Politics as (Un) Usual

I was sent this e-mail recently and it hit home for me.

 

Dear Tara,  A few hours ago, the news broke that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been selected by Sen. John McCain as the vice presidential candidate for the Republican ticket. As a Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund supporter, you are no doubt aware of Governor Palin’s dismal record, from her staunch support for special interests and Big Oil to her terrible assault on wolves and other wildlife. As much of the nation wonders just who Sarah Palin is, I wanted to pass along my statement that I’ve just released. Please read it and pass it along to everyone you know. Thanks for your continued support, Rodger FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 29, 2008 Shocking Choice by John McCain WASHINGTON– Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate:  Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.  To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fu nd.  “Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies. “Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.   “This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.” ### The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm. ———   I sent this e-mail on into cyberspace in a meager attempt to pass on knowledge. What happened, was it hit a little closer to home than I imagined. Thus ensues the banter between my father and I:   Hi Em,   Thanks for the info   I think the choice for Sarah Palin is a great one and I’ll tell you why.   She is for America being independent of foreign oil.  These countries do not like us and we are supporting them while damaging ourselves   Nature is resilient, it has been proven in the past that it can and will rebound.  Alternative fuels will not happen over night.  with the federal government lifting bans on offshore drilling with conditions we have a chance to buy time to develope these alternatives, I think we can compromise.    I personally think our energy needs are worth the sacrifice of a few polar bears, if that is even the case.  The oil industry is not the major polluter it was a few decades ago, to think that they will go and strip the environment unbridled is ridiculous, everybody knows that.   This is just a scare tactic used by organizations (Democrats) trying to justify their positions, it does the American people no good… if we follow their rhetoric, we allow ourselves to go deeper into the clutches of foreign governments… that scares me worse than ”losing” nature, which would never happen anyway.   The speaker of the House, Nancy Peloski, has shares in companies involved with alternative fuel research… can you see why she might not want offshore drilling?    Oh by the way… I love you.   — Well, Dad. . .   I didn’t know you were going to vote McCain. (winks)  Even if what you say were true about the Democrats using this as a “scare tactic to defend their positions,” I think that it is nothing in comparison to the scare tactics the Republicans have used to justify going to war. Not to mention that McCain choosing a woman as a vice president is such an obvious and cheap ploy to skirt the real issues.  By the way, I had no idea that off-shore drilling would dramatically decrease the cost at the pump (which seems to be the majority of Americans soul interest). And, I wonder if your stance on the sacrificing a few polar bears for “the (doomed) cause” is a mere libertarian view or just an ignorant way of saying “Hey, what good are they anyway?”  Nature is resilient, there is no doubt. Polar Bears may or may not survive. As we have learned about any otherextinct species, once they are wiped off the face of the earth there is no chance of them returning. Nature will forge forward and flourish, as it has the ability to take an imbalance or missing link and adapt. We seem to love this stance of “sacrifice a few to save many.” This helps justify the destruction of species of plants, animals, and even the elimination of Human cultures. Somehow this “greater good” theory seems to be a little short of compassion. The greater good for the few but, not the majority. I just have one question: Who are the few? Because I know it isn’t you and I saving a few cents at the pump. Love you too Em —- Well Em…  I didn’t know you were a liberal (winks) I agree with you on the war but at the same time I believe that we need to continue our assault on terrorism. I would think you as a young woman would be thrilled to see a woman on the ticket, regardless of her politics.  It is political to say the least, but if you have read my latest post, you’ll agree that everything being done by the candidates is political… they are, after all… trying to get votes. I believe in the next few weeks you will see the issues come into play, but I do not think personal attacks on ones family is taking the high road, shame on the Democrats for that one. By the way, why don’t we take this conversation to my blog?  I’d love to share it with others… I love you, and this is fun for me.