* here for the FRO post? It is below…just scroll past this post-or you might never come back I fear….
First thing first- Crystal (my big time Republican cousin) just turn away NOW. Actually- just close out this tab and don’t come back till tomorrow. I am about to talk POLITICS. Come to think of it- any of my readers who are really really into politics-should maybe stop reading now as well. If you do not, you will soon be infuriated by my lack of interest, knowledge and savvy when it comes to all things regarding this upcoming election.
I am not political. I am really sorta ANTI-political, if there is such a thing. I know, I know….politics effects us all and we should care about one side or the other yada, yada, yada…..but I don’t. The whole spectacle just frustrates me. So I just try to IGNORE it. (do you hate me yet?). I do vote. I research at the last minute and make a decision. So I vote. That is good right?
BUT. I. HAVE.TO. COMMENT on Mccain’s VP choice. Because sometimes I have no control over this blog and my typing hands….I MUST. I like to say the things I think people might be THINKING….but are afraid to say outloud lest they offend others. I guess I am a natural offender.
First, the whole ‘joke’ about hockey moms and bulldogs was offensive. To both sport moms and well, bulldogs. Just exactly whose vote is she trying to get?
She has a 4 month old BABY. Um, a baby with special needs (Down Syndrome) no less. I am pretty damn sure when my kids were 4 months old I was in no position to be running a country. Heck when they were 4 months old I could barely get a shower everyday. And they were still feeding in the middle of the night-so spent most days in a zombie like state until nap time. When I may or may not have passed out on the floor next to the baby’s crib daily. Okay so…..you (you being those who support his choice) might say- oh but she will have HELP if elected. White House nannies I guess. (do they have those? and if they do, do they wear those secret service ear pieces?)……SO she is gonna let someone else help raise her kid I guess. Along with her fishing snowmobiling husband. Not exactly the kind of mom the kid was probably hoping to get. Some mom’s HAVE to work. But does SHE? We criticise celebrities FREELY about their nannies and ability to spend so much time away from their children. How they go back to work immediately-even if they obviously don’t need the income. Um, how then is this any different? How can I be expected to think her choices AS A MOTHER are a good reflection on HER CHOICES as A VP of A COUNTRY?
And what is with having a baby at 44? By choice? She had to know the increase % in complications and possibility for special needs to the child. Oh wait- perhaps an accident surprise? Do they not HAVE birth control in her ‘small town’? Perhaps that is the same cause of her 17 year old daughter’s pregnancy as well. Like mother, like daughter? But most shocking to me, was the fact that her 19 year old son has enlisted to the military. I think the men and women fighting for our country are…I say without hesitation…absolute HEROS….BUT would I encourage my son to join in the middle of a WAR? I am praying this was not a ploy to help the campaign. And I am praying he (along with all the other CHILDREN in Iraq) come home safe.
I am all about women doing all the jobs that men can do blah, blah, blah. But not at the expense of their CHILDREN. Sure you can DO it ALL. But NOT all at the SAME TIME. And if you try to do it all at the same time…something WILL SUFFER.
So as you can see I know next to nothing when it comes to politics. I know McCain has a better deal on taxes for me. And I know Obama has a pencil mustache that is really obvious on a 60″ plasma screen TV but his wife seems pretty together. Oh that and his catch phrase is CHANGE. Which as it sits right now- no matter which side wins…there is gonna be plenty of change in the white house. PLEN.TY. Including and not limited to the possibility of DIAPERS. And I am not talking about McCain this time.
Go ahead and comment. But if you really are hating me for this post….just be gentle. I know I am lame and uninformed and possibly come off as a sexist woman hating, anti-feminism, anti-progress beeotch. I am not really. At least I don’t think I am………oh the fear of clicking Publish!
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I didn’t watch the speech last night, but I do think that playing off like having a baby with such a high-power job is just a piece of cake is silly. Is that the way it is coming across? Is her husband a stay-at-home dad?
You forgot to mention her hair. Thought for sure you would mention her hair.
PS I knew exactly what you were going to say before I read it!
Getting pregnant at 44 years old when you already have 4 children was irresponsible! Especially when you are the govenor!
The odds of having a down syndrome baby after the age of 40 are very very high, and she must have known that. If she chose to have a baby in spite of that, then she should have been prepared to dedicate herself to the child’s full time care.
