31 Comments

• 1. CanadianObserver  |  September 8th, 2008 at 11:04 am

  So American women who are staunch Hillary supporters are now supporters, either out of spite or for gender reasons, of Palin, and are willing to throw aside the very principles they believe in to vote for the Republican ticket in November.

  Sad.

• 2. hermie  |  September 8th, 2008 at 11:05 am

  It’s a matter of showing which party actually gives women power, and which party simply mouths the words.

• 3. Sunny  |  September 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

  My mother, who turns 80 this month, will be voting for Sarah. She was a stanch supporter of Hillary and under no conditions would she vote for Obama. Mother does not care where Sarah Palin stands on the issues - only that she is a woman. So yes, there is a population of women who will vote for Sarah Palin (not necessarily McCain) simply because she is a woman. My mother says that she has waited all of her life to have a woman in the White House. I don’t think that most Hillary supporters that seriously understands the issues and they matter to them will not vote for the McCain/Palin ticket, but there are many out there who will vote it because of Palin. Just as there are many who will not vote for Obama because he is black - such as my mother. I never knew my mother was racist until this election and I am not proud of her very blatant hatred of Obama.

  As for my own vote, I will wait until after the debates to decide. I do want to know where Governor Palin stands on the issues. She is an impressive woman but that is not enough for me at this time. I do not have problems with McCain’s stand on the issues for the most part, but if Sarah Palin is going to be a heartbeat away from the presidency I want to know more about her.

• 4. hermie  |  September 8th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

  Whoa Sunny…

  Your mom wants to vote for a woman, and that makes her a RACIST?

  Mothers Day and Christmas must be a real hoot for you.

• 5. CanadianObserver  |  September 8th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

  Thank you for sharing your personal experience, Sunny.

  Unfortunately for the country, your mother’s views are shared by many. I’m sorry to hear your mother would allow the color of a person’s skin cancel everything that person stands for. Let’s hope if she does get her wish, she will not regret it.

  Your approach, however, seems like a sensible one.

• 6. Sunny  |  September 8th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

  hermie | September 8th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

  Well, one would expect an idiotic response from you hermie. She is racist because she hates Obama as a black man.

• 7. hermie  |  September 8th, 2008 at 2:15 pm

  “So yes, there is a population of women who will vote for Sarah Palin (not necessarily McCain) simply because she is a woman. My mother says that she has waited all of her life to have a woman in the White House.”

  That statement doesn’t necessarily mean she is a racist. It means she is only looking at gender. You are infering that your mother’s gender bias is actually racism. Her deciding to vote GOP just because there is a woman on the ticket, is just as wrong as your voting for Obama because he is black.

• 8. neocon  |  September 8th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

  Sunny and CO,

  I thought Obama was half white, raised by his white mother and his white grandmother.

  Why does he identify so strongly with the black race?

• 9. kimberly4victory  |  September 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  I haven’t heard anyone I know say they won’t vote for Obama because he’s black (which he isn’t, btw). Oh, I’m sure there are those that feel that way, but the majority don’t. They’re not voting for Obama because of his policies, his voting record, his associations with questionable people, etc.

  How about the people who are voting for Obama because he is black?

  Ridiculous.

• 10. KMorrison  |  September 8th, 2008 at 2:39 pm

  The traditional feminist approach could find itself in a catch-22 if they start arguing that women can only hold postitions that fit in their agenda. It’s very condesending to be told women only care about particular issues, and that they can only think one way about those particular issues.

  There are independent and moderate Clinton suppoters that could support McCain/Palin for a variety of reasons, not just because Palin is a woman.

• 11. Observer20  |  September 8th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

  The reason we see so much agitation from those on the far-left is because they either actually believed themselves or were trying to trick everyone into believing that conservatives are pretty much the KKK in business suits, and that the only people on our side are those with money and power who exploit others or “ignorant, gun-toting” morons who believe anything the “exploiters” say. But cmon, Dems, give us more credit than that. Each side has its reasonable elements.

  They wanted McCain to make the obvious choice of Lieberman so they could highlight Obama’s “diversity” and portray McCain’s ticket as the old, aging, out-of-touch element of government. Surprisingly, people don’t mention Palins age, almost as if it’s a non-issue compared to her gender. It’s a huge psychological issue, though.

  So now, instead of embracing the now-halted flow of attention and celebrity stigma, they flip-flop “again” and try to label Palin as the celebrity and then have the gaul to deride her for that same fame they praised Obama for. Yes, she’s become somewhat of a celebrity, I’ll admit. And I know this is still preliminary (since we all know it isn’t a fair representation of her views until Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, and Oprah all talk to her), but right now I feel I can trust Palin more than Obama when we take away all the star-power.

  That’s the way I see it, anyway.

• 12. Timothy Horrigan  |  September 8th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

  Tammy Bruce is a talk show host whose shtick is that she is a pro-gun Reagan-voting feminist. So her support of Gov. Palin shouldn’t be taken as an indication of a larger trend. She was unlikely to endorse Obama even if Hillary was his running mate.

