There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.
And like W, Batman understands that there is no moral equivalence between a free society -- in which people sometimes make the wrong choices -- and a criminal sect bent on destruction. The former must be cherished even in its moments of folly; the latter must be hounded to the gates of Hell.
Apparently, the ridicule they received for that has now died down enough that the paper felt bold enough to unveil its newest absurd comparison - Sarah Palin is a lot like Margaret Thatcher:
[A]s it happens, I know Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher is a friend of mine. And as a matter of fact, Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin have a great deal in common ... Mrs. Palin has a long way to go to match [Thatcher]. Circumstances may never give her the chance to do so. Even if she gets that chance, she may lack Mrs. Thatcher's depths of courage, firmness and stamina -- we only ever know such things in retrospect.
But she has plenty of time, probably eight years, to analyze America's problems, recruit her own expert advice, and develop conservative solutions to them. She has obvious intelligence, drive, serious moral character, and a Reaganesque likability. Her likely Republican rivals such as Bobby Jindal and Mitt Romney, not to mention Barack Obama, have most of these same qualities too. But she shares with Mrs. Thatcher a very rare charisma. As Ronnie Millar, the latter's speechwriter and a successful playwright, used to say in theatrical tones: She may be depressed, ill-dressed and having a bad hair day, but when the curtain rises, out onto the stage she steps looking like a billion dollars. That's the mark of a star, dear boy. They rise to the big occasions.
Whatever ... I wonder how this flattering comparison ranks against her recent honor of being named Human Event's Conservative of the Year?
And speaking of Palin, the Ancorage Daily News reports that contrary to earlier report, she has not yet agreed to attend this year's CPAC:
]]>Now the 2009 convention is just two months away, and Palin is expected to speak to the thousands of conservative activists and college students that attend each year, director Lisa De Pasquale said in a phone interview Monday.
A Palin spokesman said it's no sure thing.
...
But Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said Palin has merely been invited and that she has not confirmed. "It's not scheduled, she's not told them yes."
There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.
And like W, Batman understands that there is no moral equivalence between a free society -- in which people sometimes make the wrong choices -- and a criminal sect bent on destruction. The former must be cherished even in its moments of folly; the latter must be hounded to the gates of Hell.
Apparently, the ridicule they received for that has now died down enough that the paper felt bold enough to unveil its newest absurd comparison - Sarah Palin is a lot like Margaret Thatcher:
[A]s it happens, I know Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher is a friend of mine. And as a matter of fact, Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin have a great deal in common ... Mrs. Palin has a long way to go to match [Thatcher]. Circumstances may never give her the chance to do so. Even if she gets that chance, she may lack Mrs. Thatcher's depths of courage, firmness and stamina -- we only ever know such things in retrospect.
But she has plenty of time, probably eight years, to analyze America's problems, recruit her own expert advice, and develop conservative solutions to them. She has obvious intelligence, drive, serious moral character, and a Reaganesque likability. Her likely Republican rivals such as Bobby Jindal and Mitt Romney, not to mention Barack Obama, have most of these same qualities too. But she shares with Mrs. Thatcher a very rare charisma. As Ronnie Millar, the latter's speechwriter and a successful playwright, used to say in theatrical tones: She may be depressed, ill-dressed and having a bad hair day, but when the curtain rises, out onto the stage she steps looking like a billion dollars. That's the mark of a star, dear boy. They rise to the big occasions.
Whatever ... I wonder how this flattering comparison ranks against her recent honor of being named Human Event's Conservative of the Year?
And speaking of Palin, the Ancorage Daily News reports that contrary to earlier report, she has not yet agreed to attend this year's CPAC:
]]>Now the 2009 convention is just two months away, and Palin is expected to speak to the thousands of conservative activists and college students that attend each year, director Lisa De Pasquale said in a phone interview Monday.
A Palin spokesman said it's no sure thing.
...
But Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said Palin has merely been invited and that she has not confirmed. "It's not scheduled, she's not told them yes."
What makes the article interesting is this statement from Richard Land, who was one of Palin’s earliest backers touting her candidacy way back in early August and constantly gushing about her during the campaign, suddenly suggesting that the Right doesn’t “have all their hopes and dreams vested” in her future:
The GOP intra-party debate over Palin has become a proxy for the larger question of her party's future, and conservative chieftains like Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Richard Land fear that attacks on Palin are at times veiled swipes at the party base.
"It would be a mistake to say that social conservatives have all their hopes and dreams vested in Sarah Palin," Land said, but he added Palin "does have the one thing you can't coach, charisma," and continues to have "star power" with conservatives.
Now Land has a long history of trying to portray himself as more of a pundit than a Religious Right hack and setting himself up as perhaps a more sensible alternative to the likes of James Dobson. In that capacity, he often serves as a moderately reliable bellwether of the Right’s views on political issues, such as his early adoration of Fred Thompson which then quickly evaporated when it was clear that his campaign was going nowhere or his lukewarm support of John McCain’s candidacy that was kicked into overdrive by his choice of Palin as his running mate.
So it is interesting to see Land start backing away ever-so-slowly from the idea that Palin represents the future of the Religious Right movement in American politics, presumably out of concern that Palin’s future itself might be rather limited, as Ed Rollins points out:
]]>Ed Rollins, who ran presidential bids for Republicans including Ronald Reagan and Huckabee, argued that "independents are something she can focus on later."
In the end, though, Rollins expects that Palin "will be very similar to [Dan] Quayle."
"When he started to run, [Quayle] got nowhere," Rollins said. "The potential is there [for Palin] but out of 10 weeks she had two good weeks." For the 2012 race, "she's now not starting at the top but starting at the bottom," he said, adding that Palin would have to campaign for years in Iowa and New Hampshire to mount a viable campaign.
What makes the article interesting is this statement from Richard Land, who was one of Palin’s earliest backers touting her candidacy way back in early August and constantly gushing about her during the campaign, suddenly suggesting that the Right doesn’t “have all their hopes and dreams vested” in her future:
The GOP intra-party debate over Palin has become a proxy for the larger question of her party's future, and conservative chieftains like Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Richard Land fear that attacks on Palin are at times veiled swipes at the party base.
"It would be a mistake to say that social conservatives have all their hopes and dreams vested in Sarah Palin," Land said, but he added Palin "does have the one thing you can't coach, charisma," and continues to have "star power" with conservatives.
Now Land has a long history of trying to portray himself as more of a pundit than a Religious Right hack and setting himself up as perhaps a more sensible alternative to the likes of James Dobson. In that capacity, he often serves as a moderately reliable bellwether of the Right’s views on political issues, such as his early adoration of Fred Thompson which then quickly evaporated when it was clear that his campaign was going nowhere or his lukewarm support of John McCain’s candidacy that was kicked into overdrive by his choice of Palin as his running mate.
So it is interesting to see Land start backing away ever-so-slowly from the idea that Palin represents the future of the Religious Right movement in American politics, presumably out of concern that Palin’s future itself might be rather limited, as Ed Rollins points out:
]]>Ed Rollins, who ran presidential bids for Republicans including Ronald Reagan and Huckabee, argued that "independents are something she can focus on later."
