GayPatriot

The Internet home for American gay conservatives.

Watching Sarah Palin . . .

by

. . . I think it’s entirely possible John McCain hit a home run on this one (though this was not my initial reaction).

I’m getting a good feeling about this. Totally reinforces the presumptive GOP nominee’s maverick image, undercuts the Democratic attempt to tie our man to George W. Bush.

Do we gay Republicans have a new diva, a woman whom I define as a strong woman who commands the respect of men? Hope to meet her in St. Paul.

Comments

  1. I’m listening to the speech and I’m noting a fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats. The crowd at the Obama speech was chanting, “O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!” The crowd at the Palin speech is chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

  4. Governor Palin gave a better speech then NObama did last night.

    I believe she will kick butt and is tough and well capable of being the President and she ran as reformer for Governor and she will kick butt and be a great Vice President.

    Go McCain/Palin in 2008!!!

  6. As I just got done saying, the California liberals in the next cube-pod over from me are talking about what a smart move this is for McCain. I agree with them, for once 🙂

  7. Erik, you’re wrong. Democrats are already trying to attack Palin’s “inexperience”. Know what that does? It hurts OBAMA. It also exposes the Democrats’ dark undergrowth of sexism, driving Hillary supporters into McCain’s waiting arms.

  8. Erik, the GOP learns from the best in regard to identity politics.

    Now both parties have tokens on their tickets. The difference is our is the vice presidential candidate.

    “Sarah Palin meet Michael Steele.”

    “Republicans lose when they play identity politics.”

  10. Erik, hello? Michael Steele was the first black person to ever be elected to statewide office in Maryland. How do you call that a loss?

    All you’re doing is making excuses for your hatemongering sexism. It must be driving you crazy that there are smart, beautiful, intelligent, and competent women out there that have told you and your misogynist Democrat Party to drop dead.

    You’re doing what Democrats always do, which is tear down any minority person that leaves the plantation. Disgusting.

  13. a maverick? it’s a calculated plan to hopefully draw voters who wanted to vote for a woman for president, pure and simple (and picking someone who is younger than 50). People whacked on Obama for picking Biden as a way of making up for his shortcomings – seems McCain has simply done the exact same thing.

  14. ILC – Obama went to Ivy League schools, was President of the Harvard Law Review, is a lawyer and taught constitutional law, in addition to his experience as a state Senator and US Senator.

    Sarah Palin’s only relevant experience is being Governor of the 47th smallest state in the Union since 2007. Oh, and she was a journalism major at the University of Idaho.

    Please. That’s insulting.

    Experience is now off the table.

  16. #14 Erik – Kindly permit me to translate from B.S. to English. You’re saying, in essence:

    – Palin has executive experience.

    – Obama has NO executive experience.

    Game over. The “experience game” is indeed over. Obama just lost it.

    (Sidebar: Only a liberal could think that going to Harvard and editing the least-respected, least-cited annual edition of its Law Review could count as experience for being President of the United States.)

  17. ILC – No. I’m saying Obama has a educational foundation in LAW from our countries best institutions, in addition to his experience in government.

    Palin has no such educational foundation and considerably less governmental experience.

    Ask yourself: Would McCain have chosen a man with Palin’s resume?

    Absolutely not. She is entirely unqualified.

  20. Ask yourself: Would McCain have chosen a man with Palin’s resume?

    Ask yourself: Would Democrats have chosen a white person with Obama’s resume? LOL 🙂

  21. On the other hand, McCain’s biggest “accomplishment” in the senate was the McCain-Feingold CFR Law. The law was supposed to “clean up Washington,” and yet, six years later, earmarks are out of control, both parties are plagued with corruption, and McCain himself is running against it. In other words, McCain’s biggest accomplishment in the senate… was a total and utter failure.

  22. V – what are Palin’s accomplishments?

    Troopergate? Abusing the power of her office to try to get her brother-in-law fired solely because he was party to a bitter divorce with Palin’s sister?

    She is like all other Republicans in Alaska – corrupt.

  23. Keep going, Erik; you’re playing right into the trap.

    Keep saying that only an Ivy-league educated liberal lawyer can do what’s right.

    Keep saying that a small-town mom from rural Idaho and Alaska must be a backwoods hick with no experience, no knowledge, and no brains, and that her college degree is worthless because it’s from one of those “state schools”.

    Every day Democrat Party idiots like yourself show your contempt for the vast majority of people in this country — and you wonder why you keep losing.

  24. #20 continued – In other words, LCRW nailed it:

    Now both parties have tokens on their tickets. The difference is our is the vice presidential candidate.

