Opinion: Moms are rising up thanks to Sarah Palin

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Even if she doesn’t have any foreign policy experience, John McCain probably thought that at the very least he could count on Sarah Palin to nurture the mothers-who-vote niche. But that’s not going so well either. Her campaign has managed to tick off a group of moms that once was thrilled with her.

MomsRising, which in two short years has amassed a membership of 140,000 citizens and counts 85 affiliated groups nationwide, yesterday tried to hand-deliver a letter signed by thousands of its members to Palin’s office in Washington. In its letter, the group says it was dazzled to see a mom on stage at the Republican convention, accepting the nomination for vice president, but that it has some questions for her. MR wants to know where she stands on issues such as healthcare, afterschool programs, paid sick days and equal pay for working women.

The smart thing, of course, would have been for Palin’s staff to take the letter and thank the 15 mothers (and one baby) for showing their devotion to their country and interest in the Alaska governor. Instead, Palin’s people actually turned them away and told them to drop it in the mail.

Dismayed at the rebuff, MomsRising is rallying its troops. Wending its way across the national mothersphere today is an e-mail alerting its membership, and an Internet petition with the group’s questions. Its ultimate destination is Gwen Ifill, the PBS moderator for the debate scheduled for Tuesday between Palin and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. In her weekly live chat over at the Washington Post today, Ifill says she is open to including questions from the public.

Accepting the letter seems like a no-brainer, but who knows? Maybe the Palin camp didn’t realize this group is accustomed to much better treatment: Here’s Obama speaking at a MomsRising event, and here’s Sen. Hillary Clinton.