A Matter of Politics?

IF I were American, and that's a big IF considering that even though I reside in this great country, I see no reason to turn my back on my Canadian heritage, I would be confused right about now.  In fact, I'm not American and I'm confused.  And while the issue causing my head scratching is not new, the intensity of my confusion is, based on recent events, not the least of which is John McCain's choice for Veep, Sarah Palin. 

Let me preface by saying that while I'm not a card-carrying feminist by any means, I would love to see a woman in the White House.  After all, behind every most great men is a great woman and I think this country would only benefit from a female perspective in this ole' Boys Club called the United States. 

But it seems that Sarah Palin is just a man with a vagina.

After 9/11, my feeling in choosing a leader for the country was that it superseded party.  Republican, democrat or environmental, whatever registration we chose seemed secondary to our feelings about George W.'s war.  Should we stay?  Get out?  Fight their dirty fight or give everyone the "right to a fair trial?"  (I say string 'em up by their balls in the heart of Times Square and sell tickets.)  But all this aside, this year's race was exciting, at least until Hillary had to take a back seat to a guy who has a persistent shit-eating look about him.  So this left McCain.

I thought there was something about him I trusted (not necessarily his politics, but I digress).  Maybe it was his grand-fatherly appearance, his appealing demeanor, I can't put my finger on it.  So when he chose virtually unknown Sarah Palin as his running mate, it was reason enough to hit the web.

In no particular order, here are a few basic facts I learned about the 44-year-old governor of Alaska:

• She's a former beauty queen.  (no bearing on current status but amusing nonetheless.)
• She's got no foreign policy experience and her positions were unclear at the time she was picked as McCain's running mate.
• She chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for a year.  As a side note, she also thinks polar bears should be taken off the endangered species list.  Coincidence?  Nope!  Palin wants to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling (it's currently Federally protected).
• She looooves guns.  This one causes me to scratch my head till it bleeds but anyhow.
• She believes in marriage only between a man and a woman.  WHAT.EVER.

But here's my real problem:

• Palin is, in her own words, "as pro-life any candidate can be." 

Even in the case of incest and rape, Palin is anti-abortion.  A member of the group, Feminists for Life, unless the mother's life is threatened, Palin does not believe in terminating any pregnancy.  For me, there are two sides to this: a) are pro-life and pro-choice actually opposite? And b) while this group is so concerned with protecting a bunch of cells that may or may not be considered a "life", are they as concerned with this life after it is born to an unwed 17-year-old heroin-addicted "mother" who leaves it alone for days?  Are they there to nurture an unwanted baby as the ambivalent "mother" does as she pleases?  What about the baby born out of a violent act, is the Feminists for Life group around when it's time to explain who Daddy was?

I could go on and on.  Essentially, while it is not my opinion that abortion be used as birth control and I do believe, in many instances, that there are alternatives, I do firmly believe in a woman's right to choose what happens to her own body ESPECIALLY where there is a life-altering decision to be made about it.

But seriously people, and this is where my dire confusion comes in: what do a woman's uterus and her politics have in common anyway?

Updated: I realized I didn't acknowledge Palin's personal family life and the way it might or might not interfere with her performance should she become this country's next VP.  This woman had a baby FOUR freakin' months ago!  Not just any baby, but a baby who is Down Syndrome and may need a little extra attention from his family in order to reach his full potential.  K wait, and her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant too.  I don't know about you, but in her shoes, I would be riddled with family obligations right about now and THIS WOULD BE MY #1 PRIORITY.  Not one to hastily judge someone's character by her personal choices, unfortunately, this calls into question this woman's character so deeply, it's hard to ignore.

I'm done now. 

Comments

[Katja]

there is so much that I would like to say to this (no time!)..
You rock and I totally agree with you. And I'm not American.

[Erin]

I could post my thoughts, but it'd be so much easier to just say YES, YES, AND YES to all that you said!

[laura]

aren't you in the "hot blogger calendar"? and you're pointing out that sp was a beauty queen in 1984...just sayin'.

[Jill]

If I ever run for office, I'll be sure to be amused by this fact for myself as well. ??

[laura]

just wondering if that made you a "man with a vagina" as well, since you're engaging in a similar activity...

[Elliott]

I don't understand. Are you saying that being a "real" woman is defined by a list of behaviors that you deem to be male behavior? Or does a woman have to have specific politics to be a "real" woman? Do we now have a new litmus test to define gender identity?

Only half of the people in the United States vote. Of that half, we have been split down the middle pretty evenly. Therefore, there are a lot of women, by your definition, that do not realize that they are actually men with female anatomy.

