McCain's "Choice"

[jlh]

I don't have anything to add to all that you have said about the DNC. I love a convention. It's not there to convince all that many people—that's what campaigning and debates are for—but to rally the faithful and in this case, unite the party after a long primary process. I'm sad that for the sake of political theater the roll call was sacrificed, because that's my favorite part: From the great state of you-haven't-heard-from-us-lately, where the water runs clear and the beer runs free, where most of our elected representatives are Republicans so our delegation is headed up by an obscure state senator, we give our 50 lousy votes to … no one, because we have to pass so that the home state of the nominee can put them over the top! Thank you! Woo!

So I was sort of under a rock yesterday—in the classroom in the morning, on a bus to Boston all afternoon, dinner in the evening, and then another bus to ali_wildgoose's family place on the Cape—and didn't actually hear about McCain's VP pick until the bus had a rest stop, at which time I texted a bunch of you. My pal S_____, who grew up in Kansas, had the most fun response:

[Palin's a] crazy conservative opportunist Christian under investigation for ordering the firing of someone who did NOT fire the ex-hub of her sister. Alaska politics can't be that different from ME or KS. Everyone knows everyone else and has since 1st grade. Ugh ugh ugh. She just seem awful. Just as plastic as Mrs. McCain.

The only place I'll disagree is about knowing people since 1st grade—Alaska still gets a lot of folks moving up there as adults and starting their lives over.

My first reaction was feeling embarrassed for all those Republican women who will have to defend this ridiculous choice, like poor Kay Bailey Hutchinson or ME senators Collins and Snowe or hell, even AK Senator Lisa Murkowski, whose seat would have been safe because of Palin (as would Hutchinson's, with TX's Republican governor). Heck, there are two other Republican women governors, too: Rell in CT and Lingle in HI. And then I took another look and realized that all six Republican women senators, and these two governors, are pro-choice. Oops.

So this isn't just about the empty symbolism of choosing a woman—empty and patronizing—but the shoring up of his right flank to get the evangelicals out to vote for him, as they've been threatening to stay home. I know the buzz is about getting those Hilary voters, but there's no way they think this will work; if they'd really wanted to do that, they would have picked any of the pro-choice women I mentioned. If I were a Republican woman, I'd feel grouchy and insulted right about now. As a Democrat, I'm just embarrassed for them.

Also, after sixteen years of fairly powerful veeps (for good and ill) it points to a veep that will likely be kept out of the big boy's room. I have to wonder if McCain's white house would have any women at all in that room, or if they think they'd be able to put off all such things by pointing to Palin.

In the meantime, hey, at least we got a little known fact twitter meme out of it.

Comments

[sixersfan.livejournal.com]

I know several women at my job are considering McCain now only because he chose a woman.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

First I thought, Sarah who? Then I thought, WTF another wingnut. The wingnut talking heads are all atwitter about her. Richard Viguerie (dean of conservative direct-mail fundraisers, who helped Reagan get elected in 1980) thinks the Palin selection means that McCain will win in a landslide o_O So we'd have an 72-year-old opportunist in office, with a female wingnut just a heartbeat away? Please. No.

[amyamy.livejournal.com]

My problematic coworker theorizes that this election should be/is about the VPs, because either way they'll become President - McCain, she says, will have a heart attack and die in office, and Obama will be assassinated by a nutjob. I think it's a depressing way to look at the whole thing.

In other news, you twitter?