In a scene that sounded like an outtake from a Michael Moore movie, what started out as a simple visit to the North Capitol Street building that houses Palin’s State of Alaska office, devolved into a request for Rowe-Finkbeiner and the moms to leave the premises.
In contrast to the narrative that has been promulgated about disgruntled Hillary supporters, the women I conversed with had moved on without trauma. Martha Baker, a consultant on work/family issues, was sporting a button that announced “Hillary Supports Obama, So Do I.”
I interviewed Joan Blades by telephone to get her reaction to Palin — who actively references her role as a mother. “We haven’t heard her agenda yet,” Blades told me. “The focus needs not to be on [her] personal family issues, but what she would do as Vice President.”
Inevitably, during the Q & A, inquiries were posed about the latest polls and the Sarah Palin factor. Gandy replied that “polls will shift” when people find out more about Palin’s record. On an ironic note, Gandy opined, “I love it that the Republicans have discovered sexism. Before that…it was whining.”
The letter began: “Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party.”
A series of fire trucks from the station house around the block went speeding down Second Avenue, sirens blaring. I didn’t give it much thought.
Doesn’t anyone remember when John McCain made an ugly “joke” (that most newspapers wouldn’t print) about Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno, and Chelsea Clinton?
On a visceral level, as a single Mother, I resent the Republican appropriation of the “family values” brand. I feel more connected with a man, Joe Biden, who questioned whether he should take his seat in the U.S. Senate after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash.
Lorin Walker, Alternate Delegate from Washington state who is on the Veterans policy team for Obama, had stronger words to characterize McCain’s voting record on the needs of those in the country’s armed forces. “His service to those who serve has been deplorable. His voting record stands at 20% pro-veteran.”