Kevin DuJan at HillBuzz is an unabashed supporter of both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. He recently penned an open letter to Rush Limbaugh, and another this morning to answer the question of Rush and his listeners, “How can you support Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin at the same time?” And right on time, both he and HRC started taking flak in the comment section, almost immediately.
There were two points made in the comments that I would like to address, from a Blue-Collar Redneck center-right perspective. The first one is that most of Rush’s listeners would see this piece as “an appeal to emotion”, because it isn’t a side-by-side policy comparison. And the second is that the difference between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is shades of grey.
The point that they seem to be missing is that not all of us see the world starkly defined as either black or white. We see shades of gray in every issue, and see the merits of the arguments of both sides, without completely agreeing with either of them.
We understand that there are a lot of vehicle choices between a Hummer and a Volt. We see the merit in reducing our dependence not just on foreign oil, but on oil period. But we also see the Cap and Tax legislation for the detrimental effect it will have on the poor and the middle class, both financially and physically.
We understand the religious connotations of the word “marraige” to many people in this country, and respect their objections. But many of us agree with the concept of civil unions, and could care less if Adam marries Eve, or if he marries Steve. What we don’t understand is how conservatives can defend “the sanctity of marraige” on the one hand, while roundly condemning Hillary Clinton for not ending hers on the other.
We don’t necessarily agree with government subsidized, unfettered abortion, but most of us don’t think a woman should go to jail for having one. And we understand that the only way that pro-lifers are going to prevail is BY appealing to emotion, because there were abortions before Roe v. Wade, and there would still be abortions if it is overturned. That is a battle that must be won in the field of hearts and minds, not in the legislative arena.
We understand that Obamacare is a fiscal disaster waiting to happen, even though we don’t disagree with some of the provisions in it. We feel like we are being regulated to death by an out of control government, but we don’t trust the “free market” to always force corporations and industries to “do the right thing”.
We don’t appreciate being called racists because we disagree with or don’t support Obama, but we didn’t particularly care for being called unpatriotic or unAmerican every time we disagreed with George W. Bush and the GOP either. And conservatives would be making a huge mistake if they assume that we are going to make a lifetime commitment to the Republicans, for better or worse, just because we have divorced ourselves from the Democrats.
In most elections, we agree with the policy positions of one candidate more than the other, but don’t agree completely with either. So we make our voting decisions using both reason and emotion. We judge our candidates not just by the color of their position papers, but by what we perceive as the content of their charachters.
Unlike Kevin, I was not an early Hillary Clinton supporter. I was a John Edwards supporter in the beginning (I know, I know), but as the field narrowed and I started paying more attention to the debates, she grew on me. I came to admire her toughness and her grit, and I never once felt that she looked down on people like me.
For that reason, it was very easy for me to transfer my support to Sarah Palin, when she came on the scene. I admire the same qualities in her that I admire in Hillary Clinton. I like the fact that she is full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes. She says exactly what she thinks, and she doesn’t back down from a fight. If she runs in 2012, I will support and defend her to my last breath, regardless of whoever else is on the ticket. If she wins, I will argue whatever policy differences I might have with her. But in the meantime, I will stand with Sarah in her fight against Obama and the rest of the far left, and against the GOP establishment.
You are exactly right PD. We don’t have to agree on all issues to know that right now we are fighting for the life of our country and for the principles on which she was founded. And if Sarah runs in 2012, we will need to set aside our differences with those with whom we may disagree, to insure that Obama is not re-elected.
Well said ladies. Very well said.
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I dn’t know if you’ve been looking, but the “far Left” is becoming very ticked off at Obama & Co. who sit at its top. The worst part is that all the Progressive lobbyists in DC have been effectively “veal-penned” by Obama and his minions and there is very serious debate about forming a third party over there.
We in the Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans communities feel extremely abused by Obama. He talks to us with pretty speeches and yet he files defense briefs and appeals that read like as if they were written by attorneys who went to Law School at Patrick Henry University or any other far Right (Dominionist) institute of higher learning. I feel as if Obama is setting us up for persecution or even genocide ON PURPOSE through his court appeals (and I don’t trust Kagan one bit). Because of that, in this election cycle I am not voting for one Dem for federal office. Nevertheless, the highjacking of the Teaparty brand by The Family (C Street) affiliate Jim DeMint gives me great pause because there is still very much a toxic territory among Conservatives. Recent remarks by Palin associate and US Senate candidate Joe Miller to the effect that the States or even the Feds should be entitled to impact our private lives makes me think I’d be swapping one plantation for another if I were to go over to the Repubs.
