9/5/08

Lesbian Politics: Two Reasons I Really Like Sarah Palin

By Lesbiatopia Political Editor Ma'amselle Lezident

So there are two reasons Sarah Palin rocks.

First though to be fair, let me list a few things about her that make me violently ill:

A. She is a hockey mom first and an American second; she drove Wasilla, Alaska, $20 million into debt while she was mayor to fund the construction of a hockey stadium before leaving to be Governor.

(Sarah Palin Fun Fact: When she was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she called for the banning of certain books with inappropriate language at the library, threatening to fire the librarian for not coalescing with "full support" of the Mayor.)

(Other Sarah Palin Fun Fact: When you are governor of a state with 680,000 people total--approximately 15 times smaller than the 9,000,000+ population of Los Angeles County alone--and you inherit a $5 billion surplus where 1/3 of the economic base comes from oil, distributing $1,200-per-resident oil-bounty bonus checks will probably get everybody to like you.)

(One More Sarah Palin Fun Fact: Sarah Palin has been governor for only 21 months, and she is already under criminal investigation.)


B. She identifies strongly with her family and then whines when people talk about them. ("Look at my family! Look at my family! Look how much my family is a part of my identity! Wait, don't look at them now! Don't mention them! How dare you say anything about them? Okay, now it's okay to look at them again!") As Ted Anthony at AP writes: "Hey, media, leave those kids alone — so we can use them as we see fit." Her party decries "sexism" any time someone mentions a Palin other than Sarah, but did any of these old guys give a shit when John McCain said something pointedly vicious and unnecessary about Chelsea Clinton back in the day? Hell no.

(Yet Another Sarah Palin Fun Fact: Sarah Palin claimed in her speech that her Army son was going to be deployed on Sept. 11, a statement in violation of OPSEC, under which releasing the deployment date of a unit is considered to be endangering both to her son's unit and to national security; it is also illegal and something you would expect a potential Commander in Chief to know better about. Of course, then it was revealed that her son isn't actually deploying on 9/11, so in other words her son is a political tool to her.)

(Hypocrite Fun Fact: check out Bill O'Reilly bashing Jamie Lynn Spears and mom about her unwed teenage pregnancy.)

C. As a feminist and the inheritor of a long line of feminist tradition--men and women working together--I want to shake Sarah Palin vigorously, screaming, "SNAP OUT OF IT. DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO US? WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE VOTE FOR 100 YEARS, AND YOU'RE TELLING WOMEN WHAT JESUS WANTS THEM TO DO WITH THEIR VAGINAS NOW. HOLY SHIT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT. HERE'S A BOOK ON THE CONSTITUTION FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS LEGAL PLEASE READ IT AND STOP GETTING IN THE WAY OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS." Who here wants to get raped and have to lie on a dirty kitchen table to get an abortion with a wire coat hanger? Most of the people who read this blog are probably not old enough to remember when that was your only option if you were poor and desperate not to screw up your life and the life of some unwanted kid growing up with insufficient resources to live healthy and happy. Sarah Palin is all about the abstinence-only . . . so long as you're poor or a minority; privileged white kids, you must populate the universe to save the race, I guess. Fuck you, Sarah Palin.

D. She does not believe in global warming; why, because it's cold in Alaska? Her bad environmental record extends to her determination to drill for more oil, in Alaska and offshore; her devotion to oil and "clean coal" underscore her reliance on our nation's limited natural resources to solve the problem of not enough resources--hello?--when instead it should be solved by creating green-collar jobs and funding scientific research to reduce our dependence on natural resources that--surprise!--someday will be gone if we use them all.

E. Her speech at the RNC emphasized "victory" in Iraq over and over, though she failed to outline what "victory in Iraq" looks like. All the Sunnis dead? All the Shi'ites dead? Are the Republicans rooting for somebody? Doesn't matter, I guess, because McCain can't tell the difference between them anyway, and he never wants to leave Iraq. Ever.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, so all that makes Sarah Palin suck.

Now, to the two things that totally rock about her:

1. She made this happen last night:





What is that? Those are the community organizers Sarah Palin was poo-pooing the other night in her speech. That's 700 people at the open house for the brand new Southern California Obama HQ. 150 people RSVP'd, and 700 showed up; in typical Obama fashion, the campaign office was too small to hold everyone, so the party had to be moved to an adjoining parking lot.

When prompted with the specter of Sarah Palin, the crowd jeered and hollered, emphasizing that she was one of the reasons everyone had turned out that night. Women in particular demonstrated their displeasure with her, alternately cheering, "Women for Obama!" and "This mama's for Obama!"