    And, I add: Palin has more relevant, *executive* experience than Obama (who has none).

    Obama has one year in the U.S. Senate (since he spent the second campaigning full time). Big whoop. The GOP’s Presidential and Vice-presidential candidates now *both* have more job experience than the Democrats’ Presidential candidate. Game over. (At least in terms of job experience.)

  25. Point of contract, Obama’s entire career is a product of the corrupt Chicago political machine, and his cozy relationship with Rezko shows he had no interest in cleaning up the machine, just using it to advance his ambitions.

    Sarah Palin, on the other hand, ran *against* her own party to score an upset victory, she cut the budget in Alaska, she killed the bridge to nowhere, she sold the private jet her predecessor had bought. And she did it all without hanging out in the living rooms of unrepentant Marxist terrorists.

  28. Oh, and by the way, Erik; go educate yourself on what Palin has done before you start screaming she’s corrupt.

    I don’t think a woman who has repeatedly canceled projects that were put in place by the previous Republican administration, criticized pork-barrel spending, used her veto power to slash $1.6 billion from a state budget, has pushed people to run AGAINST the “corrupt Republicans” you mention, and has stated repeatedly that Alaska needs to get off the Federal teat qualifies.

    When you consider that she resigned from the top ethics position for the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in protest over her whistleblowing complaints about fellow Republicans being ignored, it gets even better.

    You don’t know a damn thing about Palin, Erik.

  29. I thought you folks were opposed to affirmative action. Can anyone seriously claim that she would be a contender for VP if she was not a women? I am not at all convinced that this hurts Obama on the inexperience charge. Obama is vulnerable on that issue–I voted for him, but I thought this criticism was fair–but doesn’t this take the issue off the table for McCain? How can McCain attack Obama as inexperienced when he has picked Palin? Especially considering Mc’Cain’s age and past health issues, Palin becoming President is at least possible if McCain is elected. I may be wrong but I think this takes away one of McCain’s best arguments against Obama.

    As for attempting to secure the vote’s of women who supported Clinton, this is a completely overhyped story of women voting republican simply because Clinton did not get nominated. Sure some might do so, but for the most these are republican talking points and most of these women were going to vote for McCain anyhow.

  30. NDT – please.

    Repeat after me: Sarah Palin would not be the Vice-Presidential nominee for your party is she were a man. Like Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, she was chosen because she’s a woman.

  31. The bottom line is Palin has experience, its just little of it has gotten out of it right now. She has more executive experience than any of the other candidates on the ticket, yea it might be small but its filled with accomplishments. Republicans need to get out there and speak about what she has accomplished in her short time, that will speak more than the length of time. She is incredibly popular in Alaska and there is a reason for that, which the rest of America will soon learn why. Lets also remember, she bucked the tide and won in 2006 when Republicans were losing everywhere.

    McCain had to pick someone who had a record of fighting party politics and being principled, he couldn’t just pick any Republican. Palin’s reform history will come out and it will show that she is truly an outsider and brings a reform mind to Washington. I think it reinforces McCain’s agenda of doing things that are bold and thinking outside the box.

    She is extremely likeable, something that Biden lacks, and the more she is on tv and more people see her; she will continue to bring in support. I think she will boost and energize McCain campaign and bring in new interest, Palin was a very good cheerleader for him during the speech. I think she will also be a good fighter for him and the Obama campaign has to watch on how they attack her. They already carry stigma of sexism from the primary with Hillary.

  33. I thought you folks were opposed to affirmative action.

    I’m opposed to two closely-related things:

    1) Quotas.
    2) Taking affirmative action to the point where the less qualified person is picked over the more qualified.

    But Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President of the United States than Barack Obama. Game over.

  35. I think I see another pattern. Conservatives love Sarah Palin because she got ahead “our way,” i.e. on her own effort, worked her way up, and has some real accomplishments. The lefties like Erik hate her because she didn’t do it “their way,” by passing through the Ivy League and elitist gatekeepers whose job it is to keep the unwashed in their place.

    I’m saying this as someone who didn’t want Palin precisely because I wanted her to stay in Alaska and get more experience before moving on to national office. And I admit, yes, McCain picked her as a token. But I can say that while respecting her accomplishments and her humanity, which the other side apparently can not.

  37. You know you’re going to lose now.

    No. John McCain just united the Democratic Party. McCain’s choice is an insult to the 18 million voters that chose Hillary Clinton in the primary. McCain is assuming that because women supported Hillary Clinton, they’ll support any woman.

    He’s wrong. Those 18 million voters supported Hillary Clinton, not because she was a woman, but because she was a woman named Hillary Clinton.

    McCain will lose.

