Evangelicals energized by McCain-Palin ticket

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: NYT/AP

Sarah Palin already has energized conservative religious leaders who had fretted that John McCain would pick an abortion rights supporter as his running mate. The Alaska governor was raised in a Pentecostal church and has called herself ''as pro-life as any candidate can be.''

To Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religion Liberties Commission, Palin is ''straight out of veep central casting.'' Land said he had urged the McCain camp to consider the political unknown.

Gary Bauer, one of McCain's most enthusiastic evangelical supporters, said the Arizona senator had hit a ''grand slam home run'' and that adding Palin to the GOP ticket is ''guaranteed to energize values voters.''

The 44-year-old mother of five, who led her high school chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was baptized as a teenager at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church, where she and her family were very active, according to her then-pastor, Paul Riley....

***

As a politician, Palin has sided with the majority evangelical view in opposing gay marriage and expressing a desire to see creationism discussed alongside evolution in schools....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-CVN-Palin-Evangelicals.html

[elocs]

1. To be honest, most of them were going to vote for McCain anyways.

It would have been different had McCain picked Romney.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Most of them probably would not have shown up at the polls

If they don't have a jesusfreak running, they won't support anybody.

[elocs]

18. They don't need a jesusfreak, they just need somebody to parrot the right words.

They should have learned from Bushco just how they were used. They should learn, but they don't. They would have voted for McCain anyways.

[Chovexani]

20. RW fundies don't learn

If they did, they wouldn't be RW fundies. :P

[elocs]

28. Millions of Americans who are not RW fundies do not learn either.

Over the years they continually vote against their own self interest because they willingly buy the Republican lies based upon an emotional reaction. The fundies didn't put Bushco into office by themselves.

[Chovexani]

29. Sad isn't it

I tend to think the fundies are that small percentage that still love him even now.

I can't explain that kind of delusion any other way.

[ooglymoogly]

31. Rw fundies can't learn. They have one communal brain...

that has been taken over by ruthless, godless hucksters for whom the the theft of the god franchise is big business and undreamed of power.

[clear eye]

19. Many of them weren't going to vote at all

You've missed the point of what "energizing the base" means. It means they will all make it to the polls, many will start talking up the ticket to their friends, neighbors and co-workers, and a good handful will begin working on the campaign and start disseminating the viral smears against Obama they get in their email. Don't underestimate what this means, and go over to the Obama online phone bank now (Sunday afternoon's a great time) and start making phone calls. I plan to shortly.

[sharesunited]

2. Governor Palin, did Adam and Eve ride to church on dinosaurs or didn't they?

[Hubert Flottz]

3. "values voters"

Gasoline is no longer a very good "value" Gary...

[sellitman]

4. Is unemployment a Family Value too?

I wonder how they will feel?

[scarface2004]

5. gary bauer aroused!!!

gary..go back to wacking it on your porn sites you litte perv!

[msongs]

6. wonder why these christian hypocrites love the adulterer McCain so much nt

[Ed76638]

7. This is what I was afraid of

She has high low-information appeal.

[Ikonoklast]

9. None of them were voting for Obama, anyway

Net/net is zero.

[Chovexani]

23. That's not it though

A lot of them were going to just stay home before this, anti-gay propositions on ballots weren't even working on them to get them out to the polls. My mom's fundie megachurch pastor has been very unenthused by this race until now.

This has me worried.

[clear eye]

24. See my response to elocs above

Sorry, but there are a few posters who just don't know anything about political nuts and bolts--the importance of the "ground game" in making and breaking candidacies. Unfortunately Rove does. If we don't counter this by working our tails off for the campaign, writing "letters to the editor", and holding fundraising house parties we may be watching another squeaker get away from us in November.

[Ikonoklast]

34. By the very same token

Many fundie nut-jobs cannot see a woman in a position of power.

Women are supposed to birth babies, cook dinner, be subservient to their husbands, and STAY HOME.

The fundies that I know would hate being told what to do by a mere woman.

There is a dichotomy brewing here. I think it needs to be exploited.

