Commentators are asking whether Sarah Palin’s ability to raise US $1 million in 3 months (and spend 75% of it) is a sign that she’s preparing to put her hat in the ring for the next Presidential elections in 2012. This is big money, until you read that Mitt Romney raised US$1 million in 2 months.
Aside from all the gossip and money floating around US politics, you may have come across the “mama grizzlies” who are no fictional characters from a children’s book. No, these are the women who have already had enough of Obama, who walk around in tailored stars and stripes jackets, who hold placards saying “annoy liberal” and “I am the angry tax-bled hockey-mom”.
There are a lot of images of women and a lot of talk about women too. But the images and emotive speech do not quite match up. Despite many placards in the images citing Obama’s reforms and tax proposals, Palin fails to mention any policies at all. The nearest she gets is mentioning the policies coming out of “DC”, as though Washington is some foreign entity.
According to Palin, these policies are bringing a fundamental change to the US that are worrying mothers. Well, worry no more as I can assure you that your children will be served better under universal healthcare, flexible working hours for parents, and the Child Care Tax credit reform, which will financially assist low-income families with child care. These are just a few current administration policies that will actually benefit women as mothers. Not to mention Obama’s detailed policies for women as women, and not just as mothers and wives.
The problem with Palin’s speech is she speaks about women as though their prime political motivation is driven by their children and families. She talks about the “mom awakening”, women being worried about their children’s and grandchildren’s future, mothers just having that knack of knowing when something is wrong, and then of course, the mama grizzlies.
If there’s one way to get Republican women from Alaska to join your cause, the mama grizzlies may just do it. But I’m not sure how you get from someone doing something adverse towards their cubs, to a democratically elected government turning policies into law. Now that’s not the same as say a fully grown male bear trying to eat your bear cubs is it?
I shouldn’t be so dismissive though. Money is power, $1 million is a lot of power, and this woman talks about women. 2008 was not the year of the hockey-mom , but will 2012 be the year of the mama grizzlies?
2 comments:
Damn right. She's found a niche (or rather her handlers have) and will attempt to exploit it to maximum effect. The problem is I doubt many of the women she is 'empowering' have the sort of problems that Obama's policies are aimed at alleviating. I imagine they're mostly from comfortable backgrounds with husbands who can afford healthcare, childcare, etc. In many ways I hope she does run for President in 2012 just for the hilarious spectacle of her trying to out-debate Obama. That video made me want to puke by the way.
Where are all the black women in that video?
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