In the end, though, Rollins expects that Palin "will be very similar to [Dan] Quayle."
"When he started to run, [Quayle] got nowhere," Rollins said. "The potential is there [for Palin] but out of 10 weeks she had two good weeks." For the 2012 race, "she's now not starting at the top but starting at the bottom," he said, adding that Palin would have to campaign for years in Iowa and New Hampshire to mount a viable campaign.
The former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who won eight states and more than four million votes in the Republican Presidential primaries, spent Election Night at home in Little Rock. Eating takeout in the den with his family and a few staffers, Huckabee wasn’t surprised to see Barack Obama win, although he couldn’t help but think that things might not have turned out the way they did had he been the nominee. “It would’ve been very different,” he said the other day. “Because I would’ve campaigned that the economy was headed toward meltdown. And I was saying this back when I was getting laughed at by the Wall Street Journal and pilloried by the National Review. They were just dicin’ and slicin’ me for not following the company line.”
And while his book is basically an extended attack on Mitt Romney and all that he represents, it looks like Huckabee doesn’t exactly have warm feelings about Sarah Palin - or rather, he’s really miffed that all the insiders who wrote him off suddenly rallied about Palin when the only difference between the two was that, unlike her, he was arguably qualified for the position:
Asked about Sarah Palin, he responded, “She, uh, was an appropriate choice, because she put John McCain back in the game.” That was the get-along answer, but a few minutes later the new, aggrieved Huckabee resurfaced. He recalled, “It was funny that all through the primary—I mean literally up until McCain got enough delegates to win—people said, ‘You know, Huckabee’s really running for Vice-President. Gee, Huckabee would be a great Vice-President.’ And from that day forward, when I actually was no longer running for President, nobody ever said, ‘Gee, Huckabee would be a great Vice-President.’ ” Neither was he quite so unperturbed by the Palin pick: “I was scratching my head, saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute. She’s wonderful, but the only difference was she looks better in stilettos than I do, and she has better hair.’ It wasn’t so much a gender issue, but it was like they suddenly decided that everything they disliked about me was O.K. . . . She was given a pass by some of the very people who said I wasn’t prepared.”
I think that is actually a really smart observation on Huckabee’s part. Why was it that all the Religious Right and Republican insiders who dismissed Huckabee, with his ten years of experience as governor and staunch record on their issues, rallied around Palin with her limited time in office and a record utterly devoid of accomplishments?
And yes, we are looking at you, Gary Bauer.
]]>The former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who won eight states and more than four million votes in the Republican Presidential primaries, spent Election Night at home in Little Rock. Eating takeout in the den with his family and a few staffers, Huckabee wasn’t surprised to see Barack Obama win, although he couldn’t help but think that things might not have turned out the way they did had he been the nominee. “It would’ve been very different,” he said the other day. “Because I would’ve campaigned that the economy was headed toward meltdown. And I was saying this back when I was getting laughed at by the Wall Street Journal and pilloried by the National Review. They were just dicin’ and slicin’ me for not following the company line.”
And while his book is basically an extended attack on Mitt Romney and all that he represents, it looks like Huckabee doesn’t exactly have warm feelings about Sarah Palin - or rather, he’s really miffed that all the insiders who wrote him off suddenly rallied about Palin when the only difference between the two was that, unlike her, he was arguably qualified for the position:
Asked about Sarah Palin, he responded, “She, uh, was an appropriate choice, because she put John McCain back in the game.” That was the get-along answer, but a few minutes later the new, aggrieved Huckabee resurfaced. He recalled, “It was funny that all through the primary—I mean literally up until McCain got enough delegates to win—people said, ‘You know, Huckabee’s really running for Vice-President. Gee, Huckabee would be a great Vice-President.’ And from that day forward, when I actually was no longer running for President, nobody ever said, ‘Gee, Huckabee would be a great Vice-President.’ ” Neither was he quite so unperturbed by the Palin pick: “I was scratching my head, saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute. She’s wonderful, but the only difference was she looks better in stilettos than I do, and she has better hair.’ It wasn’t so much a gender issue, but it was like they suddenly decided that everything they disliked about me was O.K. . . . She was given a pass by some of the very people who said I wasn’t prepared.”
I think that is actually a really smart observation on Huckabee’s part. Why was it that all the Religious Right and Republican insiders who dismissed Huckabee, with his ten years of experience as governor and staunch record on their issues, rallied around Palin with her limited time in office and a record utterly devoid of accomplishments?
And yes, we are looking at you, Gary Bauer.
]]>South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was voted RGA chairman, taking over the top job from Texas Gov. Rick Perry who will now serve as finance chairman. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is vice-chairman, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will serve as chair for the annual RGA gala, and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will head up the recruitment effort.
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will also sit on the RGA’s executive committee.
“Republican Governors are natural leaders who will find solutions to our nation’s challenges and bring back the Party,” Sanford said in a statement.
Not on the list? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who also attended the Miami meeting.
Via Think Progress
]]>South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was voted RGA chairman, taking over the top job from Texas Gov. Rick Perry who will now serve as finance chairman. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is vice-chairman, while Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will serve as chair for the annual RGA gala, and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue will head up the recruitment effort.
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will also sit on the RGA’s executive committee.
“Republican Governors are natural leaders who will find solutions to our nation’s challenges and bring back the Party,” Sanford said in a statement.
Not on the list? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who also attended the Miami meeting.
Via Think Progress
]]>]]>"She is the future of the party. She can bring in those independents, those who have not historically voted Republican, like Ronald Reagan did," said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council.
]]>"She is the future of the party. She can bring in those independents, those who have not historically voted Republican, like Ronald Reagan did," said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council.
For those right-wing leaders who didn’t outright oppose the idea that Palin might have an “unbiblical” career outside of the home, their explanation was that so long as her husband Todd approved of her candidacy it was okay.
So I wonder what these Religious Right leaders think now that they are finding out that Palin wasn’t even planning on asking Todd if it was okay until John McCain suggested that she should at least run it by him:
PALIN: Just looking right in my eyes and saying, Are you ready for this? Would you like to do this? And I said, I would be honored to run with you. Absolutely. […]
VAN SUSTEREN: Todd wasn’t with you. Did you call Todd then?
PALIN: Well, before I said yes. That was Senator McCain’s recommendation. He says, Why don’t you call your husband and find out, you know, if he’s good with this also. I called Todd, and Todd, too, was no hesitation. He was like, Absolutely. This will be good. Yes, do this. And just good confirmation that, of course, we were to say yes.
It must come as something of a shock for Richard Land, who was advocating for Palin months before McCain chose her, to find out that Palin had to be reminded to talk to her husband about it - especially since Land believes that her husband’s approval was a fundamental requirement, saying the “only thing that would disqualify Gov. Palin from being governor or vice president … would be if her husband didn't want her to do it.”
]]>For those right-wing leaders who didn’t outright oppose the idea that Palin might have an “unbiblical” career outside of the home, their explanation was that so long as her husband Todd approved of her candidacy it was okay.