  I suppose the McCain-Palin might get a few Hillary voters…. but others are insulted by the fact that he picked an unknown who (executive experience notwithstanding) would never have been picked if she was a man. Even if McCaion wanted a conservative woman from Alaska, Palin wasn’t even the most qualified person: Alaska has a well-respected female Senator named Lisa Murkowkisi.

  And the rightwingers who will be flaming me if my trollery is successful will be tacitly admitting that Palin was not the most qualifeid choice when they change the subject to Obama’s alleged lack of experience :-)

  In any case, even Ms Palin is a woman with some Hillary-like qualities, Hillary is strongly supporting Obama, Hillary’s policies are very similar to Obama’s, and Palin’s policies are anathema to most Hillary supporters. Those three factors count for something with at least some Hillary supporters.

  Also, Palin is running with John McCain, who is well past his prime and who is statistically unlikely to live out two terms as President. A vote for President McCain is also a vote for President Palin. Are large numbers of Hillary supporters angry enough at Obama to want to put Palin in the White House? I don’t think so.

  In any case, even if a Hillary supporter doesn’t want to vote for Obama, and is willing to live with the consequences of 8 or more years of McCain, McPalin & McBush… there are several 3rd parties she could cast a priest ballot for. One of them, the Green Party, actually has TWO women on the ticket, one of whom is (aside from never having been the Mayor of a small town) as qualified as anyone in the race, i.e. ex-Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

• 13. Bull  |  September 8th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

  my wife who is a hillary supporter will be voting for mccain this year because of palin. she was going to sit it out. she’s also said she understands now why i rail against the media so much. she’s finally seeing it for what it is. i may turn her into a GOPer yet.

  off topic, if obama was running on the republican ticket, with conservative values and all…the left and the media would be laughing their asses off at how bad the GOP has become to nominate a political light weight with absolutely ZERO accomplishments worthy of the highest office in the world. but since he’s got the D in front of his name, he’s the best thing since sliced bread. truly remarkable.

  P.S. Mccain is running for president, not palin. this whole heartbeat away thing has gotten out of hand. besides, her being #2 is better than the dems #1.
  obama is not a leader, and has done nothing to make anyone think he is. if obama’s other half was white as well, he’d had been laughed out of the primaries. this is a classic case of reverse discrimination. and why don’t we ever here about him being half white. i guess “typical white people” wouldn’t want to hear about it.

• 14. Sunny  |  September 8th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

  “How about the people who are voting for Obama because he is black?

  Ridiculous. ” Kimberly

  How about the people who are voting for Palin because she is a woman?

  Ridiculous.

• 15. Observer20  |  September 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

  Sunny,

  I bet you said that about Hillary, too.

  Kimberly gave you her honest evaluation as why Hillary supporters may be going to Palin BESIDES her gender, and your only refute is to completely ignore everything she said and just say the same thing you’ve been determined to say from the beginning.

  This is not debate. This is not progress. People actually have to have intellectual conversations with each other instead of ignoring each others main talking points.

• 16. CanadianObserver  |  September 8th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

  why Hillary supporters may be going to Palin BESIDES her gender

  15. Observer20 | September 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

  —————————————

  Are you saying, Observer20, that regardless of her gender, Hillary supporters have abandoned entirely the ideals she espouses and now embrace wholeheartedly the Palin principles?

• 17. neocon  |  September 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

  What were their core principles CO? Abortion? UHC? Surrendering in Iraq?

  Please expand on your assertion so that we can properly respond.

• 18. Observer20  |  September 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pm

  CanadianObserver,

  No, CanadianObserver, I am rather saying that they may be going to McCain because what is the same between Hillary and McCain, not staying with Obama because of what is different between Obama and McCain.

  I’m not a democrat, so I’m not going to say I know what’s going on completely over there. But I am not from a family where everyone votes the same. My brother was for Hillary, my mother was for Obama, then switched to Hillary after thinking that his talking style was too “preachy,” and my sister-in-law was Obama all-the-way. Guess how they’re planning to vote right now? My brother is voting McCain, my mother is divided on the issue but not as certain about Obama as she was before, and my sister-in-law’s views are pretty much the same. That’s not a huge change, only 1 in 3 democrats in my family officially converted, but you cannot deny that they may be thinking about it.

  As far as what she supports…you must be kidding, right? If I was a Hillary supporter, I’d be mad as heck at the Obama camp. What you guys did to Michigan and Florida was nuts, and I think they probably would have gone Hillary. Obama STOLE Hillary’s health-care platform after the primaries! This is after he criticized it so much, but of course we expect him to flip-flop for the populace. He was trying to paint Hillary as the “all-in” democrat for Iraq because she voted for the war! Hmmm, did McCain vote for the war? Yes, he did. Hillary and McCain are stated to be great friends in Washington. Obama had to highlight his differences from Hillary and portray her as right-wing to get a hope at winning the primaries. Who do you think portraying her as right-wing would make the voters that stuck with her relate to? Left-fringe Obama?

