Oregon Dems react to McCain’s VP choice

DENVER--The Oregon Democratic Party said Friday that the addition of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Ak.) to the Republican presidential ticket would only push more voters toward Democratic candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

“Now we know the field, and there is one ticket that stands for change, and one ticket that is four more years of the Bush administration,” DPO spokesman Marc Siegel said.

Barack Obama’s Oregon campaign spokeswoman Sahar Wali said that Palin may seem like a different choice on the surface, but would offer nothing different on the ticket.

“He’s chosen someone who has no foreign policy experience whatsoever,” Wali said. “To us, Sarah Palin represents more of the same. And she lacks the experience that John McCain says a president needs.”

Palin has served as Alaska’s governor for two years, earning a reputation as a progressive conservative after being a whistleblower on Alaska’s corrupt politicians. Before that, she was mayor of Wasilla, a town in southern Alaska that is about the size of Astoria.

“He has added someone on his 72nd birthday who does not have the experience to be a heartbeat away from the presidency,” Wali said. “Compare that to Joe Biden, who has vast foreign policy experience and has traveled the world implementing it. It’s just very clear what he was trying to do here; his choice had everything to do with his dim political outlook.”

Siegel also said that Palin’s stances on foreign issues, domestic issues and social issues would clash with Oregonians.

“She’s against Oregon’s values on everything from the war in Iraq to a woman’s right to choose,” he said.

Palin will be officially nominated as vice president next week at the Republican National Convention next week in Minneapolis.

Stay tuned to PolitickerOR.com for continuous coverage from the Convention.