So I wonder what these Religious Right leaders think now that they are finding out that Palin wasn’t even planning on asking Todd if it was okay until John McCain suggested that she should at least run it by him:
PALIN: Just looking right in my eyes and saying, Are you ready for this? Would you like to do this? And I said, I would be honored to run with you. Absolutely. […]
VAN SUSTEREN: Todd wasn’t with you. Did you call Todd then?
PALIN: Well, before I said yes. That was Senator McCain’s recommendation. He says, Why don’t you call your husband and find out, you know, if he’s good with this also. I called Todd, and Todd, too, was no hesitation. He was like, Absolutely. This will be good. Yes, do this. And just good confirmation that, of course, we were to say yes.
It must come as something of a shock for Richard Land, who was advocating for Palin months before McCain chose her, to find out that Palin had to be reminded to talk to her husband about it - especially since Land believes that her husband’s approval was a fundamental requirement, saying the “only thing that would disqualify Gov. Palin from being governor or vice president … would be if her husband didn't want her to do it.”
]]>Crouse concluded, "Sarah Palin, the newest star on the political horizon and the most natural campaigner since Ronald Reagan, is not only a Republican, she is also a woman. She is not only a woman, she is a conservative woman. She is not only a conservative woman, she is a Christian conservative woman. It is entirely predictable, but unconscionable, that the media would consider her fair game for personal destruction. They must realize, however, that their bias and distortions all but destroyed their credibility during the 2008 presidential campaign. Now, major newspapers are cutting staff, network viewership is declining, and more and more people are bypassing the mainstream media in an effort to find the truth. If the mainstream media continues with their politics of personal destruction, they are earning their own destruction."
It seems like jus a few weeks ago Crouse was offering unsolicited advice to Palin, telling her that her “life experiences and intuition” equipped her “just fine for the job” of Vice President and explaining that all she had to do was convince America that “you can be trusted, that you are honest, and that you are authentic.”
As I recall, all she ended up managing to do was convince America that she was not qualified to be president if necessary.
]]>Crouse concluded, "Sarah Palin, the newest star on the political horizon and the most natural campaigner since Ronald Reagan, is not only a Republican, she is also a woman. She is not only a woman, she is a conservative woman. She is not only a conservative woman, she is a Christian conservative woman. It is entirely predictable, but unconscionable, that the media would consider her fair game for personal destruction. They must realize, however, that their bias and distortions all but destroyed their credibility during the 2008 presidential campaign. Now, major newspapers are cutting staff, network viewership is declining, and more and more people are bypassing the mainstream media in an effort to find the truth. If the mainstream media continues with their politics of personal destruction, they are earning their own destruction."
It seems like jus a few weeks ago Crouse was offering unsolicited advice to Palin, telling her that her “life experiences and intuition” equipped her “just fine for the job” of Vice President and explaining that all she had to do was convince America that “you can be trusted, that you are honest, and that you are authentic.”
As I recall, all she ended up managing to do was convince America that she was not qualified to be president if necessary.
]]>But is that really true? Newsweek seems to think it must be somewhat likely, which is why it produced this playbook of what she needs to do to be the GOP nominee in 2012. And given that exit polls showed that fully 60% of voters deemed Palin unqualified to be president, she'll certainly have her work cut out for her, especially considering that polls don't show much excitement for the idea of a Palin nomination:
NBC-WSJ GOP pollster Neil Newhouse did a post-election survey last night, and here's what he found: Just 12% of those surveyed believed Palin should be the GOP's new leader; instead 29% of voters said Romney, followed by 20% who say Huckabee. Among GOPers, it was Romney 33%, Huckabee 20% and Palin 18%.
Now, while I am no expert on these sorts of things, all of this speculation about Palin being the nominee in 2012 seems to miss a rather basic point that, in recent US history, no losing vice-presidential nominee has gone on the win their party's nomination in the next election.
Just take a look at the history here. John Edwards did not become the Democratic nominee this year after serving as John Kerry's running mate in 2004, nor did Joe Lieberman become the nominee in 2004 after 2000. Jack Kemp, Dan Quayle, Lloyd Bentsen, and Geraldine Ferraro failed to become their party's nominee during the next election following their loss. Sargent Shriver, Edmund Muskie, William Miller, Henry Cabot Lodge, Estes Kefauver, John Sparkman, Earl Warren ... the list goes on but you get the point: each failed to become their party's nominee.
In fact, the only losing VP nominee in recent history to become the presidential candidate the next time around was Walter Mondale, and we all know how that turned out. Before that, you have Bob Dole who lost as Gerald Ford's VP in 1976 but did eventually become the Republican nominee ... twenty years later and then lost again.
So not only is it historically unlikely that Palin will even become the GOP's nominee in 2012, it is even less historically likely that she will actually win the election if she does.
]]>But is that really true? Newsweek seems to think it must be somewhat likely, which is why it produced this playbook of what she needs to do to be the GOP nominee in 2012. And given that exit polls showed that fully 60% of voters deemed Palin unqualified to be president, she'll certainly have her work cut out for her, especially considering that polls don't show much excitement for the idea of a Palin nomination:
NBC-WSJ GOP pollster Neil Newhouse did a post-election survey last night, and here's what he found: Just 12% of those surveyed believed Palin should be the GOP's new leader; instead 29% of voters said Romney, followed by 20% who say Huckabee. Among GOPers, it was Romney 33%, Huckabee 20% and Palin 18%.
Now, while I am no expert on these sorts of things, all of this speculation about Palin being the nominee in 2012 seems to miss a rather basic point that, in recent US history, no losing vice-presidential nominee has gone on the win their party's nomination in the next election.
Just take a look at the history here. John Edwards did not become the Democratic nominee this year after serving as John Kerry's running mate in 2004, nor did Joe Lieberman become the nominee in 2004 after 2000. Jack Kemp, Dan Quayle, Lloyd Bentsen, and Geraldine Ferraro failed to become their party's nominee during the next election following their loss. Sargent Shriver, Edmund Muskie, William Miller, Henry Cabot Lodge, Estes Kefauver, John Sparkman, Earl Warren ... the list goes on but you get the point: each failed to become their party's nominee.
In fact, the only losing VP nominee in recent history to become the presidential candidate the next time around was Walter Mondale, and we all know how that turned out. Before that, you have Bob Dole who lost as Gerald Ford's VP in 1976 but did eventually become the Republican nominee ... twenty years later and then lost again.
So not only is it historically unlikely that Palin will even become the GOP's nominee in 2012, it is even less historically likely that she will actually win the election if she does.
]]>Now Politico is reporting that an unnamed group (one that sounds an awful lot like the Council for National Policy) is calling together various right-wing leaders for a top-secret strategy session following next week’s election:
Two days after next week's election, top conservatives will gather at the Virginia weekend home of one of the movement's most prominent members to begin a conversation about their role in the GOP and how best to revive a party that may be out of power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue next year.
The meeting will include a "who's who of conservative leaders -- economic, national security and social," said one attendee, who shared initial word of the secret session only on the basis of anonymity and with some details about the host and location redacted.
