The Candidates
It’s ironic that Sarah Palin got the conservative base out of bed and woke them from a deep apathy.
Over 20,000 people came to see John McCain and Sarah Palin today.
Take a look at this audience-
I think John McCain made a wise decision.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:51 pm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223
I’ve got to admit. if that post is all i had to look at . i would be very suspicious. they had better clear this up soon, or every is going to be talking about sarah bein the mother to her grandson.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Joe C., don’t be stupid. A teenaged girl doesn’t give birth to a Downs Syndrome baby. 43 year old women do.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
She is pictured in the mat ward with the newborn baby. That is why the media does not care.
Anyway, look at that crowd!!!!!
August 31st, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Yes, those who believe that Mrs. Palin is a grandmother are the same clowns who believe in global warming and that Mr. Bush and the Jews fly those planes into skyscrapers. Give it a freaking rest!!!!
August 31st, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Man that’s a crowd!
August 31st, 2008 at 8:09 pm
the more these dingbats attack her like this, the more likely their guy goes down…you’d think they would figure that out
August 31st, 2008 at 8:12 pm
It’s time we get a base who’s as enthusiastic about what’s fundamentally American — entrepreneurship — as we did under Reagan — as they are about social conservatism.
Entrepreneurship is about the future. Social conservatism is about the past.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Agreed Metro, that is why it is great we have a pro-growth VP, endorsed by the CFG.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Mexico is socially conservative. Doesn’t take you very far, now does it?
Let’s rebuild a political movement what is distinctively American, and the engine of true progress — entrepreneurial capitalism.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Kristofer, the jury’s definitely out on someone who’s supported a windfall profits tax.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:18 pm
But I don’t hear them campaigning on growth and entrepreneurship.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Hey, Obama is attacking Palin for opposing the liberal equal pay bill. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/31/obamas-first-shot-at-palin-focuses-on-equal-pay/
August 31st, 2008 at 8:23 pm
metro, it is not that simple.
#1 - the former Governor and his cronies gave the oil companies “special” tax treatment, while creating a monopoly, and destroying energy entrepreneurship.
#2 - Palin reverse those taxes AND, set up a clause for oil companies, that they would receive VERY low tax rates if they increased production and re-invested. She also brought in new energy companies and increased competition (pipeline).
August 31st, 2008 at 8:25 pm
metro, and if you do not believe she is pro-growth, as mayor, she eliminated property taxes and replaced with a flat/sales tax. As soon as she did that, businesses moved to her county.
That is Steve Forbes’ economics!
August 31st, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Liberty is what is most distinctly American.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Kristofer, I’m not down on her, I just don’t have enough info yet. Thanks for providing some.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
1. “Daily KoS and those that reported on the speculated rumor, without doing their homework and just repeating the rumor, all have now maligned a 17 year old girl, her mother who is the vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket and their whole family.”
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/259257
August 31st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Metro,
There’s nothing mutually exclusive between social conservatism and fiscal conservatism.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:32 pm
The more I hear about Palin, the more excited I am about her. This is increasingly looking like a brilliant pick by McCain.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:32 pm
#17 let them do it…if they persist,, they hand the election to McCain
August 31st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
CNN has it a one point race again.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
CNN Poll: Obama 49, McCain 48 From Obama’s speech to today.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:34 pm
and nothing necessarily mutually exclusive between social conservatism and liberty…each issue has to be examined by itself
August 31st, 2008 at 8:39 pm
#18: I’d argue there was, but I’ll go with the big tent for now. And note I wasn’t arguing that. I’m saying…
Let’s ADD the entrepreneurial argument back in.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Hey Metro, she talked economics today.
“But raising taxes and overfunding programs is not the way to make government work, Palin said.
“We don’t want bigger government. We want government that does a few big things and it does them right.”
August 31st, 2008 at 8:44 pm
CNN POLL National CNN Obama 49, McCain 48
YEAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 31st, 2008 at 8:45 pm
VIRTUAL HI FIVE TO KRISTOPHER IN 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 31st, 2008 at 8:46 pm
er, i mean 22, i’m not worthy to hi five someone as brilliant as metrorepublican.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:47 pm
#7, Metro do you have any children?
