The National Stonewall Democrats are angry at Gov. Sarah Palin over a remark she made branding sexual orientation as a personal choice.
In her recent interview with Katie Couric of CBS News, Palin was asked to clarify her stance on sexual orientation since it had been discovered that Palin’s church still promoted controversial “conversion therapy” for gays and lesbians.
Palin answered, “I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions they make in their adult personal relationships.”
The NSD responded with a statement, obviously outraged that Palin perceived sexual orientation to be a personal choice.
“For Governor Palin to suggest that individuals randomly choose their sexual orientation based on nothing but a whim is wrong,” said executive director Jon Hoadley.
There has been much evidence to the contrary of Palin’s opinion in the scientific community, and the NSD also beleives that being gay or lesbian is not a personal choice.
The NSD supports Sen. Barack Obama for president because of his pro-equality views regarding gays and lesbians.
This outrage from the NSD won’t really affect the campaign, but Palin’s view on gays and lesbians may.‚ Obama and Biden are more pro-equality than Palin is, as witnessed in last night’s debate where she tried to dodge the issue when asked on her stance.
She and Biden both share the same view, that the traditional values of marriage should remain between a man and a woman, but while Biden supports equality on every other stage, Palin was a little hesitant; a sign of her disapproval.
Personally, I believe the tradition of marriage lies in what it symbolizes not the technicalities of its definition, so for me, gays marrying is OK.‚ But I do believe that the decision should lie with the state not the federal government.
Check out my live blog of the VP debate for more info on the candidates’ personal views.
The Final Debate: A Big ZERO For McCain
By: Bessi Dietrich
Zero?? That’s right, McCain. Zero. This debate was, by far, the starkest contrast in performance between the two candidates. Senator Obama was consistent, deliberate, and cool as always in his delivery while McCain struggled seemingly endlessly with boiling rage and hatred toward his opponent. Anyone watching McCain’s overblown reactions might well assume that Barack had been caught screwing McCain’s wife. Conversely, each time McCain called Obama out on something in a spiteful manner, Barack smiled politely as though he were visiting his senile grandfather who no longer knew where he lived. Obama would look pityingly toward the moderator and give these almost compassionate nods, indicative of his desire to allow grandpa to ramble for just a minute longer. This was a debate that was essential for McCain to win. He did, in fact, come out of the gates swinging and I was able to momentarily envision some serious throat-clenching, hair-wrenching action… but it never came to fruition. McCain set up his own failures, leaving the forum wide open for Obama at times when he should have simply said his piece. McCain’s grimaces and frustrated frowns were a delightfully entertaining kaleidascope of angry countenances to the opposition watching at home. David Gergen of CNN said it best when asked for a post-debate reaction when he stated that this debate was almost an exercise in anger management for John McCain. It was hilarious to watch McCain huff and puff only to discover he was one of the three little piggies.