I need a reason why Palin would be better for me, equality-wise, than Obama.
For starters Sarah as governor of Alaska made health-care benefits available for domestic partners of state employees, including same-sex partners. That right there tells me she at least acknowledges same-sex relationships as valid.
Thanks for your comment Ed. I was aware that the “far left” is not happy with Obama, although I don’t spend enough time on that side of the blogosphere anymore to fully understand all of the reasons why. I would welcome further input from you on that subject.
As for your final statement, I feel like I need to give that answer some further thought to be able to do it justice. And unfortunately, I am too pressed for time today to be able to do that effectively.
I will say that I have spent enough time talking to people on both ends of the political spectrum, and all points in between, to know that neither political party has a monopoly on either racism or homophobia. McCain/Palin had exactly the same position on the gay marraige issue in 2008 as the Obama/Biden campaign.
Ed, from what I know about Sarah Palin and her record as Governor of Alaska, she didn’t allow her personal feelings on issues such as gay marriage or same-sex benefits affect her decisions. She made her decisions as Governor based on the Alaska Constitution, not on her personal feelings. Maybe the best way to change the hearts and minds of Americans when it comes to gay rights issues is not by going to the courts every time one of the gay community initiatives is voted against by their fellow citizens. Just like I think that when it comes to the abortion issue that changing hearts and minds is the way to go at this time because it will be difficult to get a reversal of Roe v. Wade anytime soon. I’m not sure what Joe Miller has said pertaining to the Feds impacting our private lives, but as far as I can tell, DeMint or any other conservative serving right now has no plans to barge into your bedrooms. As far as I can tell, it’s the Left who wants to control every aspect of our lives. I think most conservative Republicans serving right now and who may be voted in on Nov. 2nd would love to diminish the role of government in our lives….from taxes to regulations. Also you may be interested to know that there are many Christians out there, myself included, who would like to see the definition of marriage stay as it is…one man-one woman. But we would have no problem with civil unions or whatever is needed to insure that your partner could benefit financially from your union and there would be no difficulties with hospital visitations and issues such as that.
Generally speaking, Conservative candidates tend to not actually care what we do in our own bedrooms.
Progressives, however, like to whip out their supposed “concern” for gays every time there is an election cycle coming up. As a gay conservative man, I really would prefer my life without liberal “help.”
I’m not feeling generally persecuted, and I have no desire to force the gay marriage issue because social change is something that happens naturally, not through legislation. It changes in the hearts and minds of the American voter.
Sarah Palin does not hate gay people. She may disagree with the “official” (read: “liberal”) demand for supposed “equal” rights* but harbors no animosity and is not coming to “get” us.
-Blake Flint
gay, conservative, and happy.
*(by the way – gay people have identical rights to straight people – either can marry someone of the opposite sex. Gay marriage is not equal rights – it is SPECIAL rights.)
Excellent points Blake. We seem to have a consensus that social change is better achieved without legislative interference. Both political parties have used “wedge issues” to their advantage with certain constituencies in past elections, in an attempt to divide and conquer. Thankfully, none of those issues has gained any traction in this election cycle.
Palin extended Same Sex Partner Benefits to AK State employees when she was Governor. And thet was against a lot of opposition.
She’s a Constitutionalist at heart.
You’ll notice that all these Republican groups that have challenged anti gay legislation in the past year (in CA, last year and, most recently, DADT) have done it on Constitutional grounds.
When it comes to Equal Rights, the Constitution is your friend. And when it comes to the Constitution, Conservatives are about the only people in this country who still respect it.
Ex Dem here for Palin. And Tea Party Repubs.
I came over here via hillbuzz. I always read Kevin, but have lately stopped reading the comment section, as I was a Hillary supporter and I grew tired of defending her at a site that was started for her. I consider myself a Palin democrat too, so I’m thrilled that I decided to read some comments over there this evening and spotted your post and link to this site. You explained how I feel and have felt since Sarah was chosen to run as VP. I look forward to reading your blog from now on, and the comments as well.
I hear ya MichL, and I sympathize. Unfortunately, Clinton Derangement Syndrome is as common on the right as Palin Derangement Syndrome is on the left. The combination of those two maladies is what put Barack Obama in the White House.
Most of those people are members of the “Can’t be reasoned with” species, and fall into my “Don’t bother” category. I tend to save my efforts for those who are not so severely afflicted that it interferes with their hearing and reasoning ability.