  38. 17,

    So you’re conceeding that Senator Obama is a Harvard Elite? Thank you, you’ve just made the point that Republicans are the party of the people.

    She’s a hunter, an athlete and an executive. She reinforces the Maverik lable (suing the federal government over polar bear silliness).

    Erik, michael, Kevin, you’re screwed.

  39. Also, experience isn’t everything. She is better on the issues than McCain is… adamantly pro-life, pro-drilling in ANWR, anti-illegal immigration, anti-taxes… the surprise is not that McCain picked a woman, but that he picked a real conservative.

  40. Those 18 million voters supported Hillary Clinton, not because she was a woman, but because she was a woman named Hillary Clinton.

    So, the Democratic Party is Elitist and Dynastic? We knew that already.

  41. V, you nailed it. She raised herself by her bootstraps.

    She is a bit underqualified – but not as underqualified as Obama. With Obama at the head of the ticket, no Democrat can credibly knock her experience level. In knocking her, Democrats will expose themselves as people full of (1) spite – i.e., anger at seeing “their” election melting away as McCain-Palin draws Hillary supporters; and (2) sexism. And the more (2) comes out, the stronger (1) will be.

  42. Those 18 million voters supported Hillary Clinton, not because she was a woman, but because she was a woman named Hillary Clinton.

    Bzzzzzzzzt. Wrong answer. Many of them supported Clinton precisely because she was a woman. Not all of them – but just enough to put McCain-Palin over the top.

    As for the rest: Most of them supported Clinton because they genuinely, honestly thought Obama under-qualified. And they’re right about that.

  43. I thought you folks were opposed to affirmative action.

    We are.

    But if you look at Palin, she’s had to fight hard for everything she’s gotten. She has competed against the stereotypical old white men, i.e. Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens, and kicked their respective corrupt asses.

    How can McCain attack Obama as inexperienced when he has picked Palin? Especially considering Mc’Cain’s age and past health issues, Palin becoming President is at least possible if McCain is elected.

    So your solution to electing an inexperienced Vice President because she might become President is to elect a person with an equal lack of experience who would then be guaranteed to be President.

    The problem here is that the Democrat Party’s addiction to racial quotas led them to put an inexperienced and incompetent black person ahead of a marginally-qualified white person — versus the Republicans putting an inexperienced but competent person after an experienced, competent, and qualified person.

    The latter is the correct order in which businesses and other meritocracies operate. The former is the universe of quotas and inherited wealth in which the Democrat Party lives.

  44. McCain just united the Democratic Party. McCain’s choice is an insult to the 18 million voters that chose Hillary Clinton…

    ROTFLMAO 🙂 That is THE laugh-line of the thread so far!!

  45. you’re screwed.

    Obama’s lead has balloned to 8 points in the gallup tracking, it’ll continue to grow will McCain’s choice today and this race will never go back to being tied.

    You can bank on it.

  46. So your solution to electing an inexperienced Vice President because she might become President is to elect a person with an equal an even greater lack of experience

    Fixed it for ya, NDT 😉

  49. P.S. If Obama’s poll bounce is only 8 points, it will be one of the lowest bounces in American history. Very bad sign. He needs at least 12, to overcome McCain’s upcoming bounce and win in November.

  52. LOL….and the best part is this; Obama was destroyed by Clinton when Clinton started recasting herself as a working-class type who would fight those Washington insiders.

    Palin IS a working-class type with a stellar record of fighting Washington insiders, and now Obama’s saying that’s wrong? I can’t believe that the Obamamessiah is really stupid enough to believe that trying to paint Palin as some kind of bitter gun-toting religious backwoods hick is going to work for him.

  53. Oh, I just read the Republicans won’t be postponing their convention because of Gustav. That’ll be a good contrast – The Republicans parting in St. Paul while Americans flee the gulf coast.

    And if those levees in New Orleans don’t hold this time? McCain can start practicing his concession speech.

  54. LOL…..I love it. Desperate Erik and his fellow Obamamaniacs are hoping and praying for a deadly storm to hit the United States so that their candidate has a better chance of winning.

    Truly, does the Left even care at all anymore about anything other than power? No wonder Obama has no problem with Ayers; it seems that Democrats are totally OK with hoping for and taking steps to cause deaths if it will advantage them politically.

  55. Yeah…a regular gal who did vogue shoots, etc. Shouldn’t she be at home with her Down’s syndrome child? Desparate move McSame.

    [GP Ed. Note — Ah, a “tolerant” liberal/progressive. How nice.]

  56. NDT, it’s always been about power to them.

    I figured it out as a kid.

    Republicans – we all have equal oportunites to excell.

