Train Wreck

Creationist
Husband belonged to successionist party, she attended conventions.
Troopergate, abuse of power, lying
Lousy record as mayor--nearly faced recall, left city in debt
Fired city workers who did not offer political support
For abstinence-based sex ed, teen daughter pregnant, first child born eight months after wedding
Belongs to faux-feminist anti-feminist group
Spent most of life in a church that preached voting for Kerry would send you to hell
Global-warming denier
Foreign policy experience apparently limted to knowledge of Russia's proximity to Alaska
Fund-raiser, political partner of Ted Stevens
Lied about support of "Bridge to Nowhere"
Hired one of Jack Abramoff's lobbyists
Flew from Dallas to Seattle to Anchorage, then drove for an hour to allegedly give birth to a premature Down's baby.
Mother-in-law refuses to endorse
May have lied about being Miss Congeniality in Miss Wasilla Pageant
For drilling in ANWR
Against gay rights, even though "has some gay friends"
Opposed endangered-species status for polar bears, offered bounties on wolves to increase moose populations, shows a complete lack of understanding of wildlife ecology
Wanted to ban books from city library

NOTE: This post originally said that Palin herself was member of a successionist group, which party officials and voter registration records seem to deny.

McCain to Women: You're All the Same

John W. McCain has the whole world talking about his amazing, "history-making" choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate. This is a woman who was elected governor of Alaska in 2006. She has roughly 18 months of experience. She's an anti-choice conservative. In other words, as far as policy goes, there's no reason whatsoever for any woman who considers hersef a feminist to vote for her--well, except for one. She is currently in possession of a vagina.

What is "history-making" about McCain's choice? Palin is not the first woman on a major-party ticket. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Geraldine Ferraro, who was excoriated by the Republicans as an unqualified gimmick, placed on the ticket, according to them, only because she was a woman. So, can there be any doubt that placing Palin on the ticket is a cynical attempt to attract disaffected Hillary supporters to the Republican ticket? I can already see the ads: "Hey Pumas! Vote for Palin! She's got ovaries, just like you!"

Here's what McCain is telling feminists: "I've picked a woman. Now, I know Hillary has spent her entire life in public service, and led all kinds of intiatives as First Lady of the Nation, and First Lady of Arkansas, and as a United States Senator. And she went through grueling campaign after campaign as a candidate and as a candidate's wife. Well, look! Sarah Palin was runner up as Miss Alaska! And that's exactly the same thing."

See, ladies, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you've accomplished in your life. It doesn't matter about your education, or experience, or your views on abortion, or civil rights, or really your views on anything. All that matters is that you have two X chromosomes. That's all that matters to us, and that's all that should matter to you.

Oh, yeah--Sarah Palin's really cute, isn't she?

UPDATE: Palin's a creationist.

UPDATE II: And a global warming crank.

Methinks the Larry Doth Protest Too Much

The cliche is that homophobia is a symptom of repressed homosexual urges. Lately, the Republican Party is living the cliche. Senator Larry Craig, R-Idaho, was arrested in a Minneapolis men's room for "disorderly conduct." According to the arresting officer, Craig made several gestures that the officer recognized as signals used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct.

Craig has repeatedly voted against gay rights measures in the Senate, and has gotten high marks from "family values" groups. On his website, Craig says, "I...still believe the appropriate definition of marriage is a union between one man and one woman." His website doesn't really say what is defined by bathroom-stall shenanigans.