[customerserviceguy]

37. You may have something, but I think it runs in the opposite direction...

The media was willing to run stories about Mittens being from that crazy cult called the Mormons, I don't think we've had anybody run from such an extreme fundy church before, at least someone who was a true believer. You might actually have more success showing that Sarah Palin's religious views are as out of the mainstream as Mormon beliefs were for Romney. I'd actually make the case that she's a much more serious adherent of them than Mittens was of his beliefs.

[Ikonoklast]

38. I am trying to get a feel for this

Fundies are so schizophrenic when it comes to issues like this.

Depends on what splinter sect, too. Do the Baptists vote for AG people, or do they consider them a 'cult'?

Women in leadership roles seem to intimidate them, so how can they vote for them?

And so on...

Someone could write a master's thesis on this, and still not get it quite right.

[customerserviceguy]

42. I think they believe

whatever they are told to believe. So, if the pastor says that Sarah Palin makes everything alright, the thinking has been done, they have their orders. Your problem with the masters thesis is that you're used to analyzing people with logical minds...

[Ikonoklast]

49. Lack of critical thinking skills

Willing to be told what to do, and how to think.

Don't question authority.

Yep. I think you got it.

[Oak2004]

52. They are splintered, yes, and there are a great many sects which would rather vote

for a fleet of commie homo pagans than for a ticket with an AoG member on it

[clear eye]

46. It would work if she's shown signs that she wants to codify those

beliefs into federal law like Mike Huckabee has, but so far I haven't seen anything. The best we've got, re: religion is that she's vehemently anti-choice. I hope that'll lose her enough independents that it counters her basic appeal. But forgive me if I repeat myself, we've got to campaign our hearts out among pro-choice independents to make sure thay get this about her. And keep the heat on McCain's current questionable competence. His answers to questions in unrehearsed situations have become an absolute mess. They almost never gibe with what he's said previously, and sometimes they're incoherent. He's probably suffering from exhaustion, but being able to stay functional with a heavy schedule and long-term stress is essential in a President.

[defendandprotect]

45. There have been prominent STEALS .....

that's for sure ---

I don't think any of them were "squeakers" . . .

and it's been going on since the mid-1960's when the large computers used by

media for vote counting came on line ---

See http://www.constitution.org/vote/votescam__.htm

[CountAllVotes]

8. The Assembly of God is a CULT

if you do not believe me, google it up and find out what a bunch of sicko's these people are!

I have had the misfortune of running into a pack of them a few years back and it was most unpleasant!

:argh: :grr:

:dem: :kick:

[trthnd4jstc]

12. This is part of why we as a society are failing.

I have a link to the Assembly of God's Beliefs: http://www.ag.org/top/Beliefs/Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths/sft_full.cfm
When everything about life is figured out for you, and there is no need to reason anymore, one may result in a mentality much like Gov. Palin's.

[Zhade]

48. What religion isn't?

NT!

[torbird]

10. Yeah, and...?

Look, there was no way that the far-right crazies were going to stay home for this election, not after they have gotten so far under Bush/Cheney. Sure, GW was a "dream" candidate who turned out to be a tool of the corporate interests more than a tool of the fundamentalists (he only associates with them when he's trying to avoid drinking or looking like an amoral warmonger). But the crazy right has gained access to the average American home in the last 8 years through greater publicity for its "ideas" and a moneymaking style of proselytizing that preys on the stupid and wealthy. And because of those dividends, gained through the indifference of the Republican leadership to the lives of ordinary Americans or the dangers posed by domestic extremist religious groups, there was no way in hell that the evangelicals were not going to vote for McCain. Palin just gives them another bogus piece they can cram into their wacko prophesy jigsaw-puzzle view of politics and American history.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Thanks for your post, torbird -- and welcome to DU!

