Category: Politics

McCain chooses Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for V.P.

Some initial thoughts about Sarah Palin:

Before I begin to make a sympathetic, yet, skeptical defense of Palin, I must say that I will NOT support this ticket. Readers of this blog will be familiar with the reasons. My family will once again support the Constitution Party.

Sarah Palin’ choice for Vice-President was one of the boldest things McCain has done since he has entered political office. Voting against earmarks and for the troop surge in the Republican party does not even come close to the choice of Palin as VP. His choice proves a few salient points: a) Radio talk-shows still make a tremendous impact on the political sphere. Neo-Cons like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh prove why they are the top two celebrities in the business. Though, in my estimation they do great harm to the future of this country, nevertheless, their voices still matter to a great many conservatives in America. Republicans have been threatening McCain for a long time that if he chose a liberal like Lieberman or Ridge, then he (McCain) would face the wrath of conservative voters who have lost their patience with the status quo of Washington.

Hence, bringing Sarah Palin into the picture has caused an enormous uproar in the corridors of modern media leading to an unprecedented hysteria among liberal think tanks. With the departure of Hillary as a potential first-woman president emerges the unknown figure from Alaska. As political analyst Chuck Todd has mentioned, this was a “calculated decision.” Indeed this may have tremendous repercussions in the next two months. McCain may have hit the lottery. If so, this will be remembered as one of the smartest political moves in modern history. The reader must remember that many female voters felt betrayed when Obama knocked out Clinton, and these same voters may now have another opportunity to voice their dreams.

But who is Sarah Palin? This relatively unknown governor from Alaska brings several admirable qualifications:

First, she is a committed pro-life advocate. She does not hesitate to affirm her commitment to life. In fact, her life is a testimony to this commitment. Her fifth child was born with down syndrome. Whereas the liberal elite would have urged such a woman–for the sake of success–to abort this innocent child, she lived her convictions. This to me separates her from the vast majority of women involved in the political arena who would give their children up for the sake of political success.

Secondly, in light of the first point, Palin is committed to the family. She has five children. She is more confortable in a room of soccer moms or hockey moms, than in a party with the Washington elite. This means any role she may play in the White House will be steeped in a deep familial overtone.

Thirdly, she upsets the liberals. MSNBC Chris Matthews went ballistic after discovering that she does not take exception on the abortion issue. The fact that it is so rare that a politician feels this way is a strong argument for the McCain/Palin ticket.

Fourthly, the Palin’s were strong supporters of the Pat Buchanan ticket in 1996. I am philosophically and politically aligned with Buchanan on most things. The fact that they were advocates and fund-raisers for Buchanan means that they have some sympathy for paleo-conservatism, and even Libertarian ideals.

Fifthly, about a year ago, some in the Ron Paul campaign came to suggest Palin as a possible VP candidate in a Paul ticket.  She once said of Paul: “He’s a good guy.” “He’s so independent. He’s independent of the party machine. I’m like, ‘Right on, so am I.'” As one author wrote:

She has publicly complained about fellow Republicans’ unethical behavior and references Alaska’s Constitution whenever she speaks. Considered a maverick in the GOP, she goes around saying things like: “Fiscally speaking, the private sector can do a better job than government can do.” and “Also just trusting individuals to make wise decisions for themselves and families. I have a lot of trust in individuals. I don’t trust government nearly as much.” She recently signed a bill making it a crime for public servants not to report bribery they know about.

Sixthly, she is a life-member of the National Rifle Association. Need I say more?

Finally, and most importantly, she is a committed Christian. This merits our respect and deepest sympathy for this candidate.

However, in the end of the day, Palin is not going to be the president of the United States, though with McCain’s age, she is a heartbeat away. Though she is in favor of the war that has killed over 5,000 US soldiers and thousands of Iraqis, Palin does not seem so hawkish and bellicose as McCain. But no one knows what a few years in Washington may do.

