Cross-Posted at Purple State Pundit.
On Thursday night, after hearing Obama's amazing speech, I said to someone at the convention watch party that regardless of party or who people supported in the primaries, Obama's acceptance of the nomination was a historic moment that every American should be proud of, whether or not they were voting for him. By that same logic, Sarah Palin's selection as the first woman on a Republican ticket and potentially the first female VP is also historic, and she should be congratulated for that.
I take exception, however, to those in the press and elsewhere who say that Palin's selection was courageous or reinforces McCain's image as a "maverick". In fact, I would argue that selecting Palin instead of several better known, more experienced Republican women who happen to be pro-choice proves how beholden he has become to the Christian Right he once stood up against. Rather than reinforcing his image as a maverick, McCain's decision only proves that John Kerry was right the other night when he talked about the difference between Senator McCain and Candidate McCain.
The Republican Party may not be as diverse as the Democrats in terms of their bench of elected officials, but there are several better known Republican women with longer resumes that McCain could have tapped for VP.
If he wanted to reinforce his image as a maverick who has put principle over party, the most obvious choice would have been Olympia Snowe, who has a record of working across the aisle and had the courage to stand her ground in the face of attacks from powerful Republican interest groups like the Club for Growth when she opposed the Bush tax cuts. In 2006, she won reelection with almost 75% of the vote in a Democratic-leaning state, because of her record of standing up to her party and being an independent voice for her state (as well as an arguably weak Democratic challenger).
She has a solid resume, an interesting personal story, and would have been a VP candidate who could have really appealed to some of the disaffected Clinton supporters. But she was not picked, nor did she ever appear to be seriously considered, because she is pro-choice and McCain knew the choice would be unacceptable to the Christian Right and the base of the Republican Party.
If McCain wanted to choose a governor to balance out the ticket, he could have chosen Jodi Rell from Connecticut, who has been governor since 2004 and served as lieutenant governor for 10 years before that. Unlike Palin, she has been significantly tested as governor by having to work with a Democratic state legislature to get things done. She also signed into law a campaign finance measure that McCain applauded back in 2006, which would reinforce the reformer image he's going for. But she was off the list because of her support for civil unions (according to Project Vote Smart, she is also pro-choice).
Picking one of these women could have reinforced the image McCain has tried to cultivate as a different kind of Republican willing to show some independence from his party. Either of them could have had significant appeal to Democratic women who were disappointed that Hillary Clinton is not the Democratic nominee and was not selected as Obama's running mate, as well as bolstering his argument that he, not Obama, is a true consensus builder with a proven record and helping him to win the independents. He could have also avoided undermining the "inexperience" argument he has used (somewhat successfully, in my opinion) against Obama by picking a woman with a longer resume.
Unfortunately (or, fortunately for us, as Democrats), he did not have the courage to risk alienating the extreme factions of the religious right. Even Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who has supported some restrictions on abortion and even sponsored legislation to prevent minors from being transported across state lines to circumvent parental notification laws, but supports the basic tenets of Roe v. Wade, was passed over in favor of a little-known, questionably qualified governor of Alaska whose positions on abortion are more acceptable to the extreme religious right that McCain once had the courage to show some independence from.
In figuring out how to respond to McCain's VP pick and particularly how to talk to disappointed Clinton supporters who are considering jumping ship, I believe this could be an effective way to approach it. If you talk to a woman who says that she is excited about Palin because she is a woman, don't belittle that, and don't assume that all she cares about is keeping abortion legal. Instead, say something along the lines of "I'm glad he chose a woman, but I'd be more impressed if he had chosen someone like Olympia Snowe, who is pro-choice and more moderate and has a record of standing up to the Bush Administration and stood her ground even when she was attacked for it."
Make it about McCain, not Palin, and go after him for being a hypocrite on the question of experience. Attack McCain for choosing Palin over more experienced women whose views are closer to the mainstream because he did not have the courage to buck the religious right, and use that to make the point Kerry made the other night about how McCain has changed and is no longer the maverick that many Democrats once respected.