Sarah Palin: Plain and Short for Women Issues

When John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate on Friday, I was surprised as were many Americans both men and women. For some women, this was a great move by McCain, as it signals that society is finally breaking away from the archaic thinking that women are not ripe for such demanding job. For others though, it appeared as an insult to women's intellectual reasoning as McCain's motive appeared to be that if he has a woman on the Republican ticket, it would surely garner him women's vote. But whether or not women get persuaded by this move by McCain, it is important to know what Sarah Palin brings to the ticket so that each can judge how (or how not) Palin represents some of women's concerns. The mere fact that she is a woman should not be the only reason to persuade women voters or anyone at that, to vote for McCain.

Here is how Palin pales on some important issues facing women:

On abortion
The woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape, or incest, or a pregnancy that might jeopardize the health or life of the woman is been a top issue in this campaign. Sarah Palin's stand on this is an ardent no! She is opposed to a woman's right and as has been apparent throughout McCain's campaign, she and McCain would work to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had accorded women the right to choose. This one move will marginalize women, as it would keep them enslaved to situations forced upon them by a perpetrator, sick family member, or tragic life condition.

On Equity Pay
She has no opinion

On Education:
She believes No Child Left Behind is working. (More Vouchers please!)

On Global Warming and the Environment
Palin is skeptic about global warming. In fact, she wrote to SUE the US government for listing polar bears as endangered species. She said that "We believe that the Service's decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available." What an inconvenient truth!

On the energy crisis
She favors drilling and more drilling. She wants the US to drill in Arctic National Wilderness Refuge (ANWR), a position that even John McCain opposes.

On gun rights
She absolutely favors the right to bear arms, even if it is in the hands of youths killing each other. She is a lifelong member of the NRA so she probably gets some dough for supporting them.

On getting US troops out of Iraq
Palin opposes it; she feels US security and freedom are based on troops being in Iraq. Talk about managing our spending!

On healthcare
Palin wants the market and business to take care of things, no federal funding.

On Congress not voting to Drill in Alaska, Palin said
"Well, it's pretty pathetic, that action that they've taken. Appreciate the president's call to lift the moratorium. Appreciate the president's call to drill in ANWR, to do all those things for American production opportunities." She had earlier said that she would try to get McCain to change his mind about drilling in ANWR. When asked about persuading McCain on CNBC's Kudlow & Company interview on July 31, 2008, she said that "I have not talked him into ANWR yet. But yeah, he has evolved into being open enough to say yes to that offshore. Obama certainly hasn't gone there. We certainly need this. We need it for American security, & for energy independence."

An Alaskan newspaper, the Daily News-Miner, wrote an editorial that states "It is clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4647965.ece.

Even her mother in law Faye Palin reportedly was said to not be sure of her daughter- in- law's qualifications as a VP candidate. She said that "I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket, other than she's a woman and a conservative." Faye Palin is said to be thinking about voting for Barack Obama.

Again these are some of Palin's paling positions:
Palin opposes abortion as a woman's right

Palin strongly opposes same sex marriage

Palin strongly favors the death penalty

Palin strongly favors absolute right to own gun

Palin opposes federal funding to health coverage; she believes healthcare must be "market-and business-driven."

Palin opposes US forces out of Iraq

As a woman, I'm impressed by Palin's achievement s as a mother, a wife, and a governor. However, I don't see her extremely conservative views doing good to women in general. Thus, it would be a shame if women are swayed to vote for John McCain purely out of spite for Hilary Clinton not being on the Democratic ticket, or purely because a woman is on a ticket.

A wise person once said "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." We have been in a hole for 7+ years. It is time to stop!

Source:
http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Sarah_Palin