No one knows how she will impact McCain and his thinking as the years go by, but one thing is clear with the McCain/Palin ticket: The Obama presidency may have to wait a few more years.

Once again, “pro-life” Christians are doing back flips to try and justify their compromise of the life issue by trying to convince everyone (including themselves) that John McCain is truly pro-life. However, these same people know in their hearts that John McCain shares no fidelity to the life issue in any significant or meaningful way. Like many in the Republican Party, McCain’s commitment to life is about as deep as a mud puddle.

In an interview with Christianity Today, Barack Obama said, “I do think that those who diminish the moral elements of the decision aren’t expressing the full reality of it.” And most recently at the Saddleback Church when asked, “at what point does a baby get human rights?” Obama said that the question “is above my pay grade.” According to Jim Wallis, acknowledging that abortion is a moral issue is respecting the convictions on both sides of the platform. The Democratic party is fully aware that Americans consider this issue a significant one at the voting both, so they have decided to alter their platform to appeal more to conservatives and independents. They plan to reduce the number of abortions. They are doing well at playing the political game, and if they win, the rate of abortion will remain stagnant or reduce insignificantly as it has under the Republican party. The preacher’s words come to mind: Vanity of vanities!

Douglas Groothuis:

America On Line reports this about Obama’s remarks at Saddleback Church this evening, where he appeared with John McCain.

Obama said that the country’s greatest moral failure was not doing enough for its underprivileged.”We still don’t abide by that basic precept of Matthew — whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me,” Obama said.

Physician, heal thyself! Who is lesser, more vulnerable, less able to speak out than an unborn human being? The unborn have fewer rights than endangered species in the United States. Over one million of them are legally aborted each year, and have been since 1973. Obama would keep abortion “safe and legal” by signing The Freedom of Choice Act, which would nullify all state restrictions on abortion. He would appoint only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court and Federal Courts. He would send more your tax dollars to Planned Parenthood and other “abortion providers (what a euphemism). He would oppose any ban on partial birth abortions, since that what he did as a State Senator. He would support foreign aid for abortions. Remember, he proudly sports a perfect (100%) voting record on abortion according to The National Abortion Rights Action League. His National Right to Life rating is 0%–the worst possible.

Senator Obama, if you are going to unctuously quote the Bible to try to impress ignorant Christians, at least some of us are going to turn that Book back on you. And we will remember that we, too, will be evaluated by its truths.

(Thanks to Justin Taylor)

Fom the Bob Barr website:

Bob told David Asman that there was no difference between Obama and McCain, calling them the “McBama ticket.” Bob added that the Republican and Democratic candidates are not offering anything of substance to the American people and that he intended to make the race competitive and to offer Americans a choice.

Environmentalists’ Wild Predictions

Goldberg’s list of 100 people screwing up America is largely filled with liberals, and rightly so. Nevertheless, what appears to be most conspicuous–in his list–is his detestation of anyone who opposed the war in Iraq. His reasoning follows this simplistic syllogism: a) Liberals disagree with the war; b) Liberals want to bring the troops home; therefore c) All Liberals hate America. I wonder if he would apply this reasoning to the late Bill Buckley and Pat Buchanan; both staunch opponents of liberal politics, but in favor of bringing the troops home.

This list of 100 is starting to look like a list of 50 to me.

In one of the political books I am currently reading by Bernard Goldberg entitled 100 people who are screwing up America, he has the audacity to name Ann Coulter among the 100. Perhaps he is right. We do need less vitriolic voices defending conservative ideals. In this case,  I objurgate Ann’s strong, and sometimes less than Christian approach to her political enemies.

I once attended a conference in Orlando that had Ann as the banquet speaker. She was astounding. The audience adored her sarcasm and demeaning comments about the Democrats. But what is intriguing, yea, appealing about Ann is that amidst her ranting about all things Democrat, she also uses her wit to demolish the likes of pseudo-conservative like John McCain. In this sense, Ann makes my top 100 favorite Americans.

In her latest, she is unstoppable in her brilliance and charming humor.