Political Gimmicks

By Lucy Parker

I follow politics pretty closely, here in America and abroad as well. I find the whole American election process to be interesting; from the actual candidate to the political strategists and the all too typical itineraries politicians seem to be on since birth. One thing always seemed apparent to me, whether Republican or Democrat, all politicians are pretty much the same, just different labels.

However, in 2004 at the Democratic national convention my interest was peaked by a young Illinois state senator. Ever since his key note speech, I have followed Senator Barack Obama; a former community organizer to United States senator, and now the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Needless to say, it was apparent that this election would be like no other election this country has seen. I saw it as an indication of this county’s progress, an indication of what this country might yet one day be. In early 2007, when Senator Obama announced his candidacy for president of the United States it was an understatement to say he gave me hope, he gave me faith.

The Democratic primaries would be a historic race, and Hilary Clinton proved to be a formidable opponent. While I was not a supporter of Senator Clinton, she has a proven political record and is capable of running this country, something I could respect. I was proud, not only as a Hispanic woman, but as an American; that in only a few short decades since the Civil Rights Movement and in under a century since women fought and earned the right to vote, we were in the midst of a presidential election where two of the top candidates were an African-American and a female.

With a majority of the country’s political attention span staying focused on what was happening with the Democratic primaries, it became clear after a tight race that Senator Obama would win the nomination. And even when it was clear that Senator Obama would win the nomination, the momentum stayed with the Democrats. A desperate move would be needed, a move that would either sink or swim the Republican chance at presidency. The Republicans never being one to be short on political strategy, came up with the biggest political gimmick of them all by naming Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as their Vice Presidential nominee.

Sarah who? I had only heard of Governor Palin once before, when it was announced that she was 7 months pregnant while in office. An apparent news worthy event. A self-styled “maverick”, Senator John McCain and his campaign made repeated references to how Governor Palin has taken on the good ol’ boys club, while offering little to back it up. A simple Google search would yield the necessary information needed about Governor Palin.

This self-described “hockey mom” who likes to hunt and the great outdoors is also a life-long member of the NRA and supports drilling in Alaska, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); has stated as recently as a month ago, then taken back, that she thinks global warming is not caused by man, and has gone up against the government to remove polar bears and beluga whales from the endangered species list. I guess that is what they are referring to when they say Governor Palin has gone against the good ol’ boys club, because a further look into her policies shows otherwise. Governor Palin is against a women’s right to choose, even in cases of rape and incest; she is against same sex marriages and in the past has supported referendums denying same sex couples state health benefits. Governor Palin also supports the death penalty and abstinence only sex education programs, and her foreign policy literally scares me.

These are not new policies; Governor Palin does not represent the reform this country needs, just like Senator McCain doesn’t. So, why did Senator McCain chose her as his running mate? Because she is a female, and because after the last 8 years of the Bush administration, they needed to present some form of opportunity of change. For Governor Palin, being female is the only difference.

It is true, the woman vote is powerful. But, to expect us to vote for someone, to expect anyone, to vote for someone because of their gender, is insulting. I have never once doubted that in my life time I would see a female president, or a could-be female president. However, I, like so many other Americans, imagined that the female candidate would be someone worthy and capable of the position, not someone who was chosen as a political gimmick. Personally, I cast my vote based upon the candidate who has the most similar political policies as I do.

While I do not agree with Governor Palin’s political policies, it is not the reason I do not find her capable of the office of vice president. Governor Palin put it best as to why she isn’t ready to be vice president: "As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?" (CNBC's "Kudlow & Co", July 2008)