by Jennings13
Wed Sep 03, 2008 at 04:31:41 PM PDT
A lot of the pundits have been talking about how Sarah Palin has energized the Republican base. I’m not sure if this is true. The Republican party used to be more than the Evangelical community. It included economic conservatives, libertarians, and national security hawks. I’m not sure how economic conservatives will take Palin’s pro-tax record. I’m not sure that libertarians are willing to vote for a book-banner. I’m not sure that national security hawks believe that if not for Sarah Palin’s leadership of the AK national guard, we would all be speaking Russian. John McCain is in danger of alienating those key groups that have helped the Republicans maintain a governing coalition. The most recent polls in Iowa and Minnesota suggest that the coalition is fraying.
The story that is being lost, however, is that Democrats are unifying behind Barack Obama. Many people are attributing this to the convention, and while it played a role, I think Sarah Palin sent a message to Democrats. To paraphrase Dennis Green, John McCain is not who you thought he was.
Jennings13's diary :: ::
For a while, John McCain was viewed as the Democrat’s favorite Republican. He was taking on Jerry Fallwell. He called Bush’s tax cuts unfair because they gave too much to the rich. He supported climate change and campaign finance reform. He was John McCain with a small "R."
John McCain, however, was always a conservative Republican. He voted against making MLK a holiday. He voted against the minimal wage every chance he had. He cracked jokes about Chelsea Clinton being ugly and Hillary Clinton being a lesbian. These stories, however, were ignored. These facts were set aside because the story of John McCain "The Maverick" was more interesting. Consequently, many Democrats believed the fantasy. Some moderate and conservative democrats expressed regret that they’d have to vote against John McCain instead of somebody like Mitt Romney. They wanted to vote out President Bush, instead they’d have to vote against John McCain.
Sarah Palin ended their hesitancy. Sarah Palin, in the eyes of most people, is a radical conservative. She does not believe in global warming. She does not believe in evolution. Sarah Palin fired a librarian who would not ban books. Sarah Palin is the kind of Republican that reminds Democrats why it’s so important they win.
The Maverick Myth is dead. Democrats are not holding any ammo back anymore. They don’t want to.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/3/192522/8910
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