Monday, October 20, 2008

Sarah Palin is not Hilary Clinton in drag OR I have not voted Republican since Lowell Weicker moved to the Green Party & I moved to New Jersey

I was stuck in the waiting room of the small animal vet clinic that gets so much of my disposable income, when I came across the Time Magazine article with the reference to Palin's behavior towards banning books. Not being a regular net surfer (seriously) I missed the firestorm surrounding the faux list of books to be banned etc.

I was never going to vote McCain/Palin even before Palin came on board. What respect I had for John McCain is long gone & I DID once respect him. I even felt bad about the Stephen Colbert interview on his campaign bus in 2000, although I already knew I would vote for Gore. Just because I respected him did not mean I agreed with his positions. Remember positions? & voting records? the idea that we might choose a candidate the reflects what we think ought to be the priorities & solutions & not necessarily the candidate endorsed by Keanu Reeves or Chuck Norris or Van Halen (& let me assure you that last endorsement made me scratch my head; at least it was reluctantly given).

But all that aside, by the time this posts I will have already voted because we live in one of those early voting states; it is much fun to tell that to the phone banks that call in the final two days, as in "wow I did not know that about your candidate. I wish I had before I voted for the other guy last week". I love early voting. I can cast my vote a full two weeks before everyone else & renew my library books at the same time.

But back to Sarah Palin. The next time I saw her smiling face was on a newsletter from three (3), yes three different animal welfare/rescue/whatever e-mail lists I subscribe to. & this was the gist of their message:
Our 501(c)3 status does not permit us to endorse any particular political candidate or party. This is a picture of Sarah Palin. She is wearing fur. It might be from an animal she shot herself. Maybe even in the face. This is a picture of the Palin family with an animal they shot in the face. //they included the pictures, of course but I wanted to give you the option of whether or not you threw up while reading my blog.

It is absolutely true that I was living in New Jersey when Weicker was elected Governor of Connecticut. It is also true I voted for Lieberman AGAINST Weicker in the election that lost him his Senate seat (but freed him up to be governor, right?). It was one of those decisions actually made in the voting booth, which I just do not do anymore. I was sorry almost immediately. I am still sorry. At night when I cannot sleep I worry that my mother is still mad about it & well, she has a right. After all I voted for the new guy & then moved out of state, sticking her with himself for far too long. I also voted for Michael Dukakis, but I know that just barely makes it better as far as she is concerned. My mother remembers Prescott Bush & well, we don't need to go there.

In New Jersey, we had Christine Todd Whitman. Now SHE just might be Hilary Clinton in drag. I wonder that the McCain campaign did not wander up to her, if the point was indeed to hook those disgruntled Clintonites. Also, she also has that maverick brand, what with falling out with Cheney (Cheney! I ask you, how can that not balance out her pro-choice stance?).

And then Houston, Texas (I blame A for this tour of places-you-do-not-want-to-live-in-the-US), we had Kay Bailey Hutchison. I do not remember who I voted for/against her except that even at the time I knew he did not have a chance. Ann Richards (who I did vote for) lost the Governor's race to George H. W. Bush & we all know how that turned out. I guess I can see how the McCain campaign passed her by: Sarah Palin is way-more photogenic & I think that might be part of the strategy. I would have said her indictment on misconduct etc. might have been the deterrent but we all can see that could not be the case. Besides, she has won two elections since then.

Or maybe it is the whole Maverick thing. I admit I do not quite get that. A political party, a dominating political party is convincing people that they are against the standard party line? I had a room mate that used to mock the college students that shopped at the army surplus sales on campus: "Dress unique, wear a uniform."

Joseph Leiberman could have been Hilary Clinton in drag (notice how I am avoiding references to lipsticked pigs right here where it would do double duty). That would have been a Maverick-move! Sure all the anti-semites would not vote for him, but they would hardly vote Obama either (it has been my experience that most racists are equal opportunity racists).

If the McCain campaign had even an ounce of sense, they could have sewed it up right there. & then my mother would REALLY be mad at me. But they didn't & I don't know why. According to this same Time Magazine article, McCain was being pressured to choose Mitt Romney. I can only imagine this is the same think-tank that choose Dan Quayle.

So who am I voting for, you ask? You must be kidding. Even if I would tell you, you should not listen. Make up your own damn mind & vote early if you can.

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