I write from New Orleans to explain how important this election is. We have learned the hard way why we need a government that works.
Three years ago, our federally built levees failed and 1600 of my neighbors died, some of them while waiting on their roofs for days for rescuers that did not come in time.
When asked why we were attacked on 9/11, Sarah Palin answered because the terrorists hate our freedoms. While she has been derided for her lack of foreign policy experience, she may have come up with the most innovative program yet to deter terrorists: taking those freedoms away.
Just like many Middle Eastern countries, Mayor Palin punished the women of Wasilla for reporting rape. Her administration charged them substantial fees for the rape kits used to prove the crime. After being attacked, a Wasilla woman could look forward to being billed up to $1200 in return for a grueling forensic pelvic exam.
Sarah Palin has provided the ultimate example of why a female candidate is no substitute for a candidate who cares about women. Compare Palin and Biden’s records on violence against women, an issue on which both sides normally agree. The political right may not always prioritize the cause, but it does not disagree that domestic violence is destructive of families and that rape is fundamentally wrong. Yet Palin sailed right past apathy to downright punishment of women for reporting rapes.