An open letter to Sarah Palin, part one
Dear Gov. Palin,
The good news? I don’t pity you anymore.
The bad news? I’m now wholly unable to respect you as a viable vice-presidential candidate.
I disagreed with you on many points from the start - most notably, your socially conservative views. But the footage of you, speaking to your congregation about “God’s plan” as it pertains to your state’s energy initiatives, makes me cringe. Your “abstinence only” stance on sex education demands to be revised, especially in light of your eldest daughter’s teenage pregnancy.
I fully expected that your interviews would be shaky at best. But your floundering bravado in response to questions from Charles Gibson and Katie Couric was humiliating - to you as a candidate, and to me as a US citizen (and a former registered Republican).
The Tina Fey/Amy Poehler skit on Saturday Night Live? It was funny. But even more than that, it brings up a topic worth discussing - your claims to foreign policy experience based on your state’s proximity to Russia and Canada. To dismiss it merely as “mocking” (after being prompted by Couric for that descriptor), belies your disregard for the substance of the inquiry and the concerns of the voters, not to mention your thin skin.
But even more unbelievable to me was the excuse you gave for having never obtained a passport prior to 2007. Apparently you’re under the false impression that people travel the world purely for leisure, on junkets funded by their parents. That snippy “Nooooo” you uttered belies much reverse elitism.
Never mind the students who spend time abroad, thanks to high school or college trip opportunities - usually based on academic merit, not the depth of their parents’ purses. Never mind the young adults who work full-time and spend their (often meager) vacation time overseas - on their own dime. Never mind the Peace Corps volunteers, the Doctors Without Borders volunteers, the Red Cross volunteers - all giving their time in foreign lands.
Even if you can’t acknowledge the benefits of such travel for private citizens, how can you possibly forget the military members who are stationed all over the world?
Not just those who are deployed, but those who are assigned to bases in Korea and Germany, Guam and Japan, Turkey and Greenland. Some were able to bring their families; others were not. Some will have children born overseas. Many will live on base; some will live among the natives of the host country.
Are those military members and their dependents privileged? Yes, but certainly not in the way you’ve implied. Many of them are also making great sacrifices, as are the friends and loved ones they leave behind in the United States. I know; I’ve been there. Kyle and I spent much of our engagement on separate continents due to our respective military commitments.
Perhaps in your next appearance, you ought to take a few more seconds to think before offering such a narrow and disrespectful answer to a very valid question.
Part two of my open letter to you will deal with whether or not there should be a next appearance.
To be continued…
Sincerely yours,
mothergoosemouse
September 29th, 2008 at 6:16 am
All great points. I, too, bristled at her whole I wasn’t-part-of-that-culture-that-maybe-got-to-go-to-Europe-after-college snark.
There are many legitimate reasons not to travel internationally, whether they are financial or just a matter of priorities, and I would never have an issue with someone because of that. But her need to take a swipe at those who have been abroad is so petty and nasty.
Marinkas last blog post..Don’t Look So Glum! McCain & Palin are Full of Aplomb!
September 29th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Wow. Just … wow.
Great points.
As a parent of a child with DS, there’s an unspoken push to support one of our own. But if having a child with DS were enough to qualify her - well, I would qualify, too. At least I went to Spain as a chaperone on a field trip.
Can’t wait to read part 2.
Michelle Zs last blog post..Weekends
September 29th, 2008 at 6:56 am
We’re Americans living overseas, we have to make an effort to find US politic news.
It took a few days, but I finally found the Palin interviews with Couric and Gibson … and several days more to watch them all the way through.
(It was too painful and scary for one sitting.)
Can’t wait for Part 2 (!!!)
PS How’s the church hopping with Tacy going? Just curious
Graces last blog post..Getting Invovled. Too Involved.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:04 am
The misguided impression that passport-holders are among the elite is just another reason on a long list. Sadly, whenever I’m feeling particularly hopeful because, come on, she’s on the ticket, I remember those exact same feelings when Quayle was on Bush the Elder’s ticket. “It’ll never happen,” I thought. I think.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:18 am
This whole elitism thing has me so angry. Michelle Obama pointed out that the only way she & Barack paid off student loans is that he was lucky enough to write two bestselling books. Meanwhile, he’s the elitist and the guy with 7 homes, 13 cars, and two generations of Navy admirals as forebears — is not?
mayberrys last blog post..Overthinking the yard sign
September 29th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Mayberry–I am convinced that “elitism” is not code for “rich”. It is code for “smart”, which in America is apparently unconstitutional.
