NARAL's Seeing Things

There's something about the notion of "choice" that gives me that nice feeling. Maybe "change" does the same for others... but I digress. NARAL, the abortion rights group, which talks a lot about choice and how conservative politicians are anti-choice, is taking a stand against the hypocrisy and irony of Sarah Palin's actions as governor. Gov. Palin, who is an advocate for protecting life from the moment of conception and thus pro-life (but anti-choice for those keeping track) is apparently an example of hypocrisy because she used her line-item veto power to slash funding intended for an organization that supports teenage moms. If you still don't see the hypocrisy, don't bother re-reading this paragraph. I read the NY chapter of NARAL's statement a few times until I realized the only hypocrisy I saw was the one NARAL used to issue such a statement.

NARAL takes Gov. Palin to task for being hypocritical because she cut the expenditure of public funds going to a program meant for young mothers. That means she refused to let some of Alaskans' tax dollars go towards a program that is doing what families should be doing--and that is helping and supporting each other out. But the only hypocrisy I see is that Gov. Palin let any public monies go to such a program. After all, Gov. Palin is a Republican and that means she's a fiscal conservative who believes government and tax dollars should not do what families and communities can--for themselves. That means that we take care of our loved ones and help those in our community the best we can, while government tends to those things for which it is best positioned, such as building roads and protecting us from crime.

In sum, NARAL has it all wrong. Gov. Palin acted in accordance with her conservative beliefs that public dollars are not the panacea for everything, especially matters relating to home and family. She was not acting with the pretense of having a virtuous character and moral principles, while not really possessing them, which is the definition of hypocrisy. She was acting with a servant's heart, as she likes to say, for the taxpayers of Alaska who do not need millions of their tax dollars going to teenage mothers. Just becasue Gov. Palin's daughter may have been eligible for such a program does not mean that Gov. Palin has to now endow such a program with millions of Alaskan tax dollars. On the contrary, Gov. Palin and her family are showing us what Republican and conservative beliefs look like in practice. Tending to and taking care of one's family first.