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September 19, 2008
In recent days I’ve been overwhelmed by circumstances beyond my control. I’m tired. Wordless. Prayerful. So, I’ve been reading instead of writing.
Paul is working a temporary job for Tyndale House Publishers and has been bringing home a lot of books to read. The newest one off the press is SARAH How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson. I just read the last page this morning and have to say to all her opponents, before you listen and believe the negative press, read the facts. She became the mayor of her hometown at age 32. After serving in that post for several years, she took a 6-year break before accepting a position in Governor Murkowski’s administration to head up the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission which oversees the state’s energy industries. When she discovered deep corruption in this department that the administration asked her to keep quiet about, she resigned and went public, exposing those who sought to undermine the integrity of the department. Eventually the FBI raided six legislative offices revealing statewide corruption in the oil industry—payoffs, bribes and conspiracy. This situation eventually gave her gubernatorial campaign the impetus to win and reform the government of Alaska. That’s a very condensed synopsis. What I am most struck by is her fearless integrity and frugal style. Her campaign was run on a shoestring. Her budget was 1/3 less than that of her opponent’s. It was loyalty, not money that put her into office.
Well, all that to say, suddenly with her appointment by McCain, she has stepped into the forefront of this election. When averaged, the polls say that it’s a tie right now between Obama and McCain. Regardless of who wins in November, Sarah’s example, if people will really look and listen to the truth, is powerful.
I also have to mention how much I appreciate her advocacy for people with disabilities and her stand on a baby’s right to live. I can’t begin to comprehend how a mother could take the life of her unborn child or the aftermath of that decision, how it must haunt and inwardly destroy a person like an angry cancer from within. How have we come to the place in our society where it’s shrugged off as a woman’s right? There’s never mention of how a woman must live with that decision for the rest of her life. As I sit here writing, I’m looking at Nathan sitting in his daddy’s chair looking at a picture of a rooster and saying “do-doo-doo,” I can’t imagine having stopped his life. He is SO beautiful.
Ultimately, my guess is Obama’s economic plan will in reality align pretty closely to McCain’s. But it’s the issue of abortion that trumps all other issues for me. Taxes are a big issue too. There is one HUGE change that occurred during the Bush administration that impacts a little tiny business like mine. When we sold our condo several years ago, I had to pay over $4000 extra in taxes that year simply because I had a home office. Now, because of policies that have changed in the past 8 years, I will not be hit with that expense when we sell our house.
I guess in many ways, I’ll be voting for Sarah in November, not just John