She may be pretty, she may be a great speaker, she maybe a hard working reformer…. but she’s a BAD mother and there’s no disputing that fact.
Seriously, thank you Marcy for this post. I fear that saying maybe a woman with a 4 months old special needs child might not need to be VP, would come off as sexist. Yes, I do believe being a mother is different than being a father. Yes fathers are involved blah blah blah. I see it as selfish in a way.
Oh and don’t worry about the comment from Kim. This is a blog, she doesn’t know you, you were never on her Christmas card list, so no loss.
I found you from Always Home and Uncool’s comment section, where you posted this same screed.
As someone who enlisted and continues to enlist a lot of people to help rear my children, I will go easy on you. But I will also ask you to please stop the mommy wars. If the only thing you are going to judge me on is whether or not I stayed home with my children full time, that’s your choice.
I don’t think any less of you for staying home with your children, or working part time, or whatever your choice may be. But I sure will think less of you for using such narrow criteria to determine who’s a good mom and who’s a bad mom.
And just as much as I want Palin out of my uterus, I think you should stay out of hers.
All the best to you.
okay. I love the way that you speak what many are afraid to say. I too believe that it would benefit Palin’s 4 month old more if he had his mom a little less busy than she is going to be. There is a HUGE difference between being a working mom and the VP. So what you are saying is how much is she really going to be raising that baby IF… And I repeat strongly, IF…. she becomes VP. In no way were you criticizing the average working mom. Thank you for this post. It is a good read.
Just had to give you my two cents… What if her husband were the governor and she had the baby? Would people be asking how he could manage to run for VP while having such a young child with special needs? How sexist for anyone to assume that she is expected to raise the children alone, without the help of her husband. Another note, mabye they didn’t want to use birth control… Maybe they were willing to take the risks of having another child.
OK Marcy, I will leave all of the comments alone EXCEPT for the one that offended me TO NO END. And that is the one about her enlisted son. Do you have any idea what the statistics are about the US military? They are not just a bunch of worthless, uneducated hayseeds.
I would find it a true honor if one of my sons chose to serve his country in the military, especially during a time of war. To view that sacrifice and service so cynically is shocking to me. Is it even possible that her 19 year old son made the decision to serve on his own, and not to help his mother’s political career?
And now I can’t help but comment on the other points…
What was she supposed to do when she got pregnant AFTER she was already governor of Alaska? It is my understanding that it was an unplanned pregnancy (as about 1/3 of pregnancies are in this country). Should she have resigned? Her husband is a stay-at-home dad now, and she brings the baby to work with her. Then when she was asked to be the first woman Vice President of the Unites States, should she have said, “No, I’ve got these kids dragging me down. Even though I have a husband willing to support me all the way, I’m gonna pass because women only ‘say’ they want to support other women making it to the top. When we actually have the opportunity, it’s women who villify us the most and want to keep us down.”
I totally support Sarah Palin because she is right on the issues and she is totally competent for the job. I hope you are more open-minded as the election progresses. Don’t be jealous just because she looks so good 4 months after she just had her 5th baby! That’s the only thing I hate her for! That’s amazing to me.
I could see voting against her for overpopulation reasons.
Brave, Marcy, brave. I am with you halfway and not offended. For someone who is apolitical, you just showed a pretty damn political stripe. ;)
My brother has joined the Army in the middle of a war, because he wants to do something important … because he believes in his country and in defending it.
Definitely not a political move on his part. :) But an admirable one, I think.
The Sarah Palin issue is fraught with gray areas. Where to begin? I fault her not for being a working mother. I was one myself for 12 years. Hey, pregnancies happen. Being that she is right-to-life, what other “choice” could she have but to have the child?
However, having a special needs child requires some sacrifice, in my opinion. I chose to leave the workforce and drastically alter my lifestyle when I chose to bring a child with needs into my life. I did not take the task lightly or even attempt to play the supermom role. I knew MY limits. Of course, in no way could I compare my life course to that of Palin’s. Like her or not, she is a very ambitious woman.
Anyhoo, the reason I am responding is that the whole Palin show the other night was a theater of the bizarro as far as I am concerned. I somehow felt that the Palin family was parading around their newborn child as some sort of symbol of their super-family status. It felt very staged and odd. I really can’t define it. In the end I felt offended by the whole thing. I felt played. God help me if I ever exploit my child in that manner. Just my opinion.
