Sarah Palin’s Speech Takes a Wrong Turn

What’s the difference between a pit bull and a soccer mom?

Lipstick.

With this riddle, Sarah Palin set the frequently mean-spirited tone of her nomination acceptance speech Wednesday night, making the delegates ecstatic and much of the rest of the country uncomfortable.

But I have my own riddle to ask:

What’s the difference between advocating for services for special needs kids, as Palin rather movingly promised, and community organizing? Here is what she said:

“We grow good people in our small towns. Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.” [my emphasis]

Of all the mocking slurs on Obama, none was more gleefully dismissive than the suggestion that Obama’s experience as a community organizer is a joke. Does Sarah Palin understand how social change happens? Or the kind intense grass-roots organizing among people with disabilities and their friends and families that led to the federal legislation mandating special education for children with disabilities?

Here’s another riddle: How can Palin be so opposed to “big government” without copping to the fact that the laws protecting people with disabilities are federal laws and that without those laws, local provision is unlikely to be universal or sufficient, especially in these tough economic times.

The 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children's Act and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act outlawed the rampant discrimination against people with disabilities – whether in schools, in jobs or in public services and transportation. Both Palin’s son and her 13-year-old special needs nephew will benefit from this legislation, born in community organizations and codified by federal action. And these laws didn’t fall from the sky – they were a response to community demands that had been making noise through community organizing.

Why is the community organization of PTA a big deal on Palin’s resume, while Obama’s church-based work in Chicago neighborhoods struggling with plant closures something to snicker at? And how many hard-working people, community organizers with a lot of responsibility felt insulted by this nasty dismissive attitude from the Republican podium? People who are organizing to get help for those left homeless by foreclosures (thanks to Bush); people who fight to ensure young people receive sex education and the tools to protect themselves; people who are organizing for universal health care or an end to bullying in schools or for rehab programs or resources for isolated elders.

It wasn’t just Palin’s “thing.” The scene had been set by those who preceded her in the line-up, especially Guilliani’s well-received sneering sarcasm towards the Democrats. It was odd to watch criticism after criticism of the “Washington elite” (Hello? What party has been in power for 7+ years?), of the media (who, in contrast to such claims, seem to me to have been minimally critical of McCain) and of Democratic intentions to screw up the economy. I was really scratching my head when Guilliani, Mr New York City, said with the utmost disdain, “I’m sorry that Barack Obama doesn’t think that her hometown is ‘cosmopolitan’ enough.” (That’s a photo of Wasilla City Hall.)

Not once was Bush’s name mentioned from the Republican National Convention stage nor the havoc he and his party have wreaked on America and the world. There was nothing about economic policy, no mention of immigration, healthcare, the mortgage crisis nor more than a passing reference, from Huckabee, to women and (no) choice. There was lots of talk about energy and Guilliani’s mention of oil brought out a disconcerting mass chant from the floor: “Drill, baby, drill!”

Watching the RNC is like being in a truth-warp. Suddenly, for example, all the Republicans are screaming “Sexism!”, outraged that “they” are asking how Palin can do her VP work while taking care of her kids. I’m not sure who “they” is in this instance, but to help ground us when we hear very contradictory things, here is a clip from Jon Stewart that confirms the cynical hypocrisy behind the RNC show:
 

Comments

[eleanor roffman]

thanks for so articulating the hypocrisy and one dimensional thinking of Sarah Palin and her cohorts. just think if she ran Washington like her household. we would have lots of teen mothers, pit bulls with lipstick, snow blowing first husbands, and their family song that they would sing when they returned from church would be, "drill baby drill".

[Tom]

Since Palin didn't writer her own speech we can really only conclude two things.

1. We still don't really know the real Sarah Palin.

2. Palin may not be able to write her own speeches.