This is my first diary and I'm just using it to vent. Tonight, I listened and watched the Republican Party dance in the aisles and wait with baited breath, the short-awaited American debut of the woman who would be the great hope of their party. The future of the Right-wing of their party. They cheered and laughed and felt she was a hit. What I felt was a much different feeling. What I felt was disgust. Disgust to the very core of everything I hold sacred. What I saw was the Republican Party spit on America and wrap it in a flag. Follow me below the fold and my rant will be complete:
I have always enjoyed the game they call politics. I studied Political Science for a short time while in college and followed elections with popcorn and soda within arms reach. The race for Governor, Congress and the Presidency was always met, by me, to great fanfare. However, I have never gotten involved enough to actively campaign for any candidate. That is until this election. My story is like so many others you have read on this site. I have donated money, I have registered new voters and though I have yet to really join any grassroots group on the ground, I have been doing my research into the groups that reflect my hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow. This is why I am angry right now and this is why I'm here to vent.
Tonight, I watched Rudy 9/11 and Sarah 'what scandal is going to rear it's head next' Palin make comments that I found wholly offensive. It was Rudy 9/11 who said in his speech...
We began as a party dedicated to freeing people from slavery...
All you had to do was look around the arena tonight or on Tuesday or on Monday ( if anybody was watching that night) to see the great sea of diversity that the Republican party represents. So they pick a woman to be Vice-President and accuse my party of sexism when we question her qualifications. Okay, Sarah Palin was vetted by the people of Alaska, well, Barack Obama was vetted by 18 million voters from every state, including Alaska.
But I digress, I want to get to my main focus. When Sarah Palin came upon the stage and began her hit job, I managed to take it all in stride until she said this:
I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities.
That was the thing that caused my blood pressure to rise and my anger to get the best of me. How dare she? Has she never studied the history of this country? Does she even understand why she is on that stage and why she is the governor of a state? Does she recognize that by those few words, she has proven to me that not only is she without compassion but without a clue? Does she understand that the party she holds in such high esteem once held high values? Does she understand the promise of America?
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers who gathered people in churches and courthouses and claimed that there could be no taxation without representation. Men like John and Samuel Adams who talked to people in their communities and made the case for Independence. Men such as these who did battle at Concord and Lexington and shed blood on the fields of Yorktown.
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers who established the underground railroad and led men like John Brown to die for the promise of America. Actions that led to the birth of her party and a man to say that a nation, half-slave and half-free cannot stand.
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers who gathered in New York state and said that women should have the right to vote. That these actions led to the rise of women, like Susan B. Anthony, who said that the wait was over and demand their rights. Who led marches demanding that recognition. A recognition which led to Sarah Palin standing on that stage tonight.
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers who stood up in a meat packing plant in Chicago and an auto plant in Michigan to demand fair wages and a 40-hour work week. An end to child labor and a rise to the middle-class in America. The same middle-class her party purports to represent. The rise of the labor unions, she says with pride, that her husband belongs.
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers that gathered farm workers together to demand fair treatment. That led to a man like Cesar Chavez risking his life to bring attention to these proud men and women. To provide them with the type of dignity that our form of government grants to all upon our shores.
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers who stood up by sitting down at lunch counters and on buses. That led a man to gather men and women, black and white to boycott busses, cross a Selma bridge and march on Washington. That made him string words together to say 'I have a dream'!
Does she understand that it was a group of organizers who gathered throughout the history of this great land and made it what it is today. People who gathered and saw this nation's promise unfulfilled and worked to make today a little bit better than yesterday and tomorrow a little bit better than today.
Does she understand that it is groups of organizers working everyday to help rebuild New Orleans and help the poor put food on their tables and clothes on their backs. Who everyday teach us that change doesn't come from the top down but from the bottom up.
Does she understand that it will be a community organizer who will raise him hand in January and swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.
Does she understand that when she mocks community organizers, she mocks America. I don't think she does, but she will soon.