Thanks for an honest post on a very complicated matter.
I get you Marcy.
I feel very uneasy about the whole situation. Every part of McCain campaign is just, I don’t know exactly how to put my feelings into words. I just don’t trust any of it.
I’m waiting for time to tell. And it will.
(Also, I for one, would lock my child in a room until the war was over if they wanted to enlist!!!! Absolutely NOT!!!)
Marcy, I come here to read about what’s in your head, plain and simply. I applaud your bravery for putting your opinions out there. If I wanted a non-biased political opinion, I’d be off reading the news (although it might take me a while to find something unbiased.) I’m happy that you put your opinions up, because first of all, at least you have some about the election, and second of all, it’s YOUR blog and therefor YOUR place to say whatever you want.
In Marcy’s defense, it would be ridiculous to criticize her for her stance on motherhood, especially working motherhood. She’s talked about her own challenges in her blog, but I was able to pick her brain further on the subject when she helped me out with a college paper I wrote on the Mommy Wars. Her personal choices, and therefor her opinions, all stem from her experience as a working mother. She’s not preaching to us from her sofa during a commercial break of her favorite soap-opera between bites of bon-bons. She’s been there, (she’s STILL there) and had one of the most sympathetic, least-judgemental approaches to the topic.
To some extent, people who put themselves in the public eye, be it through politics or entertainment, understand that they are opening themselves up for criticism. Marcy is just talking us through her thought process as the election, a major election, draws near. I appreciate that, whether or not I agree with every word, because at least I know she’s giving it thought. Personally, I want to know as much as possible, including reactions to candidates that I might not automatically think of myself. Every pro and con I hear from someone else is welcome, because I know Marcy isn’t insisting that we all agree with her.
BRAVO. Yes to everything you said. Keep saying it.
YAY Nik! So well said and way to defend our sweet friend Marcy.
It was a totally cynical choice on McCain’s part and one that calls his judgment into serious doubt. They keep insisting that she is “more experienced” than Obama, but hello, I wasn’t born yesterday and I’m not an idiot.
If a Democrat picked a woman for VP with Palin’s background and family situation, the Republicans would be falling all over themselves to say she should stay home and sort out her family. What a joke that they now are calling “sexist” on anyone who questions this pitiful decision of McCain’s.
He is 72 and has had multiple bouts of cancer. He could drop dead in office (well, any of us could, but he is more likely). And we will have Sarah fucking Palin as President? It makes me want to build a bomb shelter and crawl into it until it’s all over.
Yes, I still love you. Perhaps even more because you have the balls to post your opinions on this and I don’t. I’ll won’t speak a word but I will type these three words.
I totally disagree.
With love, Carrie
I really don’t like any of the candidates so it is pretty hard to offend me in the realm of politics so I’ll pick on some other points.
I, too, hope that her son enlisted out of desire and not pressure to make mom look good. We need a military even more during times of war. If anyone wants to serve their country then I am grateful.
And the real sticking point is blasting her for having child number 5 at age 44. No one has the right to tell another person to stop having children. There are many women of advanced maternal age that feel their family is incomplete. That there is a hole in their family that can only be filled by the love of another child. Telling another woman that she is too old or her family is big enough is rude, pretentious… you get my drift. That was the hot button for me.
I’ll step off my little soap box now and we’ll just pretend this whole thing didn’t happen tomorrow. Right?
Amen and pass the ammo.
The brilliance begins right around 2:55…
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=183521&title=john-mccain-chooses-a-running
It’s a shame – your vote counts just as much as mine does.
Maybe election votes should be based on how well you raise kids, or make cookies, or sell insurance, or balance corporate accounts. At least with that method, those who spend a little bit of time educating themselves so they can make a somewhat intelligent decision, their vote isn’t wasted off setting someone who flips a coin.
