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Governor Palin, You're A Disgrace
by Angry Mouse Wed Sep 03, 2008
What an embarrassment.
This year, we witnessed history. A woman ran for president and received 18 million votes from a citizenry that made clear it is indeed ready to consider serious women candidates seriously.
And you, Governor Palin, are making a mockery of that message.
As has been noted by many -- from activists to members of Congress -- you, Governor Palin, are no Hillary Clinton.
But, worse than that, you are a disgrace to the culmination of 200 years of women's struggle that Hillary Clinton represents.
You did not work at the Children's Defense Fund, fighting to secure rights for children.
Instead, you used your line-item veto to strike funding for programs that assist teenage mothers.
You did not revamp the education system of an entire state -- though you are governor of a state in which the illiteracy rate is astronomically high.
Instead, your claim to reformer fame is your activities at the PTA.
You have not traveled overseas to speak in dozens of countries about the rights of women.
You did not stand on a stage among half a dozen men and make the case to the America people for why you are qualified to lead this nation.
You did not receive 18 million votes of confidence. In fact, you were nearly recalled as mayor of your tiny Alaskan town.
You have not stood up for reproductive freedom or even reproductive education.
Instead, you have championed ignorance.
And the proof of your failure lives under your very own roof.
You have agreed to accept a nomination for which you are wholly, indisputably unqualified. And in so doing, you have allowed yourself to become the punchline to a very bad joke.
Except that this isn't a joke, Governor Palin. This is our country's future. And while we have certainly found amusement in the disaster that appears to have been your "vetting process," it's really not funny.
The American people continue to learn new and alarming facts about you, but you already knew these facts when you accepted this position:
• You already knew that you were under investigation for ethical violations.
• You already knew that you turned your town's budget surplus into a deficit before you moved on.
• You already knew of your close involvement with indicted Senator Ted Stevens.
• You already knew the carwash business of which you and your husband were part owners was shut down by the government for failure to comply with regulations.
• You already knew that your husband was a member of a radical political party that advocates secession from the United States.
• You already knew that your teenage daughter was pregnant.
And you damn well know, Governor Palin, that as governor, you have not made any decisions whatsoever regarding the overseas deployment and activities of the Alaska National Guard.
And you damn well know, Governor Palin, that despite your geographical proximity to Russia, you have never been involved in foreign relations with Russia.
You know that, Governor Palin.
And you damn well know that despite your cynical attempt to link your name to the success of Hillary Clinton, you also said that you would not vote for her.
The fight for women's equality is a long and continuous struggle. And you, Governor Palin, are clearly on the wrong side of history. While we fight to prove that we deserve to be taken seriously, your willingness to be on this presidential ticket at this time makes a mockery of that struggle.
And now, although you chastised Hillary Clinton for "whining" about unfair and sexist treatment by the media, because Senator McCain's campaign -- your campaign -- cannot answer the myriad legitimate questions surrounding your vetting process and qualifications, it has instead accused the media, the Democrats, and Obama's campaign of sexism.
And you damn well know, Governor Palin, that just isn't true.
Your own party adamantly opposes affirmative action, and yet, tonight you will stand on a stage and accept the nomination for vice president of your party, a nomination for which you are unprepared and unqualified and which you did not earn and do not deserve.
This is not why Hillary Clinton ran for president, and it is certainly not why 18 million of us voted for her. We were not drawn to her because she won a beauty pageant; we were drawn to her because we believed that decades of work and service and education gave her the wisdom and experience to be able to lead our country out of its current darkness.
That, Governor Palin, was why we stood with Hillary Clinton.
Your candidacy makes a mockery of Hillary Clinton's campaign. It makes a mockery of those who supported her. It makes a mockery of decades and centuries of women who were beaten and jailed, who fought with all their might for a day when there would be no more glass ceilings.
You, Governor Palin, are not a continuation of that legacy. You are an insult to that legacy.
Shame on you, Governor Palin. Shame on you.
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