Super Chunk

I keep having these toothless political conversations with my mother about the Republican VP nominee… toothless because I grew up in a home where we Did Not Discuss Politics, and also because my mom and I are a little uncomfortable at finding ourselves strongly opposed to each other.  But she wants me to like Sarah Palin, she wants me to find this pick interesting and invigorating.  Or, I don’t know, maybe she finds it interesting herself and just wants to talk about it… but that’s hard for me.  I just disagree so deeply with what the Republican Party stands for, and she has been a party-line person for so many years.  I don’t want to have a bitter political feud with my mother, over the phone, while I make dinner.  Here’s my stance (again toothless, because my mother isn’t online).

So the issue of the pregnant daughter is not really relevant for me (except that I’d like to take a moment to scoff at abstinence-only sex education).  What’s relevant for me is encouraging the pregnant daughter to marry the father of the baby because he is the father of the baby and not because he is good husband material.  What’s relevant for me is a penchant for banning books, a suspected history of using political position for personal/familial gain (see also here), and her lack of a record on numerous foreign-policy issues.  Moreover, I want to point out that “anti-abortion” is not equivalent to “pro-life,” although the terms are used interchangeably.

I don’t doubt that Sarah Palin is smart and driven, or that she loves her children even when they screw up.  She is not the right person for national leadership, in my book, and I do not want to see this woman go to Washington.

Edited to add: Go read Dooce.  Just go.