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Steven Denlinger: DEMOCRATS TAKE WARNING: McCain just closed the evangelical vote
I was in England the last time a Republican candidate threw red meat this raw and bloody to the Conservative Right. It was the summer of 1988. George H.W. Bush had looked too liberal to the evangelical wing of the party. He had to do something to let them KNOW he was a conservative. So he chose Dan Quayle as his running mate.
From my position as an American abroad, I was sure Bush's choice was a fatal mistake. As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, I occasionally spoke to Rotarian audiences. When they asked what I thought of the election, I let them in on the truth: Dukakis was sure to win. The election was a no-brainer because the senator from Indiana was an embarrassment. I pointed to Quayle's gaffes, his perceived stupidity, his inexperience. There was no way America would elect Bush.
I was wrong.
I didn't understand what Bush was doing. He chose Quayle for one reason only: the senator was Pro-Life and Anti-Gay, and Bush needed the evangelical vote. Reagan's blessing undoubtedly helped, but nonetheless, when Election Day rolled around, George H.W. Bush dominated the election on his own terms.
I remember that election night. I was sitting in my dorm room at Richmond College in London with another American friend, watching the returns on television. Allison Orr was a Republican, and I had laid down a bet on Michael Dukakis. I lost.
John McCain isn't worried about the fact that Governor Palin believes in Creationism, likes to shoot small animals, and is eager to plunder Alaska's natural resources. He knows the truth - because Steve Schmidt has shown the way things work in American politics.
Mark my words. Evangelical America has just found a reason to vote for Senator John McCain. That reason is spelled P-A-L-I-N. By choosing her as VP, he has locked up the evangelical vote.
Why? Because of her position on abortion.
Except for slavery, no issue in American history has polarized this country more. Because of Governor Palin's position, American evangelical pastors will acclaim the McCain ticket tomorrow from their pulpits. You doubt this? Look at James Dobson - the spokesman for the Religious Right who refused to give the McCain ticket his support. He's now an "enthusiastic supporter." From now on, McCain doesn't have to do anything for the evangelical Right (and he won't). He's golden.
Can you imagine what President Sarah Palin's Supreme Court nominations would look like?
Especially four to eight years from now if she takes the mantle from PRESIDENT John McCain?
Oh, and we can forget about using "inexperience" as an argument. Remember the last few weeks? We Democrats have been proclaiming loudly that it's judgment that counts. To evangelical Christians, having the right judgment when it comes to Roe vs. Wade is the only judgment that matters.
And it doesn't help that some believe Obama to be Muslim and the Anti-Christ: The Man who will create a One-World Government and bring in the Apocalypse. 12% of Americans believe this thanks to the power of viral emails.
If we wish to win, we Democrats need to cast aside any hopes that Palin will weaken the Republican ticket - and take her candidacy seriously. If we do not, we will lose. It's as simple as that. Unless someone finds a smoking gun - and I mean, something so far beyond ideological that it's criminal - the McCain ticket may prove unstoppable. We need to be afraid. Very afraid.
In fact, Obama's men and women behind the curtain need to reread The Prince. Because Steve Schmidt is applying all of Machiavelli's principles. And he's doing it brilliantly. The only thing that counts for him is winning - idealism has nothing now to do with McCain's campaign. Karl Rove's apprentice is as dangerous as the Dark Lord himself.
Look at what has happened in the few months since Schmidt assumed power. The McCain campaign has gone from a floundering ship under fire to Fortress America.
How did Schmidt pull that off? Simple. He made a pragmatic decision. He knew that most voters don't give a rat's derriere about who the VP is. So Schmidt tossed the Religious Right a candidate who shares their most important value. That Stealth Choice has turned the campaign offering into Prime Midwestern Strip Steak, grilled tasty and delicious - whether you are an independent, a moderate, OR a conservative voter.
I speak from knowledge and experience. I know the world of Evangelical America. I grew up in it. Many of my childhood friends and family happily compare the number of abortions to the number of Jews killed in Hitler's Death Camps. The Evangelical Right gave the White House to George W. Bush because he talked their language - TWICE. And thus I know there was a lot of whooping and hollering going on Friday morning.
Democrats take warning. With his choice of Governor Palin as VP, McCain just closed the evangelical vote in America. Locked them up. And there's nothing we can do about it. Come November, evangelicals will flood the voting booths, confident that God is on their side. They won't even need to feel slightly racist anymore.
Look at it through their eyes for a moment. What could be a more powerful argument against abortion than the iconic image of Governor Sarah Palin cradling her youngest child on her shoulder? She and her husband carried that pregnancy to term, fully knowing that the resulting child would have Downs Syndrome, yet fully committed to honoring his life. This one's a true believer, folks.
To the Religious Right, the battle against Roe vs. Wade has always been a war for the lives of millions of babies. Until now during this election season, its political battles have taken place behind the scenes.
Not any more. Be very afraid, Democrats. The Culture War just went hot on Friday morning in Dayton, Ohio.