She has raised the bar of what can be expected of new moms and I am pretty sure American moms aren’t ever going to get the 12 month maternity leaves the Canadian government has decided are important for breast feeding and a full recovering from childbirth. My kids are in their 20s and in photos I look like I’m expecting septuplets. Palin is ready to win the Mrs. America contest. So the real problem isn’t that Palin could be Vice President or even President. The real problem is that all women are going to be held to the same standard because it’s not like our lives are more complex than Palins. When I had a 4 month old baby I was either on maternity leave or a full-time, stay-at-home mom and every cell in my body was bone weary and I felt really successful if I could accomplish one little extra thing in my day. Palin is fascinating and I wish her the best. I’d be a basket case if I had a baby and a son going to war and a pregnant teenager and a little girl getting way too much attention but it doesn’t cause Palin to skip a beat or lose her sunny disposition. I just hope she’s not running on fumes and isn’t being used and dumped by the ole boys club in Washington. She reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood or maybe the Little Red Hen who can do everything herself.
I have to be honest with all of you. I have received some pretty nasty comments here. And I DELETED them. Then I felt bad about that and tried to put them back- but it was too late. But for those of you who I deleted. Let me answer a few of your issues:
1. I was planning on voting for McCain-until he chose Palin. I never wanted Obama. But now I have to- just to vote against Palin!
2. I have never labeled myself a liberal feminist-so I am not really being hypocritical.
3. I plan to vote the issues and not just gender.
4. No I am not an idiot. And yes, I have had a successful career while raising children. That is from where I speak.
5. Yes I like gun control.
6. I do not think teaching your toddlers to kill innocent animals is appropriate. I don’t care if you do live in Alaska. And posing for photos with dead, bleeding carcas of a beautiful buck is horrible. “Here honey-love nature-now KILL IT”
7. I think trying to bully the head of Alaskan Libraries to remove books and then when she refuses trying to get her fired is DISGUSTING.
8. 87% of all Down Syndrome children are born to mothers over the age of 40. If you have NO children-hey go for it. But when you have not 1, not 2 but 4 healthy kids? It is irresponsible. Don’t want to use birth control? Then don’t have sex. Ya know- like you told your daughter. Oh-but wait Palin was pregnant when she got married too I learned. So like mother, like daughter.
9. Palin tried desperately to get her preggers daughter to marry her boyfriend before her VP candicacy was announced. Daughter refused. Nice Palin. Bully your daughter to cover your rep.
10. No to the commenter who said ‘are you the devil?”. Nope I am not. I am a blogger. I am a mother. I am a woman. And I am not going to vote for a woman OR a man who shows poor judgement time and time again. Nope sorry.
That is all folks.
Now I mean it. NO more politics for me.
This has been a great learning experience for me.
But now- back to the FUNNY. I promise!
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for your candid post. You should feel good about writing an unfiltered view of your thoughts…GOOD FOR YOU. I try to do the same thing, but often put on my pause button so I don’t offend, but fuck it – this is the blogosphere and we should use it the way we want to use it, in all its unfiltered glory!
I, unlike you, am REALLY into politics and read it all the time – almost as an obsession outside of mothering, working full-time etc. And for someone who is self-proclaimed not that into politics, I think you’ve done Anderson Cooper proud.
I am offended by McCain’s choice for Veep for other reasons, namely because if he keels over, I DON’T TRUST having Sarah Palin represent my progressive views in the White House. Ultra right wing conservatives like her and Huckabee and others scare the shit out of me, really. But even more importantly, if McCain thinks he can win over Hillary’s old supporters (I was one of them), then I am just appalled. We are not just a bunch of wingnuts who vote because the candidate has a vagina. We vote based on our understanding of the candidate’s points of view on issues that matter.
Anyway, good luck to you as you get closer to a decision over the next 56 days. I for one, decided a LONG time ago who I would be voting for…this decision of McCains to appoint Palin solidified it even more for me. I am running as far as I can the other way!
I read your comments at Fussypants. Hoooray! Someone has eloquently voiced my opinions. I was not sure why I was so offended by the new supermom. I am a democrat who has voted along gender lines when there was no discernible difference in platforms.
I have not heard a lot of bashing of Palin. I have heard a lot of praise for her multitasking. If we have not questioned how men have been able to raise big families with their high powered careers, then maybe we should start. We are NOT talking about a 40 or even 50 hour a week job. We are NOT talking about a woman with 2 or 3 kids. We are NOT talking about a woman with older children. It is arrogant to think you can run this great country while you are bringing up very young and special needs children. Yes, she could become our commander in chief. I will not be voting to take more family time from these children. NO WE CANNOT HAVE IT ALL! Having it “all” is selfish. I thought we had this figured out.