He did start off at a decent clip, however, thanking everyone and stopping momentarily to mention Nancy in the hospital, and then launching into his interest in backing homeowners. Obama hit right back though, whipping McCain about bank giveaways. McCain then turned course to Joe the Plumber (who was ecstatic to get as much play in a political campaign as he did; he was quoted later as saying it was “surreal” to be mentioned in that way) who stayed a topic of concern practically the entire time, though McCain’s use of this man was softly ridiculed and quietly unappreciated by Barack, and after a bit of back and forth on the plumber’s best interests, Barack’s tone took a somewhat bored and annoyed tone. It was near mocking when they were finally through with poor Joe, though Barack was careful to turn this still-mild tone toward McCain and not toward Joe the Plumber. He also mentioned that if “Joe” believes that McCain’s plan will help him more than Obama’s will, it must be a result of McCain ad saturation. When asked about which concepts that Obama and McCain plan to enact in their future presidencies and which ones they will be forced to cut out, or tone down as priorities, Obama said that he would cut out programs that were already disfunctional and focus on the package that he has assembled for America which will, he seemed to imply, exclude by its very nature, the unnecessary programs and worthless spending projects that we’re currently using money for. He would take the money that is being thrown out into defunct programs, cut those programs, and use the money for the investments he plans to make in this country. McCain on the other hand, in a perceived attempt to answer the question more directly than his opponent did, he flailed openly with what he would cut: marketing assistance, earmark spending (that was a given), and he waxed poetic about ethanol. He spoke of an “across the board spending freeze” (which later came back to haunt him). He talked about using a hatchet and then using a scalpel. Obama grabbed this one immediately, telling John McCain that his methodology was innately wrong, as this was clearly a job for a scalpel and not a hatchet. This was one pandora’s box that McCain opened. The next one had to do with Maverick spirit. One of McCain’s strongest points in this campaign has been that he – and Palin, of course – are Mavericks. They stand up to their own party, and they reach across party lines. They are nobody’s bitch. Well, John McCain wiped the originality from it with one fell swoop when he directly asked Obama an open-ended question about what Barack Obama had done to stand up to his party and/or reach across the aisle. Realizing that he’d just had the entire political buffet spread before him, Obama jumped on the question, citing several ways he’d stood up to various constituents of his very own party – he was there, he would know better than McCain or anyone else, right? McCain, after sitting there, mouth agape, finally muttered something about Obama’s credentials not being very “convincing”.
At one point, however, John McCain looked Obama straight in the eye and told him, “I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against Bush, you should have run four years ago.” It was a very strong statement, and it reverberated throughout the debate forum. I thought it was strong, poignant, and well-delivered. Obama countered with a statement about the way McCain’s policies are so similar to Bush’s that he can’t help but sometimes get them confused. It was a nice save, though McCain still looked rather pleased with himself, and it was probably his strongest moment of the debate. Obama could have pushed back harder, but he didn’t feel the need, and everything moved along.
When asked if McCain would like to say the things that he’s said openly to his base during his campaign about Barack Obama straight to his face, he surprisingly pulled back from the challenge. He cowered and, instead, attempted to talk about the abuses he felt that he and Palin had suffered and an attack regarding Lewis’ statements about McCain. Obama countered aptly with a repudiation of Lewis’ statements and with his confusion at the concern of his own failure to denounce remarks made by third parties when there were clearly some hurtful and tasteless remarks made by the crowds and supporters drawn by McCain himself and Palin; calling out things like “kill him” and “terrorist”, to name a few. McCain oddly chose to defend these people, saying that he was proud of them and wouldn’t stand for the calling out of these individuals. In essence, he basically validated their words and actions by barring criticism of these things. Obama smiled. The debate moved forward.
When asked about why their running mates would be better than the other’s running mate, were anything to happen to the front-runner, as president, Obama left Palin alone entirely. Not a single easy hit did he attempt to jab in McCain’s side. I was very proud of him, as he showed admirable restraint on such an easy target, and watched with shock and awe – and, let’s be honest, a bit of disappointment – as he simply talked his own VP up without a mention of Palin’s disastrous campaign thus far. However, McCain once again dug his own hole, speaking about Palin’s connection with disabled children and their campaign’s interest in dedicating themselves to finding the cause of autism. Obama brightly remarked that he might want to reconsider that “across-the-board spending freeze” if he were serious about getting down to the cause of autism within his campaign. You could almost see smoke pouring from McCain’s ears. And I high-fived my fiance. And the debate moved forward.
The funniest part in the debate, however, was definitely when McCain asked yet another question that he did not in advance anticipate the answer to. He asked Obama directly – yet again – how much Joe the Plumber would be fined, were he to refuse participation in Obama’s healthcare plan. Obama looked directly into the camera-lensed eye of Joe the Plumber and said, “Zero.” McCain, clearly startled and taken aback by this unexpected response, blurted, “Zero??” Yep. Zero. Maybe McCain should have read Obama’s blueprint a little more closely instead of pounding the air with his supporters in indignation for not-even-he-knows-what. A little less mob mentality would do the entire campaign a great deal of good. It might even lower his blood pressure.
