The Mother of All Insults (Palin-Bashing Taken to New Level)

Madistan.com ^ | September 30, 2008 | Joan Fischer

[Diana in Wisconsin]

So Sarah Palin's participation in the vice presidential debate is going to be the sparring equivalent of bumper bowling. The McCain camp insisted upon a tightly formatted structure for Palin's debate with Joe Biden, one that is designed to protect her from spontaneous questions and discussion.

Geraldine Ferraro was granted no special protection when she debated George H.W. Bush in 1984, and it is inexplicable why the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates gave in to McCain's demands now. It's hard to call this progress. An experienced, knowledgeable female candidate should not require special treatment.

But Sarah Palin is a female candidate who exists as a token. Nobody except Palin herself believes she is qualified to be vice president, not even McCain and his campaign managers. Palin was put in place to bring in the evangelical right and toss a bone to women voters who might somehow fail to notice that Palin does not support women's issues.

Those who shudder at the thought of Palin being VP should worry even more about her becoming president. This is a very real danger with a 72-year-old president who has a history of cancer.

Here's what we know about Sarah Palin before the debate begins:

1. We know she lies. She said thanks to that "bridge to nowhere" until it became a national embarrassment, and then she kept the designated $223 million from U.S. taxpayers for other uses in her state. She has been corrected many times but continues to lie, in keeping with the Rovian finding that a lie repeated becomes a fact in voters' minds.

2. We know she is under investigation for abuse of power. "Troopergate," in which Palin allegedly fired the Alaska public safety commissioner for refusing to fire a state trooper who is Palin's former brother-in-law, points to a larger chronicled morass of friendship hires, personal vendettas, questionable per diem charges, and the involvement of her husband in policy decisions.

3. We know she is a poor fiscal manager. As mayor she left Wasilla, a town roughly the size of McFarland, around $15 million in debt after building a sports complex.

4. We know her life has been marked by a scant education and apparent incuriosity about the world. She attended five colleges in six years to get a bachelor's degree. (Who does that?) She has barely left the U.S. in her lifetime. Within the United States, Alaska is sparsely populated, has a relatively small range of racial diversity, and is in many ways isolated from the Lower 48, thus limiting even her experience of this country. In the 1980s, greed was good. What's good now, ignorance? Haven't we had enough of that?

5. We know she is no friend to women. She supports abstinence-only sex education (and we see how well that worked for Bristol). She opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Along with McCain, she opposes equal pay for equal work.

6. We know her handlers are terrified of what Palin would say to the news media if reporters were allowed unfettered access, to the point where they are denying access that is essential to our democracy. The plan is to get the public to vote for someone we have not been allowed to question. We've talked so much about pigs during this campaign. Ever heard of buying a pig in a poke?

And so we have a female VP candidate who was raised to the White House by powerful conservative men who appreciate her backward views and her beauty queen looks (and her gun-toting, moose-hunting ways; this lends a note of feisty pizzazz). During these long weeks of campaigning, she has been seen much more than heard, a woman whose voice has been either scripted or muzzled. Consider her the Stepford Veep.

But here's the most important thing about Sarah Palin: what selecting her says about John McCain. Choosing Palin to be a heartbeat away from the presidency was irresponsible beyond redemption. McCain's formerly admiring biographer, Elizabeth Drew, now says that "John McCain is not a principled man."

That's obvious.

[Max7]

Ms. Palin would like to have “abstinence only education” taught in the schools as an alternative to - in addition to - the “sex education” as it is currently. She didn’t say she wants ONLY abstinence-only to be the curriculum, although that’s not a bad idea. It would be refreshing if somewhere that is not within the confines of a church/synagogue environment, i.e. “public schools”, that the little darlings are advised to keep their legs together and their flies zipped UP. Now there’s REAL sex education, and so succinct, too.

[Huskrrrr]

Just Freeped the comment box from this column. I suggest everyone do the same

[mass55th]

Joan Fischer, MA

Communication Specialist
Primary Responsibilities
Conduct statewide outreach for WIPHL among citizens, patients, health care professionals, employers, and policymakers; cultivate media coverage; produce website, electronic newsletter, and informational materials for WIPHL practitioners, partners, stakeholder groups, and the public.

