09 September 2008

It's 10 p.m.; do you know who your candidates are?

I don't normally quote other people here. Generally what I write is my own. But in this case, others have compiled these facts more completely than I could, so in this case, forgive me for borrowing.

That being said, do any of us know who McCain and Palin really are? With McCain, I can't figure out when the McCain who ran as an Independent in 2000 became the McCain running as a Republican in 2008. Moreover, I can't figure out who this candidate McCain is, when you compare his platform to the record of Senator McCain.

The 3 McCains aside, who on Earth is Sarah Palin? Asking what she's done that merits her nomination is apparently an inappropriate line of questioning, so we may never find out. So, since they won't tell you before Novemeber, let's take a look at what I've found out about this year's Republican ticket.

We'll start with John Sidney McCain III:
  1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws. 1 2
  2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi." 3 4
  3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban. 5
  4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned." 6
  5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill. 7 8
  6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations. 9 10
  7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." 11 12
  8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates. 13 14
  9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult." 15 16 17
  10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year. 18
And now Sarah Louise Heath Palin:
  1. Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task." She's even admitted she hasn't thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." 1 2
  2. Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to "keep up the good work" and "wished the party luck on what she called its 'inspiring convention.'" 3
  3. Palin wants to teach creationism in public schools. She hasn't made clear whether she thinks evolution is a fact. 4
  4. Palin doesn't believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being manmade. 5
  5. Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP. 6
  6. Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest. 7
  7. Palin opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches. 8
  8. As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, "news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor." 9
  9. She DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). Palin claimed that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." 10
So there's 10 things you may or may not have known -- 10 things the McCain - Palin camp never would have told you -- about the 2008 Republican ticket. Just thought you should know.

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