Well, this has been an interesting weekend to say the least...At the announcement of Governor Palin as McSame's VP choice MoveOn.ORG sent an email bullet pointing her stances in a email. Doing what I must, I forwarded it to my friends. One friend replied, an Obama supporter, with a reply he had received from his forward of the original. I was kind enough to reply for him, and now we have received his rebuttal, or lack thereof.
If you follow me after the jump , I will try to summarize the exchanges, and look forward to input in a final response. Basically where we stand now, is Obama is a socialist (in his response) and yet no defense of Governor Palin or McCain, or Bush for that matter...
I am looking for a well rounded response that will make it virtually impossible for them to rebut...
Below is the original email from MoveOn.org, which was initially forwarded to a friend of mine...
Truncated Email since most of us probably have seen it. To Read the full email I have provided the SOURCE
Dear MoveOn member,
Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.
Huh?
Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:
• She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1
• Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
• She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
• Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
• She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
• She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
• How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.7
This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.
This email was forwarded to my contacts, a friend of mine who is supporting Obama did the same. Here is a response he received from a conservative friend of his... Its really good reading :)
John,
Sarah Palin's first foray into politics came in 1992, when she ran for and won a seat on the Wasilla Township City Council. Palin spent four years on the City Council before challenging, and defeating, incumbent mayor John Stein. Then won two terms as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. On Dec. 4, 2006 she became governor of Alaska.
Barack Obama: Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate in January 2003. He had a primary victory in March 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004. Barack was getting married in 1992 when Sarah Palin was starting in Politics. Hmm...
She has more experience than Barack and she is just the vice presidential nominee. Barack is the presidential nominee and has less experience than her! So if I were you I would be more worried about your nominee. McCain blows him out of the water with his experience! So I'm not sure what you're so worried about when she is under someone with an amazing amount of experience??? No matter what you think about Bush positive or negative is socialism really the answer??
How are you John? Haven't heard from you in awhile! You know I love you, but I have to respond to your email cause you know I'm a die hard conservative!!
Emily
PS. MoveOn.org?? Come on!!
My friend asked me for assitance and I was alreay in a snarky type of mood so I obliged him. I provided him with this in response to forward to his sorely mistaken friend.
Well if we are going to start copying and pasting from wikipedia, I can jump into this one...
While Sarah Palin may tout mayorship over a town in Alaska, we might want to mention its population was roughly 8500. Now she is governor of a state with a popluation of 650,000. She has been in the executive position of leadership less time than Barack Obama has been running for president. If my math is correct, that leads her to have roughly 8 years of elected leadership, however at a state level only 20 months of elected leadership. Barack Obama currently stands at 12 years of elected leadership at a state or higher level.
Barack Obama was elected to State Senate in Illinois in 1996 where he served for 8 years prior to running for United States Senate where he won with 70% of the vote. Interestingly enough, 70% of the vote in that election equates to roughly 600,000 alone in his district. Now as a US Senator he represents over 12 million people. I know the "inexperience" meme is popular among conservatives, but considering that Obama is on the Senate Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is on he Veterans Affairs Committee and is also on the Foreign Relations Committee, when compared to Palin there is no comparison. The only foreign policy traceable to Governor Palin is a quote she provided when asked about the Surge in Iraq, "I havent really thought about it".
I myself on a personal level am pro life, in the sense that I obviously wouldnt want to make that decision, however from a political standpoint I am pro choice, since I haven't been in that position myself and wouldn't want my views or beliefs being imposed on anyone else (you know that whole limited small government thing). However, regardless of where you stand on that issue, surely no one would want anyone to be forced to deliver a baby out of a incestuous relationship, or even worse through a violent act such as rape???
Oh No, actually governor Palin is pro life EVEN in cases of incest or Rape.
Global Warming???Maybe its real???Maybe its not??? Isnt that like praying??? Does it hurt? Maybe it isnt real??? But isnt it the "morally" correct thing to do in protecting our planet through cleaner means of production, consumption and alike? Wouldn't we all want to protect God's creation regardless of the elements that may cause its harm?
Creationism in schools? As a Christian I get it...But then again, as someone who wouldn't even have the opportunity to practice my faith if it weren't for my ancestors who fled religious persecution, would I really want to impose my beliefs on someone else of a different faith considering that ? What about Separation of Church and State? Or does that little constitution thing only get in the way when you are arguing for the second amendment rights to bear arms?
Ah yes, the second amendment... Well , without arguing the possibility that the founding fathers probably didnt envision, fully automatic machine guns, tanks, rpgs and bazookas, lets talk about the rights to gun owners... Surely we can agree that the second amendment could be upheld but at the same time keep them out of the hands of criminals? Surely NRA members could agree to deeper background checks and trigger locks, no NRA member would need access to a gun with intent to commit a crime right?
My only final questions would be, when Barack Obama becomes the President of the United States, will conservatives continue to demonize, distort and tear down the leader of the free world? Or will the practice what they preach through their religious beliefs, and pray for his safety and for the Good Lord to give him guidance? If not for his policies, at least on a humanity level and out of respect for the Institution of the Office he holds, if not for the man himself.
And Now his Conservative Friends Response...
seriously jonny...i know bush blew ass but a socialist? please do something for me...name me 5 programs the united states government runs well. shit, name me ONE program they run well. and you want to elect someone who wants to give the government MORE programs, 1 TRILLION dollars in spending. do you know the top 10% wage earners pay like 85-95% of the tax burden of this country. everyone pisses about exxon making 13 billion last quarter, the US government made 35 BILLION that same quarter on exxon. that is almost 3x the profit and the government didn't do ANYTHING to earn it. they didn't invest in prospecting, didn't invest in the employees or ANYTHING and they made 35 BILLION. barak wants to perpetuate class envy like nobody's buisness by rewarding mediocrity and punishing success. what gives him the right to decide what wealthy is? seriously, john...socialism? that is a step away from communism. i have not yet found a democrat (and i am not a republican by the way, libertarian here) who can defend SOCIALISM!!! good lord...SOCIALISM! redistribution of wealth...and yet they never use the word to describe what they are doing. it is crazy man...please do some research. being pissed at bush is understandable but socialism is NOT the answer.
last time i voted for the top of the ticket not the bottom, refer to emily's email for Palin vs Obama regarding experience and "change i can believe in" does not include a lifetime politician if you are focusing on the bottom of the ticket. /SIGH
the answer is to research bob barr for president =) get other parties in the picture. like south park's famous episode, when your options are vomit or peice of crap...it sucks but at least vomit isn't a socialist =)
Conclusion...
During the primaries I stumbled upon this site after hearing KO mention it. I visited it an immidiately fell in love with it. This community has provided me with humor when I was enraged by muslim smears, hope when I was filled with pessimism, energy when I have been exhausted from long days of canvassing, and friendship when my government has let me down...
In the spirit of this community, I was hoping for some feedback and a collective effort at preparing a final response to put this "socialist" meme out of its misery. If not for good, at least towards this person who wants to follow the path we have already walked, and one which we already know where it leads.
Thanks in Advance...
UPDATE : I have notice some comments have stated arguing with this person is a lost cause, will go on deaf ears etc. While I completely agree, I enjoy these exchanges and they bring me up to speed on current arguments taking place accross America. I am having fun and dont look at this opportunity as one to say "HA I GOT YA" . But more of an opportunity to argue my cause, and not let up on this meme, especially since he has been replying to all I can not allow this to go undefended...