Family commitments aside, I would not vote for this ticket because of Palin’s far left politics. McCain would have had my vote if he had picked a less controversial, more experieinced running mate.
I love your reference to abstinence in #8. Well said.
You are exactly right and so right on the money. People, can you focus yourself long enough to actually FOCUS on issues, rather than LIKABLITY? what is wrong with the US? I do not think people give a rats ass about what these politians really stand for. I could write the 7 things I dislike about Palin so far…it would be way easy! I am usually a middle of the road kind of gal so it is amazing for me to dislike someone so much already and the party in general. 1. OUT OF TOUCH. These people claim that there really isn’t a financial recession going on right now and that people are blowing it out of porportion how bad the economy is, WHAT? They are so out of touch it isn’t funny. I mean the a 158 year old bank in the US filed chap11 today, biggest bankruptcy filing ever, nothing bad is happening?!?@! 2. She lies, a lot!!! Does our press fact check anymore, hellow where are my long lost anchors that would fact check any story. No Palin, you didn’t vote for the bridge to no where, you must have just been on acid and forgot the whole flippin thing. You only voted for it yes when you thought the entire US would pay for it, when you were told only your state would pay for it, you voted the next time no. In 2006, Palin ran for governor on a “build-the-bridge” platform,[101] attacking “spinmeisters”[102] for insulting local residents by calling them “nowhere”[101] and urging speed “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”[103] About two years after the introduction of the bridge proposals, a month after the bridge received sharp criticism from John McCain,[104] and nine months into Palin’s term as governor, Palin canceled the Gravina Bridge, blaming Congress for not providing enough funding.[105] Alaska will not return any of the $442 million to the federal government[106] and is spending a portion of the funding, $25 million, on a Gravina Island road to the place where the bridge would have gone, expressly so that none of the money will have to be returned.[101] Palin continues to support funding Don Young’s Way, estimated as more than twice as expensive as the Gravina Bridge would have been.[107] I could go on for hours….People, Please, do yourself a favor….fact check before you think she is actually worthy of running our country.
Well, I have enjoyed reading your blog posts and the comments left by others. I linked over from Rocks In My Dryer today because I had to know…I have to say that I completely disagree with everything you have said. No one really cares about our opinions, because everyone has one. Whether you like Governor Palin or not, I think it’s amazing how many people will tear her down. I think a lot of the tearing down comments come from women who feel as though their own motherhood decisions are being challenged. I may be wrong, but it seems like that’s what’s going on.
Oh, and one last thing, everyone who is saying that we should “fact check” before we think she is worthy of running our country, I don’t think anyone will ever really know all of the facts of every situation of any of our candidates. I think a healthy view that the media will skew things any way they want is important. Also, for those concerned about McCain being older and his likelihood of “dropping dead” – look at his 96-year-old mother!
Please, also, tell me how it came to be that Governor Palin is running against Senator Obama? Why has she been elevated to the level of scrutiny of Presidential nominees?
Came over from Rocks In My Dryer. It must be wonderful to never have something unexpected happen or plans that happen to fail. (as in no birth control is 100% effective) because sometimes my life has taken unplanned twists and turns that end up to be blessings. I was the best mother with the best kids until I actually became a mom. It has been a humbling experience at times. Again it must be wonderful to have children that never make decisions that go against your lessons or values. My kids know I will love them and support them no matter what happens. You sound like a very open minded compassionate person and not at all judgemental or critical, bless your heart.
So, I had to see what you were talking about on Twitter.
I love this post. I wrote an anti-Palin post a few weeks ago and listed completely different reasons. This cracked me up.
I also wrote a post about <a href=”http://amomtwoboys.com/2008/09/why-im-voting-for-barack-obama/”<Why I’m Voting for Barack Obama…which breaks down his tax plan by income range. It was VERY enlightening. :0) (The Palin post was up the day ahead, if you’re interested!)
And don’t worry about the haters. I’ve had a few of my own (including my MIL) and they just make me THAT much more firm in my beliefs!
And look at that! Your comments don’t support link HTML.
So, here’s the link to my Barack Obama post, if you’re interested!
http://amomtwoboys.com/2008/09/why-im-voting-for-barack-obama/
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