Following the speeches, everyone was invited to come visit the office and sign up to volunteer; however, nearly everyone wanted to stick around, so the offices remained closed to keep within fire and safety regulations. An impromptu Obama rally began on the sidewalk, bringing about all the local news stations (CBS, NBC, ABC) as well as the Spanish-language stations (Univision and Telemundo) as well as eight of LAPD's finest as well as a helicopter.





Volunteers with the campaign lined the streets, signing people up to make phone calls to swing states, travel to Nevada (our nearest swing state) on weekends, and take seminars to learn this community organizing stuff that makes Sarah Palin so frowny.

These people made me realize, this election is not about Sarah Palin. She's a non-issue and a soap opera. The real issue is John McCain and George Bush and Dick Cheney and the NeoCons (who McCain used to shun but who coerced him under threat of withholding their support into a Sarah Palin VPery) and their nasty dysfunctional love affair.

This country is without jobs for its workers, without privacy for its citizens, without money for its banks, without homes for its communities; that happened because of bad political appointments by crooks like George Bush--political appointments that let our infrastructure collapse, let our banks go bankrupt, let our farms go fallow, let our children get sick, and let 3,000 people drown in New Orleans. No one should give two shits about Sarah Palin; who the fuck is she? Look at John McCain, look at Dick Cheney, look at the profits the oil company is making off your trip to work, look at the price of medicine, look at how much you're making at your job versus how much it takes to eat.

Then look in the mirror and say "I am going to elect someone who will appoint judges who govern by the law and not by the Bible. I am going to elect someone whose judgement shines in the people with whom he surrounds himself. I am going to elect someone who believes in technology, diplomacy, and the environment."

Say, "This mama's for Obama."





2. Sarah Palin has bodacious ta-tas.

43 comments:

ReneeG said...

2. Sarah Palin has bodacious ta-tas.

hilarious. just another reason why you rock.

Bill Graber said...

Yeah I am pretty sure the Ta Tas is all the McCain people really want anyone to see...

Anonymous said...

About the only thing Sarah Palin has going for her is her looks. My sister is a Moderate Republican (social liberal, fiscal conservative) and she told me that Friday night after Palin was nominated that she was voting for Obama. My aunt who was leaning towards McCain is now voting for Obama too based upon Palin's nomination. My mother is also voting for Obama, though that was never in doubt. My mother hates the idea that a woman who preaches abstinance only for everyone else can't teach her own kid to do the same.

A large contingent of the younger women out there are not happy with Palin and are now moving firmly into the Obama camp.

Unknown said...

As much as I hate to defend her, she didn't say he was deployed on Sept 11th, he said he enlisted.

Enlisting is much different than deploying.

Bill Graber said...

No she has said on more then one occasion "he is leaving on "Sept 11"

J said...

jdslkhfg: Here's exactly what she said: "And one week from tomorrow — Sept. 11 — he'll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country."

Anonymous said...

Now that was funny.

It also pointed out somethings I didn't know and I will have to look into them.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful!

Yeah, I didn't know #2 on the plus side.

Anonymous said...

Frankly, I'm glad there's a lesbian around to point out to me that Sarah Palin has bodacious ta-tas, because I hadn't noticed. And the rest of the column is chock-full of great points...

Like she wanted to fire the Wasilla librarian for not removing books from the library that Palin found "offensive." (Only Nazi's are afraid of books!)

And as Wasilla mayor, she commissioned the construction of a hockey stadium which left the town of 9000 people 20 million dollars in debt when she took off for the Governor's mansion. These are things that Barack is too idealistic to harangue her for... and that's why god made people like me.

After careful consideration, I've determined... SHE'S A WITCH!--and not the good kind--(The Ol' Holey Bible says "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!")

We've found a witch! May we burn her?

Anonymous said...

"How do you know she is a witch?"

"She turned me into a newt. . .I got better."

All of the points that were made, though, are very good, and very well informed.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP7Z0nMuPZ8

here is that Bill O'reilly clip mentioned in the article.

I saw her acceptance speech this week at the RNC.... and the only thing that comes to mind is that the more she speak over the next few weeks, the more people she will alienate.

Her image of "hockey mom" is pretty much the equivalent of saying Martha Stewart is a homemaker.

Anonymous said...

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have been granted a cease and desist order against the GOP. The GOP is forbidden to use the song "Barracuda" from their second album Little Queen, and every other song ever written by the duo. Both were furious upon finding out that their music had been co-opted by a political organization that they do not support, and which did not ask their permission.

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image...[It] was written in the late '70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women...There's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there." the Wilsons said in an email to Entertainment Weekly. They are the fourth in a growing line of musicians that have requested that their music not be used. Previously, Jackson Browne, Boston and John Mellencamp have filed similar orders. Whether or not John Fogherty will remains to be seen given the GOP's use of his song Centerfield.

The song was chosen because of Sarah Palin's nickname Sarah Barracuda.