GREG MITCHELL: 2 Top Alaska Newspapers Question Palin's Fitness
Since yesterday's shocking arrival of Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate there has been the usual cable news and print blathering about the pick from those who know little about her. But what about the journalists close to home -- in Alaska -- who know her best and have followed her career for years?
For the past 24 hours, the pages and web sites of the two leading papers up there have raised all sorts of issues surrounding Palin, from her ethics problems to general lack of readiness for this big step up. Right now the top story on the Anchorage Daily News web site looks at new info in what it calls "troopergate" and opens: "Alaska's former commissioner of public safety says Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's pick to be vice president, personally talked him on two occasions about a state trooper who was locked in a bitter custody battle with the governor's sister.
"In a phone conversation Friday night, Walt Monegan, who was Alaska's top cop until Palin fired him July 11, told the Daily News that the governor also had e-mailed him two or three times about her ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten, though the e-mails didn't mention Wooten by name. Monegan claims his refusal to fire Wooten was a major reason that Palin dismissed him. Wooten had been suspended for five days previously, based largely on complaints that Palin's family had initiated before Palin was governor."
A reporter for the Anchorage daily, Gregg Erickson, even did an online chat with the Washington Post, in which he revealed that Palin's approval rating in the state was not the much-touted 80%, but 65% and sinking -- and that among journalists who followed her it might be in the "teens." He added: "I have a hard time seeing how her qualifications stack up against the duties and responsibilities of being president.... I expect her to stick with simple truths. When asked about continued American troop presence in Iraq, she said she knows only one thing about that (I paraphrase): no one has attacked the American homeland since George Bush took the war to Iraq."
His paper found a number of leading Republican officeholders in the state who mocked Palin's qualifications. "She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Lyda Green, the president of the State Senate, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"
Another top Republican, John Harris, the speaker of the House, when asked about her qualifications for Veep, replied with this: "She's old enough. She's a U.S. citizen."
Dermot Cole, a columnist for the Fairbanks paper, observed that he thinks highly of Palin as a person but "in no way does her year-and-a-half as governor of Alaska qualify her to be vice president or president of the United States.
"One of the strange things Friday was that so many commentators and politicians did not know how to pronounce her name and had no clue about what she has actually done in Alaska....I may be proven wrong, but the decision announced by McCain strikes me as reckless. She is not prepared to be the next president should something happen to McCain."
From the editorial in the Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks:
Sen. John McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate was a stunning decision that should make Alaskans proud, even while we wonder about the actual merits of the choice.... Alaskans and Americans must ask, though, whether she should become vice president and, more importantly, be placed first in line to become president.In fact, as the governor herself acknowledged in her acceptance speech, she never set out to be involved in public affairs. She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land. Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin?
Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation's when he created the possibility that she might fill it.
And from the editorial in the Anchorage Daily News:
It's stunning that someone with so little national and international experience might be heartbeat away from the presidency.Gov. Palin is a classic Alaska story. She is an example of the opportunity our state offers to those with talent, initiative and determination...
McCain picked Palin despite a recent blemish on her ethically pure resume. While she was governor, members of her family and staff tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the Alaska State Troopers. Her public safety commissioner would not do so; she forced him out, supposedly for other reasons. While she runs for vice-president, the Legislature has an investigator on the case.
For all those advantages, Palin joins the ticket with one huge weakness: She's a total beginner on national and international issues.
Gov. Palin will have to spend the next two months convincing Americans that she's ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency....
McCain May Give Convention Speech From Disaster Zone
“It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster,” McCain told Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” in an interview taped for Sunday. “So we're monitoring it from day to day and I'm saying a few prayers, too.”
McCain also said: “I'm afraid, Chris, that we may have to look at that situation and we'll try to monitor it. I've been talking to Govs. Jindal, Barbour, Riley. Chris, I've been talking to all of them.”
Officials at the convention, which is to open Monday in St. Paul, Minn., tell Politico they are figuring out how to handle the formal business of nominating McCain even if some delegations are not able to attend.
The officials also are preparing program contingencies in case speakers such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have to cancel.
Maria Cino, the convention’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement to Politico: "Like all Americans, our prayers are with those who will be affected by Hurricane Gustav. We continue to closely monitor the movement of the storm and are considering necessary contingencies.
“We are in communication with the Gulf state governors to make sure the convention is taking all the appropriate steps as the hurricane progresses. The safety of our affected delegations is our first priority, and preparing for Gustav comes before anything else."
On Friday, Cino vowed on C-SPAN, in a quote picked up by the Drudge Report, that the gavel will come down.
President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are scheduled to speak Monday. The government’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina still stings, and Republicans said they doubt the president would come to a political bash if New Orleans were facing a threat.
White House officials were considering a range of alternatives, including a Bush satellite appearance from the Gulf, according to Republican officials. They would not say what the other possibilities were.
Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters on a conference call Saturday that the government is preparing for a devastating storm of historic proportions.
"We are making contingency plans should the president decide against traveling to Minnesota for the RNC convention," Perino said on the call.
New Orleans officials said they might begin a full evacuation Monday.
Storm scrambles GOP convention
ST. PAUL, Minn. — President Bush is unlikely to make it to the Republican National Convention, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) may deliver his acceptance speech via satellite because of the historically huge hurricane threatening New Orleans, top officials said.