    Democrats – you’re all equal

  57. Desperate Erik and his fellow Obamamaniacs are hoping and praying for a deadly storm to hit the United States

    No, i’m not. The storm is coming. What I was hoping for is that the Republicans wouldn’t have the foresight to postpone their convention because if it. And as usual, Republican ambivalence doesn’t disappoint.

  58. I’m starting to understand why so few black and elderly people were able to evacuate New Orleans, even though after the storm, there were literally acres of flooded, empty schoolbuses and transit vehicles that could have carried them out of town.

    Democrat Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco — and their DNC masters — preferred having dead photo-ops to living survivors.

  59. Desperate Erik and his fellow Obamamaniacs are hoping and praying for a deadly storm to hit the United States so that their candidate has a better chance of winning.

    The Dems really are a bunch of sick bastards.

  60. Hate to rain on your parade, Erik, but even if the storm managed to do so, we have Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, already putting the National Guard on alert, mobilizing them, and preparing for mass evacuations — as is Haley Barbour, the Republican governor of Mississippi, Charlie Crist, the Republican governor of Florida, Bob Riley, the Republican governor of Alabama, and Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas.

    Last time, Louisiana, Democrat-owned and operated, was a weak link in our coast. They aren’t repeating that mistake. They know whose fumbling and inaction killed all those people; it was the DNC puppet Blanco and the racist Democrat Nagin who couldn’t be bothered to get people out of their neighborhoods and to safety.

  61. Hate to rain on your parade, Erik, but even if the storm managed to do so, we have Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, already putting the National Guard on alert, mobilizing them, and preparing for mass evacuations, as is Haley Barbour, the Republican governor of Mississippi, Charlie Crist, the Republican governor of Florida, Bob Riley, the Republican governor of Alabama, and Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas.

    Oddly enough, when Katrina hit, the only state that had problems was Louisiana — then Democrat-owned and operated. I guess they’ve decided not to repeat their mistake.

  63. I was hoping… Republicans wouldn’t have the foresight to postpone their convention because if it. And as usual, Republican ambivalence doesn’t disappoint.

    “Ambivalence”?? That’s a new one.

  64. You just know if the GOP did cancel their convention (not a bad idea, conventions are pointless exercises anyway), the MSM would immediately go wall-to-wall with coverage about how businesses in St Paul were ruined because of the business they were missing out on.

  65. In case anyone missed it, Democrat Rep Jim Clyburn is trashing Sarah Palin by comparing her to Geraldine Ferraro, who he says, and I quote, “proved to be a disaster as a running mate. And as a campaigner, she was absolutely awful.”

    But again, it shows the mentality of male Dems like Erik; women exist to equally exploit and trash as necessary so that men can hold on to political power.

  67. She is not good on gay issues.

    Really? Like what? I heard she supports civil unions. Not my ideal – I’d prefer gay marriage – but good enough… provide she is good on stuff like low taxes and strong defense, the “other” gay issues. (and universal issues)

  68. About that troopergate, apparently this guy (fmr brother in law) threatened to kill her father, tasered his step son and violated internal rules and was suspended for 10 days.

    Does this sound like a person you want as a state trooper? Probably not.

  69. Democrats are right about Palin. She has little experience. Unfortunately for them, our Vice-Presidential nominee has far more experience than their presidential nominee.

    She is not good on gay issues.

    She’s not good on national defence? The economy? Energy? Liberty? Those are my gay issues.

  71. The left has no sense of irony.

    Obama calling someone “inexperienced”? The only thing he’s done in the U.S. Senate is run for President.

    Joe Biden calling someone a Washington insider? Good grief – thirty some years in the Senate? Neil Kinnock Joe Biden has been in Washington longer than some of us here have been walking and talking (not me unfortunately!).

    And people like Erik are noticeably (if not openly) hopeful that another natural disaster will strike the nation.

    Priceless. Absolutely priceless.

  73. Between them, McCain (with Palin) and Obama (with turning his back on campaign finance reform, and with Biden) have terminated the Messiah’s former “hopey changitude” advantage.

  74. I like the pick. She’s young, pretty attractive and is a normal lady. There’s no bullshit with her.

    Is this a strategic pick? Yes.
    Is she being used? Probably, but isn’t that the role of the VP?

    I want to see her and Biden during a debate. It’ll be interesting, because I’m pretty sure that Biden will slip and call her “Missy” or something that’s degrading towards women.

  75. American Elephant….you go!! My issues are National Defense/National Security, the Economy, Energy and common sense approaches to those problems. They are American issues…..ones this Gay man feels deeply about!

