Sarah Palin Rocks My World
Here are some thoughts about why. Those of you who have been reading this election blog know that my political beliefs lean to the conservative point of view. Yet, I am not a Republican because my views differ from politicians, in general, and the positions of politicians from any party often fail to resonate with me.
I’m not particularly religious and believe abortion was never an issue for the legislature or the courts to legislate. Abortion, which has become such a polarizing issue, and unfortunately, for many women, their main issue, is a decision that involves four entities: the woman, her partner, her doctor, and her god, if she believes in one. So, Gov. Sarah Palin and I have our disagreements.
But we also agree on fundamental issues crucial to America. I’ll take a quick look at three: government-provided health care, the environment, and fiscal conservatism. (While I’m not a Republican, the Republican Party often closely mirrors my beliefs.)As a business owner, I care about our several hundred employees and their children. In fact, at every company sponsored employee event, I am privileged to meet new babies. I attend their weddings and their family funerals.
We pride ourselves as an organization on our ability to offer our employees the best comprehensive benefits package we can afford. So, socialistic, government-run health care, no matter the politician’s agenda, is unlikely to resonate with me on any level and from either party. Government never runs anything better, and more cost effectively, than the private sector; one of the snags in the current health care system is government regulation. And, when did government become responsible to take care of every need of every citizen? Our Founding Fathers are turning in their graves.
I have looked at health care as provided in Canada and England. Such socialistic approaches will reduce the quality of the care our employees now receive. Many businesses will find this, I believe. Ms. Palin believes that health care must be business and market driven and that competition, not government handling and regulation, will hold down costs. She believes that access to medical quality records and costs should be transparent to the American people.
On the subject of energy, Ms. Palin also reflects my views. When I last blogged the U.S. Conservatives site, I read intensively about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the concerns of environmentalists and found little merit in them. I agree with Ms. Palin who favors more offshore oil drilling and oil exploration in ANWR to supplement research and exploration of sustainable energy choices. We must seek American independence in fulfilling energy needs. Environmentalists, of course, disagree.
Ms. Palin is doubtful about the relationship between global warming and human activity. In a recent interview, she said: “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.” I agree, the science doesn’t add up, despite former Vice President Al Gore’s alarmist writing and speaking.
Ms. Palin believes in fiscal conservatism and has demonstrated for over ten years that she lives her stated belief. She cuts taxes (property taxes were reduced by 60% in Wasilla, AK while she served as mayor.) She is a reformer who exposes and fights government corruption. About.com’s Kimberly Amadeo, who writes about the U.S. economy, says:
“As Governor, Palin sought to spur economic growth and increase energy supplies by supporting drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). She signed a contract for a $26 billion natural gas pipeline with TransCanada Corp. To help Alaskans with high gas prices, she gave a one-time $1,200 tax rebate and repealed the state’s 8-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax for a year. The funds for these consumer rebates will come from a windfall profits tax she imposed on oil companies last year.”
Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention was brilliant – and brilliantly executed. She exhibited dignity, composure, and character and presented her convictions and beliefs to the minds and hearts of 37 million watching Americans. She spoke amidst thunderous applause and approbation. A new joy encompasses the Republican Party as they offer their strong ticket to America. Sarah, you rock. Rock on with boldness and conviction.
This week's previous posts (most recent first): Something To Believe In, The Cheerful Warrior, The Future of America, America First, The Wreckage, Hurricanes and Elections, Forget the High Road, What This Election is Really About
Comments
I completely agree. I am so glad that this fiscal conservative and clear minded candidate is on the ticket. The fact that she is a woman and a mom is gravy!
Hi Susan,
While you are entitled to your perspective as much as I am, ask yourself as to what you really heard from Ms. Palin that is going to solve the real problems that is facing this nation – economy, respect in the world, mortgage crisis. I did not hear one thing being mentioned by Palin that addressed any of this. Yes, she delivered a great speech – reading from the teleprompter – if that is what we want out of a VP candidate who is literally running with a Presidential candidate who is 72 years old and had four bouts of cancer, maybe we should hire good public speakers for the VP position.
It is very easy for McCain to stand up there and say that the party has lost its way – really? So is that what you want to tell people who have lost jobs, lost their homes? On September 11, the whole world stood behind this country, now we have become a laughing stock of the whole world. How do I know – I have travelled around the world and have heard people ridicule us.