If not I wonder why as a selfish libertarian, you’d care about what happens after you decompose.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:48 pm
The Democrats have never in history won an election without being ahead coming out of the conventions (when does ours start?)!
We are going to win.
August 31st, 2008 at 8:52 pm
gotta love this one….
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/ats-ap-cvn-biden-vietnamaug31,0,2934547.story
August 31st, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Anyone have video of her speech in MO today? Did she use the same speech?
August 31st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
#32, no she changed it up (i think).
August 31st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
#32, I’m going to check the local MO tv stations to see if I can find video of the speech.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I saw that strange story on Sarah’s wiki page earlier today but have been back a few times and now it’s not there. I’m thinking some tool just edited the page on their own to try and bring her down.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Metro-If you undercut social conservatism you have just probably lost 1/3 of the party. Needless to say I believe Gov.Palin represents all 3 legs of the “stool”.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Doug, you could learn some things from Sarah Palin.
Because I want Reagan’s city on a hill, unbridled American capitalism providing for the whole world, rather than the economy of, say, Mexico… I’m to be called names?
I don’t need that B.S. from Republicans.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Kristofer/Sean… my point was, the “base” is moved to turn out because she’s pro-life with a Down’s Syndrome baby.
Not because she’s a champion of free enterprise.
We have a base problem.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
She spoke a good deal about Gustaf, her briefing by Barbour (and some Mississippi Commissioner), and what we ought to do for relief. There were some similar lines towards the end “we need to work with a servants heart”, but 60% of her speech dealt with Gustaf.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:05 pm
McCain, Palin, Huckabee and Romney at MO rally today. You can go to c-span and click on recent programs and listen to the “McCain campaigns in O’Fallon, MO”
She had a different speech.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:06 pm
#35, they are trying to smear her. She has turned this campaign around for McCain and Obama is in trouble. They are trying to stop her.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Metro, the big corporate donors are sending $ in.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Find the best video here:
http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/
August 31st, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Kristofer, don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be happier about how well Palin is working out for our chances in Nov.
I’m speaking to a larger problem.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Thanks. I found the speech on CSPAN.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
btw, here is Palin preggers. http://alaskareport.com/images31/palin_pregnant.jpg
August 31st, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Metro, what are you doing to help people learn how to become entrepreneurs?
August 31st, 2008 at 9:15 pm
#13
Wait until people start going after Palin for contributing to increases in oil prices - she raised taxes on Oil companies, redistributed the profits to Alaskans, and the cost of operation (and thus the cost of the product) increased.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:15 pm
You guys has MORE THAN A YEAR to critique Sarah Palin. Why is it that youre; all waiting til NOW to blabber your mouths off????? She is a fantastic pick and you all know it!
August 31st, 2008 at 9:17 pm
#47 Mastermind groups and mentoring. I’d like to be wealthy enough some day to do something more institutional.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
#38
As Rick Brookhiser said in The Corner:
August 31st, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Like Metro and Richard Brookhiser of NR, I too am a bit unnerved about what this says about the base.
I like Sarah, and I have no problem with a pro-life Republican, but it does say something that all it takes to mobilize thousands (millions?) of people is a pro-life with no exceptions candidate who is also very religious. This very dynamic occurred last winter. Remember the Huckaboom? Huckabee shot up overnight when he was presented as the religious dude in the race who was socially conservative. He collapsed once Republicans found out about his other views, but the point is, they didn’t CARE what those other views were initially. All that mattered was the religious and social views.
What I think this says is that the bulk of the people who have become Republicans over the past generation have done so for cultural reasons. I’m not sure why this is. Maybe it’s because the Democrats jettisoned the religious, the pro-lifers, and the patriotic long ago. Maybe it’s because the parties are getting so close together on economic issues that there’s no meaningful difference to anyone other than economic wonks like Metro and Alex. Maybe it’s because most of the recruiting has been done by religious conservative organizations. I don’t really know.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:23 pm
#52: YES!!! As usual, DaveG puts forth a much better explanation than I do.
That is SO revealing.