The decision to waste no time in plotting their moves in the post-Bush era reflects the widely-held view among many on the right, and elsewhere, that the GOP is heading toward major losses next week.
One of the topics of discussion will be how to fashion a "national grassroots political and policy coalition similar to the out Reagan years," said the attendee, a reference to the development of the so-called New Right apparatus following Jimmy Carter's 1976 victory and Reagan's election four years later.
"There's a sense that the Republican Party is broken, but the conservative movement is not," said this source, suggesting that it was the betrayal of some conservative principles by Bush and congressional leaders that led to the party's decline.
The article states that “Sarah Palin will be a central part of discussion” and that pretty much tells you all you need to know about the right-wing movement at this time. That they would even contemplate rallying around a right-wing political neophyte whose placement on the Republican ticket has caused her approval rating to tank and is widely viewed as being at least partly responsible for McCain's slide in the polls demonstrates just how lost and desperate they are at the moment.
The idea that in just two months time, a complete unknown could become not only a VP nominee but, after proving herself an unmitigated disaster, go on to be hailed as the future of the right-wing movement is laughable.
UPDATE: The New York Times has more:
]]>Despite all the criticism, she has many supporters among Republicans who see her as bright, tough and a star in a party with relatively few on the horizon.
“She’s dynamite,” said Morton C. Blackwell, who was President Ronald Reagan’s liaison to the conservative movement. Mr. Blackwell described vying to get close to Ms. Palin at a fund-raiser in Virginia, lamenting that he could get only within four feet.
“I made a major effort to position myself at this reception,” he said, adding that he is eager to sit down with her after the election to discuss the future. Asked if the weeks of unflattering revelations and damaging interviews had tarnished her among conservatives, he replied, “Not a bit.”
Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group, called it a “top order of business” to determine Ms. Palin’s future role. “Conservatives have been looking for leadership, and she has proven that she can electrify the grass roots like few people have in the last 20 years,” Mr. Bozell said. “No matter what she decides to do, there will be a small mother lode of financial support behind her.”
Now Politico is reporting that an unnamed group (one that sounds an awful lot like the Council for National Policy) is calling together various right-wing leaders for a top-secret strategy session following next week’s election:
Two days after next week's election, top conservatives will gather at the Virginia weekend home of one of the movement's most prominent members to begin a conversation about their role in the GOP and how best to revive a party that may be out of power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue next year.
The meeting will include a "who's who of conservative leaders -- economic, national security and social," said one attendee, who shared initial word of the secret session only on the basis of anonymity and with some details about the host and location redacted.
The decision to waste no time in plotting their moves in the post-Bush era reflects the widely-held view among many on the right, and elsewhere, that the GOP is heading toward major losses next week.
One of the topics of discussion will be how to fashion a "national grassroots political and policy coalition similar to the out Reagan years," said the attendee, a reference to the development of the so-called New Right apparatus following Jimmy Carter's 1976 victory and Reagan's election four years later.
"There's a sense that the Republican Party is broken, but the conservative movement is not," said this source, suggesting that it was the betrayal of some conservative principles by Bush and congressional leaders that led to the party's decline.
The article states that “Sarah Palin will be a central part of discussion” and that pretty much tells you all you need to know about the right-wing movement at this time. That they would even contemplate rallying around a right-wing political neophyte whose placement on the Republican ticket has caused her approval rating to tank and is widely viewed as being at least partly responsible for McCain's slide in the polls demonstrates just how lost and desperate they are at the moment.
The idea that in just two months time, a complete unknown could become not only a VP nominee but, after proving herself an unmitigated disaster, go on to be hailed as the future of the right-wing movement is laughable.
UPDATE: The New York Times has more:
]]>Despite all the criticism, she has many supporters among Republicans who see her as bright, tough and a star in a party with relatively few on the horizon.
“She’s dynamite,” said Morton C. Blackwell, who was President Ronald Reagan’s liaison to the conservative movement. Mr. Blackwell described vying to get close to Ms. Palin at a fund-raiser in Virginia, lamenting that he could get only within four feet.
“I made a major effort to position myself at this reception,” he said, adding that he is eager to sit down with her after the election to discuss the future. Asked if the weeks of unflattering revelations and damaging interviews had tarnished her among conservatives, he replied, “Not a bit.”
Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group, called it a “top order of business” to determine Ms. Palin’s future role. “Conservatives have been looking for leadership, and she has proven that she can electrify the grass roots like few people have in the last 20 years,” Mr. Bozell said. “No matter what she decides to do, there will be a small mother lode of financial support behind her.”
]]>"An Obama victory will galvanize social conservatives for 2010 and 2012 and they will look for a standard bearer they can rally around," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of America's largest evangelical group.
Land told Reuters the candidate most likely to "rally the troops" under an Obama administration looked to be McCain's running mate Sarah Palin.
The Alaska governor has excited the evangelical base but her strident opposition to abortion rights and other hard-core conservative positions have alienated more moderate voters.
William Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League which opposes abortion rights, said religious conservatives were bracing for a new phase in the "culture wars."
"I've been on the phone the last couple of days with some of my friends ... and we're getting ready for the biggest culture war battles ever," Donohue said.
"There is nobody in the history of the United States who has run for president who is a more enthusiastic supporter of abortion rights than Obama," he said.
]]>"An Obama victory will galvanize social conservatives for 2010 and 2012 and they will look for a standard bearer they can rally around," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of America's largest evangelical group.
Land told Reuters the candidate most likely to "rally the troops" under an Obama administration looked to be McCain's running mate Sarah Palin.
The Alaska governor has excited the evangelical base but her strident opposition to abortion rights and other hard-core conservative positions have alienated more moderate voters.
William Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League which opposes abortion rights, said religious conservatives were bracing for a new phase in the "culture wars."
"I've been on the phone the last couple of days with some of my friends ... and we're getting ready for the biggest culture war battles ever," Donohue said.
"There is nobody in the history of the United States who has run for president who is a more enthusiastic supporter of abortion rights than Obama," he said.
Brian Williams asked Sarah Palin if “an abortion clinic bomber [is] a terrorist under this definition” and she answered, “Now others who would to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities, I don’t know if you’re gonna use the word ‘terrorist’ there, but it’s unacceptable, and it would not be condoned of course on our watch.”
As others have noted, it’s disturbing that after 7 murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 175 acts of arson and hundreds of cases of death threats, stalking, assault, and break-ins, Palin doesn’t think it’s appropriate to use the T-word.
But what has been mostly overlooked is the fact that the comments by Palin, a self-described “hardcore pro-lifer,” run contrary to the longstanding position of American law enforcement.
For instance, the FBI has long considered acts of violence by radical anti-abortion activists to be domestic terrorism. In its 2002-2005 Terrorism in the United States report, Eric Rudolph – the man responsible for two abortion clinic bombings, the Olympic Park bombing, multiple deaths and serious injuries to many more – is described as falling into the “FBI’s 'lone offender' category of terrorist for those who engage in terrorist activities free from organizational guidance.”
The FBI defines domestic terrorism, logically enough, as “the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” In other words, Palin is out of step with the FBI.