Mr. McCain has a great biography and I respect what he did at Hanoi Hilton, but this is not an election to vote the best personality but to elect a president who will bring fresh ideas to the table. McCain is part of the establishment that lost its way and has a large role in the crisis we face.
As far as Ms. Palin is concerned, saying that I have been a first time governor of a state that was closest to Russia gives me foreign policy experience is a joke. Probably the Russians, Chinese and the muslim terrorists are laughing their guts out hearing this.
Then attacking Barack saying that he was a community organizer is a slap on those people who toil in their community when the government is fast asleep or is being run by the lobbyists. She would rather go moose hunting than help her community I assume. Then she turns around and wants to talk about small government – who the heck is going to help the community then – the very community organizers who she has chosen to ridicule.
They say respect the competition and then beat them. Ridiculing the competition is not reflective of character.
Again, I respect your opinion, but wanted you to hear the other side as well.
You should investigate a little more before you write about Sarah Palin. Her speech was full of lies, and nothing more than a well written crowd pleaser for the hardline right.
How are you considered a fiscal conservative when you hire a federal lobbyist, and travel to Washington on your own, to secure federal funds for a tiny town of ~5500 people? The town of Wasilla was left $20 million in debt after Palin had her run as mayor. The town had zero prior.
Check out the Alaska state budget as well, it increased by 27% in her first 2 years of office.
Oh yea, and that bridge to no-where, the one she said “no thanks” to washington for the money? She forgot to mention she ran her Gubernatorial campaign as the “pro-bridge” candidate, and only stopped the bridge project once it started to become national news. The best part is that she kept the money anyway!
So I assume that ‘thanks but no thanks’ doesn’t really translate from Alaskan to English, or it was just another lie?
Yea, Palin rocks! She chose not to endorse McCain, even after Romney dropped out! But now she loves him! McCain criticized Palin several times (and honestly probably didn’t want to select her for the VP role over his good buddy Lieberman) but now all of a sudden she’s his right hand (wo)man.
What a fraud.
From another blog post. My opinion.
As a Republican male that has supported the career of my professional spouse for 30 years, I’m frustrated at the reaction of women in this country. I experienced, indirectly as a husband, the difficulties my wife had working in executive roles in a mans world. Always breaking new ground and having to be that much better than a man. Having to deal with the insulting comments directly and indirectly about her sex. She had to be better and was always suspect that she wasn’t qualified. Sound familiar!!! Well she showed them all that she was a highly competent and outstandingly effective executive/administrator which the agencies she worked for sought out for advanced positions.
We are both a product of 60’s revolution. Equality for all. Equality for women. We grew up in the California Bay Area. We are familiar with the difficulties women and minorities have had in this country.
The Democrats rejected the more experienced candidate Hillary Clinton for Barack Obama. Barack Obama then rejected Hillary as a Vice Presidential candidate. Now the Republicans have placed a qualified woman on the ticket. The Democrats are trying to tear her apart. WOMEN, won’t it be a shame that you were so close to having placed a woman in the white house, but blew it. Go ahead and hold on to your Democratic principles, but if Obama/Biden win this election, you, yes women of the United States, will have rejected a highly qualified liberal Democratic woman and rejected a highly qualified conservative Republican woman. I can’t believe it!!!!! What do you want? Hillary Clinton is now in a difficult position to oppose the Republican ticket and tell women of America not to vote for the only woman candidate that has a chance reaching the White House.
We are not electing a King or Dictator. The President and Vice President can’t do what ever they want. Congress does have a say in running America. Call it what you want, but the blacks in this country see their opportunity to realize their dream. They are overwhelming voting for Obama. I don’t blame them. If I were black, I would likely do the same, political views aside. I’ve lived through too many democratic and republican administrations to know things change slowly in this country and my life goes on. As a staunch Republican, I voted for Al Gore in the last election. Bush was a joke! If Hillary was on the Democratic ticket I would have likely voted for Hillary. I have to say though, when McCain selected Sarah Palin, he locked in my vote for McCain/Palin. I would have preferred a Clinton/Obama vs McCain/Palin election. If that was the case, women would have made it to the white house. Since that is not the case, it’s a toss up now.
