Governor Palin Let's Me Speak for Myself

As has been covered already, earlier this week, Emily's List, an organization aimed at raising money for pro-"choice" female candidates, launched a laughable ad campaign, "Sarah Doesn't Speak for Us":




desperately attempting to parody her pointed and well-done "Mama Grizzly" internet ad campaign:





In addition to the utter absurdity of the aesthetics of the video, the content of the video is lockstep with liberal affinity for identity politics. They may be saying "Sarah doesn't speak for us", but in reality, what Governor Palin does is let women speak for themselves. As she said in response to this ad in a recent Facebook post (emphasis mine):

On this anniversary of women’s suffrage, let’s take a moment to be grateful for the diversity of the debate. Women don’t walk in lockstep with each other in politics, any more than men do. We should be proud of our ability to engage in a civil discussion and healthy debate. I know I am. Unfortunately, I’ve recently come under attack for speaking up for sisters who seek to serve in public office. The sad part is that the attack comes from other sisters who happen to be on the other side of an issue that has been of great importance to American women from the time of our feminist foremothers, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, down to today. I’m speaking of the issue of life. I feel compelled to offer some advice to our sisters who like to throw stones at those of us who respectfully disagree with them on this issue (and they sometimes refuse to even countenance the fact that some of us can call ourselves feminists and disagree with those who claim the mantle of “real feminists"

The most heartbreaking part of this Emily's list video is that in their litany of issues where they disagree with Governor Palin, the first issue they mention is abortion, with one of the "mama grizzly/Ewoks" saying," You know what threatens me? My daughter not having the right to choose". In essence, these "mama grizzlies" are threatened by the fact that fewer "cubs" are born into this world. Their aim is protecting a "choice", not a "cub".

However, they don't stop at abortion. They attempt to hit the Governor on the issues of health care, unemployment benefits, education funding, and acceptance of sexual orientation. They absurdly claim that if Governor Palin were in charge, their children wouldn't have health care. As Governor Palin has mentioned in her many Facebook posts, she advocates consumer driven, patient-centered care, rather than government run rationing. She has made no statements regarding unemployment benefits, though Governor Palin always looks at government spending through the lens of necessity and long term effects on the deficit, which actually protects "cubs" from generational theft. With regards to educational spending, Governor Palin may not support massive federal funding of education (which comes with strings attached), but she advocates for more local control for spending for education and even forward funded education. Along with the Obama administration, Governor Palin has stated that she supports a "traditional" definition of marriage, but in no way wants to impinge on the rights of adults to engage in the relationships they deem right for themselves.

In addition to the blatant misrepresentation of where Governor Palin stands on the issues, they have it completely backwards in her view of the "feminism" and supporting women. For Governor Palin and conservative and independent women throughout America, it's not about being placed in the "women" box of identity politics. For conservative women, it's not about Governor Palin speaking for us; it's about being able to speak for ourselves. This is the kind of worldview that Governor Palin espouses and supports in candidates whom she endorses. It isn't about government dictating to female small business owners how they must run their business or about levying burdensome taxes on them. It's about removing burdensome regulations and taxes that allow these business owners to increase their inventory and their staff--both of which help fuel the economy. This allows these women to speak and act for themselves. It's not about creating more government programs to "provide" for women. It's about creating an environment for women to manage their budgets and their households, and it's about ensuring that the money spent on government programs now isn't going to mortgage the future of these women's children. When Governor Palin wants to advocate for First Amendment rights, she is not about stifling dissenting opinions, but it's about ensuring that a double standard isn't applied, even if the women she is defending has been less than complimentary to her in the past.

Governor Palin hasn't made it her goal to be the voice for women, but in this process, in many ways, she has become just that. She speaks for us because she advocates for women to speak and act for themselves. It is not about placing women or any other demographic group in a certain box, it's about allowing them to speak and act for themselves. I cannot help but think of an Iron "mama grizzly" who had a similar disdain for identity politics and big government policies:



Thank you, Governor Palin, for letting us speak for ourselves!


Cross posted here and here.