What do conservatives think about the Palin-pick? I'm pretty sure the REAL ones are pissed!

I'm confused.  (It happens.)

Why in the world are conservatives OK with McCain using one of their own, Palin, for his personal political gain?

Back when McCain secured just enough primary votes to become the inevitable nominee, that didn't stop the Republican party base from voicing their serious doubts about his policies and ideologies.  Huckabee ran for weeks longer than it made any sense to, just to highlight that the REAL conservatives- the pro-life, pro-gun, Christian-world social conservatives- were not pleased with the direction their party was headed.

So now they've gotten a bone thrown their way.  Palin was chosen completely on an ideology (certainly not "experience," which as a word has been so distorted in the past week in trying to make her seem to have some that it has lost all meaning) that lines up with Evangelical and ultra-conservative voters.  But is McCain really doing his base a favor, or sticking a finger in their eye?

Palin is a complete unknown to any American who either isn't from Alaska or hasn't spent the last months online performing their own amateur VP search (which is how her name got floated in the first place... by a college-republican blogger) and will be more of a lame duck than any other VP has ever been.  Bringing no real credentials of any kind to the table, I can't imagine that anyone expects McCain to ask her opinion while in office, or even to acknowledge that she exists once all of her fundraising/female-vote-getting potential has been squeezed out.  He made Sarah Palin, and basically now owns her to be used as his campaigning tool.  McCain has returned to the days of Quayle, courting only those shallow enough to be swayed by a smiling face next to his in photos.

If McCain was going to pick a social ultra-conservative all along, why not pick one with a connection to the national scene and a network of political and social connections that affords them some power to actually promote the conservative agenda?  Why not a VP from, oh, some less than three-thousand miles away from Washington?  Why not somebody who comes to the ticket with a little oomph, like a Huckabee who has an entire organization of like-minded politicians and citizens behind him and will actually affect policy-making in the US?  It feels like McCain chose the most easily subdued Evangelical Christian candidate he could possibly find, instead of picking one of the movement's better known national leaders- and I just expected people to be a little more pissed off about this.

Full Disclosure: Why I like (but probably won't vote for) Sarah Palin

I like Palin a lot.  She has spent her political life in a total bubble, and because of this has been afforded the freedom to remain bi-partisan and totally independent.  I don't agree with her socially conservative religious beliefs (anti-gay, pro-life, pro-gun) yet her little bit of legislative work has actually gone against these beliefs, such as when she upheld the rights of homosexuals to get healthcare for their partners by laying her veto-pen to a proposed benefits ban,  a step closer to gay marriage than I'd ever expect Alaska to get.  And why did she say she let gays keep such a right, against the will of the people of Alaska?

"Advice from her new attorney general said the bill passed by the Legislature was unconstitutional, she said. "Signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office," Palin said in a prepared statement released by her administration Thursday night.  For supporters, the Supreme Court ruling was considered a victory for gay rights and civil liberties. To opponents, it equated same-sex partners with married couples, despite the state's ban on gay marriage.

That link goes to the full article published in the Anchorage Daily News.

And then check out this article in the New Yorker which is at least good for the sheer amount of quotes that it has gathered from the Alaskan Gov.

From her lips:

“Turning maybe purple in the state means, to me, it’s more independent, it’s not the obsessive partisanship that gets in the way of doing what’s right for this state, and I think on a national level that’s what we’re gonna see.”

As an independent who is fed up with all this red state blue state propagandist crapola, I like the way that sounds.  Too bad she is simply under-qualified to be President of the United States and wasn't allowed to develop as a politician naturally, instead being plucked out of Alaska and forced to sit on a bus (or plane) all day with McCain's wacky advisors who are whispering who-knows-what in her ear all day long.

A Match Made in Hollywood

If you thought that the idea of using some unknown woman as a hail mary pass attempt at winning this election was even slightly ridiculous...

Remember, it was the plot of a prime-time TV program here in the US called Commander In Chief!

On his deathbed, the President admits to his VP that she was just a gimmick to draw in more votes, and he never intended her to lead the country.

In this scene, a top advisor explains why she should step down and let a man take her place:

"Mackenzie Allen (Academy Award-winner Geena Davis), the 45-year-old Independent Vice President of the United States, is about to venture into territory no woman has entered before. While at an official ceremony with husband and Chief of Staff, Rod Calloway (Kyle Secor), she is informed by the President's Chief of Staff, Jim Gardner (Harry Lennix), and the Attorney General that President Bridges is about to undergo emergency brain surgery for a tumor. Mackenzie is stunned when Gardner tells her that in the event the President does not recover, the party doesn't want her to succeed him. Instead, she's asked to step down in order to allow the Speaker of the House to assume the post, as he shares the party's ideals. Mackenzie's doubts are confirmed when she visits President Bridges at the hospital and hears from him directly that he wants her to resign. Bridges dies before transition plans are finalized, however, and after sitting through an insulting and sexist conversation with Speaker of the House, Nathan Templeton (Donald Sutherland), Mackenzie decides to forge ahead and assume the presidency despite the obstacles that lie ahead. Aside from the challenges Mackenzie faces, husband Rod has his own hurdles to overcome, as he finds himself being ushered into a pink and feminine office by the first lady's aide. Her children, six-year-old Amy (Jasmine Anthony), as well as twins Horace (Matt Lanter), one of the most popular kids in school, and Rebecca (Caitlin Wachs), a rebellious teenager with raging hormones, must also learn to deal with their mother's new role of the leader of the free world. Meeting with a saddened Congress and addressing a stunned nation, Mackenzie delivers an inaugural speech with the help of press secretary Kelly Ludlow (Ever Carradine), which manages to unite a grieving country, quell the critics who feel she's not up to the task, and look to the bright future which lies ahead, led by the first female President of the United States."

And in case you were wondering, the show was cancelled after one season.

Welcome!

Having grown tired of trying to interact with overly-partisan bloggers and blog-comment-trolls, I've opened up shop on my own turf.

The intention of this blog is simply to foster discussion among independent-minded voters who are wary of "Talking Points" and those who continually echo them.  If enough people really want to participate in such talk, I'll gladly push this blog onto a fully devoted website, but for now I'm testing the waters here at blogspot.com.

Please let me know what you think!  And I hope you enjoy my little corner of the internet, away from all the disgusting foam that flies from the smacking lips of those who choose to rabidly follow whatever orders are given them by their favorite partisan party leaders, radio hosts, pundits and bloggers.