Past Jobs & Experience
Joan grew up in California, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, and got her grounding in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in Germany. After moving to Wisconsin, she earned a master's degree in journalism and worked as a freelance writer before joining Madison Magazine as managing editor. She spent eight years working in various management, communication, and programming capacities for the nonprofit Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, including serving as editor of its award-winning magazine, Wisconsin People & Ideas. Education

MA, Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Email: Joan.Fischer@fammed.wisc.edu
Phone: 608-263-0772
Fax: 608-263-8529

She's a whack-job from Berkeley and worked for AP in Germany. She's an elitist snob.

[weegee]

If Geraldine Ferraro is fair game, what made her more qualified to be VP than Sarah Palin?

What has Geraldine Ferraro accomplished in the 25 years since her candidacy?

[loveliberty2]

Did she ever hear about the little shepherd boy who became king after his "experience" tending sheep and going to battle with only a sling and some stones?

[BienHoa69-70 RVN]

I suspect this is the writer - a product of Bezerkley

Joan Fischer, MA
Communication Specialist
Primary Responsibilities
Conduct statewide outreach for WIPHL among citizens, patients, health care professionals, employers, and policymakers; cultivate media coverage; produce website, electronic newsletter, and informational materials for WIPHL practitioners, partners, stakeholder groups, and the public.
Past Jobs & Experience
Joan grew up in California, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, and got her grounding in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in Germany. After moving to Wisconsin, she earned a master’s degree in journalism and worked as a freelance writer before joining Madison Magazine as managing editor. She spent eight years working in various management, communication, and programming capacities for the nonprofit Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, including serving as editor of its award-winning magazine, Wisconsin People & Ideas.
Education
MA, Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Email: Joan.Fischer@fammed.wisc.edu
Phone: 608-263-0772
Fax: 608-263-8529

Drop her a line. Have fun!

[wtc911]

What has Geraldine Ferraro accomplished in the 25 years since her candidacy?

_____________________________________________

Keeping her mafioso hubby and drug dealing son out of prison was enough.

[Bulldawg Fan]

If she wasnt a threat they would ignore her. But the evil, sleezy leftists that last year were trying to lose a war now are trying to destroy both Sarah and her family. She is a great threat to their Marxist candidate and they know it. Hence, their efforts to bury her.

[imintrouble]

Good lord - do people actually put up MA after their names?

No wonder she writes like a high school student.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thank you!

[COBOL2Java]

Unfortunately, I work around these kinds of people. Two of them in particular (government workers) spend most of their day (your tax dollars at work) trashing McCain/Palin. One of them had recorded the most recent "Saturday Night Live" skit, and played it over and over again, giggling out loud.

I've heard Palin referred to as "that brain-dead moose hunter".

I'm a lowly contractor, so I have to keep my mouth shut...sigh.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Thank you! Good Freeping! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“I’ve heard Palin referred to as ‘that brain-dead moose hunter.’”

One of the old Hippies I work with actually said this:

“Can you believe her [Palin’s] ‘Holier Than Thou’ attitude about KEEPING her Down Syndrome Baby?”

This woman has never married, has no children and lives with her smelly old dog. How rich her life must be! ;)

[fantom]

The majority of her so called female detractors have in common ? Old , unattractive. Insanely jealous .

[Resolute Conservative]

I have a Bachelor degree ( over 2 schools and 6 years ) and other than Mexico and Canada have never left this country and do not want to but I am more qualified on foreign policy than any incumbent or candidate Democrat. Just keep kicking the commoners and see what happens.

[GOYAKLA]

Open discussion: What in Heavens name is a WIPHL???
See: http://wiphl.com/

[zwerni]

i love the way the left concludes that if you don’t support abortion then you don’t support “women’s issues”

[LtKerst]

Joan grew up in California, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, and got her grounding in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press

Oh!...you mean She is a Looser.

[lady lawyer]

She needs protection because, although she is the most popular governor in the United States, and she is smart and capable, her focus until a couple of weeks ago was on state matters. This would not be a problem, except that the media cannot be trusted to question her fairly. They will pose “gotcha” questions about minutiae that no one except one who has been relentlessly focused on Washington will know. They won’t ask her about her general philosphy on governing, which would be a fairer question under the circumstances. They will attempt to trip her up.

This is the same media that refuses to investigate Obama’s background, and has given him a pass for all his stupid gaffes.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

WIPHL? Food and/or Health Nazies. ;)

Twinkies for ME, but NOT for Thee!