    Sarah Palin is a reformer and beat Frank Murkowksi for Governor and kicked the corruption where it hurts in Alaska…..its a Grand Slam homerun….I beg to differ with those that say she would not be on the ticket and is an affirmative action candidate….Bull indeed…..she has proven record of reform, is an excellent Governor and can stand up to the sexist bigots like Obama any day of the week!

    I am betting that Hillary will be voting for McCain and Palin and so will many women and men…Gay and Straight….Give ’em hell McCain and Palin…..

    now, if McCain just sees the light on Anwar and we will be on our way to one hell of an election victory……Good bye Nobama and Joey Biden….

  76. Another point: Both McCain and Palin have been outspoken critics of the Republican party. Have Biden or Obama ever criticized the Democrats, or have they always been good little partisan sheep? And what does this say about which party is more open to criticism and reform and free speech, the one that puts its rebels at the top of the ticket, or the one that uses thug tactics (like arresting reporters, threatening critics with Justice Department investigations) to silence all dissent?

  77. – Palin has executive experience.

    – Obama has NO executive experience.

    Game over. The “experience game” is indeed over. Obama just lost it.
    Comment by ILoveCapitalism — August 29, 2008 @ 1:24 pm – August 29, 2008

    Obama AND Biden both lack executive experience, which Palin has. More importantly during a time of war though is that both the Dems lack any kind military experience as well. They neither served in the military themselves nor were executives in charge of military units. We know McCain’s sterling record and Palin as guv of Alaska was CiC of the state’s National Guard. I realize this will be dismissed as being nothing by the Dems, but it is FAR FAR more than Obama or Biden has. Besides, remember when Bill Clinton ran and was asked that question? His response was that he was CiC of the Arkansas NG. 🙂 Even better, this past summer Palin visited wounded troops in Germany while Obama did NOT. That will go over well…NOT!!!

    GO SARAH GO!!!

  78. With all due respect to the Arkansas Natl Guard, but…. The Alaska NG are a real bunch of hard-asses were just about every unit is of SOCOM-caliber; outdoorsmen, professional hunters and fishermen, and tough miners and oil industry-types.

  83. 17: Bingo!

    73: Really? you say that,but they continue to adhere to Bush policies which they believe will keep the majority of conservatives voting for them.

    71: LOL Young, pretty and normal? yup, those are major qualifications for our leaders. (and doubtful that wold be said about a male running mate)

  84. She’s a hunter, an athlete and an executive. She reinforces the Maverik lable (suing the federal government over polar bear silliness).

    She sounds like she has a little bit of a Teddy Roosevelt streak in her!

  85. (and doubtful that wold be said about a male running mate)

    Funny, it’s what the left has been gushing about Obama since day one.

    Unfortunately, Obama is nothing more than a pretty face. Amazing how a man with so much education — all done through affirmative action and lowered standards, of course — could accomplish so little.

    And even more amazing how Palin could accomplish so much more despite her alleged inferiority in education, intelligence, charisma, and experience.

    I’m not surprised you don’t know what to make of Palin, Kevin; she’s a minority member who has more to offer than her gender or skin color. You’re not used to that in the Democrat Party.

  87. Erik wrote: Obama went to Ivy League schools, was President of the Harvard Law Review, is a lawyer and taught constitutional law, in addition to his experience as a state Senator and US Senator.

    Erik, I don’t consider myself “anti-intellectual” but some of the stupidest comments I’ve heard in my life have come from people with advanced degrees from Ivy League schools.

    I’m sure that the fact that Palin is a woman figured into the decision (duh). But that doesn’t mean she’s not a good choice. I mean, look at Biden. He was chosen to provide the “gravitas” that Cheney provided W in 2000. Barry did what he needed to do (although it may not work out too well for him).

  90. Love this site! Being in a gay bar yesterday during Palins speech yesterday. We were watching FOXNEWS, and the 15 or so customers were mesmerized by this woman. Here in the mdwest rustbelt , the gay vote was going to be at least 40% because of Obama.I would be willing now with Palin on the ballot , McCain will get around 50% of the gay vote!

  91. I love how a degree from Harvard automatically qualifies a liberal for the White House, yet even with a degree from Yale and another one from Harvard, Bush is somehow the most ignorant, stupid slack-jawed yokel ever born.

  92. 82.

    That’s it, I’m at Buildabear.com right now, trying to find a hunting outfit for a stuffed polar bear.

    Sarah Bears anyone? I can get a voice chip that says ‘Sell the jet on E-bay. I’d rather drive!’

  93. #88 – Sean, great point. Where were the “Ivy League is excellent” liberals in 2004 when we learned Bush was academically better at Yale, than Kerry? And got a Harvard MBA?