I hope a lot of you have been following the Republican Convention. I think Sarah Palin's speech told us a lot about her. Her reference to herself as a "pit bull" was appropriate. Not only did her speech scare me, but when the audience began to boo Obama, I was appalled. I thought only mobs did such things, not well educated, civilized individuals.
She reminds me of a female Rush Limbaugh. She was sarcastic and mean. She ridiculed the real work Barack Obama did helping people on the South Side of Chicago. She lied about Democratic tax cuts and offered the same old republican rhetoric of trickle down economics.
Her speech, which was written by one of President Bush's speechwriters, didn't tell us the truth about Sarah Palin's extremist positions.
She has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Palin told members of the group -- who advocate for a vote on secession from the union -- to "keep up the good work" and "wished the party luck on what she called its 'inspiring convention.'"
Palin has close ties to big oil. She does not believe in global warming and her inauguration was sponsored by BP, otherwise known as British Petroleum.
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Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. She opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches.
As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them. News reports from the time show that Palin threatened to fire the librarian for not giving "full support" to the mayor.
She did support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). Palin claimed that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks. Congress decided not to build the bridge, not Palin, and she still kept the money.
Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task." She's even admitted she hasn't thought about the war much -- just last year she was quoted saying, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."
Palin did a great job delivering a Karl Rove style attack speech. That makes her a skilled politician but it doesn't make her someone who will unite Americans or take us in a new direction. After Bush, we do not need another far-right ideologue in the White House. -- Marietta Keenan, Rochert
