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As the presidential election gets closer and the race tighter, it is to be expected that the campaign rhetoric gets even hotter. Tactics from the extreme wings of both the Republican and Democratic parties (which hardly represent mainstream America) get downright nastier. The democratic process of electing the most powerful political leader, indeed, is a mess -- though it remains the best system we've got.
Yet, since Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin was nominated Vice Presidential candidate by the Republican Party, no campaign in recent memory has exhibited more nasty, bitter, or personalized attacks.
American culture idolizes beauty, success, and gutsiness -- traits that Gov. Palin is not short on. And in the framework of male dominance in politics and the slow evolution of women's suffrage, one would think that the appearance of Sarah Palin on the national stage would be met with cheers, rather than jeers.
Yet, the opposite has happened, particularly in the media. Except for Fox News Network, television and print conglomerates have joined forces to demonize Governor Palin. Cleverly disguised fair and balanced interviews are conducted to catch Palin off guard, so that edited video clips can be replayed ad infinitum over the internet. The goal, it appears, is not to find out what Gov. Palin thinks of the issues but to portray her as either clueless or incompetent.
The most popular and accomplished governor of Alaska has clearly been treated differently from such female politicians as Hillary Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, Dianne Feinstein, or even Linda Lingle.
Which begs the question: Why is a charismatic politician whose accomplishments as a maverick mayor and governor merit a whooping 80+% approval rating in her home state, who is happily married and raises a Down Syndrome child, incessantly portrayed as inexperienced or lacking in intelligence?
The answer is not that Governor Sarah Palin is ugly, has a low IQ, or is unethical. Nor is she oblivious to geopolitical realities or ignorant of energy demands and conservation. The answer -- the big elephant in the room -- is that Palin clearly expresses her stance on abortion, is openly pro-life, and does not hide her Christian faith under a bushel.
And that is something that the liberal advocates in media and entertainment -- whether it's Katie Couric or Barbara Walters or Barbara Streisand or Whoopi Goldberg -- get apoplectic about.
If Governor Sarah Palin is elected Vice President, she (with John McCain) will be a formidable force in moving the Supreme Court to the right and eventually overturning Roe v. Wade.
"A President Obama or a President McCain will likely be handed an opportunity to affect the makeup of the Supreme Court that is unprecedented in our history," comments Wendy Long, chief counsel for the Judicial Confirmation Network.
During the first term of the next administration, there could be two or three openings in the Supreme Court. Justices John Paul Stevens, 88, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75, and perhaps David Souter, 69, may retire in the next four years.
Today's Supreme Court is split on constitutional issues, with four conservatives (Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas), four liberals (John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter, and Stephen G. Breyer), and one moderate (Anthony M. Kennedy).
Whether it is publicly admitted or not, rejection of a litmus test nothwithstanding, religion is a factor, particularly on constitutional matters relating to abortion and church-and-state separation. The four conservative justices are Roman Catholics (Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas). President George Bush successfully pushed for the confirmation of Roberts and Alito. Kennedy, the moderate independent, is also Roman Catholic.
On the liberal end of the spectrum, Ginsburg and Breyer are Jewish; Souter is Episcopalian and Stevens is Protestant.
If Stevens, who at age 88 is the second-oldest justice in the court's history, steps down, a McCain-Palin administration will likely nominate a conservative judge who will nudge the court to the conservative right. An Obama-Biden administration, on the other hand, will nominate a liberal "judicial activist", tugging the court to the left.
The very real possibility of McCain and Palin nominating conservative judges who will eventually overturn, or at least erode, Roe v. Wade is the greatest fear of liberal pro-abortion advocates. This explains the intensity of hatred and vile directed towards Gov. Sarah Palin. She has become a conservative lighting rod, protecting the rights of the unborn and the disabled, and taking the hit from abortionists.
As voters, we can change and push back the pro-abortion media onslaught. We can elect to office a Mc-Cain/Palin pro-life team that can reform the Supreme Court's composition and finally stop the indiscriminate killing of innocent lives.
In the same manner, let's vote YES on Prop 4 (Sarah's Law) so that a responsible adult family member (parent or legal guardian) is appropriately notified 48 hours before an abortion is performed on a minor (under the age of 18). After all, a physician or nurse is not allowed to treat or even dispense an aspirin pill to minors without parental notification.