I'm really glad that the Wilson's already hit them. I've been fans of theirs for over twenty years now, and had a big crush on Ann Wilson growing up.

Choc-Master Ethan said...

I love the fact that Hilary Clinton inadvertantly paved the way for this PERSON to get the vice presidential nomination. Not only is her nomination a slap in Clinton's face, it is an insult to all the women who were supporting Clinton in her efforts... I can see it all going down: Bunch of old white men in an office somewhere saying, "We will nominate a woman! That way we will win all the Hilary supporters! Because heaven knows that all women look alike!"

Bill Graber said...

oh priceless....

ReneeG said...

Sarah Palin presents herself as speaking for mainstream Americans, but her stances — against reproductive choice, against equality for gays, against freedom of speech — are extreme.

Sign the Petition: Sarah Palin Doesn't Speak For Me!


https://secure.pfaw.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=action_palin

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the excellent article and the links to stories I hadn't heard before. I was particularly struck by the one where "our lady of family values" pretty much screwed over her own mother-in-law when she was running for Mayor of Wasilla, by endorsing her opponent who just happened to be another republican.

My all time favorite Sarah Palin story has to be one that goes along with her "famous" veto of the measure that would have denied benefits to same-sex partners of state government workers (not because it was the right thing to do mind you, but because the state AG warned her that the measure was unconstitutional). There was a little talked about companion bill with that one she had to veto, that she did sign onto. That one called for a statewide non-binding referendum on the issue of whether or not unmarried same-sex partners were entitled to said benefits, that took place last year (sadly it passed, fortunately it was non-binding and nearly 3 out of 4 voters ignored it all together). The cost to the state for this one issue "election" $1.2 million, the annual cost of the benefits for the sum total of 77 state employees who had either qualified for or had even applied for those benefits $313,000 and change. Why let such values as "fiscal conservativism" stand in the way of a good old-fashioned social conservative hissy fit???

http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/mccain_picks_alaska_governor_sarah_palin.php

Anonymous said...

Great article. I am sure people will enjoy it too.

Anonymous said...

Great Points one and all(except for the Looks comments, I really don't know about such things).

Anonymous said...

Excellent points :)

Anonymous said...

I have never been disappointed by anything I see in Lesbiatopia.com (I'm a gay man by the way). Whoever writes, edits, and publishes their articles is totally right on, all the time. This article was no exception. Keep it coming!

ReneeG said...

Thank you "Born that way" we are glad you enjoy reading as much as we enjoying writing/editing/publishing. Thank you so much for your kind words!

Anonymous said...

Is is me or does Sarah looke like Karen Walker's evil twin?

Anonymous said...

I had heard that she wanted books banned from the library, but not that she was going to fire the librarian for failing to remove them. WOW!(Nazi Nazi)
Great article by the way.

Anonymous said...

Yep! She Does Now that you mention it.

Sei said...

The icky news is that Sarah Palin is more popular right now than Senator Obama, and that more people tuned into Senator McCain's speech than Senator Obama's (but not by much). I don't expect it to last. Some women are busy jumping on the McCain trainwreck just because Palin's a woman. However, it isn't a large group. I suspect that things will fade as time goes along, but it is a bit disturbing.

Right now, Obama stands at 48%, McCain at 44%, and that was after Palin's speech, but not after his borefest. (Gallup.com)

Still, Biden's out there giving interviews, and Palin isn't.

Anonymous said...

Hillary is on a tear! Palin has no chance!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13193.html

Check it out!

Anonymous said...

From the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/us/politics/05dems.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Anonymous said...

had actually heard about all of this (except the hockey rink thing) from a mailer from MoveOn.org . But it's all presented here in such an entertaining fashion that it seems fresh.

We need to do everything we can to make sure this woman (Palin, not the writer) never gets within a heartbeat of the oval office. Who knows how many of those heartbeats John "But I was a prisoner of war so you owe this to me" McCain has?

Anonymous said...

Well She likened herself to a Pitbull, perhaps when she attacks and injures enough people as pitbulls are known to do.....
I found it interesting that she chose such a comparison for herself when talking about her family. I too, have a comparison, among the Legions during the early days of the Roman Empire, it was a common practice to put pair bonded couples together on the battlefield, knowing they would fight to the death to defend each other. That Empire covered a very large portion of the known world. Right now, her hostile rhetoric threatens MY family and MY life and I have no problem defending that to my last breath, so, who would you bet on now, a violent animal known to attack for no good reason, or people once thought enough of to be included in the battlefield as being one of the staunchest and most reliable of defenders of one of the largest empires ever known to have existed?

Trop said...

"old enough to remember when that was your only option"

There is a second option and it is a lot simpler. Don't get pregnant if you don't want a baby.

Sei said...