Marinkas last blog post..Don’t Look So Glum! McCain & Palin are Full of Aplomb!
September 29th, 2008 at 7:37 am
I didn’t travel to Europe during college because my parents couldn’t afford it. The other half of that statement is “And because I was lazy.” I know because my three roommates all spent a year in Europe on their own dime. Not their folks’. Julie worked THREE jobs while going to school. My other 2 roommates started their own construction business and saved every dime (one of the ways they saved every dime was by sharing a tiny house with three other people LOL).
Sarah is one of the mean girls. She has made that clear by her comments.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Bravo and well-done!!
Marinka, am nodding and snorting in laughter—yes, “elite” in US appears to be code for “smart and knowledgeable.”
Julie Pipperts last blog post..Go Read It: Connie Schultz on Sarah Palin
September 29th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Too much snark and no substance.
Lizzis last blog post..What is a feminist anyway?
September 29th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Wow, you state things with far less venom than I do. What really ticks me off is that this woman (Palin, not you) is not smart. She might be conniving and ambitious but she is not smart. I have a really low tolerance for people with mushy brains.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Truthfully, I don’t think being Governor of a state is anything to laugh at. It’s a tough job. But she’s not doing well in defending herself.
Alaska is an extremely valuable and important state — not just strategically (i.e. military) but also environmentally. But she needs to bring that up instead of scoffing at the assumptions people are making.
She’s not pleading her case, but rather expressing this feeling that she’s owed something.
Bring on the debates…
Motherhood Uncensoreds last blog post..Fart Powered Cars - An invention I can get behind. Er rather, in front of.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Erin Kotecki Vest, queen of spains last blog post..Best Videos Ever In The History Of The World
September 29th, 2008 at 8:39 am
You rocked this Julie. And like lilnap, with less venom than I can muster myself.
I continue to pity her children more than I pity her.
Mom101s last blog post..Three. ARGH, THREE.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I haven’t taken her seriously since I heard her say she “didn’t think twice” when McCain asked her to join him.
You have five children. You live half a world away from Washington. You depend on your extended family to make your demanding career a possibility. And you don’t THINK TWICE?
This is clearly a person fueled solely by ambition and not one ounce of intelligence. Or common sense.
madges last blog post..My Dogs Ah Bahkin’
September 29th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Very well said Julie. I honestly didn’t see that interview, nor do I plan too. Mostly because I can read about it everywhere, but also because my brain is fried right now. But I am pissed that she would say (hint?) that traveling abroad is an elitist way of life. As a mother, I want my kids to see the world and though it may be a few years from now, I will do everything in my power, to show them different parts of the world. I can’t imagine why a woman with five kids, wouldn’t feel the same way.
Something that someone said about Palin and god I just can’t think of who it was, really made sense to me. But basically it’s this; I can’t imagine having a woman (or man) in office who can not speak about the current state of the country without seeming to have enough knowledge about the issues and the world. Or someone who has no idea where say, Russia, is located.
It scares me to think that she could be our vice president. That she would spend her time putting down people for their way of life instead of learning about the issues that our country faces. I just feel like every time she is on camera, she mis-talks about issues in a way that makes me wonder, does she understand it, or did they someone just coach her to discuss it. It bothers me.
I can’t wait to see your part 2.
Issas last blog post..You don’t screw with a new mom
September 29th, 2008 at 11:11 am
She may be a capable - even good - governor. Clearly, she is not qualified for the position she is seeking. She makes me cringe.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I think Mike Meyers said it best in “Wayne’s World.”
She’s a psycho hose beast.
Hannas last blog post..Aren’t the weekends for relaxing?
September 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I hope Obama is elected, otherwise we are in trou-ble.
September 29th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
you go girl.
Aimee Greeblemonkeys last blog post..Holiday Card Quandary
September 29th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
That was a wonderful post.
zandors last blog post..I heart Kevin Jonas
September 29th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
That interview was just plain scary. She is answering these questions like a beauty pageant contestant. All platitudes and no substance. She’s just . . . vacant.
Great post - anxious to read part 2!
Kimberlys last blog post..Everyday blessings
September 29th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Don’t pity her. Don’t drop your guard for a moment.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
oh amen, sister. amen.
jens last blog post..the irony and the heat
October 9th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I wub you!
And I wish she were enough to get you off the fence…
fruitladys last blog post..Homage to Jen Lemen and her incomplete list of silly things