Saturday, September 06, 2008

Gloria Steinem Deconstructs Sarah Palin

In an Op-Ed on Thursday, feminist leader Gloria Steinem laid bare the record on John McCain and Sarah Palin. Steinem, a former Clinton supporter who now supports Barack Obama, did not pull any punches.

In a piece in the L.A. Times, titled "Palin: wrong woman, wrong message," Steinem writes:
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton.
As far as voting for the GOP ticket in anger over Clinton's defeat for the nomination, Steinem had this to say:
To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."
In case there is any doubt as to why the choice of Palin should be anathema to women, Steinem spells it all out in one stinging paragraph:
She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.
These are points well remembering when we debate the merits of Palin's credentials to be president.

With the sort of record that Sarah Palin has on the issues, I think just letting her record speak for itself should cause Independents and moderate Democrats to get turned off in a hurry.

We just have to let people know what her record is, because the GOP is doing its best to keep it buried.

You can access the full article here.

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