So, it was a clear win for Obama tonight; even William Bennett, CNN panelist, spoke of how he thought that Obama should have “risen to the occasion” or what some might call “rising to the bait”, Bennett said, to fight. It was my opinion that a good president will be capable of a great deal of restraint when encountering an opponent or nemesis. The president will not raise his voice, or seem strained or nervous. The president will not shake in anger when an enemy of our country says something that he doesn’t want to hear. He will stand up and calmly, assertively explain that they simply disagree. I want to be convinced that my president can sit across the table from a true adversary and negotiate positive solutions for our country – and if not, walk away with dignity. McCain did not show that tonight, but Obama clearly did, even smiling during moments of unprecedented assault.
So, to answer your question yet again, John McCain, yes. Zero. One great, big, fat, zero. That’s how much progress you made tonight, and that is also, coincidentally, your chance of becoming president.
MSNBC: 84.3% said Obama Won, 12.8% said McCain Won
CNN: 58% said Obama Won, 31% said McCain Won
CBS: 53% said Obama Won, 22% said McCain Won
FOX News: 66% said Obama Won, 34% said McCain Won.
Sarah Palin: More Than Just a Pretty Face
By: Bessi Dietrich
Sarah Palin. Winner of the Miss Wasilla Beauty Pageant. Drafted as John McCain’s Vice Presidential Pick in 2008. Moose hunter. Hockey-mom. Mother of four. Her candidacy is summed up with one question that liberals and conservatives alike have been asking themselves during this campaign: Why?
Why did McCain pick Sarah Palin? When both parties now consider her to be nothing more than a joke, a punchline, and an enormous strategical error, why was she chosen in the first place? My thoughts on it are this: first off, she was young. Her youth – and beauty, certainly – counterbalances John McCain’s lack of both. Most young voters are pretty sure that John McCain is out of touch with their interests, their needs, and their priorities (and they’re right). But John McCain holds up Sarah Palin, at a robust, healthy, apple-cheeked 44 years to be the candidate that youth can believe in. (At least at first glance.) Aside from her pageant-like smile and innocence, he also saw in her something that his opponent and his opponent’s VP pick simply didn’t have. Something that he himself didn’t have. That extra something that just might – in his estimation – bring the Hillary supporters over to his camp. A vagina. He could now tout his own campaign as a history-making revolution. He could now appeal to the undecided women who were on the fence about which party they were loyal to. And Hillary supporters were not only adamant about pro-choice policies, universal healthcare, environmentally conscious ideals, withdrawal from Iraq, and diplomatic foreign policy, they were backing someone for the presidency who had, above all else… a vagina. So, this was McCain’s horribly transparent tactic born from his horribly miscalculated conclusion that Hillary supporters would support someone who worked against everything they believed in, just so that they could see a woman in high office. Of course, some Hillary supporters WERE disillusioned about her loss and apoplectically inflamed when the decision came down in Obama’s favor — I was one of them. But after Hillary’s decisive and persuasive speech at the Democratic National Convention, asking us if we were in this “just for her” or if we were in this for the democratic idealism we hold so dearly, most of us had to concede that it was far more important to potentiate this country’s successful future than it was to be angry at the outcome of our party’s selection of a candidate. Most of us truly do support Obama, even if he was our second option. McCain’s belief that Hillary supporters would simply roll over for the first pair of breasts we saw was offensive and ridiculous. However, John McCain did have a few other reasons. He delighted in her blatant support for anti-abortion law, her interest in drilling, her advocacy for oil companies, her typically Republican viewpoints in general (including her disdain for gay rights and her disregard for the environment), and the fact that she was more than likely very easy to control and manipulate due to her lack of experience in the political arena of real-world Washington politics. He fed her his own opinions and (after she’d already sat through her initiation, fumbling through interviews without a single original thought, and clumsily spouting long paragraphs of nothingness to cover her lack of knowledgeability) she attached McCain’s view of the world to her own disturbingly empty portfolio with ease – well… ok, with a LOT of memorization. She was also a “small-time” country-girl-type; very folksy-sounding and very “down-home”. She would appeal to people the same way that George Bush once did. She would charm people with her naivety and her bright eyes held firmly toward the future, without a glance toward this nation’s history. She would be the American dream: an uneducated, brainless bumpkin who somehow stumbled upon the president of the United States and finds herself in the White House. It’s like every bad 80’s movie you’ve ever seen where people move up in life and “change the world” just because they’re so gosh-darn cute. And here she is now. She somehow convinces people that she will bring real change, based solely on the fact that she is utterly CLUELESS about how this country functions, about how government functions, and about how them other foreign-like countries function. Small-town girl turned vice presidential candidate. It really is charming, if I might say so myself. Charming, yes. Good for our country? Um… I think we know the answer to that question.