This is one reason I’ve argued so hard for the GOP not to be culturally identified as one thing, pushing everyone else out of it.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:38 pm
on economics issues i don’t see it…for the past few decades they were definitely in line….but there seems to be a slowly building difference of massive proportions coming….esecially when you look at the background intellectual views of both sides as to where health care and social security reform SHOULD go….in terms of those I can’t imagine a wider difference in thought in welfare state issues from the two parties since the Depression
August 31st, 2008 at 9:39 pm
#52, I assume that sort of surprise comes from having little exposure to Middle America.
On the coasts, patriotism and moral values aren’t as important. Middle America must seem weird for the people who live in the culture of the liberal big cities.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I am the type of person that can stay calm in essentially any situation, but my God, the people at Daily Kos have infuriated me with their blatant attacks on Palin’s teenage daughter.
As much as I hate untrue smears on political candidates, it comes with the territory. But when those smears go after a politician’s children in order to get at the politician, that is absolutely despicable. Completely innocent people’s lives are affected.
I think we need to instantly start debunking this madness, and it’s definitely front page post worthy.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I think DaveG is from San Antonio - not your coastal big city liberal basteon.
Just a thought.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:46 pm
#55: Not at all. Most of us grew up there.
Patriotism and moral values? I’m an American exceptionalist! That is why I’m a Republican!
Who doesn’t understand whom?
August 31st, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Well, I watched the speech. It was a much better speech than the first two. I think they should write her a new hard hitting speech though. She needs to prove to the country she is ready. The theme of reform WORKS and it well played in the speech. At least she hit a few points of national security. I hope they could schedule her a “Full Ginsberg” soon.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:48 pm
#57, he gives off the latte-sipping, never-met-a-Christian vibe. Of course I saw the same thing every year whenever I bumped into non-Economics professors at the 2 colleges I attended in Middle America.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
What do you mean by American exceptionalism (my spell check say that isn’t a word)?
All are nations are exceptional in some respects.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
#59
Did she lie about the “bridge to nowhere” again?
August 31st, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Doug,
It’s not a “never-met-a-Christian” vibe, it’s a “met-some-people-who-aren’t-Christian” vibe. Big difference.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:54 pm
American exceptionalism means you are not a moral relativist, that you see America as superior to other nations and having a special place in the world as the bastion of freedom (and capitalism, I would say).
August 31st, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Big S, most of my extended family are Shiite Muslims. So by your comment I ought to be more like DaveG right?
August 31st, 2008 at 9:57 pm
#64, superior in what way and in what field?
I want to know because what you’re saying sounds like jingoistic nationalism. I hope it’s just poorly worded patriotism.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I urge one of the posters on this site to post this on here, and to send it to other conservative blog’s [just mention that I wrote].
We need to stop the DailyKos for their smear job on the Palin Family!
http://mvred.com/2008/08/31/the-dailykos-and-the-effect-of-free-speech/
August 31st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
he gives off the latte-sipping, never-met-a-Christian vibe. Of course I saw the same thing every year whenever I bumped into non-Economics professors at the 2 colleges I attended in Middle America.
I prefer a nice mocha — particularly the white chocolate mocha — but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, I grew up in a small town in Michigan, then spent four years in a liberal college town, then seven years here in the east. I find the cultural differences between each fascinating, and I don’t pretend that I don’t have my preferences, but that doesn’t mean that the culture that you describe is foreign to me.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:04 pm
#64: Superior because we were the first to recognize and champion individual rights and liberty, and because of the effects of such, which is capitalism and abundance. We lead the world in intellectual and productive achievements. It’s why the best and brightest of other countries leave their families and lives behind to come here.
I need to explain that to a Republican?
August 31st, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Metro, I’m patriotic because I love the land and the people of America. I’ve not got a Utopian ideology or civic religion to hang my hat on.
I would still be patriotic even if our nation wasn’t wealthy or powerful.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
#67
That rumor’s been going around for a while, apparently. I don’t believe it, but since Andrew Sullivan has been posting about it in the past few days and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC made what sounded like a reference to it after the Palin pick was announced, it’s probably about to break out from the Kos swamps. Rumor has it that the National Enquirer has dedicated resources to the story. There’s nothing really that anyone can do to stop it unless the Palin’s decide to release full medical records.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Excuse my misapostraphication.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Big S, do not worry (although I know you do not care), her pictures in the Mat. ward will solve that.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:27 pm
btw…..Maddow was talking about the trooper story.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Kristofer,
Then they better get to publicizing them damn quick. There has been no response, and the runors are just spreading.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Why is Obama running against Palin?
