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* "For God's sake, mister, put down that pig."

The above lyric is from a song by noted Austin tunesmith Michael Hall, circa 1992, and ever since I heard about this latest ridiculosity sprung from the minds of John McCain and Sarah "Lipstick" Palin, I can't get it out of my head. So, now I'd like to lodge it into yours:

sample stream

full song bit-torrent download

As for a non-musical reply, all that's really needed is this: No, Mr. McCain, Barack Obama was not calling your running-mate a pig. The pig is YOUR POLICIES.

So let's get to what actually needs to be talked about in regard to Sarah Palin. Tonight she'll be interviewed by ABC's Charlie Gibson, incredulously the first interview she's given despite having been a vice-presidential candidate for nearly two weeks now.

She's proclaimed a lot of things, and taken a lot of actions, that she has yet to answer for. We can only hope Mr. Gibson will tackle these substantive, non-makeup-related matters with her pointedly.

Going through Wikipedia's "Political Positions of Sarah Palin" page, I compiled the following list of straightforward questions that I hope Gibson will pose to Palin during his interview, in one form or another:

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Palin is pro-life and is opposed to abortion in all cases (including rape and incest) except when necessary to save the life of the mother.[2][3][4]
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What is your rationale for opposing abortion in cases of rape and incest?

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While running for Governor of Alaska and asked about the teaching of creationism along with evolution in public school science classes, Palin answered: "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both".
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Do you believe creationism has a legitimate place in a science classroom?

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In December 2006, following long-running litigation and a 2005 ruling, the Supreme Court of Alaska ordered the state to begin paying health and retiree benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees. Declaring that there were "no more judicial options to pursue" to avoid paying the benefits, Palin agreed to comply with the ruling.[14] At the same time, in her first legislative act, Palin signed a bill ordering a non-binding referendum for a constitutional amendment to deny the benefits.[15]
Palin subsequently vetoed a bill that would have denied the benefits, declaring that "signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office" due to the state Supreme Court ruling.[16] Although the referendum passed in April 2007 with 53% of voters supporting a constitutional amendment, a bill to place such an amendment on the ballot in November 2008 stalled in the state legislature.[17]
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Why do you propose denying health and retiree benefits to same-sex partners?

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Palin stated in 2006 that because she believes embryonic stem cell research causes the destruction of life, it is inconsistent with her pro-life position and she does not support this research.[25]
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With a significant majority of the American public in support of stem cell research, how would you justify ignoring the will of the public on this issue as an elected official?

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Alaska's Federal congressional representatives cut back on pork-barrel project requests during Palin's time as governor, however Alaska is still the largest per-capita recipient of federal earmarks, requesting nearly $750 million in special federal spending and obtaining $295 per citizen from the federal government.[30][31]
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How do you justify your claims to be stridently anti-earmark with the fact that your state gets more per-capita earmarks than any other in the nation? Why have you not taken the kind of significant action in your own state that you claim you will take in Washington?

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While Mayor of Wasilla, the town paid a lobbying firm $24,000 to $36,000 per year to help secure federal earmarks for the town. She also personally went to Washington to ask for more earmarks from the state's congressional delegation. According to a review by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan group, Wasilla (a town of 6,700 residents) benefited from $26.9 million in earmarks in Palin's final four years in office.[32] [33]
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Clearly you were very much in favor of earmarks during your mayoral term, even going so far as to travel to Washington yourself to help secure the earmarks that you now say you will fight when you are in Washington. What changed?

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In Palin's 2006 gubernatorial campaign, she supported the building of a bridge from Ketchikan to Gravina Island which was later nicknamed the "Bridge to Nowhere" due to the island's population of 50.[36] Palin ran on a "build-the-bridge" platform, arguing that it was essential for local prosperity,[37] saying in August 2006: "We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge, and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that's so negative."[38]
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In 2006 you defended the Bridge To Nowhere and determined not to "allow the spinmeisters to turn this project....into something that's so negative." At the Republican Convention, you BECAME one of the spinmeisters turning the project into something negative. How do you justify becoming one of the very people you spoke out against two years ago?

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Palin supports free-market competition in health care, and laws allowing patients better access to medical pricing information. In 2008, Palin said she was considering incentives for employers to provide health insurance. She added that changes must also include citizens "choosing to take more personal responsibility" to be healthier.[51]
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Do you have more concrete ideas to answer the nation's health-care crisis than simply telling Americans they should get healthier?

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As governor, Palin helped pass a tax increase on oil company profits, although she opposes the Windfall Profits Tax proposed by Senator Barack Obama.[54][55]
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How do you justify opposing Obama's proposed windfall tax on oil-company profits when you were instrumental in enacting precisely that kind of tax in your state?

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As Governor, Palin has strongly promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, and supports opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.[56]
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Given your strong ties to Alaska, and the degree to which that state benefits from its oil and natural gas reserves -- and would thus stand to lose money and influence if America embraced more alternative energy forms such as solar and wind and nuclear -- how can we trust that you would ever actually help America to act in its best interests in terms of alternative-energy and independence from oil?

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Governor Palin plans to create a new sub-cabinet group of advisors to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions within Alaska.[60] On August 29, 2008, Palin stated in an interview: "A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one, though, who would attribute global warming to being man-made."[61]
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That being the case, how do you answer the overwhelming majority of scientists who have attested otherwise?

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In June 2008, speaking at Wasilla Assembly of God about soldiers headed for Iraq and the Iraq War, Palin stated, "[pray] that our national leaders are sending them out on a task from God. We have to pray there is a plan and that it's God's plan."[75] Palin supports the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq.[76][77]
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Do you believe the Iraq War is a task from God? (Note: She CANNOT be allowed mince words or wriggle out of this one; she must be forced to give a direct answer. This is probably the most important question of the entire interview.)

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In an interview with Alaska Business Monthly "shortly after she took office" as governor,[76] Palin favored an "exit plan" for the war in Iraq:
Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?
Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe.
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What sort of "exit plan" do you favor, and is Senator McCain aware that you favor an exit plan?

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According to the Washington Times, Palin's faith has made her a "favorite with the staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative elements in the Republican Party." Palin displays an Israeli flag in her governor's office in Juneau. Palin has received a strong endorsement from the Republican Jewish Coalition,[82] considered a "direct affront to all Jewish Americans" by Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, and as being "totally out of step with Jewish public opinion" by the the National Jewish Democratic Council.[84]
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Are you going to resign from your church given that they very recently hosted an anti-Semite speaker during a service that you attended?

Maybe then we can finally start getting a sense of who this vice-presidential candidate is. And we can finally, for God's sake, put down that pig.

adios,
peter

Posted by peter on September 11, 2008 6:26 AM | Permalink