Trop-

Although Ma'amselle Lezident is exagerating slightly, it is only just slightly. If only it were so simple to say ‘just don’t get pregnant.’

My grandmother had three siblings. I only ever met two of them. One of my grandmother's siblings was promised all the nice things, all the right things in that day and age (early 1940's), and even promised marriage by this guy who was courting her. He abandoned her soon after they had sex. She got pregnant, and she went to an abortionist who was neither competent, nor qualified. She died of a hemorrhage a few days later. She was lied to, and it ultimately cost her her life.

And then there are the babies that played a large part in leading to Roe v. Wade, the children of thalidomide. Their deformities were, in large part, why the courts finally overturned the laws banning abortion. There are so many cases where children are born so deformed that there is no hope for them to live long beyond birth. And there are so many cases where a mother’s life is in peril and it comes down to the life of one, or the death of both. In one Central American nation, they followed Pope Benedict’s edict and banned all abortions. They have seen a massive spike in infant and maternal mortality. Where once they had a low number of deaths during pregnancy, now that number has more than doubled in just a year.

I am not sure if my morals would lead me to be able to have an abortion, but I am not going to make that decision for someone else. My religious beliefs prevent me from going down that path, but my beliefs also demand that I not take that right from others.

I do not support abortion as a form of birth control, but the banning of abortion is also something that should not happen. We need to teach safe sex practices, and teach our children to respect themselves and their partners. In many ways, having a high self esteem is a prime way to avoid getting pregnant.

It is one thing to morally object to a law or a practice and not partake of them yourself. It is another to demand that others follow your religious and personal beliefs no matter what they believe. I never have to get married. I never have to own a gun. I never have to own a house. However, those should be my decisions and not someone else’s.

I am sorry if this is a bit long, and a bit strong, but it is a subject laced with strong emotions, and with a lot of depth beyond the normal shouting matches you hear.

Anonymous said...

palin looks like a cartoon character from scooby doo.

Anonymous said...

You absolutely rock.

What nauseates me is that Palin is now polling more favorably with the American public than either Obama or McCain per today's Rasmussen Report.

All we need after the past eight years is for McCain to keel over and have this Lara Croft wannabe leading us closer to Armageddon.

Trop said...

I'm not about to take anyone's choice away. I realize there are situations when terminating a pregnancy is a viable option.

I believe it is a private matter between a woman, her doctor, and the baby's father. I think the abortion fight is the wrong fight. People should be demanding an amendment that guarantees our right to privacy. That way, government is clearly prohibited from interfering.

Still, as I've told my 15-year old daughter (who I hope hold will onto her virginity for at least a few more years), "If you do not want to have a baby, do not get pregnant. If that means do not have sex, then don't."

For the record, she knows I'll set her up with contraceptives and condoms when she's ready to be sexually active.

Sei said...

Trop-

Thank you for clarifying, and I'm always willing to be corrected. I reacted to what seemed like a very black and white statement. My appologies as there was no offense meant. It sounds like you took a page from the same book my mother taught me and my sister from.

And I agree with you on the amendment. There are so many that we could use that would codify many of the things that got placed into our government by tradition or habit that benifitted us, and are now being stripped away by people with no regard for the freedoms of other.

Anonymous said...

Give me a break! The only book she wanted banned was BAMBI! The only one she ever read.

Anonymous said...

Aaaaayyyymennnn, brother!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, nice boobs, but oh my Lord that VOICE. (shudder) Jerry Lundergaard's even more amoral sister.

Anonymous said...

Her speech reminded me of Edie McClurg speaking

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566052/

Anonymous said...

Oh Yeah! "He's a righteous duude."

I cannot get over them fawning over her. Republican women in leadership roles must just be steaming. Her speech was mediocre boilerplate at best.

Anonymous said...

Sarah Palin is to ignorant (probably more than Cheney, Bush and McCain combined) to be VP... She is a danger to US. Not because she is evil... because she ignores a lot of stuff. Ignorance is what kills and if McCain get elected I can see US going into a deep depresion that no one will be able to repair.

J said...

Hey Trop--I know women who were incested by their fathers as kids. I appreciate that you are teaching your children to make smart decisions, but believe: there is some fucked-up shit out there, and not all women nor girls have the choice to "just not have sex."

I also believe women should be able to get an abortion for any reason, because women are smart enough to know when bringing a kid into their lives is a bad idea. Simple as that.

Me. Here. Right now. said...

I'd like to point out, as the parent of three teenage children, that as most of us can attest, our parents, no matter how "cool and informed" did not know the first time we had sex. No matter how well prepared or how much you believe they understand what can happen - stuff happens.

There was an interesting article in the Chi Trib this month on the topic.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-teen-pregnancy-thinksep07,0,4328153.story

ML put it perfectly - Our bodies, our decision.