Women Say NO – Part 13

I, and three of my friends, want to approve of the statement "women say no to Palin". We are all from Portland, Oregon, and live in an Assisted Living facility.
–Marilyn L. age 83; Alice Olson, 80; Doris Elle, 89; and Janet J., 86

As an Independent voter on the fence about the election, my decision was made with the nomination of Sarah Palin. Barack Obama will certainly get my vote. I could never vote for a woman who would deny women the ability to make different choices than she did. While I respect her decision to have her Down's Syndrome child, we should not ignore the fact that 9 out of 10 women are choosing the other option. Though I have seen articles saying that the book banning question was merely a rhetoric question: why even ask it in 2008? It implies that she was considering the option. I could perhaps live with the above issues if I wasn't so scared about what she would do to the environment. For an energy expert, she seems to concentrate on the continued addiction to fossil fuels and not looking at alternative clean energy sources. The fact that she publicly denies that our behavior has affected global warming and the environment makes me question how critically she looks at an issue
–Gail S., 55, New York, NY

I am horrified by the choice that McCain made for his Vice President nominee.I do not agree with any of her views, she does not demonstrate or uphold any of my interests as American women. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs; she knows nothing of national government, social Security, unemployment, health care systems—you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.
–Lisa R., 37, Sausalito, CA

Governor Palin speaks well, is pretty, and is loved by her husband. However, I would rather have a vice-president who is sensitive to the environment, who does not use ridicule an esteemed opponent, and who is aware of government's responsibility to its citizens who are ill-equipped to lead independent, productive lives.
–Claire H., 85, Tennessee

Sarah Palin is perfectly entitled to her own beliefs, but I am vehemently against a representative of the religious right trying to legislate their brand of morality to me and my daughers (I have four). These people are two loose cannons on a rolling deck and I genuinely fear for the future of our great country. If John McCain is unable to see his term through, Sarah Palin is next in line as leader of the Free World. Not only is Ms. Palin vastly under-qualified to deal with the complex issues we face both abroad and at home, her limited world view and rigidity present a very real danger to us all. John McCain has said many times how much he loves his country and I must believe that's true. I must also believe that he is no longer mentally fit to make decisions of great import concerning the future of America, otherwise he would not have so deliberately put us in harm's way with the selection of Sarah Palin.
–Olivia R., 53, Boulder, CO

I am an eighteen-year-old college freshman at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. I'm registered to vote in Pennsylvania. I have chosen to attend the fourth most environmentally friendly college in the country, where the student body as a whole is very concerned with political and environmental issues. The idea that the better part of 850 students can be fighting so hard to change the world while, at the same time, people like Sarah Palin are trying to undo all that we are working for, is devastating. I strongly support women's right to hold political office, but Sarah Palin opposes almost everything I believe. Sarah Palin, although she is a woman, is by no stretch of the truth an advocate for women's rights, especially on issues of birth control and abortion.
–Alice S., 18, Asheville, NC

I am an 85-year-old mother of three, grandmother of two, and have voted in every presidential election since the fourth term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I am philosophically a Democrat, but I respect other party alliances and opinions if they are based on what they deeply feel is best for the country. The selection of Sarah Palin is an insult to the country and to the women of this country—her stated beliefs are antithetical to what women have fought to gain the right to vote, and to what we want for the future of our children and our grandchildren. Political pandering is disgusting, but, above all, extremely dangerous to America's future.
–Gloria E., 85, Los Angeles, CA

In all the fuss about Sarah Palin’s moose hunting, religious views, and beauty pageant career, something has been lost: whether her words match up with her record. She told the Republican National Convention "To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House." Really? Because the parents of children with disabilities in Alaska don't have much of a friend or advocate right now. Even in years of great surplus, she actually cut state funding for special education services and Medicaid—the program that children and adults with disabilities rely on for health care.

