Liberty Maven

Sarah Palin In The Land Of McCain's Oz

It is now time to rate the vice presidential candidates on the Paul-O-Meter. We start with John McCain’s VP pick Sarah Palin. The perfect strategic pick for McCain, Palin has little history. She’s been Governor of Alaska for less than two years, but now that McCain’s handlers are pulling Palin’s puppet strings it is difficult to see a difference between the two.

Here we examine Palin on 20 issues to see how she stacks up to Ron Paul. Hopefully this will help some see the lips through the lipstick.

If you’d like to see more ratings or rate Palin or any other candidate or lawmaker head on over to Paul-O-Meter.com and explore the possibilities.

If you want to delve into the question of whether Palin truly is similar to Ron Paul read onward.

1. Liberty-based Voting Record – Palin is a bit wishy washy on her liberty voting record. She supported the infamous “Bridge To Nowhere” first and then changed her position when it became the popular thing to do. She does to a certain extent try to follow the Constitution, for instance she refused to sign a bill from the Alaskan state legislature stating that the Real ID will not be funded in Alaska. She let the signing period expire which ended up making the law pass. So she didn’t exactly stand up for liberty in that case. Score: 3
2. The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy – Palin hasn’t mentioned this issue thus far. She seems to be taking the same position as McCain so it is hard to tell where she stands on the issue. In any case, she is certainly not like Ron Paul who calls for abolishing the Fed and legalizing competing currencies. Score: 0
3. Foreign Policy and Iraq – Palin has stated several times her support of going into Iraq before even being chosen as VP. She now has adopted John McCain’s foreign policy of intervention, the polar opposite of Ron Paul. Score: 0
4. Taxes – She supported lowering taxes in Alaska, but did raise the sales tax. As VP she’s taken John McCain’s promise to lower taxes on businesses to promote job growth. This is tinkering from a Ron Paul perspective. She does not support repealing the 16th amendment nor a consumption tax. Score: 1
5. Government Spending – She was a champion of curbing spending in Alaska and is continuing the same lines as VP. She hasn’t mentioned reducing the national debt, but has echoed John McCain on earmark reform. Score: 2
6. Privacy and Civil Liberties – Palin is not quite a friend to Privacy and Civil Liberties. She created “FBI Day” in Alaska to “support fighting global crime”. No word from her on FISA or the Patriot Act. Similar to Ron Paul, she has stated that she doesn’t support hate crime. Because she allowed Alaska to vote to not fund the Real ID she deserves at least a point or two. Score: 2
7. Immigration – It’s very difficult to find Palin’s stance on immigration. According to Laura Ingraham though who talked with Palin, she disagrees with McCain on “comprehensive immigration reform” which supports amnesty. If true, she is more like Ron Paul on illegal immigration than John McCain. Score: 3
8. Gun Control and Second Amendment – She is a large advocate of the Second amendment and supporting the repeal of the DC gun ban. Score: 5
9. Internet Regulation – Palin hasn’t stated anything publicly about internet regulation specifically. There is conjecture that she may support Net Neutrality based on other legislative actions, but that is unreliable. She has promised to not expand “gambling” in Alaska saying it is harmful to society so it is certainly probably she would be for UIGEA which virtually bans online gambling. Given the lack of information we must guess at the score. Score: 2
10. Adherence To The Constitution – She has voted against her own personal views in Alaska because the bill was unconstitutional. At least with respect to Alaska and her view on gun rights she seems to be a Constitutionalist. Her statements on privacy and civil liberties, though, call into question her stance on the Fourth Amendment. Score: 3
11. Religion vs. Public Policy – Palin publicly declared that U.S. involvement in the Iraq war was the “will of God”. She also has injected religion into her speeches and statements quite regularly. This is quite opposite to Ron Paul. Score: 0
12. Environment – She has spoken out against John McCain’s “cap and trade” proposal. She has voted against endangered species legislation in Alaska. She seems to be closer to Ron Paul on this issue than John McCain. Score: 4
13. Energy Policy – She is a strong advocate for drilling in ANWR and off the U.S. coastlines. She seems to be right in line with Ron Paul here. Score: 5
14. U.S. Sovereignty – Palin doesn’t seem to have ever mentioned the NAU nor the threat to U.S. Sovereignty. Score: 0
15. War On Drugs – Palin is a drug warrior like McCain. She doesn’t support legalizing medical marijuana. Score: 0
16. Education – She doesn’t support abolishing the Department of Education, but she does support school choice and home schooling. Score: 3
17. Welfare Programs – Palin supports Social Security reform, but is quite short on specifics. It seems she refuses to give a straight answer on this topic. Score: 0
18. Abortion – She is a mirror of Ron Paul on the abortion issue. Score: 5
19. Health Care – She seems to echo Ron Paul on health care. She supports competition and putting decisions back in the hands of doctors, not bureaucrats. Score: 5
20. Ability To Spread The Liberty Message – Palin doesn’t have a liberty message on most topics, revealing that her being a “libertarian” is a complete misnomer. Therefore she doesn’t deserve much of a score here. Score: 1

Sarah Palin’s final Paul-O-Meter Score: 44 out of 99 points.

Those that call Palin “libertarian leaning” are simply mischaracterizing her positions. She’s no libertarian, leaning or otherwise. She is a low fat neo-conservative. She always supported the Iraq War. She is a drug warrior. Obama’s much criticized statement that John McCain in choosing Palin was trying to put “lipstick on a pig” therefore has another meaning. McCain is trying to put “libertarianism” on a “neo-conservative”.

Hopefully, the mindless masses will see what’s behind McCain’s curtain before the end of the movie.