I have, and we’re running neck and neck, Obama and Palin are. The National Jewish Democratic Council has sent us a handy e-mail on why we should hate Sarah Palin, or at least not allow her into the White House. It’s quoted in its entirety (except for the part where they ask for money), but with a little help in getting the facts straight. I am doing this with an e-mail from the Republican Jewish Coalition, lest anyone thing I’m being one-sided about things. All bold belongs to them.
This election is going to be VERY close and it will come down to a few key battleground states!
While the religious right is happy with the selection of Governor Sarah Palin, the Jewish community is not.
Many in the Jewish community are not, but they fall into the trap of assuming that the Jewish community votes as one big bloc. Not so.
As The Palm Beach Post noted this week with Palin’s “socially conservative views and absence of any record on Israel, Palin remains a question mark for many Jewish voters.”
NJDC continues to expose Palin’s extremist positions:
– Palin supports teaching creationism in our public schools.
She does. And she uses the playbook of the Discovery Institute in this matter, in saying that the evolution and creationism (or, in their case, intelligent design) are on an even plane. This from FactCheck.org, based on a debate on Oct. 25, 2006 when she was running for governor.
Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject — creationism and evolution. It’s been a healthy foundation for me. But don’t be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides.
The next day she added to that statement in the Anchorage Daily News, quoted here, noting that she wouldn’t require creationism being taught.
I don’t think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn’t have to be part of the curriculum.
Since being elected governor, she has not pushed that agenda.
– Palin has an extreme position against reproductive rights including being against abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
“Extreme” might be extreme. What Palin herself said, in an interview with Newsmax.com:
I’m pro-life. I’ll do all I can to see every baby is created with a future and potential. The legislature should do all it can to protect human life.
The Anchorage Daily News wrote that when she was running for governor, her stance was “should be banned for anything other than saving the life of the mother.”
– As mayor of Wasilla, AK, Palin asked the librarian about having books banned in the public library and subsequently fired the librarian who reacted negatively to the idea because she was not “loyal.”
Yes, this is true. But, it is important to note that the questioning about books (there were none, as far we can tell, that were singled out) and the firing happened at two different times. According to FactCheck.org:
Palin initially requested Emmons’ resignation, along with those of Wasilla’s other department heads, in October 1996. Palin described the requests as a loyalty test and allowed all of them (except one, whose department she was eliminating) to retain their positions. But in January 1997, Palin fired Emmons, along with the police chief. According to the Chicago Tribune, Palin did not list censorship as a reason for Emmons’ firing, but said she didn’t feel she had Emmons’ support.
Take the loyalty test for what you will. It sounds like even though she made a big deal of breaking up the “old boys’ network,” she didn’t hesitate to create her own. Remember Bush’s cabinet members that have fallen aground over the years because their loyalty was stronger than their qualifications.
– Palin believes that climate change is not man made.
True. She said it herself, again on Newsmax:
A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.
Her take on energy, also on Newsmax, is that also that we should drill it all out of the Alaskan wilderness:
We have so much potential from tapping our resources here in Alaska. And we can do this with minimum environmental impact. We have a very pro-development president in President Bush, and yet he failed to push for opening up parts of Alaska to drilling through Congress — and a Republican-controlled Congress, I might add.
I thought when we hit $100 a barrel for oil it would have been a psychological barrier that would have caused Congress to reconsider, but they didn’t. Now we are approaching $200 a barrel. It’s nonsense not to tap a safe domestic source of oil. I think Americans need to hold Congress accountable on this one.
Alaska is the richest state in the nation when it comes to resources, each resident receives an oil dividend, and her husband works in the oil business. So yes, she has a vested interest in drilling and not seeking alternative energy solutions.
With these views, Palin is clearly out of step with the vast majority of the American Jewish community.
We need to get out the facts to Jewish voters.
To outreach to Jewish voters in this critical election year, NJDC must expand our work throughout the country where the Jewish vote can make a difference!
John who?