Have we slipped into some kind of looking glass? Politics is now trumping everything. "Feminists" are now mute as the media rapes the 2nd woman in our history to be on a presidential ticket, simply because they don't agree with her politics. What?? We are men and women first - way before we choose up sides. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

[Elliott]

I think that many people have forgotten that it was Bill Clinton, hero of liberals everywhere, that signed the Defense of Marriage Act. It was also Bill Clinton that signed the absurd "Don't Ask Don't Tell" military policy, thereby forcing gay people to remain in the closet if they want to serve in our military.

Both of these things are routinely blamed on Republicans. Why are people content to be so misinformed? Is it just easier to believe the hype?

[Jill]

I'm loving the heated comments people! Thank you for taking the time to add your thoughts and opinions. Keep it coming!

[Jill]

@Laura I'm not sure why you insist on coming back to this one point. Nowhere am I critisizing the beauty queen thing, in fact, I clearly stated that it has "no bearing on current status but [is] amusing nonetheless." Can we move on?

[laura]

you included it as a reason that she is a man with a vagina, along with her love of guns, etc. that's why i keep coming back to it. i'm not trying to argue about it, but just think it might have been better left out of the reasons you consider sarah palin to be a man with a vagina.

[laura]

clearly, i am more offended by this label, than anything. am i too a man with female anatomy because i'm a working mom? or because i might be a defender of an american's right to bear arms?

[Jill]

@ Laura - Are you & I reading the same thing??? I listed it under "a few basic facts I learned about the 44-year-old governor of Alaska." Nowhere did I attrubute that facetious comment to any of these bullet points.

[Jill]

@Laura. Sorry to offend you. Not my intention. More to come in coming weeks on this...

[trisha]

Are we really, in 2008, not only judging a mother for working outside her home, but inferring that because she does, she is incapable of watching her disabled child? Last time I checked, she has a husband as well. I realize that not all men are as good care givers as mothers, but she obviously trusts her husband to have five children with him and take on the rolls she has, so he must be doing a good job. My Dh is amazing and watches our child 50% of the time. I work 10 hours a day and am a damn good mother and I work in the home..but im sometimes busier the someone outside the home.

Some of the points here, I have to say, are pointless. She loves guns? Um, based on what. She hunts? She lives in alaska. One of my very good friends lives in alaska. Its a pretty rural place as compared to the rest of america. They HUNT to EAT. After discussing with my friend Palin as her state govenor, she said that Palin has been amazing and has an excellent family and also backed up that she hunts for food, as many families still do. Yes, this has a HUGE bearing on our stance as a VP. LOL!

If someone took apart my life, they would say that I am a dog hating, only want one kid because I am selfish, cant stand going to the park, would rather go out then cook, and ignore my child for two online businesses so I am a terrible mother. When in fact, I would rather have cats, focus on the one child that I have, like to have personal time for my husband and I to be connected, and have dreams outside of just being a mom and a wife.

And I am Pro-Choice, HOWEVER, I do not give one Iota if she is Pro-Life, or how she feels about it. We have had a gaggle of presidents and vps that are pro-life and the laws are not going to change in 4 years because she is pro-life. In fact, she ISNT going to be president, she isnt on the supreme court, last time I checked she should be able to have her personal beliefs.

Whats funny is that I read articles like this condemning politicians, no matter WHAT side they are on, and its just a bunch of media propaganda.

At the end of the day, I want to knowt he policies they want to enforce, the people they are planning to put in the cabinets, and what their agendas are when they get here.

DO I care about if Palin picked her gstring out of her ass in 12th grade? no. Do I care if Obama smoked crack when he was in his 20's (and he did, not making that up). Nope.

Tell me NOW.

But as a woman, as a mother, as a working woman, I do take offense to infering she is incable of caring for her child because she would have a job.

Can we all please remember that she is NOT running for president.

Ok, moving on now.

trisha

[laura]

@jill thank you. that just rubbed me wrong...and *sometimes* i get all charged up in the heat of the moment. xoxo

[Jill]

Trisha - I honestly do think taking on a role as VP of the US is choosing career over family and as you personally know, I am a working mom as well so clearly I am not critisizing the working mom. I worry about family values in this country as it is and this choice does nothing to alleviate those concerns. We can agree to disagree about roe v. wade (I have trouble reconciling a person who is pro-life but at the same time is an avid hunter) but I do agree with your point about policies, agendas and so on.

[Elliott]

Trisha - good points. This country will never again be a place where coat-hanger abortions are taking place in dark alleys. The bigger issue is that we are clearly divided on this issue. For the most part, people will stick to their positions. We have much bigger things to be dealing with.