But don’t expect John McCain to set his running mate straight on the issue. He opposed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act – a crucial anti-domestic terrorism bill which led to a considerable reduction in violence – when it came before him in the Senate, so he too is willing to pander to the far right on this issue.
]]>Brian Williams asked Sarah Palin if “an abortion clinic bomber [is] a terrorist under this definition” and she answered, “Now others who would to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities, I don’t know if you’re gonna use the word ‘terrorist’ there, but it’s unacceptable, and it would not be condoned of course on our watch.”
As others have noted, it’s disturbing that after 7 murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 175 acts of arson and hundreds of cases of death threats, stalking, assault, and break-ins, Palin doesn’t think it’s appropriate to use the T-word.
But what has been mostly overlooked is the fact that the comments by Palin, a self-described “hardcore pro-lifer,” run contrary to the longstanding position of American law enforcement.
For instance, the FBI has long considered acts of violence by radical anti-abortion activists to be domestic terrorism. In its 2002-2005 Terrorism in the United States report, Eric Rudolph – the man responsible for two abortion clinic bombings, the Olympic Park bombing, multiple deaths and serious injuries to many more – is described as falling into the “FBI’s 'lone offender' category of terrorist for those who engage in terrorist activities free from organizational guidance.”
The FBI defines domestic terrorism, logically enough, as “the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without foreign direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” In other words, Palin is out of step with the FBI.
But don’t expect John McCain to set his running mate straight on the issue. He opposed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act – a crucial anti-domestic terrorism bill which led to a considerable reduction in violence – when it came before him in the Senate, so he too is willing to pander to the far right on this issue.
]]>Hagerty recounts who McCain openly attacked the Right with his "agents of intolerance" remark back in 2000 and how despite Gary Bauer's efforts to help him adjust the tone and direction of the attack, there was no confusion on the part of Religious Right leaders regarding what he meant:
"It was very hurtful," recalls Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. "When you attack two of their leaders — and those two people were much more important leaders in 2000 than they are today – well, it damaged McCain with a lot of the grassroots."
And then McCain only compounded the problem this year when he sought the support of John Hagee and Rod Parsley only to reject them when he was forced to answer for their views, something that Richard Land points out only went to show how clueless McCain is about the GOP's right-wing base:
Land says the controversy showed how little McCain knew the constituency he was trying to woo. "Both of these guys hold positions which anyone who knows evangelical life well would know would be problematic for someone running for national office," Land says. "I think McCain and his advisers just didn't know the lay of the land."
The interesting thing about this, which Land doesn't mention, is the fact the Right was not mad at McCain for seeking the support of Hagee and Parsley because they held crazy views unrepresentative of the movement, but because he refused to defend them and their views when they came under attack and ultimately dropped them alltogether.
But then McCain finally got his act together, started courting them, saying the things they wanted to hear, and finally gave them the VP nominee they had been dreaming of:
In May, McCain began to court the evangelical leaders he had once disdained, with the help of Bauer, his friend and religious insider. All summer, McCain met privately with leaders and stressed his credentials that he is strongly pro-life, anti-same-sex marriage, a religious conservative by record if not by countenance.
Then he threw the first of two punches.
On Aug. 16, McCain and his Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama agreed to be questioned, separately, by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California. During the televised forum, McCain served up short, definitive answers, just as this evangelical audience wanted it.
...
Bauer was sitting in the front row.
"Even before the event was over during little breaks for TV," he recalls, "people were patting me on the shoulder, saying, 'Oh my gosh, Gary, he's so much better than I thought he would be. This is wonderful!'"
Two weeks later, McCain delivered his knock-out punch to Obama's hopes for winning traditional evangelicals when he announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
At that moment, some 250 evangelical leaders were meeting in Minneapolis. Land, who was there, says they jumped to their feet and cheered.
"The first appointment in a supposed McCain admin is who he picked for vice president," Land says. "And he picked someone who is a rock star among pro-lifers, Catholic and Protestant. There's not a pro-life activist in the country who didn't know exactly who Sarah Palin was before John McCain ever picked her as his vice president."
And that is how John McCain shed his pariah status among Evangelicals - by completely caving to their demands.
]]>Hagerty recounts who McCain openly attacked the Right with his "agents of intolerance" remark back in 2000 and how despite Gary Bauer's efforts to help him adjust the tone and direction of the attack, there was no confusion on the part of Religious Right leaders regarding what he meant:
"It was very hurtful," recalls Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. "When you attack two of their leaders — and those two people were much more important leaders in 2000 than they are today – well, it damaged McCain with a lot of the grassroots."
And then McCain only compounded the problem this year when he sought the support of John Hagee and Rod Parsley only to reject them when he was forced to answer for their views, something that Richard Land points out only went to show how clueless McCain is about the GOP's right-wing base:
Land says the controversy showed how little McCain knew the constituency he was trying to woo. "Both of these guys hold positions which anyone who knows evangelical life well would know would be problematic for someone running for national office," Land says. "I think McCain and his advisers just didn't know the lay of the land."
The interesting thing about this, which Land doesn't mention, is the fact the Right was not mad at McCain for seeking the support of Hagee and Parsley because they held crazy views unrepresentative of the movement, but because he refused to defend them and their views when they came under attack and ultimately dropped them alltogether.
But then McCain finally got his act together, started courting them, saying the things they wanted to hear, and finally gave them the VP nominee they had been dreaming of:
In May, McCain began to court the evangelical leaders he had once disdained, with the help of Bauer, his friend and religious insider. All summer, McCain met privately with leaders and stressed his credentials that he is strongly pro-life, anti-same-sex marriage, a religious conservative by record if not by countenance.
Then he threw the first of two punches.
On Aug. 16, McCain and his Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama agreed to be questioned, separately, by Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California. During the televised forum, McCain served up short, definitive answers, just as this evangelical audience wanted it.
...
Bauer was sitting in the front row.
"Even before the event was over during little breaks for TV," he recalls, "people were patting me on the shoulder, saying, 'Oh my gosh, Gary, he's so much better than I thought he would be. This is wonderful!'"
Two weeks later, McCain delivered his knock-out punch to Obama's hopes for winning traditional evangelicals when he announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
At that moment, some 250 evangelical leaders were meeting in Minneapolis. Land, who was there, says they jumped to their feet and cheered.
"The first appointment in a supposed McCain admin is who he picked for vice president," Land says. "And he picked someone who is a rock star among pro-lifers, Catholic and Protestant. There's not a pro-life activist in the country who didn't know exactly who Sarah Palin was before John McCain ever picked her as his vice president."
And that is how John McCain shed his pariah status among Evangelicals - by completely caving to their demands.
]]>Dobson likewise thanked Palin for her "powerful pro-life testimony" regarding the birth of her youngest son Trig, who was born with Down Syndrome, to which Palin admitted while she was scared after first learning of it during her pregnancy, she was a "hardcore pro-lifer" and it provided not only an "opportunity for me to really be walking the walk and not just talking the talk" but also an opportunity to "help us in our cause here allowing America to be a more welcoming nation for all of our children."
