My first blog..and my first political rant

I'll be honest - I have never been THAT involved in politics. I have always known that I have leaned to the left, but I have never claimed a political party. I have always voted in the major Presidential elections, because I have an internal rule that states that one is not allowed to complain unless they vote, and since I love to complain, I must vote. That being said, the past few elections have been less than exciting. I ended up voting for the Libertarian, because I couldn't bring myself to vote for either major party candidate (and I have to say that I am PROUD to say that I never voted to put our current idiot leader into the office).

That being said, this election and the past few years have changed me a lot. I am much more aware of the seriousness of the state of affairs our country is in, and it just pains me that the majority of people in office just DON'T GIVE A SHIT about the people they are supposed to represent. I have tried my best to educate myself on the candidates and what they represent and how closely I relate to them. After watching the DNC this week, I have grown more and more towards the Obama camp, however, I was going to do my due diligence and wacth the RNC this coming week and try to make the most educated decision I could with my one little vote.

That all changed yesterday.

For those of you living under a rock (or in Alaska, haha), John McCain announced his VP candidate yesterday. I had a gut feeling all along that he was going to pick a woman, and it pained me because I knew that it would make my decision that much harder. I would love, love, love to see a woman in the Oval Office. I was in a meeting Friday morning and didn't have my phone with me. When I returned to my office, my husband sent me a text that simply said "McCain chose a woman as vp". I immediately signed onto CNN expecting to see Kay Bailey Hutchinson or Olympia Snowe or even Meg Whitman, as her name had been tossed around as well. So when I saw Sarah Palin, my first reaction was "who"?? After doing some research (and I'll admit at the time, it was brief), my outrage began.

Does McCain truly think that any INTELLIGENT woman will not see through this very transparent political move? If a man had been presented with the same resume, he wouldn't be considered for the mayor of Chicago, much less a VP spot. Even though all of her views are the complete opposite of mine, I would have been ok with that if she would have been the least bit qualified for this post. What an incredible insult to all of the women of America. And if a woman is not truly insulted by this pandering, then she is a woman who just wants to see someone with a vagina in office, whether or not they are qualified to be there.

It enrages me more to think that the republicans are grasping for anything they can to justify her "experience". One such argument is that she has more executive experience than Obama, therefore, she is more qualified. Really?? She was a city councilwoman and a mayor for a city in Alaska which has, at most, 9,000 people. She is now governor of a state that has a population which is less than that of Chicago, and a state which the richest in our country. And she has only done this for less than 2 years. A second rebuttal to the fact that she lacks in foreign experience is the fact that since she is in Alaska, she is right next to Russia, therefore, she is qualified. HUH??!!!

Again, I ask: does the McCain camp really think we are that stupid??!!

I have spoken to a couple of women who are in favor of this choice. I don't get it. One of these women said to me that she likes Palin because she is "just like me". THAT IS THE PROBLEM!!!! What other housewife is ready for being the leader of the free world? I truly can not think of any, housewife or working mom, who is prepared for such a position, me included. For that matter, most men are not ready for that either, so I'm not just picking on my fellow sisters.

What I truly fear is that McCain gets voted in, and now she is a heartbeat away from being President. And I don't buy into the arguments that it hasn't happened for over 100 years, blah blah. The fact of the matter is that it CAN happen - and this is very scary. And to have 4 more years of republican rule is almost as distressing.

I found this blog from an Alaskan to be pretty eye opening as to what is really going on up there: http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/

I will say, it is very disheartening to know that my vote doesn't count for much in this right winger state. But it won't stop me from voting in the manner that I think is best for myself, my girls, and my country.