WASHINGTON (ABP) — John McCain’s surprise Aug. 29 pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate was met with positive reviews from groups that oppose abortion rights and gay rights.
“Sen. McCain made an outstanding pick from the choices that were on the table,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Family Research Council, in a press statement released shortly after McCain’s pick became public. “Gov. Sarah Palin is an outspoken advocate for pro-family policies that energize social conservatives. She has a record of advancing the culture of life at every opportunity including championing a ban on partial-birth abortion and promoting parental consent for minor abortions.”
The Idaho Values Alliance — a conservative Christian group in the state where Palin was born and raised — released a statement calling the Palin pick “an inspired choice” and noting that she supported, in 1998, one of the first state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.
Palin, a former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, was elected governor in 2006 in a contentious primary battle that pitted her against the Republican incumbent and, later, a former Democratic governor. She has earned a reputation as a reformer in a state that has been dominated by Republicans in recent years and beset by several political-corruption scandals, including the recent indictment of its long-serving U.S. senator, Ted Stevens (R).
However, she is also under investigation by the Alaska Legislature for her role in the firing of a former state employee.
While social issues are rarely election-deciders in libertarian-leaning Alaska, Palin has expressed strong opposition to gay rights. Besides supporting the same-sex-marriage ban, she also said, during her 2006 campaign, that she disapproved a recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling that the state had to provide spousal benefits to same-sex partners of government employees.
While Palin later signed legislation that enforced the decision, she said she would support a ballot initiative that would effectively overturn the court ruling by banning gay spouses from state benefits.
“When you can’t even support giving our community the rights to health insurance and pension benefits, it’s a frightening window into where she stands on equality,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign, in a statement denouncing the Palin choice.
However, at least one moderate GOP group greeted McCain’s decision as a step forward for gays in the party. Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Sammon released a statement saying Palin is “a mainstream Republican who will unite the party and serve John McCain well as vice president. Gov. Palin is an inclusive Republican who will help Sen. McCain appeal to gay and lesbian voters.”
Palin has also expressed support for the teaching of alternatives to evolution in public schools. According to the Anchorage Daily News, in response to a question on teaching evolution versus religious theories during a 2006 gubernatorial debate, Palin said, “Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.”
The Supreme Court has ruled against the teaching of creationism in public schools, and other federal courts have extended that to a ban on teaching “intelligent design,” a newer theory that states life is so complex that it necessitates the existence of an intelligent creative force of some sort.
Palin later, according to the newspaper, modified her position on public schools’ teaching such theories. “I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class,” she said. “It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."
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