Palin then thanked Dobson for all he has done for the movement, declaring that "if it were not for you, so many of us would be missing the boat in terms of hearing the message in understanding what we can do to further the cause of life."
Dobson went on to praise the Republican Party platform as the most pro-life, pro-family party platform in history, which Palin seconded, and when Dobson asked her if she thought John McCain would seek to implement it if elected, she said she did "from the bottom of my heart" and reiterated that it was important for Americans to know "that John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America."
When Dobson asked if she was discouraged by the current poll numbers showing them trailing, Palin insisted that she was not and that she had always been the underdog but always pulled out a victory when necessary and that she was just "putting this in God’s hands that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on November 4th."
The interview concluded with Dobson telling Palin of a prayer call earlier in the day when those participating asked God for a miracle regarding the election and then invited Palin to visit them in person at Focus on the Family, promising to roll out the red carpet when she does.
Rough transcript of the interview below. Audio available: Part I and Part II
Disclaimer: Regarding the "hardcore pro-lifer" quote mentioned earlier, I am not sure if she called herself a "hardcore pro-lifer" or simply "hardcore pro-life." Either way, the point is the same. Also, I didn't transcribe Palin's words exactly as she spoke them because frankly I got sick of my spellchecker asking me if I meant "talking" every time I wrote "talkin'" and "looking" whenever I wrote "lookin'." Furthermore, some sections I didn't transcribe but did provide a short synopsis of what they were saying or the points they were making, especially in cases where Dobson's questions lead to a response from Palin that I did transcribe.
]]>Dobson: I want to tell you that I’m one of those great fans too and I just want you to know that Shirley and I are praying for you, for your safety and for your health and that God’s perfect will will be done on November the fourth. Shirley just had a prayer event here – she’s Chairman of the National Day of Prayer – and we had 430 people here for the weekend. They prayed for the whole weekend. It was not a political event but we were sure asking for God’s intervention.
Palin: Well, it is that intercession that is so needed and so greatly appreciated. And I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power or prayer and that strength is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation and I so appreciate it.
Dobson: Well, you hear that everywhere you do, don’t you?
Palin: I do, and that is what allows us to continue to be inspired and strengthened. And it’s just a great reminder also when we hear along the rope lines that people are interceding for us and praying for us; it’s our reminder to do the same, to put this all in God’s hands, to seek his perfect will for this nation and to, of course, seek his wisdom and guidance in putting this nation back on the right track.
Dobson: You may not recall it, but in April, before all of this happened, before you were selected by Senator McCain to be his running mate, I wrote to thank you for welcoming little Trig into this world, your little baby with Down Syndrome. And I just wanted to express to you what a powerful testimony that was to the sanctity of human life. And you wrote me a very gracious letter back and there are just so many parents out there who also admire you for your love and care for that precious child.
Palin: Well, I so appreciated your words and yeah, when we found out I was about thirteen weeks along when I found out that Trig would be born with Down Syndrome. To be honest with you, it scared me though and I knew that it would be a challenge and I had to really be on my knees the entire rest of the pregnancy asking that God would prepare my heart. And just the second that he was born it was absolute confirmation that that prayer was answered with all of us just falling so in love with him. And then this whole new world has been opened up to me since then. I’ve always had near and dear to my heart the mission of protecting the sanctity of life and being pro-life, a hardcore pro-lifer, but I think this opportunity for me to really be walking the walk and not just talking the talk. There’s purpose in this also for a greater good to be met. I feel so privileged and blessed to have been, I guess, chosen to have Trig enter our lives because I do want it to help us in our cause here in allowing America to be a more welcoming nation for all of our children.
Dobson: One of the most touching and dramatic moments in the last year for me was when you were speaking at the Republican National Convention and little Trig was sitting on Piper’s lap and she wet her fingers and mashed down his hair that was sticking up in the back. I’m sure that she has seen you do that many times. Boy, that really grabbed my heart, I’ll tell you.
Palin: I know, that was kind of a nice manifestation there of our little mother hen there in Piper, but just of that innocent child-like love that kids certainly have for one another and truly that is that love that our country needs more of. And Dr. Dobson, you have been just on the forefront of all of this, of all of this good for so many years. And your reward is going to be in Heaven because I know that you take a lot of shots also but please know that on our end, kind of outsiders looking in at what you have accomplished all these years, if it were not for you, so many of us would be missing the boat in terms of hearing the message ann understanding what we can do to further the cause of life, and of ethics in our nation, those things that we should be engaged in. We owe so much to you.
Dobson: Well you are very kind in saying that, but we are on the same team in that regard. I’m just trying to serve the Lord like you are and listening to his voice. Wtih egard to the sanctity of human life, it just grieves me greatly how the blood of maybe forty-six, forty-eight million babies who have been aborted cries out to God from the ground. The pro-life and pro-family message is very much a part of who you are, isn’t it?
Palin: It is. It is. And again that’s just been a part of who I’ve been all these years but now with a greater opportunity that I feel blessed to be in this position. A greater opportunity to perhaps help others understand what we can do to usher in more of that respect for life. I’m very, very privileged.
[Dobson asks about media attacks on her and Joe the Plumber – she says that if she can’t handle the attacks, she shouldn’t have offered herself up as VP.]
Dobson: [He had doubts and concerns about McCain and Republicans but] The Republican Platform is the strongest pro-life, pro-family document to come out of a political party, even more so than the platforms during the campaigns of Ronald Reagan. There are principles there that I’ve been fighting for for thirty, forty years and you are tying to articulate those same principles, aren’t you?
Palin: Absolutely, and Dr. Dobson thank you so much for recognizing that. This is a strong platform [built] around the planks in this platform that respect life and respect the entrepreneurial spirit of this great country and those things, back to the social issues that are what Republicans, at least in the past, had articulated and tied to stand on. Now, finally, we have very solid planks in the platform that will allow us to build an even stronger foundation for our country. It’s all good and it’s encouraging. You would maybe have assumed that we would have gotten further away from those strong planks. But no, they're there, they're solid, we stand on them and again I believe that it is the right agenda for the country at this time. Very, very clear and contrasted tickets in this election November 4th. People are going to see the clear contrasts, you just go to the planks in our platforms and that’s where you see them.
Dobson: In your private conversations with Senator McCain, it is your impression that he also strongly supports those views? I know that he did not oppose that platform when it was written. Do you think he will implement it?
Palin: I do, from the bottom of my heart. I am such a strong believer that McCain believes in those strong planks and we do have good conversations about some of the details of the different planks and what they represent. I’m very heartened that John McCain … he doesn’t want a Vice President who will check the opinions … of me at the door and we talk about some of these and they’re very important. It’s most important though, as you’re suggesting, that Americans know that John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America.
[Dobson asks what lessons she has learned. Palin says she can’t fight with the media, but has faith that their message will get out and faith that God will help them get that message out there. Dobson says millions of people are praying for her and asks if she is discouraged by the polls.]