There is a bigger prize out there. Bigger than the Democrats and Republicans. Vote your heart, women of America. Take a stand. Place a woman in the White House. Make a statement that women are a force to be reckoned with. Are you going to pass up another generation, since Geraldine Ferraro (who never really had a chance of being elected) ran in 1984! Wake up. Make it happen. Take a chance, show that spirit of the 60’s. Show some leadership. Tell the good old boy establishment that a presidential ticket with out a woman on it just won’t fly. If you really want CHANGE, make it happen.
Hi Cliff,
You said “We are not electing a King or Dictator. The President and Vice President can’t do what ever they want. Congress does have a say in running America.”
I am sorry, but have you been living in the US the last 8 years? The Bush administration did whatever it wanted the last 8 years and has isolated this country in the world. Neither the Republican or the Democratic congress could stop them cowboys. The trigger happy Rumsfeld, the dictator Alberto Gonzalez, the cheat Karl Rove ran our country as if it was their inheritance. Where was the WMD in Iraq for which we are spending $10Billion/month?
Cliff, nice try, but I don’t think anyone is really that dumb to vote for McCain/Palin just because Palin is a woman. I mean come on. America should be voting for Obama because he’s black, right? A black man can do anything a white man/woman can do too. Take all that crap Cliff said, and replace women with African American and you get the same dumb argument.
Cliff, if you seriously would have voted for Clinton if she was on the ticket, but switched to McCain/Palin after Palin was tapped for VP, then you seriously should have your head examined. Do you actually care about any of the issues, or do you just vote for whomever has the most experience? Clinton and Palin have nothing in common except for two X chromosomes. You truly are an idiot, or a racist if you switched from supporting Hillary to supporting McCain/Palin.
If Palin is change from Bush, then you must talking about gender and IQ, because that’s the only differences between those two.
Thank you..I do agree. I need to say that Palin is refreshing and real and understands the struggles of average American families and does not mine specking the truth and taking a real stance, no matter how unpopular. Not like many politicians that try to cover and speak from both sides of their mouths for votes and to please everyone, if possible.. Palin took a stance on abortion…She shared her stance and is living it. Yet, I feel that every woman has a right to decide when they want to murder their children and must live with that. So personal. Palin made HER decision and put it out there for all to see.
here’s a novel idea:
how ’bout we choose a leader based on thier answers to the real problems in America?
no hype, no spin, no white or black, no male/female…just solid concrete solutions…
and leave GOD, abortion and party lines out of it…perhaps we can recapture the America that we used to be
We do want a woman in the White House, Cliff. Just not this one. The women of America have waited a long time for this, and we aren’t going to blow it by electing a woman who is so clearly unqualified. She knows little to nothing about foreign policy, and her record doesn’t support the maverick persona the McCain camp is trying to paint on her. I voted for Hillary in the primary, but I am 100% behind Obama/Biden. I know these men will stand up for the rights of women, from equal pay to the right to choose.
Go McCain/Palin!
Obama, through taxation, wants to steal money from smart, successful, and wealthy Americans to give to the weak, lazy and stupid.
You Americans really need to slap some sense into yourselves, regardless of party affiliation.
Capitalism made American great!
punishing achievement and motivation is crazy!
Biden is convinced limp wristed Obama will “be tested” by terrorists within 6 months if he is elected. Sounds like fun, Joe!
oK. Here’s the bottom line:
Democrats feel entitled to comfort and pleasure by default, at “someone’s else’s” expense.
Rep. EARN their own comfort and pleasure through personal effort!
ALL people on this continent are entitled to oxygen, nothing else!
Sincerely,
A Western Canadian from the city of Calgary, where 1 in 10 people are millionaires.
I am a well-educated, hard-working woman…and I am not voting McCain/Palin because there is a woman on the ticket.
But, I am voting McCain/Palin because once you get past all the hype of the “O” campaign…you can see the McCain is the only one with real knowledge and experience to take us through these tough times.
And, while it is easy to blame Bush for all our problems (not true, but easy)- we have had democrats controlling the congress and senate for the last few years and the addition of more democrats has only made things worse!!
I’m supporting McCain/Palin because they are the only ones who will honestly try to get this country out of the mess we’re in. The MESSIAH and his gaffe machine will take our money, burn the constitution, and turn this country into Africa.