From the get-go, I've been pretty Machiavellian about this election. "Do what you gotta do, Obama, Axelrod et al. I won't criticize too much as long as you make it to the White House." Winning campaigns are a lot like sausage, I figured. While you enjoy the tasty finished product, you don't always want to see what happens to get there. But unlike in 2004 where my enthusiasm for Kerry was really just motivated by distaste for Bush, my happiness with Obama was much stronger than my dislike of McCain.
And Then Sarah happened. And it got personal.
On the night she gave her acceptance speech and the RNC, like so many devoted liberals, I couldn't contain my rage. She really got under my skin.
Oh, it's on.
And then I jumped off the deep end.
I don't just want Obama to win. I want this woman to lose. Badly. I want her destroyed. Publicly. And I want her to suffer.
As I told my boyfriend this the day after her speech, (in the interest of self preservation he hadn't even watched it) he rightfully looked at me like I was a lunatic.
Maybe I was.
Reading about her all day as I edit blogs here at HuffPost probably didn't help with my anger. I started to tell friends and family outside of work that in the interest of my mental health, wecouldn't talk about her.
I tried to let my feelings mellow, but the woman has the ability to get my blood pressure to rise instantly.
Then a couple days ago, my friend Alex Leo sent me an email:
This has been going around. I think it's fabulous and thought you would too...
Instead of (in addition to?) us all sending around emails about how horrible she is, let's all make a donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name. And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her honor. Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood website:
https://secure.ga0.org/02/pp10000_inhonor
You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card. I suggest you use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters, which is:
McCain for President1235 S. Clark Street1st FloorArlington, VA 22202
PS make sure you use that link above or choose the pulldown of Donate--Honorary or Memorial Donations, not the regular "Donate Online"
A couple of bloggers have since mentioned this idea, including Patt Morrison who started this trend of donating in "honor of" Bush to Planned Parenthood 8 years ago. But with Sarah it feels like an even more appropriate place to donate since she's the newest poster girl of anti-feminism.
And today in the New York Times, Hillary Clinton and Cecile Richards made the urgent case for why we need to support women's reproductive rights now because of new rules the Bush administration is proposing that could greatly limit women's access to reproductive services.
I'm not sure how exactly to calculate a dollar amount that I should give in honor of Sarah that would appropriately counteract all the aggravation she's caused me. The formula might look something like this:
Number of times she's lied about the bridge to nowhere + number of nights I couldn't fall asleep because I was thinking about her + number of blogs I've read about her + one quarter of the cost she charged victims for rape kits in Wasilla + number of times she's compared herself to Hillary Clinton = ????
The idea of giving to Planned Parenthood seems like a healthy channeling of my frustration. I have, in fact, noticed that everyone is worried about money since we are in the middle of a massive financial crisis. But sometimes you just have to do something nice for yourself. And for Sarah.
UPDATE: Blogger John Neffinger gave me the following pertinent info:
I heard about this from someone else today and we were discussing this: The problem is the McCain campaign is run by contemptuous little anti-choice staffers -- no one who cares will ever see those cards. A better address might be the Palins' home, where at least her local postal workers and neighbors will notice:
PO Box 21
Wasilla, AK
Happy donating everyone!