Palin: I am not discouraged at all, even hearing those poll numbers because, for some reason, I have found myself over and over again in my life being put in these underdog positions and yet still when victory needed to be reached in order to meet this greater good, it’s always worked out just perfectly fine despite the fact that over and over again I’ve been, and I know John McCain has been, in underdog positions. To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder and it also strengthens my faith because I’m going to know at the end of the day, putting this in God’s hands, that the right thing for America will be done, the end of the day on November 4th. So I’m not discouraged at all, I’m just fine with the position that we are in today.
Dobson: [Talks about prayer call] “We were just asking for, rather boldly asking, for a miracle with regard to the election this year … let me just say that you that, regardless of the outcome of this election, we would love to have you come by and see us here at Focus on the Family sometime. I know that this is an extremely stressful time for you and we’re not asking you to come now, but when the time permits, we’ll roll out the red carpet for you.”
Palin: I don’t even need any kind of red carpet but I would absolutely love to. Dr. Dobson, Todd is sitting right next to me here in this vehicle before we get on an airplane, so Todd and I too, after I speak with you, I’ll share this conversation with him and we’ll be praying too for your ministry and for those pastors whom you have just mentioned also. Collectively, we can do all that we can within us to strengthen our country and to let Americans know that government has to be on their side, it’s their government and as we seek God’s wisdom and His will in this election, we have to have faith that it’s all going to be good at the end of the day there on November 4th as this country moves forward.
[Dobson and Tom Minnery gush about the interview.]
Dobson likewise thanked Palin for her "powerful pro-life testimony" regarding the birth of her youngest son Trig, who was born with Down Syndrome, to which Palin admitted while she was scared after first learning of it during her pregnancy, she was a "hardcore pro-lifer" and it provided not only an "opportunity for me to really be walking the walk and not just talking the talk" but also an opportunity to "help us in our cause here allowing America to be a more welcoming nation for all of our children."
Palin then thanked Dobson for all he has done for the movement, declaring that "if it were not for you, so many of us would be missing the boat in terms of hearing the message in understanding what we can do to further the cause of life."
Dobson went on to praise the Republican Party platform as the most pro-life, pro-family party platform in history, which Palin seconded, and when Dobson asked her if she thought John McCain would seek to implement it if elected, she said she did "from the bottom of my heart" and reiterated that it was important for Americans to know "that John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America."
When Dobson asked if she was discouraged by the current poll numbers showing them trailing, Palin insisted that she was not and that she had always been the underdog but always pulled out a victory when necessary and that she was just "putting this in God’s hands that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on November 4th."
The interview concluded with Dobson telling Palin of a prayer call earlier in the day when those participating asked God for a miracle regarding the election and then invited Palin to visit them in person at Focus on the Family, promising to roll out the red carpet when she does.
Rough transcript of the interview below. Audio available: Part I and Part II
Disclaimer: Regarding the "hardcore pro-lifer" quote mentioned earlier, I am not sure if she called herself a "hardcore pro-lifer" or simply "hardcore pro-life." Either way, the point is the same. Also, I didn't transcribe Palin's words exactly as she spoke them because frankly I got sick of my spellchecker asking me if I meant "talking" every time I wrote "talkin'" and "looking" whenever I wrote "lookin'." Furthermore, some sections I didn't transcribe but did provide a short synopsis of what they were saying or the points they were making, especially in cases where Dobson's questions lead to a response from Palin that I did transcribe.
]]>Dobson: I want to tell you that I’m one of those great fans too and I just want you to know that Shirley and I are praying for you, for your safety and for your health and that God’s perfect will will be done on November the fourth. Shirley just had a prayer event here – she’s Chairman of the National Day of Prayer – and we had 430 people here for the weekend. They prayed for the whole weekend. It was not a political event but we were sure asking for God’s intervention.
Palin: Well, it is that intercession that is so needed and so greatly appreciated. And I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power or prayer and that strength is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation and I so appreciate it.
Dobson: Well, you hear that everywhere you do, don’t you?
Palin: I do, and that is what allows us to continue to be inspired and strengthened. And it’s just a great reminder also when we hear along the rope lines that people are interceding for us and praying for us; it’s our reminder to do the same, to put this all in God’s hands, to seek his perfect will for this nation and to, of course, seek his wisdom and guidance in putting this nation back on the right track.
Dobson: You may not recall it, but in April, before all of this happened, before you were selected by Senator McCain to be his running mate, I wrote to thank you for welcoming little Trig into this world, your little baby with Down Syndrome. And I just wanted to express to you what a powerful testimony that was to the sanctity of human life. And you wrote me a very gracious letter back and there are just so many parents out there who also admire you for your love and care for that precious child.
Palin: Well, I so appreciated your words and yeah, when we found out I was about thirteen weeks along when I found out that Trig would be born with Down Syndrome. To be honest with you, it scared me though and I knew that it would be a challenge and I had to really be on my knees the entire rest of the pregnancy asking that God would prepare my heart. And just the second that he was born it was absolute confirmation that that prayer was answered with all of us just falling so in love with him. And then this whole new world has been opened up to me since then. I’ve always had near and dear to my heart the mission of protecting the sanctity of life and being pro-life, a hardcore pro-lifer, but I think this opportunity for me to really be walking the walk and not just talking the talk. There’s purpose in this also for a greater good to be met. I feel so privileged and blessed to have been, I guess, chosen to have Trig enter our lives because I do want it to help us in our cause here in allowing America to be a more welcoming nation for all of our children.
Dobson: One of the most touching and dramatic moments in the last year for me was when you were speaking at the Republican National Convention and little Trig was sitting on Piper’s lap and she wet her fingers and mashed down his hair that was sticking up in the back. I’m sure that she has seen you do that many times. Boy, that really grabbed my heart, I’ll tell you.
Palin: I know, that was kind of a nice manifestation there of our little mother hen there in Piper, but just of that innocent child-like love that kids certainly have for one another and truly that is that love that our country needs more of. And Dr. Dobson, you have been just on the forefront of all of this, of all of this good for so many years. And your reward is going to be in Heaven because I know that you take a lot of shots also but please know that on our end, kind of outsiders looking in at what you have accomplished all these years, if it were not for you, so many of us would be missing the boat in terms of hearing the message ann understanding what we can do to further the cause of life, and of ethics in our nation, those things that we should be engaged in. We owe so much to you.
Dobson: Well you are very kind in saying that, but we are on the same team in that regard. I’m just trying to serve the Lord like you are and listening to his voice. Wtih egard to the sanctity of human life, it just grieves me greatly how the blood of maybe forty-six, forty-eight million babies who have been aborted cries out to God from the ground. The pro-life and pro-family message is very much a part of who you are, isn’t it?
Palin: It is. It is. And again that’s just been a part of who I’ve been all these years but now with a greater opportunity that I feel blessed to be in this position. A greater opportunity to perhaps help others understand what we can do to usher in more of that respect for life. I’m very, very privileged.
[Dobson asks about media attacks on her and Joe the Plumber – she says that if she can’t handle the attacks, she shouldn’t have offered herself up as VP.]
Dobson: [He had doubts and concerns about McCain and Republicans but] The Republican Platform is the strongest pro-life, pro-family document to come out of a political party, even more so than the platforms during the campaigns of Ronald Reagan. There are principles there that I’ve been fighting for for thirty, forty years and you are tying to articulate those same principles, aren’t you?
