Kintropy In Action

Okay, this is a bit of a rant.  Usually, I'd toss this under "Commentary" rather than "Fatherhood", but given all the identity politics this election year, "Fatherhood" seems like a better place.

Yes, this is my Sarah Palin message.

I understand Gov Palin wants to advocate for my family should she reach the White House.  Given the Republican platform, my main question is what exactly will she be advocating?  I'm going to leave abortion and stem cell issues to the side.  I think reasonable people can disagree on the ethical underpinnings there, but what about:

• Universal health care:   Pro-life shouldn't stop when the heart starts beating.  For consistency, someone who is anti-abortion should be very pro-social-services and quality of life issues.  What will Gov Palin advocate for kids, like my daughter, that require intensive medical support?  Will she guarantee health coverage?  Will she support Medicaid expansion, including increasing the reimbursement rate to doctors and infrastructural changes that will allow states to cover more kids?  Sorry - a $5K/year tax credit doesn't buy much in the health care market these days.
• Education:  How will Gov Palin make sure special education services are fully funded and delivered in an inclusive classroom?  Will she be standing virtually next to me at my IEP meetings for Hannah or will I be mostly on my own with some members of Hannah's IEP team as her advocate (I'm guessing the second).

I could go on, but I've been obsessing about this in my head for awhile and would just like to exorcise it at this point.

I can very quickly pop over to Barack Obama's website, find the disability topic, and drill down into highly detailed proposals, broad, community based discusssion groups, and policy recommendations.  I cannot find the equivalent on McCain's site, and I believe that the Republican platform and performance in recent memory does not mesh well with Gov Palin's offer to be my advocate in the White House.

In the end, unlike McCain's advisory team, I do prefer an election on the issues, not on identity and affiliation.  That's great that the McCain/Palin team and I share some experiences; I'll bet the Obama/Biden team and I do, too.  Feeling an affinity for a candidate based on shared experience is natural, but remember the last time we as a nation elected a guy we felt an affinity for, a guy we wouldn't mind having a beer with?

-- Dad