Republican leadership shoot themselves in the foot

It's very rare that I find Comedy Central's Jon Stewart's montage thought-provoking; but here, he gets it right. With all due respect to my Republican friends, its leadership is shooting itself in the foot. With a campaign that promises "straight talk", why don't they "talk straight" first? See for yourself.

Palin, on the record, is not what Republicans claim her to be

While Republican Vice Presidential hopeful, Sarah Palin, delivered a rousing speech tonight at the RNC attacking Barack Obama’s lack of experience and denouncing Democratic values, it’s only fair game to also look at her record.

Republicans claim that Palin is a progressive reformer, but in fact turns out to be a major supporter of eamarks and porkbarrel spending. For example, Palin is a director of a Ted Stevens’ (the Alaska GOP senator recently indicted on public-corruption charges) 527 group raising corporate money. Palin takes credit for signing a major ethics law, but the impetus for the law came from legislators, especially Democrats. Palin claims to be a champion for small town Americans when she has supported increasing the regressive sales tax, even for items like food. She also supported the so-called “Bridge to Nowhere,” a $223 million tax payer earmark and then denies to ever have supported it. Though the bridge was never built, this porkbarrel money was still allocated to Alaska for infrastructure. In September 2006 Palin spoke in Ketchikan, saying the bridge was essential to the town. Palin also hired Washington lobbyists to secure taxpayer money for her hometown, securing more than $27 million, including $1.9 million for a transportation hub. The largest earmark was $15 million for a rail link between Wasilla and the ski resort community of Girdwood, home town of Senator Ted Stevens.

Republicans claim that Palin is in touch with people when in fact her views are extreme and out of the mainstream. Her values and positions on every issue is the extreme opposite of Hillary Clinton. She opposes abortion even for rape and incest victims, and has suggested adding requiring parental consent for abortions to Alaskan constitution. Palin has strongly promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling. She does not believe global warming is caused by humans. She is opposed to listing polar bears as an endangered species. She has supported expanding wolf hunting. The pastor of Palin’s Pentecostal Church says critics of George W. Bush will go to hell. In June 2008, Palin spoke before this Church and claimed the Iraq War is a “task from God.”

The real question for undecided voters to ask: Is Palin prepared to be Commander in Chief? The McCain-Palin ticket’s argument is to attack Obama on his lack of experience. However, Palin’s own political experience is limited. She has served as Governor of Alaska for 20 months. Prior to this she has served as mayor of a small town. She has no foreign policy or national political experience. Republican charge on Palin having more “executive experience” than Obama and Biden combined is empty rhetoric. By this logic she more experience than John McCain as well. Biden has spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate, and has been Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. By contrast, Palin received her first passport in 2007.

Even fellow Republicans in Alaska question Palin’s readiness. "She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Lyda Green, the president of the Alaskan State Senate, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?" Another top Alaskan Republican, John Harris, the speaker of the House, when asked about her qualifications for Vice Presidency, replied with this: "She's old enough. She's a U.S. citizen."

Palin’s own mother-in-law, Faye Palin, says: “I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket, other than she’s a woman and a conservative.” In an interview with Larry Kudlow on CNBC, Palin stated: “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 it is exactly that the VP does every day?”

When asked in an interview about her thoughts about the Iraq War Surge, she said: “I’ve been so focused on state government; I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.” McCain’s choice of Palin as his running mate with little vetting demonstrates McCain’s tendency to make reckless decisions. Picking Palin reflects a trend of Republicans choosing unqualified candidates (Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General, Michael Brown as director of FEMA, etc.)

It’s pretty obvious from the above that Palin, on the record, is not what Republicans claim her to be.

Biden’s a Smart Choice for Obama

Sen. Joseph Biden from Delaware brings much to the Democratic ticket, particularly in the areas of unifying the Democratic base and bolstering Obama’s foreign policy credentials, but the choice still leaves much doubt whether this ticket can pull through in November. The Republicans will now have a week to vet and strategically devise their own countermeasure when McCain also announces his running mate.

Let’s look at the advantages Biden brings to the table. The senator from Delaware has the ability to connect with blue collar voters and will secure the Democratic base, particularly voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio, which are key battleground states. This will bring Clinton’s staunch supporters of blue-collar workers and women—a key demographic Obama had difficulty in convincing during the primary—into the fold. Clearly, the Obama campaign had this question in mind: ‘How do you pacify Clinton supporters without Hillary being in the picture?’ The fear that some hardcore Clinton supporters would switch allegiance to the McCain camp probably played a major factor to Obama’s VP selection committee in choosing Biden. Recall that the past two presidential elections were decided by key independents that swung the votes in Bush’s favor. Every vote counts in these key battleground states because of the winner-take-all nature of the Electoral College and the Democrats know that they can’t afford to make the same mistake in 2008. Choosing Biden to unite the Democratic base was their answer.

Biden also complements Obama with his foreign policy experience having served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and also as the chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Biden’s credentials in this area will give Obama the help he needs to set a new direction and tone in combating the War on Terror. Needless to say, the challenges are immense in the foreign policy arena. Recent polls have shown that voters feel McCain is stronger in the issue of foreign policy than Obama. Biden’s selection should close that gap.

As for his character and demeanor, there is no question that Biden will speak his mind, but there is no doubt too that the last word will be Obama’s. Obama stated that he wanted “somebody who will tell me when they disagree with me.” Biden, a pragmatist and realist, will be outspoken, particularly in the area of foreign policy. It’s fair to say that we will not see a repeat of the power Dick Cheney wielded in the current administration.

Geographically, Biden was an interesting choice by the Obama campaign. While it united the Democratic base, it did not gamble in winning a key battleground, competitive, southern state, if Obama had chosen, for example, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia. Clearly, the Obama campaign believes that unifying the party’s base is more important than trying to infiltrate and win traditional red states.

Another interesting observation is that the two men vying for the ticket are both senators. While both men have law making experience, both do not have executive experience. Historically, this has been an obstacle the past few presidential elections. It didn’t work for Sen. Kerry and Edwards in 2004, former Sen. Gore and Lieberman in 2000, and Sen. Dole and Kemp in 1996. Voters oftentimes consider governors as better suited for the presidency than senators. Our current president and former president Bill Clinton were both governors. While Bush Sr. was VP Ronald Reagan too served as the governor of California. We’ll just have to wait and see if this becomes a factor.

Overall, Biden is a solid pick for the Democrats. He complements Obama in many ways. The role of the vice presidential candidate is to lead attacks against the opposition. Biden's history of talking tough to his opponents makes him well suited for the post. He has also been critical of Bush's approach to Iraq from the beginning while being touted by his Republican colleagues such as Senators Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. A strong, outspoken, yet respected VP is what Obama needed, and Biden offers him those strengths.

Technorati Tags:

John McCain

Barack Obama