Palin: Absolutely, and Dr. Dobson thank you so much for recognizing that. This is a strong platform [built] around the planks in this platform that respect life and respect the entrepreneurial spirit of this great country and those things, back to the social issues that are what Republicans, at least in the past, had articulated and tied to stand on. Now, finally, we have very solid planks in the platform that will allow us to build an even stronger foundation for our country. It’s all good and it’s encouraging. You would maybe have assumed that we would have gotten further away from those strong planks. But no, they're there, they're solid, we stand on them and again I believe that it is the right agenda for the country at this time. Very, very clear and contrasted tickets in this election November 4th. People are going to see the clear contrasts, you just go to the planks in our platforms and that’s where you see them.
Dobson: In your private conversations with Senator McCain, it is your impression that he also strongly supports those views? I know that he did not oppose that platform when it was written. Do you think he will implement it?
Palin: I do, from the bottom of my heart. I am such a strong believer that McCain believes in those strong planks and we do have good conversations about some of the details of the different planks and what they represent. I’m very heartened that John McCain … he doesn’t want a Vice President who will check the opinions … of me at the door and we talk about some of these and they’re very important. It’s most important though, as you’re suggesting, that Americans know that John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America.
[Dobson asks what lessons she has learned. Palin says she can’t fight with the media, but has faith that their message will get out and faith that God will help them get that message out there. Dobson says millions of people are praying for her and asks if she is discouraged by the polls.]
Palin: I am not discouraged at all, even hearing those poll numbers because, for some reason, I have found myself over and over again in my life being put in these underdog positions and yet still when victory needed to be reached in order to meet this greater good, it’s always worked out just perfectly fine despite the fact that over and over again I’ve been, and I know John McCain has been, in underdog positions. To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder and it also strengthens my faith because I’m going to know at the end of the day, putting this in God’s hands, that the right thing for America will be done, the end of the day on November 4th. So I’m not discouraged at all, I’m just fine with the position that we are in today.
Dobson: [Talks about prayer call] “We were just asking for, rather boldly asking, for a miracle with regard to the election this year … let me just say that you that, regardless of the outcome of this election, we would love to have you come by and see us here at Focus on the Family sometime. I know that this is an extremely stressful time for you and we’re not asking you to come now, but when the time permits, we’ll roll out the red carpet for you.”
Palin: I don’t even need any kind of red carpet but I would absolutely love to. Dr. Dobson, Todd is sitting right next to me here in this vehicle before we get on an airplane, so Todd and I too, after I speak with you, I’ll share this conversation with him and we’ll be praying too for your ministry and for those pastors whom you have just mentioned also. Collectively, we can do all that we can within us to strengthen our country and to let Americans know that government has to be on their side, it’s their government and as we seek God’s wisdom and His will in this election, we have to have faith that it’s all going to be good at the end of the day there on November 4th as this country moves forward.
[Dobson and Tom Minnery gush about the interview.]
Schmidt’s tactics and the right-wing echo chamber have convinced millions of Americans that the nation is about to elect someone who hates America and “pals around with terrorists.” Just take a look at this video of supporters outside a Palin rally:
In recent weeks, the right wing has grown even more frenzied as McCain and his allies pushed the ACORN voter fraud hoax. Not only is Obama a Manchurian candidate, the thinking goes, but his evildoer comrades at ACORN are trying to steal the election. It’s little wonder that some people are going berserk.
McCain, Palin, Schmidt, Limbaugh, Hannity and the rest of them have created something very powerful, but very ugly, and it’s grown too big for them to control. Here is just some of what happens when you train your pit bulls to fear and hate and attack, and then they get loose:
Obama lawn sign replaced by rebel flag
Obama sign burned on black family's front lawn
Anti-Obama Fury Spills Over Into Down-Ticket Contests: "Bomb Obama"
Death threat, vandalism hit ACORN after McCain comments
ACORN Deluged with Threatening and Racist Voicemails and Emails
Obama Called a Socialist and 'Un-American'
McCain supporters heckle early voters
Dead bear covered with Obama signs found at school
People For the American Way is tracking such incidents around the nation. If something happens in your community that people should know about, please get in touch.
]]>Schmidt’s tactics and the right-wing echo chamber have convinced millions of Americans that the nation is about to elect someone who hates America and “pals around with terrorists.” Just take a look at this video of supporters outside a Palin rally:
In recent weeks, the right wing has grown even more frenzied as McCain and his allies pushed the ACORN voter fraud hoax. Not only is Obama a Manchurian candidate, the thinking goes, but his evildoer comrades at ACORN are trying to steal the election. It’s little wonder that some people are going berserk.
McCain, Palin, Schmidt, Limbaugh, Hannity and the rest of them have created something very powerful, but very ugly, and it’s grown too big for them to control. Here is just some of what happens when you train your pit bulls to fear and hate and attack, and then they get loose:
Obama lawn sign replaced by rebel flag
Obama sign burned on black family's front lawn
Anti-Obama Fury Spills Over Into Down-Ticket Contests: "Bomb Obama"
Death threat, vandalism hit ACORN after McCain comments
ACORN Deluged with Threatening and Racist Voicemails and Emails
Obama Called a Socialist and 'Un-American'
McCain supporters heckle early voters
Dead bear covered with Obama signs found at school
People For the American Way is tracking such incidents around the nation. If something happens in your community that people should know about, please get in touch.
]]>"[Liberals are attacking Palin by saying] she's a book-banner because she objected, apparently, way back when she was a mayor in Wasilla to the book Daddy's Roommate, which is a homosexual picture-book which purports to tell young children that being gay is just another kind of love," LaBarbera explains.
...
LaBarbera believes Palin was acting responsibly as a parent and as a mayor. "Parents have a right and a responsibility to object to books like "Daddy's Roommate" because we don't want young children stumbling upon these nice picture-books and then...homosexuality [being promoted] to these poor kids who don't know what they're seeing," he contends.
LaBarbera, Focus on the Family, and their supporters are currently working to get ex-gay and anti-gay books accepted at libraries in Virginia without much success. Presumably, should they ultimately succeed, Labarbera wouldn't object if a local government official demanded their removal in the name of preventing "young children stumbling upon" them.
]]>"[Liberals are attacking Palin by saying] she's a book-banner because she objected, apparently, way back when she was a mayor in Wasilla to the book Daddy's Roommate, which is a homosexual picture-book which purports to tell young children that being gay is just another kind of love," LaBarbera explains.
...
LaBarbera believes Palin was acting responsibly as a parent and as a mayor. "Parents have a right and a responsibility to object to books like "Daddy's Roommate" because we don't want young children stumbling upon these nice picture-books and then...homosexuality [being promoted] to these poor kids who don't know what they're seeing," he contends.
LaBarbera, Focus on the Family, and their supporters are currently working to get ex-gay and anti-gay books accepted at libraries in Virginia without much success. Presumably, should they ultimately succeed, Labarbera wouldn't object if a local government official demanded their removal in the name of preventing "young children stumbling upon" them.
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