So, thanks to a spotlight and magnifying glass (nice combination, try it sometime) being put on Wasilla, AK, we've been treated to details on what kind of Vice President or even President Sarah Palin would be.
Lets make rape victims pay for rape kits!
Lets make them pay for the investigation too.
We should make all victims pay for DNA testing and investigation costs.
Lets extend that to other crimes, law inforcement activity, and hell, why not judicial proceedings? It all costs money you know...
I read Scout Finch's front page diary today, "Justice...Maverick Style." and thought about it a bit.
What kind of person makes a rape victim pay for a rape kit? The same kind of person that cuts finding for special needs services.
What about children who are victims of incest? Would you ask the suspect family to pay for the rape kit? How about a poor or migrant family that can't afford it.
This all ties into the argument I've seen made for years; that a major aim of the Bush administration, and Republicans at large is to eliminate or shrink the middle class and enrich the already rich.
You're creating a whole new class of victims here, and enabling a whole new class of criminals. Criminals will better be able to target poor families and individuals that could not afford to pay for rape kits. Why bother targeting the well off when you can walk into a slum and pick off the already vulnerable at little to no risk to yourself?
Extend the logic of this further; make all victims pay the costs of investigations. Everything costs money after all. Robberies, shootings, everything requires an up-front payment.
What about crimes where there's no clear victim? Whatever you may think about the war on drugs, what would you do about drug crimes when there's no one willing to pay for an investigation? What about white collar crimes?
I served as the foreman in a jury trial with six charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Three rape victims testified. One (the focus of the trial) testified about having the rape kit examination performed on her. It's not pleasant, and it is not private. Add to that the humiliation of being forced to pay for the test, on the spot, before you can even have it done...
I think you can make your own conclusions about all this.
Regardless of party affiliation or policy differences, no one in their right minds... no one with any sense of intellectual honesty could or should EVER be able to endorse Palin for any public office... especially not the Vice Presidency.