I just can't seem to wrap my head around this new revelation that feminism is not about being a woman. It is about being a liberal woman. And that disqualifies a HUGE percentage of women in our country from being, well, women. I mean, if NOW is only going to seek the best interest of liberal or pro-choice women, then why not say they are for liberal women's rights? Why the facade? Does this mean we need 2 separate definitions of feminism? Or even womanhood itself?

There are always bigger points to be seen that transcend politics.

[trisha]

What? Family values? Call me confused, but you mentioend about her character and staying at home w/ a disabled child. What about her husband. Can they BOTH stay at home? No way, they have to afford a lifestyle for their family, and they do. Are you saying that a MAN should be the one to go to work and she shoudl stay at home? Cause.....that would be a bit on the sexist side.

I pay the mortgage in my family by my online businesses. I work sometimes 15 HOURS a day. Is my family suffering..sure, some days. I cant do this and them always. Are they warped, no way. They see my doing successful things, I can afford to take care of them, and they are learning independance.

Am i less of a family woman because I dont play a traditional pearls and heels role? I just think Im confused on the exact stance here.

And RVW was in the 70's...its not going anywhere in 4 years, it really isnt.

[Jill]

@ Elliot. Good food for thought. My problem is that I don't believe any part of this abortion issue has any place in a presidential campaign. Nor do I believe the government has any place in making decisions that I make about my own body. And while I do agree it will never (I hope) have any bearing in the future, it just doesn't make sense to me why this particular hot-button is constantly on the top 5 list of a candidates positions. There are SO many much more dire issues that need addressing.

[trisha]

What? Family values? Call me confused, but you mentioend about her character and staying at home w/ a disabled child. What about her husband. Can they BOTH stay at home? No way, they have to afford a lifestyle for their family, and they do. Are you saying that a MAN should be the one to go to work and she shoudl stay at home? Cause.....that would be a bit on the sexist side.

I pay the mortgage in my family by my online businesses. I work sometimes 15 HOURS a day. Is my family suffering..sure, some days. I cant do this and them always. Are they warped, no way. They see my doing successful things, I can afford to take care of them, and they are learning independance.

Am i less of a family woman because I dont play a traditional pearls and heels role? I just think Im confused on the exact stance here.

And RVW was in the 70's...its not going anywhere in 4 years, it really isnt.

[Toni]

So let me get this straight because she is for gun rights and against abortion no matter what the circumstance she is now a man with a vagina????!!!!!!

that is absolutely ridiculous I feel exactly the same way as she does on almost everything and that does not make me any less of a woman or any less of a feminist. Damn right I am for gun rights I want to be able to protect myself and my husband wants to hunt for food for us. Yeah lets outlaw all guns and let some scum come in from the streets break into my house and me have to call the police and wait and hope they get here before he massacres my whole family. And my husband is an avid hunter not for sport but for food. Did you ever stop to think that maybe those are the same cases for this woman.

And the comments about her being a mother in the white house with 5 children and one with ds is making her selfish what the hell ever, um so I am guessing if this were reversed and she was a man people would not be mentioning it at all it is such a double standard and all the people that are questioning her ability to do both I have a notion that maybe it's because she makes them feel inferior because the particular person commenting doesn't think they personally could do that well shock of all shocks they are not her, so if she knows she can do it why the hell is everyone judging her and making her out to be a bad guy when if she was a male there would be nothing said, what a hypocritical world we live in.

Another thing I am sick of is people questioning her parenting in the election....yes her daughter got pregnant but that is not any reflection on this woman. We can teach our children all the values we want and how to be responsible but we can't be attached to their a@@ 24 hours a day everyday and it is ultimately their decision. Just like we can teach our children not to talk back but chances are they won't always listen. and that is not a reflection on her parenting or character. And why the heck is this being brought up are there not more important issues everyone should be looking at.

I think this woman has done awesome things for alaska in fact I have a friend who lives there who has raved about her I think I will send her this way. I can't wait to see the good things she will help accomplish once in office.

[Jill]

@Trisha. Agree on RVW. However successful you are (and I do love your websites and your drive), you are not the Vice President of the United States and call me presumptuous, but I would think that your jobs do not have the same types of pressures as that of the Vice President...

[Jill]

Love the debate! However, I'll be shutting down to get on a plane to Vegas so I can find other, more *fun* things to write about and show you. :)

[trisha]

My point is jill, that if she was a man, we wouldnt consider her family an issue. ALl presidents that I can think of in my lifetime had children, and it was not an issue. Why is it that hers is an issue and she is a woman? Her DH isnt capabale? I am just really confused at the double standard.

Doesnt OBama have kids? Are they going to be neglected too?

No one has mentioned that at all.

[Toni]

Oh and yes I am totally against abortion too but I am still for womens rights in almost every other area so just because she is against that doesn't mean she doesn't support women.