The most significant thing about Gov. Sarah Palin’s address Wednesday night at the GOP convention wasn’t what she said.
It’s what she failed to say.
If Palin used the speech to introduce herself to the American people, what we received was an incomplete picture.
Palin’s brief foray into political life has revealed some troubling, extremist political views that are out of step with the majority of Americans.
So, since she failed to mention them in the 30-plus minute address written by President Bush’s chief speechwriter, here’s a couple of concerns that come to mind:
–She’s opposed to teaching sex education in Alaska’s schools, and instead advocates the principle of abstinence before marriage.
–She’s vehemently opposed to all abortions, including pregnancies triggered by rape or incest.
–Her fervent religious briefs carry over into the policy arena, suggesting at one point that a new natural gas pipeline through Alaska would be “God’s will” and that U.S. involvement in Iraq represents “God’s task.”
–She contacted Alaskan librarians for their views on, ”hypothetically,” banning certain books from library shelves because of language she considers offensive.
–She has a past affiliation with an offbeat Alaskan third-party political group which advocates the need for a vote to consider secession from the U.S. — and her husband was, for years, registered to vote as a member of that Alaskan Independence Party. (Her husband and oldest son, by the way, were not registered Republicans at the time she was selected to be the GOP nominee for vice president).
–She refuses to accept scientific, internationally accepted findings about the threat of global warming and the man-made factors the have contributed to climate change — putting her directly at odds with McCain, who knows what we’ve been doing to destroy the atmosphere.
–She professes to oppose so-called congressional budget “earmarks” but aggressively sought special congressional one-time earmarked grants for her town (to the point of hiring a Washington lobbyist to get federal funds flowing to her town) when she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population 9,700).
–Sen. John McCain specifically cited earmarked grants sought by Palin while mayor of Wasilla as examples of wasteful federal spending that result in bloated spending and rising deficits.
–She cited her opposition as governor to the well-publicized “Bridge to Nowhere,” a huge federal project that would have served an island with only 50 inhabitants and which already has an airstrip — yet as a candidate for governor she campaigned in favor of the project.
–She and her husband attend an Assemblies of God church — a fundamentalist wing of the Pentecostal movement — which recently hosted a sermon from David Brickner, executive director of “Jews for Jesus,” who described terrorist attacks on Israels as being God’s “judgment of unbelief” of Jews who haven’t embraced Christianity.
–She is under investigation in Alaska for possibility exerting undue political influence to force the firing of a state trooper who was married to her sister-in-law and who has been locked in a bitter divorce battle.
–She strongly supports oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — an idea that even John McCain opposes.
Is Palin really the perfect, highly qualified, ready to serve on Day One running mate for McCain? Will they be “of one voice” on the campaign trail? Given that McCain only met her once before deciding to make her his running mate, and given that his vetting team had only 24 hours to look into her background, you’ve gotta wonder.
