify you to lead our
country or you haven’t. If these are your bellwethers of success, (and
I didn’t pick them) you don’t get to measure them differently for
different people.
Finally, I hope I speak for my sisters when I say that for most of us,
our candidate has to earn our vote. Women don’t just vote for women
because they’re on the ballot. You didn’t hear Obama say "fellow black men, vote for me because my campaign is historic", which is basically what Palin is saying. But the Obama campaign is asking us to vote on the issues we care about –
the economy, healthcare, the environment, and education, just to name a
few. Palin came dangerously close to saying "Hillary voters: vote for me because I’m a woman." As if the issues were irrelevant! It’s great to see a woman VP candidate, don’t get me wrong. It
would be better, however, to have a woman VP candidate who seemed like
more than a "token". I would welcome a smart, experienced woman who
knows how to lead with a track record of success in public life. A
woman who we all could look up to and be proud of. A woman who my
mother, a woman on the front lines from way back who did more than her
fair share to put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, would be
proud to know is inheriting her legacy.
Until then, I guess we’ll just have to watch as this circus
unfolds…what’s on tap for tomorrow?