Late Saturday night, the RNC was planning to issue a release announcing the formation of " working group of representatives from each of the states in Hurricane Gustav's path. The group will ensure that all affected delegates have information and assistance in real time.
"The Affected States Working Group is led by all five state party chairs from the affected area along with other delegation officials. The purpose of the group will be to regularly brief their delegates and convention planners, provide access to timely information and assistance, and give input on appropriate steps that can be taken from Minnesota."
Officials insisted that the convention, scheduled to open here on Monday, will go on — albeit in a more limited and sedate form — even if Hurricane Gustav stays on its projected path. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday after federal officials said Gustav could grow to a catastrophic Category 5 and hit Monday afternoon somewhere between eastern Texas and western Mississippi.
McCain made plans to travel to a threatened area of the Gulf Coast on Sunday, accompanied by his wife, Cindy, and running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. They planned to meet Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) in Jackson, Miss., aides said.
McCain was scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech Thursday but now may do so from the devastation zone if the storm hits the U.S. coast with the ferocity feared by forecasters.
At the start of his remarks at a rally in Washington, Pa., on Saturday night, McCain said: "I would like all of us, obviously, to keep in our thoughts and our prayers the people of the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans, that are threatened by this terrible natural disaster, the hurricane. They need to know — and I know that they know — that they are in our hearts and prayers as this impending hurricane approaches.
“The great God, that he could spare — at a minimum — the loss that might result from this natural disaster. So my friends, as we enjoy this great rally, we will keep them in our thoughts and our hearts and our prayers.”
Officials of the convention, the Republican Party, the White House and the McCain campaign were all scrambling this weekend to rewrite more than a year of planning for what they had hoped would be a joyful four days starting Monday.
McCain told Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” in an interview taped for broadcast Sunday that the convention could be rescheduled. “It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster,” McCain said. “So we're monitoring it from day to day, and I'm saying a few prayers, too.”
Organizers confronted a plate of unhappy options, wanting to appear in touch and sympathetic while still carrying out their necessary business of officially nominating the party’s presidential candidate.
One top convention planner said Saturday night to expect a more definitive plan by mid-afternoon Sunday. The source indicated that they had held off on making any firm pronouncements because of the uncertainty as to when Gustav will make landfall, and that they wanted to get a better sense of its impact before making decisions. Convention planners were preparing contingencies for making the nomination official even if delegates from the threatened area were missing.
Officials were considering a video link for Bush, among other possibilities that they would not specify.
The Red Cross may come in to the Xcel Energy Center to mobilize the delegates in a giant service project, preparing care packages for the hurricane zone, organizers said.
The White House announced that Bush on Sunday morning will visit the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a briefing by federal, state and local officials.
Bush was scheduled to speak to delegates Monday in what was to be one of his last hurrahs as president. But a top Republican now said he is unlikely to attend. Vice President Cheney and first lady Laura Bush are also scheduled to speak Monday.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters on a conference call Saturday that the government was preparing for one of the most potentially devastating storms in the nation’s history.
Last Friday was the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, and the government’s tardy response still haunts the Bush administration.
This time, the federal government has been very proactive, with Bush talking by phone on Saturday with governors in the affected area.
“We’ll have to acknowledge that Americans are hurting,” said this Republican.
Much can be changed or altogether dropped from the convention, but it emphatically must take place in some form because McCain needs to be nominated to be legally placed on the ballot in all 50 states. “There are no exceptions to that,” said the source.
For now, though, they’re hesitant to act too quickly.
But as the hours pass, the television networks, who have already invested considerable cash in the made-for-TV quadrennial ritual, are becoming increasingly impatient and are pressing party officials to firm up plans.
The networks are stretched thin, in terms of both personnel and equipment, between here and the Gulf region and need to make their own decisions. But Republicans are reluctant to react too quickly under pressure.
“We don’t want to be pushed into a herd mentality by the television media,” said a senior GOP source.
Maria Cino, the convention’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement to Politico: "Like all Americans, our prayers are with those who will be affected by Hurricane Gustav. We continue to closely monitor the movement of the storm and are considering necessary contingencies.
Lisa Lerer contributed to this story.
And this last bit —
Trig the HANDICAPPED KID was her's. that's what we want in a VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! Bristol Palin Pregnant: Sarah Palin Daughter Baby
Bristol Palin Pregnant: Sarah Palin Daughter Baby - Apparently Bristol Palin was pregnant and her mother Sarah Palin who is John McCain’s VP pretended to have the baby to spear her 17 year old daughter the embarrassment of a teenage pregnancy.Sarah Palin allegedly had Bristol Palin’s baby named Trig Paxson Van who is 4 months old and has Down’s Syndrome.According to Alaskans media outlets Sarah Palin never looked pregnant,and Bristol Palin was taken out of Anchorage high school for 5 months during her mother’s pregnancy for a prolonged case of mono. Too add fuel the speculation the Alaska Department of State has now taken down all the photos of Sarah Palin and her family from their
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