Comments on: Hockey Moms, Prayer Nazis, and Why I Love But Fear People Like Sarah Palin

By: Joe Maine-iac

Joe Maine-iac — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:05:38 +0000

“The women would meet with us, mentor us, and teach us how to be good Christian women. And they also taught us that the highest good a woman can do is to be a wife and mother-a role that was apparently incompatible with the pursuit of higher education and a professional degree…”

I think Sarah Palin’s life story proves that being a good Christian woman, a wife, and mother, is NOT incompatible with education and career. You are reducing her to a stereotype out of your memory (or imagination) that quite clearly does not fit.

“I don’t know Palin, and I’m sure she’s a nice, charming person, just like the other women I met in college. They always try to follow the official position/dogma, because to fall out of line is to lose your community. Palin has no doubt been so trained into this fear that she doesn’t notice it, even if her beliefs would help to maintain apartheid in South Africa.”

You must not be talking about the same Sarah Palin the rest of us are. She strikes you as being full of fear? Following the “official” position? Not knowing the basis of her beliefs?

I’ll tell you why Sarah Palin scares the hell out of you. It’s because she’s everything you think you are, but know you aren’t. Her political positions are derived from unwavering principles and a deep knowledge, while you get -your- beliefs from people like Jon Stewart on cable TV. You’ve convinced yourself that you’re a poor oppressed woman, and you have to make a choice between career and family; Sarah Palin by contrast is strong and confident, she chose love, family, AND she’s on track to become the next President of the United States. Your insecurity pours from this article in buckets.

By: Lisa Graas

Lisa Graas — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:58:05 +0000

I only just realized that this was written in September of 2008.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:24:28 +0000

I’m an African American male. I’m conservative but unaligned politically. My comment is simply this; I do not at all discount a person’s life experience and how it may shape that person’s worldview and political leaning. Ms. Bailey does a thorough enough job of chronicling her “back-stabbings” that on the surface one could hardly argue against her right to shunning of conservative phisoshphy.

However, I find her generalizations shallow. One should study the roots of both conservative and liberal ideology and then measure the effects over the years both have had on society and then make an informed choice. This should be factored into the mix along with life experience.

Case in point, during the same period of the civil rights fight—liberals did good things (with Republican help in the Congress at the time), but liberals did bad things also during the civil unrest they promoted on college campuses to undermined the nation at war in Vietnam. So one could argue their life experiences the other way around.

The use of the term Ms. Bailey chooses “prayer Nazis” is very unfortunate. It shows she reads from the liberal manifesto on classic Liberal-on-Conservative attack. It makes her seem to be a professional politico rather than just some lay person sharing her “gut” feeling about Mrs. Palin based on her “life experience”.

Personally, I think Hillary Clinton running for president was a plus. And Sarah Palin being chosen as the GOP VP was an additional plus. Matters to me what your political leanings, these were positives for the American political system.

Finally, I would just encourage Ms, Bailey to keep her eyes on thecurrent Obama administration. Keep her eyes on what Gov. Palin is doing in Alaska over the next 3 years and should the two meet in the general election of 2012, she should make her choice based on accomplishmets, promises kept and the state of the Union—-not on past real or imagined “hockey-stick back-stabbings”.

By: Lisa Graas

Lisa Graas — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:50:04 +0000

Have you ever read Star Parker’s columns? The Dems fought for the Civil Rights Act, but at what cost? Preaching to blacks that they can’t get anywhere without government help. A cycle of dependency is not freedom. We are all now going to be on Uncle Sam’s Plantation, as Star says. I respect your thoughtful commentary, especially that you question Sarah Palin rather than attack. You seem very fair-minded. We supporters of Sarah Palin see her as someone who wants a less oppressive government. Yes, she is a Christian, but she is also a libertarian type. She doesn’t support a government that enslaves us. Consider Obama’s rescission of the conscience clause that will have the effect of closing all Catholic hospitals because they will have to chose between providing abortions and shutting down. They WILL shut down. That is draconian policy, to prohibit the free exercise of religion — and it is done in the name of “choice” for women. Obama’s rescission of the conscience clause is the act of a theocrat, albeit not in the traditional sense. You would never ever see Sarah Palin do something like that because of her belief that the Republic (form of government where we are protected from tyranny) should be preserved. Yes, she is a faithful person, but having faith and professing it is not “pushing” your faith on people. Rescission of the conscience clause is a huge push. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that it is a move away from democracy toward despotism. They are right.

Many thanks for an article that, while I disagree with it, is insightful and fair. I appreciate the level of discourse herein. And Happy Easter to you, too!

By: louie

louie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:46:02 +0000

The last few sentiments about palin and mccain are particularly interesting in light of recent developments with palin ‘going rogue’. It seems pretty clear that mccain may already be getting the hockey stick. Which is sad on many levels…but disappointing to me because this continues to happen to him from ‘his own party’. I truly feel for mccain. What must it feel like to be betrayed by his party in ’00, and then have to ask them to help him in getting the nomination this year? And now it appears palin is starting to betray him.