  I am not a fringe voter. I fancy myself a centrist and moderate. I vote in the center. McCain is ranked something like the 46th most conservative Senator, and Obama is ranked 1st most liberal. Who do you think supported Hillary?

• 19. kimberly4victory  |  September 8th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

  After being a guest on several Clinton supporter blogs and reading through a great many more, I’ve come to the conclusion the main reason they are not voting for Obama is because they believe the DNC threw Hillary under the bus and Obama’s camp committed voter fraud. Most are not voting at all, writing in Hillary, or voting for McCain - all votes against Obama. And, don’t think it is just women … there are men included in this group, too.

  However, things have changed in the past month, mostly due to the massive hate campaign of slurs and lies against Palin. They believe the same thing happened to Hillary. Most are now stating they are standing behind Palin and will vote for McCain-Palin. In fact, a great many have already signed up to volunteer and have donated.

  They noted that McCain is not as conservative as others (Obama camp) would have them believe (we’ve had that gripe about him, too) and that even though Palin is pro-life, some of them are too, and the ones that are pro-choice believe Palin won’t subject her beliefs on them when she is in office. It’s funny but they also believe the DNC keeps them from voting for Republicans because of Rowe vs Wade and they’re finally waking up.

  They also believe their party is not like it used to be, that it has been hijacked by dailykos and other far left wackos. They are hoping, as conservatives did in 2006, that by not voting for their party, their party will wake up.

  That’s about it in a nutshell.

  I am Sarah Palin.
  Her story is my story.
  POW/WOW ‘08

• 20. kimberly4victory  |  September 8th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

  meant to say … I HAD come to the conclusion …

• 21. CanadianObserver  |  September 8th, 2008 at 5:40 pm

  17. neocon | September 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

  ————————————-

  Look at the platform Hillary was running on, neocon, and then look at Palin’s (McCain’s?) platform. Different ideals, from A to Z.

  Why would Hillary supporters change their views in such a dramatic fashion, if not, as I have said - for spite or gender reasons.

  The majority of women who supported Clinton will do as she asked and swallow their disappointment and give their support to Obama. There will, no doubt, be a small number who cannot forgive the fact that Hillary was passed over for the VP slot and will cut off their nose to spite their face.

• 22. Danish Artist  |  September 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pm

  “Why would Hillary supporters change their views in such a dramatic fashion, if not, as I have said - for spite or gender reasons.”

  So you agree, the Hillary’s supporters are not being logical!!

  Imagine that.

• 23. FmrMarine  |  September 8th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

  Danish;
  I talked to my sister yesterday, she is a lifelong dem.
  She was leaning towords oBOMBa until she saw the U tube of him stating,
  He will stop the missile defense program, stop most future weapons programs, downsize our military, and cut out nuclear defenses.
  She was appalled, and says after watching him profess that in a documented interview, she said….
  “NO WAY will I vote for him now”

• 24. navydad  |  September 8th, 2008 at 9:38 pm

  Timothy Horrigan,

  Did you know that Tammy Bruce is also gay?

  Just an fyi.

• 25. kimberly4victory  |  September 8th, 2008 at 10:20 pm

  OK, CO, whatever you say.

• 26. Nate  |  September 8th, 2008 at 10:53 pm

  another feminist perspective…

  http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-steinem4-2008sep04,0,1290251.story

  Palin: wrong woman, wrong message

  Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

  By Gloria Steinem

  (Ed. Note: Article deleted - go to the link, if you can stomach Steinem)

• 27. cam  |  September 9th, 2008 at 1:19 am

  Tammy Bruce??
  Are you freakin kiddin??!!
  I think she disavowed the feminist movement a long time ago. She’s been a hardcore Republican since then - the fact that she takes this postition is not news, neither is it supprising.

  If you want to take women seriously don’t asume that they will vote one way just because there is a woman on the ticket.

• 28. Aitch  |  September 9th, 2008 at 1:22 am

  If McCain passes then it’s a Palin Pelosi administration. With Clinton being the most powerful Congressman to boot.

  Great, President MILF and Vice President GILF. Just what this country needs.

• 29. kimberly4victory  |  September 9th, 2008 at 1:25 am

  (Ed. Note: Article deleted - go to the link, if you can stomach Steinem) LOL!!

• 30. Aitch  |  September 9th, 2008 at 1:31 am

  Aitch | September 9th, 2008 at 1:22 am

  (Edit. Note: Make that Preisdent MILF/GILF1 Vice President GILF II.) LOL!!

  And where’s Noonan??? KP’s all right, I guess, but most of us come here for Mark’s commentary. Don’t let this blog go…

• 31. Mark Noonan  |  September 9th, 2008 at 2:04 am

  Aiitch,

  I have been remiss in my blogging responsibilities…promise to get back on track.