August 31st, 2008 at 10:36 pm
because he cant possibly win against jmac
August 31st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
#70: That’s blind nationalism, not patriotism.
August 31st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
“And of course as governor, she has had enormous responsibilities, none of which Senator Obama had. When she was in government, he was a community organizer. When she was taking tough positions against her own party, Senator Obama was voting present 130 times in the state legislature. On every tough issue, whatever it was, she was taking them on. That’s the kind of judgment that I’m confident that we need in Washington.” — John McCain
Today on Fox news Sunday.
August 31st, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Big S,
The McCain campaign would LOVE this to break into the mainstream media. There are about a dozen picks showing Palin clearly, obviously, visibly pregnant, and a number of picks showing her daughter with a “bump” in 2006 (i.e, 2 years before the child was born). These ravings are the result of mentally deranged, emotionally psychotic, intellectually deprived, lunatics. It’s easily disproved and the American public would come down on the media like a f*c*ing anvil if it ever broke out the blogosphere. Palin’s approval ratings would shoot through the roof. The saner Kossacks know this, and they’re spreading the rumors not to damage her on the national stage, but to bring some of the more unhinged Hillary supporters, who might be inclined to give a woman a second look, back into the fold. Even that is backfiring, but good luck with it, I say. I hope John Roberts does a little “investigating” on it tomorrow morning, just to, you know, have some “truth in reporting”. McCain will laugh hysterically and happily pocket his 400 electoral votes.
September 1st, 2008 at 1:08 am
#78, so what’s your back-up nation for patriotism if the US ever falls below your standards?
September 1st, 2008 at 1:45 am
The Democrats would “destroy our military”??? Lol, that’s a bit much…
September 1st, 2008 at 2:11 am
#82 - Josiah, have you see the video of Obama talking about how he wants to basically destroy our national defense? I haven’t had much luck here posting links, so you may want to look for it on YouTube.
I’ll try it and see if it works:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dl32Y7wDVDs
Also, I think a lot of folks are assuming that Obama has the experience needed for this job because the MSM is promoting him so shamelessly. I love this experience/inexperience attack by the Dems — it is the perfect opening to talk about BO being the MOST INEXPERIENCED, UNQUALIFIED candidate ever!
The Dems are writing the ads for us. It’s amazing!
September 1st, 2008 at 2:24 am
I feel women voters will come around once they get to know Palin…unfortunately the debates will not help very much because the average voter will listen to the pundits on MSNBC and CNN, who will undeniably give the win to Biden, just like they tried to give debate wins to Gore in 2000, but the disenfranchised voter will look intently at Sarah Palin and see their Mothers, their neighbors and women they hope to be one day and that will make Sarah that much more appealing.
I went over to the KOS today and read some of their posts and their comments and I found it quite despicable…obviously written by young voters whose parents never taught them properly or men who resort to their immature ways when intelligence becomes an obstacle. How does an intelligent human being refer to a mother of 5, as a c%#t? What human being does that…this is the democratic party of 2008 and I am afraid they sold their soul to the left, my friends…these are the leftist loons that want a say in our public policy.
I sincerely hope McCain/Palin find the middle ground and court the sensible voter. If the Dems lose another Presidential election it is going to be harder and harder to keep the crazies to the left of us relevant and/or interested.
I’ve been spending a lot of time reading posts over at the hillaryclintonforum.net and I hadn’t realized how angry they really were…these PUMA groups are completely and morally disenfranchised with the ‘undemocratic party’ as some of them refer to them as and are sincerely excited with Sarah Palin…I’ve been doing more research on Hillary Clinton and really trying to find a common ground because they are very smart people and they don’t want to be confused as blind followers of McCain/Palin just because they share some body parts, but from what I have read they are genuinely impressed with her…so I feel it is in my best interest to look more into the candidate they support…trying to find a common ground…Hillary was raised in a Republican household afterall and half of Bill’s policies were rather conservative…kinda.
Just some thoughts.