[clear eye]

26. And you know this how?

Chovexani has at least anecdotal evidence that it is making a difference in one large congregation, and reporters are quoting pro-life voters all over the place who are saying it makes a difference to them. From what they say, they didn't trust McCain's conversion to full anti-choice until this VP choice. They see it as evidence that he means what he says. I mean it's one thing to express how some news makes you feel, and another to go spouting off about how other people are reacting to recent history based on nothing but your imagination. Until now, MANY WERE EXPRESSING DOUBTS, and people in the biz knows that translates into low turnout, whatever you may believe about gains you think they've made.

[torbird]

33. Because My Bible Tells Me So

Oh, my bad. I forgot that this forum was not for opinions, but rather for dissertation-level political research and findings.

You really want to argue with me over "anecdotal evidence" and what "reporters (quoting) pro-lifers" are saying?

November. Voting booth. Who were these people going to vote for? That's the bottom line. Evangelicals don't stay home, clear eye, they go to the polls, and they overwhelmingly favor one party (not candidate) over the other. And just who "in the biz" says that McCain = low evangelical turnout? The same folks who have been wrong about the turnout for the last two elections?

Also, are you going to dispute that the last 8 years have been a bonanza for the religious right in this country? Are you also going to pretend like Bush and McCain don't represent the same policies and governing mentality? I suppose that religious fundamentalists are also too obtuse to figure out what "McSame" is supposed to mean.

And finally, I might have just now posted for the first time, but I have been on this forum for years, so don't think that you're impressing me with this interrogation crap.

[clear eye]

44. The Fundies don't think Bush has been a "bonanza" for them

All they've been saying lately is how he let them down by not getting Roe v. Wade overturned. They went to the polls in 2000 because they believed Bush was a fundy. They came out in 2004 to vote for the anti-gay marriage and other wedge-issue propositions on the ballots of some swing states. There was a severe lack of enthusiasm for McCain, but Palin is overcoming that by all accounts. A significant proportion of them do not want a repeat of the disappointment they've been experiencing with Bush. If I have time, I'll Google the polls later.

Thing is there're corporatist conservatives, religious/social conservatives, old-line small government conservatives, even semi-anarchist Libertarian conservatives. No, it's not true that a conservative is a conservative is a conservative. Many religious conservatives are not particularly political and don't get out to the polls without provocation, according to the reporting about unusually large turnouts of "values" voters (religious conservatives) where there were anti-gay marriage propositions on the ballot.

And it's not about you being new. In fact I hesitated a little before posting because you were new. But I really didn't want DUers left with the impression that what you said was some authoritative info and they could just sit on their collective rears while Obama skates to a win.

[FatDave]

11. I'm sorry, but there is no room in my country for the Christian Taliban

[2QT2BSTR8]

14. Has anyone seen the video where Palin is comparing herself to Hillary?

If so, can you please point me to the video stream so I can see that BS for myself? :mad:

[HockeyMom]

15. Heartbeat away from the Presidency

More so because of McCain's age. As Governor of Alaska, does she really have the qualifications to lead this country if McCain were President and couldn't complete his term? I would think somebody like a Romney from a large populated state would be more qualified. Or somebody like Biden, with his congressional experience. I am sure this is going to be brought up.

Of course, I really could care less about all this. Obama all the way for ME.

[liberal1973]

17. Is she really a christian?

Is she really a christian?

I mean she lies ,and I think she is the usual corrupt republican. Maybe that's what make a republican christian.:dilemma:

[Chovexani]

22. She is hardcore Assemblies of God apparently

You don't get much more Christian Taliban than that, until snakes enter the equation.

[Psephos]

54. She's Catholic n/t

[Chovexani]

60. Okay I'm confused.

Because I've heard a bunch of people say she's Catholic and a bunch of people say she's AoG.

They're not exactly peanut butter and chocolate. WTF?

[Zhade]

50. If she self-identifies as a christian, then yes, she is a christian.

That's how it works. Her fellow christians don't get to disavow her affiliation with their faith just because she's also a horrible human being.

[Chovexani]

21. Wait wait wait hold up?

Richard Land? This is the same Richard Land who pushed that "headship" crap front and center in the SBC?

Shouldn't he be campaigning for her to get back in the kitchen and make her hubby some pie?

