Independent UK: Palin in the land of prejudice

Jay McInerney: Palin in the land of prejudice
Will Hillary's legions really support a candidate whose views are so diametrically opposed to hers?

Saturday, 6 September 2008




So far I don't know whether any of my own books were among those that Sarah Palin tried to yank from the shelves of the public library in Wassila, Alaska, when she was mayor of that town, but I like to think, at the very least, that they would have been if she had been aware of their existence or their content.

Palin asked librarian Mary Ellin Baker to remove certain volumes due to objectionable language and when Baker balked, the mayor tried to get the librarian herself removed from her post. The Origin of Species was presumably on the list of offensive tomes, since Palin, a fierce sceptic vis-à-vis "the theory" of evolution, supports the teaching of creationism in the schools.

For those of you who live in a country where the Enlightenment hasn't been repealed, creationism is the pseudo science that attempts to reconcile the fossil record with the biblical account of creation. Also known as "a breath of fresh air". John McCain's choice of a running mate was certainly bold and unexpected, in keeping with his maverick reputation. It was also cynical and sexist, insofar as it was designed to attract disaffected Hillary supporters.

Will Hillary's legions, who strike me as being smarter than the average voter, really support a candidate whose views are diametrically opposed to hers on every important issue? This is a woman who, according to The Washington Post, as Governor performed a line item veto on a shelter for single mothers. It seems more likely that certain men will vote for the ticket just because they think she's cute in a librarianly kind of way.

Whatever else she may be, Sarah Palin is an old-school fundamentalist Christian Republican who makes Mitt Romney look like a left-wing extremist, which is why the Republican right has finally come around to support McCain's candidacy. Whether her hockey-mom shtick can obscure the fact that her beliefs are far to the right of the swing voters McCain needs remains to be seen. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jay-mcinerney-palin-in-the-land-of-prejudice-920832.html

Those views are what the Main$stream Media presents as "Christian" when they bother to talk about religion at all.