You can search in vain in any of her speeches, or budgets, for any evidence of her newfound "advocacy" for the things that people with disabilities in Alaska and our country really need: equality. Rather than fight for the educational services which the law says children with disabilities are entitled to, she has cut them. Nor has she fought for, or even shown an interest in, promoting the integration of people with disabilities from institutions and into our communities. Governor Palin shouldn't be judged on how she looks, how many children she brings on stage, or whether she kills her own food. Americans want to know if her words match her actions, whether she is the real deal. And on disability rights, there's a yawning gulf between her talk and her actions. That is something that should give us cause for alarm.
–Fraser N., Salt Lake City, Utah

I am an 80-year-old woman with 2 daughters and 4 granddaughters. It appalls me that these granddaughters, who are still in their teens, might not to able to control their own reproductive choices if Sarah Palin and John McCain are elected. Women have fought too long and too hard to have the right to choose taken from them. There are many other reasons I feel Sarah Palin would be a disaster, particularly in the arena of foreign affairs, and they have been addressed very well by other contributors to this site. So I will keep my comments short and pray that the Democratic candidates prevail in the coming election.
–Marilyn G., 80, Port Hadlock, WA

Despite my life long work on behalf of women running for political office, I do not and cannot support Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice-President. Those who believe that women will support any female candidate over a male regardless of her views or experience are grossly under-estimating the intelligence of women in the electorate. Sarah Palin's views are contrary to my own on a wide array of issues including sex education, birth control, abortion, gun control, environmental protection, alternative energy development and separation of church and state and freedom of speech. In addition, she lacks the experience to function as an effective vice-president, let alone for the possibility of assuming the presidency in cases of emergency. The assertion that Obama and Palin cancel each other out on the "experience" factor would be laughable except for the fact that it is insulting. There is no question in my mind that Joe Biden will serve the interests of the broad array of American people in a more balanced and competent and respectful manner than Sarah Pallin.
–Debra K., 59, Teaneck, NJ

My heart is wrenched by the Republican choice of Sarah Palin as V.P. I am the grandmother of five beautiful little girls and one brave grandson. Their world will be challenging enough with out the extreme and reactionary policies which Sarah Palin has put forth publicly. It is not too late to make a change. PLEASE, re-think this damaging choice. The women of America need a planet which holds promise, and acceptance for each and every one of us...a planet in which we all have the right to make our own best choices...for ourselves and our children. Sarah Palin is a frightening, degrading choice.
–Janet L., Huntington Woods, MI

As a woman and a mother, I cannot believe that Sarah Palin doesn't support environmental protection or the development of alternative energy sources. In effect, her decision to be on the side of Big Oil is in absolute opposition to her views on women's choice. By not protecting the environment, she is inviting a horrible future for her children. Clean air, clean water, clean energy promote the growth and survival of the human race. Dirty water, dirty air and dirty power only contribute to the early demise of all life on the planet. We are all God's creatures. The bible says we are to be stewards of the earth. By not following the wishes of God in caring for the animals and the environment Sarah Palin is breaking the covenant set forth between God and mankind. I do not understand how Sarah Palin can promote herself as a Christian and not be willing to follow these basic rules of the Bible.
–Susan Bourdeau, Knoxville, TN

I am appalled by the poor judgment John McCain has shown in selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate. Not because she is a woman or even (though I thoroughly disagree with them) because of her extreme cultural and religious conservatism. I am appalled because Sarah Palin has no qualifications to be mayor of a typical (read: sizable, diverse, complex, challenging) American city, let alone Vice President of the United States.

We are facing a major international recession, environmental catastrophe, and a real and present threat of terrorism within our borders, not to mention an ongoing war that is adding billions of dollars of debt to our sinking economy, with no end in sight if the Republicans win. Sarah Palin has no experience in international relations, no experience dealing with the United States Congress, no experience managing ANY significant military or economic challenge. She does appear to have an ample track record, however, in attempting to thwart any and all efforts to preserve the environment. Ms. Palin is also well documented as a local bully who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with her. After eight years of an unqualified President who has done everything in his power to position America as a global bully, this characteristic is the last quality we need in the White House for four more years.

John McCain's VP pick is a crucial test of his actual willingness to "put country first." Not only has he failed the test, but the choice of Sarah Palin makes it terrifyingly clear that neither of these Republicans belongs anywhere near the White House.
–Aimee L., 54, Los Angeles, CA