Oh, RW fundies. Never change.

[progressivebydesign]

25. Big F-ing deal.. they would have voted for him anyway.

The thing is that she is driving away more swing voters than she's attracting "social conservatives." A religious extremist was Rove's gamble... and it isn't going to pay off. Wait until the moderate republikan women really find out what she's all about -- when they realize her "choice" to have 5 kids wasn't a choice, but an edict because she does NOT believe in ANY kind of birth control. Yeah soccer moms.. how many kids would you like to have? Oh, Sarah Palin doesn't want you to even have THAT much of a choice. And they want THAT woman to be in charge of the Supreme Court?

[clear eye]

30. Like I said to the newbie above, You know this how?

Democratic women are turned off, but how do we know that the millions of apolitical, low-information women voters don't simply see her as an admirable, high-achieving woman. I mean they admired Mary Kay, the pyramid business queen, for heaven's sake, so I wouldn't want to bet on it. And I don't believe Rove didn't run focus groups on the reactions of uninformed women before he suggested her.

[torbird]

35. Now Mary Kay is in the mix

We've gone from the very reasonable assertion that a conservative is a conservative is a conservative (absent any evidence to the contrary), to "there are dumb women in America who liked Mary Kay cosmetics and will therefore vote for any woman for office". Sheesh.

[llmart]

56. I agree with you....

I have a friend who is a self-proclaimed "independent" who voted for Bush twice and admitted to me that she was handily disappointed that she had been snookered twice. She was at my house yesterday and she told a group of 5 of us that she was going to vote for McCain (her husband is a Repug) until he picked Palin and now both she AND her husband are voting for Obama. The other 4 of us, all diehard liberal Democrats, almost fell off our chairs!

[AlphaCentauri]

27. that must be the lowest IQ holders

[NorthCarolina]

32. Energizing the fundies was the idea. How else could they lend plausible justification

to another election where the exit polling is in direct contradiction to the final vote tally. Setting up an alibi is what the selection of Sarah Palin represents....it sure as hell isn't her qualifications to be President.

[torbird]

40. GOP was already unified...but I agree

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/opinion/31rich.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The Frank Rich Op/ed has it that, according to polls before McCain picked Palin, both parties were about 80% committed to their respective nominees. So Palin isn't, in all likelihood, going to bring a big surge of support to McCain.

But she does give a modicum of cover to any attempt to steal the election. Unfortunately, it ain't gonna work this time, because Obama should have a large lead heading into the election (and, frankly, people are fed up with the Republicans. 80% of registered Republicans may support McCain, but the number of self-identified Republicans has shrunk dramatically over the last 4 years).

Also, are you from Charlotte? If so: Awesome!

[NewJeffCT]

59. I believe Bush got over 90% of Republicans

so, a drop of 10% is huge.

[eauclaireliberal]

36. Palin could end up being McInsane's Harriet Miers.

LOL

[alarimer]

39. I am not terribly optimistic about this.

Yesterday I was but now that I think about it, I think Palin is trouble for Democrats. Simply by energizing a group I was hoping would stay home rather than vote for McCain. We underestimate her (and them) at our peril.

[santamargarita]

41. I figured as much from the Christian Fascists

Evangelicals = Fascists

[Politicalboi]

43. Just wait till

The dust settles. The more we know about Palin the better it gets for the Dems. If that "other story" is true that would hurt MaGoo. The bridge to nowhere is still out there, Troopergate. This could be a house of cards just waiting to fall.

[Fovea]

47. Yes, a boon for all

Evolution and global warming deniers, Oil company Spouses, beauty contest veterans, and moose hunting hockey moms everywhere.

[Solly Mack]

51. Palin brings forth the next generation of right wing religious whack-jobs

the older ones have started dying off...

[depakid]

53. Get them out front and expose them for who they are and what they stand for

in no uncertain terms.

[DuaneBidoux]

55. This explains why they still like Bush-beyond one or two issues there is no reality.

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[panzerfaust]

58. Guns, Babies, and Jesus ...

Here in Texas, it gets no better than that.