So once Palin was presented with this gargantuan and unlikely task, she had to ask herself what any unqualified candidate in her position would ask: What now?? She asked Larry Kudlow directly in an interview on August 1, 2008 what to expect, were she to accept the vice presidential nomination. What does a VP do, exactly? (She recently countered, in her one and only debate with Joe Biden, that her statements were just a joke, but here are her words. You decide for yourself if you think she was serious or not.) :
“As for that VP talk all the time, I tell you I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in administration; we wanna make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the US before I can even start addressing that question.”
A joke? Well, if you’re referring to her candidacy, yes. It’s a joke. If you’re referring to her response to Kudlow’s question… no. I think she seriously is that dumb.
So Sarah Palin undergoes rigorous criticism and microscopic investigation during her candidacy, just like every candidate does, and she makes enormous mistakes for which she pays dearly. But she keeps that smile on her face.
She smiles while explaining her ambivalent views on global warming and her consequential lack of a concrete concept to solve this unknown whosy-whatsit climate change.
She smiles while struggling to divine from her 7-11 memories which newspapers she passed on the racks that day, and which ones were important for her to have read… and she smiles when she begins to crumble under the weight of the seemingly simple query, answering that she reads “all” newspapers.
She smiles while awkwardly upholding the validity of her foreign policy experience having some sort of relation to her proximity to Russia:
“They’re our next door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”
She smiles while unknowingly admitting that she does not, in fact, know what the Bush Doctrine is:
CG: “Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?”
SP: “In what respect, Charlie?”
CG: “The Bush D–Well, what do you… what do you interpret it to be?”
SP: “His world view…”
She smiles as she is helplessly pinned down without a single example of any Supreme Court rulings that she disagrees with. Perhaps, one might muse, she doesn’t know of any Supreme Court rulings at all:
KC: “What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?”
SP: “Mmmmm….. well, let’s see… there’s of course, and in the great history of America there have been rulings that there’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American and there are those issues again like Roe V. Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there so, um, you know, going through the history of America there would be others but, um…”
KC: “Can you think of any?”
SP: “Well, I would think of any again that could best be dealt with on a more local level, maybe I would take issue with but, um, you know, as a mayor and then as a governor and even as a Vice President, if I’m so privileged to serve, I would be in a position of changing those things, but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today…”
She smiles as she rambles incessantly about unrelated matters, proving her complete and utter lack of comprehension on the bailout bill:
“Ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy helping the… oh, it’s gotta be all about the job creation too, shoring up our economy and and putting it back on the right track so healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reigning in spending has got to accompany tax reduction and tax relief for Americans… trade, we have to see trade as opportunity not as competitive, scary thing but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today we’ve gotta look at that as more opportunity, all those things under the umbrella of job creation, this bailout is a part of that.”
She smiles as she blatantly admits that she has no clue how John McCain has assisted in any form of regulation while he has served in the Senate:
KC: “I’m just going to ask you one more time, not to belabor the point, specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
SP: “AhhhIIIII…’ll try to find ya some and I’ll bring em to ya.”
Whatever answers she may not have, and whatever she botches up and vomits on, she just keeps that smile on her face. Keep smiling. Her pageantry career has served her well.
However, despite her obvious inability to comprehend and recognize her own failures and missteps, and her reluctance to admit her lack of knowledge on prevalent, important issues to the nation, she has made some undeniable blunders in her past which have been primarily propelled by a set of questionable values.
