September 1, 2008
In a perfect world, there would be a floor fight to take Sarah Palin off the ticket at the Republican Convention. It would make for some good TV this week. On the Friday, August 29 program, Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO), National Public Radio’s Michel Martin made the strident claim that those who criticize Sarah Palin “do so at their peril”. Sarah Palin is a Gumball. There. I will say it again, as well. Although I would agree that anyone who resorts to sexist criticism of Palin does so at their own peril, there is plenty of room for reasoned dismay at McCain’s choice. Meanwhile, Michel Martin’s claim that Palin’s experience is analogous to Tim Kaine’s experience, should have been made at Martin’s peril. Actually, it was. Tim Kaine is the Governor of a state that just happens to be next door to our nation’s Capitol. Virginia’s population is 7,702,091 people. The population of Alaska is less than one tenth of that at 683,478. Although Kaine’s time served as Governor of Virginia is equivalent to the time served by Palin as Governor of Alaska, Kaine previously served four years as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia — a job with similar day-to-day duties as those of the Vice-President of the United States. You see, both the Lieutenant Governor and the Vice-President preside over a body called “the Senate”. The Lieutenant Governor presides over the State Senate and the Vice-President presides over the United States Senate. The Gumball made the mistake of asking the question, into a TV camera, of what the everyday duties of the Vice-President might be. Tim Kane learned the answer by presiding over the Virginia Senate for four years. In case The Gumball doesn’t know (and she doesn’t, by her own admission) Kane’s duties as Lieutenant Governor matched those of the Vice President of the United States. Michel Martin must be aware of this … she just might not want anyone else to be so aware. Before Tim Kaine was Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, he was the Mayor of Richmond Virginia for four years. Two years ago, The Gumball was the mayor of her home town: Wasilla, Alaska (population 9,000). Tim Kaine was the mayor of a city with a population over twenty times the size of Wasilla, Alaska, at 200,123 people. Tim Kaine went to law school (Georgetown). The Gumball didn’t, nor did John McCain.
The stupidity of this episode is “off the charts”. On the heels of an outrageously successful Democratic Convention, McCain has made a desperate reach for those disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton. At the same time, with his choice of The Gumball, McCain has sold out to the televangelist lobby in the hope of connecting with that ever-elusive Republican “base”. The term “desperate” has been used by many commentators. Jonathan Alter of Newsweek was kind enough to analogize the selection of Palin to a “Hail Mary” or “Hail Sarah” pass at the end of a close football game. McCain’s media sycophants claim that McCain’s selection of Palin as his running mate, reinforces his “maverick” persona. To the contrary, if McCain really were a maverick, he would be standing up to the televangelist lobby, rather than sucking up to it, as he is with this choice.
Sarah Palin (a/k/a “The Gumball”) is a “wing nut” who wants creationism to be taught in public schools and who refuses to believe that global warming has been caused by human activity. To her credit, Palin went to term with a baby known to have Down Syndrome, based on her anti-abortion stance. Her ability to do the anti-abortion walk as well as the anti-abortion talk will give her some degree of “street cred” with a limited population.
Nevertheless, with his choice of Palin, McCain has alienated his own “base” – the independents, moderate Republicans and centrists who believed that once elected President, McCain would tear off the rubber mask and return to his old self. As Arianna Huffington said a while ago: “The John McCain of 2000 is not a candidate in this election.” McCain’s choice of The Gumball just drove that message home.
The fact that The Gumball was not adequately vetted, has become glaringly obvious to many Republicans. She hasn’t been Governor of Alaska for two years and yet, she is already in trouble there. A special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate her activity. She has been accused of “abuse of power”. Our current Vice-President has that as his middle name. This situation should make life easy for those writing the negative ads about the Republican ticket.
As long as Michel Martin has directed our attention to Tim Kaine, let’s remember where he was born: a city named St. Paul, Minnesota. If you want to find out what life is like there now, with the Republican Convention taking place, read Lindsay Beyerstein’s article, “Inside an RNC Raid” at Firedoglake.com. It will make you sick, with reports of warrantless searches at homes — even one owned by a former military police officer. When a woman staying at the house discussed in the story asked for a warrant, she was detained. Local police were blended with apparent “contractors” or private Gestapo-for-hire. Of course, this is all completely illegal in the United States where we have lived for all our lives. Those in control of the 2008 Republican Party don’t care about the rule of law. They make a point of promoting “leaders” who know nothing about it, either. The reasons for this are obvious.
Home Improvement With Norm And Ted
December 15, 2008
The battle for Norm Coleman’s Senate seat, representing Minnesota, continues to drag on toward the new year. Democratic candidate Al Franken inched closer to victory when the state Canvassing Board ruled that more than 1,600 absentee ballots were improperly rejected by local officials. As Curt Brown reported in the December 14 Minneapolis Star Tribune:
There are a couple of similarities between the Senatorial election in Minnesota and the Senatorial election in Alaska. When Alaska Senator Ted Stevens lost his bid for re-election in the 2008 Senate race, it was the count of absentee and questioned ballots that determined the outcome of that event, as reported in the November 20 Seattle Times. More importantly, the crucial factor motivating voters in the Alaska election was also discussed in that article:
Prior to the resolution of that race, there was a good deal of discussion concerning the likelihood that the Senate would not tolerate the membership of a convicted felon in their exclusive organization.
Meanwhile, Senator Norm Coleman is facing questions from reporters over his own home improvement scandal. Although he is not presently facing criminal charges for any wrongdoing in this matter, the FBI has begun an investigation into the money trail left by $75,000 in campaign contributions. On Thursday, December 11, Fox 9 of St. Paul provided this:
It’s nice to know that we can count on a Fox news outlet for a good scandal, and if we’re lucky, it might even involve a Republican. Although Coleman was not named as a defendant in either lawsuit, the FBI investigation into the campaign contributions could eventually give Coleman some more serious headaches. At this point, it seems as though Coleman could document that he paid for the remodeling project by refinancing his home. However, did the refinancing cover the entire $414,000 cost? Even if Coleman is re-elected, could we eventually get to the point where the Senate, itself, has to consider giving him the boot? Stay tuned.