* The now-infamous Bridge to Nowhere that she publicly supported and purported as a positive step toward Alaska’s future is now a point of misinformation, regarding her supposed “Thanks, but no thanks” policy on it. Now that it is seen as a huge embarrassment and clearly a failed project, she denounces her support for it altogether. Her words: “There needs to be a link between Ketchikan and its future, and its future opportunities and progress, opening up land in this area.” This statement was made before the bridge turned out to be an embarrassment. Her blatant lies, though, are even more embarrassing.
* She cut 20% of the funding for a state-supported program for teen mothers to learn money management and parenting skills. Apparently once they make the decision to stick through their pregnancy, Sarah’s support for pregnant teens ends.
* She voided a project for breast-feeding and nutritional support for low-income rural women. Pregnancy = great. Healthy children = bad.
* She voided funds for a student housing and daycare facility project for students pursuing vocational education in Anchorage. Another case of keep ’em pregnant and let ’em flounder on their own.
* She admits her ignorance on the war in Iraq, and her interest in an exit strategy, clearly contradicting her recent statements that are supposedly in sync with John McCain’s. “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place.”
* In 2007, Palin’s administration approved an initiative to pay $150 bounty to hunters who shot and killed wolves from airplanes and brought in a hacked-off limb to prove their unnecessary and macabre conquests. Her justification for this disgusting display of apathy toward nature was that she was concerned that the wolves might bring about a potential reduction of moose that would be available for hunting. However, it has not been substantiated that this form of slaughter even helps improve the quantity of moose for hunters to hunt and kill. Not only that, in the same year – to go along with her insane support of this type of “hunting” – she approved $400,000 to “educate” residents about shooting the wolves – and, additionally, bears – from airplanes. (Fiscal conservatism out the window!) Wildlife biologists have insisted, contrarily, that the wolves are not even responsible for the inordinate deaths of moose, caribou and sheep.
* She supports abstinence-only sex ed (which seems to have worked swimmingly in her own family).
* She expressed interest in banning books from libraries in her own hometown.
* She added $1200 to the money that Alaskans already receive from the government just for living there.
* She is against any and all forms of gay marriage, civil unions, and gay rights.
* She actually sued the Internal Department over its decision to list Polar Bears as an endangered species.
* She wants to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, something that John McCain – Mr. Big Oil himself – does not agree with. Maybe that is because he has a compassionate bone – if only one – in his body.
She has been questioned on several other glaringly suspicious and unseemly points of her life and career, including a videotape of her church’s sponsorship for her campaign where they invoke God’s assistance in raising money for her campaign and they also pray to keep all “witchcraft” at bay, and away from her. There is also the current investigation regarding her questionable ethical policies on the firing of Commissioner Walt Monegan and the threatening language used toward him in respect to his refusal to fire her former brother-in-law.
With all of this in mind, and with the knowledge that she very well could be – and this is NO JOKE – the next PRESIDENT of the United States in the event of John McCain’s death, do we really want to take that type of risk? She has no compassion, no respect and no remorse. On top of that, she has a stunning record of inexperience, ignorance and apathy. She doesn’t care about life unless it’s inside of a woman’s body; past that, she has no use for it, even once it’s out. She consistently proves her lack of education and her ignorance regarding even the simplest issues that are on-going in this nation. She didn’t even know what the Vice President of the United States did until she was CHOSEN FOR THE POSITION. Basically, she is a hockey-mom from Wasilla. And if the only difference between her and a pitbull is lipstick, one might further note that her application of cosmetics does not – and never will – make her look like a good candidate for vice president. She truly is just a dumb animal underneath her caked foundation, her stylish glasses, and her highlighted, golden-brown bun. And as we all know, you can put lipstick on many things… but it remains what it is. So lose the sash, Palin. You’re still just a pig.
Why would Republicans care what gay Democrats think? Do gay Democrats show tolerance for Christians, or do they want to feed them to the lions?